WAS "REAL SPORTS" FAIR? Media reaction continues to
HBO's "Real Sports" examination on race relations and
NASCAR. In Indianapolis, Robin Miller wrote "the premise
that NASCAR is a closed shop to black drivers and not fan-
friendly to African-Americans failed to make a compelling
argument." The topic made NASCAR VP Brian France "squirm,"
but the segment didn't "delve into the bottom line" (STAR-
NEWS, 4/24). In Charlotte, David Poole wrote that "the HBO
piece was predisposed to believe that because NASCAR has
Southern roots, it therefore must be racist. At its worst,
the story employed the same stereotypical thinking that is
at the heart of the racism it set out to expose." The HBO
story "is open to many other criticisms," like why "there
aren't more black drivers" in the IRL, CART or Formula One?
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/25). In DC, Leonard Shapiro called
it a "nice piece," which was "particularly revealing when
Richard Petty essentially made a fool of himself with
remarks bordering on racism while trying to explain why
black driver Willie T. Ribbs wasn't getting much of a chance
in the sport" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/25).
POST SLIGHTED? In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes that the
N.Y. Post was the only N.Y. daily in which MSG "did not
purchase" a full-page "Farewell No. 99" ad possibly because
the Post's Larry Brooks "broke the Wayne Gretzky To Retire
Story -- and (it was) embarrassing to a blindsided Garden
management in the process" (N.Y. POST, 4/26).
NOTES: In N.Y., Bob Raissman, on Fox Sports Net's promo
around Keith Olbermann: "We've seen more of those sickening
and pretentious Fox sports promos for Keith Olbermann than
the man himself. Hey, the dude doesn't come on until around
midnight. We'd rather sleep. Besides, with Marv Albert
offering his fine nightly `SportsDesk' cast on MSG, who
needs to hear the Olbermann `wit' that Fox is hyping" (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 4/25)....In N.Y., Mary Huhn reported that
Everest 2000, an eVici Web site to be launched this fall,
will monitor the climb of Robert Anderson and allow browsers
to receive hourly updates, video streaming and photographs
sent to the Web "via satellite transmission." Huhn: "The
idea of making the surfer a virtual participant and
challenging them along the way is an inherent part of
Everest 2000." The site is backed by Steve Burnett, founder
of the Burnett Group (N.Y. POST, 4/25)....Charlotte's all-
sports WFNZ-AM dismissed unpaid contributor Mark Mazzone on
Saturday after he said that Shaquille O'Neal "would probably
have a 20-year career and then marry a white wife." Program
Manager D.J. Stout: "That type of comment is not the kind I
will tolerate at WFNZ" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/25).
