ON THE ICE: FOX'S NHL RATING UP; HUB/MOTOR CITY HIT HIGHS

          Fox Sports scored a 2.0/6 national rating for last
     Sunday's regional coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs,
     which is up 25% over the 1.6 for the same playoff weekend
     last year.  Fox's playoff average is a 1.5/4 (Fox).    
          LOCAL HEROES: In Detroit, Steve Crowe writes that
     coverage of Game One of the Red Wings-Avalanche series on
     WKBD-UPN earned a 22.4/36, Game Two on WJBK-Fox received a
     15.9/39 and Game Three on WKBD pulled a 23.8/35 (DETROIT
     FREE PRESS, 5/14)....In Boston, Jim Baker reports that WSBK-
     UPN was "a big Nielsen winner" with its coverage of the
     Bruins Game Three against the Sabres, pulling a local rating
     of an 11.2/18, or 246,400 HH (BOSTON HERALD, 5/14)....Last
     night's Game Four of the Maple Leafs-Penguins earned a 16.9
     overnight rating for Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (FSNP).