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FOX SCORES WITH ALCS; PUNDITS GIVE OPINION OF MLB BROADCASTS

          Game Two of the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS last night earned
     a 11.9/19 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating on Fox, up
     23% from the comparable NLCS Padres-Braves primetime Game
     Two last year, also on Fox.  The game earned a 23.7/35 local
     rating in N.Y. and a 34.0/51 in Boston.  Game One of the
     ALCS earned a 10.8 final national rating, up 74% from the
     LCS Game One last year on Fox (N.Y. TIMES, 10/15).  DAILY
     VARIETY's Tom Bierbaum reports that playoff baseball
     "continues to knock the Nielsen ball out of the park."  Both
     LCS Game Ones earned a 10.8, the highest primetime rating of
     an LCS game since '95.  The ALCS Game One drew 14.68 million
     viewers and a 5.7/17 rating among adults 18-49 (DAILY
     VARIETY, 10/15).  In Boston, an estimated 1.8 million
     viewers watched all or part of Game One.  WFXT GM Greg
     Kelley: "Those numbers are well beyond our expectations.  To
     have nearly 2 million viewers is pretty incredible" (BOSTON
     GLOBE, 10/15).  The three-game AL/NLCS average on Fox and
     NBC of a 9.6 is up 20% over last year (USA TODAY, 10/15).
          JIMY GIVES UP THE PLUG: Red Sox manager Jimy Williams
     said he will no longer wear a microphone while in the
     dugout.  Williams was unhappy that a conversation with first
     base coach Dave Jauss was aired during Game One.  Williams:
     "I'm just trying to do what's right for baseball.  I
     understand it's entertainment. ... But I can't do it
     anymore.  I don't feel right" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/15).  Red
     Sox officials "were under the impression no strategy
     conversations would be used" (USA TODAY, 10/15).  Red Sox
     third base coach Wendell Kim wore the mic instead of
     Williams during last night's game (THE DAILY).  Looking
     ahead to Saturday's matchup between Ps Pedro Martinez and
     Roger Clemens, Fox Exec Producer Ed Goren said that the
     network will pass on its commercial break in the middle of
     the first inning to get the reaction of the Fenway Park
     crowd as Clemens takes the mound (BOSTON HERALD, 10/15).
     Yankees manager Joe Torre, on Game Three: "Roger Clemens and
     Pedro Martinez at Fenway Park -- it's worth the price of
     admission, there's no question, and not too many people are
     going to be able to get into that ballpark.  So, I think
     there'll be a lot of people watching here on Fox."  Tim
     McCarver: "Price of admission, huh, Joe? Well, a
     cardiologist, yesterday, for his son, paid $12,100 for four
     tickets" (see THE DAILY, 10/14) (Fox, 10/14).
          WHO'S BETTER, WHO'S BETTER, YOU BET: In DC, Leonard
     Shapiro notes the "two different philosophies of production"
     that have "been on display" by Fox and NBC during the LCS. 
     NBC is "clearly taking more of a minimalist approach,
     allowing the games to unfold without too much intrusion from
     all the technological gadgetry at its disposal."  Meanwhile,
     Fox "uses every bell and whistle in its repertoire."  NBC
     Sports Chair Dick Ebersol: "Our avowed interest is to show
     you the basic game, with an uncluttered screen as much as
     possible.  This is a game that benefits from being pastoral,
     not looking like a child's video game" (WASHINGTON POST,
     10/15).  In Chicago, John Jackson writes that both NBC and
     Fox "have settled in to provide some superb coverage of
     both" LCS.  Jackson credits NBC's Costas and Morgan, who
     have "grown into a team," and notes that NBC has "enhanced
     its use of graphics without going for the overkill effects
     of some networks."  Fox's telecasts "haven't reached NBC's
     level, but they're solid. ... Fox offers too many graphics,
     and we all could do without the constant sound effects"
     (SUN-TIMES, 10/15).  In L.A., Larry Stewart gives his MLB
     announcer "edge" to Fox's Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.  
     Stewart: "They seem, almost always, to be out front" (L.A.
     TIMES, 10/15).  In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley calls Buck,
     McCarver and Bob Brenly "the best lead broadcast team doing
     the playoffs" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/15). 
          IS IT INTENSE OR UNNECESSARY? In Atlanta, freelance
     writer Greg Strange writes that "close-up shots" of players
     in the dugouts "are embarrassing and at worst they are
     downright stomach-turning."  Strange: "Chewing, spitting,
     scratching, nose-picking, cursing and the occasional violent
     tantrum after a bad outing at the plate do not constitute
     must-see TV" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/15).

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