TV MONITOR: Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of CNN/SI's
"Sports Tonight" led with an update on the future of Rockets
F Charles Barkley, followed by Knicks C Patrick Ewing being
activated after an Achilles injury. The first non-NBA
story, at 4:33 into the broadcast, was the Penguins firing
coach Kevin Constantine and replacing him with Herb Brooks.
ESPN's 11:00pm ET edition of "SportsCenter" led with a post-
game interview of Titans RB Eddie George following the
Raiders-Titans game, followed by game highlights. The first
NBA story, at 8:02, was an update on T'Wolves-Blazers. The
first NHL story was the Penguins hiring Brooks, at 11:31.
FSN's 11:00pm ET edition of "Primetime" led with Grizzlies-
Spurs, followed by an interview with Spurs F Sean Elliott
about when he expects to return to the court. The first
non-NBA story, at 9:36, was Cowboys CB Deion Sanders
possibly playing WR against the Eagles Sunday. The first NHL
story was the Penguins hiring Brooks, at 21:03 (THE DAILY).
FROM BRISTOL: ESPN's "SportsCentury" book will debut at
No. 10 on the N.Y. Times' bestseller list for non-fiction
this week (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/10)....ESPN will
add a 30-minute weekly Sunday morning edition of its
"Outside The Lines" series beginning April 2, 2000. The
network will also increase the number of primetime editions
of the series from eight to 12 one-hour episodes (ESPN)...In
Chicago, John Jackson reports that ESPN Magazine estimates
that its circulation will top one million by spring and that
"it soon expects to turn a profit" (CHIC. SUN-TIMES, 12/10).
NOTES: The Ackerley Group, parent company of Full House
Sports & Entertainment, said it would like to use its media
resources in the Northwest to create an RSN for its sports
properties, including the Sonics (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/9)....SI
Presents has published a special issue commemorating the '99
NASCAR Winston Cup series. The 132-page magazine will have
a press run of 430,000 copies and will be on newsstands
Monday with a cover price of $6.99 (SI)....TNT and NBA
Entertainment will present, "What Ever Happened To Micheal
Ray?," an account of the troubled career of Micheal Ray
Richardson. The project, to premiere in February 2000, was
developed in conjunction with former NBPA Exec Dir Charles
Grantham (TNT). In N.Y., William Rhoden wrote on Richardson
and noted that a decade ago, "the notion of having a
documentary done on his life, much less one produced by the
N.B.A., seemed out of the question." The idea came after
Richardson thanked NBA Commissioner David Stern in Paris at
the McDonald's Open in '97 for "saving my life." Stern
banned Richardson from the league in '86 for violating the
league's substance abuse policy (N.Y. TIMES, 12/9).
