TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET edition of FSN's
"Primetime" (FSN's 11:00 "Primetime" was pre-empted in many
markets due to college basketball) led with the Syracuse
Univ.-Univ. of SC men's basketball game followed by Penn
St.-Northwestern. College basketball was followed at 3:30
into the broadcast with Clippers-Nets. The 11:00pm ET
edition of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" led with details on the
death of Bobby Phills, followed by Heat-Jazz. The 11:00pm
ET edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter" led with Syracuse Univ.-
Univ. of SC, followed by Stanford Univ.-OR State Univ. men's
basketball game. College basketball was followed at 3:38
with highlights of Rockets-Warriors (THE DAILY)
KNOW THE RULES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that
ESPN2's "NHL Rules!" instructional broadcast last Sunday
night "showed that there is room to make the game more
understandable to casual viewers without insulting hard-core
fans" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/14). In Riverside, CA, Evan Tuchinsky
calls "NHL Rules!" a "valiant attempt to make hockey more
accessible to the masses -- and based on the 208,000 viewing
households and 10,304 questions submitted via [the]
Internet, ESPN2 accessed masses" (PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 1/14).
BIG BROTHER: In San Jose, Mark Purdy wrote on the
impact of AOL Time Warner on the world of sports, and noted
that when a team is owned or controlled by a company such as
AOL Time Warner, which is "supposed to be an information
provider, that information is potentially tainted" (SAN JOSE
MERCURY NEWS, 1/13). In Long Beach, Bob Keisser writes that
AOL Time Warner, "at least in the short term, won't offer
anything that makes life easier or more interesting" to
sports fans. But it "may quicken the pace of cable systems"
adding high-speed Internet access in the home, "which is
good news for sportaholics" (L.B. PRESS-TELEGRAM, 1/14).
