TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET edition of FSN's
"Fox Sports News" led with Spurs-Hornets, followed by Suns-
Wizards. The first non-NBA story, at 4:37 into the
broadcast, was an update on the World Match Play
Championship. Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of CNN/SI's
"Sports Tonight" led with the NBA trade deadline, followed
by Jazz-Mavs. The first non-NBA story, at 6:11, was a World
Match Play update. Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of
ESPN's "SportsCenter" led with Spurs-Hornets, followed by
Bulls-Pacers. The first non-NBA story, at 10:24, was an
update on Univ. of MI G Jamal Crawford's suspension by the
NCAA (THE DAILY).
RAPTOR SUPERSTAR: In Hartford, Jeff Goldberg writes
that the All-Star Game performance of Raptors G Vince Carter
"has NBC reshuffling its Sunday lineup so the [Suns-Raptors]
game can be seen by the entire country. Not bad for a team
that has never been on NBC before." NBC Sports Chair Dick
Ebersol: "We felt it was time to let as many people as
possible see Vince in action" (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/25). NBC
Sports President Ken Schanzer: "The all-star game and the
slam-dunk competition, coupled with the fact (Carter) was
the leading vote-getter, was sending signals that it was
time. It was time to put [Carter] on the air, to expand the
game from one of the regional games to the sole national
game" (TORONTO SUN, 2/25).
NOTES: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that ABC
VP/Production John Filippelli "denies an interest in heading
up TV" for YankeeNets (USA TODAY, 2/25)....Denver's KTVD-UPN
has agreed to a three-game package for the MLS Rapids' 2000
season, marking the team's first appearance on local TV
(Rapids)....In DC, Leonard Shapiro, noting Fox NFL analyst
Matt Millen's appearance on Fox's Robbie Knievel special
Wednesday, addresses Millen: "I know you're a loyal, decent
guy, but the next time the people at Fox ask you to cover a
Robbie Knievel stunt, you'd be far better off just saying
no" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/25)....In Boston, Jim Greenidge
reports that New England Sports Network's addition of
"ESPNews" on January 1 brought 1.4 million homes and 200,000
satellite owners "to the ESPN family." ESPN VP/Distribution
Development Bryan Burns: "It's a very big pickup for us,
even just defining numbers. Also, Boston is one of the
premier, if not the finest, markets in the country" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 2/25)....In Miami, Barry Jackson writes that Marlins
broadcaster Joe Angel, who has been with the team since its
inception in '93, was "shocked in September" when the team
and SportsChannel decided "not to renew his contract after
the 2000 season." Angel: "No one has told me why they're
doing this" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/25).
