TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET edition of FSN's
"Fox Sports News" led with Suns-Raptors, followed by 76ers-
Knicks. FSN reported on NASCAR's Winston Cup Dura-
Lube/Kmart 400 at 12:40 into the broadcast. Last night's
11:00pm ET edition of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" and the
11:00pm ET edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter" both led with
Darren Clarke's victory over Tiger Woods at the Andersen
Consulting World Match Play Championships, followed by Suns-
Raptors. "Sports Tonight" reported on the Dura-Lube 400 at
15:28, and "SportsCenter" at 16:48 (THE DAILY).
SI'S SWIMSUIT OUT IN THE OPEN: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick
noted SI annual swimsuit issue is "once again, selling like
hotcakes." Mushnick: "Next week, SI can resume telling the
nation that women shouldn't be treated as sex objects" (N.Y.
POST, 2/27). In Chicago, Ed Sherman: "There is a time and
place for everything, and SI isn't the place for swimsuit
fashion. SI is too vital a part of sports journalism to
take this annual detour to overt leering. ... It's
hypocritical. The same SI writers and editors who sneer at
the Fleet Street tabloids with their Page 3 girls are guilty
of the same low form of marketing" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/28).
In Toronto, Steve Simmons writes that SI "wants people to be
outraged by its swimsuit edition. It lives for the
publicity. So there will be none here" (CALGARY SUN, 2/28).
In Cincinnati, Laura Pulfer: "I don't think the ... swimsuit
issue is dangerous or degrading. None of these women is
wearing a dog collar" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 2/27).
NOTES: The New Yorker is reporting that News Corp. and
Yahoo! are in talks on a possible deal (Mult.,
2/28)....Canadian telecom company BCE is "proposing to take
over" CTV for US$1.58B. Among channels CTV "wholly or
partially owns" are CTV SportsNet and the Outdoor Life
Network (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/28).....In Richmond, Jerry
Lindquist, on CBS signing Mike Ditka for "The NFL Today":
"To think the former coach will enable CBS to close the gap
substantially -- if at all -- in the pregame-show race with
Fox is a bit naive" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/28).
...Tigers C Gregg Zaun, who used to write movie critiques
for ESPN.com: "I had a great female editor who let me say
pretty much whatever I wanted to say. She let me get away
with murder. But then ESPN got sold, and I went from having
a whole bunch of fun to not being able to write what I
wanted. So I ended it" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/28).
