TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition of FSN's "National Sports Report" led with Grizzlies-Spurs, followed by Bucks-Magic. The first NHL report, at 4:34 into the broadcast, was Capitals-Penguins. Total NHL playoff coverage on the "National Sports Report" was 4:10. Last night's 11:00pm ET 30-minute edition of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" led with Bucks-Magic, followed by Pacers-76ers. The first NHL report, at 4:54, was Caps-Penguins. Total NHL playoff coverage on "Sports Tonight" was 3:20. Last night's 11:00pm ET 60-minute edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter" led with Caps-Penguins, followed by Maple Leafs-Senators. The first non-NHL report, at 8:13, was Bucks-Magic. Total NHL playoff coverage on "SportsCenter" was 11:27 (THE DAILY). RUSH, RUSH, VOICES CARRY: Rush Limbaugh tells Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES that ABC's "MNF" needs him in the analyst booth: "There's a lot of competition on Monday night in prime time. They've made the focus football, but you need someone to keep people tuned if a game bombs on you. Heck, I'd crave that challenge." Sandomir: "If nothing else, Limbaugh is an experienced broadcaster with a huge following, who could cross-promote ['MNF'] for three hours a day [on his radio show]" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/18). But NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay writes, "Forget Rush Limbaugh's campaign for a spot in the booth. Sign a shrewd analyst to work with Al Michaels. Then bring in a different celebrity each week as the third person in the booth" (NEWSDAY, 4/18). SEEN AND HEARD: FSN's Keith Olbermann, during Bucks- Magic highlights: "Don't I have to say 'Boo-yah' or 'Boom- bi-ya' or something? Maybe, 'Let's Go To The Video Tape'" ("National Sports Report," FSN, 4/17)....NBC's Bob Costas, on the XFL: "I can just imagine these [TV] broadcasts: 'It's complete over the middle, he's at the fifteen, the ten, oh, he's whacked by a folding chair and down at the seven. Credit the stop to the free safety wearing the studded mask, Captain Doom'" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 4/17). FSN'S REGIONAL NEWS PLANS: In San Antonio, David King reports that Fox Sports Net's regional sports news shows, set for mid-June, will use "various reports from correspondents based in San Antonio." FSN VP Jon Heidtke: "Depending on how quickly this develops, our long-term plans are to put a desk in San Antonio and have a San Antonio version." The network will employ former NFLer and Houston sportscaster Spencer Tillman as the anchor for the local show, with the rest of the on-air staff "yet to be announced" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/18). Meanwhile, in DC, Leonard Shapiro writes that WTTG-Fox sports anchor and reporter Chick Hernandez is leaving the station to become a weeknight anchor for FSN and will "also do reporting" for FSN's regional nightly show (WASHINGTON POST, 4/18). NOTES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that if ESPN's Cardinals-Rockies game "looked grainy and underproduced Sunday night it was because ESPN used Coors Field's four- camera, scoreboard transmission and mixed it with radio commentary." The scheduled D'Backs-Giants game was rained out, leaving "only one game to plug" the 8:00pm ET time slot. The Cardinals-Rockies game "was not scheduled to be televised anywhere" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/18)....In Chicago, John Jackson reports the Bears signed Mike Ditka to be an analyst on the team's preseason telecasts and writes that the move will "help Ditka prepare for his job at CBS, while his popularity should enhance ratings and provide good public relations for the team" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/18)....A new study by MA-based Forrester Research involving 80,000 U.S. HHs found that Hispanics "now are the second-largest group in the nation on the Internet" (KNIGHT-RIDDER, 4/17).
