TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition
of FSN's "National Sports Report" led with Cardinals-Tigers,
followed by Red Sox-Braves and a report on Braves P John
Rocker in Richmond. The first non-MLB report, at 6:56 into
the broadcast, was final-round coverage of the PGA Tour's
Buick Classic. "NSR" reported on the French Open Men's
Final at 13:10. Last night's 11:00pm ET 30-minute edition
of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" led with Game Three of the
Lakers-Pacers NBA Finals, followed by Red Sox-Braves and
Cubs-White Sox. "Sports Tonight" reported on the French
Open at 16:47. Last night's 1:00am ET 60-minute edition of
ESPN's "SportsCenter" led with Lakers-Pacers, followed by
Mets-Yankees and Red Sox-Braves. "SportsCenter" reported on
the French Open at 16:16 (THE DAILY).
QUOKKA'S BOUNCE: On "NBR," Paul Kangas reported that
shares of Quokka Sports were up 2 3/8 to close at 7 3/4 on
Friday after "positive reaction to the company's purchase of
Golf.com for about $30 million in Quokka stock" (PBS, 6/9).
A BRAVES FEW WORLD: In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers noted
that Braves fans in about 130,000 homes still can't see
games on Turner South, as both Comcast and Intermedia MSO do
not carry the net. AT&T Cable Service Manager Celeste
Ingram, whose company owns Intermedia: "We're concerned
about what other type of programming there is on Turner
South. If we add another channel, we also have to know if
subscribers will still be willing to pay for additional
programming when the Braves are not on." Comcast Marketing
VP Glenn Wasser: "Turner South is a relatively expensive
property and there's no way we can offer the service just to
Braves fans" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/10).
A STURM COMMENT: Newspaper Association of America
President John Sturm said in a letter to the House Judiciary
Committee that newspapers "will continue to publish point
spreads from Las Vegas even if Congress passes legislation
to ban Nevada casinos from taking bets on college games."
Sturm cited a recent Harris Poll that showed "only" 11% of
readers use spreads to make bets. Most "use them to bone up
on favorite teams" (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/10).
NOTES: USA TODAY's Harry Blauvelt writes that
retrospectives on the late golfer Payne Stewart "likely will
dominate U.S. Open week," but The Golf Channel's tribute to
Stewart that airs tonight at 8:00pm ET "might be a cut above
the rest" (USA TODAY, 6/12)....In an in-depth report on TV
and sports, the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH's Dan Caesar wrote
TV has "become a megapower that not only shows sports but
also controls them. Television is the cash cow that will
pump an estimated $3.42 billion this year into the coffers
of America's major pro athletic leagues. This figure
encompasses only network contracts" (POST-DISPATCH, 6/11).
