FOR NBC, SHE'S THEIR VENUS, THEIR FIRE, THEIR SOLE DESIRE

          NBC's coverage of the men's Wimbledon final on Sunday,
     which featured Patrick Rafter-Pete Sampras and had four-
     hours of rain delays, earned a 5.0/14 overnight Nielsen
     rating, even with last year.  NBC's coverage of the women's
     Wimbledon final on Saturday, featuring Lindsay Davenport-
     Venus Williams, earned a 4.4/14 overnight (NBC).  USA
     TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports that NBC's eight-day, big-
     market overnight rating average for its Wimbledon coverage
     through Saturday was a 3.3, up 18% from last year.  Martzke
     attributes the increase to Saturday's Davenport-Williams
     match, as well as Thursday's "lofty" 5.0 rating for
     Williams' semifinal win over her sister Serena.  Martzke: "A
     case can be made that women's tennis, headed by the Williams
     sisters, has become more compelling than the men's" (USA
     TODAY, 7/10).  In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers reported that TNT
     averaged 1.1 million homes during its last week of Wimbledon
     coverage, and its overall 1.1 average rating (858,000 HHs)
     "has exceeded expectations."  Rogers noted last year's U.S.
     Open coverage on USA Networks averaged a 1.1 rating, "but 50
     percent of its coverage was in prime time."  On the daytime
     parts of USA Networks' U.S. Open coverage, which "more
     closely matched TNT's schedule," the average was a 0.8
     rating.  Rogers wrote, "Maybe, just maybe, tennis will mark
     2000 as the year it began to take a step up as a television
     property" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/8). In Boston, Jim Baker
     wrote that the Williams sisters are a "huge factor" in NBC's
     Wimbledon ratings surge (BOSTON HERALD, 7/9).  CBS
     SportsLine's Mike Lurie: "Perhaps it won't last, this
     groundswell building again for the sport.  But thanks to
     Venus Williams, the buzz is back" (CBS SportsLine, 7/8). 
     But ESPN's John Feinstein questioned the Williams' ability
     to revive interest in women's tennis: "Not without some
     help.  They can certainly be a starting point because people
     were actually watching tennis Thursday when they took the
     court.  But they're going to need some help from the morons
     who run the sport."  ESPN's Mike Lupica added, "Women's
     tennis and this renaissance is these two young women.  It's
     all them" ("The Sports Reporters," 7/7). 
          BONUS COVERAGE: NBC's "Today" provided live coverage of
     the Williams sisters' victory in the Wimbledon women's
     doubles championship.  NBC's Katie Couric: "What an
     incredible tournament for these two girls" (NBC, 7/10).
          JUST CALL HIM THE MC-ENROE: In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich
     reviews NBC's Wimbledon coverage and writes that John
     McEnroe "has become a competent analyst who wisely chooses
     his times to speak up."  But Zelkovich adds that McEnroe "is
     not without flaws," as he "talks far too much about his
     beloved Davis Cup team and mentions his own career a tad too
     often."  Meanwhile, Chris Evert "seems to have misplaced her
     internal mute button" (TORONTO STAR, 7/10).