TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition
of FSN's "National Sports Report" led with Mets-Padres,
followed by Braves-Rockies. The first non-MLB report, at
8:39 into the broadcast, was an update on the proposed four-
team NBA trade, which includes Knicks C Patrick Ewing.
"NSR" had 3:50 of total NFL coverage. Last night's 11:00pm
ET 30-minute edition of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" also led
with Mets-Padres, followed by Braves-Rockies. The first
non-MLB report, at 6:51, was also the possible Ewing trade.
"Sports Tonight" had 1:19 of total NFL coverage. Last
night's 11:00pm ET 60-minute edition of ESPN's
"SportsCenter" led with A's-Indians, followed by Mariners-
Tigers. The first non-MLB report, at 12:15, was Cowboys CB
Kevin Smith being placed on the reserved-retired list.
"SportsCenter" had 11:22 of total NFL coverage (THE DAILY).
TIGERMANIA: CBS' final-round coverage of the PGA
Championship, featuring a three-hole playoff between Tiger
Woods and Bob May, earned an 8.8/21 final national Nielsen
rating, up 28% over last year's PGA Championship, which
earned a 6.9/18. The rating makes the tournament the most-
watched PGA event ever on TV and marks the event's highest
rating since '71 (CBS). CBS estimated that 38.5 million
viewers watched all or part of the final round, the most
since the event was first televised in '58 (BLOOMBERG NEWS,
8/23). In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers writes that TNT's second-
round coverage Friday of the PGA Championship drew 1,926,000
HHs, setting a record in TNT's ten-year history of golf
coverage (ATL. CONSTITUTION, 8/23). PGA.com reported that
its online coverage of the PGA Championship received over 76
million page views, its greatest traffic ever for a PGA.com
Web cast. The page views were up 58% from last year's
coverage. Friday's online coverage saw 30.2 million page
views (PGA.com). Meanwhile, in Orlando, Jerry Greene
reports that Woods is on the cover of SI's NFL preview issue
this week, marking "the first time in SI history that a non-
NFL personality has made this cover" (ORL. SENTINEL, 8/23).
MORE NOTES: In DC, Lisa de Moraes writes, "just when
you think NFL preseason play can't get any worse,"
Saturday's American Bowl, featuring Colts-Steelers, "is
busted" in the ratings by the season debut of Fox's "Cops"
and finished with "one of the smallest audiences ever for a
prime-time NFL game" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/23)....In Boston,
Jim Baker reports that Gil Santos, a 30-year veteran at WBZ
radio, has agreed to a year's extension and won't retire
February 1 as planned. Santos will call the Patriots games
on WBCN-FM through 2002 (BOSTON HERALD, 8/23).
