TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition
of FSN's "The Keith Olbermann Evening News" led with the XFL
naming Topps as its exclusive trading card licensee,
followed by Packers-Vikings and Falcons-Saints. The first
non-football report, at 11:10 into the broadcast, was
Lakers-Raptors. The first NHL report, at 56:50, was the
NHLPA's concern over Mario Lemieux's comeback. Last night's
11:00pm ET 30-minute edition of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight"
led with Colts-Dolphins, followed by Lions-Jets. The first
non-NFL report, at 7:50, was Lakers-Raptors. The first NHL
report, at 27:19, was Stars-Wild. Last night's 11:30pm ET
60-minute edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter" led with Packers-
Vikings, followed by Giants-Cowboys. The first non-NFL
report, at 15:13, was Lakers-Raptors. The first NHL report,
at 17:55, was the "Sunday Conversation" with Lemieux.
THOSE CRAZY FOXIES: Fox' Jimmy Kimmel, reporting from
the L.A. studio of "Fox NFL Sunday" while the rest of the
crew was aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on
the Mediterranean: "We're holding down the fort here at the
Fox Studio in [L.A.] while the rest of the crew bores the
life out of our boys overseas. And joining me now are my
colleagues, Terry, Howie and Cris." Bradshaw and Long were
portrayed in the studio by chimpanzees dressed in clothes,
while Collinsworth was a turkey. Bradshaw, the chimp, in a
dubbed-over voice: "I tell you, I'm still looking at that
there weather gal. Boy oh boy, I like that. She looks as
juicy as big 'ole watermelon lying in the sunshine on the
porch of my mama's mobile home." Long, the chimp: "Now hold
on. Jillian [Barbiere] looks good but nowhere near as good
as me. I'm really handsome." Kimmel: "Who says we don't
take football seriously?" ("Fox NFL Sunday," 12/17).
CARRUTH RATINGS NO RECORD: In Charlotte, Peter St. Onge
reported that Court TV is "getting better-than-average
ratings" for its coverage of the Rae Carruth murder trial.
But the "early numbers are not as high as other high-profile
trials this year, such as the Ray Lewis murder case in
Atlanta." Viewership of the trial is "dropping" in the most
recent rating period (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/16).
NOTES: CBS MarketWatch's John Thorsberg reported on
MLB.com, calling it a "work in progress." Thorsberg: "Much
of the technical progress has been done behind the scenes
and won't be evident until early next year." MLB Advanced
Media CEO Robert Bowman's objectives are to reach
profitability within two years and double online viewership
from its current range of 20-25 million (CBS MarketWatch,
12/16)....In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote, "All the self-
righteous rantings concerning this Playboy poll would have
you believe the women involved don't have the right or
choice or the ability to think for themselves, to decide if
they might want to actually participate in the poll. As
always, the moralists want to impress their moral standards
on someone else" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/16). But in
Charlotte, Andrea Williams wrote that "perennial pros Robin
Roberts, Lesley Visser and Linda Cohn have given way to what
could become a frightening trend in journalism -- weather
bunnies and tank tops. ... Several women sports journalists
are receiving more attention than the events [they're]
covering, which poses a problem" (CHARL. OBSERVER, 12/17).
