Lakers-Magic Trending To Be Most-Watched Finals In Five Years

Lakers-Magic Game Four Most- Viewed Program Thursday Night

A FINE LINE: The ORLANDO SENTINEL reports Lakers coach Phil Jackson was "slapped with a $25,000 fine for criticizing the referees" during an in-game interview with ABC's Doris Burke during Game Four, but he denied Burke "prompted his candor or got under his skin." Jackson: "No, I think there were some referees out there on the floor that prompted it more than others." Jackson said of in-game interviews, "Those (TV) discussions are quite unusual, seeing that they're an opportunity for a coach to give some candor to the game." Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he would "love to know what [Jackson] said, because questions I get from Doris are hardly very controversial" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/15). In L.A., Lisa Dillman wrote Burke "asked the right question after the first quarter" during Game Four, "noting the foul trouble of the Lakers' big men, asking why that was happening." Jackson then "must have realized this was a perfect opportunity to use something he really doesn't like all that much to his benefit." Jackson: "I don't know. They're just tangled up in there. I don't know what the referees are seeing out there. There's some bogus calls out there." Dillman wrote "cringe-worthy TV is living and breathing among us in the form of the in-progress interview at a sporting event," but the Jackson-Burke exchange is "about as good as it gets" (L.A. TIMES, 6/13).

COVERING THE COVERAGE: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick notes ESPN's Rachel Nichols on "SportsCenter" Saturday in reporting that Magic C Dwight Howard "isn't happy" with his free-throw shooting "continued to focus on her favorite subject: Rachel Nichols." Nichols said Howard "told me he will go to the gym, on his own, and practice hundreds of free throws." But Nichols added that "practicing hundreds of free throws is 'something Howard has done throughout these playoffs.'" Mushnick: "So what was the point of that report other than to say, 'He told me?'" (N.Y. POST, 6/15).

"ONE" AND DONE: ESPN’s Bill Simmons noted the numerous ads for Sony Pictures' "Year One" that ran during ABC's coverage of the Finals and wrote, “If the game plan by the ‘Year One’ producers was, "Let's use the NBA Finals to turn basketball fans against not just our movie, but Jack Black and Michael Cera as well,’ then I'd like to congratulate them on a job well done. Kudos, fellas.” Simmons also commented on the WNBA ads that ran and wrote, "Expect hustle. Expect skills. Expect swish. Expect fun. Expect great. And also, expect the NBA owners to say, 'Um, David? We're all losing money. We don't want to fund this thing anymore. No offense'" (ESPN.com, 6/12).

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