In today's WASHINGTON POST, Leonard Shapiro writes from
Wimbledon that, as broadcasters, Chris Evert and John McEnroe
"became big-time players." On Evert: During the women's final
she was "concise, focused and insightful. She also had no qualms
going head-to-head with NBC's Dick Enberg. ... Evert even added a
touch straight from Howard Cosell when she prefaced one bit of
analysis by saying, 'I went over to Arantxa's house last night
...'" On McEnroe, Shapiro writes "his creative genius on the
court has been transferred to the microphone" (WASHINGTON POST,
7/10).
MORE ON MCENROE: Phil Mushnick says he is "the uncrowned
champion of this year's Wimbledon," and that he offered
"insightful, foresightful, forthrightful and delightful"
analysis" -- but demonstrated a "poor sense of personal history"
when discussing Jeff Tarango and his potential marketability on
WFAN last Friday. Mushnick writes that McEnroe first "proved the
value in being known more as a creep than as a gent" (N.Y. POST,
7/10). Michael Hiestand: "The way John McEnroe is going in the
TV booth, he might gradually erode his old on-court image as a
more-than-occasional jerk" (Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY, 7/10).
FINAL RATINGS FROM HBO: HBO's live Wimbledon coverage
earned the network a 1.9 average national rating and a 6 share, a
36% increase from a year ago. On July 5, its final day of live
coverage, HBO scored a 2.5 rating and 7 share --the highest rated
day of its presentation this year, and a 108% increase from last
year (HBO Sports).
