Game One of the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS last night earned
a 12.5/20 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating on Fox, up
71% from the comparable NLCS Padres-Braves primetime Game
One last year, also on Fox. The game earned a 24.4/37 local
rating in N.Y. and a 36.5/55 in Boston. Yesterday
afternoon's Game Two of the Mets-Braves NLCS earned a 7.3/17
overnight rating on NBC, down 26% from the comparable ALCS
Indians-Yankees Game Two afternoon affair last year on NBC,
which went 12 innings. Yesterday's game earned a 26.6/48
local rating in Atlanta and a 15.0/32 in N.Y. Meanwhile,
the national rating for Tuesday's NLCS Game One was a 10.8,
up 17% over last year's ALCS Game One on NBC (THE DAILY).
DAILY VARIETY's Tom Bierbaum notes NBC's 17% gain for Game
One and reports that the network opened its LCS coverage by
"outslugging 13 of last year's 14 pre-World Series primetime
playoff telecasts." The game earned a 5.2/15 among adults
18-49, and Bierbaum writes that the "increase probably
reflects the presence of the Mets" (DAILY VARIETY, 10/14).
PLAYOFF NOTES: In Boston, Howard Manly writes on Fox's
coverage of the ALCS Game One under the header, "Fox Gives
Sox Their Due." Manly: "Fox coordinating producer Michael
Weisman is a genius at giving viewers as much drama [as]
possible. Weisman does it through crowd shots, timely
replays, catcher cam, and, of course, the commentators"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 10/14). Also in Boston, Springer & Edes
report that the Red Sox "were upset" that Fox TV broadcast
the discussion between manager Jimy Williams and first base
coach Dave Jauss on whether the team "could run on Yankees
stopper Mariano Rivera" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/14)....In N.Y.,
Sharon Waters reports that "local entrepreneurs, hoping to
make a quick buck, have snatched Web site domain names
containing the words Subway Series." Brian Asher of Long
Island registered www.newyorksubwayseries.com and is asking
$1M for the name. Asher: "I'd sell my mother if they were
offering the right price" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/14).....USA
TODAY's Hal Bodley reports that the Yankees "have halted" OF
Darryl Strawberry's playoff diary in the N.Y. Post. When the
Yankees arrived for Monday's workout there "was a memo at
each locker telling them of the new policy" (USA TODAY,
10/14)....Total Sports is offering its live TotalCast
coverage of the LCS and World Series at
www.totalbaseball.com, which includes game status, real-time
play-by-play info and hit and pitch charts. Among MLB teams
that partnered with Total Sports to provide the
totalbaseball.com link on their Web site this season were
the Padres, Astros, Phillies and Blue Jays (Total Sports).
CELTICS BRING THE BALLGAME TO PATRONS? In Boston, Steve
Bulpett reports that "after much discussion, the Celtics
decided to simply deliver inning updates from the Red Sox-
Yankees game" during last night's exhibition against the
Hornets. An "idea about showing the game on the
FleetCenter's Jumbotron was scuttled." Celtics VP/Marketing
Stuart Layne: "We [thought] about all the possibilities, but
there's a licensing problem with putting Major League
Baseball games on the screen here" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/14).
