By JOHN C. COTEY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 25, 2005
CHECK IT OUT
FLORIDA-FLORIDA STATE, 2:30 P.M., SATURDAY, CBS/SUN SPORTS/FSN: The big rivalry game has lost its fizz for non-alumni, but Sun Sports is pulling out all the stops. Though the game airs on Ch. 10 at 3:30 p.m., Sun Sports will have hour-long pregame shows at 6:30 tonight and at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and a postgame wrap-up beginning around 7 p.m.
BUCS-BEARS, 1 P.M. SUNDAY, CH. 13: The surprising Bucs take on the surprising Bears in a game going out to 66 percent of the country.
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE, MONDAY-WEDNESDAY, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU: The trio of networks combine to televise all 11 games, including a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament championship between Illinois and North Carolina at 9 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN, which also will have top-ranked Duke at Indiana at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
MOVIE MARATHON, 2 P.M. SUNDAY, ESPN CLASSIC: Grab a bag of popcorn, curl up with your honey (errr, remote control) and settle in for four straight ESPN Original Entertainment movies starting beginning at 2 p.m. with Junction Boys, to be followed by replays of movies about Pete Rose (Hustle at 4 p.m.), Dale Earnhardt (3 at 6 p.m.) and Roger Bannister (Four Minutes at 8 p.m.).
REAL SPORTS, 9 P.M. TUESDAY, HBO: The 104th edition of HBO's multi-Emmy winning show includes two features worth watching. The first is a look at ABC's Monday Night Football and how it became a part of America's sports landscape. The feature looks at the network's inaugural broadcast in 1970 (New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns) through to the final year of the franchise on ABC (it moves to ESPN in 2006). The second feature should make every rich athlete shudder and be required viewing for rookies. It details how some women read how-to manuals, scour the Internet and frequent chat rooms in the hopes of landing a "baller."
ROZELLE: BUILDING AMERICA'S GAME, 2 P.M. SUNDAY, CH. 13: This documentary looks at the story of the growth of pro football through the eyes of Pete Rozelle, given much of the credit for the sport's boom. The one-hour special is an NFL Films production and examines Rozelle from his early years as a public relations man in California through his time as general manager of the Los Angeles Rams and then as NFL commissioner.
EXTREME MAKEOVER, 7 P.M. SUNDAY, CH. 28: What's this show doing here? Well, ESPN anchor John Anderson helps create a dream bedroom for Erin Lewis of El Segundo, Calif., as part of Sunday's show. It's actually a two-part show, with the second part airing at 8 p.m. Anderson became involved because Lewis wants to be a sports broadcaster. Anderson and one of the show's hosts scout ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., looking for ideas to create a realistic experience for her "ESPN room." Lewis is the daughter of police officer Bruce Lewis, whose house is being remodeled on the show.
60 MINUTES, 7 P.M. SUNDAY, CH. 10: First Extreme Makeover, and now this? Well, sure. Tennis star James Blake, who lives in Tampa, is profiled by Mike Wallace. They will deal with the death of Blake's father, Tom, who died from cancer, as well as Blake's recovery from a neck injury.
RATINGS
Saturday's college/arena football game between No. 1 USC and Fresno State was the most-watched nationally televised event in the history of FSN. FSN's telecast earned a 2.7 coverage-area rating and was seen by an audience of 2.8-million people, according to Nielsen Media Research. That makes it the second highest-rated program in the history of the network, bettered only by the Nov. 11, 2000 game between Nebraska and Kansas State (3.0 rating).
NBC and TNT finished the Chase for the Championship with a 4.7 rating for the 10 races, which is 2 percent better than last year's inaugural playoff. Sunday's race, the season finale, posted a 5.7, down from last year.
NEWSMAKERS
ESPN2's Cold Pizza will air Dec. 5-9 from Caesars Palace resort in Las Vegas.
THE LAST WORD
"Come back and take a look at (Steve Young's) time in Tampa. He wasn't the greatest thing going. I wouldn't say he was headstrong then, either, in his second or third year or whenever he was here. It's just a stupid comment. I think Steve is a better analyst than that, to tell you the truth, than to just call out a young kid because he's a young kid." - Bucs DB Ronde Barber, on Ronde and Tiki's Barber Shop on Sirius NFL Radio, responding to ESPN analyst and former Bucs QB Steve Young questioning quarterback Chris Simms' toughness.
