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SPORTS
THE BATTALION
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Super Bowl ratings top last year
By Howard Fendrich
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - This lopsided Super
Bowl drew more TV viewers than last
year’s down-to-the-wire thriller.
ABC Sports’ telecast of the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers’ 48-21 victory over the
Oakland Raiders on Sunday for the NFL
title registered a preliminary big-market
rating of 43.8 — 3 percent higher than last
year and the best since 1998.
That means an average of 43.8 percent
of the country’s TV homes were watching
at any given moment.
The Super Bowl is often the most-
watched TV program each year, and nine
of the 15 highest-rated shows in history
are NFL championships.
Preliminary, or overnight, ratings meas
ure the country’s 55 largest TV markets,
covering nearly 70 percent of the United
States. National ratings were expected
later Monday.
In 2002, the New England Patriots’ 20-
17 upset of the St. Louis Rams on a final-
play field goal had a 42.5 overnight rating
on Fox. The final national rating of 40.4
tied for the fourth-lowest for a Super Bowl
since 1972.
The 1998 overnight rating was 44.4 for
NBC’s telecast of Denver’s 31-24 victory
over Green Bay.
Viewership was consistently high
throughout ABC’s broadcast Sunday, start
ing with a 41.7 for the first half hour, which
rose to a 44.5 by the end of the second
quarter. Even halftime was a popular show,
with a 43.4 rating from 8-8:30 p.m. EST.
The audience — which advertisers paid
ABC an average of just over $2 million per
30-second commercial to reach — dipped
from 9-9:30 p.m. EST, during which time
Tampa Bay enjoyed its biggest lead, 34-3.
It was in that segment that officials
reviewed a ruling that negated a possible
touchdown by the Raiders with a little more
than two minutes left in the third quarter.
As ABC’s broadcasters discussed
whether the touchdown should have count
ed, play-by-play announcer At Michaels said
with a laugh to analyst John Madden:
“Anything to hold an audience at this point.”
With about six minutes remaining in the
game, Oakland wideout Jerry Rice’s touch
down cut his team's deficit to 34-21, prompt
ing Michaels to say, hope in his voice:
“Well, for what it’s worth, at least the
Raiders are CLEARLY back in the game.”
Indeed, Oakland’s mini-rally probably
helped bring viewers back to the game. The
rating rose a bit from 9:30-10 p.m., and hit its
peak for the final 15 minutes, from 10-10:15
p.m., with 46.1 of the country tuning in.
“There was a significant interest in the
game: the matchups, the coaching story
with Jon Gruden,” said Neal Pilson, for
mer president of CBS Sports and now a
consultant. “And the game kind of rescued
itself late in the third quarter, when
Oakland scored a couple of touchdowns.
We were headed for a real blowout.”
The good ratings for this year’s Super
Bowl will benefit next year’s broadcaster,
CBS, which will sell its ad time based
largely on how many viewers were
reached this time.
“The biggest benefactor is CBS,”
Pilson said. "“ABC doesn't get a single
nickel more or less.”
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By Stephen Hawkins
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Outfielder Ruben Sierra
agreed Monday to a minor league contract with
the Texas Rangers, getting the chance for
another comeback with the team for which the
former All-Star started his career.
Sierra was invited to spring training as a
non-roster player. He is guaranteed $90,000,
and if added to the major league roster would
get a $600,000, one-year contract and the
chance to earn $200,000 more in performance
bonuses. If Sierra isn't added to the roster by
the March 30 opener at Anaheim, the 37-year-
old outfielder could request his release.
Sierra was disappointed a year ago when the
Rangers didn't offer him a new contract, even
after he hit .293 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs in
94 games during the 2001 season and was the
ALcomebacker player of the year.
“It’s a second home to me. I grew up there
and wanted to come back,” Sierra said by
phone Monday from his home in the
Dominican Republic. “I hope I can finish my
career in Texas.”
Last season. Sierra hit .270 with 13 homers
and 60 RBIs in 122 games for Seattle. He was
used primarily in a reserve role the final two
months of the season because of a strained left
quadriceps muscle.
The Rangers return outfield starters Juan
Gonzalez, Carl Everett and Kevin Mench from
last season and signed Doug Glanville to a one-
year deal.
“Here’s a chance to add a guy we think can
potentially be part of the mix that we like,” said
new Rangers manager Buck Showalter, who
also managed Sierra with the Yankees in 1995.
“Guys like Ruben find a way to get it done.
Where it fits and how it works out will work
itself out.”
Sierra isn't worried about having to compete
for a spot on the roster.
“I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking
about being ready,” Sierra said. “I’m not think
ing about trying to make the team or that it’s
going to be hard. I’ve been through a lot of stuff
harder than that. It's not going to be difficult.”
Sierra is still Texas’ career leader in triples
(44) and ranks fourth in hits (1,246), homers
(177), RBIs (730) and extra-base hits (469) in
1,147 games over parts of nine seasons.
In 1,898 career games with eight teams.
Sierra has a .270 average with 276 home runs
and 1181 RBIs. He ranks sixth on the all-time
career list for home runs by a switcH-hitter and
has homered from both sides of the plate in a
game six times.
Oklahoma
Continued from page 7
have confidence in him, and he
has confidence in himself. We’ll
keep going to him.”
Price finished the game with
17 points and five assists just
one game after hitting the last-
second shot that sent OU into
overtime against Texas Tech.
The Sooners ended up beating
the Red Raiders in the extra
period, thanks in large part to
Price’s late heroics. The senior
leader has averaged 18.7 points
per game and owns the Big 12’s
best free-throw percentage at
92.9 percent.
“Hollis Price is the heart and
soul of that team,” Watkins said.
“They just find ways to win. It’s
not always pretty, but it’s effec
tive.”
Much of the Sooners’ effec
tiveness can be attributed to
their overpowering defense. OU
is allowing a mere 58.7 points
per game, which leads the con
ference.
Watkins’ new-look Aggies
will look to change this as they
attempt to pick up their third
Big 12 win of the year.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Andre
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Australian Open. Now wife Steffi Graf and
the rest of Agassi’s entourage has to step up.
Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam singles
WICES titles before retiring three years ago, prom-
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Graf leaves retirement for doubles match
By John Pye
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Australian Open title.
“She won’t like it, but it’s my responsi
bility to make it happen,” Agassi said
Sunday after winning at Melbourne Park.
Coach Darren Cahill has to shave his
head “in my bathroom, with my clippers
and at my doing,” and fitness trainer Gil
Reyes, a non-drinker, has to down one of
Andre’s “special” Margaritas.
The 32-year-old Agassi overwhelmed
Rainer Schuettler on Sunday in a 76-
minute, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 demolition.
It was his eighth Grand Slam title and his
fifth in the last three years, making him the
most dominant player of the last three years.
He also became the oldest man to win a
Grand Slam singles title since Ken Rosewall
won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.
“You never know when it’s your last,
but I’ll never forget being here,” Agassi
said. “I’ll never forget the love and sup
port here. I feel like I’m half Australian.”
On Saturday, Serena Williams complet
ed her “Serena Slam” by winning a fourth
consecutive major.
And, for the fourth time in as many Grand
Slam finals, she beat older sister Venus. Only
this time, it went to three sets and it gave
Serena “a new perspective on things.”
The latest of the Sister Slam matches
went 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 and lasted 2 hours,
22 minutes, almost double the time it took
Agassi to dispatch Schuettler.
She won't like it, but it's
my responsibility to make it
happen.
— Andre Agassi
Men's Austraslian Open Champion
Serena won the French Open,
Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 2002 and,
with the Australian title, it marked only the
sixth time a woman has held all four major
championships at once and the first since
Graf in 1994.
“I never get choked up, but I’m really
emotional right now,” Serena said. “I’m
really, really, really happy.”
Venus, who at 22 is 15 months older
than Serena, wished “I could have been
the winner.”
“Of course, you have a great champion
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in Serena and she has won all four Grand
Slams, which is something I’d love to
do,” she said. “So, yeah. I’d kind of be
just like her.”
Serena holds a 5-4 career edge over Venus
in major titles and has a 6-5 lead in head-to-
head matches. Serena collected $654,000 for
this victory and Venus won $327,000.
Team Williams also won the women’s
doubles, on the eve of the singles final,
beating Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano
Pascual 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
If Graf needed any encouragement to
return, it was a challenge from former No.
1 Martina Navratilova for a mixed doubles
match at Roland Garros.
At age 46, Navratilova won her 57th
Grand Slam title, serving out the match as
she and India’s Leander Paes beat Todd
Woodbridge and Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 7-5
for the mixed doubles championship.
It was her first mixed title in the
Australian, and completed a “Grand”
Grand Slam — at least one title each in
singles, doubles and mixed doubles in all
four major tournaments.
“This goes beyond any wildest dream,”
said Navratilova, who was playing in her
first Grand Slam final in almost eight years.
Navratilova won 18 singles and 31 dou
bles Grand Slam titles.
At 46 years and 3 months, she was a
month older than the previous oldest win
ner in a Grand Slam event, Australian
Norman Brookes in the 1924 Australian
men’s doubles.
Hungry?
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Dinner Discussions
You and six other students meet at a profess
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Thur, Jan 30th at 8:30pm in MSC 231
Free Pizza
APPLICATIONS ARE ONLINE AT
CON VERSATIONS. IA M
For additional information contact us at
conversations@msc.tamu.edu
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BUSINESS STUDENT COUNCIL • CAREER K