What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
Tonight on ESPN is a “30 for 30” documentary on the bond between basketball players Vlade Divac and the late Drazen Petrovic.
The two played together on the Yugoslavian national team that won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics. They helped pave the way for Europeans to play in the NBA.
The other side of the story is how Divac and Petrovic’s friendship was destroyed by the civil war in Yugoslavia. Petrovic was Croatian, while Divac is Serbian.
Petrovic made a splash in Portland as a member of the Blazers from 1989-1991, playing in 95 games.
He was a flashy shooter on that Blazers team that reached the NBA Finals in 1990. He was traded to the Nets in 1991, and died in a car crash in Europe in 1993.
“Once Brothers” airs on ESPN at 5 p.m. tonight.
2
TV ratings for the NFL’s Sunday Night Football game on NBC trounced Major League Baseball’s playoffs in the same time slot.
Surprised? Not hardly.
NFL is king, and baseball is slow.
“But baseball is on cable,” isn’t a valid argument because Monday Night Football is on cable and routinely gets solid ratings, as does college football on Saturday.
Baseball just does not hold the appeal it once did, even come playoff time.
Perhaps the World Series will dig the ratings out of the hole, but we’ve already looked ahead. Game 3 of the World Series is scheduled for the same time as the Steelers and Saints on Halloween night.
If you’re not trick-or-treating, which would you rather watch?
