DON'T LOOK FOR 1 VS. 2, KIDS.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

The ABC press release breathlessly zipped out to writers in the middle of the week touting its coverage of the BCS poll's No. 1 Nebraska-vs.-No. 2 Oklahoma game Saturday begins with the sentence: ``This game is huge!''

So huge, in fact, that the West Coast won't be allowed to see it. We don't fall into the 82 percent of the country that will.

Because the Disney-owned network's long-standing policy (as well as an FCC mandate) to not mess with Saturday morning kids' programming - we're building future consumers there, pal - that 9 a.m. kickoff from Norman, Okla., just won't work for us when it comes up against Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear and Mickey Mouse 'toons.

We warned you about this on Tuesday. Now it's happened.

Instead of finding a way to adjust during the week, ABC's doubleheader in this blacked-out region which apparently shouldn't be concerned with such monumental matchups stands with Oregon-Arizona State at 12:30 p.m. and UCLA-Arizona at 4 p.m.

``Over the years, Nebraska and Oklahoma have produced some of college football's greatest games,'' Loren Mathews, senior vice president of programming of ABC Sports, gushed in the press release. ``The BCS consequences of this contest add a whole new dimension to the long-existing tradition between these two programs, and we are happy to bring it all to a national audience.''

Did we mention that a national audience in this case doesn't include Seattle to San Diego and all points in between?

There are options. ESPN's pay-per-view menu includes the contest at the suggested retail price of $6.99. XTRA-AM (690) has the nationally syndicated radio coverage with former CSUN play-by-play man Scott Galetti doing the call, Warren Williamson on color and Ben Maller as the sideline slug. And there's always an Internet Webcast such as broadcast.com that provides live feeds or sites that allow you read the game as it progresses.

The only blunder here is that no one at ABC could see this 1-vs.-2 matchup coming at the beginning of the season. The BCS poll released for the first time Monday gave the two schools these rankings.

The network sports division is allowed once a year to bust into the kids' lineup, but it already has committed to Michigan-Ohio State at the end of November even though that game probably won't have anything to do with who goes to the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten representative.

The interesting scenario coming up is whether ABC will show USC-UCLA on a regional basis Nov. 18 instead of Oregon-Oregon State, which is shaping up as the Pac-10 decider for the Rose Bowl. A year ago, when Stanford was clinching its Pasadena trip against rival Cal, ABC stuck with USC-UCLA instead and that more important game wasn't televised.

Even if ABC opts not to go with USC-UCLA, it would be televised on either Fox Sports Net or ESPN.

--Series matters: It's destined to be the lowest-rated World Series in TV history, but it's through no fault of Fox's that the Yankees-Mets matchup will be tagged with the dubious distinction by the media bean counters.

``One thing we've seen so far is the idea that a New York-New York series doesn't translate West of the Hudson is a fallacy,'' said Fox Sports president Ed Goren. ``These numbers are in line with the last three World Series in an environment of eroding ratings.''

While doing phenomenally in New York and holding up well in No. 2-market Los Angeles, No. 3-market Chicago has been lagging behind.

Fox research has been quick to point out that ratings among men 18-24 is actually up over last year's World Series.

--Mac is back: A two-year run at KFWB-AM (980) as afternoon sports anchor ends for Joe McDonnell next Friday - he has accepted a job as program director and drive-time sports-talk host at KRLA-AM (1110) when it flips over to ESPN Radio Network coverage in early December.

``This is a great opportunity,'' said McDonnell, the belovedly bombastic host who'll be making his 13th station move in more than 25 years of L.A. radio broadcasting. ``It is very tough to leave KFWB. They've been awesome. Without a doubt, it's the best place I've ever worked.''

Meanwhile, McDonnell and co-host Doug Krikorian will continue their Sunday night run on KABC-AM (790) - Disney owns it, KRLA and KDIS-AM (710) - as a way to cross promote the new station. The lineup will included Dan Patrick's show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a true head-to-head challenge against Jim Rome's established syndicated show from Sherman Oaks' Premier Radio Network that airs on 1150-AM.

--More quotebook: From CNN/SI's Trev Alberts, on the media's affect on the Heisman hype: ``Right now, Michael Vick is the Heisman winner. What kills (Chris) Weinke, (Josh) Heupel and (Drew) Brees is their big plays seem so routine, so normal for a QB. Vick's plays are spectacular and explosive, they truly showcase not only a great quarterback but also an amazing athlete.

``I think the sports news shows are helping Vick because every show highlights at least three amazing Vick plays. They usually don't show his picks or mistakes. Not talking away from his abilities, but it is helping his Heisman case.''

--End quote: From Charles Barkley, on starting next week in the Turner Sports NBA studio show as a new talking head: ``It's going to be great for me to get on TV and tell the truth. Because there is a lot of bull that the media makes up.''

This, from a man who once claimed he was misquoted in his own autobiography.

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

--ESPN's ``NHL Rules'' presentation returns with tonight's coverage of the Penguins-Rangers game at 5 p.m. Included is a don't-miss stick-handling feature during the second period with Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr and ESPN's Darren Pang.

--CBS Sports has commissioned SFX/Black Canyon Productions to do two sports documentaries for the network next year, the first of which will be on Pete Maravich to run during Final Four weekend of the NCAA men's basketball championship.

--AM-1150 has committed to being the L.A. affiliate for the St. Louis Rams' radio network starting with Sunday's game against the 49ers. Nice timing with Kurt Warner out.

WHAT CHOKES

--``In 15 years in boxing, I've never seen a more blatant act of cowardice,'' Jay Larkin, the executive producer of Showtime Event Television, said after watching Andrew Golota bail out against Mike Tyson before the third round of their pay-per-view event last Friday. Larkin added that Golota should ``not be licensed anywhere on the planet. He'll never fight on Showtime again.'' Except for tonight, when the fight is replayed for Showtime viewers at 10 p.m. And then again Saturday at 11:30 p.m. But after that . . .

--Halftime of NBC's Notre Dame-Air Force game Saturday will be dedicated to coverage of the first player draft of the XFL, which in partnership with NBC begins in February.

--Halloween comes early at KNBC Channel 4. Someone with a Fred Roggin mask has been sitting in as a Hollywood entertainment anchor the last two weeks in the afternoons. Rumors are that it actually is the highly respected sportscaster actually adding to his smaltzy resume. C'mon. Put a Snickers' bar in the kids bag and get him off the set.

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Box: SOUND BYTES (see text)