HEAVENLY RATINGS IN STORE?

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

The Angels, more popular than the Lakers? C'mon.

Ed Goren, Fox Sports president, executive producer and ratings prognosticator, isn't afraid to say so. And he'll stake his reputation on it.

``I'll tell you right now: An all-California World Series will outrate the recent New York-Los Angeles NBA Finals,'' Goren boasted to reporters Wednesday.

Before we check Goren's office for a laughing gas leak, let's assess the evidence, CSI Anaheim-style.

Last June, the Lakers' anticlimactic four-game sweep over the New Jersey Nets - close enough to New York - sputtered to an all-time prime-time low of a 10.2 rating with a 19 share.

That bottoms the current record low for a World Series - two years ago, the all-New York battle had a 12.4 rating and 21 share. That was only a five-game series.

Also consider the last All-California series - the earthquake-interrupted San Francisco-Oakland matchup in '89 - did a then all-time-low 16.4/30, and that was at a time when this event could pull down an average rating of 25. Note also the A's won it in four.

So it seems the Nielsen ground that Goren stands on isn't all that shaky, is it?

``The country as a whole loves an underdog, loves a Cinderella story, and we certainly have that with Anaheim,'' Goren said. ``It's not the Dodgers, (but) I have been amazed at the rating we've gotten in L.A. for the Angels, for the enthusiasm in this marketplace for them.

``You don't have to be a hard-core baseball fan to adopt this team and understand what's taking place. When we've had West Coast World Series in the past, it was laid-back California, quiet stadiums. ... there's nothing laid back or quiet about what's going on at the Ed. It's infectious.''

We'll see who's most infected with baseball fever east of Las Vegas by early next week. Besides, the length of the series - as indicated in those previous ratings figures - rather than the teams involved are what captures viewers.

Last year's matchup between Arizona and the New York Yankees - a seven-game thriller - jumped to a 15.6 rating/25 share, also due in part to post-Sept. 11 sentiment.

An Angels-Giants series going past five games is logical, and vital, Fox baseball producer Michael Weisman said.

``Game 6 is where the ratings kick in, and when you get to a Game 7, the jump can be eight points higher,'' said Weisman, going in his 30th World Series on the production end. ``Whether or not it's two wild cards from the same state, it's how they get to 2-2 going into the fifth game.''

--An Enberg moment: Flying home to San Diego from Tampa, Fla., after doing the Browns-Bucs NFL game for CBS, Dick Enberg heard the pilot come on the intercom to give a bunch of football scores.

``Then he said, `And the Angels have clinched the pennant with a victory over Minnesota,' and I couldn't believe how much emotion swelled up from within,'' said the former radio voice of the Angels, who called his last game for the team 25 years ago, when Don Drysdale was his partner.

``I don't think the lady next to me quite knew what to make of me. I'd forgotten how much I really cared.''

Enberg said that while his job always has been to report and not care who wins, he'll be ``cheering with all the other angels in the outfield for California, er Anaheim, to finally win a World Series.''

Enberg, the former Northridge resident and baseball coach back when CSUN was known as San Fernando Valley State College, will be on with Rory Markas for an interview on the Game 1 pregame show for KLAC-AM (570) that begins at 4 p.m.

--Fuk's folly: So does KABC Channel 7's Rob Fukuzaki get a free pass to pour beer over the head of Angels relief pitcher Ben Weber during the ALCS locker-room party Sunday at Edison Field? Nope.

Even if you consider the fact they're both Disney employees? Even more reason to sound the alarm that another line had been crossed in the world of Mickey Mouse synergy.

Plus, Fukuzaki had a day to decide whether to air the tape of him doing it - he showed it on the ``Monday Night Live'' postgame show after the San Francisco-Seattle NFL game.

--More Diz biz: ESPN, another favorite son in the Michael Eisner empire, has Joe Morgan and Jon Miller doing the national radio broadcast for the series.

They'll be paid by Team Disney here, but if they're readily identified with any outfit it has to be the Giants, which employ both during the regular season.

``It's a fair question, but it doesn't enter our minds,'' Miller said about the perception of partiality. ``We're there to provide balance for the game. You know, I only do the Giants during the week since I'm so poorly paid by ESPN. I need the second job.''

Meanwhile, ESPN has a World Series preview today at 4 p.m. originating from - surprise - the California Adventure theme park. At least it'll be a quiet set.

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