MCMANUS TRIES TO RENEW THE IMAGE AT CBS SPORTS.

Byline: John Nelson Associated Press

As he continues rebuilding CBS Sports, Sean McManus might face more problems in public relations than in programming.

``The perception is not the reality,'' McManus said in his first meeting with CBS Sports personnel since he became division president. ``That will change.''

Although the ouster of David Kenin and the hiring of McManus were announced last month, McManus didn't actually move from his old office at IMG to his new one at CBS until Monday.

Some of what McManus will and will not be able to do will be dictated by the other major broadcast networks. For example, if the NFL's partners want to renew their contracts in 1997 without haggling, there's just about nothing CBS can do about it.

Although CBS is strong in golf, tennis and college basketball, owns U.S. rights to the next Winter Olympics and has built strong relationships with college football and the emerging sport of stock car racing, there remains the perception that it is a network without sports.

That's because, since the beginning of the decade, it has lost the NBA, major league baseball and the NFL.

``We need a pro franchise, and given the opportunity, we will do everything in our power to get one,'' McManus said.

Since Westinghouse took over CBS earlier this year, even CBS employees had to question the new ownership's commitment to sports. McManus said CBS president Peter Lund arranged a meeting between him and Westinghouse chairman Michael Jordan last month that ``turned into a 90-minute discussion.''

McManus said he came away convinced that Westinghouse would spend money on sports.

``If I was not sure of that, I would not have been interested in this job,'' McManus said. ``I would not have left a pretty good job at International Management Group, which is one of the most powerful sports organizations in the world.