THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL : CBS' COVERAGE IS OUT OF FOCUS.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

If you look at it from CBS' narrow viewpoint, we, the viewers, are our own worst enemy.

It's our fast-food, instant-information, all-access mentality that collides with television's bottom-line, Arbitron ratings-controlled environment that determines advertising revenue. The two don't meet.

And as long as TV has the first and last call on what we watch, every future Olympic Games will be shredded through a prepackaged, taped-highlight info-tainment prism instead of shown as a live sporting event that should be all but guaranteed because of the time difference.

CBS, as NBC did with the Summer Games of '96, is hostage to a system that forces it to bid hundreds of millions of dollars in rights fees, then recoup those costs by charging an astronomical price for commercial time.

As a result, the Winter Games are retarding the progress of televised sport.

First proposal: Every Olympic Games rights coverage has to include a pay-per-view, Triplecast-like package to supplement the presweetened version.

Second proposal: Don't watch the Games. Let the ratings dive, the rights fees bottom out. Throw the system in reverse.

Third proposal: Stop complaining. The sun will come out tomorrow. Know how we know? It already happened in Japan.

The cynicism is justified about CBS' on-air announcers wearing Nike-logo jackets. Next, someone should set the record straight why Channel 2's Jim Hill has been wearing all those colorful leather jackets during his Nagano updates . . .

John Feinstein's next book about the pro golf tour is tentatively titled ``A Good Cart Ride Spoiled'' . . .

Casey Martin said he had to turn down his first exempt invite to a PGA Tour event because he already made a commitment to a Nike Tour event. In case the Dodgers are wondering, I won't be reporting to spring training on time because I have a softball game to play next week . . .

As of this weekend, Martin has not been asked to make the upcoming Nissan Open in Valencia his first PGA appearance. Stay tuned . . .

When the PGA Tour starts to get golf-cart gridlock and looks like a Shriners' parade as the guys with doctor's notes wheel across the fairways and leave muddy tracks, the common man can claim victory on public courses for eternity . . .

Something for Mike Piazza to chew on as his self-imposed re-signing deadline comes and goes: Two years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. became baseball's highest-paid player at $8.5 million a year. Today, he's not even in the top 10 . . .

The Angels made the right call moving Mario Impemba to the No. 1 radio play-by-play seat and hiring Brian Barnhart, a 33-year-old former caller for the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers, as the replacement for Bob Starr . . .

Dick Vitale's UCLA sources might consider asking Jelani McCoy what he plans to do before it passes off more suspect information. . . .

If Scottie Pippen's latest trade demand is true - he wants to play on the West Coast because the brand of basketball suits him better - the Chicago Bulls should both punish and accommodate him. Right before Thursday night's trading deadline, send Pippen with a ``Do-Not-Return'' sticker to the ``Bad As They Already Are'' Clippers for one of their annual lottery draft picks . . .

Former Wayne Gretzky tail-gunner Marty McSorley also sorely longs for a trade, from his own private hell in San Jose back to Southern California - even if it's with the Ducks. When the punch-drunk golden boy is done playing the enforcer role for the Sharks, he wants more movie roles. (For example, rent ``Con Air'' and see a face full of McCurved Stick as the co-pilot on the plane that gets hijacked) . . .

Memo to Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O'Neal: The bus signs and movie trailers are circulating for the two new flicks that co-star current NBA players Ray Allen (in Spike Lee's ``He's Got Game,'' due May 1) and Gheorghe Muresan (in Billy Crystal's ``My Giant,'' due next month) . . .

Showtime has started production of ``The Tiger Woods Story.'' . . .

A recent quote from Woods: ``I wish the media would be a little more lenient and not so nitpicky about everything I do.'' Which reminds us: Heard any good racy jokes lately? . . .