THE WRITING ON AND OFF THE WALL A SUCCESS BEHIND THE CURTAIN, TOO.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

Forget the phraseology that Jacque In The Skybox Rogge used during the closing ceremonies in an attempt to label the success of the past 17 days in Salt Lake City.

To Dick Ebersol, the grand pooh-bah of NBC Sports, this was ``far and away the best I've ever been involved with ... I loved how it came together in Sydney (in 2000), but this surpassed my wildest expectations.''

The Ebersol spin, on a conference call with reporters Sunday morning while the Canada-U.S. gold-medal hockey game was in session, isn't a surprise, either.

But if we're to compare the opinions of TV guy vs. the figurehead of the International Olympic Committee, which has more weight?

The one representing the most financial backing. If there's any confusion, look deeply into your electronic picture box. ...

--From that obtuse ratings perspective, the 19.8 mark and 30 share reported Sunday through 16 days mean success for the network, which charges advertising rates based on those numbers.

On a level closer to home, the fact that ratings for the tape-delayed prime-time coverage in the Western states actually were 19 percent greater (21.5/34) avoids even more bad press.

In L.A., the numbers were 19.4/30, which ranked 26th out of the 53 metered markets.

``It proves if we have a live event, we like it, but if viewers aren't available at 5 p.m., it doesn't do much good,'' said Randy Falco, NBC's head of the network affiliates.

Added Ebersol, who like many in these parts disagreed with the decision to tape-delay: ``Randy was smart not to listen to me.'' ...

--Listening to criticism from the 2000 coverage in Sydney, however, is what Ebersol credits for a better 2002 presentation.

``I had a lot to learn about listening,'' he admitted. ``I listened to friends and read what the writers I really respect wrote (about Sydney) and from that point we planned to evolve. The way to it was with a more event- driven series.

``That wasn't as simple as it sounds. We had to work better with the announcers, to find a way to deliver storytelling through commentary rather than just through features. Thinking back to whatever that nuance was, I learned, and that will carry over to subsequent Olympics.'' ...

--The success of the Salt Lake City Games won't have as much of an impact on whether the United States wins the rights to play host to the 2012 Summer Games.

IOC boss Rogge has made it clear that if the Winter Games of 2010 are given to a North American city - most likely Vancouver - then 2012 won't be on this continent.

Fair? L.A.'s out of the 2012 equation. So what's the point? ...

--TV money, by the way, has a huge but indirect influence on where an Olympiad is held.

Before the host city of the 2010 event is allowed to start bribing, the IOC will start the TV bidding process, in the spring of '03.

Ebersol said the IOC likes to have the TV negotiations done before because often the host bidders overestimate the TV income and it has caused budget problems for everyone.

NBC already is sitting on the rights to the next two Summer Games (2004 in Athens, Greece, and 2008 in Beijing), plus the next Winter Games (2006 in Turin, Italy). ...

--At least these Games answered the frequently heard question: What ever happened to Len Berman? ...

--For the record: After the Canadians' 7-1 win over Belarus in Friday's men's hockey semifinals, we heard XTRA's Lee Hamilton (not his real name) compare it to ``the Nazis overtaking Norway in World War II.''

And if he later claims that was taken out of context, it wasn't.