WORLD SERIES IS EYE OF FOX `STORM'.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

With that classic version of Etta James' ``At Last'' drifting through the closing of Fox's American League Championship Series Game 7 telecast Wednesday night, the last thing the network in charge of carrying baseball's playoffs needs to worry about come Saturday is any sort of viewership drifting away from Game 1 of the World Series at Boston's Fenway Park.

Call this the Wicked World Series, potent enough to knock your Sox off.

``It was one of the most exciting, unbelievable sporting events I've ever covered anywhere in the world,'' Fox Sports CEO David Hill managed to say Thursday morning, in reference to the Red Sox capping a comeback from three games down to win the ALCS against the New York Yankees.

``This just proves that sports are the ultimate reality on TV. The guy with the white hat doesn't always get to kiss the horse. And the way the country responded and the way it's been covered, it's been a great trip and now will springboard us into the greatest World Series ever.''

Fox's Game 7 numbers were staggering. Boston had a 56.6 rating with a 76 share, better than the city did for either of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl wins (52.2/78 in 2004 and 56.1/78 in 2002). New York came in at 30.7 and 43. Even though Los Angeles (19.2/29) only virtually matched the national rating (19.4/30), it was easily the most-watched show of the night in these parts.

That national mark is the best for an LCS game since the Angels-Red Sox Game 7 in 1986. The 31.5 million viewers is the largest for any LCS game since the Dodgers-Mets Game 7 in 1988 and for an ALCS game since the Angels-Brewers Game 5 in 1982.

What this series did for Fox's bank account is one thing. What it has done for a resurging interest in baseball is another.

``The last two postseasons, you've got other networks shelving some of their prime-time schedule because they don't want to go up against baseball,'' Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck said. ``Who'd have thought that was possible five years ago?

``This is great for the game.''

Fox analyst Tim McCarver, who will be doing a record 14th World Series for TV, added: ``It's not just the result, but how it was achieved. That's why I can't conceive this World Series is not going to be met with much more enthusiasm than last year. The Red Sox just won four in a row - the first time that's ever been done - and the way they did it, even if you're not a baseball fan, you've got to be magnetically attached to this Red Sox team. It's easy.

``And don't think any kind of momentum here will slow. On the contrary. It'll be a gathering storm for the next 48 hours.''

Buck, asked to compare this ALCS to anything he's previously covered, said it's almost impossible to put into perspective so soon after it has happened.

``It's hard to grasp the whole thing because when we're doing these games, it's separate work from what it could mean to people and where it fits historically,'' said Buck. ``It's hard for us to put our arms around it and see the big picture sometimes, as dumb as it seems. Now, it's kind of a mess, but when we see a tape of it at the Emmys next April and we see what happened, we'll probably say, 'We saw the Red Sox do this?' ''

There will always be those sniveling critics who complain about too many close-ups or too many replays from a gripping, tension-filled series that almost made everyone forget there was a National League Championship Series going on at the same time.

For Buck, Fox's coverage passed the ``Mom test,'' which is all that matters to him.

``When I walked out of the park after the 14-inning game (Monday), and I called my mom (back in St. Louis), which is what I do after every broadcast, she said, 'I can't get over looking at those (Fenway Park) fans and seeing how passionate they are about the Red Sox,' '' Buck said. ``It struck a chord with her to see the looks on their faces, from someone age 80 down to someone age 4 who seems as if they've been watching this team for the last 30 years. To see their pain and exhilaration, just speaking from my family, she's my judge of what we put on, and I think from that one person, she appreciated it.

``And we'll see more of it Saturday.''

--Ready for a repeat: With the Red Sox's World Series appearance, HBO jumps at the opportunity to re-air its one-hour documentary, ``The Curse of the Bambino,'' Monday at 10:30 p.m. Originally shown in September of last year, it won the Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Sports Documentary category last April.

One memorable quote in the piece is from a Red Sox fan named Paul Sullivan, who says: ``If the Red Sox win the World Series? First of all, the death toll in New England will be catastrophic. There are so many old people saying, 'I can't die until I see them win a World Series.' They are all gonna die. It's gonna be worse than the Black Plague.''

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

--The shot to guest host CBS' ``Late, Late Show'' tonight (12:35 a.m.) will give Jim Rome a taste of what life could be like without a morning syndicated sports-talk radio every day. ``I love doing `The Jungle' - if not for `The Jungle' I probably wouldn't even have an opportunity like this,'' the just-turned 40-year-old Rome said. ``Now, will I do the radio show for the rest of my career? Maybe, maybe not. But I'm eager to see how this goes.''

--Joe McDonnell, the veteran KSPN-AM (710) sports-talk host, said he came out of surgery Wednesday feeling great after undergoing a gastric bypass operation in Arcadia that he hopes will help him shed some pounds. ``Everything went fine,'' he said. ``There were about 25 people in the waiting room after the surgery, which made me feel good. I've got a chance at a whole new life.'' McDonnell expects to leave the hospital today.

--Satellite radio has become a new pot of gold for Major League Baseball after the announcement Wednesday of an 11-year, $650-million deal with XM, which has 2.5 million subscribers paying $9.99 a month for its 130-channel service. XM chief executive officer Hugh Panero said he was interested in the NFL before competitor Sirius signed that league up with a splashy seven-year, $220 million deal, but MLB's access to more than 2,400 games covering eight months was more appealing to his company. The opportunity became available after MLB extended a contract with ESPN Radio through 2010 but took back the satellite rights. XM also has deals with NASCAR, the Pac-10, Big Ten and ACC; Sirius has arrangements with USC, Notre Dame, the NHL and the AVP. XM was already promoting its MLB deal with virtual advertisements behind home plate shown during Fox's coverage of the ALCS Game 7.

WHAT CHOKES

-- ``I, Max'' host Max Kellerman has taken this week off and will likely be gone next week as well from his FSN show following the murder of his 29-year-old brother, Sam, last Sunday in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Police Department is searching for boxer James Butler in connection with the killing. ``Sam was a bright light in the world, my best friend and the center of my family,'' Kellerman said in a statement about his brother. ``I can't imagine life without him.'' Curt Menefee has been sitting in for Kellerman during his absence.

--Phil Jackson's pimp-my-book tour, which included visits to ESPN's ``SportsCenter'' and ``Outside The Lines'' on Wednesday and FSN's ``Best Damn Sports Show Period'' plus ``Entertainment Tonight'' on Thursday, veers off today to KTTV's ``Good Day L.A.,'' an interview on National Public Radio's ``Airtalk'' on KPCC-FM, a signing tonight at 7 p.m. at Vroman's in Pasadena and NBC's ``Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'' The former Lakers coach then heads to New York and Chicago before a few more L.A. appearances in early November.

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By Tom Hoffarth