Starting Five

Sporting News, The, June 11, 2001 by Bob Hille

1 The Lakers. If you've been looking forward to this NBA Finals, then you'll love the History Channel's best-of-seven-part series on the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

2 The Stanley Cup Finis. Think the NHL struggles to find a TV audience? Former league broadcaster Fox is taunting ABC/ESPN, "Is that your overnights or Patrick Roy's goals-against average?"

3 The underachieving Martins. Bad news: Skipper John Boles lost his job. Good news: The marketing department scored a new slogan, "There's no `I' in team ... but there's a `me' and a `lame' in blame."

4 PGA trading cards. Upper Deck sparks inter-sport dealing: "I'll trade you one Casey Martin for two Bob Walks and an Isaiah Rider."

5 The College World Series. It serves as a nice respite for Kansas City Royals fans in Omaha: At least next week, you get to see a bunch of amateurs play like pros.