The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 54

AUTO RACING iSPORTS. ONLINE By JOHN MANASSO jmanassoajc.com 1 NFL sites coming to life 'i. i AMS feeling economic squeeze NFL.com, now run by SportsLine.com, is showing some initiative with the start of the season a little more than a month away. On Tuesdays, NFL.com plans on running a two-minute video clip that will preview HBO's series "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Baltimore Ravens." The series will run on the network for six weeks beginning at 11 p.m. today.

In addition, NFLHS.com, the NFL's site for high school football, plans to show coverage of a seminar it will run. The conference will include more than 100 youth and high school coaches with guest speakers Don Shula, Bob Griese and Paul Tagliabue. NFLHS.com also plans a weekly notebook per hour. So Cracker Barrel is looking for another way to participate. "We do continue to be enthusiastic about NASCAR," Davis said "It's a growing sport and the fans are very loyal." Talladega Superspeedway, which is part of the International Speedway Corp.

chain, is without race sponsors for its two Winston Cup races, but spokesman Rick Humphrey said the track hopes to sign one for its October race. Humphrey attributed the difficulty in selling race sponsorships to a slowing economy and the new TV deal. AMS, have sponsors. Julie Davis, spokeswoman for Cracker Barrel, said her company backed out after its three-year contract because of a dramatic drop in the number of times the company name was mentioned during the TV broadcast of the race. She said Cracker Barrel, which paid $1.4 million for its 2001 sponsorship, was mentioned four times during the March broadcast, compared to 60 times last year.

Under the new TV contract between NASCAR and the networks, race sponsors have to pay extra fees to have their names mentioned on the air more than once weeks will be implemented at all six Speedway Motorsports tracks until corporate sales of tickets, suites, billboards and program ads pick up again. "With revenues soft, we have to do something on the expense side," Wilks said, adding that this is the first year the company has cut workers' hours. Wilks said although the company doesn't divulge the specific dollar amounts of sponsorships, speedways receive between $1 million and $2 million from a race sponsor. She said all races at Speedway Motorsports tracks, other than the spring event at By RICK INTER milnterajc.com Atlanta Motor Speedway has lost Cracker Barrel as sponsor of its spring 500-mile Winston Cup race, and it has laid off some employees and cut working hours for the remaining staff. Officials say they hope to name a new race sponsor within the next two weeks, but the short work weeks will continue indefinitely, according to Lauri Wilks, vice president of communications for Speedway Motorsports, the parent company of AMS.

Wilks said the four-day work I' Beat players busy creating goodwill Hawks add UPN 69 as new local partner this year for each state. nfl.com The remnants of a dot-com How does a dot-com burn through $350 i million in four years on its way to bankruptcy? Quokka, the site that produced the official Web site of the jj Sydney Olympics, provides a glimpse. All 284 employees had plush executive chairs that cost $675 apiece. Employees also had 20-inch televisions above their desks. These items were up for auction last week as part of Quokka's bankruptcy proceedings.

They also included a $12,000 r. i 42-inch flat screen television and work stations that cost $1,500 each. One item i not up for auction: the $92,000 per month that Quokka spent on rent for 26,000 square feet of office space. BEAT, from Dl TV RADIO i i PRENTIS ROGERS progersaJc.com 1 1 Jeff Gordon, meet Bart Simpson Delving into the dark realm of unexplored interactive media, NASCAR.com i announced it has signed i a deal with the company W.A. BRIDGES JR.

Staff During a visit to Zoo Atlanta, Beat forward Sun Wen, a native of Shanghai, China, makes a friend in 6-year-old Hannah McCollum, who is from Hangzhou, China. founded by Nancy '-Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, to create a cartoon about stock car racing. The show, "The Kellys," about an underdog racing family, will be seen i exclusively on its Web TOP 5 LOCAL Event, Network Rating 1. Braves-Expos TBS 9.6 2. Braves-Expos (Sat.) TBS8.9 3.

Battle at Bighorn, ABC 8.3 4. Phillies-Mets, Fox 5.4 5. Sr.Brit.Open ABC 2.7 Note: Source is Nielsen Media Research. The rating represents the percentage of Atlanta households with television sets. One rating point equals 18,572 households.

Cable programming (ESPN, etc.) is not included. TOP 5 NATIONAL Event, Network Rating 1. Battle at Bighorn, ABC 5.9 2. Phillies-Mets, Fox 3.4 3. PGA Tour CBS 2.3 4.

Tour de France, CBS 2.1 5. PGA Tour (Sat), CBS 1.7 (tie) Triathlon NBC1.7 Note: Source is Nielsen Media Research. These are not the final ratings, but the preliminary overnight average of 51 metered markets representing 65 percent of the country. Cable -programming is not included. build a lasting fan base of mainly suburban youngsters and their parents, a demographic the WUSA's cable programming investors have been clamoring to reach since the 1999 Women's World Cup.

"If you're out there by yourself, sometimes people don't know you," said Beat forward Cindy Parlow, who gained some mainstream press attention in April when she lost a penalty kick bet and agreed to go on a date with 99X morning disc jockey Jimmy Baron (who still hasn't called, she adds). "But people who follow soccer know who we are." Many Beat fans are soccer-playing youths and their parents. You can spot them at every Beat game, wearing Mia Hamm or Brandi Chastain or Cindy Parlow jerseys, hugging the fences around the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium and begging for autographs. The league requires its players to oblige. That's the easy part.

Team officials know they have to reel in casual fans seeking affordable family-style sports entertainment. Players are not contractually required to give their spare time to their sports' promotion, but it is evident they believe it's essential. They have to get the word out in a city with plenty of major-league sports options. "I don't get a lot of recognition off the field, but I've really enjoyed the appearances I've made," said starting defender Dayna Smith, one of the last players to make the Beat roster as a 15tn-round draft choice. "I like visiting with kids.

I just want to tell them about our team and our league." Given its double-niche status soccer and women's sports the Beat is having respectable success. Attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium has averaged 11,792 through nine home dates, second only to Mia Hamm's Washington Freedom and nearly twice the league-wide number the WUSA targeted for its inaugural season. Home games for the Beat are a cross between summer day camp and watching the WB. Multiple mascots exhort normally placid crowds to cheer and accept freebies thrown into the stands. The Beat hired sound-alike singers to record a version of "We've Got the Beat," the 1980s hit from the pop band the Go-Gos, which is played repeatedly during the games, along with other music familiar to teens.

Nearly every Beat game is shown on regional or national cable television. It helps to have the corporate clout and resources of Atlanta-based Cox site. The show will be part drama and part comedy and will feature appearances by NASCAR drivers and movie, television and music stars. The first three-minute episode will debut in September. nascar.com YOUR GUIDE TO THE INTERNET: o8.oi.oi -'BEST SITE The site: Golf Atlanta.com i7.

The lowdown: Another Web site that i profiles local golf courses and provides information on fees and directions. What works: One thing that 1 distinguishes this site is that it plans to offer video clips of courses soon. It profiles about 35. The site includes a section that c' includes recent visitors' comments. 1 What doesn't: If you want to make a tee time online, it appears you will have to use another site.

It cites LMTT.com. The address: golfatlanta.com Instead of asking Hawks announcers Bob Rathbun and Mike Glenn to learn Spanish, the team decided it would be easier to get another local television partner. Thus, UPN 69 (WUPA Channel 69) will be the new home of the Hawks' 30-game local package, replacing WHOTChannel 34, which will convert to a Spanish-speaking station in January. The Hawks had a year left on their deal with WHOT, but considering the station was no longer interested in basketball, going their separate ways was the only logical course of action. The move to UPN 69 will mean higher visibility for the Hawks' local package, which includes the season opener against the Wizards and the possible return of Michael Jordan.

UPN 69 also has a multi-year deal with the Thrashers, which makes the Paramount station one of the few network affiliates in the country with local packages of two pro teams. UPN senior vice president Linda Danna said there will be a number of basketball-hockey doubleheaders, but no conflicting games between the Hawks and Thrashers that would force one to be shown on tape delay. None of the games will air Monday through Wednesday. As for the Paramount programming that will be preempted Thursday or Friday, UPN 69 will air those shows Saturday or Sunday, even the popular "WWF Smackdown!" "We think wrestling fans will follow when they know where it is," Danna said, "and we'll make sure they know -we're not taking it off." Meanwhile, the Hawks will continue to have 30 games on Fox Sports Net and 15 on Turner South. There's also a national TBS appearance Dec.

11 against the 76ers. Marathon at Bighorn Interminable seemed the best way to describe Monday's "Battle at Bighorn" on ABC. The exhibition pitting Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam against David Duval and Karrle Webb ran 82 minutes long, pushing local news well past midnight. "Some guy in New York is turning on Channel 7 at 12:15 and saying, 'What the hell is ABC's Al Michaels cracked unabashedly as this snoozer of a duel went to a playoff. Though Monday's show finished with a respectable final rating of 6.1 (6.0 from 8-11 p.m.), it was down 20 percent from Woods vs.

Sergio Garcia last year and 13 percent from Woods vs. Duval in 1999. Enterprises the parent company of Cox Newspapers, which owns the Journal-Constitution. The Beat was invited to appear at the Salute 2 America Parade on July 4 sponsored by Cox-owned WSB-TV. Media-sawy head coach Tom Stone has been an occasional guest on "Mayhem in the A.M." on 790 The Zone, a sports-talk radio show.

Serlen-ga, one of Atlanta's three founding U.S. national team players, threw out the first pitch at a Georgia Tech baseball game in the spring. Jezebel magazine included her in its current survey of Atlanta's sexiest athletes. "We're trying to build a brand name," Cox Enterprises spokeswoman Colleen Brannan said. "The things we've had the most success with are the things that don't cost anything." Things such as reserve forward and Atlanta native Kerry Gragg visiting youth campers at a local Baptist church; Peachtree City's Nancy and Julie Augustyniak and defender Sharolta Nonen signing autographs in the celebrity tent at the Fox 97 Oldies Concert; Smith and Homare Sawa making a trip to the Taste of Alpharet-ta; Smith and Kylie Bivens representing the team at the Mayor's Cup auction benefit event in Atlanta.

Players see their efforts are paying off. A few weeks ago, Smith took a walk in Piedmont Park wearing a Beat cap. Within moments, a group of girls rushed her for autographs, abandoning their soccer game. "I think our enthusiasm is catching on," Smith said. r.

BEST CHATS Mississippi State was ranked No. 20 by the College Football Writers Association. That prediction put the Bulldogs second in the -SEC West behind LSU, 1 which isNo.15.MSU i Sir Charles with Regis When the sports celebrity edition of ABC's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" airs Sept. 10, Turner will be well represented with NBA commentator Charles Barkley and tennis analysts Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova. The "Millionaire" taping began Tuesday in New York, but Barkley met host Regis Philbin on his day job, appearing as a guest on "Live! With Regis Kelly." "I'm just nervous about getting to the fastest finger," Barkley said of the game show.

"It's so embarrassing if you're the last two sitting there. You feel like a loser. I got my butt kicked on 'JeoParby about two months ago. Martha Stewart kicked my butt." Football in a 'Flash' Fox Sports Net Hopes to whet your appetite for the college football season with "College Flash Classics," which are condensed one-hour versions of Jefferson-Pilot's best ACC and SEC games in the past 20 years. Four to six games will be shown each week through Aug.

27, starting at 8 p.m. today with Maryland's 42-40 win over Miami in 1984, followed at 9 p.m. by Georgia's 18-15 win over Georgia Tech in 1991. coach Jackie Sherrill (right) chats at 5 p.m. SportsLine.com NASCAR columnist Stephen Thomas, 1 p.m.

CNNSI.com Great Outdoor Games gold medalist Dustin Long, 1 p.m. ESPN.com Grambling football coach Doug Williams, 5 p.m. ESPN.com BEST LIVE EVENTS TODAY'S TVRADIO AUTOS Summer Shootout Series, 8 p.m., FSN BASEBALL MLB: Braves Report, 6:30 p.m., FSN MLB: Braves at Cardinals, 7 p.m., FSN, 750 AM, 1420 AM (Spanish) MLB: Angels at Red Sox, 7 p.m., ESPN MLB: Athletics at Indians, 7 p.m., ESPN2 LACROSSE MIL Boston at Long Island, 10 p.m., TV 33 MISCELLANEOUS Great Outdoor Games: Timber Events, 1 a.m., ESPN2 TENNIS Masters Series Montreal, 1 p.m., ESPN Masters Series Montreal, 2 a.m., ESPN2 taped WHAT'S HAPPENING LOCALLY TODAY Soccer Boston at Beat, 7 p.m., Bobby Dodd Stadium. FRIDAY Billiards: Hotlanta Wheelchair 9-Ball Championship, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Mr. Cue's II Billiards, 3471 Chamblee-Tucker Road.

Collectibles: Venture Mall Card Show, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., 3750 Venture Drive, Duluth. Major League Baseball Mariners at Tigers, 7 p.m. MLB.com ($9.95 subscription fee required) Marlins at Brewers, 8 p.m. MLB.com ($9.95 subscription fee required) Braves at Cardinals, 7 p.m. MLB.com ($9.95 subscription fee required) Phillies at Rockies, 9 p.m.

MLB.com ($9.95 subscription lee required) gptv Atlanta's Channel 8 Don't just water and feed. Watch and read. rf Homepy TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. Watch "Gardening in Georgia" to learn how to: Grow better daylilies by cross-breeding. Distinguish between different members of the oak family.

Build a long border with a variety of plants. .1 TOMORROW IN HOME GARDEN Take stock of your summer garden, Walter provides his monthly checklist of gardening tasks for August. ALSO IN A new series on metro Atlantans' second homes. This week we look at luxury houseboats. Gardening expert Walter Reeves gives you the best advice and information on Georgia plants and soil.

Tune into Walter's "Gardening in Georgia" show on GPTV every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Then on Thursdays, read his Weekend Gardener column in Home Garden. i TO COIL 04 i7l.l4l.