Bob Costas

At this point a year ago, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Bob Costas, Doug Collins and Isiah Thomas were all working in the NBA championship series, but things can change substantially in a year.Jordan, of course, has retired, and Malone's season was ended involuntarily by the Portland Trail Blazers. Thomas, who began the 1997-98 season as a game analyst for NBC, was moved onto the network's pre-game show, and, if the rumors are correct, could be moving to Washington.But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Joe Morgan says that he and Bob Costas have yet to do their best work as a baseball announcing team. If they manage that feat during this week's American League Championship Series telecasts, sports television may not get much better than what we're going to hear.The ALCS will effectively serve as Costas' and Morgan's first extended work together as a duo because Bob Uecker, suffering back ailments, decided earlier this year not to work NBC telecasts.With only two men occupying the booth, rather than three, the movement of the telecast should be more to each of their liking, which, in turn, should make for a better broadcast.

It's often been said in the athletic arena that to simply throw a collection of talent together without letting it develop as a unit is a prescription for disaster, and that theory has often been proved correct.That can also be true in sports announcing, if the roles aren't clearly delineated. NBC's baseball troika of Bob Costas, Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker is a solid example of how it can work when you put talented people together, making sure they know their roles and perform them.It's been clear throughout their Division Series and American League Championship Series work that Costas, the play-by-play man, is at the helm, with Morgan providing the serious analysis and Uecker along, mainly, for the comic relief.

Just before Baltimoreans saw the final connection of their football past to its future, as Johnny Unitas handed the game ball to referee Dale Hamer before yesterday's first Ravens game, Bob Costas was casting a critical eye on the proceeding and its symbolism.Costas, standing on the Memorial Stadium field, was noting the "irony . . . especially thick" in the old ball yard, as fans who had mourned the loss of their beloved Colts in 1984 were now whooping it up, much like fans in St. Louis, and pledging "their allegiance and [emptying]

A few final World Series thoughts:* Bob Costas and Al Michaels are, to be sure, two of the best announcers in the business, and their work over the past week was exemplary.But, even granting the disjointed nature of the telecast of the Series and their hesitancy not to repeat story lines, both men and their respective networks should be chagrined for not once mentioning the protests of Native Americans over the repulsive nicknames and logos of the two teams.If you fancy yourself -- as both men rightfully do -- a journalist, then you have to make the call on tough subjects.

Bob Costas, calling Bob Costas. Mr. Tradition. Mr. Anti-Wild-Card. Mr. Lord Protector of Baseball.Never be another pennant race, eh, Bob?Well, never sure got here quick.That isn't just a pennant race in the AL West, it's one of the greatest collapses in major-league history.No one is talking about it, because no one stays up late enough for the West Coast scores, and no one wants to admit baseball is alive.There's plenty to hate about the game -- the lack of a labor agreement, the regionalized postseason TV package, the predetermined home-field advantage.

An article in yesterday's Sun about Greg Kinnear replacing Bob Costas as host of NBC's "Later" incorrectly listed the broadcast time of the show. "Later" appears on WMAR, Channel 2, beginning at 2:35 a.m.The Sun regrets the errors.Greg Kinnear can appreciate the irony. In a world where just about anyone gets to be the host of a talk show, the relatively unknown Mr. Kinnear -- who has built a career on skewering talk shows -- will soon be the host of his own.Currently Mr. Kinnear presides over "Talk Soup," the E!

Like you need help deciding what to watch tonight. There's only one show in town tonight -- and the town happens to be Hamar.* "The 1994 Winter Olympic Games" (8 p.m.-11:30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 11) -- Hold on to the roof, because ratings for tonight's CBS Olympics coverage probably will go right through it. Two days ago, Nancy Kerrigan earned first place in the technical program. Yesterday morning, two of the other skaters in the top five collided during practice, adding a last-minute unexpected and unknown injury quotient into this already outrageous equation.

In the end, quality-of-life considerations proved stronger than both money and the not-quite-irresistible temptation of a professional alliance with David Letterman and CBS.Bob Costas has agreed to an unusual multi-year contract with NBC -- his fifth since 1980 -- that links him to the network's sports, news and entertainment divisions as follows:* Play-by-play announcer for the World Series, playoffs and several regular-season baseball games.* Prime-time host/anchor of the 1996 Olympics.

NBC has signed Bob Costas to a new contract, so we should get right to it: Let's be among the first to start calling him "the ubiquitous Bob Costas."Costas' multiyear deal announced yesterday takes him beyond the network's sports division. It goes beyond the NBC entertainment branch. It heads beyond our star system, to seek out new worlds, to boldly go where no man has gone before. . . . Good God, Jim, I'm only a doctor! (Note: "Star Trek" references in two consecutive TV sports columns sets a record for the continental United States.