Now and Then: Air on the Air

Today’s scheduled coverage of Michael Jordan’s announcement to retire:

* 9 a.m.--News conference, Ch. 4, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, Fox Sports West, CNN/SI (replays at 2 p.m., 5:30 and 7:30 on CNN/SI, which will also have a half-hour special after news conference)

* 11 a.m.--”Airtime: The Jordan Years,” ESPNEWS, 20 minutes of Jordan coverage every half hour for 24 hours.

* 5:30-6 p.m.--”Michael Jordan: The Greatest,” Fox Sports West (replays at midnight).

* 6 p.m.--Phil Jackson guests on “The Last Word,” Fox Sports West

* Sunday: 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.--”Sports Weekly: The Michael Jordan Era,” ESPN

The NBA’s 10 highest-rated televised games:

1. Bulls-Jazz, Game 6, 1998 finals, 22.3

2. Pistons-Lakers, Game 7, ’88 finals, 21.2

3. Bulls-Suns, Game 6, ’93 finals, 20.3

4. Bulls-Jazz, Game 5, ’97 finals, 20.1

5. Bulls-Jazz, Game 5, ’98 finals, 19.8

5. Bulls-Suns, Game 4, ’93 finals, 19.8

7. Bulls-Lakers, Game 5, ’91 finals, 19.7

8. Lakers-Celtics, Game 7, ’84 finals, 19.3

9. Bulls-Jazz, Game 4, ’98 finals, 19.1

9. Bulls-Pacers, Game 7, ’98 Eastern Conference finals, 19.1

Average TV ratings for NBA Finals since Jordan and the Bulls first qualified in 1991:

1. Bulls-Jazz, 1998, 6 games, 18.7

2. Bulls-Suns, 1993, 6 games, 17.9

3. Bulls-Jazz, 1997, 6 games, 16.8

4. Bulls-SuperSonics, 1996, 6 games, 16.7

5. Bulls-Lakers, 1991, 5 games, 15.8

6. Bulls-Trail Blazers, 1992, 6 games, 14.2

7 Rockets-Magic, 1995, 4 games, 13.9

8. Rockets-Knicks, 7 games, 12.3*

*--O.J. Simpson freeway chase during Game 5