Media Notes

WNSR-AM in Nashville declined Gaylord Entertainment's request to end its affiliation with ESPN Radio, which was part of "Gaylord's effort to weigh options" for its WSM-AM. WNSR, which stands for 'We're Nashville's Sports Radio,' has carried ESPN Radio for five years (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 1/8)....Friday's Gold Medal game of the World Junior Hockey Championship between Canada and Russia "produced a per-minute average audience of 1.4 million viewers, giving TSN its 10th-highest rating ever" (TORONTO STAR, 1/8).

NIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT TIME? Australian Open Dir Paul McNamee, on possibly hosting a primetime singles final: "I certainly wouldn't rule it out for the future. It's a bit of a culture shift for the Australian Open, but things like incredibly hot weather can help that shift happen, so I think we have to be open to it. There's been no discussion about that, but it's certainly not off the palate of possibilities going forward." McNamee added he "wouldn't be shocked" if the Australian Open featured a primetime singles final by '04 (Melbourne AGE, 1/8).

ON THE WEB: Penguins VP/Properties Mike Lee, on Sunday's Penguins-Blackhawks Internet-only broadcast on pittsburghpenguins.com: "I'm happy because it went well. We had the idea of separating the broadcast as Internet-only, and now, we know it works. Now, we know how else we can do things. Maybe, it's something we can do every game in the future" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/8).....DC United and Chicago-based Ignite Sports Media announced a two-year agreement for development and hosting of the team's official Web site, dcunited.com to debut before the '02 season (MLS).