ESPN earned a 2.4 U.S. rating and 3.831 million viewers for Tuesday's Texas A&M-Notre Dame NCAA women's basketball national championship game, up 4.3% and 8.5%, respectively, from a 2.3 rating and 3.531 million viewers for last year's title game between UConn and Stanford (THE DAILY).
BACK FOR ANOTHER GO-ROUND: In L.A., Mike Bresnahan cites sources as saying that Lakers TV analyst Stu Lantz is "expected to return for a 25th season." Joel Meyers, Lantz' broadcast partner since '05, "will not be back after this season." Lakers radio announcer Spero Dedes is replacing Meyers, and he "will be the third TV voice of the Lakers since Chick Hearn died" in August '02. Paul Sunderland "had the job for three seasons, followed by Meyers." Bresnahan notes Dedes is in his sixth season as Lakers radio announcer (L.A. TIMES, 4/7).
GOING SOLO: In Minneapolis, Kent Youngblood notes T'Wolves and WNBA Lynx radio announcer Alan Horton is "finishing up his fourth season" in the role and his "second doing it alone." Horton said that "at least half of the teams in the league have a single announcer at least part of the time," but he is the "only guy who does radio for both the NBA and WNBA teams in a market." Youngblood notes Horton "doesn't have a catch phrase and doesn't want one." Youngblood: "He believes in contrast and the creative use of silence. His volume knob does not go to 11" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/7).
SUCCESSFUL AT BAT: In N.Y., Bob Tedeschi reviews the MLB.com At Bat 11 mobile application and writes it "includes a handful of slick new features." The app "outdoes the previous versions in various ways, depending on what device you use and where you use it." Android users "get the biggest upgrade, in that the app finally displays live video" and "all season they can watch one free game daily." At Bat users with Apple and Android phones also "can create a home page that displays important information about their favorite team." Meanwhile, At Bat is "much better than last year" for fans at ballparks "thanks to a new set of features meant specifically for them." The At the Ballpark feature provides Apple users with "detailed maps of the site, video highlights and, depending on the ballpark, discounts on concessions." Tedeschi writes of At Bat, "Avid baseball fans who own an iPad, and who skip this app, are making a mistake." Tedeschi also reviews the iPad-only app Pennant, and notes it "offers a batter-by-batter recap of every Major League Baseball game played from 1952 to 2010, along with great graphics" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/7).
