Since Fox chose to go with games in New York, Chicago,
Philadelphia and Detroit, all Top 10 markets, the Blues debuted
their pay-per-view plan last night "a few days earlier than could
have been the case." The decision came despite the fact St.
Louis was Fox's second-best NHL in the regular season. Fox
Sports' Vince Wladika: "Every team we selected had a better
record than the Blues, and they were from larger markets. ... If
people are unhappy, they shouldn't be mad at the local affiliate,
they should call the St. Louis Blues and complain about them
charging for games" (Dan Caesar, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/22).
DOLPHINS READY TO SWIM? WQAM-AM, not current Dolphins radio
rights-holder WIOD, winning the bid for Jimmy Johnson's show is a
"preliminary bout" in the battle over Dolphins radio rights,
which unfolds over the next few months, according to the MIAMI
HERALD's Barry Jackson. A clause stating that Johnson is not
allowed to give postgame interviews to WIOD is a "bad omen" for
the station's "future dealings" with the team, according to WIOD
Sports Dir Jeff DeForest. WIOD has one year left on its three-
year, $6M deal. Dolphins broadcast head Dean Jordan said the
placement of Johnson's show "will have no bearing on where the
games end up" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/19).
YANKEES ON THE MOVE? The prospect of the Yankees returning
to WABC-AM "is becoming more of a longshot," according to the
N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Bob Raissman. Dan Lynch, who heads Yankee ad
sales for WABC, is leaving to join WFAN on recommendation of WABC
execs (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/21).
RUT-RO, ASTROS: The Astros switched radio carriers before
this season from KPRC-AM to KILT-AM, citing signal strength. But
now the team is adding religious station KJOJ-AM to its radio
network to help cover the Woodlands/ Conroe area (Carlton
Thompson, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/20).
O'S RATINGS ARE HOT: The move of HTS from premium to basic
cable on key Baltimore area cable systems has HTS Orioles ratings
"booming." Last Wednesday's game against the Red Sox got a 10.5
cable rating in Baltimore, tops for the season and the third-
highest O's rating of all time (Milton Kent, Baltimore SUN,
4/22).