In Albany, Pete Dougherty notes Turner's Ernie Johnson next month "will get his first opportunity as host of the Final Four." Johnson said of differences between hosting the Final Four and "Inside the NBA," "One of the things is dealing with different fan bases, dealing with different universities, dealing with rabid fans of these schools, and dealing with kids who aren't pros. It tempers to a degree what you say. You don't want to come down too hard on a kid, an 18-year-old, and you realize that for some of these guys, this will be it." He added, "There's nothing you do during the year that's like that Thursday and Friday. With the four networks, it's non-stop. It's 12 or 13 hours of juggling. You've got a studio in Atlanta, and our studio in New York. And they're deciding, OK, you do the pregame show on TBS, get that game on the air, then turn around and do the halftime show on TruTV for this game, and as soon as that's over, you've got to get ready to do a postgame show on TNT. You are constantly regearing your mind" (Albany TIMES UNION, 3/14).
WINNER WINNER: The CP's Bill Brioux wrote the CBC's Ron MacLean by this time next year "may be seen as the big winner" in Rogers Communications' shakeup of "Hockey Night In Canada." MacLean has been "offered about as sweet an after-deal as just about anybody departing a top job could hope for -- the chance to be a key part of a whole new night of a famous sports franchise." Sunday was integral to Rogers’ plan, as it is "easily TV’s most competitive night." For Rogers President of Broadcasting Scott Moore, a "key component on the new Sunday strategy was MacLean." While George Stromboulopoulos "will be the studio anchor of the new night, MacLean will be the familiar face." Positioning him as the "host of a year-long Hometown Hockey Community Celebration ... plays on MacLean’s already strong connection to viewers across Canada" (CP 3/13).
GOOD CATCH: FS Southwest announced former MLBer Ivan Rodriguez will join the RSN for "Rangers Live" pre- and post-game coverage. Rodriguez will work on several broadcasts, joining former MLBer Mark McLemore and hosts John Rhadigan and Dana Larson on the shows. Rodriguez makes his debut Opening Day, March 31 (FSSW).
RADIO WAVES: The SEATTLE TIMES reported former Boston-based WEEI-FM host Mike Salk "is returning to Seattle" as ESPN Radio 710 Program Dir and host on March 23. Salk left Seattle for Boston last March (SEATTLETIMES.com, 3/13). In Boston, Chad Finn writes WEEI's 2:00-6:00pm ET slot is in "as much flux now as it was a year ago" when former host Glenn Ordway was fired. There is "no obvious choice" to replace Salk. WEEI's Kirk Minihane "would be terrific, but he’s tethered" to the "Dennis & Callahan" show. Dale Arnold "has been filling in, but the back-to-the-future approach probably isn’t" what Brand Manager Kevin Graham "is looking for" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/14).
BACK IN THE FOLD: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar reports Bob Ramsey, who was "ousted from his on-air slot" at WXOS-FM in November, "recently was added to the afternoon drive-time show" at WGNU-AM. Ramsey has "been in the market" since joining KPLR-TV in '85. He has been "added to the mix with Bryan Burwell, Joe Strauss and Brien Rea" in the 3:00-6:00pm CT weekday slot, "in essence giving the program -- which is the best new St. Louis sports talk show in the last year -- a deeper bench and a lineup of high-profile guys with strong opinions" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/14).
