In St. Louis, Dan Caesar noted the Blues' Stanley Cup win in the spring, and a "strong start to the current season, have sparked a rise in the team's local television viewership." Primetime Blues telecasts on FS Midwest are "up 11% over the same point last season." Numbers have been strong in two of the net's "key demographics for Blues games -- men ages 25-54 as well as men and women ages 18-34." Both are "No. 1 in the market" for primetime telecasts. FS Midwest reported its "streaming of Blues games" also is up 11% over last year (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/14).
GOOD CHEMISTRY: In N.Y., Justin Terranova writes ESPN's Laura Rutledge's chemistry with Mike Greenberg and her college football background has "made her a natural fit" on "Get Up." Rutledge this week signed a contract extension with the net that gives her "permanent status" on "Get Up," though she has not been on the show since September after going on maternity leave. Rutledge will be "back in her role" on the morning show in the first week of December. Rutledge and her family "live in Alabama and are still figuring out the logistics of how to split time" between Birmingham and N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 11/15).
MAKE A FAN OUT OF YOU: SI.com's Jimmy Traina wrote he has "come around on Stephen A. Smith." Traina: "I was always anti-Stephen A. because I've always been anti-contrived debate shows. ... I've found over the past several months that I have enjoyed many of the clips that have come across my Twitter feed featuring Stephen A. doing his performance art." Smith is a "character and he's fun and that's what sports are supposed to be" (SI.com, 11/14).
