T Dog's Six Pack: You can even win by being a loser

More X Factor for everyone - whether we want it or not.


This week, Randy Michaels makes a comeback - which sends the Alternative Rock format on the ropes; and the Crosstown Classic - not to mention interleague baseball - is a flop. The week's winners and losers:

Winners

Randy Michaels. If this was on an ethics level, The Court Jester shouldn't be here. But he is. And he made a bold power play by partnering with private-equity firm GTCR to acquire a majority stake in Classic Rock WLUP-FM, and Alternative/Modern Rock WKQX-FM and New York City's WRXP, with plans to flip WKQX to either an all-news or news/talk station.

X Factor. Fox is so high on this show, they are giving Simon Cowell's baby four hours a week in primetime for its first two months on the air (though it is subject to preemption from the ALCS and World Series.) Have you ever seen hype like this for a freshman show?

My Network TV. (yeah... as you can tell, I'm really stretching the winners list this week.) Another item that shouldn't be here. But after singing CBS-owned independent WSBK-TV in Boston, the programming service now has adequate clearance in the home of the Stanley Cup champions instead of former affiliate WNDS-TV (now known as WBIN), which didn't cover the whole market. 

Losers

The Alternative Rock format. With the loss of radio's third largest market and possibly the biggest radio market in the United States, Alternative Rock could be the next Smooth Jazz -a format barely hanging on for dear life. For those who don't want to pay for Sirius/XM or bother with Internet Radio, the options for Alternative Rock fans in New York and Chicago could be severely limited.

Marvel ditches Comic-Con. Disney-owned Marvel shuns the annual comics and geek fanfest for their own D23 Expo in Anaheim (where Disneyland is conveniently located, no less.) What a dick move by Marvel, choosing synergy over fans and providing a parade of lame excuses ("Get bigger or go home".) Look Marvel, this isn't the NATPE Convention and you're not a syndicator. It's a small world after all.

The Crosstown Classic. With the Cubs and White Sox struggling - not to mention Cubs slugger Alfonso Soriano and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen ripping into fans, is it any wonder why Chicagoans don't give two shits about the Crosstown Classic? It's about time fans wised up and see what this event really is - an overrated, bloated, boring event sponsored by a bumbling oil company.