OMG! CAVS WIN! CAVS WIN! AAAHHH! (Game 2)

Sports anchor Terry Brooks of ABC affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland gets a little too excited - on the air - when LeBron James sunk a game-winning shot in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic on May 22.


You would not believe this if I told you, so yours truly has a clip.... (look for it at the :40 second mark)








I wonder how Terry Brooks feels now since the Cavs and LeBron have been sent home...

(Special Thanks to RogerSimmons.com)

T Dog's Groovy Grab Bag

Another edition of T Dog's Groovy Grab Bag:

- As you know by now, Jay Leno's final Tonight Show was last night. Courtesy of TV Barn, here's a short transcript of Leno's monologue from his final program, and here's an article on how Jay Leno's reign of The Tonight Show didn't change much during its 17-year run.

And the best part of the show... no Dancing Itos clips!

Conan O'Brien (who was a guest on Leno's final program), is taking over The Tonight Show full-time beginning on Monday.

- Interesting article from The Root.com's Mark Anthony Neal: He talks about why black radio has failed the African-American community.

- While TLC's John & Kate drew all the publicity and ratings for their season premiere Monday, they were topped by Kobe Bryant.

Game 4 of ESPN's Los Angeles Lakers-Denver Nuggets NBA Western Conference Finals drew 9.9 million viewers over Jon & Kate's 9.8 million. Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday drew a 5.6 HH rating and 9.2 million viewers on ESPN.

Ratings for the NBA Conference Finals are averging 8.6 million viewers and are up 43 percent from a year ago. As mentioned in an earlier post, the NHL's ratings for its second season are up by double digits, too.

Playoff fever. Catch it!

Versus shoots and scores with NHL playoffs

- The Chicago Blackhawks may have lost its Western Conference Finals series with the arch rival Detroit Red Wings, but they were big winners locally in the ratings.

Despite the fact Versus isn't carried on a few systems (WOW to name a few), Game 5 still earned a 7.1 household rating Wednesday night where the Wings beat the Hawks to win the series and to go to the Stanley Cup Finals to play the Pittsburgh Penguins beginning tonight.

Nationally, Versus broke a personal record Wednesday with the Hawks-Wings game drawing 1.6 million viewers.

In Detroit, the ratings were even higher. Game 5 drew an astounding 15.9 household rating on Versus - even with CBC carrying the game (Detroit viewers can receive CBET-Channel 9, CBC's affiliate out of nearby Windsor, Ont. over-the-air and cable.) And even more astounding, Game 2 of the Hawks-Wings series even drew more viewers than American Idol finale in Detroit, which aired the following night.

The Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes also fared well for Versus, with Game 4 setting a ratings cable record for hockey in Pittsburgh.

Overall, ratings for Versus' coverage of the NHL Conference Finals are up 25 percent in households from one year ago.

The Choice

(Borrowing a skit from The Trib's Steve Rosenbloom)

... and remember, death isn't an option:

Mancow's waterbroading stunt or Jon & Kate?

Which one of these attention whores are you sick of hearing about?

My Network TV's new 2009-10 lineup

But don't call it new.

The network, which now bills itself as a programming service, unveiled its 2009-10 lineup with barely any original programming. The only original program airing on the service is WWE Smackdown on Fridays.

Monday through Wednesdays will feature reruns of existing fare with Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Mondays; Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader and Deal or No Deal on Tuesdays; The Unit on Wednesdays (the show enters weekend syndication in 2010); a movie on Thursdays and Smackdown on Fridays.

The rerun episodes of Deal are those that ran in syndication; the existing NBC episodes have been sold to GSN for stripping beginning on Monday. NBC canceled the prime-time version of Deal or No Deal earlier this year.

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader will make its first-run syndicated debut this fall.

My Network TV gave Saturday nights back to the affiliates to program. With The CW making a similar move on Sundays, both netlets are out of the programming business on the weekends, with the exception of 4 Kids TV's lineup on CW on Saturdays.

While repeat programming will dominate the schedule, there are first-run specials on tap including The 2009 World Music Awards and The Hollywood Christmas Parade.

T Dog's Four Pack

The scorecard for the past week in media:

Winners.

- Chicagoland Radio and Media. Larz predicted WNUA would flip this year and would changeto a Spanish format. His site the closet thing to Rob Feder's sorely-missed columns.

- WLS-TV. They dominated the local ratings in May, including all local newscasts. So what else is new?

- According to Jim canceled. The long national nightmare is over.

- Chuck renewed. NBC finally does something right.


Losers.

- American Idol. Despite an entertaining show and a surprise winner (Kris Allen over Adam Lambert), the annual season finale was the lowest rated ever and Chicago viewers all but ignored it, scoring the fifth-lowest household rating among the 56 metered markets (scroll down five posts to see ratings.)

- Tony Kornhiser. Many thought he would make Monday Night Football interesting. Wrong. Now he can stay on PTI and continue to be a hypocrite, given he can't make up his mind on whether or not to be a Mets or a Yankees fan.

- WNUA-FM. The axe finally swung at the longtime Smooth Jazz outlet, though the format's shortcomings are likely the reason for the switch to Spanish Pop than WNUA itself.

- Lewis Lazare. Okay, I held my tongue for long as I can on Feder's replacement on the Sun-Times' media beat. Lazare finally mentioned WNUA's flip to Spanish on Friday - only after CRM, Rosenthal, DJ Headlines, and even this blog (and its Twitter page) broke with the story. After reading this guy's stories, you wonder if a sixth reader writing for the Weekly Reader would do better. I'm sorry, but this guy just plain sucks as a media writer.

Turner gets aggressive with broadcast networks

CW is turning into the All-Drama Channel. Another is already there. Only difference is they actually know drama.

Turner networks unveiled their new programs at the network upfronts with TNT's focus on dramas and TBS' focus on comedies and sitcoms - and a new weeknight talk show hosted by George Lopez.

TNT, one of the top-rated cable networks, trotted out Steven Speilberg, and Steven Bochco and announced some new projects, including a new alien invasion drama from Speilberg and DreamWorks Television. Other dramas in development include Bochco's Zapata, Texas and Pastor Jazz, starring former Roc star Charles S.Dutton as a minister. To see the complete list of shows in development, click here.

New seasons of The Closer and Raising The Bar debut June 8, while Jada Pinkett Smith's new drama titled Hawthrone debuts in June 16, along with the season premiere of Saving Grace. Leverage's season premiere and new drama Dark Blue do not premiere until July.

TBS meanwhile, has several comedies developements including a sitcom from Kevin James (King of Queens) titled The Game of Life. Another project features Second City members telling what us Chicagoans do during the Wee Hours from midnight to 6 a.m. Another program (called Big Tow) features a single dad who runs a towing company. TBS premieres a new animated comedy next year titled Neighbors from Hell. There also a possibility of recently disposed NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl alnding on the cable network with new episodes.

TBS has season premieres of Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns this Wedensday and The Bill Engvall Show later this summer.

Adult Swim also has some new programming on tap. At its upfront Wedensday night (which was more of a party), it announced it will produce another Star Wars sendup on Robot Chicken, a new variety special (Freaknik), and a live-action edition of Aqua Teen Hunger Force on May 31 featuring rapper T-Pain.

Finally, TruTV has a new series titled NFL Full Contact, which feaures exclusive behind-the -scenes look at the league's football teams. This marks the first association the NFL has had with Turner since 1997, when it held one of the league's packages.

CW unveils 2009-10 schedule

Call it The Drama Channel.

CW announced new dramas for the 2009-10 television campaign at its upfront presentation with a lineup with no comedies and just one reality show.

Mondays remain status quo, Tuesday is retro night with new episodes of 90210 and Melrose Place, Wednesdays has Top Model and the new scripted drama Beautiful Life, featuring models trying to make it in New York; Thursdays has Dark Shadows clone Vampire Diaries and the returning Supernatural, while Fridays have Smallville and a Top Model encore. Midseason has Parental Discretion Advised - no, CW isn't raunching up its schedule Family Guy style, but it's a new drama regarding a girl looking for her biological parents. Clever title.

Analysis: If you're looking for good dramas - try TNT - their tagline is We Know Drama. The CW's tagline should be We Don't Know Sh** About Drama.

Outside of Supernatural and Smallville, there's no reason to watch this network. Turning it into the all-drama channel won't boost ratings.

Is CW's Tuesday night lineup stuck in 1993? This was Fox's Wednesday lineup. Boy, it was good. But this is 2009 - nothing new or innovative about it. The Beautiful Life - wait a minute, is this another remake? Remember Models, Inc.? Should be just as entertaining as NBC's lame remake of the lame Harver Valley PTA sitcom Parks and Recreation (wait, that isn't a remake?)

Bad move breaking up Smallville and Supernatural - Thursdays were the only successful night CW had with two very good shows. And there's still a Top Model encore Friday nights? The only smart thing they did was give Sunday back to the affiliates to program.

CW should stand for Can't Win. They won't with this pathetic lineup.

Kathy & Judy out at WGN-AM

On a morning when WNUA-FM flipped to a Spanish format, came another bombshell: WGN-AM canceled the long-running Kathy & Judy show after 20 years.

While Kathy O'Malley's and Judy Markey's mid-to-late morning program drew a loyal audience, the show - like WNUA-FM's format - may have become a casualty due to Arbitron's new Portable People Meter system.

The last hour of the show provided some emotional moments. O'Malley broke down while reading a live commercial on the air. Fans of the program gathered outside the station's Tribune Tower storefront studios for a chance to say goodbye.

Ratings for the program had slid constently over the years and even more so since the PPM system was implemented. In April's survey, Kathy & Judy ranked 33rd among adults 25-54.

WNUA-FM to flip to Spanish-language format

After 22 years as a pioneering "Smooth Jazz" outlet, Clear Channel-owned WNUA-FM is changing formats to Spanish Pop, effective Friday at 9:55 a.m.

The station is being branded as "Mega 95.5". and is being made available online at Mega955.com.

The move is being made as other stations across the country are dropping the Smooth Jazz format. On Tuesday, Clear Channel dropped Smooth Jazz from its KKSF-FM in the Bay Area (SF/Oakland) to launch a Classic Rock format.

The format has also disappeared from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Dayton in recent years.

Many industry say the format's older-skewing audience, the inability to generate revenue, and the lack of new artists are among the main reasons stations are pulling the plug.

While ratings for WNUA have gone in a upswing in recent months, it was not enough as revenues at the station sagged in 2008. Cutbacks began several years ago, as the station ended its Sunday morning brunches at downtown hotels, and most recently, fired popular radio personality and program director Rick O'Dell after 20 years.

Meanwhile, the audience for Hispanic radio has grown, evidenced by the successes of heritage WOJO-FM, WLEY-FM, and newcomer WVIV-FM, who was the biggest gainer month-to-month in the recent April PPM survey.

This is the latest change for the 95.5 frequency. The station's roots date back to 1959 as a station owned by the Moody Bible Institute. By 1970, it became WDHF with a Top 40 format, flipped to rock as WMET-FM in 1977, then WRXR-FM in 1985 (when the AOR/Rock foormat was dropped), and finally WNUA-FM with a New Age/Contemporary Jazz format, which was picked up by other stations across the country. WNUA was one of Chicago's most successful radio stations, ranking in the top five at one time.

WNUA's most notable personality was Ramsey Lewis, who based his daily syndicated show from Chicago.

Thanks WNUA, for the memories.

Also: Alternative is having a tough go of it as well. Entrecom's KWOD-FM in Sacramento is dropping the format tomorrow, as is sister station WMFS-FM in Memphis, who dropped Alternative today to go all-sports. Bonneville also dumped Alternative from WSWD-FM in Cincinnati.

To borrow a phrase from Marc Berman - for WKQX-FM (Q101)... Tick-Tock, is the cancellation clock ticking?

CBS reveals schedule for 2009-10

The Tiffany Network unveiled its 2009-10 schedule to advertisers at Upfront Week. The Church of Tisch is keeping the status quo on some nights and has made changes to others, including the addition of former NBC stalwart Medium to Friday nights, leading out of Ghost Whisperer.

Click here to read the press schedule and look at the lineup.

Three new dramas and one new comedy (Accidentally on Purpose) join the schedule. The three new dramas are NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, and Three Rivers. Mentalist goes to Thursdays after CSI, Big Bang Theory stays on Mondays, but moves to the time slot after Two and a Half Men. Cold Case moves to 9 p.m. (CT) on Sundays.

New reality shows include Arranged Marriage and Undercover Boss, both in mid-season.

Analysis: CBS is advocating stability in its lineup, with Wednesdays staying put and some key shows keeping their slots on other nights. While Medium moving from NBC to CBS is questionable, keep in mind the last show to jump from NBC to CBS was JAG in 1996 - and ran nine more seasons.

Mentalist moving to Thursdays after CSI is a great move and helps solidify the night. How I Met Your Mother is now an anchor on Monday while Big Bang should flourish on Monday after Men. Purpose looks to be a bad show, but should be a time period hit. The Good Wife and Three Rivers look like good dramas to watch. NCIS is successful, but CSI it's not: the spinoff might not have enough legs.

All in all, look for CBS to continue to do well in total viewers and to be very competitive with ABC and Fox in the 18-49 race. Now if CBS can only translate its success to its Chicago O&O...

Power 92 surges in April PPMs (updated)

Click here to see the results. Keep in mind these are numbers based on Persons 6+.

Winners:

WBBM-AM, WGN-AM, Power 92 (WPWX-FM), Kiss (WKSC-FM), WVIV-FM, The Score (WSCR-AM)

Down, but not out:

The Drive (WDRV-FM)

Waiting For The Axe to Swing:

WNUA-FM

Losers:

Q101 (WKQX), WIND-AM, WCPT and their repeaters


- Because of the focus on the network upfronts this week, yours truly will skip the analysis for Chicago radio's latest PPM survey. However, this can not be ignored: The ratings surge for WPWX-FM (Power 92), who grew 35 percent from March to April. What was once an insurmountable lead for rival WGCI is now down only to a few tenths of a share point.

- Believe it or not, Power 92 wasn't the month's biggest gainer. That honor goes to Univision's WVIV-FM, whose ratings grew 41 percent month-to-month with its Spanish Adult Hits format targeted to Hispanic listeners.

- On the surface, WNUA's numbers really shouldn't justify a format change. But with a mostly older skewing audience and billing lower than some mid-level performing outlets, the axe is waiting to swing on WNUA.

UPDATE: Courtesy of Chicagoland Radio and Media, here are the Women 25-54 and Male 25-54 demos, and the Persons 25-54 numbers.

Updated at 11:39 p.m. on 2009-05-20

T Dog's Groovy Grab Bag- The Sports Edition

A lot of sports-related news today:

- CBS and Fox have extended their deals with the NFL until 2014 with CBS getting rights to carry Super Bowl XLVII (47) in 2013 while Fox has Super Bowl XLVIII (48) in 2014.

- The NFL has also agreed to bury the hatchet with Comcast over the NFL Network. The two struck an agreement today to end years of bickering over carriage on the nation's largest MSO. The deal means the NFL Network will move from a sports package-tier to a digital classic one, enabling the net to reach more homes.

- And Comcast wasn't done deal-making: The MSO also made a deal with ESPN to carry web channel ESPN 360. With the addition of Comcast, ESPN 360 is now available in 41 million homes. ESPN 360 carries sportiong events from college basketball to soccer.

- The NBA scored record ratings for Game 7 of the Orlando magic-Boston Celtics semi-final. TNT notched a 5.2 HH rating and drew 8.4 million viewers and was the most-watched Game 7 semifinal ever in households and total viewers. The Magic won, eliminating the defending-champion Celtics (hey Boston, you can't win everything.)

- Sunday's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings (where the Wings won 5-2) drew a 7.7 household rating and 19 household share locally, according to Nielsen. However, in Detroit (and with no CBC simulcast), the game drew a household rating and share of 16.9/38. Nationally, the game did a 2.0 household rating.

Man, Detroit beats Chicago - even in the ratings.

NBC announces new lineup for 2008-09 season - this time with an actual schedule

NBC released its 2009-10 schedule to advertisers, even though it previewed its lineup at its "InFront" two weeks ago.

The lineup is being split in two: one for fall 2009, the other for midseason 2010, after the Winter Olympics from Vancouver. Click here to see the official press release.

Keep in mind Jay Leno will be stripped at 9 p.m. (CT) every weeknight, so the focus is on the first two hours of prime-time.

New shows for fall include Trauma, which will air on Mondays after Heroes (who moves to an earlier time); Parenthood, a more dramatic version of the feature film (not to mention a short-lived 1990 TV Show); and Community, which debuts after Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday wraps up. Fridays contains veteran Law & Order and the second season of Southland.

Once the Olympics are over, NBC plans to slot Chuck on Mondays while new shows 100 Questions, Mercy, and The Marriage Ref debuts.

Bubble shows returning include Chuck (thanks to a fan campaign and Subway, who scored a product placement tie-in to the show) and Friday Night Lights (which hasn't been slotted).

Canceled shows include My Name Is Earl and Medium - however, both may end up at Fox and CBS respectively. Kings is also gone, along with Howie Do It - the second Howie Mandel-hosted show to be canceled in the last few weeks (The prime-time version of Deal or No Deal was dropped by NBC earlier.)

Analysis: See this post yours truly wrote two weeks ago regarding NBC's new shows this fall. Outside of Jay Leno, the only good things about this lineup is the return of Chuck and The Biggest Loser and perhaps Community, which yours truly plans to check out.

ABC announces new schedule for 2009-10

ABC is bringing eleven new shows to prime-time for the 2009-10 season, with four comedies, six dramas, and one new reality show (Shark Tank), the network announced today at its upfront presentation.

The big news here is new sci-fi drama Flash Forward gets the Thursday lead-off position at 7 p.m. Central, replacing Ugly Betty, which moves to Fridays at 8 p.m.

Taking a page from what CBS did in 1996 to launch its fall lineup, ABC is relying on familiar names to front its network, relying on familiar faces such as Courtney Cox, Ed O'Neill, Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer (the latter two were paired on Fox's 2007 sitcom Back to You.)

In 1996, CBS launched shows featuring Bill Cosby, Ted Danson, and Rhea Pearlman (not to mention a little show called Everybody Loves Raymond.)

ABC is taking its biggest risk on Wednesday, with a night of all-new shows replacing duds Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money.

As for midseason, The Bachelor and Lost will return, while ABC and Warner Bros. hopes to take a page out of Battlestar Galactica's playbook and reimage V, a 1983 NBC mini-series which was also a short-lived regular series on the peacock network in 1984-85.

On the other hand, its Sunday lineup (featuring Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters) remains the same.

Shows on the bubble returning include Scrubs, Better Off Ted, and Castle. Canceled shows include Samantha Who?, The Unusuals, and as noted here earlier, According to Jim.

To see the 2009-10 schedule, click here.

Analysis: ABC's strongest nights remain untouched, and that's a good thing. Two new shows (Shark Tank and Forgotten) surround Dancing With The Stars Results Show and may get solid sampling. With no veteran show anchoring Wednesday, ABC will be in for a long night. Flash Forward is out of place with two female-skewing dramas on Thursday - don't think this show will make it. Ugly Betty moving to The Friday Night Death Slot only adds to that legend, not to Betty's own. Betty is likely done after this season.

Overall, a decent schedule for ABC, but Wednesdays are definitely going to be a sore spot.

So long,"Jim"

ABC axes According to Jim after eight seasons.

So, what do you do to mark the occasion?

CELEBRATE!















Goodbye to bad TV. Don't hit your ass out the door, Jim!

Fox introduces new 2009-10 schedule

The broadcast network upfronts began today in New York City, and first up is Fox, who released its fall and midseason schedules today to advertisers. Fox defended its position on why the broadcast networks are better than cable and declined to talk about the controversy over the fourth judge on American Idol (Kara DioGuardi) and whether or not she will be back.

The schedule is marked by the surprise return of Dollhouse and a three hours a week (!) of So You Think You Can Dance, the summer hit now appearing on the fall schedule for the first time. Keep in mind however, summer perennial Big Brother ran in the winter of 2008 and bombed.

Canceled shows include Sit Down, Shut Up and Secret Millionaire. King of the Hill ended production earlier this season and has a few episodes remaining, but it's likely they'll run next summer either on Fox or on Adult Swim, who holds the cable stripping rights.

Fox did not mention whether or not any of its other reality shows (5th Grader, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Don't Forget The Lyrics) would return. 5th Grader airs in first-run syndication this fall.

Click here to see the full schedule.

Thought: Fox's 2009-10 lineup is clearly disappointing. Dance is on for three hours a week - too much for a mid-level performer. I'm high on Brothers - but paired with 'Til Death, this comedy block will likely post numbers no better than The Bernie Mac Show and Malcolm in the Middle, both flopped in the same hour four years ago. On the other hand, thumbs up on moving Fringe to Thursdays after Bones, where it will compete against Grey's Anatomy and a declining CSI. Sons of Tuscon has a rather dumb premise - three boys pay someone to be their father. Laugh track, please. This makes Sit Down, Shut Up look good (OK, maybe not.)

Another head scratching decision is the decision to slot Animation Domination encores on Saturday nights after Wanda Sykes' new show. It's a dumb idea - it reminds me of what CBS did in the '70's and '80's in late night when it ran mostly off-network dramas, who average clearance rate was 65 percent. If you are airing network reruns at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, why not give the time back to the affiliates? And they canceled Spike Feresten's show - for this? Bullshit.

Did you know? Brothers was also the title of a groundbreaking sitcom that aired on Showtime from 1984-89 on two fronts: It was the first sitcom to ever be produced for pay-cable - and the first to feature a lead gay character. Unfortunately, laughs were few and far between on this program (be thankful Fox isn't remaking this program!) Thankfully, the quality of premium cable sitcoms have improved greatly since (Sex in the City, Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, to name a few.)

Brothers was sold in broadcast syndication by Paramount (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1989.

Brothers is a member of T Dog's TV Hall of Shame.

Patti Blago to appear on "Celebrity?"

Patti Blagoveich is in discussions to appear on NBC's upcoming revival of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. If you recall, her husband Rod - the former governor of Illinois - tried to get on the show, but a judge denied the request - since he would travel outside the country.

Now, just in case The Tribune - who self-appointed itself as "The Corruption Watchdog", but won't answer about ethics problems in its own house - doesn't post yours truly's comments on the story on its Sirens and Blotter Blog, I'll post them here:

"Wow, a wife of a politician who's a joke on a reality show that's a joke on a network (Nothing But Crap) that's a joke.

Hey, maybe they can revive "Pink Lady and Jeff" and put her in a tight outfit and make her perform with Zucker... I'm certain GE will fit the bill."

UPDATE: The Trib's idiotic Sirens and Blotter Blog never did post yours truly's comments - which contained good-natured humor with no profanity. So typical of Big Media. No wonder why people don't bother with Chicago's newspapers anymore or their websites. I'll just add The Sirens and Blotter Blog to the list of my many targets.

Updated 12:34 a.m. on 2009-05-19

T Dog's Think Tank - Follow Up: Hawks got with the program

The very first Think Tank yours truly wrote back on November 28, 2006 dealt with the follies of the National Hockey League and its Chicago franchise, and those of broadcasters (over-the-air TV stations and networks), sharing the same tale of missteps and woe. After the Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Trent Yawney, yours truly wrote this on a comment board regarding the state of the franchise:

"Everything about this team SUCKS, including the management. Now I can see why the NHL is behind NASCAR, Golf, and "Deal or No Deal" in popularity in this country. I would rather watch a Britney Spears video than this poor excuse of a "hockey" team."

My oh my, how times have changed. Ratings for golf and NASCAR have declined (but are still potent), Deal or No Deal is nearly dead (and deservedly so), and Britney Spears is still... Britney Spears.

But the Hawks are definitely not the Hawks - and that's a good thing.

Since owner William Wirtz died in October 2007, the once-moribund franchise has been rejuvenated, thanks to Mr. Wirtz's son Rocky, who took over the franchise and turned it around to become once again a hot ticket in town.

Taking a page from Mark Cuban, who turned a Dallas Mavericks basketball team from a laughingstock into a perennial playoff contender, Rocky Wirtz implemented huge changes within the Blackhawks organ-i-zation to boost attendance and its profile in the nation's third-largest television and radio market. In the last two years, he has done the following:

- Lifted a decades-long policy on not televising home games, realizing putting them on the tube actually promotes the team's product, not hurt it.

- Struck a deal with WGN-TV to carry games in high definition, marking a return to Blackhawks hockey to Chicago over-the-air broadcast television on a regular basis for the first time in 28 years.

- Struck another deal to carry games on WGN radio in a standard rights deal after buying time on WSCR-AM for the last few years.

- Hiring the Cubs' John McDonough to market the team and to connect the Hawks with fans of other Chicago sports teams (i.e. letting Jonathan Toews throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game, and such)

- Promoting the team's young and rising stars - notably Towes (a 2006 third-round draft pick) and Patrick Kane (a 2007 first-round draft pick).

- Being selected by the NHL to host the Winter Classic on January 1 at Wrigley Field against its longtime rival Detroit Red Wings. The outdoor game was a ratings smash and the highest-rated hockey telecast in 34 years.

- The Hawks went from as low as 29th in the league in attendance to first - averaging more than 21,000 a game and drawing a million fans to the United Center alone this season - unheard of for a hockey team.

- Successfully reconnecting with Blackhawks legends from the past including Hall of Famers Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.

- Though it fired Dennis Savard as coach earlier this season (and replaced him with Joel Queenville), they kept him in the organ-i-zation as an ambassdor.

- Correcting an error by hiring back Pat Foley as Hawks' play-by-play man.

- The Hawks' playoff run has boosted Comcast SportsNet ratings, with numbers not seen for hockey in Chicago in a long time, if not ever.

- Hawks' players appearing in commercials - and that even includes Pat Foley!

- And the ultimate OMG moment: with the Hawks in the Western Conference Finals against the rival Red Wings, NBC has decided to showcase the series instead of the one featuring Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (whose team plays the Carolina Hurricanes) - the "golden boy" of the NHL.

Wow, what an impressive list. And just a couple of years ago, ESPN ranked the Chicago Blackhawks as the worst organization in professional sports.

The resurgence of the Hawks' popularity in Chicago is quite amazing. Granted, the team was a potent Stanley Cup contender from the late 1980's to the mid-1990's, with sellout crowds at the Chicago Stadium and near-capacity crowds at the United Center. But some serious flaws were exposed when the team's fourtunes went south in the late '90's, and the fans literally fled for the exits.

Between 1998 and 2008, the Hawks made the playoffs only once and won just one playoff game. All that changed this year when they beat the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks in the first and second round respectively, and now this young, exiciting team faces the defending champ Red Wings to see who goes to the Stanley Cup Finals. And even if they lose this series, the Hawks should be commended for a great season and should be Cup contenders for years to come.

The Hawks' fortunes have also helped the NHL, whose ratings are up on Versus this year. However, the channel is hard to find on cable and satellite systems, and some MSOs don't carry the net at all. Hopefully, the NHL can strike a deal and return to ESPN so the league can reach a larger audience.

So the lesson learned here is - if the Chicago Blackhawks can turn themselves around, so can any other organization - the Los Angeles Clippers and Oakland Raiders (like the Hawks, it might take removing the owner to achieve this goal), the Detroit Lions, Washington Nationals, and even NBC and The CW.

So in essence, the Hawks got with the program, and to a lesser extent, so has the NHL. Now, as for broadcasters... Well, two out of three isn't bad.

"Reaper" headed to syndication?

Reaper, the quirky dramedy currently airing on Tuesday on CW, may be headed for first-run syndication.

The series - now in its second season - would be sold to CW affiliates for airing on Sunday nights at either 7 or 8 p.m. However, Disney-ABC Television Distribution could sell the show to a My Network TV affiliate, independent station, or even a Big Four network affiliate for weekend late fringe if the CW affiliate in a market turns it down.

Disney-ABC already has Legend of the Seeker in first-run syndication - it could be paired with Reaper in some markets.

CW announced last week it was planning on handing its Sunday night lineup back to stations due to low ratings and the awful economic climate. Many CW affils have opted to acquire a movie package from MGM to fill some of those slots starting this fall.

Reaper's showrunners have left ABC Studios for deals at Fox, and would have a new writing team. The show's production budget would likely be cut, with a move to Canada a possibility.

Of course, this isn't the first time a canceled network drama would have been revived for first-run syndication.

When the Big Three were forced to hand a half-hour back to their affiliates in 1971 because of the Prime Time Access Rule (which reduced prime-time to just three hours a night - four on Sundays), the networks canceled scores of shows, including Lassie and Hee Haw. The two shows were quickly picked up by syndicators and sold to stations for those newly created prime-time access periods. Lassie would run until 1973 (it would have a brief syndicated revival from 1989-91) and Hee Haw until 1992.

In 1983, Metromedia and MGM decided to syndicate Fame to stations after NBC canceled the critically acclaimed but low-rated series (Fame would switch to Tribune-owned stations in 1985.)

In 1990, producer Stephen J. Cannell and his production company syndicated new episodes of 21 Jump Street (without Johnny Depp) to stations after Fox canceled it after three seasons.

And of course, the best example would be Baywatch. After NBC dropped it after one season in 1990, it moved to first-run syndication in 1991 and would run for ten years.

Other examples include Viper and Due South. Sitcoms that were canceled after two or less seasons and revived in syndication included Too Close for Comfort, It's a Living, Charles in Charge, and We Got It Made.

If Reaper is picked up for syndication, it could make a killing in international sales, which helped fund many first-run action series in the 1990's, including Baywatch.