Jim O'Donnell: Slim pickings for Bears at new radio home AM-1000
WHEN A WAVERING NFL FRANCHISE enters into a play-by-play rights deal with a radio gulag, good things happening are less likely than FOX's Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson speaking on "TV Truths and Our Election Coverage."
The Bears have helped slap themselves in their audio schnozz with the announcement of wraparound placeholders for the move of their games to feeble WMVP-AM (1000) this coming season.
Marc Silverman, Dionne Miller and Lance Briggs will handle extended pregame programming.
John Jurkovic and Peggy Kusinski will drive listeners in droves after games to presumptive WGN-AM (720) returnees Howlin' Ed O'Bradovich and Dan Hampton.
The lone saving pillars are gamecasters Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer, who, as previously confirmed, will move with the Bears from their 23-year run on WBBM-AM (780).
THE BIGGEST REALITY remains that George McCaskey and the Bears have gone bottom-feeding with the irrelevant AM-1000.
In the most recent monthly Nielsen Audios - released Tuesday - the Alamo of Good Karma Brands was an also-ran 25th in Chicago with an all-ages listing of 1.0.
(Market leaders were: WLIT-FM (93.9) with a 6.7, WDRV-FM (97.1) at 5.6 and WXRT-FM (93.1) with a 4.9. "The Score" (2.5) bounded up to a tie for 14th.)
Any lower for WMVP and its audience-free wee people could start scheduling staff rumbles against WMBI-FM (90.1), the no-rated flagship station of the Moody Bible Institute.
THE BEARS WILL TURN a profit off their radio broadcasts. Approximately nine hours of gameday inventory and a list of loyal advertisers - many in for unmeasurable "prestige association" and special perks - assures that.
Good Karma and AM-1000 will get crumbs.
That paucity of return is a primary reason the subsonic flailer has to stay mainly in-house as the Bears tiptoe to their weakest radio home since George Halas was borrowing Depression-era money from "Blue Shirt" Charlie Bidwill to stay in business.
STREET-BEATIN':
Chuck Swirsky missed only the fifth broadcast of his 25-year NBA career last Friday night due to a severe allergic reaction on a flight from Toronto to Miami. "The Swirsk" is OK and back playing pickleball. Adam Amin filled in alongside Bill Wennington and Jimmy Butler, Chicago-bred Max Strus and the Heat ended the Bulls season. ...
Speaking of that closing play-in debacle, there is no more compelling Exhibit Z for the Bulls somehow ditching Zach LaVine and his nonsensical $215M contract before next season. In harsh summary, he's a loser, at best Chris Bosh in need of extraordinarily favorable trade winds. If Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley don't add by that subtraction ASAP, they drift closer to the dreaded Gar Forman Neverland. ...
More questions than ever about whether Tom Brady's mic-popping 10-year, $375M contract with FOX will ever be completely fulfilled. And yes, some of that does have to do with the corporation's $787M settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. FOX is reported to have $4B in cash reserves; Brady's deal runs from 2024-33. (He just ain't that engaging.) ...
The spring surge of Dansby Swanson and the Cubs draws more attention to far too much lifeless programming on Marquee Sports Network. If paterfamilias Joe Ricketts had that sort of zip and zing out of the business gate, he never would have made it farther than 1-800 order taker for Omaha Steaks. ...
While no one has been looking, the Tigers have become the most intriguing team in the AL-Central. A.J. Hinch's in-game disciplining of Javy Baez last week resulted in a five-game winning streak. As long as the White Sox keep the wretchedly underqualified Walkin' Ethan Katz as pitching coach, The Fail Hose have a very real shot at last place in MLB's weakest division. ...
The decision of Will Zalatoris to shut down his 2023 PGA season because of back problems is drawing some long faces locally. Father Rick Zalatoris was an Alpha Tau Omega at Illinois (Class of '76); Uncles Mark Zalatoris (Glenview) and Paul Zalatoris (Lombard) are area businessmen. The young linkster broke through with a spectacular second-place finish at the 2021 Masters. ...
Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr. - who should be the top draft pick of Ryan Poles next week - is a journalism major. That means he could conceivably become the first Bear to cover himself since a young Johnny Morris was manning morning sportscasts for WBBM-Channel 2 boss Ed Kenefick back when Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus still had working knees. ...
And forever cheery Pete Vecsey, on the NBA's gabbiest TV analyst of the year: "There's nothing more grating than listening to Stan Van Gundy attempt to coach during a telecast - other than watching him attempt to coach on a sideline."
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.