Watchdog

Warner Wolf, who since December has been doing sports reports for both 1050 ESPN and Don Imus on WABC, has left 1050 on weekday mornings effective Monday after being asked by ESPN to choose between the jobs.

(Wolf still will do his Saturday morning show on 1050.)

1050 ESPN program director Aaron Spielberg said Friday the decision was made in the wake of on-air remarks by Imus Thursday in which he ripped the ESPN morning show, "Mike and Mike," in terms ESPN believed crossed a line from legitimate criticism to "off-color" personal attacks.

Wolf was given the choice of staying with 1050 or Imus, and opted for the latter. He has a longstanding relationship with Imus, for whom he famously reported from near the site of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"I have to protect the integrity of my ESPN talent and I have to protect the integrity of our hosts,'' said Spielberg, who added it was an "overall decision" involving executives in both New York and Bristol.

"I couldn't put ESPN's brand name in a position where I felt like it was going to be compromised. I told Warner, 'Look, we love having you and we want to keep you.' But I just couldn't put him in a situation or my morning show in a position where we’d be compromised.

"It's difficult when someone calls one of my hosts a ----. I don’t want to be involved with that . . . I understand how Imus does his show and I appreciate that, but we don’t subscribe to that. Certain people are going to be offended by it, and Warner is a representative of ESPN."

(Recently during one of Wolf's reports on the Imus show, Imus made remarks about the Cowboys' Pacman Jones that caused a stir because of its racial content. But Imus insisted he was satirizing the treatment of blacks by the police, not criticizing blacks themselves.)

Wolf appeared Friday on both channels - whose studios are located on the same floor of a Manhattan building - but will only be on with Imus Monday.

"I understand humor and criticism," Spielberg said. "You have to have a tough skin. It’s just you get to a point with certain things that I have to protect ESPN."

Wolf did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

I'm trying to remain neutral and open-minded on the latest round of Imus stuff, just as I tried to do last year, because I am not good at assessing the shifting winds of political correctness.

I do know this: Whether you are a supporter or a detractor, Imus did nothing to help his credibility with this ridiculous take on Adam Jones' character Tuesday as he explained his controversial comments from Monday:

"My point was there's no reason to arrest this kid six times. He's a football player. He's a lovely kid. He's out having fun. He doesn't need to be arrested six times. We know why he gets arrested six times. That was my point."

Pacman a "lovely kid?" Oy. Maybe that was more sarcasm. Gosh, I hope so.

(Did I mention that for the entire 1981-82 school year I worked in the game room of the student union, immediately adjacent to the Pac-Man machine, and still can hear that stupid song playing in my head after listening to it 100 times a day for eight months?)

Uh, oh. Maybe this Imus thing is not going to go away . . . just like the last time.

Pacman Jones has weighed in by expressing concern over Imus' remarks. Here is that link from AOL Fanhouse, and here is the link to this morning's Imus audio.

I'm not getting sucked in this time!

Maybe Verne Gay will keep up with this saga on his blog.

I've got current WFAN personalities to worry about!

Monday's Imus brouhaha was a bolt out of the blue, and out of the past, a reminder of those heady days of 2007, when Imus fans helped make WatchDog the worldwide new media sensation it is today.

Here is the story about it to which I contributed in Tuesday's newspaper, and here is a story about Imus addressing the matter this morning.

After Imus explained himself, Warner Wolf weighed in and reiterated what he told me Monday night, which was somewhat different from what Imus himself said.

Imus said he was making a statement about blacks being unfairly targeted for arrest. Wolf's interpretation was that Imus was making a satirical joke about blacks in serious legal trouble crying racism, a point seconded this morning by Karith Foster, a member of Imus' cast.

Either way, it certainly seems unlikely that Imus was saying black people are more prone to get into or cause trouble than others. He's not a moron. Right?

I'm way too buy obsessing over Mike Francesa and Chris Russo to get involved with another Don Imus imbroglio, but since this one involves a sports figure I guess I might as well post it.

Here is a link to the audio from Deadspin.

Maybe Imus meant that Pacman Jones' race was a factor in his rap sheet in the sense that black men often are treated more aggressively than white men are by the police. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Imus is not an idiot.

If not . . . well, like I said, I don't have time for another Imus controversy right now. Good luck, Don.

Don Imus' 19th annual radiothon will be held Thursday and Friday, now on WABC rather than WFAN. Here is the info if you are interested in contributing.

At the prodding of a loyal reader, I asked WFAN operations manager Mark Chernoff whether the station or its personalities would have any formal role in helping the radiothon, given the 18-year history of the station carrying the event, or whether such participation/contributions would strictly be a personal matter.

Chernoff said it would be a personal matter. But I'm guessing some of Imus' old friends at WFAN will pitch in financially for what remains as worthy a cause as ever.

I hope so, anyway.

This article takes a look at some different facets of the Imus ratings saga that I wrote about in my Tuesday newspaper column.

Despite the mediocre raw numbers, remember there always has been a premium advertisers have been willing to pay for the Imus cachet, as well as the relatively high income level of his listeners.

But that can't last forever. It will be interesting to see where things stand a year from now.

The entire radio industry is waiting with bated breath for the new people meter ratings system that could sharply alter the landscape come autumn, in ways difficult to predict.

This is my Tuesday newspaper column. If you promise to read it I promise to stop leading my columns with informative but numbers-heavy items about radio ratings.

Feel free to use the comments function to engage in a spirited discussion about the WFAN morning show.

Also making appearances in the column today: Carlos Delgado, Mike Francesa, Tiger Woods, Roger Goodell, Brian Billick, John McEnroe, Chris Russo, Tom Hammond, Sean McManus, Michael Strahan, Will Leitch, Bob Costas and . . . Don Imus!

Among others.

I have a lot of newspaper stuff to do today. Enjoy the start of the Rangers' triumphant march to the third round.

I took a break from the three-day siege of talk radio and talk TV inanity/insanity regarding Joba Chamberlain pumping his fist after a strikeout and turned to Imus for the first time in weeks.

What I discovered was this:

On the first anniversary of calling Rutgers women's basketball players "nappy-headed hos'' and turning the local sports radio business upside down, Imus spent much of his show celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.

That included a long, cordial talk with Rev. Jesse Jackson.

I'd write "what a difference a year makes." But that would be a cliche, and those are to be avoided.

Nearly a year after her program was engulfed in the controversy that followed Don Imus' remarks about Rutgers' women's basketball team, coach C. Vivian Stringer bluntly questioned the sincerity of his publicly stated regrets.

In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports'' that will debut Monday, Stringer had this to say when asked for a reaction to Imus' return to radio:

"I didn't make a judgment. I mean, he has a right to earn a living.

"You know, this has been a long year. Things were stolen. And the culprit hasn't reached out at one point at any time to say, 'Boo. I'm thinking about you,' or, 'Thank you for helping me to give thought to myself.'

"He has said that publicly, so I'm told. But is that the way you do things? Do you just get on the air and say, 'Gee, I'm going to be a better person.' So, how sincere was it?"

(UPDATE: Thanks for asking for clarification, Charlie Chilkoot. Indeed, this is not CVS. I figured it would be more interesting to post a picture of Essence Carson, who did so well as the unofficial team spokeswoman last April.)

I don't listen to Imus anymore, because I've got enough to worry about with WFAN and ESPN 1050. But a couple of loyal readers from WatchDog's obsessed-with-Imus days alerted me that Imus has been saying very nice things about Mike Francesa and Chris Russo this week.

Interesting. Francesa and Russo indeed were doggedly loyal to Imus during last year's unpleasantness, but the relationship had appeared to be strained since then.

Among other things, Francesa and Russo ripped Imus for inviting Tim Russert back on his show after Russert failed to support Imus during the Rutgers fallout.

Anyway, here is Imus with Billy Packer Thursday. Mike and Chris come up about 5:40 into the conversation.

Said Imus: "By the way, Billy, if you're going to ever make a list of stand-up guys, put those two names at the top: Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. I'm going to tell you now, boy, I don't want to go into a lot of detail now, but those guys, those are some big cojones there.''

I haven't been listening to Imus much since he returned, but a reader tipped me off to Tim Russert's appearance this morning.

Listening to Russert and Imus pick up where they left off before April 4 was another example of what I learned long ago in the media business:

Now matter how mad reporters and sources - or talk show hosts and interview subjects - get at one another, they invariably rush back into a cozy embrace the moment it benefits their symbiotic purposes.

The entire business is based on mutual exploitation. As are many businesses. But ours more than most.

Among other things, Warner Wolf, the subject of Friday's newspaper column, is an excellent storyteller.

Click below for more about his very early days in the business that I couldn't fit in the newspaper.

After many months of writing about them - and shamelelssly using them to help boost page views in WatchDog's early months - I finally met Bernard McGuirk and Lou Rufino early Thursday morning in the WABC control room.

I was there researching a newspaper column on Warner Wolf, which Mr. Imus himself was kind enough to plug at about 7:15 this morning.

You Imus supporters out there should be pleased to learn that Bernard and Lou were well aware of all the stuff written on the blog about them and the show, not only by me but in your many comments over the past eight months. And they said they appreciated it.

Thanks again for reading and enjoy Warner and the rest of the crew in 2008. I will mostly stick to listening to Warner on ESPN 1050 and Carlin on WFAN because . . . well, darn it, that's my job.

OK, I think I now understand this Warner Wolf situation, a story I broke late Saturday night, then partially unbroke Sunday morning, then turned out to be right about in the first place.

Warner is doing sports updates on both ESPN 1050 and Imus' new show on WABC, whose studios are quite close to each other on Seventh Avenue.

Tony Powell, who was hired to do sports on the Imus show, still is a member of the cast but apparently now will concentrate on his specialty, which is comedy, rather than sports, with which he never did seem fully comfortable.

Sorry Imus supporters, but I have not been listening much to the show because I have two all-sports stations to deal with. But Warner is a sports guy, so I got dragged back into Mr. Imus' saga once again for old times' sake.

Carry on.

Wow. I guess I should have more self-confidence.

Late Saturday night I wrote a post reporting Warner Wolf would be returning to the Imus show in a limited role. Then I took it down early Sunday pending an opportunity to flesh out the details Monday morning.

Now I'm told Warner was on the show this morning! I'll still try to figure out exactly what his schedule is going to be. Thanks again for the page views, Imus fans.

Late Saturday night I wrote a post reporting that I had heard Warner Wolf would be returning to WABC/Imus in some capacity in addition to his newly expanded role at ESPN 1050.

As I realized amid readers' questions about the story, it was too incomplete to have been posted in the first place. So in the interests of thoroughness and responsible journalism, I have taken it down, and will do further reporting on this matter Monday.

WatchDog apologies for the confusion.

Just in case any Imus supporters still read WatchDog - Hello, are you out there? I hear an echo in here! - check out this interesting op-ed piece Ron Kuby wrote in Newsday.

I have to admit, I have not been listening to Imus' new show. It's not a matter of principle or anything. It's just that my job entails keeping tabs on our market's two sports talk stations.

It also entails me writing a newspaper column, something I've let slip too often over the past seven months in favor of the blog.

So I'm going to have to employ my Thursday policy on Mondays as well and focus on the column first, and the blog later.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the MIchael Vick sentencing.

Good morning, Imus people. And farewell!

WatchDog launched three weeks after CBS Radio fired Don Imus, and the saga of what WFAN would do to replace him and where Imus would land greatly helped the blog build an audience.

Thanks to all the Imus supporters (and detractors) who participated, and enjoy the new show if you are so inclined.

At about 5:55 a.m. Curtis Sliwa, Imus' predecessor in WABC's morning drive time slot, welcomed him to the station and criticized him at the same time. Game on!

My final duty is to report that Mr. Imus' new sports update man is Tony Powell, a black comedian out of East New York and the University of Virginia. (I wrote over the weekend that Imus was hiring a young black comedian with whom most readers would be unfamiliar.)

Will I listen some of the time? Sure, why not? Right now Boomer and Carton are breaking down the scoring mathematics of the final minutes of the Giants-Bears game, as they must. And Mike and Mike are talking BCS, as they must.

Too much of that kind of thing can turn a man's brain into oatmeal.

So, for better and/or worse, what the heck: Welcome back, Mr. Imus.

(Update: I listened to Powell's first sports update. Mike Breen he ain't.)

The secrecy with which WABC is guarding the identity of Don Imus' new sports updater is quite extraordinary.

It is especially odd since from what I have been able to dredge up on this, the man in question is not a big name who most listeners will recognize.

He is a young, black comedian with little or no apparent background in sports reporting.

I have confirmed his first name with three sources but I have not gotten a final confirmation of his last name (yet), so why even go there? I have football games to watch!

Well, there you have it, Imus/WatchDog fans. I guess we'll all hear what happens when the new show debuts Monday morning.

Out of curiosity of course I'll listen the first day, but after that duty calls and it's my job to monitor the goings-on at 660 and 1050 on the dial.

Enjoy the show, if you are so inclined.

Warner Wolf will be joining ESPN 1050 in an expanded role starting Monday, as a morning drive time sports anchor during the week and for an extra hour on Saturday mornings, when his show will run from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Wolf first will be heard at 5:40 a.m. weekdays with overnight host Gordon Damer, then do local updates on the national "Mike and Mike'' show.

Wolf had been heard on WABC on weekdays, but as of Monday that station's morning slot will be occupied by a Mr. Don Imus.

So who will do sports for Imus? I'm working on nailing that one down.

I can tell you Imus is believed to be planning to add two African-Americans to his cast, and that one of those black cast members will be his new sports guy.

I'm assuming the I-man will be officially announcing of all this when he appears on "20/20" Friday night with Barbara Walters.

(Update: My information about when Imus will chat with Babs was WRONG. Here is the right information from Newsday's own Verne Gay.)

Against my better judgment, I finally caved in to the wishes of some of WatchDog's more rabid Imus fans and asked WFAN operations manager Mark Chernoff the following:

Will his station's personalities be allowed to appear on Don Imus' new WABC show, which debuts Monday?

Chernoff was kind enough to respond, telling me there have been no such requests from WABC and that thus to this point there has been no need for a policy on that subject.

I haven't forgotten about you, Imus supporters.

In six days, when he officially becomes a non-sports guy for good, maybe I will. But not yet!

If this has been written somewhere else, I apologize for the non-scoop, but I believe based on logic, logistics and vibes I've gotten from Fuse-land that Mr. Imus' RFD-TV simulcast will emanate from the studios of Fuse, across Seventh Avenue from WABC radio's studios.

This would enable him to do three hours of TV on one side of the street and his last hour from the other side. Interesting.

I guess we'll know for sure Monday.

Speaking of Fuse, although I've never actually watched the channel, it played an important role in the evolution of my thinking on the NFL Network vs. Big Cable battle.

That's because it illustrated the mutual back-scratching on which the basic cable system is built.

In the autumn of 2005, Cablevision (which owns Fuse) had Versus (then known as OLN) on its sports tier. Comcast (which owns Versus) wanted it on digital basic, especially with the new NHL package kicking in.

Solution? Simple: Comcast agreed to carry Fuse. Cablevision agreed to move Versus. End of problem. And more channels on basic cable.

Speaking of Don Imus (see post below) . . .

Bob Gelb, who produced the first show heard on WFAN in 1987 and “Mike and the Mad Dog’’ for its first eight years, left this week to join Citadel Broadcasting and its new star, Imus.

Since 1997, Gelb had been WFAN’s director of strategic marketing; he will serve in a similar capacity at WABC for Imus’ show, which debuts Dec. 3.

In his resignation letter, he wrote of his pride in having worked for what he called "the greatest sports talk show in the history of our business" and "a radio station that will go down in journalistic history as one that changed the way people receive information and are entertained.’’

I know Imus' first show will be staged at 1,500-seat Town Hall in Manhattan. But I still have no idea who his rumored black cast member or sports update person will be. Sorry.

I'm mostly retired from the Imus beat these days, but I am trying to keep an eye on who (if anyone) the I-man brings in to be his sports update person.

The list of candidates has proven difficult to crack. But one theory is that the long-anticipated addition of an African-American cast member could come in the form of a sports person.

But who might that be? Your guess is as good as mine. Sorry. (Post your suggestions in the comments section.)

The show is set to debut Dec. 3 on WABC, which for now apparently will be the only radio station on which it will be heard. Other Citadel Broadcasting stations presumably will come on board soon enough, though.

A TV simulcast partner has not been announced, but the smart money remains on RFD-TV, a rural-oriented channel that produced an all-access documentary on Imus' ranch in New Mexico.

(Update: I heard about this RFD thing being a done deal Tuesday night but was unable to confirm it fully enough to report it. Subsequent to writing about it above I was made aware that The New York Times wrote a story on this topic in its Wednesday editions. Am I allowed to link to a competing paper? I have no idea. If so, here goes. If not, I guess I'll hear about it from the boss.)

Many thanks to Bob (Deputy Dawg) Glauber for filling in for me on the Imus beat this week and offering the following Lou scoop that some WatchDog readers have been awaiting with bated breath.

I was working on this story but hadn't quite nailed it down yet, so I'm glad Bob did so I don't have to feel guilty for letting down my loyal Imus commentors.

Read Bob's NFL blog daily, as well as those of everyone else in the Newsday sports department.

Stop wasting time eating, sleeping and working and you'll find there is plenty available to keep up with important news on our Web site.

We're trying hard to remain your most thorough, trusted source of world, national and especially local news deep into the 21st century - or at least until I retire.

By the way, did you know that two guys in the news today for landing new jobs were born five days apart in the summer of 1940?

Joe Torre is five days older than Don Imus.

Pretty impressive, when you think about it.

Sixty-seven is the new 40.

The only celebrity I know of with a birthday almost that close to mine is Shaun Powell.

Just to put a bow on this, here is the link to my newspaper article about the offiicial Imus signing Thursday.

Now I'm really, really going to try to punt this story to our news/entertainment staffs, because I've got enough trouble trying to monitor the goings-on at WFAN and WEPN.

Hey, it could be worse. Much worse. There are four sports talk stations in Houston.

Anyway, thanks as always to the Imus supporters (and detractors) who have helped with my page views over the past few months.

I'll have my official numbers for October early next week. Sorry to keep you in suspense like this.

Don Imus signed a contract Thursday afternoon with Citadel Broadcasting and will return to the radio Dec. 3 on WABC-AM in New York, Newsday has learned.

The fact a deal was near was first reported by Newsday one month ago today.

Now it is a reality. An official announcement is expected soon, perhaps later this afternoon.

Imus was fired by CBS Radio April 12 after making remarks deemed by many to be racially and sexually offensive.

He is expected to work in morning drive time at WABC, with the potential for radio syndication and a TV simulcast.

(Update: It's official. Congratulations, Imus people. Enjoy the new show.)

Oh, what the heck: Let's get the November page views drive started with an old reliable topic.

Yup, Don Imus.

Here is the latest: I have been assured this week that Mr. Imus STILL is due to return to the radio airwaves on WABC-AM on Monday, Dec. 3.

I don't know whether my earlier report that he would debut with a show at the Beacon Theatre is going to come off. I don't know the candidates for the African-American cast member Imus is believed to be searching for as part of his team.

And I can't figure out why Citadel Broadcasting has yet to formally announce Imus' return.

None of that officially is on my beat anyway. I just wanted to reassure the many loyal WatchDog readers who double as Imus fans that your hero still is on track to be back soon.

One month and two days, to be exact.

Sorry I'm off to a late start today. I went to the dentist for a cleaning and got rave reviews from the staff.

Never leaving your house is bad for one's waistline but good for one's dental hygiene, what with easy access to a toothbrush after every meal.

The last time I visited the dentist was April 10. I was in a hurry to leave to get to Rutgers for a news conference featuring a certain women's basketball team in the wake of comments directed at it by a certain radio talk show host.

No, I'm afraid I do not know why Citadel Broadcasting has not yet announced its signing of Don Imus to man the WABC-AM morning drive time slot.

To the best of my knowledge it's still happening, but someone familiar with the process described it to me as "fluid'' on Friday; I'm not sure what that means.

ESPN sent word Wednesday of its 2007-08 women's basketball schedule, which at 2,008 words weighed in at a good 7,500 words fewer than its men's basketball release.

Hmm.

Click below for all of the details, direct from Bristol.

Citadel Broadcasting still hasn't made an official announcement about Don Imus signing a contract to return to radio on WABC-AM, but plans are underway for his debut show, which is expected to take place on Monday, Dec. 3.

Imus likely will make his return at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, with a guest list that has yet to be determined, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Thereafter Imus presumably would work out of the ABC studios, backed by a cast that has yet to be finalized.

The Drudge Report is reporting this Monday morning that Don Imus will debut on WABC-AM on Dec. 3.

The story is labeled an "exclusive," which is strange because Newsday reported a week ago that Imus would be back "on or about Dec. 3'' and more importantly was the first to report two weeks ago that Imus was close to a deal with Citadel Broadcasting.

That's OK, though. Imus no longer is a sports story and I have successfully dumped him in the laps of our capable news and entertainment reporters.

I'm busy listening to Carton and Boomer talk about Chad Pennington. Don't tell the boss, but I didn't see a minute of the Eagles-Jets game.

I was at a fair at Columbia to promote