Second Round of 'Celebrity Boxing' Comes to FOX (May 11, 2002)

The 90-minute special, which FOX hopes will duplicate the success of the first "Celebrity Boxing" in March, will air at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 22 -- the last night of sweeps.

The new special will feature four bouts -- one more than its predecessor -- with a similar roster of past newsmakers and ex-stars.

Two fights have been set. One will feature early-'90s tabloid fixtures Joey Buttafuoco and John Wayne Bobbitt. Buttafuoco was involved in the "Long Island Lolita" case with Amy Fisher -- who was denied an appearance in the first "Celebrity Boxing" by the conditions of her parole from the case. Bobbitt became known in 1993 when his wife, Lorena, "separated him from his manhood," as the FOX press release puts it.

Another bout will feature former athletic curiosities William "Refrigerator" Perry, the famously corpulent former NFL player, and Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 ex-NBA player from the Sudan. Other bouts will be announced soon.

The first "Celebrity Boxing" was a surprise hit for FOX, averaging 15.5 million viewers when it aired March 13 opposite the premiere of CBS' "Amazing Race 2" and a repeat of "The West Wing" on NBC.

The new special may have a tougher time in the ratings, as the season finales of "The West Wing" on NBC, "The Drew Carey Show" on ABC and "Enterprise" on UPN, as well as the series finale of "Felicity" on The WB, are all scheduled for May 22. In addition, CBS will broadcast the Academy of Country Music Awards that night.

Hispanic groups challenge NBC's triopoly (May 11, 2002)

Several Hispanic organizations are asking federal judges to accelerate NBC's deadline for selling one of its three Los Angeles TV stations.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition and others charged in a lawsuit that the Federal Communications Commission's reasons for granting NBC an extra six months to make a sale were either racist or irrelevant.

NBC acquired KVEA(TV) and KWHY-TV when it purchased Spanish-language network Telemundo Communications Group Inc. in April. The network already owned KNBC-TV.

Owners in big markets are limited to two stations, and the FCC typically allows six months for divestitures when mergers violate ownership limits. NBC, however, received 12 months on grounds that the Telemundo stations' Spanish-language focus deserved special treatment.

The commission also reasoned that recent relaxation of duopoly restrictions demonstrated that restricting multiple local ownership is no longer a priority and that there was no urgency in this case because the three stations account for less than 20 percent of the market's advertising revenue.

NBC said it will sell KWHY.

K-Earth News (May 11, 2002)

*Thursday, October 31st - Staples Center
*Saturday, November 2nd - Edison International Field
*Monday, November 4th - Wiltern Theatre

Join K-EARTH 101 for a weekend of fun at the Old Pasadena Summer Fest! This year's 13th annual Old Pasadena Summer Fest is set for Memorial Day Weekend, May 25, 26 and 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, in Central Park (Fair Oaks Avenue, two blocks south of Colorado Boulevard) in Pasadena. You can check out live music at the Playboy JazzFest, enjoy new foods at A Taste of Summer, bring the kids for the Family Fun Fest and so much more! Admission to the event is free and plenty of parking is available. Check out the K-EARTH 101 Event Kalendar for more information and directions.

If you are a student in Kindergarten through 8th Grade, K-EARTH 101 wants you to send us your nomination for "The 2002 McDonald's Teacher of the Month". Tell us what you like about your teacher and include your grade and your school's name. If we select your entry you could win a McDonald's Lunch Party for your class! Logon to the K-EARTH 101.com homepage for details on how to enter!

Coming Soon! A special K-EARTH 101 Dateline screening of Miramax Films' "The Importance of Being Earnest". This classic comedy of mistaken identity stars Rupert Everett ("An Ideal Husband"), Reese Witherspoon ("Legally Blond"), Judi Dench ("Iris") and Colin Firth ("Bridget Jones Diary"). Log on to the K-EARTH 101 FunClub by Wednesday, May 15th for your chance to win a pass for two to see Miramax Film's "The Importance of Being Earnest" on May 21st!

Are you looking to meet new people or trying to find that special someone? If you believe finding someone that you can't imagine wanting to be without is worth a little effort...or at the very least one simple phone call...give the K-EARTH 101 Dateline a try! The enrollment call is free - 1 (877) 906 - 1010! That's right - one phone call is all it takes to get started. The database of great singles will be searched and only match you up with people who fit what you're looking for. You hear their personal phone message, then you decide whether to call them back or not. No stress, no games and no obligation. Call the K-EARTH 101 Dateline now at 1 (877) 906 - 1010. Part of the Match-Link System, the better way to meet your match.

Keep listening to OLDIES RADIO K-EARTH 101 for new event information!

Reader Letter: Radio Hammer (May 10, 2002)

"Thank you (Reader) so much for your constant hammer job on the current state of radio in San Diego ("Blurt"). As a county resident for the better part of 20 years, I can honestly say that the airwaves have never sounded more boring or less inspired than they do right now. Of course, the fact that most stations are owned by the same conglomerate is the obvious reason for this dreadful condition. Although the playlists are horrifically predictable, it is the commercials that have me diving for the off switch. I ask the question, if it weren't for auto insurance, hair replacement, and male enhancement products, where would the advertiser revenues come from? It doesn't matter what station one turns to, it is always the same terrible voice-overs. Keep up the good work, Reader, of telling it like it is. In the meantime, I suggest people search out something other than the mainstream. Go to a small local club and see a real band in action. Seek out great new music that you'll never hear on local airwaves. The English magazine "Mojo" is a good place to start looking."

ESPN 800 To Take On XTRA 690 in San Diego (May 10, 2002)

Two thoughts for anyone who likes listening to sports-talk radio but doesn't always like listening to XTRA.

1) Join the club.

2) Competition is on the way.

XEMM-AM (800) in Tijuana will carry ESPN Radio programming beginning in about 45-60 days, said T.J. Lambert, vice president of sports for ABC and ESPN Radio.

Lambert said yesterday the FCC has granted the necessary permission for ABC/ESPN to transmit U.S.-based programming from Mexico. It's the same approval XTRA has.

Exactly what we'll hear, however, remains unclear. ESPN has 24-hour programming, but whether XEMM chooses to supplement that with any local shows - the way KSPN in Los Angeles does with Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian - is unknown. A call to an XEMM official was not returned.

It seems certain, though, that the new station would carry such ESPN staples as Tony Kornheiser (7-10 a.m. PT) and Dan Patrick (10 a.m.-1 p.m.). Those shows would compete with XTRA's Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith (6-9 a.m.) and Steve Hartman and Bill Werndl (9 a.m.-1 p.m.).

Ironically, Patrick's brother, Bill Pugh, is director of AM operations for Clear Channel, which operates XTRA.

"My friend Bill can listen to his brother Dan every day," Lambert said.

No thanks, Pugh said.

"Dan doesn't pay my salary; Clear Channel does," Pugh said. Then, with timing his brother would be proud of, Pugh added, "And I think Dan's substandard."

XTRA carries some ESPN programming, but ESPN wants more of a presence here, meaning XTRA will have to switch to Fox Sports Radio for supplemental shows (such as overnights). However, XTRA still will carry ESPN's live events.

If XEMM chooses to add any local shows, a logical move would be to hire Dave Palet and Jeff Dotseth, who were exiled from KFMB a couple of months ago, or perhaps XTRA's Chris Ello, should he be interested in doing more than weekends.

Another question concerns XEMM's signal strength, believed to be only 500 watts. It would have to increase its power in order to be heard in all of San Diego County.

That could be one reason Pugh and his boss, Clear Channel vice president Kevin McCarthy, said they're not too worried about the competition. McCarthy noted XTRA already draws higher ratings in L.A. than KSPN among its target 25-54 male demographic.

"It's a very powerful brand," McCarthy said of ESPN, "but it's a situation where they have 24/7 of national shows. That's 24/7 of Bill in Cheyenne or Tony in Tallahassee. We have that with Jim Rome, but the difference is Jim's SoCal roots. Jim clearly gets a pass on that.

"I don't view it as particularly formidable."

Said Lambert: "We're going to present what we think is compelling programming. It's different from what they do."

Sometimes that will be good; sometimes it won't. But it will be nice to have a choice.

KSON Goes Golfing (May 10, 2002)

Even if you aren't a golfer, you can be a part of this amazing event and join us for the dinner and concert. It's truly an experience you'll never forget. Nowhere else can you find Today's Best Country artists playing together on stage in such an intimate atmosphere. Some of the artists you can look forward to seeing are Trace Adkins, Chris Cagle, Tammy Cochran, Chely Wright, Jeff Carson, McBride & The Ride and new artists Brad Martin, Brett James, Joe Nichols, Little Big Town and Kevin Denney. This event always sells out so get your seats now! For more information and for a registration form, call 800-227-6737. For online info, go to www.kson.com

That's all for now, have a great weekend and we'll see you on the putting green!

KSON 97.3

91X E-File (May 10, 2002)

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones... The Star Wars saga continues with the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. 91X will host an advanced screening of the new Star Wars film Wednesday, May 15th before it opens to the public Thursday, May 16th. But 91X wants to give you, the 91X E-filer, a shot at winning this hot ticket. Simply click here for a shot at winning tickets to the 91X Advanced Screening of Star Wars Episode II. Please enter before 10am Tuesday Morning if you want to win the tickets.

Well, that is enough good info for now. Listen to 91X all week long for more chances to win X-Fest Tickets and passes to the 91X Advanced Screening of Star Wars Episode II... Remember who loves ya baby,

Brand X, Robin, Hilary, Muckley, Trev, and the rest of the 91X team

Radio Wires (May 9, 2002)

Radio Wires (May 9, 2002)

The San Diego Reader Blurt - Various journalists
Uh oh! Time to pick on Clear Channel again!

Q: What's the difference between Clear Channel and McDonald's?
A: At McDonald's there's a live person on the mike. Shrinking market for live DJs (sounds closer to the automated DFSX Radio than the old KCBQ-AM radio days).

Radio Wires (May 8, 2002)

From Cindy via e-mail newsletter: "I'll be hosting a special listener lunch this Friday, May 10th, at Outback Steakhouse in Clairemont Mesa Square and you're invited. Here's the deal, we're collecting donations of pampering items such as shampoo and conditioner, lotion, cosmetics and more for the moms living at St. Vincent de Paul Village. With your donation you'll get a free lunch from Outback Steakhouse. Space is limited, so you gotta call THE PLANET at (858) 467 - 4123 to make a reservation for you and your friends. We'll call you back and confirm, then just bring your donation this Friday to Outback Steakhouse at 4196 Clairemont Mesa Blvd and enjoy lunch with me. See ya at the Outback! PS. Outback Steakhouse is open at 11 am this Sunday for Mothers Day!"

Radio Wires (May 8, 2002)

http://radio-info.com/boards/ctc/

Name: CurtisInPA
Date: 5/7/02 7:57 p.m.

Possibly in the near future, my family will be planning to move to the San Diego area. We recently went to my local library about what the city was like and what type of climate southern California could have. I am curious on what the radio market would be like compared to my area. Since our radio market has problems serving the entire region, I believe that San Diego's radio market will cover just about the entire area without any translators or simulcasting stations. It would be the same as all other major cities.

One strange thing about SD radio is that a major top 40 station and a rock station, mostly commercial, are located on the 88-92 band. I am surprised that such formats were being broadcasted on those frequency and many of these stations have call letters that begin with the letter "X". In the U.S., most of the stations run on these frequencies are intended for college radio, religious, and public radio stations. One example is that a modern rock station "91X" located on 91.1 is owned by Clear Channel, which is strange for a major radio company to own on the educational band.

Now that Southern California has a better radio variety, there's one thing that I like about San Diego radio. A soft AC station called "KyXy 96.5" has a better music variety which is similiar to the stations I enjoy listening to. In the Scr/W-B, market, there is no such thing, Magic 93 plays Pink while the other plays "I'm A B****", which doesn't belong to this soft rock format, so that's why radio in my radio market is getting so bad. So anyway, KYXY has softer jingles and is owned by Infinity Broadcasting.

And last, but not least, AM reception in the area. Normally, in the daytime hours, I mostly receive WABC, WCBS, and WFAN, all of NYC; KYW, WIP, WPHT, all of Philadelphia; and WGY in the Albany area. I am just curious that which AM stations would I receive during daytime reception hours? Evening hours?

That's the information I need to know.

Name: Walter
Date: 5/7/02 10:32 p.m.

In Reply To: San Diego Radio (CurtisInPA)

"65.58.133.12" writes:

These are actually Mexican stations that have agreements in place with US broadcasters to program them. CC has used this to basiclly run 11 stations in the market, when you throw in XETRA AM and FM(XTRA 690 and 91X), and XHTZ(Z90). There are a few other Mexican stations that do the same with other companies in San Diego.

I have never listened to KYXY when I'm in San Diego, because there are so many better choices there. 91X is the best Alternative station in the country; KIOZ is a great Active Rocker; Z90 is a bad ass Rhythmic Top 40; Star 100.7 is one of the original Modern AC's in the country; Even KPLN the Classic Hits station(I think) and KIFM(the Smooth Jazz station) are unbelievable. San Diegans are truly spoiled by their radio choices.

In San Diego you can pick up KFI and KNX from LA all day, all night, all over San Diego county. Some of the opther LA AM's are kind of a crap shoot, depending on where you are in the County. KABC, I believe, has good penetration into North County. San Diego has pretty good AM's itself, as far as I know. XETRA is the original XTRA sports station CC tried to brand regioanlly, and KFMB is a good, heritage News/Talk station. KOGO has been doing very well lately, too.

Name: Don McCullen
Date: 5/7/02 8:06 p.m.

"209.254.240.215" writes:

Those stations are licsended in Tijuana, Mexico, and their are accually owned by Mexican operations. However their is a special agreement with CCU to operate XTRA aka 91X. Also Mexico does not have an Education rule for the 88-91 range along with Canada.

It's a big market, and Groove Addicts does KYXY jingles.

Name: Eric Stein
Date: 5/8/02 12:17 a.m.

Actually, CC does not operate any of the Califormula stations, including Z90. There has been talks of them taking over the operations of Z90, but nothing has come out of that. On the other hand, CC runs XHRM-FM "Magic 92.5," which after only one listen, you'll know why they're one of the few remaining "Jammin' Oldies" stations (and surprising for a CC station!).

David Tanny Destroys The Myths About America's Behindest City's Radio Stations

re: CurtisInPA sez "Now that Southern California has a better radio variety, there's one thing that I like about San Diego radio. A soft AC station called "KyXy 96.5" has a better music variety which is similiar to the stations I enjoy listening to. In the Scr/W-B, market, there is no such thing, Magic 93 plays Pink while the other plays "I'm A B****", which doesn't belong to this soft rock format, so that's why radio in my radio market is getting so bad. So anyway, KYXY has softer jingles and is owned by Infinity Broadcasting."

Better radio variety? In the San Diego Outland? I've heard better variety on TV playing theme songs. Just listen to the genres the TV theme songs represent from I Love Lucy to Malcolm in the Middle and you see what I mean.

Radio variety has become an oxymoron in itself; there's just no such thing. How could KYXY have "better music variety" if all it plays is cookie-cutter slow songs that basically all sound alike? I can't tell one love song from another; they're all the same thing.

Where's the radio variety in San Diego? It's nonexistent here. There's better radio variety in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia with additional choices from the non-commercial college stations in the 88-92 MHz range where ratings is not a factor, so creativity in music genre variety lives amongst the clusters there. In San Diego, all we have are two narrow-niched non-commercial stations playing traditional jazz and news/classical, the rest of the non-commercial band is filled up with Mexican broadcast stations.

Where's the radio variety in San Diego? I like to have several formats given more radio prominence here such as folk, real country (not the a/c stuff that poses as country), euro pop and dance, masterpiece rock (not just the classic stuff but all the progressive stuff from the 60's on to the present), real variety alternative rock, alternative R&B (think Snap and The KLF from the 90's), instrumental electronic (as unromantic with music as you can get), and comedy/novelty, which is represented by my own DFSX Radio on live365.com (now there's radio variety!)

re: Walter sez: "I have never listened to KYXY when I'm in San Diego, because there are so many better choices there. 91X is the best Alternative station in the country; KIOZ is a great Active Rocker; Z90 is a bad ass Rhythmic Top 40; Star 100.7 is one of the original Modern AC's in the country; Even KPLN the Classic Hits station(I think) and KIFM(the Smooth Jazz station) are unbelievable. San Diegans are truly spoiled by their radio choices."

Truly spoiled? If you're a numb-brain music listener, you'll enjoy watered-down alternative (91X), dance-less R&B (Z90), unlistenable rap-rock noise (KIOZ), female-only chick pop (Star), obsolete rock (Planet), watered-down jazz (KIFM), the list goes on. I can't find a thing to listen to in San Diego anymore since there's so much mainstream stuff I already heard before and are bored to sleep with the same old narrow selection of songs and genres each station chooses to play to numb your brain into total stupidity instead of playing edgier and more challenging music that stimulates mental electricity that makes you sound closer to the likes of Albert Einstein than the likes of Billy Madison.

Truly spoiled? In the San Diego Outland, America's Behindest City, we are spoiled with golf courses, beaches, animal parks, and weather everyone here takes for granted. Where we are not spoiled in is what matters most, such as cheap housing, livable wages, affordable health insurance, folk and comedy music club circuits, mature party goers who don't depend on alcohol, drugs, or tobacco in order to have a good time, family-friendly TV programming (any good shows aside of Sabrina the 26-year-old Teenage Witch?), drive-in theaters (movie houses suck ass), prominent (as in advertising on the TV) vegetarian fast food outlets (Jack in the Box and Burger King are both clueless), estacy-free rave clubs, bars that feature comedy aside of sports, and last, but not least or most, radio people that knows the meaning of radio variety and diversity.

Truly spoiled? If you've got Internet radio, a wireless broadband connection, a compatable-equipped notebook PC, and a lot of money to pay for Ricochet, then you're truly spoiled as you can listen to thousands of better choices for radio to listen to, and one good place to start at is my new page...

And from there, you can listen to stations I hand selected that will contribute to your mental closet of musical knowledge, or you can go to live365.com and explore the site and see what you can find.

After getting spoiled on the real radio variety on the Internet, you'll see what the San Diego Outland radio landscape is ripe for improvement as many stations languish in the low 2's and below, and going mostly unlistened to as the advertisers throw their money away at the stations that are underperforming.

Truly spoiled? San Diego radio is a Third World-level cluster with nothing but talk, soft music, rap rock, and oldies. There is no radio variety in this real world.

Radio Wires (May 6, 2002)

Radio Business Report:
GO>>>
Viacom is KCAL-ifornia dreamin' - - of a radio buyer (5/6)

Viacom (N:VIA) may or may not know who wants one of its Los Angeles area radio stations. Regardless, it has six months to strike a deal, as the FCC granted both its $650M acquisition of KCAL-TV from Young's (O:YBTVA) Fidelity Television and its request for six months to spin off a radio station to come back into compliance with the local ownership caps.

Two TVs are OK if there are at least eight independently-owned full power commercial and/or noncommercial television outlets in the market, and as long as one of the two stations is ranked fifth or lower among that group.

The maximum number of radio stations co-owned with a television duopoly is six. Viacom must shed one to come into compliance.

Viacom is already over the FCC's national TV ownership cap of 35% of the total television audience. The FCC notes that Viacom is currently operating at that level due to a 12-month waiver which does not even commence until the FCC rules on the 35% rule, which has been remanded to the Commission by the US Court of Appeals for reconsideration which could result in better justification of the current rule or an entirely new rule.

However, in this case, it does not matter. Since Viacom already has a television station in the Los Angeles market, the Los Angeles audience is already counted as part of its total audience. This acquisition does not change its coverage at all.

Commissioner Michael Copps went to the trouble to issue a separate statement on the matter. It was a bit odd, as he supported the six-month waiver, saying, "...I believe the unique vibrancy of the Los Angeles market can support the waiver for such a brief period of time." He basically laid the groundwork for his future dissension, should Viacom take too much time spinning a radio station. "I do not expect to see, nor do I expect to support, a request for an extension of the waiver we grant today."

The WHAT King Airs on San Diego County Station (May 5, 2002)

I can't believe what I've heard on a local radio station in San Diego this past weekend.

I'm not going to name the station in question to save them further embarrassment, but here's the name of the song that the station played over the airwaves in daylight hours...

The King of Fuh - by Brute Force

Let's see now. If you were the King of Sun, you would be called the Sun King.

If you were the King of Desert, you would be called the Desert King

But if you were the king of the land of Fuh, and there was a king in the land of Fuh...

Then you would be called the [bleep!] King!

"All hail the [bleep!] King!"

ROTFLMAO!

I'll bet you the radio jock was red faced over the embarrassment of letting the combined word over the AM airwaves. I doubt that any kids would be listening to the station which is aimed at the older crowd. This is something that can air between 10pm and 6am (Power 106 in L.A. played a song with the "F" word in Power Tools).

The "F" word was utterred in the 3pm hour.

He didn't bleep out the combined King with the Fuh part until about four of them went by uncensored.

In a related matter, Ozzy Osbourne said the "F" word, the four-letter version, and went by the censors on the Eastern feed of Tonight Show Thursday but was bleeped out on the Western feed.

91X used to play the unedited version of "88 Lines About 44 Women" in the 80's, but that Mexico-based radio station, which is programmed and marketed by Clear Channel, seemed to have cleaned up the song when it bought out the broadcasting rights from Jacor, which bought out rights from Nobel Broadcasitng.

Now you also know why in the song "The Name Game" you don't hear anyone using the name "Chuck" in the song.

Cookie Cutter Formula Hurts Radio (May 5, 2002)

The Cookie-Cutter Formula

Lack of creativity has hurt radio more than the downturn a couple of years ago, the radio business was awash in money. Major-market stations were showing double-digit-percentage revenue increases, and many were achieving sales growth of 20, 30, even 40 percent. Radio groups, which paid aggressive multiples-15 to 20 times cash flow-to acquire stations in the late 1990s, felt those multiples were good value because tremendous revenue growth created the cash flow to satisfy the debt service. Every salesperson, sales manager and general manger was a genius.

Eighteen months later, it's hard to remember how good it was. How could everyone have gone from genius to dummy in less than two years? Truth is, few were geniuses when sales were skyrocketing, and few are dummies now that the bottom has fallen out. There are lessons in the tremendous softening of the radio marketplace worth understanding, and there are issues far beyond the obvious ones that need addressing.

First, what happened? History now tells us that the initial reason was the rapid demise of the flash-in-the-pan dot-com category. It's now also old news that the current recession, which began in late 2000 in the radio business, deeply hurt radio sales as well as other media. And while the recession does not appear to be worsening, there are really only soft signs, at best, of a brighter short-term future.

But what's important to understand is that the issues facing the radio industry today are far more profound than the demise of the dot-coms and the current recession. In fact, the key issues are merely being masked by the current weak economy. The problem in a nutshell is that radio programming for the most part has gotten boring and stale. The sameness of formats within a market ultimately yields a less-than-stellar product and creates a medium that is not as attractive to advertisers. The passion for radio is fading among listeners, and I believe that lack of passion leads to advertising that is not received with the same degree of effectiveness. How many formats are really necessary that play a big dose of music from the '80s? In my home market, Philadelphia, for example, there are now four stations that heavily or exclusively focus their playlists on '80s music, resulting in far too much John Mellencamp (pre- and post-Cougar).

How did this happen? Three key reasons:

1. The consolidation of the radio industry, driven by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, resulted in a tremendous number of station acquisitions by large radio groups at obscene financial multiples (see above). The result? Conservative programming, which creates formats that all sound alike. Who wants to risk a radical new format with heavy debt service to pay?

2. A corollary of reason No. 1 is the influence of radio consultants who work for these radio groups, who recommend the same songs market-to-market, station-to-station. Journey and .38 Special weren't that good the first time around, yet they are the meat and potatoes of innocuous '80s music formats.

3. Most current music is derivative. Perhaps I'm showing my age by saying music was more innovative and fresh in the '60s and early '70s, but it was. Today there are interesting songs, but fewer bands. And that makes much of today's current music less exciting. Ultimately, this translates into less exciting music-based radio.

The traditional radio industry also has reason to be concerned that the introduction of satellite radio-XM and Sirius-will, over time, cut into automobile radio listening, particularly among the more bland, music-driven formats.

So even though the Buggles sang "Video Killed the Radio Star," radio still survived and thrived. So, too, will the industry probably make it through its current funk. The radio business has always rewarded talent and creativity. The smartest, sharpest and most creative are always ultimately the most successful. Let's hope they help lead the industry to future success and out of its current malaise.

News Wires (May 5, 2002)

Fouts, who was part of ABC's "Monday Night Football" crew for the last two seasons, will work with Keith Jackson on West Coast contests.

Fouts worked with Jackson before taking the "MNF" job.

``I'm thrilled Dan has accepted our offer to return to the college football booth,'' said Howard Katz, president of ABC Sports. ``He's a proven professional whose broadcasting skills are invaluable to the network.''

Tim Brant, who served as an analyst on the Jackson team for the past two seasons, will return to the booth as a play-by-play man.