Three Updates

Updates to previously posted items:

* Congratulations to Clear Channel Akron/Canton hot AC WKDD/98.1 for a very, very successful Children’s Hospital Radiothon over the weekend. The final total for the weekend-long fundraiser – $842,098. That includes well over $200,000 of “change bandit” collections, which brought in loose change from collections all over the area. OMW couldn’t help but notice that the WKDD/Children’s Hospital figure was the largest in a group of fundraiser radio events from stations all over the country.

* While we’re at Freedom Avenue – virtually, at least – we did catch Joe Finan’s debut on liberal talk WARF/1350 “Radio Free Ohio”. OK, so he still needs to get used to the place, not to mention the fact that his calls will be screened for name and city. (Remember, WNIR takes phone calls “cold”, and always has.) A few shots over the bow at his former WNIR colleague, now competing host Howie Chizek, and Joe’s typical smooth style with Akron/Canton’s older women, and Joe’s back.

But yes, WARF program director Jerry Mullins (who we heard in the background)…we know Joe’s old. We get it. He’s old enough to have sat around the fire with Jesus. He’s broken bread with Teddy Roosevelt. He gave advice to George Washington. He…oh, you know…

* And what very well may be an OMW exclusive, TV wise. We hear that the Cleveland Cavaliers *are* working even as we write this, to air tonight’s first high-definition Cavs contest (against San Antonio) on Adelphia cable. If all goes right, we’re told that the game will be seen on Adelphia channel 798, a channel that does not exist at this writing for Adelphia Cleveland system subscribers who take the high-definition channels. Keep watching, though…we’re told it’s in the works…even if the channel shows up just before tonight’s first game.

The games will also air on the following systems, according to a Cavaliers press release:

Comcast – Cleveland – 253
Cox – Cleveland – 707
Wild Open West (WOW) – Cleveland and Columbus – 220
Time Warner Cable – Northeast Ohio – 531
Time Warner Cable – Columbus – 716
Armstrong – Northeast Ohio plus Meadville PA – 178
Buckeye Cablesystem – Erie County – 632
Insight – Columbus – 767

Compare this to the Indians and their new TV network, where it appears they’re content to just wait until Time Warner Cable takes over the local Adelphia system to air Indians contests on that system. Not like that makes us happy at all…