➦In 1910...bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw, whose real name is Arthur Arshawsky, was born in New York City.
Shaw formed his first orchestra in 1936, and two years later had a double-sided million-seller with ”Begin the Beguine” and ”Indian Love Call.” Shaw is estimated to have sold more than 43- million copies of such records as ”Frenesi,” ”Summit Ridge Drive” and ”Dancing in the Dark.” Artie Shaw was married eight times — two of his wives were Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. Shaw later became an author and a theatrical producer, and again fronted a big band in 1980’s.
Shaw died December 30th, 2004 of natural causes, at age 94.
➦In 1922..the first debate to be heard on US radio was broadcast on WJH in Washington, DC. The two debaters argued about the topic of Daylight Saving Time with the audience acting as the judge.
➦In 1922...Seattle radio station KOL first signed on. The station is now known as KKOL 1330 AM, having surrendered the heritage 3-letter call sign in 1975 when it briefly became KMPS. Today, the station airs ethnic programming.
➦In 1926...Christian broadcaster, Wilbur Nelson, was born. Best known as host of "The Morning Chapel Hour". He was pioneer religious broadcaster, who founded the nationally syndicated daily radio ministry, The Morning Chapel Hour, in March of 1944. Nelson died August 23, 2003 at age 92.
➦In 1928..1940-50’s pop singer Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky. While still in high school, she and her younger sister Betty began performing on Cincinnati radio station WLW. Bandleader Tony Pastor heard them, and soon the sisters were singing, in person and on record, with the Pastor orchestra. After Betty tired of the road, Rosemary began a solo career. She signed with Columbia Records, and in 1951 had her first number-one hit, “Come On-A My House.” Her other hits included “Hey There,” “Tenderly” and “This Ole House.”
She died of lung cancer at the age of 74 on June 29th, 2002.
➦In 2005...Baltimore newsman Bob Lopez died from Lung Cancer. He had been part of the WIYY-FM (98 Rock) morning show for 27 years.
He was known for his humor, thoughtful opinions, and dogged liberal views.
For the last part of his career, he was part of the "Kirk, Mark & Lopez" or "KML" morning show, along with Kirk McEwen and Mark Ondayko, with whom he worked for seven years. He also hosted the Sunday Lopez, a Sunday morning talk show where he discussed politics and listeners called in to express their views.
Lopez was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2004, having been a smoker for several decades, starting at age 12. He died at the age of 52.
➦In 2012...Harold Baron Jackson died at age 96 (Born - November 3, 1915). He was a personality and radio executive who broke a number of color barriers in American broadcasting.
Hal Jackson
Jackson began his career as a sportswriter, covering local and national black sporting events for the Washington DC Afro-American. In the 1940s, he became one of the first African American radio sports announcers, broadcasting Howard’s home baseball games and the Homestead Grays Negro league baseball games.
In 1939, he became the first African American host at WINX in Washington with The Bronze Review, a nightly interview program. He later hosted The House That Jack Built, a program of jazz and blues on three Washington-Baltimore radio stations (WINX, WANN, and WOOK), and later in the 1940s, broadcast on WOOK-TV.
Hal Jackson
Jackson first moved to New York City in November 1949, when he was hired by station WLIB, which wanted to expand the amount of black programming it offered. By 1954, he became the first radio personality to broadcast three daily shows on three different New York stations. Four million listeners tuned in nightly to hear Jackson’s mix of music and conversations with jazz and show business celebrities. In 1971, Jackson and Percy Sutton, a former Manhattan borough president, co-founded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC), which acquired WLIB — becoming the first African-American owned-and-operated station in New York. The following year, ICBC acquired WLIB-FM, changing its call letters to WBLS ("the total BLack experience in Sound").
ICBC operated stations in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Fort Lauderdale, Columbia, South Carolina, and Jackson, Mississippi. The flagship station was hampered by its frequency, sharing it with WOWO of Fort Wayne, Indiana. After being turned down by the FCC to change frequencies, Inner City Broadcasting, in an industry unprecedented move, purchased WOWO solely to reduce its output and upped the power of the NYC transmitters to 50,000 watts daytime/30,000 watts night, and subsequently be heard full-time across the entire New York market.
In 1990, Hal Jackson was the first minority inducted into the National Association of Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. In 1995, he became the first African-American inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. In 2001 the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame inducted Jackson. For over 11 years he hosted a radio program on 107.5 WBLS in New York. In October 2010 he was named a "Giant in Broadcasting" by the Library of American Broadcasting. Jackson was also inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as being the oldest broadcaster, with a record 73-year career.
Jewel is 47
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Actor Barbara Barrie is 90.
Actor Joan Collins is 88.
Actor Charles Kimbrough (“Murphy Brown”) is 85.
Actor Lauren Chapin (“Father Knows Best”) is 76.
Country singer Judy Rodman is 70.
Comedian Drew Carey is 63.
Actor Lea DeLaria (“Orange Is the New Black”) is 63.
Country singer Shelly West is 63.
Drew Carey is 63
Actor Linden Ashby (“Melrose Place”) is 61.
Actor-model Karen Duffy is 60.
Actor Melissa McBride (“The Walking Dead”) is 56.
Drummer Phil Selway of Radiohead is 54.
Actor Laurel Holloman (“The L Word”) is 53.
Drummer Matt Flynn of Maroon 5 is 51.
Singer Lorenzo is 49.
Country singer Brian McComas is 49.
Actor-playwright John Pollono (“This is Us”) is 49.
Singer Maxwell is 48.
Singer Jewel is 47.
Actor LaMonica Garrett (“Designated Survivor,” ″Sons of Anarchy”) is 46.
Comedian Tim Robinson (“Saturday Night Live”) is 40.
Cumulus Media is giving all-digital AM a go by launching Digital WFAS AM 1230 HD in White Plains, N.Y., on Monday, Radio World reports.
The station is just north of New York City and can be heard in the northern suburbs of what is the top media market in the United States.
The 1,000 watt AM station, which is also changing to an all-news/talk format on Monday, has been informing listeners of the pending change on its website. Once WFAS switches to all-digital operations, only radios equipped with HD Radio technology will be able to receive the radio station. WFAS will no longer be available on analog-only radio, according to its website.
Conrad Trautmann, SVP, technology and operations for Cumulus Media, led the all-digital conversion process for the broadcaster and said a lot of technical consideration went into the project beginning with the existing tower.
Cumulus engineering staff spent part of the week testing the all-digital signal and was “very satisfied with the results,” Trautmann says. The station’s website has been advising listeners of the coming changes and touting the advantages of all-digital AM: “Broadcasting in digital can eliminate static and interference and improve sound quality to equal FM radio. In addition, it can extend the range for clear AM reception.”
“In analog we typically had about 15 miles of Grade A signal, or city grade signal. WFAS is only 1,000 watts. On the drive testing we did with the all-digital signal it is solid all to the way 25-mile mark. So it seems we have added 10 miles of radius to the signal, which results in quite a bit of population coverage in the northern suburbs of New York City,” Trautmann says.
That increased signal reach will mean more penetration into the Bronx and Queens and the northern tip of Manhattan, he said, “but it’s by no means a New York City signal.” In addition, the test signal sounded like FM, Trautmann says, with “all the lows and highs. And it’s louder on the dial than the other AMs.”
The radio station is telling listeners they can find the station on Monday using an HD Radio-capable receiver, using the online stream or via its mobile app on a tablet or smartphone.
iHeartMedia has sold the Gandy Boulevard property that houses its Tampa Bay radio stations in a deal worth $3.8 million, The Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Tampa studios are home to eight local stations, according to iHeartMedia’s most recent annual earnings report, including 93.3-FLZ, 98 Rock, 95.7 The Beat, U.S. 103.5 and WFLA 970.
According to Hillsborough County property records, the station building was sold April 29 to a group called LBA LVF VII XII Company LLC, which shares an Irvine, Calif. address with the buyers of a 39-acre Macy’s warehouse property next door. That property sold in late December for $32 million.
The iHeartMedia purchase gives the company a large, wedge-shaped tract that abuts a CSX railway near the southern end of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.
An iHeartMedia manager in Tampa referred questions to a company spokesperson, who did not immediately respond to a call and emails about the sale and what might happen to the stations. Reached by phone, a manager with LBA Realty, the firm behind the Macy’s and iHeartMedia purchases, said she couldn’t comment on transactions without company approval.
The Gandy studios have been home to a fair amount of Tampa Bay radio history over the years, from its Clear Channel days to now. Personalities like Glenn Beck, Bubba the Love Sponge and Todd “MJ” Schnitt have broadcast programs from there. Many celebrities have stopped by the station for meet-and-greets and acoustic concerts, including Selena Gomez, John Mayer, Train, Imagine Dragons and 5 Seconds of Summer.
Tribune Publishing Co. said Friday that its shareholders voted to approve a takeover offer from Alden Global Capital LLC, amid confusion over the vote of a key shareholder, reports The Walll Street Journal.
Owners of Tribune shares agreed to accept Alden’s buyout offer that values the company at $635 million, a company representative said on a call Friday with shareholders. The hedge fund had previously amassed an approximately 32% stake in Tribune, whose properties include the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, in late 2019 and eventually secured three of the company’s seven board seats.
The success of the deal with Alden had hinged on the vote of biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times and holder of an approximately 24% stake in Tribune. Soon-Shiong said in a statement that he had opted to abstain from Friday’s vote, generating confusion among shareholders, Tribune employees and others watching the deal over whether Alden’s bid had enough support to pass.
Soon-Shiong stands to collect about $150 million through the sale proceeds of his 8.7 million shares, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Tribune’s announcement that the bid had passed came after the deal received support from more than two-third of the shares not owned by Alden, as was required. Soon-Shiong’s shares were among those that voted in favor of the deal, people familiar with the matter said, despite his statement about his vote.
The plumbing of shareholder votes is notoriously complicated. Shareholders can typically vote early and change their votes through the course of the meeting, and shareholders who don’t vote sometimes support management by default.
Alden’s president, Heath Freeman, said in a statement, “The purchase of Tribune reaffirms our commitment to the newspaper industry and our focus on getting publications to a place where they can operate sustainably over the long term.”
The deal makes Alden the second-largest newspaper owner in the U.S. by circulation, behind Gannett Co.
Alden also owns the newspaper chain MediaNews Group, publisher of some 70 daily papers including the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News. The hedge fund is known for a strategy of consolidation and cost reductions that stanch losses—but that journalists and media watchdogs say has gutted local outlets and hastened the industry’s demise.
Tribune had become an attractive takeover target in recent years after clearing its books of all debt following the sale of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune in 2018 to Mr. Soon-Shiong.
Tribune had already enacted steep cost cuts over the past year as the industry reeled from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which sent advertising revenue into a tailspin. The company laid off dozens of reporters and closed many of its newsrooms entirely to save on real-estate costs. Tribune said in its latest earnings report that it trimmed more than $35 million from its payroll and $106 million in total operating expenses over the past year.
In addition to the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Publishing owns The Baltimore Sun; the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant; the Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; the South Florida Sun Sentinel; the New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia; and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia.
Country singer Morgan Wallen will be eligible for multiple awards at this year’s CMA Awards but not the show’s top prize, a sign of the continuing fallout after he was caught on camera using a racial slur.
The Associated Press reports the Country Music Association’s Board of Directors voted that Wallen will not be eligible for individual artist categories, such as entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year, according to Catharine McNelly, a CMA spokeswoman.
The board decided that Wallen could still be nominated for awards that recognize an artistic work, such as album of the year, song of the year, single of the year, musical event and music video, “so as to not limit the opportunity for other credited collaborators.”
The voting schedule was released Friday, with the first nomination ballot going out to CMA voters on July 6.
Meanwhile, The Tennessean reports Morgan Wallen surprised a crowd at Kid Rock's honky tonk with a performance Wednesday night — his first since being embroiled in controversy after using a racial slur.
Videos across social media showed a crowd at the Nashville honky tonk cheering and singing along with Wallen as he performed "Wasted on You." Kid Rock also made an appearance.
At kid rocks bar in Nashville and guess who shows up..
Last month, Wallen said he would not be performing this summer in the wake of using a racial slur in a video that surfaced in February. The singer was dropped from his recording contract and from country radio airwaves after the incident.
A video shows Wallen, then 27, being dropped off at a house and telling a friend to "take care of this...(slur)," apparently referring to another person in the group.
CMA has announced its ballot schedule for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards,” which takes place this November in Nashville.
The eligibility period for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” is July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. All voting for the CMA Awards will be conducted online.
The Nomination Ballot and instructions will be emailed Tuesday, July 6 to CMA members in good standing who are eligible to vote. Voting for the Nomination Ballot closes Thursday, July 15 (4:00 PM/CT).
The Second Ballot will be emailed to CMA members Monday, Aug. 2. Voting for the Second Ballot closes Thursday, Aug. 12 (6:00 PM/CT). The final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced later this summer.
Winners of “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a Final Round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and Final Ballot will be emailed to CMA members Friday, Oct. 1. Voting for the CMA Awards Final Ballot ends Wednesday, Oct. 27 (6:00 PM/CT). All balloting is officiated by the professional services firm Deloitte.
To vote in all three rounds of “The 55th Annual CMA Awards,” prospective CMA members must apply for membership by Tuesday, June 1. Visit CMAworld.com/membership to learn more.
As a reminder, eligible CMA members may now submit applications for the 2021 CMA Broadcast Awards for Broadcast Personality, Station and National Broadcast Personality of the Year online at broadcast.CMAawards.com.
CMA Broadcast Awards are presented for Personality and Station of the Year in four categories that are determined by market size (Major, Large, Medium and Small) as well as CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year, which, for the first time, will be awarded for a Daily and Weekly Broadcast Personality.
To submit an entry, CMA member radio stations and broadcast personalities in the U.S. and Canada can log on to broadcast.CMAawards.com, where guidelines and instructions for entries are posted. The site will continue to accept submissions until Wednesday, June 30 (5:00 PM/CT).
All CMA Broadcast Awards entries must reflect performances and events between June 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. CMA’s panel of judges, which includes distinguished radio and industry professionals, will be able to view and evaluate each entry online.
CMA Broadcast Awards winners will be notified in early October and recognized at “The 55th Annual CMA Awards.” The annual, three-hour awards ceremony will broadcast live on ABC.
K-LOVE, the nation’s largest non-commercial contemporary Christian radio network, is expanding its on-air lineup to include Lauree Austin as mid-day host beginning in June 2021.
Lauree Austin
Lauree will round out the K-LOVE DJ roster, joining Skip & Amy, Scott & Kelli, Randi, Monika, and Alex, sharing positive and encouraging music and messages, broadcast in all 50 states and streaming worldwide.
Prior to joining K-LOVE, Lauree was on Afternoons with Lauree & Doug on KCBI FM serving the Dallas-Ft. Worth community.
“I am beyond excited to join the K-LOVE team!” Lauree said. “Isn’t that totally God, to take this girl off the foreign mission field and put her behind the mic to continue to share the good news all over this country and around the world?!”
K-LOVE Program Director Mandy Young is glad to bring Lauree on board. “Audiences really connect with Lauree and her transparency, humility, humor, genuine conversations and thought-provoking questions,” Mandy said. “We know our listeners will love her, and our internal team is thrilled to start working with her as well.”
Lauree will work out of the K-LOVE studio in Franklin, Tenn.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo acted in a “highly inappropriate” manner by advising his big brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, about how to handle a string of sexual misconduct allegations, reports The NY Post citing a prominent journalism organization.
Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute for Media Studieswrote that the “Cuomo Prime Time” host’s relationship with his politico sibling represented “a conflict of interest that has been more than a year in the making … [and] finally blew up in CNN’s face.”
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Chris Cuomo took part in strategy sessions with the governor’s lawyer and aides, a clear violation of journalistic ethics. During those sessions, the paper reported, Chris Cuomo advised his older brother not to resign from office and depicted the governor as a would-be victim of “cancel culture.”
“The host of a primetime show on one of the country’s biggest and most influential cable news networks is advising one of the most powerful and influential politicians in this country on how to handle serious sexual misconduct allegations,” Jones wrote. “This is highly inappropriate for a journalist.”
Chris Cuomo admitted to helping his brother out in brief remarks on his CNN show Thursday night, saying: “This is no revelation. I have said it publicly and I certainly have never hidden it. I can be objective on just about any topic but not about my family.”
In a statement, CNN said that while Chris Cuomo “often serves as a sounding board for his brother … it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor’s staff, which Chris acknowledges. He will not participate in such conversations going forward.”
The network added that the prime-time host would not be disciplined.
“I don’t even know where to start on all the problems with this,” wrote Jones, who asked: “How do staffers at CNN — especially women — feel about a powerful employee trying to help someone, even if it is his brother, defuse and overcome allegations of disturbing sexual misbehavior? How do the women who made these allegations feel about a high-profile cable news network personality trying to help the man accused of such awful things? How about the citizens of New York?”
“It’s one thing to recuse yourself from coverage. It’s another to try to go behind the scenes and try to help shape what happens,” added Jones, who pointed out that Chris Cuomo was likely advising his older brother “how to deal with the media and change the media narrative.
➦In 1900...In New York City, the Associated Press was incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative.
The Associated Press was formed in May 1846 by five daily newspapers in New York City to share the cost of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War. The venture was organized by Moses Yale Beach (1800–68), second publisher of The Sun, joined by the New York Herald, the New York Courier and Enquirer, The Journal of Commerce, and the New York Evening Express. Some historians[10] believe that the Tribune joined at this time; documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member shortly after its founding in September 1851. Initially known as the New York Associated Press (NYAP), the organization faced competition from the Western Associated Press (1862), which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices.
An investigation completed in 1892 by Victor Lawson, editor and publisher of the Chicago Daily News, revealed that several principals of the NYAP had entered into a secret agreement with United Press, a rival organization, to share NYAP news and the profits of reselling it. The revelations led to the demise of the NYAP and in December 1892, the Western Associated Press was incorporated in Illinois as The Associated Press. A 1900 Illinois Supreme Court decision (Inter Ocean Publishing Co. v. Associated Press)—that the AP was a public utility and operating in restraint of trade—resulted in AP's move from Chicago to New York City, where corporation laws were more favorable to cooperatives.
In 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Associated Press v. United States that the AP had been violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by prohibiting member newspapers from selling or providing news to nonmember organizations as well as making it very difficult for nonmember newspapers to join the AP. The decision facilitated the growth of its main rival United Press International, headed by Hugh Baillie from 1935 to 1955.
AP entered the broadcast field in 1941 when it began distributing news to radio stations; it created its own radio network in 1974.
➦In 1922..WGR in Buffalo, NY signed-on...
The history of one of Buffalo's earliest radio stations has its roots at sea. On April 1, 1921 the Governor, a passenger ship, sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean after collision with a freighter, the West Hartland.
The passenger ship’s assigned radio call letters were WGR. Due to maritime superstition, the call sign was never reissued to another ship and reverted to a pool of available call signs for new radio stations.
That same year, the Federal Telephone & Telegraph Company (FTTC), headquartered in a sprawling manufacturing complex in North Buffalo, began marketing its first, completely assembled radio sets. To fill a radio void in the city, and to stimulate sales of their new "high-tech" products, the FTTC applied for (and received) a commercial radio license from the Department of Commerce. The station was named "WGR" after George Rand (founder of Remington Rand), a key investor in the FTTC.
WGR Transmitter Equipment Early '20s
On May 22, 1922, WGR's broadcast operations commenced, beginning nine decades of continuous service to Western New York and Southern Ontario. It is the oldest continuously operating station in Buffalo.
1738 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo - Birthplace of WGR Radio
Published reports say that the first programs on WGR were: a clergyman’s lecture; a concert from Victor’s Furniture Store showroom; and a presentation on the advantages of a college education by Dr. Julian Park, from the University at Buffalo.
In the late 1940s, the station was bought by a consortium of Western New York families known as the WGR Corporation, which signed on WGR-TV (channel 2) in 1953. WGR Corporation bought several other television and radio stations in the 1950s, and eventually became known as Transcontinent Broadcasting. Transcontinent merged with Taft Broadcasting in 1964. Taft sold off WGR-TV in 1983 (it is now WGRZ-TV), but kept the radio station until 1987.
During its days as a full service radio station, its roster of personalities included "Buffalo Bob" Smith, later famous for TV's Howdy Doody children's show, and popular national TV and nightclub comedian Foster Brooks.
The station's longtime music format combining Adult Top 40 hits and rock oldies and featured some of Buffalo's top radio personalities, talk hosts and news reporters including Stan Roberts, Frank Benny, Tom Donahue, Randy Michaels, Jim Scott, Jerry Reo, Shane, Joe Galuski, Tom Langmyer, George Hamberger, Tom Shannon, John Otto, Chuck Lakefield, Don Dussias, Lauri Githens, Wayne Smith, Sandy Kozel, Jane Tomczak, Craig Matthews and Tom Bauerle. WGR gradually evolved to news/talk during the late 1980s.
In 1987, Taft sold the station to Rich Communications, which was part of the Robert Rich family's business holdings, which also included a major processed-food company and a venture applying for a National League expansion baseball franchise (for which WGR was projected to be flagship station of the team's projected network). Although the Rich interests were the National League's choice for the new franchise they dropped out of the competition for an expansion team (which ultimately went to Denver, Colorado (Colorado Rockies) for cost reasons. Soon after, WGR was eventually spun off to new owners.
Today, WGR 550 AM is owned by Audacy and airs Sports.
➦In 1955…Jack Benny's broadcast run of live network radio programs ended after 23 years. His TV show aired from 1952-1965.
Benny first appeared on radio as a guest of Ed Sullivan in March 1932. He was then given his own show later that year, with Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor —The Canada Dry Ginger Ale Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933.
Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with The General Tire Revue for the rest of that season, and in the fall of 1934, for General Foods as The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny (1934–42) and, when sales of Jell-O were affected by sugar rationing during World War II, The Grape Nuts Flakes Program Starring Jack Benny (later the Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes Program) (1942–44). On October 1, 1944, the show became The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny, when American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes took over as his radio sponsor, through the mid-1950s. By that time, the practice of using the sponsor's name as the title began to fade.
The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired repeats of previous 1953-55 radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny for State Farm Insurance, who later sponsored his television program from 1960 through 1965.
➦In 1970...the Canadian Radio and Television Commission announced its guidelines for the amount of Canadian content played on radio stations. As of January 18, 1971, 30 per cent of musical selections would have to meet a formula encompassing composition, performance, recording, and song writing produced by Canadian talent. The time lag was a relief to many stations, as it allowed them time to build up a CRTC-friendly music library.
➦In 1972...Dave Herman started at WNEW 102.7 FM in NYC. Herman interviews Elton John from 1976..
➦In 1998…Los Angeles radio disc jockey (KHJ, KMPC, KRTH) Robert W. Morgan died of lung cancer at age 60.
As a youth growing up in Galion, Ohio, Morgan's interest was piqued while listening to his favorite DJs on Cleveland's top forty giant KYW which would eventually lead to his first on-air job was at Wooster College in 1955 on WWST & WWST-FM, for an initial salary of $1 per hour.
In 1959 Morgan moved from college radio to KACY Port Hueneme, California where he hosted the over night show called Kegler's Spare Time with Bob Morgan live from the Wagon Wheel Bowl before moving on to a succession of brief stints beginning in 1961 at KTEE Carmel as the second half of a two-man classical music announcer on KTEE with Bob Elliott, a Marine Corps Heavyweight Champion who later went onto radio fame as "K.O. Bailey," then a short time later as the morning drive DJ and mid-day board op for the Arthur Godfrey Show at KMBY, Monterey, then a jump to KOMY Watsonville, then back to KMBY Monterey followed in 1962 at "K-MAKE", KMAK, Fresno where he first worked with program director Ron Jacobs. This was followed in 1963 by an eight-month stay at KROY Sacramento before finally landing his first major-market job in 1964 at KEWB, San Francisco. It was here that he met and worked with his lifelong friend "The Real" Don Steele.
On April 27, 1965 the careers of Morgan, Steele and programmer Ron Jacobs would gain superstar status when they joined the staff of KHJ 930 AM, Los Angeles almost overnight. Programming genius Bill Drake along with a staff of talented DJs called "Boss Jocks" had transformed a sleepy giant into the city's most dominant radio station. It was here that Morgan enjoyed his greatest on-air success as one of the original "Boss Jocks" on 93/KHJ which dominated the Top 40 radio market in Southern California from 1965 to 1973. Morgan's signature, "Good Morgan Boss Angeles!" to his devoted morning drive time audience would stay with him until the end of his career. It was also Morgan that voiced much of the "Boss Radio/93 KHJ station promos and imagery.
It was also during this time that Morgan co-produced and narrated the 48-hour History of Rock and Roll in 1969, a definitive on-air encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. It was the first-ever "rock-umentary" aired worldwide as a definitive history of the Rock & Roll genre—a "rockumentary," as producers Drake and Gene Chenault would call it—that would stretch from the early 1950s to 1989.
In 1970 Morgan made a surprise move from Los Angeles to WIND Radio Chicago where he remained in the morning slot until finally being enticed back to his KHJ morning show in 1972.
Until his departure from KHJ in October 1970, Morgan had commanded unparalleled radio ratings in Los Angeles. Morgan's return to his former time slot in L.A., which saw a significant spike upward for KHJ until he departed just a year later.
In 1973, Morgan and Steele walked out of KHJ and joined Bill Drake six months later at KIQQ-FM, Los Angeles. The ratings were sub-par, though, causing Morgan to leave the morning slot a year and a half later for weekends and fill-in slots at the prestigious KMPC Los Angeles. He did that for four years before legendary morning man Dick Whittinghill retired in 1980, allowing Morgan to go back to mornings. He stayed at KMPC until 1984. After a short stint at KMGG, Morgan returned to KMPC.
Morgan was heard in 1973 on Saturday night segments of the long-running NBC Radio program Monitor, an attempt to freshen that program's image. While with KMGG, he was at one time heard as a substitute host of American Top 40. During the mid to late 70s, Morgan also did his own one hour radio weekly special highlighting one artist or group per show. "Robert W. Morgan's Special of the Week" was often played on radio stations that also carried Casey Kasem's American Top 40 as the same company, Watermark, distributed both.
The year 1992 would signal the twilight years of Morgan's distinguished radio broadcast career when he signed on as the morning show host of "oldies" K-EARTH 101 where he again enjoyed solid ratings in the Los Angeles market before announcing in May 1997 that he was suffering from lung cancer.
According to L.A. radio personality Bob Shannon, Morgan told his listeners, "It could have something to do with the two packs a day cigarette habit I had for the last 35 years." In an emotional on-air statement, Morgan stated that he was taking some time off to fight the disease full-time. His friend and colleague Don Steele died, also of lung cancer, in August 1997. Morgan continued to do broadcasts from his home studio until 1998.
On January 9, 1998, K-EARTH 101 held a retirement tribute for Morgan at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills. The tribute included a re-dedication of his Star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and a three-hour broadcast from the museum’s theater, hosted by Gary Owens and Morgan's KRTH co-host, Joni Caryl. It concluded with a thirty minute retrospective on Morgan’s career, narrated by Dick Clark.
Morgan died on May 22, 1998. He was 60 years old. Morgan was married twice and was survived by a daughter.
Michael Constantine is 94
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Actor Michael Constantine (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” ″Room 222″) is 94.
Pianist Peter Nero is 87.
Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 83.
Actor Frank Converse is 83.
Actor Barbara Parkins (“Peyton Place,” ″Valley of the Dolls”) is 79.
Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 71.
Actor Al Corley (“Dynasty”) is 66.
Singer Morrissey is 62.
Actor Ann Cusack (“Jeff Foxworthy Show,” ″A League of Their Own”) is 60.
Bassist Dana Williams of Diamond Rio is 60.
Guitarist Jesse Valenzuela of Gin Blossoms is 59.
Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence (“Chuck”) is 57.
Molly Ephraim is 35
Singer Johnny Gill is 55.
Bassist Dan Roberts of Crash Test Dummies is 54.
Actor Brooke Smith (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Silence of the Lambs”) is 54.
Actor Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”) is 52.
Model Naomi Campbell is 51.
Actor Anna Belknap (“CSI: NY”) is 49.
Singer Donell Jones is 48.
Actor Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” ″Gilmore Girls”) is 47.
Actor A.J. Langer (“Private Practice”) is 47.
Actor Ginnifer Goodwin (“Once Upon a Time”) is 43.
UPDATE 12:30P May 21: Tribune Publishing shareholders voted Friday to approve hedge fund Alden Global Capital’s $633 million purchase of the Chicago-based newspaper chain.
The deal, which is expected to close by June 30, will take Tribune Publishing private and add the Chicago Tribune and other major dailies to the Alden portfolio, making the New York-based hedge fund the second-largest newspaper owner in the U.S. behind Gannett.
The merger’s approval hinged on California biotech billionaire and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns 23.7% of Tribune Publishing’s 36.9 million outstanding shares. Soon-Shiong said he abstained from the vote, but it is unclear how the abstention affected the outcome.
The Tribune Publishing proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20 said abstentions are the same as a vote against the merger. “Abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as a vote ‘against’ approval of the merger,” the filing said.
Soon-Shiong stands to collect about $150 million through the sale proceeds of his 8.7 million shares.
“Dr. Soon-Shiong abstained from voting,” said Hillary Manning, a spokeswoman for Soon-Shiong.
“For the past several years, Tribune Publishing has been a passive investment, as he has remained focused on the leadership roles he holds across his companies. When he made the investment in 2016, he hoped it would be a pathway to local newspaper ownership in Southern California. In 2018, he and his family were proud to acquire the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune from Tribune Publishing, creating the California Times. Their focus is and will be on the continued rebuilding and revitalization of The Times and Union-Tribune.”
In addition to the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Publishing owns The Baltimore Sun; the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant; the Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; the South Florida Sun Sentinel; the New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia; and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia.
Earlier posting...
When billionaire biotech mogul Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the Los Angeles Times in 2018, he was seen as a white knight, rescuing the newspaper from a potentially bleak future, Bloomberg reports.
Now, as the second-largest shareholder of Tribune Publishing Co., Soon-Shiong is in a position to decide the future of local news across the country. Today, he and other investors will vote on the sale of the newspaper chain to Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that’s notorious for making deep cuts at the newspapers it owns.
Alden, which already holds a 31% stake in Tribune, agreed in February to pay $17.25 a share, or almost $460 million, for the stock it doesn’t yet own. The deal requires the approval of two-thirds of non-Alden shareholders, meaning Soon-Shiong, with a 24% stake, holds a virtual veto over the sale of the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Baltimore Sun, and other newspapers from Connecticut to Florida.
Patrick Soon-Shiong
“If Soon-Shiong doesn’t think it’s a good deal and doesn’t vote for it, it doesn’t happen,” said Rick Edmonds, a media analyst at the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The math gets even tougher thanks to Mason Slaine, a Florida businessman who owns a 3.4% stake. He told the Chicago Tribune he plans to reject Alden’s offer, saying it undervalues the company. Tribune closed Thursday in New York at $17.25, the same level as the bid.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Soon-Shiong, 68, said he hasn’t decided how he will vote. He declined to make any additional comment Thursday. A spokesman for Tribune’s special committee, which is acting on behalf of the company in the Alden proposal, declined to comment. Alden didn’t respond.
But Soon-Shiong’s role isn’t lost on Tribune journalists who have made repeated overtures to him to block Alden’s takeover. This week, Gregory Pratt, president of the Chicago Tribune Guild, published an open letter to the biotech entrepreneur, saying, “You can single-handedly keep Alden from sealing the deal.”
“We are fighting every day to keep Alden from taking full control,” wrote Pratt, who covers City Hall for the newspaper. “You can stop it. Please do.”
Effective at 4 p.m. on Monday, the 6½ -month-old WFAN afternoon program Roberts hosts with Craig Carton for the first time will have a television simulcast, on SNY, according to Neil Best at Newsday.
WFAN has distributed video content from the show digitally, but the TV deal is a milestone for a program that since Nov. 9 has made steady ratings gains and restored the FAN’s edge over its ESPN New York counterpart.
"I think it’s validated what Evan and I are doing," Carton said as he sat beside Roberts for a joint video interview with Newsday. "I think it, selfishly, validates my being back on the radio. As a show, it validates the content and the fact the audience has very quickly become attracted to the show, adopted the show."
The YES Network has simulcast WFAN and ESPN New York shows since its inception in 2002, but this is a first for SNY. Initially it will carry only the 4 to 6 p.m. portion of a show that runs from 2 to 7 p.m.
Why only two hours instead of starting at 2 p.m.? SNY president Steve Raab told Newsday earlier this month that that felt right to him, at least initially.
"Too much of a good thing, of anything, becomes diminishing returns," he said. "But if two hours proves to be terrific and the FAN and SNY, we both decide that there’s a reason to look at expanding it, I’m sure we’ll look at that."
Lile most radio hosts with simulcasts, Roberts and Carton insisted they will not significantly alter the radio show with an eye on the cameras.
"The simulcast is going to be just a voyeur into what we normally do," Carton said. "So we know there will be cameras in there, but we’re not going to change one bit the content or the manner in which we attack the stories that we talk about on the air . . . You’ll just be able to see us."
Said Roberts: "When I watched ‘Boomer and Carton,’ when I watched Mike [Francesa] on TV, the best part about it was it was the radio show on television. There was no difference."
Still, their studio has had a makeover to improve the look on camera, and it seems likely there will be times the two play to the cameras.
"We’re aware the cameras are there, so we’re going to give that part of the audience something to see," Carton said. "But at the end of the day, we get paid to do a great radio show, and we’ll continue to do that."
Another day, another report on rising streaming service revenue and declining pay-TV subscribers, Cord Cutters News reports.
New data from research group Convergence estimates streaming revenue grew 35% to $29.6 billion in 2020, led by powerhouse OTT services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. This year is on track to grow 35% to reach $39.9 billion.
Currently, the average consumer household subscribes to 4 different streaming services, up from last year. That number is only projected to increase again next year.
“We forecast average OTT subscriptions will increase to five per broadband household in 2023 from three in 2020,” read the report. With an average of five streaming services per household, the total streaming revenue number is projected to reach $59.4 billion in 2023, nearly double that of 2020.
As the popularity of cord cutting rises, it’s only natural that pay-TV is suffering at the hand of OTT services. The report estimates that 2019 saw a decline of 6.36 million domestic TV subscribers and another 6.49 million in 2020.
“We forecast a decline of 7.35 million pay-TV subs in 2021, and 7.76 million in 2023,” the report states. “Hence, U.S. pay-TV subs declined 8% in 2020, up from 7% in 2019, and will decline 10% in 2021 and 13% in 2023.”
The Associated Press drew intense backlash Thursday night after news broke that a young staffer was fired for her past tweets about Israel and Palestine. The axing took place just days after the AP’s Gaza bureau was decimated by Israeli forces.
The Wrap reports Emily Wilder was a news associate at the AP only a few weeks when she was fired. In a statement, the publisher said, “While AP generally refrains from commenting on personnel matters, we can confirm Emily Wilder’s comments on Thursday that she was dismissed for violations of AP’s social media policy during her time at AP.”
Wilder frequently tweeted about the situation in the Middle East. Last Sunday, for instance, she tweeted: “‘objectivity’ feels fickle when the basic terms we use to report news implicitly stake a claim. using ‘israel’ but never ‘palestine,’ or ‘war’ but not ‘siege and occupation’ are political choices — yet media make those exact choices all the time without being flagged as biased.”
Her college participation in Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine was called out by the Stanford College Republicans, a group from her alma mater, the next day. Critics of the AP’s decision to terminate her say the organization bowed to conservative pressure.
The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler mused, “Amazing how quickly a talented young reporter’s career can be snuffed out by a Twitter mob that decided to feign outrage over some college tweets. And if @vv1lder somehow violated @AP’s social-media rules, the solution is to offer guidance, not termination, to a new reporter.”
He, like others, pointed to an internal memo about her firing that was leaked Thursday afternoon. In it, U.S. West news director Peter Pengraman briefly informed AP staffers that Wilder “is no longer with the AP” and the company will try to fill her position quickly.
CEASE-FIRE AGREED TO IN 11-DAY CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS: Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, ending their 11-day conflict that had Hamas sending rockets into Israel and Israel launching airstrikes in Gaza. The cease-fire went into effect at 2 a.m. Friday morning. Although both sides claimed victory, Palestinians in Gaza made up most of the more than 240 people who were killed, a substantial number of them children, and bore the brunt of the physical destruction. Israel's "Iron Dome" defense system managed to intercept some 90 percent of the rockets considered threats, according to Israel, but at the same time, Israel's offensive was unable to stop the rockets from being launched. President Biden praised the cease-fire, saying, "I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress, and I’m committed to working for it." He said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel replenish missiles for the Iron Dome defense system and to working with the Palestinian Authority, but not Hamas, to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire:
• Israel and Hamas agree end to punishing 11-day war; celebrations in Gaza • Netanyahu faces angry accusations from right-wing base that he halted war too soon • At least 230 Palestinians were killed, 12 people in Israelhttps://t.co/p7Qwsfq4KA
The conflict began on May 10th when Hamas fired rockets into Israel from Gaza, after days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, as well as threatened evictions of dozens of Palestinians by Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem.
➤HOUSE APPROVES $1.9 BILLION FOR U.S. CAPITOL SECURITY BY NARROW MARGIN: The House on Thursday approved $1.9 billion to fortify and improve security at the U.S. Capitol in the wake of the January 6th attack, with passage coming on a narrow 213-212 vote. Republicans opposed the measure that would establish retractable fencing and a quick-response force, as did a handful of Democrats, some of whom voted no and others who voted "present." Those progressive Democrats were opposed over concerns about more funding for Capitol police, while Republicans said it is too expensive and that no fencing is needed. The measure's prospects in the evenly-divided Senate are uncertain.
Alleged Oath Keeper charged in Capitol riot called government "tyrannical" and urged people to fight, prosecutors say https://t.co/p8BZMDE4Sw
➤NEW YORK, MARYLAND ESTABLISH LOTTERIES FOR THOSE WHO GET COVID VACCINE: New York and Maryland followed Ohio's lead yesterday in announcing lotteries for people who get vaccinated against Covid-19. Ohio saw vaccine rates rise after it announced drawings last week to give away millions of dollars to people who get vaccinated. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that state residents who get vaccinated next week from Monday to Friday will be given a lottery ticket with a chance to win as much as $5 million. Governor Larry Hogan said that starting on Tuesday, the Maryland Lottery will randomly select a vaccinated state resident for a $40,000 prize every day for 40 days through July 3rd, and a winner will get a grand prize of $400,000 on July 4th.
➤BIDEN SIGNS LEGISLATION TO COMBAT RISE IN HATE CRIME AGAINST ASIAN-AMERICANS: President Biden signed legislation yesterday intended to help combat a dramatic rise in hate crimes across the country against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. The legislation had bipartisan support, passing both the House and Senate by wide margins, 94-1 in the Senate and 364-62 in the House. The law will speed up Justice Department reviews of hate crimes by putting an official in charge of the effort. Federal grants will be available for local law enforcement agencies to help improve their investigation, identification and reporting of such crimes.
Over a quarter of Americans have worried about homelessness - CBS News poll https://t.co/JbyBUJHfYN
➤EXPERT..DON'T WORRY ABOUT RESUME GAP DUE TO PANDEMIC: Unemployment soared to historic levels last year as people lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and many took a long time to get a job again or may still be out of work. But LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher told CBS This Morning that people shouldn't worry about pandemic-related gaps on their resume. She said, "[R]ecruiters tell us that they kind of expect that many people were going to have a gap." Fisher offered some advice about getting back to work again, explaining, "What they're looking for is, what did you do during that gap? Did you learn new skills, did you get new certificates? It's how you take that time to be creative and learn new skills, because we know that skills is really what matters these days." She said that if you want to apply for a job that doesn't match your experience, to look at what kind of "transferrable skills" you have." Fisher also named some of the industries that are making a return from the depths of the pandemic, including entertainment, recreation, travel, software and information technologies, saying, "As people get back out, they want to be entertained, they want to travel and then want to go on vacation . . . "
➤TRUMP ADMIN. JUSTICE DEPT. SECRETLY GOT CNN REPORTER'S PHONE RECORDS: The Justice Department during the Trump administration secretly got two months worth of phone records from June and July 2017 of CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, the network said yesterday (May 20th). CNN said the Justice Department informed Starr earlier this month. President Jeff Zucker said in a statement, "CNN strongly condemns the secret collection of any aspect of a journalist’s correspondence, which is clearly protected by the First Amendment." CNN said that during the period of the phone records that were taken, Starr's stories included ones on Syria, Afghanistan, and U.S. military options in North Korea that were being offered to then-President Donald Trump. The disclosure came two weeks after The Washington Post revealed that the Trump Justice Department last year obtained the phone records of three of its journalists who covered the Russia investigation.
U.S. forecasters expect another busy Atlantic hurricane season, but they say it won't be as crazy as 2020. https://t.co/L3EdkHGJyY
— AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) May 20, 2021
➤BUSY ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON PREDICTED: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast yesterday (May 20th) that there will be a busier-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, but there won't be as many storm as last year's historic season. The meteorologists predicted that there will be 13 to 20 named storms during the season, which runs from June through November, six to 10 of which will become hurricanes, with three to five of them major hurricanes. Last year, there were 30 named storms, 14 hurricanes and seven major hurricanes.
➤PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY CONDEMN BBC AFTER PROBE FINDS 'DECEIT' USED TO LAND PRINCESS DIANA INTERVIEW: Princes William and Harry issued separate statements yesterday (May 20th) condemning the BBC and British media after an investigation found BBC journalist Martin Bashir used, quote, "deceitful behavior" to land a famous 1995 interview with their late mother, Princess Diana. The probe found Bashir mocked up fake bank statements falsely suggesting Diana's former private secretary and another royal household member were being paid to keep her under surveillance, and showed them to Diana's brother to try to get access to her. The report also faulted the BBC for covering up what it knew about Bashir's actions. It was during that interview that Diana said that her husband, Prince Charles, was involved with his now wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and admitted her own affair. William said in his statement that the BBC's wrongdoing contributed to the deterioration of his parents’ marriage and worsened Diana’s feelings of paranoia. Harry charged the, quote, "ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life," and said those practices continue today.
➤HERE’S THE SCIENCE BEHIND BREAKUP MAKEOVERS: You’ve heard of “revenge makeovers” or “breakup haircuts,” but why do people change up their appearance after a breakup? Psychologist Theresa DiDonato explains it links back to what’s known as the “self-expansion theory,” he says, “People are motivated to grow in order to achieve goals and one way to do that is through close relationships, where the identities of two people often merge. But evidence shows that during breakups, self-concept shrinks, leading to identity questions.” These questions are often answered through hobbies or haircuts, a physical sign of growth. Senior lecturer of psychology at University of Essex, Veronica Lamarche adds, “When rejected, humans are motivated to fit in with others, such as becoming more attractive—we like positive enforcement. If change makes an ex-partner jealous, that can soften rejection; if it opens sexual opportunity with others, that can validate.” Breakups can also ignite change that was already being considered by someone.
➤TOO MUCH TV TIME MAY BE BAD FOR YOUR LONG-TERM BRAIN HEALTH: People usually worry about whether too much TV time is bad for small kids, but a new study finds it definitely is bad for people in their 40s, 50s and early 60s. Three new studies found that people who reported watching moderate to large amounts of TV in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s experienced greater cognitive declines, and had lower levels of gray matter in their brains in their 70s and 80s, compared with those who reported watching very little TV in the same timeframe. Lead study author of one of the studies, Ryan Dougherty adds, “In our findings, television viewing remained associated with cognitive function and gray matter volume after accounting for physical activity, suggesting that this sedentary behavior may impart a unique risk with respect to brain and cognitive health.” And some studies suggest that TV watching might be a particularly harmful sedentary behavior, as it is a passive behavior that doesn’t involve a lot of cognitive simulation, which is associated with a greater risk of developing cognitive impairment.
🏀WIZARDS DEFEAT PACERS 142-115 TO EARN EASTERN CONF.'S EIGHTH SEED IN PLAYOFFS: The Washington Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the NBA's Play-In Tournament last night to earn the Eastern Conference's Number 8 seed in the playoffs. Bradley Beal scored 25 points for Washington and Russell Westbrook came close to a triple-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. The Wizards will play the Number 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.
— x - Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 16, 2021
🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
Florida Panthers 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 5 (OT) - Tampa Bay leads 2 games to 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Islanders 4 - Pittsburgh leads 2 games to 1
Montreal Canadiens 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 - Montreal leads 1 game to 0
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Minnesota Wild 2 - Vegas leads 2 games to 1
🏌CONNERS IN LEAD AFTER PGA CHAMPIONSHIP'S FIRST ROUND: Canada's Corey Conners is in the lead after the first round of the PGA Championship yesterday, scoring a 5-under 67 at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. He has a two-shot lead over six players tied for second place, including Americans Brooks Koepka, Keegan Bradley and Aaron Wise.
🏒TORONTO CAPTAIN TAVAVRES TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER ON-ICE COLLISION: Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was removed from the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital last night after a collision in Game 1 of Toronto's first-round playoffs match-up against the Montreal Canadiens. The collision took place early in the game, when Tavares crashed into Montreal's Ben Chariot and was hit in the head by Corey Perry's knee as he went down. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game that Tavares was going to spend the night at the hospital for further tests, but that everything had "come back clear" so far. Toronto lost the game to Montreal 2-1.
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens showed their support for John Tavares after a scary collision in Toronto.
🏀JOKIC, EMBIID, CURRY ARE NBA MVP FINALISTS: The Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry were named last night as the three finalists for the NBA MVP award. Curry has won the MVP twice before, the only one of the three to have ever won it. Among the other award finalists also announced yesterday were those for Rookie of the Year, who are: LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets; the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards; and Tyrese Haliburton of the Sacramento Kings.
🏈TEBOW RETURNS TO NFL, SIGNS WITH JAGUARS: Tim Tebow is returning to the NFL, signing a one-year contract yesterday with the Jacksonville Jaguars after five years in baseball. The former quarterback will be trying for a comeback as a tight end. The 33-year-old Tebow last played in a regular-season NFL game in 2012. He retired from baseball in February after having been in the New York Mets' organization in the minor leagues from 2016 to 2020.
