He was best known for replacing Ward Bond, upon Bond’s sudden death, as the star of NBC-TV’s western Wagon Train from early 1961 to the series’ end in 1965. He also replaced Charles Bickford, upon Bickford’s death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger on NBC-TV’s The Virginian for four seasons. A graduate of USC, McIntire began acting in radio in the early 30’s on the syndicated Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher, where he met his future wife, Jeanette Nolan. McIntire worked on countless Suspense CBS radio programs from the early 1940s, as well as scores of other shows. He was a key announce voice on the CBS program The March of Time.
He died on January 30, 1991 from emphysema and lung cancer, at age 83. ➦In 1949…Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." His recording of the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949. It sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s
Gene Autry
➦In 1984....The FCC effectively deregulated U.S. commercial TV by removing most programming requirements and ending any necessity for a station to adhere to a minimum amount of news and local programming. ➦In 1995...Former WMMS engineer William Alford wass sentenced to 10 days & $1,000 fine for cutting an audio feed of Howard Stern's broadcast on WNCX from Cleveland.
Stern had arrived on the Cleveland airwaves less than two years earlier, and in that time took his syndicated program on rival WNCX from an Arbitron ranking of thirteen to number one. As promised, Stern held a party for his fans on the streets of Cleveland – a "Funeral" for his local rivals, much like similar events held in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia – and broadcast it nationwide.
During the now infamous broadcast, WMMS engineer William Alford snipped a broadcast wire used for the Stern show's satellite feed. Stern continued on with the program over a phone line as engineers worked to quickly patch together the severed broadcast wire.
Alford was subsequently caught, arrested and later sentenced to ten days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Station management initially claimed that Alford acted alone, however WMMS Promotions Director Heidi Klosterman – working under the name Heidi Kramer – later pled guilty to a felony charge of attempted disruption of a public service and a misdemeanor of receiving stolen property; Greg Smith, a former Klosterman colleague, pled guilty to a misdemeanor of breaking and entering.
➦In 2005...WRAL 101.5 FM became the first commercial station in North Carolina and only the second commercial station in the nation (after WUSN in Chicago) was the first to utilize the "multicasting" capabilities of HD Radio technology to broadcast multiple digital channels
➦In 2017...Pandora Media’s co-founder and chief executive, Tim Westergren, announced he was stepping down at CEO of the internet music service.
Lauren Jauregui is 25
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Singer Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys is 79.
Actor Julia Duffy (“Newhart”) is 70.
Actor Isabelle Adjani is 66.
Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 62.
Writer-director J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” ″Alias”) is 55.
Singer Draco Rosa (Menudo) is 52.
Actor Edward “Grapevine” Fordham Junior (“Battle Creek”) is 51.
TV personality Jo Frost (“Supernanny”) is 51.
Julia Duffy is 70
Actor Yancey Arias (“Kingpin”) is 50.
Actor Christian Kane (“The Librarians”) is 49.
Actor Tobey Maguire is 46.
Singer Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer is 45.
Christian rock singer Zach Williams is 43.
Reality star Khloe Kardashian is 37.
Actor Drake Bell (“Drake and Josh”) is 35.
Actor Sam Claflin (“Hunger Games” films) is 35.
Actor Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”) is 34.
Actor Matthew Lewis (“Harry Potter” films) is 32.
Actor Madylin Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 30.
Cumulus Media Inc. Friday announced that it has successfully completed its previously announced actions to pay down $175 million of debt using cash on hand.
Francisco J. Lopez-Balboa, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CUMULUS MEDIA, said, “As the improvement in economic and public health conditions continues to drive momentum in business trends, we felt it appropriate to accelerate several debt repayments in order to expedite our balance sheet de-levering, reduce interest expense, and increase our free cash flow generation. We believe this better leverage and free cash flow profile, more than $200 million of available liquidity(1) and solid rebound trajectory are significantly enhancing our financial flexibility. Given our strong competitive position, proven execution track record, and numerous revenue growth drivers, we are confident in our multiple pathways to grow shareholder value.”
On May 17, 2021, the Company completed a $60 million repayment of its ABL Revolver due 2025, which represented the entirety of the amount outstanding under the facility. Following the paydown, the ABL Revolver due 2025 is undrawn and available as liquidity for general corporate purposes.
On May 25, 2021, the Company paid down approximately $89 million of its Term Loan Credit Facility due 2026 related to a mandatory prepayment obligation arising from the Company’s previously announced sale of land in Bethesda, MD, in June 2020 and sale of towers and related assets in September 2020.
Here’s a rundown of where the $175 million debt paydown came from:
On May 17 Cumulus paid off the $60 million balance on a revolver loan well ahead of its 2025 due date. The move reset the revolver allowing Cumulus to tap into it once again if it chooses to during the next four years for general corporate purposes.
Then on May 25 Cumulus paid down about $89 million on its term loan, which matures in 2026, using proceeds from a pair of asset sales the company made last year. About $65 million came from the June 2020 sale of 75 acres of prime real estate in Bethesda, MD that were home to the broadcast towers for WMAL Washington, DC. Another $23 million was from the sale of towers and related assets in September 2020. WMAL-FM now broadcasts from a tower in Germantown, MD at 105.9 FM. The 630 signal is now an ESPN Radio affiliate as “The Sports Capitol” WSBN.
Pursuant to the terms of its 6.75% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due 2026 (the “Notes”), on May 26, 2021, the Company launched a tender offer to repurchase approximately $26 million of the Notes at par, which represents the pro rata amount required to be offered from the proceeds of the Tower Sale. As of the expiration of the Tender Offer, approximately $3 million of Notes were validly tendered, accepted for payment and subsequently cancelled. Giving effect to the impact of the Tender Offer, approximately $450 million principal amount of Notes remains outstanding.
On June 24, 2021, the Company submitted an irrevocable paydown notice to the administrative agent of the Term Loan to effectuate a required paydown of $23 million, which represents the remainder of the initial amount of the Tender Offer that was not validly tendered prior to the expiration date. Holders of the Term Loan will receive their pro rata portion of such paydown on or around June 28, 2021.
Most American voters believe that five tech giants, including Facebook and Google, have too much power — but even more think the federal government has a surplus of sway, according to a new poll.
A Fox News survey of 1,001 registered voters found that 63 percent believe Facebook has too much power. By comparison, 68 percent of respondents said they believe the federal government has too much power and 65 percent said they think the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has too much power.
The NY Post reports voters aren’t much more fond of other Big Tech mainstays, with 55 percent believing Google has too much power, 53 percent saying Twitter has too much power and 52 percent saying the same about Apple. Fifty-one percent of respondents said that Amazon has too much power, the same percentage who said the FBI is too powerful.
Paradoxically, the vast majority of respondents say that they have either a Facebook account (70 percent), an Amazon account (76 percent), or a Google account (81 percent), though the percentage of Facebook users is down four percentage points from 2018.
Despite the widespread use of social media companies, a whopping 69 percent of respondents said they don’t trust those firms to make “fair decisions” about what information is posted on their platforms, compared to just 26 percent who said they do.
Possibly due to mistrust of the federal government, most voters don’t want the tech giants to be broken up, with one exception: 53 percent of respondents said Facebook should be dismantled, while just 46 percent said the same of Amazon, Apple and Google.
Lawmakers from both parties have long had Facebook and Twitter in their crosshairs, with Democrats accusing them of doing nothing to stop the spread of misinformation that they believe contributed to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election. Republicans have accused both platforms of anti-conservative bias and of restricting the reach of accounts that they deem to be “misinformation” (a process known as “shadow-banning”), even while allowing representatives of totalitarian regimes like Iran and China to spread lies indiscriminately.
May was a brutal month in the ratings department for CNN, and June looks to bring more of the same, according to The Daily Wire citing Nielsen ratings.
“The most-watched program on CNN during May was ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ which averaged one million viewers to finish No. 22 overall among cable news. CNN’s most popular show finished behind 14 different Fox News offerings and seven MSNBC programs,” reported Brian Flood on Fox News.
Fox News Channel’s position at the top of the ratings continued during the week of June 14, where they maintained their reign as the number-one network in all of cable news for the 18th straight week.
Fox News became the most-watched network, not just in cable news, but in cable among total viewers — beating TNT by more than 100,000. (FNC came in second in prime time, behind TNT, last week.)
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” remained the most-watched cable news show in prime time with a whopping 2.8 million viewers, including an additional 270,000 viewers in the demographic most coveted by advertisers: viewers between the ages of 25 and 54. “Hannity” also won an audience of 2.8 million viewers, falling just a bit shy of Tucker Carlson, while “The Five” was tuned in by 2.4 million people, and “The Ingraham Angle” attracted 2.2 million viewers.
The network’s newest weekend addition, Dan Bongino, continued his undeniable ascendance as a conservative star. His show “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino,” which airs on Fox News on Saturday nights, attracted 1.6 million total viewers and became the top-rated weekend cable news show among the 25-54 demographic.
Bongino earned more viewers than his competition on MSNBC and CNN combined.
Fox News came in first in all cable among total day viewers, while MSNBC ranked fourth and CNN rated sixth.
And for the second week, more Americans tuned into Greg Gutfeld’s late night show than the late-night “comedy” offerings of Jimmy Fallon (NBC) or Jimmy Kimmel (ABC).
Meanwhile, FNC’s competitors are not faring well in the Nielsen ratings. MSNBC lost 4% of its total viewers last week compared with the week of June 7, while CNN gained 3% in total viewership. While CNN’s overall audience grew by 3% and continues to skew younger than MSNBC’s demographic, it lost 5% of that cohort last week.
Global News Radio CHQR 770 AM listeners will hear a new voice on Monday afternoon as the station announced the launch of The Drive with Ted Henley on Friday.
With more than 23 years of experience, Henley has been an on-air personality in Calgary for decades.
“I started discovering the issues you care about on Calgary 7 News — which turned into Global News,” Henley said. “That’s also when I started meeting and learning from so many people like you.”
“After a couple decades, and many twists in my career, I can’t wait to continue the Calgary conversation on 770 CHQR.”
Throughout his career, Henley has received multiple RTDNA and Alberta Media Industries Association awards. He was also named as a Top 40 under 40 by Avenue Calgary and holds a White Hat from Calgary Tourism for his volunteer work within the community.
“A talented host with extensive experience and a love of Calgary, 770 CHQR is lucky to have Ted officially join the station in this permanent role,” John Vos, regional program director for Corus Radio Alberta said.
“With Ted at the helm, listeners can expect an informative and engaging program that gets to the heart of the issues that matter most to the city.”
The Drive with Ted Henley will launch Monday afternoon and will run weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Interim host Jock Wilson will return to his position as afternoon sports host and host of Sports Talk.
Snap Inc. has struck a licensing deal with Vivendi SE’s Universal Music Group that gives its users access to thousands of songs, including tracks from Taylor Swift and Drake, in the latest tie-up between social-media giants and record labels, reports Bloomberg.
Snap users will be able to use songs from Universal in messages and posts in the app, the two companies said Thursday. Music fans also can share links to full songs from their streaming service of choice. Financial terms of the partnership, which includes new features that tout Universal artists, weren’t disclosed.
Record labels used to criticize social-media companies for exploiting their music to amass customers without compensating artists. But they’ve since recognized the promotional potential of the services -- and persuaded social-media companies to pay up.
“Fans are able to creatively build close-knit communities around the artists and the music they love, all while ensuring that artists are fairly compensated for the use of their music,” Michael Nash, Universal’s executive vice president of digital strategy, said in a statement.
Universal, the world’s largest music company, has already partnered with Snap to promote releases from some of its biggest acts. Snap’s users have created more than 10 million videos using Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” works that have been watched more than 325 million times. Snap also developed custom lenses -- augmented-reality filters within the app -- for Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Benee.
But this is the first time Snap users will be able to put Universal’s artists in their posts as part of Snap’s sounds feature. Snap rolled out that feature in October with licenses from Warner Music Group Corp., as well as the music-publishing arms of Universal and Sony Group Corp. While the publishing deals gave Snap access to song rights, it didn’t cover music performed by artists signed to Universal’s labels.
The app’s users have posted 521 million videos involving music since October, and those clips have been viewed 31 billion times. Almost half of them have been sent via direct message, underscoring Snap’s role as a messaging service.
While YouTube is the most popular site for music videos, and TikTok is where many new songs now go viral, Snap is eager to position its app as a key place for musicians and record labels to market their work. Snapchat reaches 90 per cent of Americans between the ages 13 and 24.
Beasley Media Group has signed YEA Networks nationally-syndicated The Greg Beharrell Show to air weeknights (7pm-12 Midnight) on Classic Rock WBOS 92.9 FM beginning on Monday, July 5, 2021.
Greg Beharrell currently brings his unique brand of comedy to audiences in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and many more.
“We’re excited to share Greg’s quirky music content, comedy, and listener interaction with Boston. His warm, funny and slightly cringeworthy approach is the perfect fit the ROCK 92.9 audience,” said WBOS-FM Program Director Ken West.
“Even though our sales pitch was, ‘Everybody’s doing it,’ we assure you that WBOS did NOT sign Greg based on a dare,” said Shawn Nunn, President of YEA Networks.
Amazon has launched a Vinyl of the Month Club, a brand new subscription service from the online retail behemouth that makes it easier than ever to track down choice albums.
Variety reports the program, which Amazon quietly rolled out over the last few months, costs $24.99 a month.
Subscribers will receive one hand-picked record from the Golden Era of Vinyl each month, selected by the Amazon Music team. Amazon cites artists of the 1960s and ’70s such as Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Abba, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and Miles Davis as examples of the types of music subscribers can expect. The best part of the subscription service is its flexibility: you can skip a month or cancel at any time, and if you don’t like a record you receive, you can return it for a full refund. Plus, Amazon covers the price of shipping for all deliveries.
Unlike the retailer’s other services such as Amazon Music, Kindle and Audible, Vinyl of the Month costs the same for both Prime and non-Prime members. Overall, the subscription service seems like the perfect gift for any music lover into classic rock, R&B, pop and jazz looking to add to their record collection.
Mike Tirico leads a record 178 NBC Olympics commentators as NBCUniversal presents more than 7,000 hours of coverage of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad from Tokyo, Japan across NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, GOLF Channel, Peacock, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Telemundo, Universo, the NBC Sports app, and NBCOlympics.com.
The roster includes Olympians who have won a combined total of 76 Olympic medals — 41 gold, 19 silver, and 16 bronze. Team NBC would have finished second in the Rio medal count ahead of China and Great Britain and behind Team USA.
The overall talent lineup features the return of many of the network’s signature Olympic hosts, play-by-play commentators and analysts with Olympic experience.
NBC Olympics On-Air Team Includes:
MIKE TIRICO: Tirico anchors NBC Olympics’ primetime and late-night shows outdoors from a fifth-floor deck with a panoramic view of the Tokyo skyline, highlighted by the landmark Rainbow Bridge. The Tokyo assignment is Tirico’s third with NBC Olympics, having served as a daytime host on Copacabana Beach at the 2016 Rio Olympics and anchoring NBC Olympics’ primetime and late-night coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.
REBECCA LOWE: Lowe serves as the daytime host for NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, her fourth assignment as an Olympics host after making her debut in Sochi in 2014. Previously, Lowe served as an NBCSN host for Sochi 2014, before anchoring daytime coverage on NBC in Rio in 2016 and in PyeongChang in 2018.
AHMED FAREED: Fareed will handle his third assignment for NBC Olympics, hosting coverage on USA Network from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Previously, Fareed anchored daytime NBCSN coverage during PyeongChang 2018, and made his NBC Olympics debut as a USA Network host for Rio 2016.
LIAM MC HUGH: McHugh returns to NBC Olympics in a hosting role for the fifth time, serving as a USA Network anchor from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford. For PyeongChang 2018, he hosted NBCSN primetime and late night, while also anchoring the daily Olympic Ice figure skating preview show. Previously, McHugh was a studio host in Rio in 2016, hosted Olympic hockey coverage at the 2014 Sochi Games, and served as an anchor of NBCSN’s coverage during London 2012.
KATHRYN TAPPEN: Tappen, in her fourth NBC Olympics assignment, will host coverage on USA Network from Tokyo. Previously, she served as a hockey host for PyeongChang 2018 and Sochi 2014, and was the beach volleyball reporter at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
SHEPARD SMITH: Smith, who joined CNBC in June 2020 as anchor and executive editor of The News with Shepard Smithweeknights at 7 p.m. ET, makes his NBC Olympics debut as a host on the network.
MEGHAN TRIPLETT: Triplett, who hosts a multiplatform weekday morning show for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, makes her NBC Olympics debut as a host on CNBC.
CARL QUINTANILLA: Quintanilla, anchor of CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street’ and ‘TechCheck, has previously covered the Olympics for CNBC including London, Sochi, Rio, and PyeongChang.
CARA BANKS: Banks, a host of GOLF Channel’s Golf Central and Golf Central Live From the Majors, makes her NBC Olympics debut as a host on NBCSN. Banks, who joined GOLF Channel in 2015, previously served as a host, reporter and interviewer for Sky Sports and BBC Sport in the U.K., where she worked on a wide range of events including the 2012 London Olympics and Wimbledon.
DAMON HACK: Hack will serve as a host of the Tokyo Olympics on NBCSN, his second NBC Olympics assignment after working as an on-site biathlon reporter at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He also covered the 2004 Athens Olympics for The New York Times.
CAROLYN MANNO: Manno will serve as a host on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, marking her fifth NBC Olympics assignment, and third as a host. Previously, Manno served as host for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, was a freestyle skiing reporter at the 2014 Sochi Games, and a reporter on a wide-ranging number of assignments at the 2012 London Olympics. Manno will also serve as a host of NBCU’s Paralympics coverage.
TESSA BONHOMME: Bonhomme will serve as a host on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, marking her second NBC Olympics assignment after serving as a hockey studio host at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Bonhomme, who won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, is currently an anchor and reporter for TSN.
NBC also reports it has 120 advertisers in line to purchase airtime during this year’s Games. That’s a 20% increase from the 2016 event, with new business making up $500 million of their sales so far. The year postponement allowed NBC to beef up the roster but like most things in life, the pandemic added tough wrinkles.
➦In 1909...Thomas Andrew "Colonel Tom" Parker was born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk (Died from a stroke at age 87 - January 21, 1997). He was the was the Dutch-born manager of Elvis Presley. Before managing Elvis, Parker handled the careers of Minnie Pearl, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow and Tom Mix.
At age 18, Parker had arrived in America by jumping ship, and never held a US passport, even when the 1940 Alien Registration Act would have entitled him to one. This is attributed to his uncertain legal status, possibly connected to police inquiries about a murder in his native Breda. To the puzzlement of overseas fans, he never allowed Elvis to work abroad.
Col.Tom Parker -1969
A carnival worker by background, Parker moved into music promotion, earning the courtesy rank of ‘Colonel’ from a grateful singer Jimmie Davis, who had become governor of Louisiana. After discovering the teenage Tommy Sands, Parker talent-spotted the unknown Elvis Presley, and skillfully maneuvered himself into position as his sole representative with control over much of his private life. Within months, he had won Presley a recording contract with the prestigious RCA Victor record label, made him a star with his first single Heartbreak Hotel, negotiated lucrative merchandising deals, made plans for TV appearances as well as a new career as an actor in film musicals.
When Elvis was drafted into the Army in 1958, Parker was shrewd enough to see that military service would boost his image, and made no attempt to stop his posting to Germany. He also judged correctly that public demand would be whetted by his two-year absence, and he stage-managed a triumphal homecoming rail-tour to Memphis.
But the 1960s would impact hard on Elvis's public and private life. The youth market was suddenly being taken over by The Beatles. The films were starting to look more like low-budget production-line work, however profitable. Also his bachelor live-in arrangement with the teenage Priscilla Beaulieu, against her father's wishes, threatened a possible image crisis, and Parker urged marriage. By the end of the decade, Elvis had gone back on tour, but years of binge-eating and unofficially prescribed drugs had ruined his health, and Parker saw very little of Presley before his death in 1977.
Parker continued to manage the Presley estate, but he had unwisely sold the rights to Elvis's early recordings, which would have ensured a steady income. Meanwhile, his gambling problem increasingly eroded the huge fortune he had built up by claiming between 25% and 50% of Elvis's earnings, and he died worth only $1 million.
Alex Drier
➦In 1916...Alexander M. Dreier born in Honolulu (Died at age 83 – March 11, 2000). He was a news reporter and commentator who worked with NBC Radio during the 1940s, and later with the ABC Information Radio network in the 1960s and early 1970s. As Chicago’s ‘man on the go’ he anchored first at WNBQ and then WBKB-TV’s top rated news in the late 50’s and 60. He later moved to California where he pursued a TV acting career and was a newscaster for KTTV.
➦In 1933…The Kraft Music Hsall Program debuted as a musical-variety program featuring orchestra leader Paul Whiteman and served to supplement print advertising and in-store displays promoting Kraft products.
During its first year the show went through a series of name changes, including Kraft Musical Revue, until it finally settled on Kraft Music Hall in 1934. Whiteman remained the host until December 6, 1935. Ford Bond was the announcer.
Billed as "The King of Jazz", Whiteman was arguably America's first popular music superstar. Whiteman's foresight regarding the coming of the jazz age and his decisions to hire the best jazz musicians was a powerful boost for jazz, swing and blues. Though he was prohibited from hiring black performers, he hired arrangers and composers.
Bing Crosby took over as master of ceremonies January 2, 1936. Crosby was host until May 9, 1946. Other entertainers who appeared regularly during Crosby's tenure included Connie Boswell, Victor Borge, and Mary Martin.
For the advertising managers at Kraft, it was imperative that advertising and entertainment be kept separate. For this reason, Kraft insisted that an announcer, not cast members, read its commercials. Additionally, Kraft commercials were single-product focused during the radio days, short and to the point in order to keep with Kraft's philosophy that quality entertainment.
The Kraft Music Hall continued on NBC radio until 1949 and then on TV for many more years ; the first year as Milton Berle Starring in the Kraft Music Hall, later it was Perry Como‘s Kraft Music Hall for four seasons. From 1967 on, TV’s Kraft Music Hall featured a variety of guest hosts. Bring on the Velveeta and the Philadelphia brand cream cheese!
➦In 1949...Fred Allen's last radio show, his guest is Jack Benny. Allen retired for health reasons.
➦In 1959…"Mad Daddy" Pete Myers broadcast his last
show on WHK-AM, Cleveland, Ohio.
Pete Myers 1959
In January 1958, Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers joined WJW-AM from WHKK 640 AM in Akron. His "Mad Daddy" persona later was
adapted by Ernie Anderson for his "Ghoulardi" character on sister
station WJW-TV in 1963.
Myers had a brief but meteoric career at WJW, lasting only until May 13, 1958,
when he resigned to go to Metromedia's WHK which was establishing itself as the
new Top 40 powerhouse in Cleveland.
WJW enforced a 90-day noncompete clause, and "Mad
Daddy" could not be heard on WHK until August 10. To keep his name in
front of the public while he was off the air, Myers concocted a publicity stunt
on June 14, 1958, parachuting from a Piper Cub 2200 feet over Lake Erie, and
composing a poem on his way down.
He was fished out the waters shortly thereafter, and handed
out copies of the 45 record "Zorro" to hundreds of fans who greeted
him when he got to shore.
"Mad Daddy" reached the peak of his popularity at
WHK, hosting record hops and live after-midnight shows dressed in a Dracula
costume. In July 1959 he moved to WHK's sister station in New York, WNEW 1130
AM, where "Mad Daddy" was not well received. He played it straight as
Pete Myers there until 1963, when he moved to 1010 WINS and resumed the "Mad
Daddy Show." This show was syndicated to other stations until WINS changed
format to all-news in 1965.
As again just Pete Myers, he returned to WNEW once more.
Myers lived until October 4, 1968, when he took his own life in New York City.
➦In 1971…WNEW 102.7 FM in New York City became the first radio station anywhere to play Don McLean‘s “American Pie,” in its extended playing time of 8:36.
➦In 1977…Elvis Presley's final concert took place at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Before the show Elvis was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth Presley record to come out of RCA's pressing plant. He appeared pale, weak, and overweight. He died 51 days later.
➦In 1990...8 Radio stations in Kansas and Oklahoma boycott k d lang, due to her anti-meat ad.
k d lang
LS Radio Inc., a Wichita-based company with seven stations in Kansas and one in Oklahoma, pulled k.d. lang's records Thursday. So did the Shepherd Group, which has three stations in Missouri and one in Montana.
The spot also irritated Larry Steckline, a Wichita broadcaster who owns five country stations in Kansas, the top beef state in the United States. Steckline, a farmer-rancher, said he had ''no problem with her being a vegetarian. . . . My problem is somebody with a name in this industry coming down hard on the number one industry in our state. That's not what I call ladylike.''
Great Empire Broadcasting Inc., another Kansas chain with 10 stations in five states, gathered listener reaction as it considered joining the boycott. Mike Oatman, Great Empire's chief executive officer and general manager of a station in Wichita, reported that 60 percent of the callers favored continuing to play k.d. lang's records and 40 percent favored banning them.
Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsberg
➦In2020..Boston radio personality Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg, whose nickname echoed a woo-woo whistle a fan gave him in the 1950s when he was a popular DJ with his “Night Train” show on WMEX-AM, died.
Major League Baseball and Audacy have announced a new multi-year wide-ranging audio agreement.
The partnership makes Audacy the official digital audio and podcast partner of MLB and includes the capacity to produce and distribute official podcast programming for the league and its Clubs. The partnership with Audacy, a leader in digital audio and podcast production, whose subsidiaries include Pineapple Street Studios, Cadence13 and the newly launched 2400Sports, enables the league to expand its reach in this emerging space.
To launch the new production agreement, MLB and Audacy have a new flagship podcast series in development that revisits baseball’s most dramatic and thrilling postseason campaigns. The first installment, coming this fall, will take a deep dive into the Chicago Cubs’ historic march to the 2016 World Series championship. The series relives the on-field heroics from that momentous championship run and combines it with enlightening storytelling about the cast of characters that came together to make it possible.
Additional original podcasts in development include a series on fathers and sons who played Major League Baseball, and a lifestyle/travel series exploring the unique cultures, traditions, and locations specific to various Major League ballparks.
As part of the unique agreement, MLB and Audacy begin a multi-faceted sales and marketing collaboration supported by promotional initiatives across MLB and Audacy platforms. Audacy will be the exclusive advertising sales partner for MLB audio streams within the league’s subscription products and work with MLB to maximize the distribution of league and club podcasts on platforms worldwide.
Also included in the partnership is a comprehensive content and services agreement with Audacy’s sports betting subsidiary BetQL. This will include the development of custom programming, as well as BetQL personalities and editorial content being utilized on MLB platforms. It will also feature MLB content, including live game cut-ins, used in “BetQL Network” programming.
The partnership also features the potential for MLB and Audacy to deliver concerts around MLB Jewel Events beginning in 2022.
The United States is the only major country in the world where terrestrial radio pays no royalties to performers or recorded-music copyright owners of the songs they play, a situation that is largely due to the powerful radio lobby’s influence in Congress, reports Variety. While the more than 8,300 AM and FM stations across the country pay royalties to songwriters, they have never paid performers or copyright holders, although streaming services do.
U-S Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) Thursday introduced a new bill that would require AM/FM stations to pay performance royalties to music creators and copyright holders for radio airplay.
The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) is at least partially in response to the Local Radio Freedom Act that Steve Womack (R-AR) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced last month, which is championed by the National Association of Broadcasters. That act aims to continue terrestrial radio’s royalty-free status, stating that Congress should not impose any new performance royalty or other charges that might create economic hardship for locally owned radio stations. Some 138 Representatives and 18 Senators have signed that non-binding resolution; Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and John Barrasso (R-WY) are championing similar legislation in the Senate.
Singer Dionne Warwick
Variety notes that while still a powerful force, terrestrial radio is rapidly losing audience to streaming services, satellite radio, podcasts and other broadcasters, and once streaming services become widely available in cars, that decline is likely to accelerate dramatically. Champions of the Local Radio Freedom Act are using that threat as an argument for radio to continue to pay no royalties to performers and copyright holders.
“The Local Radio Freedom Act is a non-binding resolution that reaffirms Congress’s support for local radio stations and opposes new fees or taxes on local, free, broadcast radio which could jeopardize those very services upon which so many rely,” Castor said in a statement.
In response to the introduction of the legislation, the following statement was released by NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith:
“NAB strongly opposes the American Music Fairness Act or any imposition of a performance royalty on America’s local radio stations. For decades, broadcast radio has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the music industry, launching and sustaining the careers of countless artists, promoting album sales and streams, and helping to foster a robust music-creation environment that is the envy of the world.
“Broadcasters remain open to working with the record labels to reach a comprehensive and reasonable solution to this issue that reflects the incredible value provided by local radio to musicians, labels and our millions of listeners over-the-air and online. It is unfortunate that the record industry refuses to have those discussions.”
ViacomCBS Inc. said it tapped MTV executive Tanya Giles as chief programming officer for streaming, part of a broader reorganization as the media company looks to shore up content for its Paramount+ and Pluto TV services.
The Wall Street Journal reports Giles, who currently serves as the general manager at the MTV Entertainment Group, will centralize programming decisions for the streaming services globally. Other top content executives will oversee portions of Paramount+ programming relevant to their areas of specialty, from music to reality TV.
Several big media companies, including Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Co. and AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia, have reorganized their ranks to give priority to streaming, which has rapidly become the core business priority across the industry. Most companies want to have a top executive who ensures streaming service will get a healthy share of the top TV and movie programming under development.
ViacomCBS rolled out its subscription Paramount+ service in the U.S. in March, and competes in a crowded field with incumbents like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and newcomers such as Disney+.
Under the company’s reorganization plan, CBS Chief Executive Officer and President George Cheeks will also assume the role of chief content officer of news and sports at Paramount+. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos will serve as the content head of movies on the platform.
Bruce Gillmer, who runs ViacomCBS’s music, music talent, programming and events, will also take on the role of chief content officer of music at Paramount+, the company said. MTV Entertainment Group President Chris McCarthy will shepherd unscripted entertainment and adult animation content for Paramount+.
Showtime Networks’ Chairman and CEO David Nevins will build Scripted Originals content for Paramount+ while Nicole Clemens, president of Paramount Television Studios, will be in charge of the platform’s Original Scripted Series.
Brian Robbins, who heads ViacomCBS’s kids and family entertainment unit, will focus on such content at Paramount+, the company said.
FOX Weather, FOX News Media’s new AVOD streaming weather service, has signed six meteorologists to helm morning, daytime and evening programming across the platform, announced Sharri Berg, president of FOX Weather. Meteorologists Jason Frazer, Britta Merwin, Craig Herrera, Brigit Mahoney, Nick Kosir, and Stephen Morgan will lead the platform’s weather coverage once the streaming service launches later this year.
In making the announcement, Berg said, “We are very excited to announce this first team of very talented meteorologists who will anchor our coverage from the FOX Weather studio headquarters in New York City. They each bring their own unique perspective and local experience from all regions across the country, as we begin to grow our national platform.”
Jason Frazer
Seasoned meteorologist and investigative reporter Jason Frazer will serve as the platform’s morning news co-host. Since 2019, Frazer has worked as a meteorologist for the NBC affiliated WKYC-TV in Cleveland, OH and previously, spent two years at FOX affiliate WTGS-TV in Savannah, GA where he covered several severe weather events, including Hurricanes Florence, Irma and Michael. He got his start in television news as a reporter, working for CBS affiliated stations in Rochester (WROC-TV), Columbus (WBNS-TV) and Hartford (WFSB-TV), where he was a part of the station’s investigative unit. He went on to work as an investigative reporter for WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and NECN, New England’s 24-hour cable network, where his reporting uncovered how landlords in Massachusetts were improperly placing young children on eviction notices, impacting their credit ratings. A graduate of Columbia University, Frazer completed the Broadcast Meteorology Program at Mississippi State University, earning his certificate in meteorology.
Britta Merwin
Emmy nominated meteorologist Britta Merwin joins FOX Weather from Houston’s KPRC-TV (NBC) and will serve as a morning co-host, alongside Frazer. A Texas native, Merwin has spent the last seven years with KPRC-TV where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the station’s morning weather forecaster, covering major events, including 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and multiple devastating floods. A graduate of SUNY Stonybrook with a degree in atmospheric sciences and meteorology, Merwin began her career in meteorology at News 12 Long Island. She later moved to NBC Weather Plus where she covered Hurricane Gustav and the 2008 midwestern floods for NBC’s national cable news networks, including MSNBC and CNBC.
Craig Herrera
Five time local Emmy-award winning meteorologist Craig Herrera joins FOX Weather as a co-anchor of the platform’s key programming blocks. Most recently serving as Seattle’s KING-TV (NBC) meteorologist, Herrera is a Pacific Coast weather expert having covered every major weather event spanning San Diego to Seattle. An American Meteorology Society (AMS) sealed meteorologist, he was a part of the weekday morning news team at San Francisco’s KNTV-TV (NBC) on the weather reporting team at KCBS-TV, in Los Angeles and San Diego’s KGTV-TV (ABC). He received his certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from the University of Mississippi.
Brigit Mahoney
Joining FOX Weather from KTVI-TV, the FOX affiliated station in St. Louis, Missouri, Brigit Mahoney will serve as a co-anchor of lead programming dayparts for the service. Since 2016, she has been KTVI’s morning meteorologist where she tracked severe weather in mid-Missouri, keeping viewers up to date on impactful or dangerous weather. Based in the infamous Tornado Alley, she has covered a number of severe weather events throughout Missouri, often traveling into the devastation to provide firsthand reports of the aftermath. Previously, she worked as a Stormtrack meteorologist at the ABC affiliate KMIZ-TV in Columbia, Missouri. Mahoney attended the University of Missouri, where she studied Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Science.
Nick Kosir
Joining FOX Weather from FOX affiliate WJZY-TV in Charlotte, N.C., meteorologist Nick Kosir will serve as co-host for the platform’s evening programming. With more than 2 million followers across both TikTok and Instagram, Kosir, also known as “The Dancing Weatherman,” has gained notoriety beyond his weather reporting as his viral dancing videos have become a pop culture phenomenon — one of which was featured in Lil Nas X’s open at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. A graduate of the University of Akron with a certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University, Kosir most recently served as the morning meteorologist for FOX46’s Good Day Charlotte newscast, where he delivered daily weather reports and covered major events such as Tropical Storm Isaias. Prior to his time in Charlotte, Kosir worked at KBTV-TV, the FOX affiliated station in Beaumont, Texas and KMVT-TV, the CBS/CW affiliate in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Stephen Morgan
Stephen Morgan joins FOX Weather as a co-host of the service’s main programming blocks. Most recently, Morgan has served as a meteorologist and reporter at FOX owned-and-operated KRIV-TV in Houston where he served as the station’s weekend morning weather anchor since 2019. Previously, he was an anchor and reporter for KRBK-TV, the FOX affiliated television station in Springfield, Missouri where he also filled in as a meteorologist and news content manager. This past winter, Morgan was a part of KRIV’s coverage of the historic Texas freeze that led to catastrophic power issues. Morgan graduated from St. Louis University with a degree in meteorology.
FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer digital streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the AVOD platform FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for more than 19 consecutive years, while FBN currently ranks among the top business channels on cable. Owned by FOX Corporation, FOX News Media reaches 200 million people each month.
Nearly 100 people remained missing as of early this morning after the partial collapse of a beachfront condo in Surfside, Florida, at around 1:30 a.m. yesterday. At least one person was confirmed killed and dozens of people were pulled out alive, with rescuers continuing to look for more survivors. Officials didn't know how many people were in the 12-story Champlain Towers South when a wing of the condo collapsed, as many of the residents are seasonal.
Surfside mayor on condo collapse: "Buildings like this don't fall down in America" https://t.co/6y6dNbimFS
Surfside City Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer told local station WPLG that the building’s mandated 40-year recertification process was ongoing at the time of the collapse, and a building inspector had been onsite Wednesday. Authorities did not say what may have caused the collapse of the condo located northwest of Miami, which was built in 1981.
➤BIDEN ANNOUNCES BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN: President Biden on Thursday announced a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure plan that's scaled back from what he'd originally proposed.
‘We have a deal’: President Biden hailed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan Senate deal to renew the nation's infrastructure and stimulate the world’s largest economy https://t.co/R0lGEuduk2pic.twitter.com/AZwvznlvnO
Speaking outside the White House with senators from both parties who'd worked on the deal, Biden called the agreement "a true bipartisan effort, breaking the ice that too often has kept us frozen in place." He also said, "neither side got everything they wanted in this deal; that’s what it means to compromise." While the agreement is reduced from his proposals, he said that Democrats could pass some of his other infrastructure priorities through reconciliation, which doesn't require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Biden said the two items would be done "in tandem," and that he'd wouldn't sign the bipartisan agreement without the other part, which will be larger. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the same would be true in the House. The items in the bipartisan package include $109 billion for roads and highways, $15 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and transit systems, $65 billion for broadband and drinking water systems.
➤PELOSI ANNOUNCES CREATION OF SELECT COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday that the House will create a select committee to examine the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pelosi said, "The select committee will investigate and report on the facts and the causes of the attack and it will make report recommendations for the prevention of any future attack." Her announcement came after Republicans last month blocked the creation of a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the attack. There will be Republicans on the select committee, but Democrats will have the majority and therefore will control it and have subpoena power.
➤CHAUVIN BEING SENTENCED TODAY FOR MURDER OF FLOYD: Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is being sentenced today after being convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. Prosecutors have requested a 30-year sentence, while the defense asked for probation, saying Chauvin was the product of a broken system who, quote, "believed he was doing his job."
➤GIULIANI'S LAW LICENSE SUSPENDED BY N.Y. COURT: Rudy Giuliani's license to practice law in New York was suspended by an appeals court Thursday because of false statements he made while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 presidential election loss. The court acted after an attorney disciplinary committee asked it to suspend Giuliani’s license on the grounds that he’d violated professional conduct rules when he promoted false conspiracy theories that the election was stolen. The court agreed, saying, "The seriousness of respondent’s uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated." Giuliani reacted by calling the court's action a "disgrace" and saying the opinion "could have been written by the Democratic National Committee."
White House confirms it plans to evacuate 18,000 Afghans who worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan https://t.co/RdTVmstpIm
➤BIDEN SAYS WILL EVACUATE THOUSANDS OF AFGHAN INTERPRETERS WHO HELPED U.S.: President Biden said yesterday that the U.S. will evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters from Afghanistan who helped the U.S. military during the two decades of conflict in that country. AP cited a senior administration official as saying planning has accelerated in recent days to relocate the Afghans and their families to other countries or U.S. territories while their visa applications are processed. The evacuation is planned for later this summer, before Biden's September deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
KABOOM: On Her Show, Joy Reid Gets Sunk By Critical Race Theory Critic | Newsbusters https://t.co/UedYf0DdCH
➤COURT RULES AERIAL SURVEILLANCE BY BALTIMORE POLICE UNCONSTITIONAL: A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that an aerial surveillance program used by Baltimore police is unconstitutional, amounting to a warrantless search. The Baltimore Police Department began using the aerial surveillance carried out by planes with wide-angle, high-tech cameras in a pilot program last year mean to fight crime. It tracked the movements of virtually all city residents during the daylight hours. Privacy advocates objected, and the court sided with them in its split 8-7 ruling. A three-judge panel of the court had earlier upheld the program, finding it was, quote, "merely a tool used to track short-term movements in public, where the expectation of privacy is lessened." But the full court disagreed yesterday after an appeal to it of the panel's ruling. The program ended in February, but the court said yesterday that police must also stop using any data obtained through the program when it was operational.
➤EVICTION MORATORIUM EXTENDED FOR ONE MONTH FOR LAST TIME: The administration extended the nationwide ban on evictions for one more month, a continuation of the moratorium that was begun last year to help people unable to make rent payments during the pandemic. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which extended the evictions ban from June 30th to July 31st, said it will be for the last time, stating, "this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium."
➤MICROSOFT UNVEILS WINDOWS 11: Microsoft unveiled Windows 11 on Thursday (June 24th), the next generation of its Windows software that will be the successor to Windows 10, which was introduced in 2015. It includes visual upgrades, such as a new Start button, a revamped task bar and sounds, and features meant to increase speed and efficiency. Windows 11 is expected to become available later this year on new computers and other devices and as a free update for those with Windows 10.
➤BIDEN'S SISTER AND LONGTIME ADVISER GETS BOOK DEAL: President Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens, who's been a longtime political adviser to him, has gotten a book deal. AP cited Celadon Books as saying that the memoir, called, Growing Up Biden, will be out in April 2022. The 75-year-old Owens has been working with Biden for his entire career, including managing his successful 1972 U.S. Senate run and his unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008, and was also a top advisor for his 2020 campaign. Owens also quit her job as a teacher and moved in with her brother for four years to help care for his two sons after he lost his first wife and baby daughter in a 1972 car accident. Owens said in a statement, "What we Bidens learned long ago is a timeless lesson: that family matters, possibility can emerge from pain, and the ties that bind us together are stronger than anything that might pull us apart. So this will be a story of one family -- but our story, I hope, will resonate and inspire."
➤AMERICANS NEED SPACE FOR ALL THEIR STUFF: A lot of Americans spent lockdown during the pandemic buying things online, and now they're looking for space to put all the stuff they bought. A new OnePoll survey of 2,000 Americans found that 63 percent of them have so much stuff in their homes they have a hard time finding where to store it. Of those surveyed, 30 percent said they spent more than usual over the past year on items like kitchen and cooking utensils, 30 percent spent more than usual on home decor, and 27 percent spent more than usual on personal care products. More than one-third of those surveyed said they had not interest in home organization before the pandemic, but now 63 percent want to be tidier and are planning to keep that going after the pandemic.
👃STUDY..NEARLY 4% OF COVID-19 PATIENTS WHO LOST THEIR SENSE OF SMELL STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN IT BACK: A small percentage of people who lose their sense of smell after getting COVID-19 a year ago have not gotten it back. French researchers found that 96.1 percent of COVID survivors regained their sense of smell within a year of having the virus, but the remaining 3.9 percent still have no smell or limited smell and there is no known timeline for when they might regain it. The reason why COVID-19 can cause a loss of smell is not totally understood by scientists, and no one can say for sure the exact percentage of people who develop the symptom due to the virus.
🐶STUDY..PET OBESITY IS ON THE RISE—AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC: It’s likely your pet gained weight during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but new data shows that our cats and dogs have been gaining weight for the last decade. Banfield Pet Hospital reports that between 2011 and 2020 they say a 108-percent increase in dogs diagnosed as overweight or obese. Last year, 34 percent of all examined dogs weighed too much (up form 16 percent in 2011), while for cats that number jumped 114 percent, from 18 percent of all cats in 2011, to 38 percent in 2020. Banfield Chief Medical Officer Molly McAllister said in a press release, “We want pet owners to know that you are not alone in managing your pet’ weight. You can partner with your veterinarian to determine your pet’s ideal weight and the appropriate steps to take together to get there, without judgement. It’s clear from the data that many pets and their owners are struggling with this issue and Banfield is here to help.”
🏒CANADIENS DEFAT KNIGHTS IN OVERTIME TO MAKE STANLEY CUP FINAL: The Montreal Canadiens are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime last night (June 24th) to win their semifinal series 4 games to 2. Artturi Lehkonen scored that winning goal at 1:39 into overtime. Montreal will play for the Stanley Cup against the winner of the series between the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders, which is tied at 3-3 with the deciding Game 7 tonight.
🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
Montreal Canadiens 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 (OT) - Montreal wins series 4 games to 2
🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday (June 24th):
L.A. Clippers 106, Phoenix Suns 92 - Phoenix leads series 2 games to 1
⚾FOUR CUBS PITCHERS COMBINE ON NO-HITTER, MLB'S RECORD-TYING SEVENTH: Chicago Cubs starter Zach Davies and three relievers -- Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel -- teamed up on a combined no-hitter last night against the L.A. Dodgers, winning 4-0. It was the seventh no-hitter in MLB this season, tying the record for most in a season since 1900.
🏌SALAS IN LEAD AFTER OPENING ROUND OF WOMEN'S PGA: American Lizette Salas is in the lead after the opening round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship yesterday at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Salas shot a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead over Charley Hull of England.
🏀ESPN..CARLISLE TO BE PACERS' HEAD COACH: Rick Carlisle has agreed to a four-year deal to be head coach of the Indiana Pacers, the team announced yesterday, one week after resigning from the Dallas Mavericks. ESPN, which first reported the news, cited sources as saying the deal is worth $29 million. Carlisle previously coached the Pacers for four seasons from 2003 to 2007, making the playoffs three times. He then spent 13 seasons with Dallas, becoming the franchise's winningest coach and leading them to their only championship in 2011.
🏒HAKSTOL TO BE KRAKEN'S HEAD COACH: The NHL's expansion Seattle Kraken announced Dave Hakstol yesterday (June 24th) as their first head coach. Hakstol, who was an unexpected hire, was head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers for more than three seasons from 2015 to 2019, and a Toronto Maple Leafs assistant for the past two years. The Kraken will play in the Pacific Division, with the Arizona Coyotes shifting to the Central Division.
