***From the desk of John Delong (Winston-Salem Journal Hoops Writer) . . . ***

he responded to my email concerning how the Bobcats are doing in sigining up a radio flagship station and starting their own regional sports network . . . .




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the radio situation is tricky. they're negotiating with several people
> still. they wanted fnz bad. but with fnz going only to 10,000 watts instead
> of like 40,000, that's just not enough of a signal to justify being the
> flagship. so now they're wanting infinity to put them on an fm station, but
> dj stout is steadfastly refusing. i don't know if that's a bluff or not.
> he's talking like they're probably out of the mix. however, with wbt being
> out, that doesn't leave many options for the bobcats. some people say
> they're talking seriously with that fm rock station 95.1, what do they call
> it now? dj is trying to paint the picture that the bobcats need infinity
> more than infinity needs the bobcats, and that may be true. how bad would it
> be if the bobcats wound up on something like the edge, or whatever it's
> called? in one sense, fnz doesn't need the bobcats that much because there's
> no competition for packman and the page. plus, remember, unless something
> changes, fnz and the new signal can only have eight hours of local
> programming, per fcc rules. hope that explains some of it. the rsn will
> happen, because johnson is hellbent on doing it, but they keep pushing it
> back and back. to answer your question, yes, i believe it will be up and
> running by next season. and yes, there are issues like the cox situatino in
> new orleans, and that's why it's so tricky. it's also complicated by the
> fact that johnson is still negotiating with raycom jefferson pilot.

 

I know that RLJ wants a regional sports network badly, but his best option is the Comcast SportsNet model as opposed to the Cox Sports TV model. It needs to be not tied to any one cable company.

 

Would really like to see all the non-ESPN Niners games picked up by Johnson's new station. The buzz is favorable that it will happen.

 

Quick FYI

At the Bobcats Mascot Naming Party today at Southpark Mall, I chatted briefly with Ed Tapscott (Exec VP & COO of the Bobcats) who said that they M-I-G-H-T announce the start of the new regional sports network sometime next month. They are still working on the radio contract (no mention though of any particular station) . . .

 

"The Bobcats have also been wise to turn away several other Hornets employees who wanted to come back from New Orleans."

Who does that refer to?

I want Steve Martin and Mike Gminski back damnit! Actually, I don't think G-man went down there did he? Did Martin go?

Perhaps he was referring to Gerry V?