Random Notes

• Veteran sportscaster Doug Russell, who has spent the past several years in Milwaukee, has joined Yahoo! Sports Radio Network full-time as a sports update anchor and fill-in host. Russell worked for the network full-time several years ago when it was Sporting News Radio. He has been doing fill-in work for them in recent months. Russell will relocate to Yahoo! Sports Radio headquarters in Houston, TX.

• The past two Knicks telecasts on MSG — ironically, both New York losses — are the two highest-rated regular-season NBA telecasts on the network since household ratings were initially tracked in 1988. The Friday night game against the New Orleans Hornets registered a 7.32 Nielsen household rating, which was topped Monday night for a game against the New Jersey Nets with a 7.34 (Courtesy Albany Times Union)

• Ashley Chase has joined WCAX-TV in South Burlington, TV as a Sports Reporter. She leaves KCAU in Sioux City, IA.

• Ryan Cody has joined WHNT-TV in Huntsville, AL as a sports reporter. He leaves a weekend anchor position at KFDA in Amarillo, TX.

• Time Warner Cable has restored Knicks telecasts to 2 million MSG Network cable customers, who had been in the dark 48 days during a contract dispute. (Courtesy USA Today)

• Two new ways to improve your sportscasting career will be launching at STAA in the next three weeks. Are you ready?”

• Veteran St. Louis sportscaster Randy Karraker is doing well following heart bypass surgery on Tuesday. Karraker tells the St. Louis Post Dispatch, “”Normal time out for this is four-to-six weeks, but as you know I sit around and talk sports all day,” Karraker said. “So hopefully if I get my strength back I’ll be back a little sooner. I feel good about talking.”

• Midday co-host Ari Temkin is leaving 104.9 The Zone in Austin, TX for a show at The Zone in San Antonio. He replaces Chris Duel, who was let go last month due to poor ratings.

• STAA’s Sports Broadcasting Seminar series is now available to download instantly to your iPod, iPhone, iPad or MP3 player. Learn more.

• Chad Doing, AM Drive host at The Game in Portland, has signed a new multi-year deal,.

• ESPN contributor and Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan has announced he is retiring following this year’s Olympics.

• The Fox-Padres TV deal is going to happen. First, however, Fox must announce the network and the accompanying distribution deals with Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable, as well as with satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse. Dick Enberg will return as the play-by-play voice. Mark Grant will return as Enberg’s partner. And Andy Masur, who is in his sixth season on the radio side, will work TV games when Enberg needs a break. Tony Gwynn is also expected to return as an analyst. (Courtesy North County Times)

• Sports Reporter Joe Murano leaves WBTW-TV in Myrtle Beach, SC for a similar job as crosstown station WMBF.

• Sports Director Dan Sneed exits KSWO-TV in Lawton, OK for a sports anchor/reporter position at KAGS in Temple, TX. Luke Simons has also joined the station, vacating the Sports Director position at WJET in Erie, PA.

• The San Diego Padres have hired TV analyst Mark Grant as an employee of the team. The move ensures Grant will remain on the team’s TV broadcasts. He has been a Padres analyst since 1996. Grant had previously been employed by Channel 4 San Diego, which lost its broadcast rights to the Padres at the conclusion of last season.

• Sports Reporter Joe Murano leaves WBTW-TV in Myrtle Beach, SC for a similar job as crosstown station WMBF.

• Applications for the 2012 Jim Nantz Award and STAA All-America program will be accepted from March 13th through April 16th. The STAA All-America program recognizes the most outstanding collegiate radio sportscasters in the country and encourages collegiate sportscasters nationwide to strive to achieve their best. Each spring, the nation’s most outstanding collegiate sportscaster is presented the Jim Nantz Award. Details here.

• Sports Reporter Shane Ewing has left KXLF-TV in Butte, MT for a sports anchor position at KAKE in Wichita, KS.

• Even without Time Warner Cable as a partner, MSG has gotten stellar ratings for its New York Knicks telecasts, thanks to the emergence of point guard Jeremy Lin. A victory Saturday night in a Minnesota got a 4.17 Nielsen household rating, the highest-rated Knicks game on MSG since Carmelo Anthony’s debut Feb. 23 (6.75). (Courtesy Albany Times Union)

• Pat Kirwan, a popular show host on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio, has joined CBSSports.com, although he will continue to do his “Movin’ The Chains” program (3-7 p.m. EST weekdays) for the satellite service. (Courtesy Albany Times Union)

• Sports Director Jayson Gieser has left WAOW-TV in Wausau, WI for a similar position at WLIO in LIma, OH.

• Root Sports in Denver (Formerly Fox Sports Rocky Mountain) has decided not to renew the contract of Tom Helmer, which expires at the end of February. Helmer hosts Colorado Rockies pre and post game shows.

• Showtime has named award-winning sportscaster Barry Tompkins and renowned boxing historian Steve Farhood to serve as the announce team for the inaugural presentation of live undercard boxing on the network’s Showtime Extreme channel. (Courtesy Pro Boxing Fans)

• Baseball’s best play-by-play broadcasters keep score with MLB veteran Bob Carpenter’s Baseball Scorebooks. Bob’s books lay flat for easy scoring, there is plenty of room for up to 15 innings and they have a durable cover and binding. Endorsed by STAA. Visit www.bcscorebook.com. Enter STAA after your last name on the order form to receive free shipping.

• Sporting Kansas City has announced that KSMO-TV will return as the team’s local broadcast partner for the 2012 and 2013 Major League Soccer seasons. Callum Williams and color commentator Jacob Yadrich will return to the broadcast booth. (Courtesy infozine.com)

• KMOX St. Louis has conducted simulated on-the-air tryouts with a winner selected to join sports director Tom Ackerman as an on air announcer during spring training in March. Of the 125 candidates, some 15-20 have been women. (Courtesy Patch.com)

• Before he anchored SportsCenter on ESPN, Trey Wingo used his quick wit as a sports reporter and anchor at NewsChannel 5. After the Super Bowl Sunday night, he joined NewsChannel 5′s Heidi Glaus live from Indianapolis to surprise his former co-workers Mike Bush and Kay Quinn. (Courtesy KSDK)

• Sports Anchor Derek Bayne left WCTI-TV in New Bern, NC in December to join WREX in Rockford, IL.

• Broadcaster’s Edge provides the simplest way for play-by-play broadcasters to prepare for a game. Click here to listen to the software’s creator, Brian Freedman, explain how Broadcasters Edge improves your broadcasts and saves time. Rave reviews from network, big league, and college announcers. www.broadcastersedge.com.

• NASCAR Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger has joined ESPN’s “NASCAR Now” program as a guest reporter. A segment called “The Daily Dinger” will show Allmendinger conducting off-beat interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and fans about that day’s race. (Courtesy Albany Times Union)

• 101.7 KCKS in Chico, CA has flipped back to sports after spending one year as a Top 40 station. The station is now Fox Sports 101.7 and 1340 AM.

• The Dodgers’ 2012 spring training broadcast schedule from Glendale, Arizl., includes 18 games televised back on Prime Ticket or KCAL-Channel 9 with Eric Collins and Steve Lyons, with Charley Steiner and Rick Monday calling each nine games on the new flagship radio station, KLAC-AM (570). The only exhibition game that Vin Scully will be apart of is the Dodgers-Angels contest at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, April 3 on KCAL. (Courtesy Los Angeles Daily News)

• In the latest post on the STAA Contributors Network, John Herrick of Chisholm Trail Broadcasting in Enid, OK offers three key suggestions for landing your first play-by-play job. Click here to visit the STAA Contributors Network.

• Evening host Todd Wright has left Yahoo! Sports Radio. Tuesday night was his last show. Wright joined the company in 2006 after nine years at ESPN Radio.