Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Girls' Sweet Sixteen, Wednesday



Comments flow ...

25 comments:

  1. Neither WOMI nor WBKO is broadcasting this morning's Owensboro Catholic-Bowling Green game in the girls' state high-school basketball tournament. WOMI is playing Glenn Beck, and WBKO has The View. I'm listening to the game on the Owensboro Catholic Sports Network here, and Bowling Green leads, 19-18, at halftime.

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  2. Still, I love reading radio- and TV-station histories at Wikipedia. Here's WOMI's:

    WOMI made its debut at 7:00pm on the evening of Monday, February 7, 1938, becoming the seventh radio station in the state of Kentucky, with a live celebratory broadcast from the Hotel Owensboro. The station began with 250 watts of daytime power and 100 watts at night at 1500 kilohertz.[2] Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer publisher Lawrence Hager formed Owensboro Broadcasting Company as owner and operator of the station. A modern two story art deco building had been constructed on Frederica Street, just south of Byers Avenue, to house the new broadcast operation. Lyell Ludwig was hired as WOMI's first general manager but Hager replaced Ludwig in 1939, with the newspaper's city editor Hugh Potter. Potter's wife, Cliffordean, became the station's program director and the couple moved into the station's second floor apartment where they remained until their retirement in 1972.

    On March 29, 1941, WOMI moved to 1490 kilohertz as part of the North American Broadcast Treaty which reallocated frequencies for some 1,300 AM stations. WOMI had no network affiliation until it joined the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1944, just in time for the network's coverage of the D-Day Normandy invasion of World War II. WOMI stayed with Mutual until 1959, when the station became a CBS Radio affiliate.

    WOMI had primarily been a full service station during the Potter years of 1939 to 1972. The station experimented with various formats following the departure of the Potters. The station's post-Potter banner years were the mid to late 1970's when a well-executed Top 40 format drew big audience numbers for the station. WOMI joined NBC Radio in 1979, and then, it joined that network's "TalkNet" in 1985, and soon found its niche as the city's News-Talk outlet.[2]

    In 1993, the station was sold to Evansville, Indiana-based Brill Broadcasting. In 2002, the station was sold to current owner Townsquare Media.

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  3. The screenshot is from during the 1969 boys' Sweet Sixteen. WBKO started out as "WLTV:"

    In 1956, two groups filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build a television station on channel 13 in Bowling Green, the only allotted VHF channel for southern Kentucky.[3] The first group to file was Sarkes Tarzian, who owned television stations in Indiana.[4] A second application followed shortly thereafter, from George A. Brown, Jr., the Kentucky representative for Nashville-based General Shoe Corporation.[5] It was not until February 1957 that the commission designated the applications against each other for hearing,[6] and it took another 18 months for a hearing examiner to give the initial nod for the channel to Tarzian, citing his superior programming plans and broadcast experience as a factor that outweighed the local ownership represented by Brown.[7] Brown appealed the initial decision, and the FCC granted him the permit in 1959.[8]

    Taking the call letters WITB (changed before launch to WLTV), Brown and his wife Nellie incorporated the Argus Broadcasting Corporation in 1960 along with Joe Walters, a former RCA engineer.[9][10] Construction of studios and a transmission facility began in early 1961 at a site 12 miles (19 km) north of Bowling Green, near Hadley, on U.S. 231.[11][12]

    WLTV made its debut on June 3, 1962. It was an independent station for its first five years of operation, with productions including live wrestling, musical shows, and news,[9] befitting the slogan "Wonderfully Live Television".[12]: 251  One children's program, Sundown and Friends, used live animals raised at the station site at Hadley.[12]: 312  The station continued without network programming for nearly five years before finally obtaining ABC affiliation in January 1967. Programs were received by off-air pickup and by a private microwave link that fed ABC affiliate WSIX-TV in Nashville to new studios in the former National Guard armory in downtown Bowling Green.[13][14]

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  4. At 2 a.m. on September 26, 1969, residents throughout Bowling Green and surrounding Warren County heard a blast. When the sun came up, the transmitter engineer saw that the WLTV tower was leaning 15 degrees, having bowed in the middle, after an estimated 48 sticks of dynamite were set off at the base of the station's 603-foot (184 m) mast. Windows shook at the transmitter building, where debris from the explosion punctured holes in the roof, and in two surrounding homes; as the engineer had already left for the night, there were no injuries.[15]

    The investigation centered on one possible reason. WLTV had in recent months become known for editorials on crime in the Bowling Green area.[16] However, there was little information for an investigation to go on.[17] A grand jury was convened in October, to which WLTV's news director testified,[18] but no charges resulted; much of the evidence was destroyed by the blast itself.[19]

    Meanwhile, efforts immediately began to restore service from WLTV. With the microwave link to the Armory studios severed, equipment was carted back up to the transmitter site to permit limited local broadcasts,[16] and a makeshift antenna out of chicken wire was tested.[20] The damaged mast was purposely brought down October 1,[21] permitting workers to begin erecting a temporary 150-foot (46 m) tower; an antenna was shipped by air freight from California.[22] From these facilities, WLTV returned to the air on October 6.

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  5. In February 1970, Argus reached a deal to sell WLTV to Professional Telecasting Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of the Lincoln International Corporation of Louisville.[25] Professional Telecasting immediately promised to complete the task of rebuilding the station to provide full-power service again and to begin color broadcasts; at the time, the only color programs seen on WLTV were rebroadcast from ABC.[26] The $1 million transaction[27] was approved by the FCC in June.[28]

    Professional Telecasting opted to rebuild WLTV's transmission facility at a site to the north of Bowling Green, near Richardsville, instead of to the south. This was because many Bowling Green TV antennas were pointed south to receive Nashville stations.[29] In order to complement the technical overhaul, the owners also filed to change the call letters to WBKO.[30]

    In February 1971, WBKO adopted the new call sign[25] and activated the new transmission facility, which had come as part of hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital improvements.[31][32]

    In 1976, Lincoln International sold WBKO to Bluegrass Media, a company led by general manager Clyde Payne and a group of local businessmen.[33] Under Bluegrass ownership, WBKO made plans to build new studio facilities in 1981 on the site of a former drive-in movie theater.[34][35] However, these never came to fruition. The Payne group sold WBKO in 1983 to Benedek Broadcasting, with Payne remaining as general manager.[36] In 1985, the station relocated to its current studio facility on Russellville Road; ABC programming began to be received via satellite soon afterwards.[12]: 312 

    Payne would prove to be a long-lasting leader at WBKO and a national figure, serving on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters and as president of the ABC affiliates board.[37] In 1977, Arbitron classified Bowling Green as its own area of dominant influence for the first time, carving it out of Nashville; WBKO was the only commercial station in the new ADI.[38] Nielsen Media Research followed suit in 1985, constituting the Bowling Green designated market area.[12]: 313  He led the station through the start of the first competing local commercial outlet in Bowling Green, WQQB (channel 40, later WKNT and now WNKY), in December 1989. He also refused to air NYPD Blue when ABC debuted the show in 1993; while there were 48 affiliates that refused to air it, Payne was their most visible representative, appearing on an episode of Donahue, where he was jeered at for telling the New York audience that the show "just doesn't work in Bowling Green".[39]

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  6. Back underway at Rupp Arena, five minutes to go in the third quarter:

    Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces 26
    Bowling Green Purples 24

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  7. The KHSAA RPI ranked Bowling Green No. 26 in the state; Owensboro Catholic, No. 34. Those were the top ranks in their respective regions.

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  8. The Purples and Lady Aces each have been to the Sweet Sixteen eight times, and neither has ever won the state championship.

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  9. These two teams played each other--it appears to have been on a neutral court--on Feb. 11, and Bowling Green won, 55-54.

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  10. Through three quarters, it's Owensboro Catholic leading, 37-35. The Lady Aces got ahead as many as five in that quarter as they had a run of six-of-eight shooting from the field, including two three-pointers.

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  11. List of recent KHSAA Girls' Basketball Champions:

    2010: Lou. Mercy
    2011: Rockcastle Co.
    2012: Lou. Manual
    2013: Marion Co.
    2014: Lou. Butler
    2015: Cov. Holy Cross
    2016: Lou. Butler
    2017: Mercer Co.
    2018: Mercer Co.
    2019. Ryle
    2020: No Tournament
    2021: Lou. Sacred Heart
    2022: Lou. Sacred Heart

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  12. 4:03 to play ... timeout, Owensboro Catholic ... Bowling Green has made its last three shots, and it's 44-43, OweCath ... the Lady Aces have made seven of 15 three-pointers ...

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  13. Bowling Green and Owensboro Catholic each have made four of their last five shots from the field, but OweCath is up to 52.9 percent on three-pointers (nine of 17). Lady Aces lead, 50-46, with 2:19 to go.

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  14. 49 seconds left ... 50-48 ... Owensboro Catholic, trying to run clock, misfires on a pass ... Bowling Green takes a timeout to set up a game-tying or lead-changing try ...

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  15. 15.3 seconds left, still 50-48 ... Owensboro Catholic is about to pass in from the opposite end ... can't get it in ... another OweCath timeout ... the Lady Aces haven't been able to get off a field-goal attempt in the last 2:09, but Bowling Green hasn't been able to make a field goal in the same span!

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  16. Owensboro Catholic gets the ball in ... Bowling Green foul ... make, make ... that should do it: 52-48.

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  17. Last night, I couldn't figure out how to abbreviate Owensboro Catholic. "OweCath," which you have here, or "OCath," which is what Jason Frakes is using, are both better than anything I came up with. (My best idea was OCHS, which didn't really work.)

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  18. Final: 54-51. Owensboro Catholic advances. The Lady Aces make nine of 13 3s and 11 of 13 free throws to send home Bowling Green. That's a very satisfying morning in Lexington for the people who made the drive over from Owensboro early today to make the 11 a.m. Eastern tipoff, and I hope all of those happy fans get out and find something good to eat for lunch. My current Lexington favorite is Pasta Garage.

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  19. Wowwee. The two-time-defending champs, Sacred Heart, beat Lawrence County in today’s second game, 70-33.

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  20. This was the first Sweet Sixteen appearance for the Lawrence County Lady Bulldogs of Louisa.

    For the Valkyries of Crescent Hill, this is Sweet Sixteen No. 11. Sacred Heart has won the girls’ state championship a record six times—1976, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2021 and 2022.

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  21. In the C-USA men's basketball tournament, Western Kentucky storms from behind and eliminates UTEP, 73 to 67. Western advances to the quarter-finals, where the Hilltoppers will play the number-1 seed, Florida Atlantic.

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  22. Update on Kentucky college programs (by Ken Pom ranking):

    21. Kentucky: 21-10 (number 3 seed in the SEC Tournament)
    163. No. Kentucky: 22-12 (WINNER of the Horizon Tournament)
    171. E. Kentucky: 20-13 (eliminated in semi-finals of A-SUN Tournament)
    181. W. Kentucky: 17-15 (next game in quarter-finals of C-USA Tournament)
    226. Murray St: 17-15 (eliminated in quarter-finals of MVC Tournament)
    248. Morehead St: 21-11 (eliminated in semi-finals of OVC Tournament)
    263. Bellarmine: 15-18 (eliminated in quarter-finals of A-SUN Tournament)
    293. Louisville: 4-28 (eliminated in first round of ACC Tournament)

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  23. KHSAA RPI proved out in the evening programme:

    -- No. 9 Winchester George Rogers Clark over No. 71 Mercer County, 51-43
    -- No. 7 London North Laurel over No. 29 Lexington Frederick Douglass, 59-57

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