WJZ saw major ratings boost

Ravens: Super Bowl, `Survivor II' helped the station dominate the night, but other stations had tricks up their sleeves, too.

In Baltimore, William R. Johnston, associate director of the Walters Art Gallery, proved not quite as rabid. "I'm not a great base -- football fan" acknowledged the bow-tied Johnston, a curator of 18th and 19th century art, as he stood in a corridor of the august museum.

Jeffrey Savoye, secretary and treasurer of the Edgar Allan Poe Society, shook off repeated requests to pronounce his love of the Ravens. "I'm not a sports fan," the poor man said. "I'm actually extremely tired of hearing about it." Savoye shook off a series of entreaties by Carell to say, "GO POE, GO RAVENS."

But after Jeff Jerome, director of the Poe society, suggested the Ravens would win "bigtime," Carell intoned: "Uh oh - the trash-talking has begun."

And Giants fans in Times Square obliged, providing Carell with an incredible torrent of bleeped-out obscenities.

After the endless parade of TV reporters who goaded bellowing (and often seemingly inebriated) fans into saying "Who let The Dogs Out," Carell's report only seemed a satire by a matter of degrees.

Questions? Comments? Story ideas? You can reach David Folkenflik by phone at 410-332-6923 or by email at [e-mail].