Wbal Radio

In a few weeks, Mark Viviano will regain his regular sleep patterns, but he'll have to go to Atlanta to do it.That's because Viviano, who anchors sports on Channel 11's Saturday and Sunday morning news shows, as well as doing morning-drive sports on WBAL (1090 AM) and WIYY (97.9 FM), will be leaving the Hearst empire for an anchor slot with CNN/SI."I didn't have to wake up at 3: 30 in the morning, but I loved doing it. I loved working with [WBAL radio morning anchor Dave] Durian and everyone here.

For more than 30 years, in his role as a morning commentator on WBAL Radio, Don Spatz tried to get Baltimoreans off on the right foot.Through witty, inspirational commentaries that often stressed respect for others, Mr. Spatz and his avuncular presence were a welcome companion for harried commuters, frenzied mothers and senior citizens in need of a reassuring voice.Mr. Spatz, whose retirement from WBAL in 1991 ended the longest-running daily radio commentary in the nation, died Wednesday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Charlestown Care Center.

Bidders in this year's radio auction for Center Stage can get married (in a wedding gown donated by Gamberdella) or buried (in burial plots donated by Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens), as well as enjoy a whole slew of things in between.The 22nd annual on-air auction, sponsored by The Sun, will take place Sunday from 8 a.m. to midnight on WBAL radio (1090 AM).Among the more than 700 other items up for bid are tickets to such enticing locales as Belize, Britain, Greece, Ireland and Spain; a pregnancy massage; a World Wrestling Federation fun pack; a diamond necklace; a gazebo rental; a year's supply of beer; and Orioles items including the pitching rubber from the mound at Camden Yards, signed by last year's starting rotation; the use of Mayor Schmoke's skybox; front-row tickets for opening day; and the ever-popular chance to serve as a pregame Orioles bat boy or bat girl.

To most Americans watching television in the 1950s and 1960s, he was known as Garry Moore -- the eternally youthful guy with the wick-wire crew cut and inch-wide bow ties. But to Baltimoreans, he was still Garrison Morfit, the kid who grew up in Bolton Hill, attended City College and McDonogh School, and began his show-business career here on WBAL radio.Known as the city's second best-loved crew cut, right behind Colt legend Johnny Unitas, Moore later became the host of two network quiz shows, "I've Got A Secret" and "To Tell The Truth."

Astronomers are asking Marylanders with video cameras to help them study the eclipse of a bright star early tomorrow morning.At 3: 17 a.m., as seen from Baltimore (a bit earlier south of the city), the sunlit, upper-left-hand edge of the moon's disc will pass in front of a star called Aldebaran. Twenty-six minutes later, at 3: 43 a.m., the star will pop back into view on the darkened upper-right-hand edge of the moon.It's called an "occultation," and it's the second lunar occultation of Aldebaran this year.

Kenneth Manelis, a weekend news anchorman for WBAL-AM radio who was known for his calm demeanor on breaking news stories, died Monday after a short illness at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson.Mr. Manelis, 48, of Pikesville had been with the radio station off and on for nearly 20 years. He last anchored the news the weekend of March 28 and did rush-hour traffic reports early last month.He had worked part time at WBAL since 1990, combining his work as one of the station's newscasters with free-lance announcing duties; part-time, on-air work at Maryland Public Television; and acting jobs.

As a "Media Watch" public service, we're going to let you in on a little secret that is true no matter where you go: Most of the stories you hear and see on local radio and television -- news or sports -- originated in the newspaper.The reasons for that truism are obvious. Given their time constraints, not to mention the fact that newspaper reporting staffs are generally at least two or three times larger than those of their broadcast counterparts, most local television stations and all but a few radio stations can't devote the commensurate amount of time to sports and news coverage that newspapers can in terms of space.

Tickets to Orioles games; airline bargains; accommodations in Tobago, the Amazon and Barbados; Caribbean cruises; city vacations; and lunches with celebrities are just a few of the more than 700 items going on the auction block next Sunday to benefit Center Stage.Presented by WBAL Radio and The Sun, the 21st annual auction begins at 8 a.m. and runs to midnight.The 16-hour, nonstop, on-air bidding on WBAL Radio last year raised a record high of nearly $170,000 for the nonprofit professional theater, bringing the 20-year auction total to more than $1.57 million.

The audition notices in Sunday's Arts section listed an incorrect telephone number for information on the Young Victorian Theatre Company's July production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." It should have read (410) 659-1308.The Sun regrets the error.Tickets to Orioles and Ravens games, airline bargains, accommodations in Tobago, Aruba and Toronto, city vacations, Bermuda cruises and lunches with celebrities are just a few of the more than 700 items going on the auction block next Sunday to benefit Center Stage.

HERE ARE the results of our 1995 forecasting contest:THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE: Last Friday, when the Dow Jones industrial average ended the year at 5,117.12, Barbara Frankovic became our contest winner with her year-end prediction of 4,948 -- made last January, when the Dow was down around 3,860.Ms. Frankovic, assistant marketing director of Fairfax Savings Bank, told me over the weekend, "So many magazines I read predicted Dow Jones 5,000 that I wanted to come close, but not exact, so I settled on 4,948."

Jeff Beauchamp, vice president and station manager of Baltimore's powerhouse WBAL radio, is leaving the station after almost 34 years on the job. His last day at WBAL, the 50,000-watt broadcast outlet that he helped transform from an adult contemporary music operation into one of the most honored news-talk stations in the country, will be next Friday. "The company presented me with a package that is fair, and I'll be doing some consulting work for WBAL radio in the months and year ahead," the 58-year-old Beauchamp said Thursday.

It's Friday, and so here's one more unpleasant thing before the weekend - another set of sports media notes: After working the first two games of the major league season for ESPN in Japan earlier this week, Gary Thorne's vocal cords should be over jet lag in time to call Monday's Orioles opener. Thorne is joined by Jim Palmer in the booth and Amber Theoharis on the field. The game will be simulcast on WJZ/Channel 13 and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network at 3 p.m. However, the high-definition version of the Orioles vs. the Tampa Bay Rays will be available only on the MASN HD channel, not WJZ. WJZ's pre-game show begins at 2, featuring sports anchor Mark Viviano and his news-desk colleagues.

Days after firing longtime talk-radio host Marc Steiner, WYPR announced yesterday that Sun columnist Dan Rodricks would replace him. The news came as the station, facing passionate protests from Steiner loyalists, pushed back its fundraising drive originally set for next week. While Steiner's firing came as a shock to people who viewed his show as a unique civic forum, some said replacing him with a well-known local columnist and media personality might quell some of the backlash. WYPR programming director and vice president Andy Bienstock said Rodricks, who in addition to his newspaper column has worked on local television and radio programs, was his first choice.

John Rowland Kraft Jr., a retired WBAL-TV supervisor who enjoyed gunsmithing and keymaking, died Sunday of lung cancer at his Sparks home. He was 68. Mr. Kraft was born in Baltimore and raised in Hamilton. He was a 1958 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and attended the old Baltimore Junior College. He also served in the Coast Guard on active duty for six months and remained in the Coast Guard Reserve for eight years. In 1960, he went to work in the engineering department at WBAL radio and transferred in the late 1970s to its television station.

After working seven years as a contributor for WBAL radio, Shari Elliker started doing her own show on Sundays this past summer. Then in September, she got a full-time gig, The Shari Elliker Show, which airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Along with the job came a new home. She moved from Alexandria, Va., to Fells Point. Elliker, 45 and single, says she loves her new job and her new town. When she thinks of what she wants, she thinks of one thing: food. Here are five lunches she would love to have, not only for the food but also the conversation.

And now back to our regularly scheduled sports media notebook, but there's no need to TiVo it. Comcast SportsNet doesn't carry Orioles games anymore, but it still has plenty of Cal Ripken Jr. Hall of Fame coverage. It will run a series of features daily on SportsNite starting Sunday, and Chick Hernandez and Brent Harris will report from Cooperstown, N.Y., starting Wednesday. Comcast SportsNet also has commissioned a song for the occasion, a Ripken-centric version of Terry Cashman's "Talkin' Baseball," written and performed by Cashman.

Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his wife, Kendel, will host their own two-hour show Saturdays on Baltimore's WBAL-AM 1090, starting March 31. The hiring of the former first couple is a coup for WBAL, which muscled aside competing interest in the Ehrlichs from two other stations, WCBM-AM 680 and WHFS-FM 105.7. As governor, Ehrlich was a frequent guest on WBAL, where he sometimes broke news. "Bob has always appeared on our station," Jeff Beauchamp, vice president and station manager of WBAL Radio, said yesterday.

On a freezing February night, being transported to a boathouse on the Fourth of July should come as a welcome relief. But Theatre Hopkins' production of Lanford Wilson's Talley's Folly, which takes place in Missouri on that day in 1944, isn't as delightful a respite as it could be. The boathouse -- the gazebo-like "folly" of the title -- isn't the problem. William Roche has designed an enchantingly rustic set, decked out with props including an old tennis racket, ice skates, wicker picnic basket, etc. But the sense of enchantment, that is, chemistry, between the two people in the boathouse could stand a boost.

The Orioles wanted creative control of all pre- and post-game programming on WBAL Radio (1090 AM), and the station's objection to that was a major reason its 19-year relationship with the club ended, said WBAL vice president and station manager Jeff Beauchamp. The Orioles counter that between a clearer FM signal on WHFS (105.7), the ability to promote the club on five different stations, a strong investment in high-definition radio and creative ideas for pre- and post-game content, CBS Radio offered too good a package to turn down.

Over the past several days, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has shifted from the sidelines to the center of the debate over a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. After a Baltimore judge ruled last month that the state's gay marriage ban was unconstitutional, the governor said he would review the amendment but was not sure it was necessary. He said he wanted to let the legal appeals process play out. He issued a statement Monday saying he favored a full floor debate on the issue.