Whfs

Radio station WHFS-FM (99.1) yesterday announced a powerhouse lineup for its annual HFStival, which is coming to Baltimore's PSINet Stadium on May 29.Among the alterna-rock headliners at the 10th annual fest are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Goo Goo Dolls and Sugar Ray.Other acts include the Offspring, Silverchair, Orgy, Live, Lit, Beth Orton, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Citizen King, Buckcherry, 2 Skinnee J's, the Freestylers, Blink 182, Ozomatli, Sev and...

Last Monday, one of the most famous sets of call letters in the history of Baltimore radio was resurrected on local airwaves. And so far, listeners are split about the new HFS. Broadcasting on 97.5-FM, the newest incarnation is patterned closely after the influential alternative rock station once found at 99.1 on the dial — until its abrupt switch to Latin pop station El Zol in 2005. "The music made popular by HFS has lived on long after the station went off the air," CBS Radio senior vice president Bob Philips said last week when announcing the new station, noting that the brand had been kept alive as a streaming Internet station over the past six years.

In yet another chapter in the continuing saga of internal squabbles at WHFS Radio, the former national sales manager for the Landover-based progressive rock station filed suit yesterday for wrongful termination.Patti A. Ebbert, wife of WHFS disc jockey Damian Einstein, claims in the suit that she was fired March 29 for "refusing to get involved with questionable, illegal and unethical activities." She is asking $3 million in punitive damages."We categorically deny any of the wrongdoing that was alleged in the complaint," said T. Alan Hay, general manager of WHFS-FM (99.1)

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the HFStival was a summit for area alt-rock lovers. Organized by the late WHFS-FM, the festival boasted acts such as the Violent Femmes, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay, as well as myriad local and regional bands. It was many firsts for many people: Their first concert, their first time crowd surfing, their first time in a mosh pit. Saturday, the HFStival returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion , the site of the last HFStival in 2006.

Patricia Ebbert would like nothing better than to squeeze the sound out of WHFS.For five years, she has asked the courts and other agencies to punish her former employer -- one of the region's most popular radio stations -- for transgressions she claims range from poor management to rigged contests.Now, Ms. Ebbert is asking the Federal Communications Commission to block the Annapolis station's license renewal and give her the 99.1 frequency for a new station. Even as the federal government moves to make such challenges tougher to file in new telecommunications reforms signed into law Thursday, Ms. Ebbert continues her fight.

Alternative rock station WHFS (99.1 FM) bit the dust yesterday, unexpectedly switching to a Spanish-language and music format - a decision that jolted the station's many fans. "There was no notice and no explanation," said Cindy Lindstrom, 20, a longtime listener from Perry Hall. "At 12:01 p.m. today, the radio station went silent. At 12:05 p.m., there was music in Spanish. Fifty people must have called me today. Everyone's in shock. No one knows why." In a news release, Joel Hollander, president of Infinity Broadcasting, which owns WHFS, said the format change will serve more than 400,000 Hispanic customers in Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis.

It was business as usual -- almost -- for WHFS-FM disc jockey Damian Einstein as he returned to regular duties yesterday morning, 18 months after station management removed him from his DJ slot citing a decline in ratings.Not exactly usual, however, was the bouquet of balloons in the control room reading "Welcome back!" Several flower arrangements in Mr. Einstein's office and dozens of messages faxed in during his 9 a.m.-to-noon on-air shift also were clues that this was not quite an average business day.And if there were any lingering doubts, they were dispelled by the three TV camera crews pressing in to record for posterity (or at least the evening news)

AFTER 27 consecutive years on WBAL Radio, the University of Maryland is spinning the dial. In a deal announced yesterday, Maryland chose new flagships for Terrapins football and men's basketball games - two of Infinity Broadcasting's Baltimore stations, WJFK (1300 AM) and WHFS (105.7 FM). "Every element of the deal makes this a terrific deal," said Michael Lipitz, Maryland senior associate athletic director. The deal does contain new elements. All men's lacrosse games will be broadcast on WJFK and an increased number of women's basketball games will be carried on the same station.

No matter what happens, Brian Wilson can't seem to stay away from Baltimore for long. From 1984 to 1988, he was among the most popular radio personalities in town. Tomorrow, seemingly a dozen jobs and just as many addresses later, he returns to Charm City's airwaves, as the afternoon voice of WHFS-FM. "It's like this elasticized umbilical cord," he says from the WSPD studios in Toledo, Ohio, where he'll continue to hold down the afternoon drive-time slot he's had since 2005. "I got out of town after '88, then snapped back in the early '90s, then left for New York, then boom, back to Baltimore.

WHFS is back, in an alternative way. The much-mourned and lowly rated rock station - which switched to Spanish pop only this month - has been revived and refitted for an online audience. On Friday, Infinity Broadcasting and America Online launched WHFS.com - a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week online radio station featuring new music, old music from WHFS, and performances from past HFStivals. If listeners aren't interested in an audio stream of the former rock station, WHFS can also be heard weeknights and all day Saturdays and Sundays on Baltimore's Live 105.7, with host Tim Virgin, who had worked at the former station.

No matter what happens, Brian Wilson can't seem to stay away from Baltimore for long. From 1984 to 1988, he was among the most popular radio personalities in town. Tomorrow, seemingly a dozen jobs and just as many addresses later, he returns to Charm City's airwaves, as the afternoon voice of WHFS-FM. "It's like this elasticized umbilical cord," he says from the WSPD studios in Toledo, Ohio, where he'll continue to hold down the afternoon drive-time slot he's had since 2005. "I got out of town after '88, then snapped back in the early '90s, then left for New York, then boom, back to Baltimore.

Throwing some sports media notes on the fire to stay warm after shivering through the NFC championship game in Green Bay: You might think Baltimore fans have grown indifferent to the Orioles, their interest diminished by a decade of losing baseball. But people clearly still care a lot. At The Sun, we can see how any shred of Orioles news piles up page views at baltimoresun.com, often outpacing Ravens news. And listening to sports talk shows Tuesday night, I could hear that passion. Callers were lined up to talk baseball on Amber Theoharis' WHFS (105.

Contemplating the sports media landscape while recalling that Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" was written before the days of Versus and Fox Soccer Channel: So maybe if my column ran in the back of The Sun sports section I'd get a big salary? Rick Reilly, whose back-page column has long been a staple of Sports Illustrated, is leaving the magazine for ESPN, it was announced earlier this week. He will write for ESPN The Magazine and espn.com and appear on various ESPN programs, starting in June.

Jacob "Jake" Einstein, a radio station owner whose broadcasts drew a devoted audience for the alternative rock music scene he championed, died of an aortic aneurism and emphysema complications Wednesday at his Potomac home. He was 90. Mr. Einstein, who called himself "the oldest hippie alive," spent nearly six decades in radio work, much of its as a salesman and station owner who had an astute ear for emerging musical tastes. He made a name by giving a free hand to his disc jockeys to play the music they wanted - not what the music industry was pushing.

Where to watch or hear tomorrow's induction: TV ESPN Classic, 1:30 p.m. (highlights show on ESPN2 Monday at 8 p.m.) Ch. 13, Celebrating Cal special, about 4:30 p.m. (after Orioles game) RADIO ESPN 1300 AM, 1:30 p.m. (replayed after Orioles game on WHFS [105.7 FM]) ONLINE For a multimedia presentation, go to baltimoresun.com/ripken -- video of Ripken's speech should appear by 9 p.m.

Johnny Miller owns one of the most famous rounds in the history of golf's major championships - the 63 he shot at Oakmont on the last day to win the 1973 U.S. Open. With the Open back at Oakmont this week and NBC there to chronicle it, the topic of Miller's performance 34 years ago was bound to come up. But, in typical Miller fashion, the network's No. 1 golf commentator won't say that marks him as a player to rank with Tiger Woods. "If anybody studied my career, I was like Jekyll and Hyde," Miller said, according to highlights of a conference call this week.

Only in death could WHFS find life. The alternative radio station was pulled from the air in January - an act of mercy after a long death spiral. Ratings had tanked, and WHFS had lost much of the audience and spirit that had made it among the most beloved and progressive stations in the country. But just four months later, HFS is back, staging its popular HFStival today at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, settling into a new home on the dial and making an unlikely climb to the top of the ratings.

If all the trades and free-agent signings don't improve how the Orioles look in 2007, maybe the games at least will sound better. The Orioles confirmed a long-standing rumor yesterday and announced that the team is leaving its radio home of 19 years, WBAL (1090 AM), for CBS Radio's WHFS-FM (105.7). According to a release issued by the club, WHFS will become the flagship station for the 16-station Orioles Radio Network, which will carry all 162 regular-season games, as well as some exhibitions beginning in March.

You want some good statistics about the Orioles? I can't pass along anything that shows improvements in RBIs, ERA or WHIP. Then again, I'd have to know what WHIP is. (You, in the back, with your hand up. Yes? Walks and hits per inning pitched. Thank you.) The happy numbers in this case have to do with Orioles television and radio broadcasts in their new homes. Comparing this April with April 2006, Orioles games on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network drew an average 3.8 cable rating as opposed to the 3.0 Comcast SportsNet got. That means 3.8 percent of the Baltimore audience with cable TV was tuning in, an increase of 27 percent.

Orioles broadcaster Jim Hunter has arrived in Fort Lauderdale and will debut his new Hot Stove Baseball Show with new partner Amber Theoharis tonight on WHFS (105.7 FM). Never mind that the temperature here reached a record 90 degrees over the weekend. Theoharis replaces Hunter's longtime former Hot Stove partner, Peter Schmuck, who - according to Orioles officials - will not be missed.