A serving of media notes:
### Tommy Hutton, unjustifiably booted from the Marlins TV booth, has lined up a new gig: He will do a weekly Monday segment, in the 3 p.m. hour, with Andy Slater on WINZ-940.
Hutton said he’s frustrated he couldn’t find a job with another team, but he got a late start looking, because Fox and the Marlins didn’t dump him until Thanksgiving week. And there was very little turnover in MLB announcing booths this offseason.
As for his spirits, he said he has some good days and some bad days after losing a position in which he excelled for 19 seasons. He said he’s constantly reminded about his contract not being renewed, because fans frequently approach him and say they will miss him.
### WQAM-560 initially dominated 790 The Ticket in the ratings after The Ticket flipped its 104.3 FM signal from sports to alternative rock in September, leaving a one-on-one battle between 560 and 790 AM.
But that has changed dramatically.
Among the key demographic group of men 25 to 54 (which is what sports-talk advertisers look at), The Ticket beat WQAM in nearly every daypart in the ratings book spanning Dec. 31 through Jan. 27.
The Ticket’s Jonathan Zaslow & Co. won with a 3.0 share to WQAM’s 2.4 from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Dan Le Batard’s local hour (9-to-10 a.m.) beat the final hour of Joe Rose and Curtis Stevenson 2.8 to 1.5, and Le Batard beat Orlando Alzugaray 1.5 to 1.1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Alzugaray had won previously.)
The Ticket's Eric Reed won narrowly from 1 to 3 p.m., 1.2 to 1.0.
From 3 to 4 p.m., WQAM’s Marc Hochman & Co. tied Le Batard’s best-of show, with each earning a 1.1 share in that key male demo group.
The Ticket's and The Herald’s Ethan Skolnick won from 4 to 7 p.m., with a 2.1 to WQAM’s 1.4.
But WQAM's Hochman said he beat The Ticket during the hours when he's on the air (2 to 6 p.m.). So afternoons remain very close.
The Ticket dominated at nights (7 to 10 p.m.) with a 3.2 to WQAM’s 0.4. That’s mostly a reflection of Heat radiocasts drawing more listeners than Panthers and UM basketball games.
The Ticket has picked up 20,000 additional listeners, among men 25-54, since the first month after 104.3's format switch.
### Nationally, the Le Batard show (with Jon Weiner) is getting nearly four million downloads per month, which ranks in the top two among ESPN programs.
### Rose, who has won his fair share of morning matchups with The Ticket, has always been underappreciated as an interviewer – a skill that many former players can’t master.
Rose usually elicits meaty answers by asking pointed questions and doing it concisely. Dolphins running back Lamar Miller, an amiable fellow who often doesn’t have a lot to say, offered interesting comments on WQAM this morning, due largely to the fact Rose asked the right questions.
“I want to be a featured back,” Miller said. “… I want the recognition I deserve.”
Rose told Miller that he averaged 15 touches per game last season and asked him what would be a good number. “Twenty,” Miller said.
Miller, a free agent, said he would “love to stay” with the Dolphins but that it’s a business, and that Stephen Ross “picked the right guy” with Adam Gase.
### ESPN hired former NFL star Charles Woodson to replace Keyshawn Johnson on Sunday and Monday NFL Countdown.
### Saturday will be the UM basketball team’s only non-cable national TV appearance this year, with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery working the Hurricanes-at-North Carolina matchup at 1 p.m. on CBS.
### Quick stuff: Greg Norman told Golf World that he was blindsided by Fox’s decision to dump him after one year as its lead golf analyst: “I thought I was handcuffed, to tell you the truth. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to say, but the final comment they told me (was that) I was too unpredictable. I thought that’s what they want you to do in that role.”… Paul Azinger replaces him...
Marv Albert will no longer work the NCAA Tournament for CBS and Turner in order to save his voice, which he self-admittedly has had issues with at times in recent years… The Ticket called Fox Sports Florida Marlins reporter Jessica Blaylock about auditioning for its morning show (to replace Fox-bound Joy Taylor), but she said her schedule made it unfeasible.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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