One down, One to Go…

New York’s claim to being the media capital of the world is pretty solid this week with one deal down and one to go.  Cablevision acted quickly, putting its deal to own Newsday to bed with a winning bid of $650 million to beat out Rupert Murdoch’s  paltry offer of $580.  Let’s hope Cablevision manages a newspaper a lot better than they do the Knicks and Rangers.  Real estate mogul Sam Zell will use the money to pay off $8.2 billion in debt he took on last year when his company, the Tribune went private…

Another deal might be on the horizon thanks to a judge’s ruling in New York to adjourn the start of the Clear Channel trial pending a resolution in the nasty battle between six Wall Street banks and THL Partners and Bain Capital.  Judge Helen Freedman’s ruling might make possible the $27 billion leveraged buyout of Clear Channel, which has only taken nearly two years of turmoil up to this point.  The settlement apparently involves a new deal that would lower the price to $36 a share from $39.20 pending approval by shareholders…

Should both deals reach fruition, $27,650,000,000 will change hands as the result of two actions.  Not a bad day’s work…

Arbitron’s PPM results for New York are in and you can read about it in today’s Commentary…

10 Timeline Memories:

1.  1607]  That’s settled:  The English colony at Jamestown  (VA) is settled.  It will be founded the following day…
2. 1846]  There goes the Cinco de Mayo celebration:  The U.S. declares that a state of war exists against Mexico…
3. 1929]  It’s a numbers game:  When the Indians beat the Yankees 4-3 in Cleveland, it marks the first game to feature numbers on the backs of the players…
4. 1940]  Churchillian:  Winston Churchill  tells the British House of Commons:  “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” in his first speech as prime minister.  So how come the group wasn’t called ‘Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat’???  Just asking…
5. 1976]  The Doctor makes a house call:  Led by Dr. J, the New York Nets win their second ABA title  with a thrilling come-from-behind (they trailed by 22 with 17 minutes left) victory over Denver at the Nassau Coliseum in the last ABA game.  After this game the ABA becomes part of the NBA…
6. 1981]  The Pope takes a bullet:  Pope John II  is shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca…
7. 1985]  Wedding Bells:  Bruce Springsteen  and Julianne Phillips  rock down the aisle.  They will separate in 1989 and then divorce…
8. 1993]  Elite company:  One day before his 40th birthday, George Brett  becomes only the 6th player with 300 (or more) home runs and 3,000 hits.  The historic ball is picked up by a fan on a veteran’s hospital outing.  The fan is blind.  True!!!
9. 2000]  Rickey released:  The Mets release Rickey Henderson  after he fails to hustle and turns a double into a single.  He was also hitting .219 with no home runs at the time…
10. 2006]  ‘Happy Trails’:  Heatwave  founder and lead singer Johnnie Wilder Jr. dies in his sleep at 56.  Johnnie was paralyzed below the neck in a 1979 car crash.  His spirit remained high even after he was paralyzed all those years…2007]  Bill Todd a.k.a. Johnny Williams, former WRKO disc jockey passes away from Lou Gehrig’s disease…

Music Memories:

• 1966]  Recorded on this date:  “Sunny Afternoon” - Kinks…1970]  Badfinger begins recording “No Matter What“…
• 1977]  Debuted on this date: Dolly Parton makes her New York City debut at the Bottom Line.  This  is one of the songs she sang…
• 1977]  Mira que Linda:  Linda Ronstadt denies reports that she was offered a cool million to pose in the nude for a Hustler centerfold…  

 Commentary:

Arbitron’s PPM (Portable People Meter) ratings for New York produced happy results in March for WHTZ and WLTW, one-two in rank order, WKTU, WCBS-FM, WABC and WOR.  WBLS and WSKQ didn’t do so well.  David Hinckley’s  got the story in his New York Daily News column…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Darius Rucker a.k.a. Hootie ((42), Stephen Colbert (44), Dennis Rodman (47), Bobby Valentine (58), Stevie Wonder (58), Harvey Keitel (69), Clive Barnes (81) and Bea Arthur (85)…

Timeline Countdown:  13 days until Memorial Day, 33 days until Father’s Day, 40 days until summer begins and 53 days until July 4th…

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