http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1085295324241820.xml Vaillancourt buzzing to return to airwaves Sunday, May 23, 2004 Pierce Huff A lot has happened since Gerry Vaillancourt's weekday radio show went off the air on WTIX-FM on April 30. Hornets coach Tim Floyd was fired, and General Manager Bob Bass announced his retirement. The Saints started coaching sessions, and Smarty Jones has emerged as threat to win the Triple Crown. "I was walking around my house getting up tight, because there were days when I wished I was on the air," Vaillancourt said. "There was so much to talk about." But the wait for Vaillancourt to get back on the air ends Monday, when he debuts a weekday three-hour radio show, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., on 1280-AM. Vaillancourt's show is a part of the Hornets' new three-year broadcast deal with WODT, a Clear Channel station that switched from blues and jazz to 24-hour sports talk last October. Vaillancourt's one-hour show on WTIX-FM was a mix of witty conversation, strong analysis and entertaining interviews, and he said expanding it to three hours on WODT won't be a problem. "I did that for 11 years in Charlotte and had a five-hour show (before I came to New Orleans)," he said. Vaillancourt also said he thinks his show will benefit from the station switch. "WODT is an all-sports station, and sports fans know where they can go for that, and that should increase our audience," he said. "I've gotten a lot of response from people who are excited about the show." Vaillancourt plans to make up for missed time when he gets back on the air. Here is a sample of some of his thoughts: On Floyd's firing: "It looked like it was one of those things that looked like it was coming down the road during the season. Anyone who says they were shocked by it wasn't following the team during the season." On Floyd being shocked by his dismissal: "I think he may be more angry than shocked." On the Hornets' courtship of former New Jersey Nets coach Byron Scott: "I think both sides are doing their homework carefully to make sure there is a match." Welcome back, Gerry. Martin leaves -- Steve Martin, the Hornets vice president of broadcast operations and play-by-play announcer on Cox Sports Television, has left the team. Martin had been with the Hornets since their inception. "Steve has always represented himself and our team with a tremendous amount of class," Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said. Rod Mickler, the vice president of Cox regional sports, said he will be talking to the Hornets next week about a replacement for Martin. "The club will play the biggest part in the decision (of replacing Martin on the Cox telecasts), but certainly as rights holders, we will have some input," Mickler said. "The club ultimately will have the decision." News and notes -- CMA Cablevision, the cable provider for Belle Chasse, Buras and more than 40 cable systems in Louisiana and Texas, will debut Cox Sports Television on June 1. The 24-hour regional sports network will be shown on channel 237. Instant replay -- NBC's decision to extend its deal with the Arena Football League was a good move. Fan interest in the AFL appears to be growing, and the television ratings have been solid. But the network's decision to have a revenue-sharing broadcast deal with the National Hockey League is a stretch. The NHL has never received good ratings in the U.S. and is suffering from labor unrest. For a network that in the past has been concerned about the rising cost of sports broadcast rights, NBC should have passed on the NHL. -- Fox Sports' Max Kellerman has achieved a rare television double this year, being the host of two of the worst sports shows ever put on the air. Kellerman hosted the subpar "Around The Horn" on ESPN and has followed that with the awful "I, Max" on Fox Sports Net. -- WWL's Buddy Diliberto called Byron Scott "Byron Davis" several times during a segment this week. Games to watch -- New Orleans at Tampa Bay, WDSU, today. -- The Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN, this week. -- The Western Conference Finals, TNT, this week. -- The French Open, ESPN and ESPN2, this week. . . . . . . . Pierce W. Huff can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3809. --

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