News

CBS Radio fired Don Imus Thursday, ending speculation about his future at New York's WFAN following his uttering on-air racial slurs earlier this month.

It was a spectacular fall for a morning shock jock once named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the United States. In the past, Imus had escaped serious censure for making racial putdowns. But referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," quickly sent the 66 year old on his way to retirement or the resumption of his career at another station. Ho is slang for whore and nappy-headed is a pejorative for a black person's hair.

In announcing Imus's dismissal, CBS president and chief executive officer Leslie Moonves said, "There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of colour trying to make their way in this society."

Earlier this week, MSNBC cancelled its simulcast of the Don Imus WFAN morning show.

Dumping Imus will cost CBS Radio, which owns WFAN and syndicates the show nationwide, an estimated $15-million (U.S.) in annual revenue. But there was really no alternative. Major advertisers were pulling out. That was the big issue. Ethical and moral considerations seemed less important.

Imus's celebrity guests said little about the controversy, but baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. quickly cancelled a scheduled appearance on the show.

Mixing the clever talk of the chattering class with racism and misogyny had given the show a cachet it really didn't deserve. The appearance of high-profile politicians and journalists helped obscure the racial ugliness that was always just under the surface.

On April 4, Imus along with sidekicks Sid Rosenberg and Bernard McGuirk weighed in on the Rutgers basketball team, which, composed mostly of black athletes, had fallen one game short of winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.

Imus said he thought they looked like "rough girls," with "tattoos." McGuirk called the students "hard-core hos." "The more I look at Rutgers," Rosenberg said, "they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors."

"That's some nappy-headed hos there," Imus said.

In the past, Imus, 66, has referred to sports columnist William Rhoden as a "a New York Times quota hire," and journalist Gwen Ifill as a "cleaning lady." He has called Arabs "rag heads." When CBS's 60 Minutes profiled Imus in 1998, he told the producer off-camera that McGuirk's role on the show is to make "jokes" about blacks. Imus confirmed the remark but complained that it had been said off the record.

Rosenberg was fired in 2001 after calling tennis star Venus Williams an "animal" and saying Venus, along with her sister Serena, were better suited for a photo spread in National Geographic than Playboy. He was rehired a month later after which he called Palestinians "stinking animals."

Imus's damage control this week included apologies all round and regret over making such a "idiotic" remark. But who was he trying to kid? His show has been spewing this sort of stuff for years.

Playoff audiences

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby's participation in the CBC's opening game of the NHL playoffs failed to improve the audience from last year. Penguins-Ottawa Senators drew 1.23 million, compared with 1.38 million last year, although the 2006 opener drew from a split telecast, Tampa Bay Lightning-Senators and Edmonton Oilers-Detroit Red Wings.

The second game, Dallas Stars-Vancouver Canucks, pulled in an impressive 1.126 million over 5 1/2 hours, almost matching last year's 1.381 million for the second game, Anaheim Ducks-Calgary Flames, which ended in regulation time.

Despite going head-to-head with the CBC's Canadian games, TSN did well. It drew 380,000 for San Jose Sharks-Nashville Predators, up from 205,000 for the Sharks-Preds opener last year. The Ducks-Minnesota Wild telecast, which didn't start until almost midnight EDT, drew 287,000.

A bit part

Tie Domi's intermission segment didn't air during TSN's NHL playoff coverage this week, but will return on Monday. Domi hasn't been participating in panel discussions and was not used for the TSN playoff fantasy draft show, which is something he might have been able to handle. He will be used only once a week during the playoffs. His return next season seems unlikely.

• Rogers Sportsnet and Rogers Wireless signed a three-year deal with the NHL to distribute game highlights on sportsnet.ca and on Rogers mobile devices.
• Sportsnet drew a strong audience for the Kansas City Royals-Toronto Blue Jays game Wednesday night: 424,000 viewers, up from last season's average of 375,000.