WGN Sports Central in Sun-Times: "near death"

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: Have you seen O'Donnell's column on WGN's Sports Central in the Sun-Times today? : ****** : : WGN's 'Sports Central' near death : WGN Radio's free fall continues as venerable show soon will be replaced by phone-in programs : The levee continues to break at WGN-AM (720). : If sources are correct, the once-regal giant will remain in its stunning free fall by poleaxing the nightly ''Sports Central'' later this spring. : The 28-year-old show -- originally hosted by Jack Brickhouse -- reportedly will be replaced by phone-in programs after Cubs, Blackhawks and Northwestern broadcasts and a general show-to-be-named-later on non-game nights. : While it's believed host David Kaplan will stay for the sports slots, the decision can only further diminish WGN's once-nonpareil reputation as a full-service pater familias to an impressive segment of Chicago's mainstream radio audience. : Originally conceived by sneaky but shrewd programmer Dan Fabian, ''Sports Central'' debuted on April 4, 1982, and quickly grew to be the daily glue that melded WGN's assorted sports properties. : That first edition featured Brickhouse -- assisted by young Chuck Swirsky -- dissecting the day's happenings, including a Bump Wills home run that gave the Cubs and first-year manager Lee Elia a victory over the Cincinnati Reds. : Later, a capable succession of hosts, including Tom Shaer, Brian Davis, Randy Minkoff and Dave Eanet, ushered the show into new eras. : Current WGN program chief Kevin Metheny failed to return a phone call seeking comment. : While he and general manager Tom Langmyer continue their attempts to forge a sound aimed at a younger audience, they have repeatedly been the objects of critical scorn as they try to plate-spin a ditch-load of on-air franchises almost universally in descent. : As for Kaplan, besides whatever duties remain at WGN, he will continue to co-author a dot-and-dasher for an area daily and serve as wheel master of an afternoon moo wagon on Comcast SportsNet. : There's also speculation that the tireless ''Kappy'' will fill out his new schedule with some midnight IDOT gigs near Rosemont's ''Toll Booth Elvis,'' maitre d' at Deerfield's Egg Drop Cafe and man a booth or two on Sundays at the ''Algo Para Todos'' flea market in Cicero. : But for now, it's looking like bye-bye for WGN's long-running ''Sports Central.'' : BOUQ-BRICKING: Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson are in town to call TNT's telecast of the Heat-Bulls game tonight. It's the first time they've left the network's Atlanta studios to work a game since 2001. : The trio is fresh off an appearance on NBC's ''Tonight Show'' on Monday, during which Barkley said he tries to watch ''The Mentalist'' and ''30 Rock'' while waiting for live game-night cues on the Turner set. : ''Believe me, that's true,'' Johnson said. : TNT is billing the 7 p.m. telecast as ''An Interactive NBA Viewing Experience'' during which viewers will get ''inside access'' through live tweeting, special player and game-camera feeds and ''exclusive HD Pocket Cam videos.'' Maybe Joey Greco from ''Cheaters'' will show. : Johnson, incidentally, is the son of former MLBer and broadcaster Ernie Johnson Sr., now 85, who won a World Series ring in 1957 as a reliever for the Milwaukee Braves. : TWEET-HENGE: Whichever way the waves of electronica may be flowing for the Twitt Family Guillen, Ozzie Jr. will be assisted by flippy-fingered brother Oney on WSCR-AM (670)'s weekly ''Latino Baseball Show'' this season. The fiesta returns April 4 at 10 p.m; Oney may be asked to join Blackberry Anonymous beforehand. : The debut of Erin Andrews on ABC's ''Dancing With the Stars'' underscored the obvious: Her celebrity has outgrown her hunch-and-hootie gig as a network sideline reporter. Next stop could be a sitcom about an independent young career woman who throws her tam to the wind and winds up as an associate producer at a struggling Minneapolis gentlemen's club. : ''The Street Stops Here'' -- produced by Chicago's TeamWorks Media and directed by Kevin Shaw -- premieres Wednesday on Channel 11 at 9 p.m. The PBS documentary focuses on Bob Hurley Sr. and his 36-year run as basketball coach at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J. : Odds-on choice as most bizarre NCAA watching of the weekend will be Kansas State coach Frank Martin and his Billy Jack-at-the-ice-cream-store demeanor against Xavier tonight (Ch. 2, 8:37). Where was Martin's last coaching stop -- for the black-ops interrogators at Guantanamo? ... Jimmy Kimmel, on the latest in America's ongoing soap bopper, ''Tiger Woods gave his first interviews since brutally attacking a tree on Thanksgiving Day.'' : Jim O'Donnell's sports media column appears on Thursday in the Sun-Times.

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