More on Mike North at Wildfire

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: North eating up return on Internet : Ex-Score host teaming with restaurateur Rich Melman on Web radio show on Wildfire's site : : : Perhaps the only person outrageous enough to suggest that former WSCR-AM 670 mainstay Mike North has anything in common with Barry Manilow would be North himself, and guess who's tryin' to get the feeling again. : "What Rich Melman is paying me to do is what the Las Vegas Hilton pays Barry Manilow to do," the hot-dog-man-turned-sports-talker explained Tuesday, in announcing his latest venture, a two-hour, five-day-a-week Internet program that will stream on the Lettuce Entertain You Web site of Melman's Wildfire restaurants, starting Monday. "He wants people to visit the Wildfire Web site." : This experiment in Internet radio is innovation born out of necessity for North, a signature voice for The Score since its launch 16 years ago. When he left the all-sports station in late June after contract talks with CBS Radio broke down, a non-compete clause was supposed to keep him from taking a TV or radio job for six months. Out of sight and out of mind diminishes one's value in the marketplace, the theory goes. : WSCR boss Paul Agase said it is policy not to discuss contractual matters, but North maintains there is no language concerning the Internet. Coincidentally, former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti, the other major free-agent sports pundit in town, also has said his contractual restrictions on joining a competitor place no limits on immediate online opportunities. : "So I'm on the air Sept. 8, the day after the Bears opener," North said. "They didn't think they'd have to worry until Jan. 8. This is going to change the way contracts are written up." : While off the air, North has launched a sports handicapping site, DontFadeMe.com, and said he is working with a ghost writer on an autobiography. But talking about sports is his meat and potatoes, which is why he brought his idea for "circumventing the covenants of radio" to Melman, who knows from meat and potatoes. : "I've sort of learned I'm good at the restaurant business, and I don't know a lot about other businesses," Melman said. "I get approached all the time about the movie business or other businesses. People are always saying, 'Well, if you can do restaurants, you can do this.' No. This is strictly because of Mike and my confidence in him." : "The Mike North Webio Show," with Wildfire among its sponsors, will stream live at www.wildfirerestaurant.com weekday mornings from 9 to 11, with downloads available beginning at 1 p.m. on North's own site, NorthtoNorth.com, as well as iTunes.com. : "You can only North 24/7," North said. : Would even North's wife, Bebe, want him 24 hours a day, seven days a week? : "She only gives me an hour, an hour a month," he said with a laugh. : One fan, obviously, is Melman. : "I've always liked him. I've loved his passion," Melman said. "I'm not going to tell you I'm any expert on Web shows or the Internet or anything like that. But I talked to a couple of our people, and they said it was interesting. A number of people said this is the coming thing. So I said, 'Let's try it and tie it into one of our restaurants.' " : Compensation terms for North could not be confirmed, but the initial commitment is for four months, which is about when North will be free to cut a broadcasting deal. : "Radio is still very viable, but the Web is the next big thing," North said. "This will sound just like radio. People say, 'But Mike, I can't get you in the car.' : "Well, guess what? You can get me in your high rise. You can get me in your downtown office. You can get me on your iPod." : For North, it is something of a gamble in that if he doesn't draw a crowd, it won't improve his negotiating stance. But he said it might be more risky to sit out the next few months. Besides, he says he already has enough money, and he's confident. : "I think I've spent enough time in this town that if I'm on somewhere, people will find me," he said. "I don't even know how to turn [a computer] on, but I know how to make money off it." : (ROSENTHAL/trib)

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