What:  This One’s For You, a special telecast of St. Louis Cardinals baseball that will connect local troops serving overseas with their families at home.

Troops will watch the game on American Forces Network (AFN). A live satellite link from Afghanistan will allow FOX Sports Midwest to interview Missouri National Guard soldiers from the 1138^th Transportation Company during the game. Troops’ families will attend the game and will also be shown on TV.

When:  Friday, Sept. 2. Game begins at 7 p.m. CT/4:30 a.m. Afghanistan time.

Where:

- At Busch Stadium in St. Louis

- On TV on FOX Sports Midwest

- In Afghanistan; troops will be shown live via satellite and will watch on AFN

They’re thousands of miles away from home, serving our country. Some are St. Louis-based soldiers, Cardinals fans who left season tickets behind. And for many, their families haven’t seen them in months. But on Friday, Sept. 2, Missouri National Guard troops deployed in Afghanistan will connect with their loved ones during the TV broadcast of the Cardinals game.

On Sept. 2, FOX Sports Midwest presents This One’s For You, the network’s annual Cardinals telecast recognizing the Armed Forces. U.S. troops throughout the world will watch FOX Sports Midwest’s broadcast of the Reds-Cardinals game via American Forces Network. At the same time, a live satellite link from Afghanistan will allow FOX Sports Midwest to interview troops from the Missouri National Guard 1138^th Transportation Company during the game.

Fans throughout Cardinal Nation watching at home will get a chance to see and hear from these troops. And an entire section of family members (more than 250) will cheer on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to participate by bringing banners and signs. And fans watching on TV are invited to send messages to the soldiers. Fans can send tweet their greeting to @FSMidwest and should use the hash tag #TOFY. FOX Sports Midwest plans to show some of those greetings on TV.

The 170 soldiers of the 1138^th Transportation Company are headquartered at historic Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County. In Afghanistan, soldiers of the 1138^th use heavily-armored equipment, providing convoy security and supply distribution to coalition forces. They’ll watch the game live at 4:30 a.m. in Afghanistan (7 p.m. in St. Louis).

The Missouri National Guard Agribusiness Development Team V will also be shown during the telecast via taped greetings to family and friends. The ADT is based out of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and its primary mission is to encourage and establish sustainable farming practices within the province of Nangarhar.

This One’s For You is produced by FOX Sports Midwest in coordination with the Cardinals, American Forces Network, DVIDS (Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System) and the Missouri National Guard.

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Here is where to find me.

WGEM ESPN 1440 Radio

On Thursday morning at 8:20 A.M. CT, I will be joining Josh Houchins on WGEM ESPN 1440 Radio to talk St. Louis Cardinals baseball and specifically some of the younger players contributing this season.

Josh is the host of WGEM SportsCenter, the only sports talk show in the Quincy, Ill. Area, from 7:00–9:00 A.M. every morning. You can learn more at wgem.com and follow the show on Twitter at @wgemesc and on Facebook.

Sister station WGEM 105.1 FM is a member of the Cardinals radio network, broadcasting both spring training and regular season games. If you live in the Tri-State area, make sure you tune in all season long.

Sports Radio 1380

On Thursday afternoon at 1:25 P.M. CT (corrected), I will be joining the father and son team of Rob Rains and B.J. Rains on The Sports Zone Show on Sports Radio 1380 AM in St. Louis.

The focus will be the Cardinals minor league system and specifically the Quad Cities River Bandits, who play the Kane County Cougars at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium on Thursday evening.

In addition to their weekday show from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M., also catch Rob’s writings at RobRains.com and B.J.’s daily beat coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

The Cardinal Nation at FOX Sports Midwest

Speaking of Quad Cities, my weekly “The Farm Report” column, which appears every Thursday at FOXSportsMidwest.com, includes short capsules for the players in my projected lineup for the River Bandits Thursday evening.

The main focus of the article is the amazing transformation of a former third baseman taken in the 26^th round of the draft who two years after converting to catching full time is now a major leaguer. I am talking about Tony Cruz.

The link to that story is here.

Memphis Redbirds Notebook: 2011 Week 7

It has been a very eventful week for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate, with a number of comings and goings as well as role changes, especially on the pitching side. Mitchell Boggs, Jess Todd, Brian Broderick, Jason Buursma are among the names in the news.

As I do every Thursday for The Cardinal Nation subscribers, I will break down the past week for the Pacific Coast League club and look ahead to next in my Memphis Redbirds Notebook.

This subscriber-only article will be posted late this morning at the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, with the link here.

Thanks to all for listening, reading and commenting!

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The sixth and seventh of the 20 contests in dispute occurred the last two days as both Sunday’s finale from Atlanta and Monday’s Marlins series opener at Busch Stadium were not carried on those systems.

As the standoff moves into its second month and more games are missed, a resolution satisfactory to customers seems more remote.

The heat will surely increase in ten days as two of the three important Cardinals-Reds contests in Cincinnati on Friday, May 13 and Sunday, May 15 are next on the list of excluded contests. (For the complete list of affected games, click here.)

As is seemingly always the case with all these types of problems, the root issue is money.

In 2011, FOX Sports Midwest picked up the 20 Cardinals games previously carried by KSDK Channel 5. Due to production costs and rights fees associated with the increased number of televised contests, FOX Midwest raised their price charged to cable and satellite providers accordingly.

Most systems agreed, representing 95 percent of customers in FOX Sports Midwest’s footprint. The others, including AT&T U-Verse, balked, leaving those Cardinals fans in their wake. (Click here for both lists – those providers carrying all 152 and those picking up 132 games only.)

I have learned that some frustrated Cardinals fans were successful in seeking relief from AT&T last month. Though it does not return the missing telecasts, it does raise awareness and perhaps increases the pressure level, while at least salving the wound for those unable to view games due to the dispute.

Options reportedly offered customers threatening to cancel service include reduction in phone, internet and or/cable bills for six to 12 months, account credits, faster internet service, no-charge high-definition premium channels and free movie channel packages.

These offers seem to differ by the services the customer already has and with whom the customer speaks. A number of those who have been successful suggest calling AT&T U-Verse Tier two customer retention directly at 1-877-377-0414 as satisfaction with the first level of support personnel was not always achieved.

Obviously, your mileage may vary, but if you are an unhappy AT&T U-Verse customer and want to take action, you have an option short of switching providers.

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The first day’s example is also included here so you can see the wealth of information available daily. Also, check their site regularly for up-to-the minute news from beat writer B.J. Rains and the rest of the FOX Sports Midwest crew.

Monday, Feb. 14 Cardinals Spring Training Updates on FOXSportsMidwest.com

Today’s news at http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/pages/cardinals_spring_training/0 (http://bit.ly/efnUvB)

• Cardinals unsure of Edmonds‘ availability
• Pujols deadline set for noon eastern time on Wednesday
• Backup catcher Laird excited to be with Cardinals

Video

News

• John Mozeliak talks to the media about the new deadline for Pujols contract talks: http://bit.ly/dIklLv
• FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal on the Pujols negotiations: http://bit.ly/fLocV5

Fun stuff

• Jim Hayes talks to Jason Motte about Motte’s recent wedding and mildly offends Motte in the process: http://bit.ly/hpNsw3
• How Ryan Franklin’s goatee informed his decision to continue pitching: http://bit.ly/fKBG8b
• Kyle Lohse talks about dealing with the perceived distractions of the Pujols negotiations: http://bit.ly/ie986q

Photo gallery

• Monday, Feb. 14: http://bit.ly/gFUTKR

Web: http://FOXSportsMidwest.com
Twitter: @FOX_Sports_MW
Facebook: Facebook.com/FOXSportsMidwest

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Update 2/25: MLB.TV has now published their 150+ game spring schedule that includes nine Cardinals contests. The information is added below. The fee of $119.95 for HD and $99.95 for standard def includes spring and the regular season. Boxes supported include PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and more.

Update 2/17: MLB Network has announced their spring slate of 83 games, four of which include the Cardinals. This does not increase the previous total of ten games as all were previously scheduled on regional networks. However with MLB Network’s national reach, more Cardinals fans have a better chance of seeing these contests now. See the updates in the table below.

Update 2/9: The official slate of games, spring and regular season, has been announced by the Cardinals and FOX Sports Midwest. This includes five spring games, two more than I had previously reported. The March 16 game, already announced on FOX Detroit will also be on FOX Midwest. The March 19 split-squad game at Kissimmee against Houston is new. The table below reflects these updates with the total of spring games televised on any network now up to ten.

My original 2/5 post follows…

Though there has been no announcement, official or otherwise, from the St. Louis Cardinals or FOX Sports Midwest regarding their spring training television schedule, I have learned from other sources there are tentative plans to telecast three games from Florida. This includes the March 26 game against Florida which will be simulcast on FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Florida, brought to viewers via a shared booth of Rick Horton (Cardinals play-by-play) and Tommy Hutton (Marlins analyst).

In addition, while not all of St. Louis’ Florida opponents have divulged their spring television plans, most have. Specifically, the Cardinals’ nearest residents, the Marlins and the Mets, against whom the Cardinals play most often each spring, have announced their March broadcast schedules.

The New Yorkers have picked up three games against St. Louis, two of which will run on SportsNet New York and the other on over-the-air WPIX. This includes an opportunity for early viewing as SNY will be showing the Cardinals’ third game of the spring, on Thursday, March 3.

The schedule includes a game against Detroit on FOX Sports Detroit on the 16th, a Boston contest picked up by New England Sports Network (NESN) on the 20^th and a national ESPN match versus the Mets on March 23.

In fact, during the final week of camp, that ESPN telecast kicks off a run of four consecutive St. Louis games being televised. That includes the Cardinals’ only night contest in Florida this spring, from Viera against the Nationals on Friday, March 25, on FOX Sports Midwest.

All in all, the tentative Cardinals spring training television docket currently sits at nine games.

Which games you will be able see in your area is dependent on a number of factors. Though their schedules have not yet been divulged, it is expected that both the home and away telecasts should be available via MLB.com’s subscription service (with appropriate blackout rules) and perhaps via your satellite provider (depending on your service packages). More details will be provided as they become available.

Cardinals spring radio broadcasts on KMOX, previously announced, are included in the table below.

Tentative Cardinals 2011 Spring Training Broadcast Schedule

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For example, a group is planning a rally to show their support for the two sides to come to terms. Other suggestions are intended to “help” the club identify additional revenue sources, which they could then deploy in paying Pujols.

One proposal is for the Cardinals to create their own regional television network in the image of the Yankees’ wildly successful YES Network. Unfortunately, any such change would not occur quickly enough to impact the current situation.

First of all, there are major market differences between St. Louis and New York. In fact, St. Louis ranks 24^th of the 30 metro markets using Nielsen DMA data, according to team president Bill DeWitt III. While he acknowledged that does not take into account “outer markets” where the Cardinals are regionally strong, it wouldn’t close the gap with The Big Apple.

Yet there is clearly considerable money to be made in team broadcast rights.

Last fall, the Texas Rangers inked a landmark 20-year contract extension with FOX Sports Southwest that takes effect in 2015. The total value of the deal is said to be a whopping $1.6 billion.

That $80 million average per season is a huge increase over the $45 million the club reportedly receives under the current contact. An additional $35 million each and every year could buy a lot of anything, including the services of several baseball players in their prime.

With the Texas situation firmly in mind, during the recent Winter Warm-Up I asked DeWitt III if conditions could be right for a similar windfall for his club.

DeWitt characterized the Texas situation as “the perfect storm” with a change in team leadership due to the previous owner who “had overly-leveraged the franchise and got into trouble that probably started with the A-Rod contract. I won’t draw any parallels,” he quipped. DeWitt also observed the Rangers cable TV footprint ranges from Arlington to Dallas to Houston.

One major reason these conditions won’t be developing soon in St. Louis is that the Cardinals have seven years remaining in their current contract with FOX Sports Midwest. The deal had been extended prior to the 2007 season.

A provision in the revised agreement that was picked up stipulates that starting in 2011, all Cardinals games not telecast nationally, about 150, will be found exclusively on the regional sports network. Available via cable and satellite, FOX Sports Midwest was rated number one among all such networks across MLB during the 2010 season. Free, on-air Sunday games, most recently shown on KSDK and a regional network, have likely disappeared forever, DeWitt acknowledged.

The team president further pointed out that there are risks in long-term deals like the one made in Texas that might limit the Cardinals’ flexibility down the road.

“To get into an extension (with FOX Sports Midwest) might be a bit premature but we are looking at everything that is happening in the industry,” DeWitt said. “Some clubs have extended very long into the future – 20-year deals. The Oakland A’s have done that (with Comcast SportsNet) and a few others.”

The Cardinals don’t seem to see a clear benefit in the trend.

“We are kind of scratching our heads thinking about that because… is that good for the club? Or is it risky if it is one of those things where sure, you might be able to lock in some big increases and maybe even bump up revenues and payrolls and so forth, but are you limiting your flexibility and options for the future – perhaps do your own cable network of things of that nature?” DeWitt asked.

With at least seven years of the status quo ahead, don’t expect incremental cash to begin flowing in to fund Pujols’ impending contract – unless a tremendous portion of his money is deferred.

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Video highlights — including some of the most hilarious lines from the roast – can be viewed now at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

The event took place Sunday, Jan. 16 in St. Louis. Roasters included Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, basketball legend Bobby Knight, actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton, former Cardinals reliever Steve Kline, Cardinals broadcasters Mike Shannon and John Rooney and sportscaster Martin Kilcoyne.

A Roast and Toast of Tony La Russa – St. Louis Baseball Writers’ Dinner TV special on FOX Sports Midwest

Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 9:30 p.m.

Some of the raunchiest lines that may have been partially edited out are posted here at TheCardinalNationBlog.com.

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While readers of The Cardinal Nation Blog may be a bit fatigued from voting about the 2010 season, a different opportunity has presented itself, one in which I encourage your participation.

Five of the best St. Louis Cardinals games of 2010 will be condensed and replayed in February and March on FOX Sports Midwest in the network’s Cardinals Classics TV series. You can vote online for the games you want to see. Voting has begun at FOXSportsMidwest.com and continues until mid-February.

Here’s the list of 15 games from which you can select your top five and the link to the voting page, where you can also register to win a Hungo bobblehead:

Fan ballot for Cardinals Classics of 2010 on FOX Sports Midwest

OPENING DAY – April 5, 2010 – Albert Pujols hits two home runs, Yadier Molina adds a grand slam as the Cardinals defeat the Reds, 11-6.

STAVI’S SHOT – April 9, 2010 – Nick Stavinoha hits a pinch hit two-run ninth-inning home run off of all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman and the Cardinals defeat the Brewers, 5-4.

HOME OPENER – April 12, 2010 – Albert Pujols hit a three-run home run off of Wandy Rodriguez and Adam Wainwright threw eight scoreless innings as the Cardinals defeat the Astros, 5-0.

FLIP’S SLAM – April 16, 2010 – Felipe Lopez hit a seventh inning grand slam to pace the Cardinals past the Mets, 4-3.

FREESE’S PROMISE – April 29, 2010 – David Freese made good on a promise to a young girl with a broken collarbone by hitting his first home run of the season and leading the Redbirds past the Braves, 10-4.

PENNY’S SLAM – May 21, 2010 – Brad Penny hit a third-inning grand slam off of Joel Pineiro as the Cardinals routed the Angels, 9-5. (Penny would leave after the third inning due to injury as this would be his last game played as a Cardinal.)

START ME UP – May 28, 2010 – The Cardinals led off the game in Wrigley with six consecutive hits off Carlos Zambrano and beat the Cubs, 7-1.

CARP’S BRILLIANCE – June 2, 2010 – Chris Carpenter was brilliant, allowing only four hits over eight innings in the Cardinals 4-1 victory over the Reds.

WAINO IS BUENO – June 4, 2010 – Adam Wainwright registers the first shutout of his career, striking out eight Brewers in the Cardinals 8-0 victory.

ERROR PRONE – June 28, 2010 – Pitchers Jaime Garcia and Adam Wainwright each scored in a wild ninth-inning comeback against the Diamondbacks, who committed two errors leading to three unearned runs. The Cardinals won, 6-5.

THIS ONE’S FOR YOU – July 2, 2010 – In a game that was broadcast overseas and incorporated local troops stationed in Afghanistan, Jaime Garcia was wonderful leading the Cardinals to a 5-0 victory over the Brewers.

HOLLIDAY IN NY – July 28, 2010 – Matt Holliday paced the Cardinals, who scored six runs off of Johan Santana and defeated the Mets, 7-6 in 13 innings.

FISH FRY – Aug. 6, 2010 – Adam Wainwright shut out the Marlins, limiting them to just two hits. The Cardinals won 7-0.

THE BRAWL – Aug. 10, 2010 – After the infamous first-inning brawl, Yadier Molina sparked an emotional Cardinals club with his second-inning solo shot off of Johnny Cueto. The Cardinals defeated the Reds, 8-4.

400 – Aug. 26-27, 2010 – In a game that the Cardinals eventually lost, Albert Pujols hit his milestone 400th home run. The Cardinals lost to the Nationals, 11-10 in 13 innings.

Note that some games were not available for replay due to TV rights limitations.

Five games will be condensed to 30-minute shows and replayed on FOX Sports Midwest starting Feb. 28.

FOX Sports Midwest is entering its 18^th season as the Cardinals TV partner and its first as the exclusive local TV home. The 2011 Cardinals TV schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

In his first start since returning from Memphis, P.J. Walters (1-0, 7.83) faces former  Dodgers top prospect James McDonald (4-5, 4.09) as the 81-76 Cards try to salvage a winning 2010 record the day after having been formally eliminated from the post-season.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled at 12:40 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at noon.

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On Monday, some astonishing news apparently leaked out.

After suffering through former owner Tom Hicks’ bankruptcy, the Texas Rangers have reportedly come to terms on a 20-year extension with FOX Sports Southwest for their local television rights. The amount is said to be a jaw-dropping $3 billion, or an average of $150 million per season.

In comparison, USA Today, who reported the initial news, also cited the $45 million per year that the Los Angeles Dodgers make in their contract with FOX Prime Ticket. The Biz of Baseball mentioned the 2007 deal between the Seattle Mariners and FOX Sports Northwest, a 12-year contract “well in excess of $400 million,” on average over $33 million per year.

Update: The Houston Chronicle states the new 20-year Rangers deal is for $1.6 billion, or an average of $80 million per season starting in 2015. The article also notes the Astros current contract with FOX Sports Houston is in the vicinity of $45 million per year.

Closer to home, I am unaware of the terms of the St. Louis Cardinals current agreement with FOX Sports Midwest. Contacted on Monday, an FSM spokesman would not comment, stating that information is not made public.

What we do know is that the current multi-year contract was extended prior to the 2007 season. That revised deal allowed FS Midwest to increase its number of Cardinals games from 110 to 130. After four years, they exercised a contract provision to take the final 20 games previously telecast via free television locally by KSDK NewsChannel 5. As a result, starting in 2011, FS Midwest will carry all 150 Cardinals games not broadcast nationally.

In terms of viewership during the first half of the 2010 season, FS Midwest was number one among the 29 US-based regional sports networks with an average rating of 9.70. That represented a 41.6 percent increase over 2009. Nielsen data was reported by SportsBusiness Journal, a subset of which follows.

In terms of raw numbers of households (HH) tuning in, not surprisingly the New York teams are first and second, respectively. The Cardinals are sixth, ahead of all four clubs whose yearly financial terms are apparently known.

What that means for the future of Cardinals broadcast rights is unclear, but it would seem that if the team can remain competitive, it will be in a strong position whenever new talks are appropriate.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (19-11, 2.45) goes for his first-ever 20^th win against Tom Gorzelanny (7-8, 3.90) as the Cards try to stave off post-season elimination.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled at 1:20 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at 12:30.

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You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Jeff Suppan (1-6, 5.72) returns from the disabled list to face Nelson Figueroa (3-2, 2.77) as the Cards try to end the disastrous road series with a win.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled at 1:05 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at 12:30.

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You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (17-6, 1.89) faces Randy Wolf (9-9, 4.86) as the Cards try to split the home series and work toward regaining the NL Central lead.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled at 1:15 P.M. Central with pre-game starting at 12:30.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (16-6, 2.07) faces Bronson Arroyo (12-6, 3.83) as the Cards try to sweep the road series and extend their narrow NL Central lead.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled early – 11:35 A.M. Central.

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<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=6159b01bf3″ mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=6159b01bf3″ >Cardinals at Reds – LIVE Gameday Chat</a>

You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Blake Hawksworth (4-6, 5.23) faces R.A. Dickey (6-4, 2.55) as the Cards try to win the rubber match of the road series and salvage a 3-3 split in the trip through Chicago and New York. The Cardinals only winning 2010 road trip remains their first of the season.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled early – 11:10 A.M. Central with the pregame show starting at 10:30.

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“The best fans in baseball.”

When tossed around in reference to the followers of the St. Louis Cardinals, I don’t like it one bit. It has nothing to do with an outbreak of the wave at Busch Stadium while the home team is batting in the eighth inning of a tie game. It is just one of those terms that is better left unsaid.

Having the most rabid fans, on the other hand, can be suggested – and when using television ratings in support of one’s position, that debate can be won.

On Monday, SportsBusiness Journal published an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data through the All-Star break. The Cardinals regional sports network, FOX Sports Midwest, came in number one across all of major league baseball’s local markets with a 9.70 average rating. That represents over 120,000 households in the St. Louis market watching the telecast on the average and both numbers are a whopping 41.6 percent higher than last season.

The next closest club, the Minnesota Twins on FOX Sports North, have a 7.85 average rating in the Twin Cities DMA. The Oakland A’s on CSN California are last at 1.23. The leader for the past six years, the Boston Red Sox’ NESN, slipped to fifth at 6.25, causing much concern in Beantown. (These ratings do not account for viewers in outer markets.)

It was recently disclosed that starting in 2011, FS Midwest will be televising all Cardinals games not on national broadcasts. On the radio side, rumors persist that the team is considering a change from KTRS, despite holding a partial ownership stake in the station.

In the radio rankings, KTRS comes in ninth in MLB in terms of average listeners at 128,400. That is down five percent from last season. KTRS is third in MLB in average rating among the desirable 25-54 age male group at 19.1. Again, that is in decline, down 4.5 percent from 2009.

At the national level, ratings remained basically flat on every network except ESPN.

FOX averaged a 1.9 rating for their MLB game coverage during the first half of the season, same as last year. While that is slightly up, it isn’t great news as last season, FOX’s 1.8 average was a record low. ESPN’s 1.0 national rating for its games is down from last year’s 1.1, while ESPN2 averaged 0.74. Not surprisingly, TBS was the least-watched of the national networks with a 0.41 rating, even with last year.

Click on the above link to be taken to the detailed data.

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The ninth of FOX Sports Midwest’s live chats of the 2010 season will be held throughout Friday afternoon’s Cardinals-Cubs series opener. Join in the discussion with me and the FSM personalities.

You can participate via the frame to be added below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Jeff Suppan faces Randy Wells as the Cards try to break their one-game losing streak and get the Wrigley Field series started on the right foot.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:20 P.M. Central. Pre-game starts at 12:30.

Note: And if that isn’t enough… As is the case every Friday, my weekly “Cards Talk” segment will be streamed live at kxno.com and broadcast on AM 1460 KXnO FOX Sports Radio in Des Moines at 5:25 p.m. CDT.

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FOX Sports Midwest spokesman Geoff Goldman confirmed the network will be televising the full slate of St. Louis Cardinals games starting in 2011, taking those which had been televised by KSDK, primarily on Sundays.

“FOX Sports Midwest will be the exclusive television home of the Cardinals next season, showing every game that is not broadcast nationally,” Goldman said when contacted on Wednesday. “We are proud to add 20 games to our schedule starting in 2011.”

FS Midwest is televising all 130 of its 2010 games in high definition.

Gauging initial reaction to the news, the basic concerns seem to be related to the principle of the matter of games leaving over-the-air television.

Moving regional events to cable outlets is hardly new. The trend has been occurring across MLB for some time for teams to take their games to more lucrative networks. In St. Louis, the shift actually began 15 years ago. The Cardinals will soon be joining a number of other clubs whose games have already left free television.

Those actually affected by the loss of games on free television are part of a small minority. FOX Sports Midwest is available via basic or expanded basic packages on most all cable and satellite systems. According to Nielsen Media Research, St. Louis’ cable plus satellite penetration is 89 percent, just two percent under the national average.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Chris Carpenter (9-2, 3.16) faces Ubaldo Jimenez (14-1, 2.27) in a match-up of All-Stars as the Cards try to erase the bitter taste of two consecutive walkoff losses and avoid being swept.

Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 2:10 P.M. Central with the pre-game show starting at 1:30.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Jeff Suppan (0-3, 6.65) faces MLB first-timer Barry Enright (0-0, 0.00) as the Cards try to end the 2010 action between the clubs with a series sweep.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:15 P.M. Central.

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You can participate via the frame below or through FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Chris Carpenter (5-1, 3.09) faces Randy Wells (3-2, 3.99) as the Cards try to open the season series with a victory.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:20 P.M. Central.

Also, immediately following the radio post-game show, my weekly segment, “Cardinal Talk,” will be streamed live on KXnO FOX Sports Radio Des Moines.

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You can either participate here or via FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.48) faces Nate Robertson (4-3, 4.35) as the Cards try to end the home series with a split.

Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 12:40 P.M. Central.

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You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website.

Chris Carpenter (4-0, 2.80) faces Bud Norris (1-4, 7.52) as the Cards try to end the home series with a single win.

Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 12:40 P.M. Central.

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You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area to be activated below.

Kyle Lohse (0-1, 5.28) faces Philadelphia’s ace Roy Halladay (5-1, 1.47) as the Cards try to end the road series with a split.

Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 12:05 P.M. Central.

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You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area to be activated below.

2009 National League wins leader Adam Wainwright (3-1, 1.69 ERA) faces Altanta’s Jair Jurrjens (0-2, 5.48) as the Cards try to sweep the Braves out of town in game 4 of the series.

Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 12:40 P.M. Central.

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The live, in-game chats give fans a chance to interact with Cardinals experts and other fans.  FOX Sports Midwest announcers and producers will participate along with other members of the local media.

The live chats will be accessible from a link at the top of the FOXSportsMidwest.com website and the live window will also be posted here at The Cardinal Nation Blog when I am participating.

The 16 live chat dates are as follows:

Thursday, April 29 vs. Braves
Thursday, May 6 at Phillies
Thursday, May 13 vs. Astros
Thursday, May 20 vs. Marlins
Friday, May 28 vs. Cubs
Wednesday, June 30 vs. Diamondbacks
Friday, July 2 vs. Brewers – special telecast recognizing U.S. troops in Afghanistan
Thursday, July 8 at Rockies
Friday, July 23 at Cubs
Thursday, July 29 at Mets
Wednesday, August 11 at Reds
Wednesday, August 18 vs. Brewers
Wednesday, September 1 at Astros
Monday, September 6 at Brewers
Friday, September 24 at Cubs
Wednesday, September 29 vs. Pirates

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area below.

2009 National League wins leader Adam Wainwright faces Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez as the Cards try to get out on top in their effort to win their third consecutive series to start the season.

Monday’s first pitch is scheduled for 3:15 P.M. Central. For details on all the Opening Day festivities, click here to be taken to TheCardinalNation.com.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area below.

NL ERA leader Chris Carpenter faces former Cardinal Kip Wells as the Cards try to salvage one game of their three-game series in Cincinnati.

Note the early start. Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. Central.

You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area below.

John Smoltz faces Houston rookie Bud Norris as the Cards will be trying to earn the sweep of their three-game series with the Astros.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central.

You can participate via FOX Sports Midwest’s website or once the event begins, you can enter your comments and questions right here in the “CoveritLive” area below.

In a quest for his 15^th victory, Joel Pineiro faces Florida’s ace Josh Johnson. The Cards will be trying to win their three-game series with the Marlins and improve on their disappointing 1-4 homestand.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Central.