More and more, it's a Rogers world

A couple of years ago, I interviewed Tony Viner, the new head of the Rogers media world on his plans for making this cable-TV-radio-cellular-baseball monster work. Viner, whose desk was adorned with a ``King of all Media" plate that may or may not have been a joke, talked about how he planned to cross-promote the heck out of everything. That meant pushing Rogers TV stuff on the radio stations, vice versa and a lot more such as baseball ticket offers mailed to cable customers. That was before the Bills thing came along, which has set new standards for cross-promotion.

Hoo boy, he wasn't kidding. I almost expect Trent Edwards to show up at my door one day to upgrade my cable installation or Marshawn Lynch to recommend a video (God help us.)

The latest in the cross-promotional machine is the (Rogers) FAN 590's new tennis show, which debuts Thursday night at 7. The one-hour show, hosted by Roger Lajoie and Mike Cvitkovic, is scheduled to run three times this summer. It will centre on Wimbledon and, oh yeah, the Rogers Cup.

Nothing wrong with the concept. Anything that breaks the mould is welcome and it will no doubt bring a different audience to the FAN. Tennis fans should love it and the rest of the evening crowd might find there's more to life than baseball and hockey talk.

OTHER STUFF: Win and they will come. Blue Jays ratings are up 15 per cent on Sportsnet, averaging 325,000 viewers a game. ... Former Score guy Adnan Virk is going to be one busy man in his new job with MLSE. He's going to be the pre-game host for all Maple Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC games on Leafs TV, Raptors NBA TV and GolTV. He'll also be writing a blog on the teams' websites. ... If you're wondering what former Leafs TV host Jody Vance is doing at that new Vancouver radio station, she's one of the afternoon hosts on SHORE 104. ... TSN, which is partly owned by ESPN, is apparently trying to create its owner version of Mel Kiper, Jr., minus the pompadour. Bob McKenzie, who shed his Kiper-esque tresses a few years ago, will reveal his top 30 picks for the NHL entry draft Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. If McKenzie's track record means anything, he'll be bang-on for most of those 30. ... The CTV-Rogers Olympic consortium has announced it will provide 50 hours of Paralympics coverage from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. It will mark the first time Paralympic coverage will be delivered either live or on a same-day basis in Canada. 

AND NOW, TODAY'S FEATURE PRESENTATION: And now, for something completely different, the best piece of satire in some time. It's from The Onion. Apparently, some have taken offence to it. I have no problem, though the breeding bit at the end is a bit questionable, but still funny. But then there are those who take offence to just about anything. Remember the ``pansification" controversy? 

However, I'm willing to change my mind on this, especially considering that Shawn is still a teenager. If I sound like I'm sitting on the fence, just check my pants for picket marks ...