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Musician and humanitarian Wyclef Jean talks with students at West Philadelphia High School about community service. His appearance was part of the Big Serve community initiative sponsored by various groups.

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READER FEEDBACK

Inqlings: Cataldi says WIP contract talks "more difficult"

By Michael Klein

Inquirer Columnist

WIP without Angelo Cataldi in the morning?

Possible.

With less than two months remaining in his contract - and three months before WIP's signature Wing Bowl - there's nervous buzz around the sports-talk station that a new deal is not at hand between CBS Radio and its 20-year veteran.

Contacted Friday, Cataldi confirmed that talks had been "more difficult than in the past," but did not disclose sticking points. His agent, Steve Mountain, declined to comment. Station manager Marc Rayfield did not return a message.

The economy has been playing a role in all TV and radio contracts, and broadcasters seem eager to get big salaries off their books - even when the big salaries draw ads and cinch partnerships. Cataldi, who makes well over $1 million, is WIP's franchise player.

Asked what else he would do, Cataldi replied: "How would I know? I'm under contract."

The October Arbitron ratings, released Wednesday, found Cataldi and crew just behind WMMR's Preston & Steve among WIP's target of men ages 25 to 54. Though the Phillies inflated sports-talk ratings, the station and the morning show had been on an upturn all year and had their highest ratings in memory last month.

Media notes

Ryan Seacrest hosted his radio show and his E! News show from Philly on Friday, as he was here on business. Though Q102 carries his program, Seacrest did not visit its Bala Cynwyd studio. In a time-saver, the multitasking mogul did his audio hits from a suite at the Four Seasons and used the lobby of the Comcast Center, about a block away, to shoot the E! show. Comcast, which owns E!, saw its signature video wall used as a backdrop.

South Philly rapper Beanie Sigel has been telling anyone who will listen about his beef with onetime mentor Jay-Z. Beans showed up Tuesday at Power 99, where the Hot Boyz were interviewing 50 Cent about his new movie, Before I Self Destruct. Movie, shmovie. Nothing like a little real-life drama: 50 Cent ended up interviewing Sigel. Hear it at www.power99.com .

CBS3's Pat Ciarrocchi and Ukee Washington play a brief cameo as reporters on As the World Turns tomorrow (2 p.m., CBS3). The episode was shot here last month. Plot: When Lt. Jack Snyder (Michael Park) comes to Philadelphia to work out some personal issues, there is breaking news in City Hall's courtyard.

Actor/sustainability advocate Ed Begley Jr. guested last week on Ecoman and the Skeptic, Philadelphia University's green radio show. It's archived at Green Talk Network's site, through www.philau.edu .

Foodstuff

Food Network personality Guy Fieri stopped in the other day to talk up the Nov. 18 Merriam Theater stop of his touring show, which he likens to a food rock concert. He promises loud music and big food. (He has a six-foot-tall blender that will crank out 25 gallons of margaritas.) His opening act will be sandwich czar Tony Luke Jr., singing an ode to cheesesteaks.

Reese Witherspoon's comings and goings at various swank Center City restaurants were well-documented during her three months here shooting a comedy with Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. For her cover-story interview in InStyle mag's November issue, she went down-home. As in Down Home Diner at Reading Terminal Market, where "she blends in just fine" on a Saturday morning while eating an egg-white scramble and side of biscuits "amid the perfume of the diner's famed hickory-smoked bacon and the clanking of waitresses juggling their plates."

Heavy light work

The drive to fund the annual holiday light display in Rittenhouse Square got a big boost last week. After reading here that the Friends of Rittenhouse Square and Rittenhouse Row were scraping together $60,000 to hang the white globes, John J. Dougherty of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and Mike Barnes of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 8 offered pro bono labor to install and take down. That's about $50,000 in labor.

Love 2.0

Mike Sykes of Levittown took up the Bristol Riverside Theatre's offer to allow suitors to propose during the run of the comedy I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. On Thursday's opening night, Sykes had the spotlight on him as he popped the question to Christen Sinclair of Bensalem. Other benefits - she said yes, by the way - are free tickets to the show, whose run ends Nov. 22, and to the rest of the season. They met when she texted him by mistake and he responded anyway. "I guess she either thought I was funny, or she felt bad for me, so we kept up the texting," Sykes says.

Serves him right

Philly bartender/server Sam Murray won $50,000 on Friday's episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and became the last contestant to qualify for the show's "Million Dollar Tournament of Ten!" - which starts tomorrow. He'll face a $1 million question on Wednesday (12:30 p.m., 6ABC). See his questions from Friday at http://go.philly.com/murray . Murray, who worked over the summer at Octo Waterfront Grille and is known for his sharp memory, once took a 22-person table's order without writing it down. And, yes, he got it right.

Contact columnist Michael Klein

at 215-854-5514 or mklein@phillynews.com. Read his blog at http://go.philly.com/insider. He's also on Twitter: @phillyinsider.

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Comments

Posted 04:18 AM, 11/08/2009

STEVE5444

HOW ABOUT AFTERNOONS WITHOUT ESKIN?? EVEN BETTER..

Posted 06:54 AM, 11/08/2009

Mr. Smith

It would be refreshing to listen to sports radio in the morning without being subjected to that fool Cataldi. He's unlistenable. As are his cast mates. Why do I have to tune to a New York station to get sports tak in the AM?

Posted 07:48 AM, 11/08/2009

Nickawampus Leroy

Cataldi must go. I've been lisrening the WFAN ever since for many years now. Tell him to go back to the Inquirer, if they'll have him.

Posted 07:53 AM, 11/08/2009

rmw38

Who the heck cares. The sun will rise in the East and set in the West everyday if Cataldi vanishes.

Posted 08:22 AM, 11/08/2009

hornist

If Cataldi is gone I might just start listening to WIP in the morning again.

Posted 08:30 AM, 11/08/2009

Neal Obstat

Please let that idiot Cataldi go. He's even worse than Howard Eskin, which isn't easy. I can't listen to Cataldi at all, so the morning drive has been a radio wasteland since Jody MacDonald did mornings. The only thing that saves me is NPR, but I'm not really all that interested in listening to the BBC. Where to go?

Posted 08:38 AM, 11/08/2009

chaseformvp

I can't stand listening to the voice of that gash on the morning show. It is like fingernails on a blackboard. And Eskin is a close second.

Posted 08:51 AM, 11/08/2009

yeswecant

How does anyone listen to Cataldi? You know things are bad when I listen to Mike and Mike in the morning when there is a commercial on WFAN. Perfect dope indicator is if someone tells you they listen to WIP, it is for the ignorant Philly sports fans.

Posted 08:51 AM, 11/08/2009

john 16

put ike reese on the morning show cataldi suks

Posted 08:55 AM, 11/08/2009

foreclosure11

Can't stand that voice, hope they don't renew his contract. Good riddance.

Posted 09:03 AM, 11/08/2009

MIDGETS

Cataldi and his gang of no nothing stooges are the reason is stopped listening to WIP. Cataldi is a big mouth who I would bet was the biggest wimp in his neighborhood,but now he can hide behind a microphone. GOOD RIDANCE TO ALL THE STOOGES.

Posted 10:03 AM, 11/08/2009

ChangeISNeeded

bye bye Ang! 1 mil for this clown? you gotta be kidding!

Posted 10:51 AM, 11/08/2009

sumdumshmuck

Cataldi is a JOKE. WIP in the morning is a JOKE. Stopped listening years ago because of the Lousy Broadcast. Don't mind a little humor now and then. They have NONE it seems always. Let him get a REAL Job.

Posted 11:07 AM, 11/08/2009

ANGRY AL

I stopped listening to that WIP morning slot when they unceremoniously got rid of Tom Brookshier. Cataldi was a terrific writer, but lousy on the radio. When WIP stops catering to the lowest common denominator of society, then I'll be back to listen.

Posted 11:10 AM, 11/08/2009

mike l

Amazing for a bunch of people who say they don't llisten to him, they talk an awful lot about Cataldi. Sure, listen to WFAN-you are all probably Giant, Met, and Yankee fans, anyway. Yeah, he can be over the top sometimes, but Al and Rhea are spot on. I know, you guys can't stand the thought of a woman knowing more about sports than you do. ESPN 950 or whatever it calls itself these days is a joke, especially since they let Jody Mac go. Missinelli is another Eskin. Music stations come on on my way home.