Meet Nick Lachey

Got lunch plans Friday? Want to meet Nick Lachey? Q102 is giving away tickets to a small lunch Friday here with Lachey to promote his new single, “What’s Left Of Me.” Morning team Jeff & Jenn told me today that about 20 people will win tickets from contests and give-aways this week during the morning show, afternoons with Brian Douglas and evenings with Holly Morgan. So far nobody has won tickets from Monday’s Jeff & Jenn contest, being photographed in front of all 34 Skyline restaurants in Hamilton County, or their Tuesday deal, a listener getting Bob Huggins to call the morning show. Wonder if Nick will stick around in town to watch UC’s NIT game Friday night on campus?

ESPN's marriage madness
Here’s a reminder for Thursday morning – be watching or listening to ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” just after the SportsCenter updates at 7:40 and 9:40 a.m. to hear the Cincinnati couple vying for a sports-themed May wedding at ESPN HQ in Bristol, Conn. “Mike & Mike” airs 6-10 a.m. on ESPN2, and on Hamilton’s WMOH-AM (1450).
Lauren Kramer and Perry Seal, each 28, of North Avondale entered the “Marriage Madness” contest on a lark two weeks ago. They were named one of the 16 finalists on Monday. He’s a regional sale rep/designer for Bose audio systems. She’s a kindergarten teacher at Lakota Schools in West Chester Township. They met playing flag football in Oakley. She helps him coach an AAU basketball team for 13-year-old girls in Villa Hills.
ESPN has ranked the 16 couples in a basketball tournament-style bracket (http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/marriagemadness/bracket). Thursday we’ll know more about their opponent, another Ohio couple –Megan Carroll and Jeff Janzig from the Cleveland area. Online voters and an ESPN “selection committee” will determine which couple advances to the “Engaged 8” bracket. Voting is open Thursday 7:40 a.m.-6 p.m. The winner will be announced Friday morning.
Here’s an odd thing: Cincinnati has the 4th most entries (14) of any city, behind Pittsburgh (21), Chicago (16) and Dallas (15). Yet most of Greater Cincinnati can’t get the ESPN Radio affiliate in Hamilton. That tells me we have a lot of ESPN2 viewers here.

Radio gossip
Steve Mann has left the building. He’s no longer program director at oldies WGRR-FM (103.5). Marty Thompson is now programming both WGRR-FM and country WUBE-FM (105.1). Thompson, a former WGRR-FM PD, came back to Cincinnati from a Las Vegas station a year ago to program WUBE-FM. CBS Radio owns WGRR-FM, B105, Q102 and WAQZ-FM.

TV tonight
It’s NCAA tourney time, so “Survivor” fans must remember to watch or TiVo tonight at 8 p.m. (Ch 12, 7), with the games starting Thursday… “American Idol” results show gets pushed back to 9 p.m. starting tonight (to put a dent in “Lost” ratings?)… Tonight’s “Lost” is a rerun, but “Invasion” at 10 p.m. is new (Ch 9, 22)…