Blodgett mania may return on TV

Brace yourselves. Less than three months after she played her last game for the University of Maine, Cindy Blodgett mania is sure to be revived this week.

Blodgett, who will play her first game as a professional for the WNBA’s Cleveland Rockers tonight, is expected to generate plenty of attention for the league in her home state.

“After all of the negative publicity we received last year, I want people to know that we will be showing WNBA games this year, including at least one involving Cindy Blodgett,” said Jeff Solari, promotions director at Bangor NBC affiliate WLBZ (Channel 2), in a news release.

WLBZ will air at least seven WNBA games this season, including Cleveland’s game at Houston on Saturday, Aug. 1. NBC is scheduled to air 10 regular-season games – only one of which involves Cleveland – and two playoff games including Game 2 of the WNBA finals.

“After hearing what our viewers said last year and seeing what the ratings were from last season, We’re clearing as many games as we can,” said WLBZ general manager Judy Horan.

Blodgett’s WNBA regular-season debut will be televised live by the Lifetime Channel cable network at 8 p.m. tonight.

Although local stations won’t be airing the game (Lifetime is available on FrontierVision in Bangor on Channel 32), WLBZ has sent sports director Matt Fine to Cleveland to do features and interviews Wednesday and today.

“The cool thing for us is one of our sister stations is in Cleveland. They’re a Gannett news station and so are we,” Horan said. “So we’re trying to work with WKYC in Cleveland so we can get regular highlight packages and interviews. That’s what we’re hoping anyway.

“The Rockers are not as popular in Cleveland as Maine women’s basketball is here, so we’re not sure how much we’re going to get out of them.”

Cleveland is scheduled to appear on seven regular-season telecasts: one on NBC, three on Lifetime, and three on ESPN.

ESPN will broadcast a 10-game regular-season schedule and as many as six games of the WNBA’s expanded championship playoff system, including Game 1 and Game 3 of the WNBA finals.

Cleveland Rockers 1998 Schedule (TV in parentheses) June 11, New York, 8 p.m. (Lifetime) June 15, at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. June 18, at Houston, 8:30 p.m. June 20, Detroit, 6 p.m. June 22, Utah, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) June 23, at New York, 7:30 p.m. June 27, Detroit, 7 p.m. July 1, at Washington, 7 p.m. July 2, Phoenix, 7 p.m. July 6, Houston, 7 p.m. July 8, Washington, 7 p.m. July 10, at Phoenix, 9 p.m. (Lifetime) July 12, at Los Angeles, 4 p.m. July 14, at Sacramento, 10 p.m. July 16, New York, 7 p.m. July 18, at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. July 19, Charlotte, 7 p.m. July 25, Utah, 7 p.m. July 27, Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (ESPN) July 29, Sacramento, 7 p.m. July 30, at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1, at Houston, 4 p.m. (NBC) Aug. 4, at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Aug. 6, at Utah, 9 p.m. Aug. 8, Charlotte, 7 p.m. Aug. 10, Phoenix, 7 p.m. Aug. 12, at Washington, 7 p.m. Aug. 14, at Charlotte, 8 p.m. (Lifetime) Aug. 15, Washington, 7 p.m. Aug. 17, at New York, 8 p.m. (ESPN)