The questions, which have been coming all season, continue to roll in even though the Cardinals' season is almost finished:
• Where's McLaughlin, is he sick?
• Where's McLaughlin, has he been fired?
No, longtime Cards television play-by-play announcer Dan McLaughlin is fine and still employed. It's just that the game of musical chairs FSM is playing with its Redbirds announcers this year has hit its crescendo at the key stage of the season. McLaughlin has been off the air in favor of the comparatively inexperienced Rick Horton for nearly every telecast down the stretch.
It's due to FSM's rotation of broadcasters, as McLaughlin's workload has been slashed by about 20 games this season — despite FSM having 18 more telecasts than last year — to give more play-by-play assignments to Horton.
Al Hrabosky's duties as FSM's game analyst also have been cut to give Horton the commentator role sometimes when he's not doing play-by-play, but questions concerning Hrabosky's whereabouts are fewer than those about McLaughlin because Hrabosky often appears on the postgame show when he's not in the booth.
McLaughlin made his last scheduled appearance of the season Tuesday, which would mean he'd be on only one of FSM's final 12 games. (He originally had been set for the last three games, but a shuffling of the schedule because of a voice problem Hrabosky suffered in midsummer led to McLaughlin doing three games then that had been assigned to Horton. To compensate, Horton got the season-concluding series from McLaughlin.)
FSM executive producer Kevin Landy said McLaughlin might be called back to duty next week for that last series of the season, in Houston, if the Cards still are in contention. Even if that happens, McLaughlin will be on just four of the final 12 FSM telecasts, and just 16 in the last two months of the season.
Landy wouldn't say if the rotation system will be used next year, adding that FSM executives will have individual meetings with all the broadcasters after the season.
"We have three fantastic announcers who are all well-respected by not only viewers but us and the Cardinals," Landy said.
Horton has been as good as could be expected from a guy with relatively little experience in the job before this season. He's conversational and easy-going. But it's curious to have a rookie TV play-by-play guy on so much down the stretch after FSM spent a lot of time developing McLaughlin, now in his 14th season, and enduring criticism along the way as he progressed from a 24-year-old phenom to someone national networks call to broadcast games for them.
McLaughlin, 37, has been put in a tough spot but takes the high road when asked how he'll look back on the reduced role.
"I was disappointed, to be sure, but I wasn't going to pout about it," he said. "I don't know anybody that likes to get cut back in any job they do. I know there are many in the business that value what I do, including FSN. Ultimately, it's their decision on what they want to do ... and I respect that.
"I'm very happy just to have the job, it's more than I ever thought I'd have in my life," he added. "... Being from here, it's my dream job."
Cards senior vice president Dan Farrell, who oversees the team's broadcasting, said the call is FSM's on how to use the announcers.
"We are supporting what they are doing," he said, but added that "it's a shame any of the three have to miss any of these key games."
Landy said if McLaughlin is used next week it would be doing play-by-play in a three-man booth. Could that arrangement be a possibility next season, at least on a semi-regular basis?
"We wouldn't be opposed to a three-man booth, especially for key games," Farrell said.
Bottom line: Viewers went through growing pains with McLaughlin and Hrabosky, and there still are divided opinions on them, but there is no disagreement many FSM viewers are confused by a current model that's far from the norm nationally.
IN THE BOOTH
Kevin Harlan, radio voice of Mizzou football and basketball in the late 1980s, will do the play-by-play for CBS' telecast Sunday of the Rams-Baltimore game (3:05 p.m., KMOV, Ch. 4). He'll work with analyst Solomon Wilcots.
• Gus Johnson, best known for his high-energy NCAA Tournament broadcasts when he was at CBS, will do the play-by-play for Missouri's contest at Oklahoma on Saturday (7 p.m., FX). He'll work with analyst Charles Davis and reporter Tim Brewster.
• Wayne Larrivee will do the play-by-play of Illinois' game, at home against Western Michigan at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, on Big Ten Network. Jon Jansen is the analyst and Lisa Byington the reporter.
AIR TIME FOR HANIFAN
Jim Hanifan, the popular former Rams radio analyst who has had his roles significantly reduced in recent seasons by WXOS (101.1 FM), has been added on Mondays at KSLG (1380 AM). He'll give his take on the team's game the day before on the program from 1 to 3 p.m., hosted by the father-son duo of Rob and B.J. Rains.
Hanifan also has WXOS segments Thursday afternoons and in the Rams' pregame show.
