Sportscaster Drew Shirley is moving behind the camera. Houston media blogger Mike McGuff reports Shirley will join CBS affiliate KHOU as a sports producer.

Shirley, a Houston native, has been commuting to Lake Charles, La. since he was hired as sports director for KPLC last year.

“I’ll be on air occasionally, but mainly working behind the scenes with Bob Allen to put together the daily sportscasts,” Shirley told McGuff. “I love being the sports guy here at KPLC, but after 11 months of commuting to Lake Charles, I am ecstatic about this new gig.”

Senerey De Los Santos is joining Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT as weekend sports anchor and weekday MMJ.

KEYT news director Jim Lemon told TVSpy, “I’m thrilled to have her joining the team here at NewsChannel 3.”

De Los Santos comes to KEYT from Fresno NBC affiliate KSEE. She started her career at KSEE as an sports intern in 2006. She was named the weekend sports anchor in 2010.

Bob Slovak is the new weekend sports anchor at KTRK in Houston, Houston media blogger Mike McGuff reports.

Slovak has worked at the ABC O&O since 1998. Tim Melton, who has been off the air since 2011 recovering from a stroke, was previously the weekend sports anchor. Melton announced his exit from KTRK last month.

Before joining KTRK, Slovak worked at KTEN in Ada, KFDM in Beaumont, KOTV in Tulsa and KNXV in Phoenix.

Tim Melton, a veteran sportscaster at KTRK who has been off the air recovering from a stroke, told the Houston Chronicle that his contract with the ABC O&O has expired.

Houston media blogger Mike McGuff first spotted the absence of Melton’s bio on the KTRK website Thursday. Melton joined KTRK in 1981 and suffered a stroke in 2011.

“I can do a lot of things, but not everything the job requires,” Melton said. “I still hope to get back on the air. That’s always been my plan. The problem is that you never know how things are going to play out, and while the recovery process has been good, it has taken longer than I would have imagined.”

Zach Wells, sports anchor and reporter for Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC, has announced he’s leaving broadcast TV to work at a Cincinnati hospital.

“It was a decision I thought a lot about, but I feel really good about it,” Wells told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I have a new role with a bigger purpose.”

Wells will be in charge of the new video studio at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital funded by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.

He came to WKRC in September 2010. According to his bio, he started out in Duluth, MN, then worked in Green Bay, WI, before coming to Cincinnati to work for FOX affiliate WXIX.

Image – Cincinnati Enquirer

Last week we reported longtime WGRZ sports director Ed Kilgore was planning to sign off from the Buffalo NBC affiliate in May after accepting a job with a company owned by Terry Pegula, the owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

But those plans changed Saturday after Kilgore hosted a news conference for the HARBORcenter that veered into conflict of interest territory for the sports director when the Sabres got involved. Jim Toellner WGRZ president and general manager said, “The event became as much a Sabres event as it was a downtown development event.”

So Toellner announced a new plan for Kilgore saying, “Although we have complete faith in Ed’s objectivity we see from Saturday’s events that perceptions might not go that way for all. We will continue to pay Ed through the end of his originally scheduled end date but he will no longer be working at the station after Wednesday.” Read more

Three months after signing off from KTRK in Houston, sports anchor Bob Allen is joining rival KHOU.

“Bob’s not just another TV sportscaster, he’s a Houston icon,” KHOU executive news director Philip Bruce said in a statement. “Having Bob on our team is an enormous plus. And I know Houston viewers will appreciate having him in their homes again each night, as they have for so many years.”

Allen spent 39 years at ABC O&O KTRK. He will join CBS affiliate KHOU as the weekday sports anchor on April 25.

“I’ve still got a lot of stories left to tell,” Allen said. “And I’m very excited for the opportunity to be covering the stories so many people care about on a great television station like KHOU.”

Ed Kilgore, sports director for Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ, is leaving the station after 40 years.

“Channel 2 has been a huge part of my life,” said Kilgore. “The station is in better shape now than it has ever been. That’s why it’s bittersweet to walk away. But, it’s also okay to walk away now, knowing I was a part of that recent growth.”

According to the station, Kilgore is not retiring, but will go to work for East Resources, a company run by Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula. Read more

KNBC, the NBC-owned station in Southern California, is launching a weekly sports commentary show hosted by sports anchor Fred Roggin.

The 30-minute show, “Going Roggin,” will debut Sunday at midnight. It will feature various segments on a variety of topics, from local athletes to unusual sports news from around the world.

“We’re excited to break new ground in the world of local sports with the launch of Going Roggin,” KNBC vice president of news Todd Mokhtari said in a statement. “With viewers more informed than ever, the show format will bring sports fans into the dialogue, giving them the opportunity to share opinions on the stories that interest them.”

Roggin is the weekday sports anchor at 6 and 11 p.m. for KNBC. He joined the station in 1980 and has won more than 30 Emmys.

Louisville’s win over Michigan in the NCAA Championship game earned an average rating/share of 14.3/23 on CBS, up +18% compared to last year’s 12.1/19.

The overall NCAA Tournament, broadcast on CBS Sports and Turner Sports, averaged a 7.2/15 in the metered markets, a tie for the highest overall average for the event in eight years. Ratings were up +9% compared to the 2012 Tournament. The game peaked at a 17.2/32 rating from 11:30-11:45pmET.

Louisville was the top-rated market: CBS affiliate WLKY posted a rating/share of 54.0/70. See the full list of the top five rated markets after the jump. Read more