The Cardinals' recent decision to return to KMOX as their radio home next season completes a strange loop in the last decade between that station and KTRS in the battle to broadcast the area's highest-profile sports teams, as KMOX now will have the Cards, Blues and University of Missouri football and basketball after losing the hockey and baseball broadcasts to KTRS.

That left the self-proclaimed "Sports Voice of America'' without play-by-play of the local pro teams and upstart KTRS with all three — for a time it also had the Rams, who now are at WXOS (101.1 FM) as is St. Louis University basketball. But KTRS (550 AM) soon will be bare in play-by-play with KMOX (1120 AM) loaded. The return of the Cards to KMOX will end an arrangement that was highly unpopular with fans who complained about having trouble picking up KTRS.

KTRS never became a significant factor in the ratings despite the presence of the Cardinals, something many observers consider almost unfathomable. KTRS went to an ill-conceived rabble-rousing format shortly after gaining the Cards (at the behest of programmers hired by the club, not station GM Tim Dorsey). Despite eventually ending that approach, it never recovered.

"I've been very surprised by the venom that seems to have been out there toward KTRS," said Frank Absher, a former St. Louis University journalism instructor who also has worked in the local radio business and is a columnist for the stlmedia.net blog.

"People just never were happy with it. They've been very poorly managed in many ways. Their ratings should definitely have shown a retention (throughout the day) from baseball, and didn't.

"I think you will see KMOX, in a very professionally managed way, take full advantage of the Cardinal franchise much better than KTRS management was able to do. ... I honestly believe you will see KMOX step up to the plate and use (the Cards) to hit one out of the park. They will do this right."

Joel Hollander ran CBS Radio when the Cards left KMOX, its flagship St. Louis affiliate, and said he's not surprised the club has reversed fields.

"Everything we told the Cardinals five years ago, we were 110 percent right — there would be a public outlash, people weren't going to be able to hear the games. ... They underestimated KMOX's signal and the fabric it has in the community. They made a business decision they deemed correct but it didn't work. People learn from their mistakes.''

OVERLAPPING SCHEDULES

The glut of sports back on KMOX will lead to some scheduling conflicts and John Sheehan, who oversees CBS Radio's St. Louis stations (including KEZK, 102.5 FM and KYKY, 98 FM), said which team gets bumped will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The only provision in place contractually is that if the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Finals all those games would air on KMOX.

The Blues have moved occasionally to KYKY in order for KMOX to carry Mizzou football, and that station could be utilized again in conflict situations. So could KFNS (590 AM), which had carried fare from KMOX before.

Sheehan said KMOX has a good relationship with the teams it carries and doesn't expect trouble when overlapping arises.