<table> </table> H&#8194;ealthy ratings couldn&#8217;t save &#8220;Crunch Time&#8221; on WHB (810 AM), and that&#8217;s what former host <strong>Dave Stewart </strong>didn&#8217;t understand.</p><p>&#8220;If <strong>Chad (Boeger</strong>, company president) thinks blowing up Crunch Time is the best thing for Union Broadcasting, then he did the right thing,&#8221; Stewart said. &#8220;From a personal standpoint it&#8217;s disappointing.&#8221;</p><p>In the latest book, Crunch Time had the station&#8217;s second-highest rating in the important male 25-54 demographic.</p><p>But Monday marked the first day of the expanded programs that filled Crunch Time hours. &#8220;The Border Patrol&#8221; went an hour longer until 10 a.m., and &#8220;The Program&#8221; with <strong>Soren Petro </strong>then started an hour earlier than usual.</p><p>Stewart had been flying solo as a host since <strong>Frank Boal </strong>stepped down in February. When it started in 2001, the midmorning program featured Boal, <strong>Tim Grunhard </strong>and <strong>Bill Maas</strong>, and maintained a strong audience after the former NFL players left to launch rival all-sports programming at KCSP (610 AM) along with <em>Kansas City Star </em>columnist <strong>Jason Whitlock</strong>.</p><p>&#8220;I still remember calling Chad after Whitlock, Maas and Grunhard bolted to see if there was anything I could do to help at WHB,&#8221; Stewart said. &#8220;I&#8217;m glad, in a small way, I was able to contribute to a pretty special place. It will be a shock to the system not to go to work every morning.&#8221;</p><p>The evenings will remain busy for Stewart, a Metro Sports anchor, and he said he hasn&#8217;t ruled out a reduced role at WHB.</p><p>&#8220;I preferred ownership in one show more than floating between others, but I&#8217;ll consider it,&#8221; Stewart said.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Dickie V&#8217;s best</span></strong></p><p><strong>Dick Vitale </strong>doesn&#8217;t just blow into town to broadcast a basketball game. He turns visits into events.</p><p>So it will be starting Sunday when Vitale is among seven being inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame at the Sprint Center.</p><p>The next two days, Nov. 24 and 25, in addition to calling the CBE Classic games, he&#8217;ll be signing copies of his latest book, <em>Dick Vitale&#8217;s Fabulous 50 Players &amp; Moments in College Basketball, </em>first at the Kansas City Store in Prairie Village then at the Barnes &amp; Noble on the Plaza.</p><p>&#8220;People may disagree about players, and starting debates is what this is supposed to do,&#8221; Vitale said.</p><p>The lists take into account Vitale&#8217;s 30 years in show biz at ESPN, but he stretched those parameters to give me his all-time starting five by position: <strong>Lew Alcindor </strong>(<strong>Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</strong>), <strong>Larry Bird </strong>and <strong>David Thompson </strong>in the frontcourt, with <strong>Oscar Robertson </strong>and <strong>Jerry West </strong>in the backcourt.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">KU-MU fan experience</span></strong></p><p>To Missouri and Kansas fans: With Arrowhead in sight, we&#8217;re seeking your experiences from last year&#8217;s game and your opinion about the future of Border War games in Kansas City. Please send your thoughts to <a href="mailto:bkerkhoff@kcstar.com">bkerkhoff@kcstar.com</a>.