OK, this might sound a little weird, or perhaps oldtimers is kicking in, but wasn't Rolf Benirshchke a former NFL field goal kicker ?  The name sounds quite familiar, and I think in context to the NFL.

mace wrote:

OK. I have to ask which TV Guide edition are these ads from?

You are correct - Sajak continued with the syndicated version, even as he went to CBS. NBC could not have him on their network when he was competing against the Tonight Show somewhere else. So they had to find a new host for the Peacock daytime show. 

I have a great story told to me by a good friend in the U.S. He was a disc jockey who'd found a job as a correspondent in the early days of Entertainment Tonight, the syndicated show out of Hollywood. The gig wasn't quite the right fit for him, so when he heard about an audition for a game show, he decided, being between jobs, that he had nothing to lose by trying out.

So they had him play a fake game with fake contestants to see how he'd do - and he aced the thing. In the end, after seeing lots of contenders, it came down to my friend and one other guy. But while both were very good, the other guy had been a weatherman in local Los Angeles TV and was better known there. So they went with him, leaving my friend with the knowledge he'd almost made it to network TV. 

The show was Wheel of Fortune and the other guy was Pat Sajak. He came this close to getting a gig that might well have lasted a lifetime. But for Sajak's familiarity to local audiences, he still might be doing it. 

Instead, he returned to radio and had a great career working for 50K powerhouse stations like WGAR Cleveland and WNBC New York. His on-air name was The Real Bob James and I'm kind of glad he didn't get the job or I never would have met him. He was the kind of disc jockey I always wanted to be but never had the talent.

But I often wonder if he turns on the television some nights and thinks about that great John Greenleaf Whittier adage:

Of all the words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these:
"It might have been!"

After a little research, I now know why I never saw this - and neither did anyone else. Too bad in a way. I would have been curious to see how it worked out. 

Lear Scraps ‘Jody’ Plans

Still vaguely remember hearing about the short-lived Rolf era on the daytime Wheel. I was almost six years old, and an inpatient at Sick Kids around the time that he came along, and there was a promo on the TV touting the new host... I believe the set was tuned to CFMT. Of course at that age, I had no idea that this was only for the daytime version and not the more popular nighttime syndicated show with Pat & Vanna.

This was also why I was confused by the Ray Combs version of Family Feud airing on Detroit's WJBK (CBS at the time) in the morning, and WDIV (NBC) in the evening... didn't realize there were different versions for daytime (network) and evening (syndicated), with the nighttime shows having bigger prizes than their daytime counterparts.