Photo by Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune

You may have thought WCCO's long goodbye to Don Shelby was more self-serving than sentimental. Duh. That place isn't run by chimps. The news team bet big that more than a week of salutes would pay off in ratings - and they were right.

Those "Last Don" programs made the 10 p.m. broadcast number one among adults 25-54 for the first time since January 1987. They nailed a 34 percent increase in viewership in that same category over last year.

That's reason to celebrate, but I'm sure the usual leader, KARE, isn't sweating too much. The real battle begins...Now.