Play ball! WLWT (Channel 5) previews the Cincinnati Reds season with a one-hour special today, and WCPO-TV (Channel 9) gives Reds fans a look at the new Great American Ballpark in a one-hour show Thursday.

Ken Broo hosts 2003 Cincinnati Reds: New Home, New Dreams (7 p.m. today, Channel 5) from the team's spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla.

Most of the show will be about the team, though George Vogel will do some short features about the new park, says Tony Giordullo, sports producer.

Reds fans who didn't tour the team's new home last weekend will see plenty of it on Great American Expectations (8 p.m. Thursday, Channel 9).

"I take the viewers for a walk around the park during various parts of the show, showing things from fan comforts, to things for the pampered athlete, to the way the park mimics Crosley Field and how it will affect the playing of the game itself," says John Popovich, Channel 9 sports director.

The hour-long show also features an interview with new stadium announcer Joe Zerhusen, the new scoreboard, the food and ticket prices, he says.

On Saturday, Fox Sports Ohio will telecast the Reds-Indians exhibition game at 1 p.m., a warm-up for Monday's 4 p.m. Opening Day game to be seen on WKRC-TV (Channel 12), Fox Sports Ohio and nationally on ESPN.

Channel 12 will devote most of Monday to the Reds, with a special from the Fountain Square Reds rally (9-10 a.m.), parade coverage (noon-2 p.m.), a Reds preview (2 p.m.) and a newscast anchored by Rob Braun and Kit Andrews from the ballpark (3 p.m.). A post-game newscast will air 7-8 p.m.

WXIX-TV (Channel 19) will cover Opening Day on its Monday 5-9 a.m. news.

Channel 5 will broadcast the parade in a two-hour noon newscast, with NBC's Days of Our Lives moving to 11 a.m. Monday.

War changes: ABC has scuttled The Family, the Tuesday reality series, after three low-rated episodes. A war update will air at 10 p.m. Tuesday (Channel 9), then NYPD Blue returns April 8 through May sweeps.

ABC also has pulled Profiles from the Front Lines, the documentary series about U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Whose Line Is It Anyway? will air at 8 p.m. Thursday. And the finale of Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People, a ratings disappointment, has been bumped from Thursday, April 3, to 9-11 p.m. Saturday, April 5.

The Star Search winners pre-empted by CBS war coverage March 19 will be recapped by Arsenio Hall when a new round of competition starts next Wednesday (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7).

TV today: Watch Nelly film his "Pimp Juice" video on Access Granted - Nelly (9 p.m., BET).

• Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of the legendary Akron tire maker, meets the 25 contestants on the premiere of The Bachelor (9 p.m., Channels 9, 2).

• Comedian Wanda Sykes (Curb Your Enthusiasm) plays a Washington, D.C., TV correspondent on Fox's new Wanda at Large sitcom (9:30 p.m., Channels 19, 45) bumping Cedric the Entertainer Presents for six weeks.

Talk shows: Today's guests from TV Data:

Regis and Kelly (9 a.m., Channel 9): Andrew Firestone (The Bachelor); co-host Tony Danza.

Wayne Brady (10 a.m., Channel 9): Doris Roberts, Debra Jo Rupp.

The View (11 a.m., Channel 9): Wanda Sykes.

Caroline Rhea (3 p.m., Channel 19): Andrew Firestone.

Tonight Show (11:35 p.m., Channels 5, 22): Adrien Brody.

Late Show (11:35 p.m., Channels 12, 7): Guest host Luke Wilson; Kelly Preston; Taye Diggs.

Jimmy Kimmell (12:05 a.m., Channels 9, 2): Ashton Kutcher.

Late Night (12:35 a.m., Channels 5, 22): DJ Qualls, Jesse James.

Late Late Show (12:35 a.m., Channels 12, 7): Vince McMahon.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com