When Sportscasters Take Over

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the residents and business owners in the Houston area, as well as the other areas of Texas and Louisiana which have been devastated by Harvey over the past few days. The true impact of this is not always being felt as it should by people around the country because Houston is not a tourist town.

Local media coverage is extremely important to a lot of people, and it's good to know that Sports Radio KBME 790 took a leadership role in the local coverage. Matt Thomas quickly went from sports talk host to a lead anchor of the stations coverage, which was shared among each of the other Houston stations owned by iHeart.

Thomas reportedly averaged more than eight hours per day from this past Friday through Monday as overnight host, keeping listeners updated and handling phone calls like the true pro he is.

The Houston CBS stations also joined forces, with KILT 610 Sports Radio hosts Mike Meltser, Paul Gallant, and Sean Pendergast each contributing full hosting shifts as part of a five-station simulcast (along with TV Channel 2 providing audio at times) among the groups. Due to the emergency conditions, KILT is allowed to broadcast 24 hours a day instead of being a daytime only signal.

For as much as we question the need for multiple sports stations in Houston based on how the three of them struggle for overall ratings, it was wonderful to see them come through when needed the most.

On the other hand, there were a couple of sports reporters and bloggers who disgraced themselves indirectly because of this disaster. The Astros and MLB were forced to quickly decide on an alternate location for the current series between the Astros and Rangers which was scheduled for this week in Houston.

The Rangers had valid reasons to not switch home series on less than 24 hours notice, such as not wanting to lose ticket revenue by hosting games weeks earlier than scheduled while inconveniencing many of their fans in the process. The Astros did not want to have "home" games be in a place where the rival crowd would be cheering against them. (As you probably know, the games were moved to Tampa Bay.)

Yet, some writers took the opportunity to bash the Rangers organization, even as the Rangers announced plans to raise and donate thousands of dollars to help out with victims of Harvey in the Houston area. Those that publicly criticized during this time - instead of trying to help those in need - are a disgrace to sports media everywhere. There is a time and a place to criticize, especially in sports. In the midst of a disaster with a short window of time is certainly not one of them.


The NFL continues to embrace social media, only this time it is about streaming its telecasts into China in a big way, starting with the upcoming season. Tencent Sports has a new three year contract to stream all Sunday, Monday, and Thursday night telecasts during the regular season, plus all post-season including the Super Bowl to its various platforms which total more than 960 million active users. The partnership also includes coverage of upcoming NFL Drafts and the NFL Combine. Patriots.com reports that the streamed games in China will be free. Financial terms were not disclosed, with the NFL and its teams expected to benefit from the additional push of merchandise.


Even though it's only for Fox Sports Radio, it's hard to overlook their hiring of Las Vegas sports betting expert R. J. Bell to host two shows for the network which will focus on betting odds and sports stories which relate to the Vegas sports book scene. Named "Straight Outta Vegas", the show debuts this Friday, and will air (live) on Fox Sports Radio Fridays from 8 until 9:00 PM ET and on Saturdays from 7 until 9:00 PM ET. While it's doubtful this show will garner much of an audience, especially with the number of affiliates which air play-by-play at that time on Saturdays, Bell will be a part of the network. In addition to this show, he is also expected to appear on other shows on the network.

It will be most interesting to see whether or not Bell talks about the NHL during his show or on any others he guests on, since the Las Vegas Golden Knights will become the NHL's newest team starting with late September exhibition games.


Former QB Phil Simms is adding to his CBS analyst duties, joining SiriusXM for a one hour NFL preview show. His segment will air initially on the Mad Dog Sports Channel on Thursday from 4 until 5:00 PM ET.


College football fans will be happy to know that TuneIn has announced an expansion of its college football broadcasts being made available for this season. Plans are underway for the App to carry both home and away calls for at least 140 schools. Best of all, this will be on the free service, and not restricted to its monthly fee premium package used for many pro sports.


PITTSBURGH: WXDX 105.9 The X will continue to be the flagship station for the current Stanley Cup Champion Penguins as the result of a contract extension through the 2020-21 season. The alternative music station has served as flagship since 2003, and will continue with a one hour pre-game show and extended post-game show as usual.


BALTIMORE: WBAL / WIVY are adding a second analyst for their regular season Ravens broadcasts to work along with Gerry Sandusky and Stan White. In a unique twist, the stations (and the Ravens radio network) have hired four analysts to each work four broadcasts this season. They are former Ravens Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta, Jarret Johnson, and Justin Forsett. No word as to whether or not this is something they would continue for coming seasons, or if they would choose the best one to join the broadcast team ongoing for the future.


TAMPA: Sports WDAE 620 is about to bail on the upcoming new "Golic & Wingo" ESPN Radio morning show before it officially starts. It appears they aren't taking any chances. The station is going to switch its current and local midday team of Ronnie Night Train Lane and Tom Krasniqi ("T Kras") into its 6 to 9 AM slot. To replace the ESPN morning show, WDAE will air The Dan Patrick Show from 9 AM to Noon.

In a reportedly unrelated move, Darek Sharp has left WDAE to join the University of South Florida and head up the school's new broadcasting venture. "USF Bills Unlimited" will be available as an App and 24 hour digital radio station. Sharp will also host the game day coverage (football and basketball) which will air on WWBA 820 starting this Saturday (9/2) with the USF vs. San Jose State broadcast.


LOS ANGELES: With attendance already a concern for the Chargers games, CBS is looking to spur more interest in the local NFL scene. News station KNX 1070 is adding a daily "Pro Football Insiders Report" each weekday with a different analyst each day. They will be former NFL standouts Dan Fouts, Jackie Slater, and Vince Ferragamo (each of whom played on a southern California NFL team), as well as broadcasters Chris Myers and Andrew Siciliano. No word yet as to whether or not other CBS stations in the California/Nevada region will carry the feature.


NASHVILLE: A change in the broadcast team for the Predators on WPRT 102.5 The Game starting with the coming season, with Brent Peterson moving from the analyst role to pre and post-game host. Former Preds defenseman Hal Gill will be the new game analyst, working with returning play-by-play voice Pete Weber.


FRESNO: KALZ 1400 and 96.7 has decided to become a Los Angeles Chargers affiliate and will air the game broadcasts this season.


CENTERVILLE IA: KCOG 1400 is looking (at press time) for a new play-by-play voice for its weekly high school football broadcasts starting next week. But it's not for the usual reason. It's not one of those radio stories where someone left suddenly or was dismissed. Mike O'Connor, who once owned the station more than 40 years ago, is running for Mayor.

As a result, if he continued to call the games, the station would be required to provide equal time to other candidates. And, darn it, the station could not force other candidates to each call a different football game for them. Have to wonder if whoever gets the play-by-play job will campaign for O'Connor to win and serve a long term as Mayor so he can retain the role for as long as he wants.