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ESPN 980 and The Redskins Seeking More Synergy

Jason Barrett

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ESPN 980 is again in the market for a new program director, after newcomer Dan Zampillo resigned last month. And the person collecting résumés has a somewhat familiar name.

“ESPN 980 in Washington DC is looking for a Program Director,” reads the recent job listing. “Applicants should have at least three years of sports radio programming experience in a Top 75 market. If interested, send résumé and programming philosophy to: Larry Michael, [redacted]@Redskins.com.”

The sports-talk radio station and football team have been promising a more synergistic relationship in recent weeks, amid a host of changes at ESPN 980. Having the team’s longtime radio voice — a Redskins senior vice president — coordinate the search for a new program director would seem to be a continuation of that trend.

For anyone worrying that the man who invented Skintangibles would insist on burgundy-washed sports radio coverage, well, one of 980’s most prominent voices would offer reassurance.

“The station is kind of reorganizing itself to some degree, and it’s being brought under the Redskins umbrella a little bit closer” Steve Czaban said in a recent edition of his podcast with Andy Pollin, the D.C. Sports Bog’s No. 1 choice for treadmill entertainment. “The team has exerted no influence, commentary-wise, on me as a host since they bought the station. In fact, one could argue that the team has been neglectful of us, to the point of ‘Hey, why aren’t we doing more stuff together?’

“I think now what has finally happened is that the team has said ‘Hey, why don’t we do more stuff with the station we own,’ to which I say well, that’s a genius idea,” Czaban said. “About damn time.”

Asked about the changes in recent weeks, a team spokesman has merely said that the station is reorganizing.

To read the rest of the article visit the Washington Post where it was originally published

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Tiki Barber Walks Out Of WFAN Studio During Argument With Joe Benigno

“OK. So don’t give me this nonsense how you’re analyzing Zach Wilson. I don’t want to hear it! It’s BS, Tik! He stinks!”

Jordan Bondurant

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Tiki Barber
Courtesy: Derek Futterman

WFAN host Tiki Barber found himself opposite station legend Joe Benigno in a debate about the New York Jets on Monday, and by the end of it Barber had to leave the studio to calm down.

It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks for the Jets and their fans. Since Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury on the fourth play of the first game, the Jets went to Dallas and got beat pretty handedly by the Cowboys in Week 2 and then never really kept pace with the Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

In an appearance on Evan & Tiki, Benigno took Barber to task for his analysis of the Jets and defense of quarterback Zach Wilson, saying Tiki couldn’t properly analyze the team’s play considering he is a beloved former member of the New York Giants and that he was calling a different game for CBS at the same time.

“All I know is this, yesterday you were in Washington with the Commanders and the Bills were you not?” Benigno asked. Barber responded he was. “OK. So don’t give me this nonsense how you’re analyzing Zach Wilson. I don’t want to hear it! It’s BS, Tik! He stinks!”

Barber, miffed at Benigno’s assertion, responded saying he was turning his mic off before you can see him on the SNY simulcast mouthing, “That’s bullshit and you know it.” He then stands up and proceeds to walk off camera and presumably out of the studio.

Co-host Evan Roberts moments later mentioned to Joe that he annoyed Tiki with what he said, and Benigno, an avid Jets fan, clarified that his comments weren’t meant to be a shot at Barber. Joe is clearly as frustrated about Wilson and the Jets as are plenty of other fans.

“I’m not annoyed at Tiki, but I’m annoyed at the whole freaking situation bro,” Benigno said.

Roberts did come to Barber’s defense in a way saying that Tiki is watching all the games even after completing his own CBS assignment.

“I don’t think he hates our team,” Roberts said.

Benigno did apologize further and that he would find a way to get in touch with him later to smooth things over.

“I don’t mean to take it out on him,” he said. “But I’ve had enough.”

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Beasley Flips 2 Sports Stations to New Podcast Radio Format

“Podcast Radio is an idea that Caroline Beasley and our team have been thinking about and researching for years and we’re excited to be the first to launch this format in the United States.”

Jordan Bondurant

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beasley logo

Two sports talk stations owned by Beasley Media Group have flipped in favor of a new podcast radio format according to Inside Radio.

Under a partnership with KMG Networks and operating under the Podcast Radio U.S. banner, Podcast Radio Detroit has launched on the former home of The Roar on 93.5 while Podcast Radio Carolinas occupies the frequency at 94.7 that previously aired FOX Sports Charlotte.

The podcast radio format will air some of the top podcasts in the U.S. and the world and is available to stations and groups on a network/barter basis.

“Podcast Radio is an idea that [CEO] Caroline Beasley and our team have been thinking about and researching for years and we’re excited to be the first to launch this format in the United States,” Beasley Media Group chief content officer Justin Chase. “This concept has been highly successful for Gerry [Edwards, Founder & CEO of Podcast Radio] and his team in the United Kingdom, and we believe our audience will fall in love with the Podcast Radio U.S. version we present on our stations.”

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Brandon Stokley: Sean Payton Wouldn’t Do to National Media What he Does to Locals

“If that was a national reporter, if that was Seth Wickersham or Jarrett Bell, he wouldn’t have answered it like that. I can promise you that. And that’s what pisses me off.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Sean Payton
Courtesy: Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos got completely dismantled by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, giving up 70 points a week after blowing a big lead and losing to the Washington Commanders at home. Broncos head coach Sean Payton clearly wasn’t in the mood to deal with many questions from the media afterwards, lashing out at a local reporter who tried to get Payton to expound on the historical significance of the loss.

On Stokely & Josh on 104.3 The Fan on Monday, hosts Brandon Stokely and Josh Dover took issue with Payton’s handling of questions from local media.

“You can be upset, and I understand why you would be upset,” Dover said. “I want you to stand up there and be angry. You should’ve been angry after that game.”

Dover called Payton’s interaction with the reporter childish, which echoed ESPN’s Ryan Clark on Get Up that same morning. Josh felt like Payton owed more to himself, the team and the press corps to not be so harsh.

“You’re the adult in the room. You got to stand up there and take it,” Dover said. “You kept Russell Wilson in the game to take it for four full quarters, right? So why don’t you do the same thing you’re asking your 22 starters to do? You stand up there, you take it like a man, and you tell everybody what went wrong and you answer all the crappy questions that you don’t think you should have to answer.”

Stokely agreed that Payton needed to show some maturity in that situation. But he thought it was further evidence that Payton views the local media covering the team as a lower class compared to national writers and team reporters.

“He’s treated the local media differently,” Stokely said. “You don’t get passes when you come in and you try to change everything and you treat the local media one way but the national media another way. You’re their best friend. They can have full access, whatever they want, whatever they need they got. Local media now, we’ve been relegated and all of a sudden everything looks different than in the past. And the performance was awful.”

Stokely added that Payton has held local media in a different regard ever since he was hired to be the Broncos head coach. He felt like had it not been a local reporter asking that same question, Payton would have acted differently.

“You don’t need to fire back at the reporter like that,” he said. “It’s uncalled for, it’s unnecessary, but I can promise you this. If that was a national reporter, if that was Seth Wickersham or Jarrett Bell, he wouldn’t have answered it like that. I can promise you that. And that’s what pisses me off. And I’m still a Sean Payton fan, but he’s pissing me off a little bit with this stuff. He is.”

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