The Atlanta Hawks and 92.9 The Game have extended their relationship for another three years. The Hawks were the first local team to partner with the Atlanta FM sports talker after it signed on in October 2012. The Falcons have since joined the mix helping The Game enjoy success in the local marketplace.
92.9 The Game Program Director Terry Foxx told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the radio station has enjoyed a solid relationship with the Hawks administration, staff and players. Foxx works in tandem with Andrew Saltzman, the Hawks chief revenue officer, who previously co-owned 790 The Zone in Atlanta with on-air host Steak Shapiro.
“Andrew is a radio guy,” Foxx said. “He understands.”
Despite a slow start and slew of lineup changes, The Game has started to settle in and deliver results. Â The station prides itself on being locally focused and has no plans to alter that approach.
“We have zero syndication on this radio station and there will never be,” said Foxx.
To further demonstrate the station’s commitment to that vision, Foxx is looking for a replacement for Mitch Evans on the 11p-3a show. Other brands may air national programming during those hours, but Foxx says the timeslot remains an important day part for his radio station.
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
Scott Zolak and Marc Bertrand were broadcasting live from the New England Patriots’ joint practice with the Carolina Panthers. During their show, things got heated between the two teams, multiple times, and the show was there to call it all.
Bertrand was bringing the show back from commercial break and noted that there had just been a fight moments before Zolak and Bertrand were live.
“This drill got escalated by the Panthers here,” said co-host and former Patriots quarterback. “This is number three (fights)in a freaking kickoff drill. A kickoff drill!”
"This is unreal. I've never seen anything like this!"@ZoandBertrand react live to several more fights between the Patriots and Panthers during the second day of joint practices at #PatsCamp đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/7irXgZ08pA
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) August 17, 2022
Shortly after, Bertrand was describing the efforts to separate the two teams when even more chaos erupted.
“They’ve separated all the players,” began Bertrand, sensing some calm was being restored. “They’ve sent them on their way to the next period so you’ve got — and now here comes another fight. Another major fight! It’s happening right in front of the stands.”
“These guys are a-holes man,” spoke Zolak. “Get these clowns out of here. All they want to do is fight. This is unreal. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“What a scene,” said Bertrand.
“I’ve never seen anything like this at a camp… this is great today,” beamed Zolak. “Thank God we’re down here!”
In another cut from Audacy, 1140 The Bet has cancelled The Playmakers on their Las Vegas station.
The show, hosted by Lindsey Brown and Adrian Hernandez, aired from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Brown tweeted the news, saying “Sadly I have been informed that yesterday was our final show. I am thankful for the people it brought into my life & the experiences we created I am incredibly proud of our work & the boundaries we are eager to push in sportz radio. Today is a tough day. Tomorrow is on the way.”
Hernandez followed up by tweeting “I can’t put into words right now how I feel right now but in my radio journey from College in Tampa to Phoenix and now Las Vegas you were the best teammate I’ve ever had in radio and more importantly a great person. I appreciate and will miss you Badass Brown.”
According to the station’s website, it will replace The Playmakers with You Better You Bet from the BetQL Network.
Stunning sports radio news out of Milwaukee. 1250-AM The Fan has suddenly removed all of its local programming and switched over to CBS Sports Radio.
The news came as a shock to local listeners but even more surprising to the station’s staff. Here’s a tweet from Evan Heffelfinger noting that today was “everyone’s” last day at the station.
Some unfortunate news, today is my last day at @1250AMTheFan … well I guess it’s actually everyone’s. It’s been a dream come true to talk Wisconsin sports with you these last 5 years
I still have a drive and passion for the radio medium, my DMs are open for future opportunities
The station’s stream is currently airing CBS Sports Radio. The local daily lineup has also been removed from the 1250 The Fan website although show podcasts still remain.
In regards to the station’s talent, most have been quiet since the news began to trickle out. The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that recent NFL Hall of Famer and former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler was part of the cuts. Bart Winkler, Tim Allen, and Gary Ellerson are expected to be out as well.
“Over the past few years, Audacy has been on a transformational journey, investing in our capabilities to serve our listeners and customers and accelerate our growth through a number of strategic acquisitions, enhancements to our platform, and the addition of hundreds of team members to our workforce,” explained an Audacy spokesperson. “We remain committed to this exciting transformation which has made us a much stronger organization, but in light of current macroeconomic headwinds, like so many other companies, we have been proactively taking actions to mitigate against the impact of any downturn. These include evaluating budgets, reducing expenses, and also reducing our workforce.”
One host who is expected to remain involved is Steve ‘Sparky’ Fifer. Fifer was part of the midday show, and also helped behind the scenes. According to sources, he’s likely to contribute off-air and with additional brand projects. The rest will have an opportunity to explore opportunities should any become available at 97.3 The Game, ESPN 94.1, WTMJ or any other local outlets.
Upon learning of the news, a few former 1250 hosts, Mike Wickett and Cliff Saunders, took to social media to share their sadness.
Ryan Maguire, who served as the PD of 1250 The Fan from 2006-2009, and is currently the PD of crosstown rivals ESPN Milwaukee and WTMJ, provided his perspective.
1250 WSSP is what originally brought me to Milwaukee. I was the boss there for 3 years (2006-09) and had the good fortune to work with many talented people. Without that gig, I never would have met my husband of 14 years or made so many lifelong friends. Sad day indeed.
One host who left before the station was dismantled was former afternoon man Ramie Makhlouf. The longtime Milwaukee voice exited in June to join Sactown Sports 1140.
This is a developing story and as more information becomes available we’ll pass it along. 1250-AM The Fan is owned by Audacy, which just announced plans to reduce less than 5% of its programming staff.