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Greg Papa Replaces Ted Robinson in 49ers Radio Booth

“The new job means that Papa will have served as the voice of all five major sports teams in the Bay Area during his career.”

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Ted Robinson announced on Twitter today that he will not be a part of San Francisco 49ers radio broadcasts next season.

Robinson, who also broadcasts events on the Pac-12 Network, NBC Olympics Channel, and the Tennis Channel, will remain with the 49ers in a new role.

Taking Robinson’s place in the booth on Sunday’s will be the former radio voice of the Oakland Raiders, Greg Papa. Papa was unexpectedly replaced by Brent Musberger, before the 2018 season. He’ll now work with Tim Ryan calling games for the Raiders’ cross town rival and soon to be the Bay Area’s lone NFL franchise. By accepting the 49ers radio job, Papa becomes the first broadcaster to regularly call games for five of the Bay Area’s major sports teams.

“For the last 10 years, the 49ers Faithful have listened to one of the most accomplished and respected professionals in the broadcasting community deliver the game day action of their favorite team,” said 49ers President Al Guido. “Ted has always been much more to our team than just a play-by-play voice, he’s a member of our family and a valuable ambassador for our organization. That is why we are thrilled he will continue on with the team and help us to continue to deliver the 49ers to our fans in a number of ways.”

“The addition of Greg Papa to our broadcast team as the Voice of the 49ers adds to the great legacy of 49ers broadcasters who have previously held that moniker – Bob Fouts, Lon Simmons, Joe Starkey, Don Klein and Ted” added Guido. “Bay Area sports fans have been treated to his legendary calls of their teams for more than three decades. We are elated to welcome Greg to the 49ers family and have him deliver the action in his own unique style directly to The Faithful for the very first time. With Papa partnering with Tim Ryan in the broadcast booth on game days, and Robinson active in the community and at 49ers events, we believe our fans have the best in the business bringing them their favorite team every day of the year.”

Papa addressed the situation today on his radio program on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. He said, “One of the things that I am proud of, and (Director of Broadcasting Partnerships) Bob (Sargent) and I talked about the concept of this weeks ago, was that I would be the first guy to broadcast the power five teams — the Warriors, the A’s, the Giants, the Raiders and now the 49ers.”

He continued “It is going to be a little bit of an adjustment. I’m sure it’s jarring to a lot of people but it is something that I hope I can honestly last — I did the Raiders games for 21 years and I’m hoping that I have the same length of time with the San Francisco 49ers.”

To hear the audio of Greg addressing the situation click here.

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Dan Patrick to Appear in December Episode of The Simpsons

“I’ve had a couple of sessions, and I only had like four lines, five lines.”

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A photo of Dan Patrick and The Simpsons logo
(Photo: FOX Sports Radio, 20th Century Fox)

For a sports radio host, Dan Patrick has quite an impressive list of IMDb credits. He will add a new one next month, when he appears on The Simpsons.

During The Dan Patrick Show Tuesday, the legendary sportscaster mentioned that several of the voices for the show are reaching senior citizen status, putting future seasons in question. Patrick joked that the show’s guest booker, Todd Fritz, could be a natural replacement for Julie Kavner as the voice of Marge Simpson.

After joking that Fritz would want to change the script too often, Patrick revealed he would appear in an upcoming episode, and changing the script wouldn’t be an easy proposition.

“I’m on an episode that — I think — comes out on Christmas Eve (of) The Simpsons” Patrick admitted. “I’ve had a couple of sessions, and I only had like four lines, five lines. They wanna hear what they wanna hear.”

Patrick continued by noting that when he worked at ESPN, former co-worker Kenny Mayne was notorious for wanting to change the scripts of commercials during the “This is SportsCenter” campaigns.

“Kenny would always go ‘Hey, how about this?’ or ‘What about this?’, and I’d say ‘Let’s just stick to the script. They really have a good track record here.'”

He added that the voiceover artists on the program have deserved the millions they’ve made during the show’s long-running tenure.

“They’re extremely talented. They do a variety of voices there…that show has been on for how many decades? (It’s) still funny (and) relevant,” Patrick said.

On his IMDb page, Dan Patrick has 36 acting credits to his name, with the majority coming from projects with Adam Sandler.

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Matt Jones: ‘I’m Not Ashamed to Have Epilepsy’

“It’s a medical condition, and there is nothing I can do about it. I take medication, and that helps, and I wanted to show people that you can have a condition like that and still succeed…”

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Matt Jones
Courtesy: Simon & Schuster

In a Netflix documentary series released in September, Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones is seen having an epileptic seizure. He has shared why he allowed the video to be shown.

In an interview with Lexington TV station WKYT, Jones says he wants others with epilepsy to know they’re not alone.

“I think the world is a better place when people realize they are not the only ones feeling whatever it is they are feeling,” Jones said.

He shared that talking about the effects the condition has on him breaks down the stigma.

“You know I’m not ashamed to have epilepsy; it’s a medical condition, and there is nothing I can do about it. I take medication, and that helps, and I wanted to show people that you can have a condition like that and still succeed and still go through life, and you should not be ashamed of it,” he said.

The Kentucky Sports Radio host said his first seizure happened when he was 22, which is rare because most people with epilepsy suffer it at an earlier age. He said the seizure he suffered while filming the Netflix series Wrestlers — which features a behind-the-scenes look at Ohio Valley Wrestling and attempts to save the promotion in which Jones is a partner — was one of the worst he’s ever experienced.

Matt Jones told the TV station his only hesitation in showing the footage was he didn’t want his mother to see it.

“The director talked to me about airing it. He basically said are you okay with airing it? My initial inclination was no, not because of me, but because of my mother, and I didn’t want her to have to see it. She had never seen me have one,” Jones concluded.

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. 1 in 26 people in the United States suffer from the condition.

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Ben Wagner Out As Blue Jays Radio Voice After Sportsnet Contract Not Renewed

“Thank you, Ben, for sharing your voice and expertise with listeners across Canada.”

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Ben Wagner
Courtesy: Ben Wagner on Instagram

Toronto Blue Jays radio play-by-play announcer Ben Wagner will not be on the team’s broadcasts next season, Sportsnet announced on Wednesday morning.

The company posted a statement on X that divulged that it decided not to renew his contract for the next season. The new radio broadcast booth for the team will be announced prior to the start of the 2024 Blue Jays season.

“Thank you, Ben, for sharing your voice and expertise with listeners across Canada,” the statement read. “We wish you the very best.”

Wagner had served as the radio voice of the team for the last six seasons and called road games remotely for the last several years following the COVID-19 pandemic. He was briefly taken off the radio broadcasts when Sportsnet decided to simulcast its television broadcast on radio; however, that move was expeditiously reversed.

During this past season, Wagner worked alongside color commentator Chris Leroux and had the opportunity to travel to call the team’s Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, which ended in a 2-0 loss. The Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels were the only two MLB teams not to send their broadcasters on the road during the 2023 MLB regular season.

Upon graduating from Indiana State University with a degree in radio and television, Ben Wagner worked as the director of media and public relations for the Lakewood BlueClaws, a Class-A Minor League Baseball team for which he also served as its play-by-play announcer.

Three years later, he called games for the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A for the next 11 seasons before replacing Jerry Howarth as the radio play-by-play voice of the Blue Jays.

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