Sports Radio News
Tommy Thrall Named New Voice Of The Reds
“Prior to joining the Reds radio team in 2019, Thrall served as the play-by-play voice of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.”

Published
4 years agoon

A broadcasting legend, Marty Brennaman called his final game for the Cincinnati Reds last Thursday, retiring after 46 seasons as their play-by-play voice. Replacing Brennaman in the radio booth for the 2020 season will be Tommy Thrall.
Thrall was informed of the decision last Thursday, but he never expected Brennaman to mention it on-air amid all the celebrations for his final day as the Reds radio voice. Brennaman wanted his last game with the Reds to be a home game, which is why he concluded his 46-year tenure with the team on Thursday.
“As big of a deal as that was for Marty (Thursday), it was an incredible day for him, I didn’t even dream my name would even be brought up,” Thrall told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “As far as Marty is concerned in his career, I feel like I’m insignificant for him in the grand picture of everything that he’s accomplished. There are so many people that have been around him longer. It was pretty crazy. Hard to wrap your head around it.”
Thrall joined the Reds radio team for the 2019 season, with many people viewing him as the leading candidate to succeed Brennaman. Thrall was added as the team’s pre and postgame host, also working as a fill-in play-by-play announcer. Prior to joining the Reds radio team in 2019, Thrall served as the play-by-play voice of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The Blue Wahoos were the Reds Double-A affiliate for the last decade, but entered a two-year deal with the Minnesota Twins beginning in 2019.
“You don’t replace somebody like Marty Brennaman,” Thrall told Nightengale. “You may follow him. You may be the next guy. But you can’t replace him. He is going to be synonymous with this organization forever. The sheer volume of iconic calls and moments that he’s been a part of and he’s voiced, those moments live on with the team forever.
“All you can do is show up and do the best job you can do day in and day out. Be the best version of yourself and see where that leads.”
Thrall will partner with Jeff Brantley in the booth, who remains the lead analyst for the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network. Brantley, a former MLB All-Star and Reds reliever, joined their radio team in 2007.
“To have somebody like Jeff that is comforting and uplifting like he is, he is always very positive and encouraging, extremely helpful, kind of helps show you the ropes on the road a little bit,” Thrall said. “On the air, as a broadcast partner, as good as they come. It’s invaluable really. You can’t put into words how important that is.”
Thrall’s predecessor, the 77-year old Marty Brennaman will be the sole inductee for the class of 2020 into the Reds Hall of Fame which will take place with an on-field ceremony Saturday, April 25, prior to a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Marty Brennaman joined the Reds radio booth in 1974 replacing Al Michaels, having never called a Major League Baseball game when he was hired, launching a 46-year Hall-of-Fame career.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at [email protected].
Sports Radio News
Howard Eskin: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Dating Rumors Are ‘All A Little Game’
“The producer of their podcast will say, ‘Hey, let’s play this up; it’s great for the podcast.'”

Published
4 hours agoon
September 21, 2023By
BSM Staff
Whenever Taylor Swift performs a concert or goes out, there is generally a swarm of paparazzi that surrounds her. As one of the preeminent superstars in the world of music, there is considerable public interest in her life and upcoming projects. For years, fans of the artist have followed her dating life, which has included boyfriends such as Joe Jonas, John Mayer and Harry Styles.
Recently, many people are starting to believe that she could be dating Kansas City Chiefs star tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce. In an appearance on Thursday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce was asked about the rumors and relayed that he invited her to a Chiefs game to watch him play.
“I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium],” Kelce said his message read. “You might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one is a little more lit.”
Although Howard Eskin’s guest appearance on SportsRadio 94WIP took place before Kelce’s public comments, he diffused the dating rumors by recounting the situation that started the ensuing chain of events. Kelce attended Swift’s concert at Arrowhead Stadium and tried to pass along a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist. Since then, reports from The Messenger have indicated that Kelce and Swift have conversed and hung out several times. Additionally, Swift reportedly thinks that Kelce is “very charming,” and the duo is “seeing where things go.”
“She’s in Kansas City – he’s Travis Kelce,” Eskin said. “There’s people there, I’m sure, that handed her a number and she said, ‘Who is this?’ I would bet – yes – she doesn’t follow football.”
Amid his statement, Eskin was reminded that Swift is a Philadelphia Eagles fan, something she revealed at Lincoln Financial Field on her acclaimed slate of shows within “The Eras Tour.” The sports radio luminary then shared that Swift wore his Super Bowl LII ring after the team won the championship in 2018 and that he was invited to the premiere of the tour movie on Oct. 13 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Reacting to comments made by Philadelphia Eagles’ center Jason Kelce during in an interview with McAfee on Wednesday, he believes the disclosure of the dating rumors are helping fuel increased notoriety. Each week, the Kelce brothers record and release episodes of their podcast, New Heights, with Wave Sports + Entertainment, and Eskin thinks that reacting to the reports could equate to a simple publicity stunt.
“The producer of their podcast will say, ‘Hey, let’s play this up; it’s great for the podcast,’” Eskin said. “It’s all a little game. Entertainment Tonight did a story on Taylor Swift and her former boyfriend who was married to somebody else, and they played this small clip of the audio and said nothing because there is nothing to report other than Jason Kelce said, ‘I think it’s 100% true.’”
Sports Radio News
Steak Shapiro: Chris Russo’s Gummy Comment an ‘All-Time TV Moment’
“I’m going to tell you, jaws dropped, folks high-fived me and you’re just like, ‘did that just happen?’”

Published
5 hours agoon
September 21, 2023By
BSM Staff
Steak Shapiro told his audience that he has been in the media business for a long time. What he saw on First Take on Wednesday was “one of the all-time TV moments that I have ever seen.”
That moment was Chris Russo’s admission that he will eat a THC gummy, drink a cocktail in the middle of the day and bet $10,000 on Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes to beat Oregon on Saturday.
“I’m going to tell you, jaws dropped, folks high-fived me and you’re just like, ‘did that just happen?’” He said Thursday morning on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta.
He joked that promoting get drunk, betting thousands of dollars and taking drugs should be proof to critics that “ESPN ain’t that woke.”
Drew Butler, Shapiro’s co-host for the Thursday edition of The Steakhouse, said that what caught most people’s attention was the facial expressions and reactions of NFL analyst Marcus Spears.
He added that he was shocked to see something like that on ESPN, who just went through some very public layoffs which have drawn real criticism.
“They take a lot of heat for having to be righteous, politically correct, kind of milquetoast at times,” Shapiro agreed. “Listen, I don’t know that they’re related.”
He added that it would be different if Russo had said that he was going to roll a joint a get high. He said the afternoon that was described though is something that isn’t just unobjectionable to many, it is probably very appealing to a lot of people.
“Any women listening now may envision your husband just like this and any dude listening right now? Again, there’s plenty of guys that’ll wake up and run a marathon, right? Or just go hike for 4 hours. And that’s great, too,” he said. “But then there are other guys that want this out of their Saturday.”
“There’s certain entertainment in listening to a man who simply has nothing to lose,” Butler concluded.
Sports Radio News
Noah Eagle: I Don’t Know if Notre Dame Fans Expect Homer Call From NBC Crew
“I will be Neutral Noah, and that is the case throughout the year, no matter who we’re doing.”

Published
6 hours agoon
September 21, 2023By
BSM Staff
This is the first year in a long time that Notre Dame fans have had to share NBC with other college football teams. The network is carrying Big Ten games every Saturday night. The two worlds collide this week when Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge call the Fighting Irish’s visit to Ohio State.
“Do Notre Dame fans understand that this is not going to be a homer broadcast this week and that Tom Hammond, Dick Enberg, Dan Hicks, Don Criqui, they’re not walking through that door?” Anthony Lima asked Eagle Thursday morning on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland.
Eagle said it is a question that could best be answered by Notre Dame fans, but he is a professional. Last week, he and Blackledge called Purdue vs. Syracuse, which is Eagle’s alma mater.
“I will be, as I said last week, when I got to call my alma mater, I will be Neutral Noah, and that is the case throughout the year, no matter who we’re doing,” he said.
He added that he isn’t really sure what it is Notre Dame fans expect from the broadcast on Saturday night. The Big Ten is now just as much a part of NBC’s sports portfolio as Fighting Irish football. He added that his only agenda is capturing the excitement of two top-ten teams facing off in an historic venue.
“I would quote the wonderful and amazingly talented Biggie Smalls that ‘if you don’t know, now you know,” Eagle said. “It’s going to be a neutral game. It’s going to be a neutral call. I mean, this is big time Saturday night.”