There’s a new leader in Pittsburgh and Audacy did not have to look too far to find him. Kraig Riley has been promoted to brand manager of 93.7 The Fan.

Riley is a familiar face in the building and voice on the air. He has been with The Fan since its launch in 2010. He has served as producer of the station’s afternoon show The PM Team with Poni & Mueller. He also was the host of the station’s pre and postgame coverage of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The opening was created earlier this year when Jim Graci exited The Fan and sister station KDKA New Radio. Audacy hired industry veteran Dave LaBrozzi, who most recently served as Vice President of Programming for WABC Radio in New York City, to lead the news talk station.

“As both KDKA and The Fan continue to evolve into full multi-platform operations serving our listeners in new ways every day it is clear that both stations need focused leadership,” Michael Spacciapolli, Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Audacy Pittsburgh, said in a press release. “The addition of Dave and promotion of Kraig will help us continue that evolution. There is an expectation of excellence at both stations from the city of Pittsburgh that I have no doubt Dave and Kraig will continue to build on every day.”

SportsMap Radio is ready to introduce the country to Fred Nation! The network has announced plans to launch a new weekday show featuring familiar Houston sports voices Fred Faour and Fred Davis. The program Fred Nation will debut on Monday November 29th at 1pm ET.

“I’m excited to bring our unique style to SportsMap Radio,” said Faour. “It will be a combination of great sports talk with a big gambling slant. Our irreverent approach will create something very special for the network.”

“The show will be fun, informative, and fast-paced,” added Davis. “And what’s better than one
Fred? Two Freds.”

Faour and Davis will slide into the timeslot previously occupied by Matt Perrault. Faour was a co-host on The Blitz, on ESPN Houston, until August of 2021. The Blitz enjoyed more than a decade of success on Houston’s sports radio airwaves before ending after former host AJ Hoffman left for an opportunity in Las Vegas. In addition to his time on ESPN Houston, Faour has also served as the former editor of SportsMap Houston.

Davis meanwhile previously co-hosted the top rated Fred and Ted on Sports Radio 610 in Houston. He has also made regular on-air contributions on ESPN Houston.

“These two have amazing chemistry,” shared GowMedia CEO, David Gow. “Locally, they each
have a huge following and I expect similar success all throughout the Fred Nation.”

Fred Nation will air weekdays from 1pm-4pm ET.

Last week, Sal Licata shared a personal memento from Steve Somers. The new WFAN overnight host took to Twitter to show off the handwritten monologue from his final night working as Somers’s producer. Somers even signed it to Licata with a note of thanks for his work on the show.

On Monday, as Steve Somers bid farewell to WFAN, another host on the station had a personal memory from the past to share. Carton and Roberts dug up archived audio from the Schmooze’s show from Thanksgiving Day in 1995 when he read a letter from a 12-year-old named Evan Roberts.

That’s right. The same Evan Roberts that now serves as Craig Carton’s co-host is wrote Somers in 1995 to ask if Somers would like to join his family for Thanksgiving dinner. Evan and his dad got the idea after Somers had mentioned on air that he would be alone for Thanksgiving that year.

“My mom’s cooking is great and you can watch football with my dad,” Evan promised in his letter.

Steve Somers did not go to the Roberts house that year. He did tell Evan not to worry about him though.

“Evan, I am not going to be alone tonight. I was just making a funny and a joke, but you’re in my heart.”

The Schmooze then offered some smack talk about the New York Islanders (or “Icelanders” as he used to call them). Evan mentioned in the letter that he was a fan of the team. Somers said he hoped some time in the future, the Icelanders played a competitive game against the Rangers.

“Evan, I really thank you and your dad and your family for inviting me over for Thanksgiving. I won’t ever forget Evan Roberts!” Somers concludes.