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An Emotional Craig Carton Pleads With People Struggling With Addiction To Call For Help

“Since returning to the airwaves with his new WFAN co-host Evan Roberts last November, Carton has continued to preach the dangers of gambling addiction.”

Brandon Contes

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Craig Carton gave an emotional plea near the end of last Friday’s show on WFAN, encouraging anyone struggling with addiction, suicidal thoughts, or mental illness to make a call. 

“If you’re feeling down in the dumps and you’re worrying how you’re going to get through it and is there a tomorrow? There is a tomorrow. There always is. So please, call somebody. I’m alive today, because I called somebody, his name is Charod Williams,” Carton said before breaking down in tears. 

The moment Carton is referring to was revealed in last year’s HBO documentary Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth. Riding a ski lift by himself during a vacation with his wife in Whistler, British Columbia just one month before his Sept. 2017 arrest, Carton described the desire to jump. At the time, Carton was sitting on a mountain of debt, but kept his personal demons and secrets private. 

From the lift, he desperately called his former NJ 101.5 producer Charod Williams, who helped ease Carton and saved his life. 

“There’s no doubt, if he didn’t answer the phone, I’d be dead. I would’ve jumped off the chairlift,” Carton said through tears. “So pick up the phone and call someone, it’s real, addiction is real. We have a good time here, we do what we do, but it’s real. It’s nonstop, pick up the phone and call someone.”

Last Friday, a WFAN caller won suite tickets to an upcoming Brooklyn Nets-New York Knicks game, and upon accepting the prize, he voiced personal struggles with gambling addiction. Carton said how proud he was of the caller for publicizing the issue, noting it’s the first step to rehabilitation. 

Since returning to the airwaves with his new WFAN co-host Evan Roberts last November, Carton has continued to preach the dangers of gambling addiction. It’s a somewhat surprising course reversal from WFAN and most sports radio stations which are heavily invested in sports gambling, but Carton maintains the voice of caution.

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Former 670 The Score Host ‘Big Papa’ Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was known for a decade as ‘Big Papa’ Tommy Williams on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Logo for Compass Media Networks

Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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photo of Charley Steiner
Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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