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Bob Valvano Off ESPN 680 To Deal With Health Issues

“Last year, Valvano was diagnosed with monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, a condition where a higher-than-normal number of identical B cells are found in an individual’s blood, and it could be a precursor to leukemia.”

Brandon Contes

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Battling health issues, ESPN 680 Louisville radio host Bob Valvano announced he’s taking a leave of absence from his daily afternoon show to address his well-being. 

As reported by Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing, Valvano made the announcement that he’ll be taking time away from his radio show on Tuesday. Valvano painted a rather bleak picture of his current health status, but hopefully the time off will help him get some answers.

“This is something, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not good,” Valvano said. “I’ve had terrible back problems that go all the way back to last October, and it got to a point about a week ago where it was worse than anything I’d ever gone through, including my heart attacks. Honest to god, it made my heart attack look like a walk in the park. It was terrible. I still don’t really have answers for that.”

Last year, Valvano was diagnosed with monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, a condition where a higher-than-normal number of identical B cells are found in an individual’s blood, and it could be a precursor to leukemia.

“Those of you that know, I had a leukemia scare a few years ago, and I don’t know if this is related to that,” Valvano said during his Tuesday show. “I don’t know anything about anything. I just know that I’m taking too many pills, and I feel awful, and I’m in pain, and this is no life. This is absolutely no life.”

Cancer took the life of Bob’s brother, Jim Valvano at the young age of 47 in 1993. After giving the famous speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards saying “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up,” the legendary coach partnered with ESPN to launch the Jimmy V Foundation, which has raised more than $250 million for cancer research since its inception.

The ESPN 680 radio host said he’ll be taking off at least through next week and already has multiple doctors’ appointments scheduled. 

“Something’s going on, and I don’t know what it is. My head hurts, I’ve got pain in my stomach, my back is awful, I have a heart situation, I’m exhausted all the time. And then this last episode with the drugs scared the crap out of me, really, really scared the daylights out of me.”

A longtime sports radio host, the 64-year-old Valvano fills the noon – 3p timeslot on ESPN 680. Hopefully he’s able to get some clarity on his health situation in the next couple of weeks and make his on-air return soon. 

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Sports Radio News

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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Sports Radio News

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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