Over the weekend longtime ESPN researcher and star of the mid-2000s ESPN game show Stump the Schwab, Howie Schwab passed away at the age of 63. Schwab was a part of ESPN from 1987 until he was part of widespread layoffs in 2013. One of the people Schwab worked closely with was Dan Patrick, who talked about his passing on today’s Dan Patrick Show.

“Before we even get started, I want to say goodbye to a lifelong friend who just passed away over the weekend, Howie Schwab,” Patrick said. “I’ve known Howie for probably over 30 years and Howie was sports google before sports google. Google would’ve googled Howie Schwab.

“He’s the smartest guy that I ever met when it comes to sports knowledge, trivia, information. When I first started at SportsCenter I was lucky to have Howie Schwab there because he made us all better.”

Patrick continued and said he and Schwab worked together even after their ESPN days. “A generous wonderful person.,” Patrick said. “In fact, when I went to Sports Jeopardy, we did 100 episodes, I said ‘look I’ll do it, but I want Howie Schwab to come in and sort of be the lifeguard on duty.'”

Several former colleagues posted on X about how much Scwhab meant to them and to ESPN. Patrick echoed those sentiments. “He made us great,” he said. “There were so many of these people behind the scenes at ESPN that made ESPN so great, and Howie was certainly one of those people.”

SiriusXM announced it will once again have wall to wall coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft. Fans will get live announcements of every selection from every round and in-depth analysis on the SiriusXM NFL Radio channel.

Coverage begins Thursday April 25 onsite from Detroit and will continue on Friday April 26 with both shows beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage on Saturday April 27 will begin at 12 p.m. ET.

SiriusXM will also have live call-in shows following the rounds which will be hosted by Bill Lekas and Kirk Morrison on Thursday and Friday. Zig Fracassi and Leger Douzable will host on Saturday.

The day prior to the draft getting underway, Neuheisel and former first round pick EJ Manuel will host a special show from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET live from the NFL Play Football Draft Prospect Clinic and Community Event.

Both 95.7 The Game and KNBR registered wins and widespread increases during a tight ratings battle in the Winter book. The latest Nielsen results saw The Game finish sixth in weekday prime (M-F, 6a-7p) with a 4.8 with Men 25-54. That marked a 0.5-share improvement from the fall book but a 0.2 share decrease year-over-year. Worth noting, Nielsen recently announced revisions to its DMA rankings. As a result, San Francisco slid from market 4 to 5 now behind Dallas-Fort Worth.

For the full week (M-SU, 6a-12a), 95.7 The Game also won the head-to-head matchup. The Game ranked eighth with a 4.1 share among Men 25-54. In the prior year’s winter book, the station finished with a 1.8 share in 19th place, a 2.3 share year-over-year increase.

In mornings, Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky finished fifth with a 5.5 share from 6a-10a PT. The Morning Roast gained 1.3 shares from the fall and were even year-over-year. Middays were a similar story with Matt Steinmetz and Daryle ‘Guru’ Johnson claiming a third-place result with a 5.6 share. Steiny and Guru added four-tenths of a share from the fall and one-tenth of a share from the winter book of 2023.

The only show to decline compared to the fall was afternoon drive with Mark Willard and Dan Dibley. Among Men 25-54, Willard and Dibs lost four-tenths of a share, finishing with a 3.7 share to rank 10th. The afternoon number was also eight tenths of a point lower year-over-year.

Following a fall ratings period that included station layoffs and subsequent lineup changes, KNBR experienced growth in weekday prime. The Sports Leader delivered a 4.5 share, seventh place finish, up 1.3-shares from the fall. The station also added 1.7 shares year-over-year.

In their first full ratings book, Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher recorded a 5.7 share, good for fourth in the market. The duo scored a close head-to-head win over The Game in morning drive, improving 1.7 shares from the fall book. Murphy and Boucher were up an even more impressive 3.2 shares year-over-year.

Middays with Greg Papa and John Lund finished seventh for the quarter with a 3.8 share. Papa and Lund did gain 0.6 shares from the fall 0.9 shares year-over-year though they did trail The Game in the timeslot. KNBR also earned a 4.2 share, seventh-place finish in afternoons with Tom Tolbert and Adam Copeland. Tolbert & Copes garnered the largest quarterly gain on the station, amplifying its standing by 1.5 shares from the fall, and 1.4 shares year-over-year. The duo also won the head-to-head battle in their daypart against The Game.

Overall, KNBR attained a ninth-place, 3.9 share for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with Men 25-54. That placed the station two tenths of a point and one ranking position behind The Game. The flagship home of the San Francisco 49ers and Giants was up 0.9 shares from the fall, and 1.4 shares year-over-year. In weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), KNBR scored a 4.5 share to rank seventh. That put the brand three tenths of a point and one spot behind The Game. The good news, KNBR gained 1.3 shares from the fall, and 1.7 shares year-over-year.

Ratings reports and analysis are written by BSM and sponsored by Crowd React Media, a division of Harker Bos Group. Learn more about the different ways sports media research can benefit your station and cut through the noise by clicking here.