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Steve Somers Signs Off At WFAN For Final Time

“WFAN began 34 years ago, and Somers has been there every step of the way, a consistent lighthouse guiding nighttime listeners in the city that never sleeps.”

Russ Heltman

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Courtesy: WFAN

Steve Somers signed off of WFAN late nights for the final time on Friday night, and he said one final goodbye on Monday from 1-2 p.m. ET.

WFAN began 34 years ago, and Somers has been there every step of the way, a consistent lighthouse guiding nighttime listeners in the city that never sleeps. ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play voice Steve Levy paid tribute to his old friend. 

“I just wanted to thank you for how you treated me when I was so young and knew nothing,” Levy said as he called into Somers’ final hour. “You taught a lot of people about the industry. How to respect your audience, how you treated them, and the last thank you, Steve. You were a piece of the success in the first-ever all-sports radio station in the country.”

Levy got his start in the industry doing score updates on WFAN. He parlayed that into success at ESPN and the eventual MNF gig.

“I travel around a lot now,” Levy continued. “You see these all-sports radio stations, and they go to network programming at night, and it’s awful. You need the local flavor. You were one of us.”

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo couldn’t wait to give Somers his praise. Russo chatted with Somers during his final scheduled show this past Friday.

“Yours is a little different because I was gonna still work,” Russo said about his transition from WFAN. “I was just gonna do it in a different venue and look for a new challenge. You’re gonna go into a retirement scenario where you can do whatever you want. You can wake up at 2:00 in the afternoon…go see a movie, you can do anything you want. For the first time in your life, you’re not constrained to a time schedule.

“Your situation is more about making the adjustment to keeping busy and keeping your mind active when you don’t have a place to hang your hat every day. For anybody that’s worked as hard as you have for as long as you have, that’s probably an adjustment that’s going to take a little while.”

Before taking the airwaves for one final sendoff thanks to Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray stepping aside to let the Schmoozer connect with fans and special guests from 1pm-2pm ET, Somers was honored by the radio station. In a video posted to social media, Gregg Giannotti and Craig Carton thanked the longtime WFAN host for being a class act, great teammate, and leaving an unforgettable mark on the radio station and industry. The station announced the break room inside the building would be renamed in Somers’ honor.

For his final hour, Somers welcomed longtime friend and nationally recognized comedian Jerry Seinfeld to the show, as well as WFAN’s longtime afternoon show staple Mike Francesa. Additional appearances were made by former New York Yankee Bernie Williams, and WFAN past and present members such as Mark Chernoff, Eddie Scozzare, Rich Ackerman, and Paul Arzooman who Somers credited for some of the exceptional production which had been done for his show. John Minko also returned to reunite with his longtime friend and colleague.

Seinfeld told Somers during their on-air discussion he was one of the greatest sports voices in New York. He then thanked Steve on behalf of all NY sports fans who enjoyed his rhythms, humor, and humanity. Seinfeld concluded by telling Somers ‘Nobody put the work into openings like you did.”

During his chat with Francesa, the former afternoon king told Somers he was ‘as big a part of it as anyone who has ever stepped through the doors.’ Francesa praised the impact Somers made on the station to which Somers added afterwards ‘I’m surprised Mike didn’t refer to me as a compiler for lasting 34 years.’

Upon signing off, Somers mentioned that the attention has been overwhelming, and some could make the argument that it’s been over the top, but it’s been absolutely appreciated. He thanked the audience for making the last 34 years, the happiest of his life.

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Doug Gottlieb: There’s a “Less Than Remote Chance” On Getting Oklahoma State Job

“I was offered a job to be an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last offseason. Initially, the plan was to be able to do radio and be an assistant.”

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Doug Gottlieb

For the first time in seven years, Oklahoma State is looking for a new head men’s basketball coach. The school fired Mike Boynton late last week after posting a 119-109 record. Fox Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb, a former Oklahoma State point guard, has openly and publicly campaigned for the position in the past. It was brought up again recently on The Doug Gottlieb Show.

“If you go back seven years ago, when I had just started at Fox Sports Radio, that’s when Mike [Boynton] was hired,” Gottlieb said, “and I was, I think, a finalist…What you should know since then is, yeah, I’ve tinkered around with college coaching. I’ve always tried to protect still doing the radio show. One, because I love this, and two because I’m treated really, really well. And three, I was never in a position I thought, financially, to just walk away from stuff and start all over.”

“…I have been a consultant this year for the program, spent a lot of time there,” Gottlieb continued. “Last year at this time I was actually a finalist for a job at Wisconsin-Green Bay.”

Later, Gottlied got right to the heart of the matter, saying, “I think there’s a less than remote chance that I would get that job, and I know that because I have a good relationship with the Athletic Director Chad Weiberg…He called me, honestly, right after the news broke and in the very nicest way possible said, ‘Look man, I just had a coach for seven years who had not been a head coach before. I can’t hire another coach who has not even been a college assistant before.’

Gottlieb makes a case for himself stating he thinks he would be welcome in gyms and homes where he would need to be in order to recruit. He also says he has many connections between his own coaching in AAU basketball as well as his family’s history and connections in the area. “I think I fit how college basketball is now more so than previously,” he said.

Gottlieb told his audience, “I was offered a job to be an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last offseason. Initially, the plan was to be able to do radio and be an assistant. Then that plan kind of changed, they were like, ‘Hey, you gotta make a decision. Do you want to do the radio show and all of the other stuff you do, or be an assistant coach?’ I wasn’t ready…my girls are seniors in high school, it felt like a sacrifice, frankly, not worth making.”

In the end, Gottlieb made it clear he knows he may never be the head coach at his alma mater and part of that is because of how much he enjoys what he is currently doing. “I am not chasing anything,” he said. “… It’s an itch that I don’t know if it will ever be scratched. I love what I do and the people I get to meet along the way. But, if the right thing presents itself and it feels right, well yeah. But, I don’t think I need to pack anytime soon to be the head coach at Oklahoma State. Even if I do believe that I’m the right guy there, I truly believe that.”

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Adam Crowley: Joe Lunardi “Should Be Ashamed of Himself”

“That is such a low-class, low-rent, jerkwad move that I’m never sticking up for the guy again.”

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Phot of Adam Crowley and Joe Lunardi
Credit: Audacy, FanBuzz.com

Adam Crowley, co-host of The Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, did not take kindly to a social post from ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. Prior to the start of ‘Selection Sunday,’ the X account for the University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball team posted a graphic with some information about their resume to make the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi quoted their post and said, “The line with the 343 [Non-Conference Strength-of-Schedule] must have gotten cut off on my screen.”

In a bit titled, ‘Social Media’s Biggest Loser,’ Crowley chose Lunardi as his pick and said, “I’ve been defending Joe Lunardi for weeks, as the ‘messenger who was being shot.’ Joe is just predicting what the committee, in a flawed system, was going to do. That’s all he was doing. But, this was too far for me.”

In explaining to his audience the social exchange, Crowley said, “Pitt basketball tweeted out a worthy resume and posted a really nice graphic…It had all of the reasons why they should’ve been included in the dance.”

After reading the response from Lunardi, Crowley exclaimed, “Look, that’s why they got left out. Joe, you don’t gotta be dunkin’, man. That is such a low-class, low-rent, jerkwad move that I’m never sticking up for the guy again.

“And I get that he probably got worn down by Pitt fans…you gotta have thicker skin, Joe, and you don’t gotta be dunking on a fan base an hour before they find out that they’re not making the NCAA Tournament. That to me was such a low-class, jabroni move by him. It’s not a professional thing, its just a bad move on his part and I think he should be ashamed of himself.”

As he wrapped up the segment, Cowley added, “What do you hope to gain from that?… A big ‘L’ for Joe Lunardi there.”

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Report: Mike Missanelli Could Be Headed Back to 97.5 The Fanatic

“Mike’s name has come up. He’s a great talent, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. A lot of people are interested in the radio station right now. So I’ll leave it at that.”

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Photo of Mike Missanelli

As 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia announced changes to its lineup last week, The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported there may be another change ahead. The newspaper reported former host Mike Missanelli could be headed back to the station and has had conversation with station management.

Program Director, Scott Masteller, who took over those duties in January of 2024, told the Inquirer. “Mike’s name has come up. He’s a great talent, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. A lot of people are interested in the radio station right now. So I’ll leave it at that.”

Missanelli had been with the station for 15 years before his surprise exit on the final day of May in 2022. At the time, Missanelli said on the air, “The station and I are talking about me remaining with the company in some kind of a role, but who knows. What I can tell you is they already have a replacement show under contract and I’m sure you’ll be hearing about that in the next few days.”

Andrew Salciunas has been moved from middays to mornings to work with John Kincade and Former Philadelphia Daily News writer Bob Cooney has been shifted to the midday slot. Speculation in the market has been Missanelli could jump in with Cooney should he return.

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