Sports Radio News
Former 104.5 The Zone Morning Host Mark Howard Dies at 65
Howard joined The Zone, 104.5-FM in the Music City in 2004 when he co-hosted the Wake Up Zone with Kevin Ingram and Frank Wycheck.

Published
1 year agoon
By
BSM Staff
Devastating news hit the city of Nashville on Sunday when it was learned that Mark Howard, veteran sports broadcaster in both television and radio, died at the age of 65.
The news was revealed by his friend David Boclair. It was confirmed to the Tennessean by his wife Debra.
Sometimes it is no fun to break news. It is with great sadness that I must report that Nashville television/radio sports personality Mark Howard passed away this afternoon at home. … Mark was a friend and supporter, and his voice (booming and knowledgable) will be missed. pic.twitter.com/skQFtOYMjk
— David Boclair (@BoclairSports) July 24, 2022
Howard, whose whose real name was Howard Mark Levenson was a popular sports anchor for over 20-plus years at NewsChannel 5 in Nashville.
“My heart’s broken,” said retired NewsChannel 5 sports director Hope Hines. “I’ve lost one of my best and dearest friends. He was more like a son to me and he felt the same way, I was a father-like figure in many ways to him. I’m heartbroken for Jack his son, and Debra. He was a great, great talent.”
Howard joined The Zone, 104.5-FM in the Music City in 2004 when he co-hosted the Wake Up Zone with Kevin Ingram and Frank Wycheck. That show would dominate morning drive in the city for years. He left the show in 2020 after 21 years at The Zone.
“It’s been a great run. The (Wake Up Zone) show ran for 16 years with me and Kevin,” Howard said at the time. “They were some of the best years of my life. I’ve got nothing really but good things to say about my experiences there.”
Ingram said Howard was influential in bringing him to The Zone.
“I loved working with Mark, but the thing about Mark was that he was a great friend,” Ingram said. “There weren’t many people who were more supportive of me or my career than Mark. He was always very encouraging and gave good advice. There aren’t too many people you’ll find who were more knowledgeable about sports than Mark. It was almost scary how much he knew, especially about baseball.”
The Zone released a statement sending their condolences.
We are extremely saddened to share the news that former long time Wake Up Zone host Mark Howard has passed away.
— 104-5 The Zone (@1045TheZone) July 24, 2022
Mark was a very talented sports broadcaster, a good friend to many of us and will always be a big part of our history. Sending our thoughts and prayers to his family. https://t.co/O4x7wWQUCt
The station plans a day full of tributes and memories of Howard.
All day tomorrow we will honor, share stories and pay tribute to the late Mark Howard.
— 104-5 The Zone (@1045TheZone) July 24, 2022
If you would like to share some of your favorite Mark Howard moments with us, our hosts and special guests, give us a call tomorrow at 615-737-1045. pic.twitter.com/i9XDXsPTmw
Sports Radio News
ESPN Names TV and Radio Broadcast Crews for 40 Bowl Games
The first bowl game broadcast is set for Saturday, December 16th.

Published
58 mins agoon
December 8, 2023
With the exception of Army/Navy on Saturday, the 2023 college football regular season has been completed, and now the focus shifts to the smorgasbord of bowl games taking place between December 16 and the national championship game on January 8.ESPN announced its full broadcast crew lineup for the bowl season on Thursday. All December bowl games will be simulcast on ESPN+.
It all begins with the Myrtle Beach Bowl at 11 a.m. on the 16th. Drew Carter and Dustin Fox will be on the call on ESPN, with Stormy Buonantony reporting from the sidelines. Chris Carlin and Orlando Franklin will also call the game for ESPN Radio.
For the College Football Playoff semifinals, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Alabama, with Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge reporting from the sidelines. Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will be on the call for the Sugar Bowl between Washington and Texas. Molly McGrath and Katie George will be the sideline reporters.
On ESPN Radio, Joe Tessitore, Dusty Dvoracek and Quint Kessenich will be at the Rose Bowl, with Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer and Ian Fitzsimmons on the call for the Sugar Bowl. Kevin Winter and Trevor Matich will be in the ESPN Radio studios in Bristol anchoring pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage.
For the other New Year’s Six games, the crew assignments are as follows:
Cotton Bowl: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill
Peach Bowl: Mark Jones, Louis Riddick, Quint Kessenich
Orange Bowl: Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George
Fiesta Bowl: Bob Wischusen, Robert Griffin III, Kris Budden
The entire bowl broadcasting lineup is below.
Date | Time (ET) | Bowl/Commentators | Platform |
Sat, Dec 16 | 11 a.m. | Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Conway, S.C.) TV: Drew Carter, Dustin Fox, Stormy Buonantony Radio: Chris Carlin, Orlando Franklin | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+ |
Noon | Cricket Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M (Atlanta) Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker, Quint Kessenich | ABC/ESPN+^ | |
2:15 p.m. | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana (New Orleans) TV: Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Taylor Davis Radio: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+ | |
3:30 p.m. | Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State (Orlando, Fla.) Bob Wischusen, Robert Griffin III, Kris Budden | ABC/ESPN+ | |
5:45 p.m. | Isleta New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State (Albuquerque, N.M.) Clay Matvick, Rod Gilmore, Lauren Sisler | ESPN/ESPN+^ | |
7:30 p.m. | Starco Brands LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State (Inglewood, Calif.) TV: Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Kayla Burton Radio: Mike Couzens, Tom Ramsey | ABC/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
9:15 p.m. | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: California vs. Texas Tech (Shreveport, La.) Kevin Connors, Rocky Boiman, Marilyn Payne | ESPN/ESPN+^ | |
Mon, Dec 18 | 2:30 p.m. | Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion (Charlotte, N.C.) Dave Neal, Tom Luginbill, Abby Labar | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
Tue, Dec 19 | 9 p.m. | Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. Marshall (Frisco, Texas) Jorge Sedano, Rocky Boiman, Dawn Davenport | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
Thu, Dec 21 | 8 p.m. | RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida vs. Syracuse (Boca Raton, Fla.) TV: Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen, Harry Lyles Jr. Radio: Chris Carlin, Harry Douglas | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ |
Fri, Dec 22 | 6:30 p.m. | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF (Tampa, Fla.) Wes Durham, Tim Hasselbeck, Taylor Tannebaum | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
Sat, Dec 23 | Noon | 76 Birmingham Bowl: Troy vs. Duke (Birmingham, Ala.) Tom Hart, Cole Cubelic, Taylor Davis | ABC/ESPN+ |
Noon | Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Montgomery, Ala.) TV: Courtney Lyle, Hutson Mason, Ashley Stroehlein Radio: Mike Couzens, Aaron Murray | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
3:30 p.m. | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison vs. Air Force (Fort Worth, Texas) Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra | ABC/ESPN+ | |
3:30 p.m. | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State vs. Utah State (Boise, Idaho) TV: Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Morgan Uber Radio: Clay Matvick, Dave Steckel | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
7 p.m. | 68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Mobile, Ala.) Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang | ESPN/ESPN+ | |
7:30 p.m. | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Northwestern (Las Vegas) Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Stormy Buonantony | ABC/ESPN+^ | |
10:30 p.m. | EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Honolulu, Hawaii) TV: John Schriffen, Orlando Franklin, Marilyn Payne Radio: Kevin Winter, Trevor Matich | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Tue, Dec 26 | 2 p.m. | Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota (Detroit, Mich.) Connor Onion, Dustin Fox, Tori Petry | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
5:30 p.m. | SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice (Dallas, Texas) Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Morgan Uber | ESPN/ESPN+^ | |
9 p.m. | Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV (Phoenix, Ariz.) TV: Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonantony Radio: Jorge Sedano, Max Starks | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Wed, Dec 27 | 2 p.m. | Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling.com: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Annapolis, Md.) Jay Alter, Rene Ingoglia, Alex Chappell | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
5:30 p.m. | Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Charlotte, N.C.) TV: Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen, Harry Lyles Jr. Radio: Mike Couzens, Charles Arbuckle | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
9 p.m. | TaxAct Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State (Houston, Texas) TV: Roy Philpott, Roddy Jones, Taylor McGregor Radio: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Thu, Dec 28 | 11 a.m. | Wasabi Fenway Bowl: No. 24 SMU vs. Boston College (Boston, Mass.) Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Sherree Burruss | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
2:15 p.m. | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami (The Bronx, N.Y.) TV: Drew Carter, Rod Gilmore, Taylor Davis Radio: Mike Corey, Harry Douglas | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
5:45 p.m. | Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 18 NC State vs. No. 25 Kansas State (Orlando, Fla.) TV: Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra Radio: Sean Kelley, Rene Ingoglia | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
9:15 p.m. | Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (San Antonio, Texas) TV: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic Radio: Justin Kutcher, Max Starks, Ian Fitzsimmons | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Fri, Dec 29 | Noon | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky (Jacksonville, Fla.) Wes Durham, Tim Hasselbeck, Taylor Tannebaum | ESPN/ESPN+^ |
3:30 p.m. | AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State (Memphis, Tenn.) TV: John Schriffen, Rocky Boiman, Dawn Davenport Radio: Jorge Sedano, Orlando Franklin | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
8 p.m. | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 7 Ohio State (Dallas) TV: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill Radio: Brad Sham, Kirk Morrison, Taylor McGregor | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Sat, Dec 30 | Noon | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State (Atlanta) TV: Mark Jones, Louis Riddick, Quint Kessenich Radio: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ |
2 p.m. | TransPerfect Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland (Nashville, Tenn.) Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang | ABC/ESPN+^ | |
4 p.m. | Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 5 Florida State (Miami Gardens, Fla.) TV: Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George Radio: Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Kayla Burton | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN+^ | |
Mon, Jan 1 | Noon | ReliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. No. 13 LSU (Tampa, Fla.) Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore, Lauren Sisler | ESPN2 |
1 p.m. | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee (Orlando, Fla.) TV: Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Kayla Burton Radio: Chris Carlin, Tom Luginbill | ABC/ESPN Radio^ | |
1 p.m. | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon (Glendale, Ariz.) TV: Bob Wischusen, Robert Griffin III, Kris Budden Radio: Mike Couzens, Max Starks, Stormy Buonantony | ESPN/ESPN Radio^ | |
5 p.m. | College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama (Pasadena, Calif.) TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge Radio: Joe Tessitore, Dusty Dvoracek, Quint Kessenich | ESPN/ESPN Radio^ | |
8:45 p.m. | College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas (New Orleans, La.) TV: Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, Katie George Radio: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons | ESPN/ESPN Radio^ | |
Mon, Jan 8 | 7:30 p.m. | College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T (Houston, Texas) TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Molly McGrath Radio: Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Ian Fitzsimmons, Kris Budden |

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Mike Tirico: Geno Smith Received Medical Treatment in ‘Weirdest Production Meeting of My Career’
Tirico said the NBC Sports crew did their pregame interviews with Smith as he worked with an athletic trainer in an attempt to play on Thanksgiving night.

Published
1 hour agoon
December 8, 2023
Sunday Night Football play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico has seen a lot and called a lot over his decades in broadcasting. But the job found a way to surprise him as he prepared for NBC’s Thanksgiving Night game.
Tirico was on Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan on Thursday ahead of Sunday night’s Eagles/Cowboys game in Arlington, and Mike said his check-in with Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith made for one of the weirdest production meetings he’s ever done in his 25 years of broadcasting football games.
Smith got injured the Sunday before Seattle’s Thanksgiving Night game against the 49ers, and Tirico said at the team’s request, they did their interviews with Geno while he was receiving treatment from medical staff on his elbow.
“There’s this guy who’s just like beating the heck out of his elbow with this procedure to get blood flow down to the elbow,” Tirico said. “And we’re like, ‘Geno, are you OK?’ and he’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah man I’m alright. Go ahead. Ask away, ask away.’ I felt really uncomfortable doing it, to be honest.”
Mike Tirico was asked if he was still going to be speaking to Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy ahead of Sunday’s game given McCarthy is only a couple days removed from an appendectomy. He thought he had a good feeling he’ll catch up with him at some point this weekend.
“I’m sure it’ll be health permitting, I don’t know where Mike will be health wise either Friday or Saturday when we get over to see the Cowboys at The Star,” Tirico said. “Those are those things that happen and pop up during the week where you’re like, ‘Ooh, that wasn’t expected.’ We’ll have to adjust.”

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Dan Bernstein: Media Reaction to MLB Winter Meetings Outrageous
“It doesn’t make any sense to me.“

Published
10 hours agoon
December 7, 2023By
BNM Staff
The MLB Winter Meetings have come and gone, without the sport’s biggest fish — Shohei Ohtani — being caught by any one team. Several MLB writers shared their displeasure with the lack of movement by players at the meetings, which dumbfounded 670 The Score host Dan Bernstein.
During Bernstein & Holmes Thursday, Dan Bernstein shared his sentiment that the expectations from MLB national media members bordered on ridiculous.
”So many people had a problem with (the Winter Meetings). ‘Do something! Entertain us! Do something!’ and this whole group of seemingly unionized national reporters are echoing this ‘How dare that not do something!’ (sentiment),” Bernstein said. “Other sports have a salary cap. That’s the difference. And if you’re advocating for MLB to have a salary cap, you’re doing Rob Manfred’s work for him, and that doesn’t make any sense.”
After co-host Laurence Holmes mentioned that a player making a decision on their future home required due diligence and time, Dan Bernstein continued by claiming that the idea that Ohtani needed to pick a destination during the Winter Meetings to appease the national media showed a lack of empathy from reporters.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me. How dare Shohei Ohtani be careful and deliberate and exercise power when he’s the most powerful person in baseball right now,” said Bernstein. “He’s deciding his professional future. How dare he! What does he owe you?”
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