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VSiN Adds ESPN Asheville as Affiliate

“The iHeart-owned station will air The Rush Hour each weeknight at 6 PM. It will also carry the weekend edition of The Lombardi Line on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 AM.”

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VSiN is coming to the Tar Heel State! The sports wagering radio network will be heard on ESPN Asheville.

The iHeart-owned station will air The Rush Hour each weeknight at 6 PM. It will also carry the weekend edition of The Lombardi Line on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 AM.

“We’re thrilled to add The Rush Hour and The Lombardi Line to our lineup! Sports betting is really hot right now and getting the latest information and breaking news is critical for our listeners who are looking to have some fun with sports wagering,” said Brian Hall, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia.

Sports betting has had an unpredictable journey in North Carolina. A recent bill to legalize mobile wagering recently failed in the state’s general assembly by a single vote. The practice is legal in the state, but wagers can only be made in person in the state’s two Native American-owned casinos.

Fortunately for iHeartMedia and VSiN, listeners in the Asheville market can access those casinos pretty easily.

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99.1 The Sports Animal to Coordinate First Tennessee Vols Spanish Broadcast

“We have explored various models to increase Spanish broadcasts across several of our sports in future years and felt this will be a great test run to start the process and expand our Vol Nation footprint.”

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99.1 THE SPORTS ANIMAL in Knoxville

The University of Tennessee will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the first ever Spanish-language broadcast of Volunteer football. Fans will be able to hear Carlos Lopez, Juan Reveiz and Brian Rice call the game on the athletic department’s website UTSports.com.

While there will be no terrestrial radio distribution of the broadcast, the school’s broadcast partners are assisting. Learfield and flagship station 99.1 The Sports Animal in Knoxville will coordinate and produce.

“This unique opportunity to continue to grow our fan base is exciting,” athletics director Danny White said in a press release. “We have explored various models to increase Spanish broadcasts across several of our sports in future years and felt this will be a great test run to start the process and expand our Vol Nation footprint.”

Both Lopez and Reveiz are South American-born kickers with ties to the state of Tennessee. Lopez played high school football in the state and his college football career included stops at Carson-Newman and Middle Tennessee State. Reveiz twice earned All-SEC honors as a Vols kicker. He then enjoyed an eleven-year NFL career that included stints in Miami, San Diego and Minnesota.

Reveiz also has a lot of radio experience. He has hosted shows locally in Knoxville with 99.1 The Sports Animal and with the now-defunct AM 850 Rocky Top Sports.

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Tim Ryan Signs Extension With 49ers Radio Crew

“The Mercury News indicates that both Ryan and Papa will have their contracts come up at the same time – 2028.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Tim Ryan
Courtesy: San Francisco 49ers

Just ahead of the San Francisco 49ers game on Thursday Night Football, the team announced its radio color commentator Tim Ryan has signed a contract extension to remain on broadcasts through the 2028 season.

Ryan kicked off his 10th season in the booth a few weeks ago. He has been calling games alongside Greg Papa since 2019.

The Mercury News indicates that both Ryan and Papa will have their contracts come up at the same time – 2028.

Ryan played four seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He was a third round draft pick in 1990. He has been broadcasting ever since.

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Howard Eskin: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Dating Rumors Are ‘All A Little Game’

“The producer of their podcast will say, ‘Hey, let’s play this up; it’s great for the podcast.'”

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Howard Eskin
Courtesy: Gilbert Carrasquillo, Getty Images

Whenever Taylor Swift performs a concert or goes out, there is generally a swarm of paparazzi that surrounds her. As one of the preeminent superstars in the world of music, there is considerable public interest in her life and upcoming projects. For years, fans of the artist have followed her dating life, which has included boyfriends such as Joe Jonas, John Mayer and Harry Styles.

Recently, many people are starting to believe that she could be dating Kansas City Chiefs star tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce. In an appearance on Thursday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce was asked about the rumors and relayed that he invited her to a Chiefs game to watch him play.

“I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium],” Kelce said his message read. “You might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one is a little more lit.”

Although Howard Eskin’s guest appearance on SportsRadio 94WIP took place before Kelce’s public comments, he diffused the dating rumors by recounting the situation that started the ensuing chain of events. Kelce attended Swift’s concert at Arrowhead Stadium and tried to pass along a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist. Since then, reports from The Messenger have indicated that Kelce and Swift have conversed and hung out several times. Additionally, Swift reportedly thinks that Kelce is “very charming,” and the duo is “seeing where things go.”

“She’s in Kansas City – he’s Travis Kelce,” Eskin said. “There’s people there, I’m sure, that handed her a number and she said, ‘Who is this?’ I would bet – yes – she doesn’t follow football.”

Amid his statement, Eskin was reminded that Swift is a Philadelphia Eagles fan, something she revealed at Lincoln Financial Field on her acclaimed slate of shows within “The Eras Tour.” The sports radio luminary then shared that Swift wore his Super Bowl LII ring after the team won the championship in 2018 and that he was invited to the premiere of the tour movie on Oct. 13 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Reacting to comments made by Philadelphia Eagles’ center Jason Kelce during in an interview with McAfee on Wednesday, he believes the disclosure of the dating rumors are helping fuel increased notoriety. Each week, the Kelce brothers record and release episodes of their podcast, New Heights, with Wave Sports + Entertainment, and Eskin thinks that reacting to the reports could equate to a simple publicity stunt.

“The producer of their podcast will say, ‘Hey, let’s play this up; it’s great for the podcast,’” Eskin said. “It’s all a little game. Entertainment Tonight did a story on Taylor Swift and her former boyfriend who was married to somebody else, and they played this small clip of the audio and said nothing because there is nothing to report other than Jason Kelce said, ‘I think it’s 100% true.’”

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