Just like the first player off the bench on a basketball team, veteran Kansas City sports radio host Dusty Likins has always considered himself the ‘6th man’. During a two-year run of hosting “After Hours” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on 610 Sports, Likins would often get ‘called up’ to the morning show to fill in for either Bob Fescoe or Josh Klingler.
That experience endeared him to a different audience just in case the opportunity for a permanent move to the morning show ever came up.
“I kind of got lucky to where I was able to build those relationships ahead of time to where people knew my voice and knew who I was and knew what I was about,” said Likins. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I’m a loose cannon.”
Well about a month ago, Likins was shot out of a cannon from evenings to morning drive replacing Klingler, who continues to work for the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network but stepped back from the morning show.
Moving from nights to mornings might be tough for some people, but Likins has not only embraced it, but he’s loving it.
“It’s been great,” said Likins. “The morning show has been a hit so far. I like to call myself a shot of espresso. I don’t know how many people can actually say they enjoy getting up that early in the morning, but I honestly love it.”
And when you couple the prior experience of filling in with the first month together on the air, Likins and Fescoe have already created some great chemistry. Likins has considered Fescoe a mentor for the last four or five years so he was ecstatic when Fescoe came to him to talk about the opening in the morning.
They are ten years apart in age but share many of the same interests.
“When this opportunity opened up, Bob had told me that (he thought) it would be a good mix between the two of us,” said Likins. “He gets my humor. I get his humor. We really click. We have a lot of common similarities even though he’s 47 and I’m 37.”
And while there may be some loyal listeners in the morning who may take a little longer to accept change, hearing the comparisons to Josh Klinger isn’t something that Likins is going to spend a whole lot of time worrying about. It’s wasted energy.
“I think if you worry about that, you’re too far behind,” said Likins. “What you have to do, like in anything in life, you have predecessors, and you have successors. I love Josh Klingler. He has been a huge impact in my life ever since I got into radio back in 2015.”
What makes the move to the mornings even more special for Likins is that 610 Sports has flipped from AM to FM and has become 96.5 The Fan. Moving to FM has improved the station’s sound and reach while also attracting a broader audience.
For the entire station, the move has been a game-changer.
“Oh man it’s like a face-lift or a tummy-tuck,” said Likins. “The FM side of the radio is so much better. It’s so much clearer. It’s a broad band of listeners as opposed to just an AM station.”
To further illustrate how important the move has been from AM to FM, Likins likes to dip into the world of pop culture, something he did a lot of at night and is such a staple on any successful morning show.
And in Kansas City, there isn’t a bigger example of pop culture than worldwide singing sensation Taylor Swift dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“Pop culture is big,” said Likins. “You either love (Taylor Swift) or hate her but either way you know her. I kind of lean into that as well where you may not understand it, or you may not like it, but you get it.”
Swift is certainly a megastar and speaking of megastars, another area of pop culture that Likins loves to cover is professional wrestling as he is a huge fan of WWE United States Champion LA Knight. When it comes to the magnitude of moving from nights to mornings and from AM to FM, it’s something that just about everyone can agree on.
“If you’re a heel or you’re a face, you have to lean into that and believe it,” said Likins.
So, to steal a couple of lines from LA Knight, I’m here to tell you whose game it is now in the mornings at 96.5 The Fan.
With everybody saying…Dusty Likins.
Yeah!
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
