With two new shows debuting this week, the landscape of Portland sports talk radio got fuller and more local.
On Monday, KPOJ (also known as Rip City Radio) rolled out “Rip City Mornings with Bunker and Danforth,” a 6-9 a.m. show that is the Portland market’s first morning local sports talk show since KXTG shut down “Morning Sports Page” in 2012.
Also Monday, KFXX (1080 The Fan)announced its altered lineup that will debut Tuesday and include three local programs that will fill the station’s schedule from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
With KXTG (750 The Game) also with a newer host in its 3-7 p.m. slot, there has been significant makeover in Portland sports radio in the last year.
The market’s two longest-running shows remain rock steady: KFXX’s “Primetime with Isaac and Suke,” and KXTG’s “The Bald Faced Truth.” KPOJ also has a big name in Blazers’ play-by-play man Brian Wheeler.
Here’s how each weekday’s local sports talk shapes up:
6-9 a.m.
“Rip City Mornings with Bunker and Danforth,” KPOJ (620 AM): Hosted by Andy Bunker, who moved from Seattle’s KIRO, and Taylor Danforth, who left KFXX last month, this is the only local show in this time slot. The station hired Icky Rosborough as producer. Rosborough’s father, Mike Rosborough, was a longtime TV sports photographer for KATU.
This show’s competition is syndicated fare, with KFXX airing “The Herd with Collin Cowherd,” the ESPN show that started in Portland, and KXTG airing “The Dan Patrick Show.”
10 a.m.-noon
“Hard Count with Dirt and Sprague,” KFXX (1080 AM): The show is hosted by Andy “Dirt” Johnson and Brandon Sprague, who had a three-man show with Danforth in the noon-3 p.m. spot before Danforth departed last month. Both hosts are young, Portland-raised guys who have a lot of institutional knowledge. They’ll have a local lock on the time slot, going against the “Rich Eisen Show,” which runs 9 a.m.-noon on KPOJ, and “The Jim Rome Show,” which airs 9 a.m.-noon on KXTG.
Noon-3 p.m.
“The Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano,” KXTG (750 AM/102.9 FM):Canzano, a columnist for The Oregonian, has hosted the station’s anchor show since it debuted in 2008, originally as a 3-6 p.m. show, then moving to this time slot in 2012. In recent years, the show has benefited from the steady producing of Noah “Chop” Homsley, who also has become an entertaining on-air sidekick.
“Dusty and Cam in the Afternoon,” KFXX: The station’s newest show has Dusty Harrah, a longtime KFXX jack-of-all-trades who has recently widened his profile as co-host of “Trail Blazers Pulse,” a TV show that is part of Comcast SportsNet Northwest’s post-game Blazers block. Harrah is joined by Cam Cleeland, a former NFL tight end whose own on-air profile has been growing steadily in the market.
KPOJ runs the syndicated “Jay Mohr Show” in this spot.
3-5 p.m.
“Wheels at Work,” KPOJ: Hosted by Brian Wheeler, who is in his 17th season as the Blazers’ radio play-by-play voice. Because of his duties with the team, the show often has a guest host, typically either Ron Callan or Jay Allen, both of whom are Portland radio veterans. Each show has Wheeler on for at least one segment, even if he’s on the road.
3-7 p.m.
“Primetime with Isaac and Big Suke,” KFXX: The longest-running show in the market, with hosts Isaac Ropp and Jason Scukanec having been together since 2006. The show also is televised on CSNNW. Ropp and Scukanec have built a loyal listenership with a familiar format that, as their show’s description says, includes “topics ranging from the Blazers to bark dust and from bacon to movies to hot chicks.”
“In the Huddle with Ragz,” KXTG: The show is hosted by Mike Ragz, who also is the station’s program director. He replaced long-time Portland radio personality Chad Doing in this spot in September. Although he has no Portland history, Ragz came in at a ripe time, during the ascendancy of Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks, as KXTG is Oregon’s flagship station.
Credit to OregonLive.com who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
