A couple of tidbits from the sports media world. If you have a future tip or news story to pass along, send it via email to JBarrett@hvy.tcp.mybluehost.me.
Good news for sports radio listeners in Detroit. 97.1 The Ticket afternoon host Terry Foster is returning to the airwaves alongside his longtime partner Mike Valenti. Foster had been battling some health issues and had been off the station. Jeff Riger had filled in for Foster with Valenti. Foster is scheduled to return Tuesday afternoon.
670 The Score is now officially 25 years old. The Chicago sports station celebrated its birthday on Monday January 2nd. As The Score prepares for its next 25 years, it’ll begin the journey by saying goodbye to longtime drive time host Terry Boers. Terry will host his final show on the radio station this Thursday.
Speaking of celebrations, Arizona Sports 98.7 also recently enjoyed 10 years on the air. The station originally launched the sports format in January 2007 on KTAR 620AM before moving to the FM dial in January 2014.
In the Mile High City, a couple of moves have been made at Mile High Sports 104.7FM and 1340AM. The station has announced the addition of Ryan Edwards, who will team up with Danny Williams weekdays from 9a-11a MT. Sean Walsh has also been added to the lineup and will host a new show weekdays from 2p-4p MT.
Fletcher Johnson has announced he’s departing 750 The Game in Portland. Johnson had been part of the afternoon show alongside Noah “Chop” Homsley. Johnson says that after seven years with the station and a rise from intern to drive time host he’s ready for a change.
With Johnson exiting afternoons at 750 The Game, the station has announced they’ll pair Homsley with former 710 ESPN Seattle midday host Justin Myers who has been working for The Game in a part-time role. Myers and Homsley will rebrand their afternoon show as “The Irregular Guys“.
A tip of the cap to Mike Florio who stayed on the air on NBC Sports Radio for six hours on Black Monday to navigate all of the NFL coaching news. With a number of local stations airing holiday programming that day, it was a smart move by Westwood One to offer additional hours of Florio’s show, and an even wiser move by Florio to invest the extra time on-air.
If you missed it, Dana White revealed that lead UFC announcer Mike Goldberg has worked his final broadcast with the company. Goldberg called the action on the UFC 207 pay per view alongside his longtime partner Joe Rogan. White is said to have heavy interest in hiring Jim Rome to call future fights. No deal between the two parties has been reached yet.
Dio Garcia has left 940 WINZ where he served as the producer of the Andy Slater show. Garcia had worked on the show for the past five years, including stints at two different stations.
Congratulations to Syracuse alum Michael Silver who has landed a producer job with Sports Radio 930 in Jacksonville.
George Balekji has agreed to become the new sports anchor for Action 12 News KODE in Joplin, MO and Pittsburg, KS.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a new beat reporter covering them in 2017. Trevor Sikkema has signed on with Pewter Report to cover the team throughout the year.
Former Patriot Ledger high school sports reporter Matt Cook has accepted a new opportunity with the Metrowest Daily News where he’ll contribute as a multimedia sports journalist. The publication is based out of Framingham, MA.
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.
