For sports fans in Denver, the current state of affairs is about as good as it can get, with legitimate championship runs occurring in both hockey and basketball, and the announcement of impactful new additions to help rebuild underperforming teams.
All of this good news resulted in a jaunty, enthusiastic open to Friday’s edition of Schlereth and Evans on 104.3 The Fan, with co-host Mike Evans beginning his dialogue with the backing track of Culture Club’s 1983 hit single “Karma Chameleon.”
“Oh yeah!,” said Evans. “Oh, it’s baseball opening day. Sorry, there’s a few other things going on that kind of made me forget – happy Friday everybody!”
The apparent celebration that took place today was undoubtedly for more than solely acknowledging the satisfying state of sports in The Mile High City though. Shortly after the completion of the show’s introduction, Evans was able to share with listeners an update on the condition of his co-host and three-time Super Bowl Champion Mark Schlereth.
Schlereth recently underwent heart surgery and has been in recovery, which is why he has been absent from the show since Wednesday. Chad Andrus has been co-hosting the show with Evans over the last three days. The plan is for Schlereth to return to the airwaves at the start of next week.
“Mark shared with all of you yesterday on social media why he’s been out the last couple of days,” said Evans. “He had to have a heart procedure…. He’s doing well, and he got back home yesterday and [is] resting…. I think the expectation still is that he’s going to be back on Monday, but we shall see.”
Evans himself underwent open heart surgery in 2018 to replace a valve in his aorta after being told he had a heart murmur at a routine physical examination. After that surgery, Evans called in to the show and reminded listeners to be proactive about monitoring their health and maintaining healthy habits.
“Go get your heart listened to,” Evans implored listeners in 2018. “Go get your heart checked, and just make sure you’re okay because a lot of that stuff that ends up happening down the road can be prevented if you jump on things right now.”
With the good news surrounding both Denver sports and Schlereth, Evans and Andrus quickly transitioned to talking about Jokić and the Nuggets, along with the Rockies’ season opener. Trying to enjoy the moments of jubilance, after all, is a factor of sports radio that generates engaging content and higher ratings, and with the impending return of Schlereth to the airwaves, the show is positioning itself to have a strong spring. On an opening day that baseball fans were not even sure would happen after 99 days of contentious debate between Major League Baseball and its players, the time is now to enjoy the return of “America’s Pastime,” along with the imminent playoff appearances of both the Nuggets and Avalanche.
“There will be plenty of time – plenty of time – to get down on the Rockies and dismiss [them] and grumble grumble grumble about [them],” said Evans, “but you know what? Today is Opening Day!”
