Legendary CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz dialed up 104.5 The Zone in Nashville on Tuesday to offer his perspective on the recent Derrick Henry trade rumors.
Nantz’s voice on the other end of the phone line shocked 3HL hosts Brent Dougherty, Dawn Davenport and Ron Slay, but his appearance also revealed Jim is an avid listener when he’s at his home in Tennessee’s capital city.
“You guys are terrific, and though I’m still kind of semi-new to the neighborhood – I love it here,” Nantz said. “I’ve been here 18 months. I drive around all the time listening to you guys, and thank you for entertaining me and also informing me. I love it.”
The studio was still in a state of shock that Nantz called in and also was a fan. Jim explained a friend of his in town mentioned that his name had come up on the show in various discussions. Nantz said he was a bit surprised he had been living in town this long and had yet to be invited on for an interview.
“I’ve gotten all sorts of invites from people around Nashville to come to their homes and have dinner,” Nantz said. “The country music world has been unbelievably embracing. But for some reason, I haven’t been invited on the show yet. So what do we gotta do to get on 104.5 The Zone? Come on!”
“We thought you would turn us down!” Davenport said.
“Never,” Nantz responded.
When they got around to talking about the biggest local headline in sports, Nantz said the idea of the Tennessee Titans shopping their star running back around had no merit to it.
“I just don’t see you trading Derrick Henry. First off, if you’re worried about what it’s going to cost you against the cap, we all know the running back position is the cheapest position on the field other than a special teamer,” he said. “It’s crazy the way it’s worked out, Derrick has served this community so well. And I think he’s got a couple of really big years still remaining. I’m not saying it’s five years, but there are other parts that need to be addressed well before we talk about doing anything with 22.”
Nantz stuck around for several more minutes where he talked about his upcoming final NCAA tournament broadcasts, memories of tournaments past, calling the 2023 Masters, relocating to Nashville and the meaning behind his trademarked opening phrase “Hello friends.”
By the end there was an open invitation for Nantz to come to the studio and join the show. Jim said once he gets through the NCAA and Masters gauntlet, he’d love to.
