As Jim Costa waits for his big day in February, he’s spending a lot of his downtime coming up with some ideas for when he assumes a very important piece of Detroit sports radio real estate.
When the current NFL season comes to a close, Costa will take over for the retiring Mike Stone as co-host of the morning show from 6 AM to 10 AM with Jon Jansen on 97.1 The Ticket in Motown.
But, for the moment, he’s letting the NFL and college football campaigns play out.
“The anticipation is real,” said Costa. “You never want to rush football season away. This is like the best time of year for sports radio and for fans but yeah, I’m super excited to get things going in February and put it all together.”
For Costa, the opportunity to join the morning show is special because he’s a local kid. Costa grew up in Michigan, went to Central Michigan University, and, upon graduating in 2015, began his sports radio career in Grand Rapids.
He’s been with 97.1 The Ticket for two years as a fill-in host and now he is set to replace a legend.
“Stoney is the Godfather of Detroit sports radio going back even before his time at The Ticket,” said Costa. “His resume and his legacy speak for itself and he’s as good a person as there is in the industry.”
As for filling the shoes that will be left behind by Stone, Costa says that will be impossible.
“I can’t try to be Stoney,” said Costa who is also the studio host of Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons radio broadcasts. “No one can. He’s one of a kind. I can just be myself and the most genuine authentic person of myself I think is what you have to give the people.”
Costa is excited to be working full-time with Jansen and there’s already a bit of pre-existing chemistry. They’ve already done some shows when Costa has been able to fill in. The soon-to-be morning partners have already developed a rapport and a solid relationship.
And once Costa and Jansen begins in February, that relationship will certainly continue to evolve in a positive manner.
“I think the chemistry is something that will only get better over time,” said Costa. “We’re going to push each other to do the best show we can and give each other a hard time when it calls for it, but I look forward to it. I think we have a fun contrast that we can only expand on when we get to do shows together.”
For Jim Costa, talking about the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons comes naturally for him because these are the teams that he has rooted for, especially growing up and listening to sports talk radio in Detroit. What Costa really appreciates about Detroit is that there’s something really unique about the market that sets it apart from other passionate sports towns.
Detroit has a little something that places like New York City, Philadelphia, and South Florida is lacking.
“I think what’s special about Detroit is that we have the blend of four iconic professional sports teams and a big-time Big Ten football rivalry in Michigan vs Michigan State,” said Costa. “When you look at great sports cities in this country, there’s a bunch of East Coast cities that have pro teams and passionate fan bases but they don’t have that college element, too. I think Detroit affords you kind of the best of both worlds.”
After Jim Costa honed his skills by majoring in Broadcast and Cinematic Arts at Central Michigan and working at the school’s radio station WMHW, he promptly began his professional career as a 22-year-old working afternoon drive at iHeartMedia-owned ESPN 96.1 in Grand Rapids. He spent five years at the station including the final two in the dual role of host and program director.
That experience helped shape him for the next step of his career.
“I had done everything I could at Central Michigan to prepare myself to do this as a career,” said Costa. “But if I could do some self-scout on myself, I would say I was probably wound a little too tight and was too much of a perfectionist.”
In Grand Rapids, Costa credits his co-host “Big Drew” McCarthy for helping him loosen up a bit and not take things so seriously.
And it worked.
“I want to be right, but if I’m wrong, I’ll be the butt of the joke,” said Costa. “You can go ahead and laugh at me and I’m not wound as tight as I was at 22 years old.”
That personality and ability to entertain has also led Costa to be part of the highly successful Cash The Ticket podcast that he co-hosts with Mike Valenti, co-host of the station’s afternoon-drive show. As Costa is just months away from replacing Stone in the mornings, he does the podcast with another veteran voice that he followed growing up in Michigan.
Especially when Jim Costa would get into his car and put on the radio after high school football practice.
“It’s entertaining focused,” said Costa. “It’s about betting on games but we pride ourselves on being entertainers too and delivering it in a way that’s still fun and irreverent and all kinds of bits and jokes. Working with him can be creatively stimulating. We’re good friends at this point so it’s a fun experience.”
As the countdown towards assuming one of the host chairs in the mornings on 97.1 The Ticket, Jim Costa is starting to think about how the landscape of Detroit sports will look in February when he sits down next to Jon Jansen. At that time, the Tigers will be approaching spring training while time will tell if the Red Wings and Pistons will be in contention for a playoff spot. The NFL Draft will be in Detroit come April and, of course, there will be plenty to talk about with regards to the Lions who could very well be coming off of a special season.
To that point, Jim Costa would like nothing more than for his predecessor to get that storybook ending.
“I hope Stoney gets to go out celebrating a Lions Super Bowl.”
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.
