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Michael Riedel: Mark Simone Was Right When He Said Doing Mornings Would Take 10 Years Off My Life

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Michael Riedel: Mark Simone Was Right When He Said Doing Mornings Would Take 10 Years Off My Life

Michael Riedel helms mornings on 710 WOR alongside Len Berman. And while he enjoys the work, he admits there is a downside.

While discussing a bevy of topics with Mark Simone Tuesday morning, Riedel was asked about getting up so early every day for the morning show that airs from 6-10 AM.

“I gotta tell you, you were very helpful in getting me this job and I’m deeply, deeply grateful. But the day after I got it, we were on the phone and you were like ‘Yeah, you’re gonna do the morning show. It takes 10 years off your life,'” he said with a chuckle. “Thanks a lot!”

“People were not meant to get up at 4 AM,” Simone joked.

“You’ve got that right,” Riedel said.

Michael Riedel has hosted mornings on the iHeartMedia-owned station since 2018 alongside Berman. But that doesn’t mean he’s any more used to the early alarm clock now than he was when he first began.

CBS Sports Signs Media Rights Deal with Women’s MMA Promotion

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CBS Sports Signs Media Rights Deal with Women’s MMA Promotion

Invicta Fighting Championships, an all-women’s mixed martial arts promotion, has agreed to a U.S. television rights deal with CBS Sports.

Beginning with Invicta FC 55: Bernardo vs. Rubin on June 28, Invicta FC will air live on CBS Sports Network. Invicta says this will help them bring “top-tier women’s MMA action to a broader audience both on television and online.”

Invicta FC was founded in 2012 by sports executive Shannon Knapp. The promotion’s alumni roster features legends such as Amanda Nunes, Rose Namajunas, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino and Paige VanZant. CBS Sports Network will air a total of five Invicta events in 2024.

“CBS Sports is the perfect partner for Invicta FC,” said Knapp. “By joining forces with their global platform, we’re set to bring our world-class events to an even larger audience. 2024 will be a landmark year for us, packed with unparalleled matchups and title fights exclusive to Invicta. We are excited to showcase our world-class events and demonstrate why Invicta FC is the leading brand in women’s MMA, giving fans around the world a front-row seat to the action.”

Glenn Beck: Infowars Without Alex Jones is Worthless

BNM Staff
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Glenn Beck: Infowars Without Alex Jones is Worthless

Over the weekend, Alex Jones agreed to divest himself from Infowars as part of a plan to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Glenn Beck believes the company is worthless without its founder.

“I think Alex Jones was the first guinea pig in lawfare. And it’s exactly the same thing that’s happening to Donald Trump now,” said Beck before welcoming Jones to his show. “This is the way they’re going to fight in the future. And whatever you think of Alex Jones, or what he said, he’s apologized for.”

Jones announced he would relinquish control of his company after claiming that the “deep state” attempted to take the company away from him before his lawyers completed a filing that agreed to sell his stake in the organization he founded in the late 1990s.

Beck, however, shared his belief that there is no value in the company if Jones is no longer associated with it.

“I read you are going to sell your assets. But if you sell, there’s nothing left,” Beck said. “Honestly, Infowars — without you — is nothing. You are the asset of Infowars.”

The next hearing for Jones is scheduled for Friday, June 14th.

SportsRadio 610 Celebrates ‘610 Day’ and 30 Years with Former Hosts Josh Innes, Rich Lord and More

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SportsRadio 610 Celebrates ‘610 Day’ and 30 Years with Former Hosts Josh Innes, Rich Lord and More

SportsRadio 610 in Houston celebrated ‘610 Day’ yesterday, June 10th, as part of their 30 Year anniversary celebration. The station welcomed back ex-area athletes as well as several former hosts from the station’s three-decade history. The station even received a proclamation from Houston Mayor John Whitmire proclaiming “June 10, 2024 as SportsRadio 610 Day, 30th Anniversary.”

Station Brand Manager Parker Hillis, who has been with the station for two years, told BSM it was a great chance for him to see the response from the listeners and a chance to hear about how the station has grown since launching in 1994.

“We had a blast,” Hillis said. “Some great guests, some blasts from the past, a couple of names that I think people were shocked that we brought back on to the station, but all in all we had a really, really successful day.”

Rich Lord was a guest during the Payne & Pendergast morning show. He had worked with Sean Pendergast and another of their colleagues, Ted Johnson, also called in to reminisce about their time together.

“Rich is a radio legend down here and for him to have been a part of the station for so long, just another name that it would have been wrong for us not to have him on,” Hillis said. “I’m really glad we were able to get him on and relive some memories and talk about some moments that he really cherished and valued in his time here.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Josh Innes joining John Lopez during In the Loop. Innes had left the station in 2013 for WIP in Philadelphia, but returned to the market at a rival station and stirred the pot with his former employer and teammates, to put it mildly. Despite what had happened in the past, Hillis thought it was important to have Innes on.

“It’s impossible to tell the story of our station without talking about Josh’s time here and his exit and all of that,” Hillis said. “So, I thought it was a really unique opportunity to bring Josh back on. For me as a programmer, I wanted to see what the response would be from our audience…It was a cool moment for us, for me as a programmer, to see that reaction, for us to build a little more buzz on a special day for us. But also, to hear from him and welcome him back in.”

Innes now hosts afternoons on legendary St. Louis rock station, KSHE 95. “It was a surprise,” Innes told BSM about being asked to be on. “I had not been on 610 since my last day on the station back in December 2013.”

Reflecting back, Innes said, “I wish I knew I was in the good old days when the good old days were happening. For me, the 4 years at 610 were the good old days. Despite working at every station in Houston, 610 was the place I loved. I loved the people. Marc, John, Meltser, Gavin, Barry, ND, Greg, Laura, Rich, Robert, Ben, Cassio, Jim, Shaun, Seth, Brad, Nick, Jones, Straw, Gallant, Sarah, Purdy, Teddy, Freddy…we were a family. That’s what Gavin [Spittle] wanted. He wanted us to be a sort of dysfunctional family. The person who deserves the bulk of the credit is Gavin. I love him. He had a vision for what the station should be.

“So, when [John] Lopez told me they gave him the green light to have me on, I was thrilled. I have such a deep love for Houston, and I loved that radio station the 4 years I was there.”

Hillis said he can see this becoming a new tradition. Ideally, he would like to turn it into an annual on-air and off-air celebration with listeners of the station getting involved.

“Whether it is a days’ worth of programming or some sort of station event where we are celebrating the station and inviting the listeners out,” he said. “This year was a really cool way for us to start this process.”

Hillis added, “610 as a brand has been so blessed to have so many really talented people come through the doors and turn on a microphone over the 30 years that we’ve been a station. I’m proud we were able to execute ‘610 Day’ to celebrate that.”

Bill O’Reilly: ‘It’s Really Hard to Be an Honest Journalist in This Country Today’

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Former cable news host Bill O’Reilly has been one of the foremost critics of mainstream media outlets in recent years. He believes that the job isn’t as difficult as some make it out to be.

Last week, a false social media post claiming that a juror told a family member that former President Donald Trump would be found guilty in New York went viral. The post was found to be a hoax, but received widespread media attention before the truth was uncovered.

Bill O’Reilly argued it’s the latest in a long line of media members running with a story before validating it.

“If I feel that somebody is being blatantly dishonest, then I go after that person. But this was just an example of how many media people in this country do not do their jobs well. It’s as simple as that,” he said during his No Spin News program. “You got to check all this. You can’t be lifting stuff off the internet and reporting it. I can’t even lift stuff off the Associated Press or Reuters news services anymore. I got to check everything.”

He continued that “propaganda” from both presidential campaigns makes the job slightly more difficult, though.

“But it’s really hard to be an honest journalist in this country today,” he said. “Because the deception factor is huge. But these people don’t care. And worst of all, their companies don’t hold them accountable.”

Dodgers-Yankees ‘Baseball Night in America’ Matchup on FOX Averages 2.9 Million Viewers

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Dodgers-Yankees ‘Baseball Night in America’ Matchup on FOX Averages 2.9 Million Viewers

Over the weekend, FOX Sports presented its Super Saturday schedule of programming, which included two Major League Baseball games and the Belmont Stakes. FOX Sports announced that the second MLB game on its schedule – a prime time matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees – averaged 2.9 million viewers on FOX, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. The Baseball Night in America game featured the lead broadcast booth consisting of play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, analyst John Smoltz and reporter Ken Rosenthal on the call. Moreover, FOX Sports presented its MLB on FOX studio team programming live from Yankee Stadium, which featured host Kevin Burkhardt and analysts Álex Rodríguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter.

The average of 2.9 million viewers represents the most-watched regular-season telecast on any network since September 2022. Additionally, this ties the most-watched regular-season Saturday baseball telecast for FOX since June 2018 when it presented a game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch reports that the game attained a 1.6 rating, which is up 8% from the window last year that featured a Yankees-Red Sox game.

The day of programming started with a presentation of the MLB World Tour from London, England featuring a National League East division showdown between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. Play-by-play announcer Adam Amin was on the call for the game with analysts Adam Wainwright and A.J. Pierzynski, and the aforementioned MLB on FOX studio team provided pregame coverage. The matchup averaged 1.6 million viewers on FOX with a 0.9 rating, which is down from the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals matchup in London last year.

Before the Dodgers-Yankees game commenced, FOX presented its second Belmont Stakes telecast under its eight-year agreement with the New York Racing Association. The race took place from Saratoga Race Course because of renovations to Belmont Park that are expected to be completed in June 2026. The Belmont Stakes on FOX averaged 3.3 million viewers with a 1.8 rating, down from the average of 3.82 million viewers the company drew across its primary and secondary networks last year.

Alex Curry Leaves ‘Flippin’ Bats’ Podcast

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Alex Curry Leaves ‘Flippin’ Bats’ Podcast

Since the launch of Flippin’ Bats, the FOX Sports podcast has rapidly proliferated in eminence and popularity. Over its years on the air, the show has covered marquee events, such as the All-Star Game and World Series, and helped open a new digital space for FOX Sports last year in Los Angeles. Ben Verlander, former professional baseball player and brother of Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander, has hosted the show since its launch in 2021. Alex Curry, former reporter for Bally Sports West, was tabbed as the co-host of the program in the following year, forming a duo that sought to bring levity to the airwaves and celebrate the game of baseball.

After two years on the air, Curry will be leaving the Flippin’ Bats podcast as part of changes coming to the show. The show made the announcement within its most recent episode, during which Verlander revealed that the FOX Summer of Soccer would be taking over the digital studio for the time being, which surrounds coverage of UEFA EURO 2024 and CONMEBOL Copa América 2024 soccer tournaments. As a result, Flippin’ Bats will have a different schedule going forward, and Verlander implored listeners to make sure they are subscribed and following the show.

“With the schedule looking different and obviously the show moving from the studio, that is a wrap for me on Flippin’ Bats, and I just want to give a big thank you to the entire crew, community, fanbase,” Curry said. “This was an incredible couple of years that we had on this show – so much fun.”

Curry has filled in across various programs within the FS1 portfolio and also works as a radio host on FOX Sports Radio alongside Carmen Vitali on Saturdays from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. This move came after she joined the entity last summer and hosted a weekend program with Monse Bolaños, who is now working with Steve Hartman on Saturdays from 6 to 8 p.m. EST. Curry stated that she would still be on FOX Sports Radio and that there would be more things coming up in the future.

“I am so grateful to have worked together,” Verlander said of Curry in a post on X. “She never failed to [bring] laughs and banter. Alex, you will be missed and I’m looking forward to seeing all of your future successes.”

George Stephanopoulos: ‘I’m Not Going to Participate in Some Kind of Sham’ During Presidential Debates

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George Stephanopoulos: ‘I’m Not Going to Participate in Some Kind of Sham’ During Presidential Debates

CNN and ABC News are the two homes for 2024 presidential debates, thus far. And while he won’t be moderating, George Stephanopoulos has shared the one question he’d ask the candidates, namely former President Donald Trump.

While discussing the debates on CNN with primetime host Abby Phillip, the ABC News anchor says the questions asked of Trump will be a litmus test for the state of American journalism.

“I’ve made it a point — if they will not accept those facts, I don’t go on to other issues. I’m not going to participate in some kind of a sham where you somehow equate the legitimacy of an election or the peaceful transfer of power with a debate over tax cuts or environmental regulation,” said Stephanopoulos.

“If you can’t pass that fundamental threshold of saying, ‘Yes, the last election was not stolen. Two, I will abide by the results of the next election,’ then I think that’s all voters and viewers need to know. If you’re willing to lie about something as big as that, why should anything else they want to talk about be given any credence?”

Phillip then asked what Stephanopoulos thought the most important question to ask was.

“’Who won the last election?’ Very simple,” he replied. “‘Who won the last election?’ Let’s discuss and debate.”

Neither Abby Phillip nor George Stephanopoulos were tabbed by their respective outlets as debate moderators. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate CNN’s debate. David Muir and Linsey Davis will present questions to President Biden and former President Trump in the September event for ABC News.

Shannon Sharpe Inks Multiyear Extension with ESPN, to Expand Role on ‘First Take’

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Shannon Sharpe Inks Multiyear Extension with ESPN, to Expand Role on ‘First Take’

Today is nearly one year to the day Shannon Sharpe departed FS1 after he had worked on the morning debate show Undisputed for seven years across from Skip Bayless. Over the summer, he weighed his options and ended up signing a content partnership with The Volume that included bringing his popular Club Shay Shay podcast to the platform and eventually led to the launch of Nightcap with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Additionally, Sharpe signed with ESPN to appear on episodes of First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim on Monday and Tuesday throughout the NFL season.

Within his new endeavors, he has generated significant engagement across multiple platforms and provided consumers with compelling and entertaining content. Sharpe has now inked a multiyear contract extension with ESPN that will result in expanding his role on First Take and continuing to contribute to the show’s unprecedented growth trajectory.

Sharpe officially joined First Take last August and has been a part of several special editions of the show, including live broadcasts from NRG Stadium for the National Championship Game, the University of Colorado Boulder during the college football season and Savannah State University, his alma mater, as a part of the show’s HBCU Homecoming. Smith, who serves as a featured commentator and executive producer of First Take, advocated for Sharpe to join ESPN last year and has implemented him within the rotation of analysts that debate him on the show.

“Shannon Sharpe has been an incredible addition to the First Take team, enhancing the show’s dynamic with his engaging presence and insightful commentary,” David Roberts, head of event and studio production at ESPN, said in a statement. “Shannon’s chemistry with Stephen A. Smith has elevated our debates and been another key reason First Take is the premier destination for morning sports discussion.”

Last month, First Take attained its most-viewed May in the history of the show and a concurrent 22nd straight month of year-over-year growth. As part of his new contract with ESPN, Sharpe will have an expanded role across other ESPN programming that will be announced at a later time.

“Being a part of this family has been a blessing,” Sharpe said in a statement. “Everything about this relationship with ESPN, Stephen A., and First Take, has been tremendous. I look forward to expanding my role and showing more of the world what I have to offer. The show goes on!”

Josh Klingler Announces He is Leaving 610 Sports; Staying on With Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network

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Josh Klingler Announces He is Leaving 610 Sports; Staying on With Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network

Josh Klingler announced this morning on 610 Sports in Kansas City that he will be leaving the Fescoe in the Morning show after a 14-and-a-half-year partnership with host Bob Fescoe. The pair debuted together on January 3, 2010. Klingler was part of the station the day it launched as a sports station and said he is the last person remaining from that initial group.

Klingler said he told station Brand Manager Steven Spector a few weeks ago and then let Fescoe and other staffers know about his decision.

“I am retiring,” Klingler said. “Not a joke. I am retiring from daily radio. I have been doing this for 30 years.”

Klingler is also a part of the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network broadcasts where he serves as the pregame host and sideline reporter. Klingler will continue with those duties and said that while he can see contributing for the station in some way moving forward, he does not plan to be a regular fill in or do much of anything else in radio.

Klingler said he pretty much decided this at the end of football season. “My contract is up at the end of the month. They wanted me back…But, this is it for me in daily radio. I am ready to do something different. If I was going to do radio I was going to do it with [Bob] and I would do it [at 610 Sports]…I have ran the race. I have done 30 years of radio from lower level to moving our way up here.”

Klingler said he noticed himself getting in to work later and later. “Getting up at 4 in the morning is not easy. My get in to work time has been gradually getting later and later and there is no other show I would want to do or no other thing I want to do in media. I’ve just decided that’s it for me.”

Klingler said he will be staying on for about another month. “We don’t have a plan other than we are going to do what we do. We will have fun for a few more weeks.” Klingler noted Fescoe would be taking a vacation soon but said, “We will come back and put a bow on it and then I will hang up and listen.”

In wrapping up his feelings about his decision, Klingler said, “I am not sad about it. I’m ready. You don’t know what you’re going to do but you feel good about what you’re not going to do.”

When the show hit 14 years in January, Fescoe had said, “14 years is an eternity in radio. I’m lucky to have the best co-host in America alongside me in Josh Klingler.”

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