Home Blog Page 1642

Where Are They Now?: Sandy Penner, Former WFNZ and WDAE Sports Radio Host

Peter Schwartz
-
0
Where Are They Now?: Sandy Penner, Former WFNZ and WDAE Sports Radio Host

When Sandy Penner sits down to watch a game on television in his Philadelphia area home, the juices are flowing in more ways than one.  He’s watching one of his beloved favorite teams so he wants them to win, but sometimes something will happen in a game that will take him back to when he was in the sports radio business.

“Oh God…I say it to my wife all the time sitting and watching the game,” said Penner.  “I gotta tell you something if I was on the air, I would be freaking out tomorrow.  I’d be ripping them and everything like that.  That really just kind of want to let loose thing is still there.” 

That loose thing was part of Penner’s past when he was a sports radio host in Albany from 1993 to 1996.  Then it was off to CBS Sportsline in Florida from 1996 to 1997 when he arrived at WFNZ in Charlotte.  In 2000, Penner moved on to WDAE in Tampa before ultimately returning to WFNZ in 2004.

Penner returned home to the Philadelphia area in 2006, but he really enjoyed calling Charlotte and Tampa home.

“I liked Tampa and Charlotte very much,” said Penner.  “They’ve really gotten way bigger as sports cities now than they were when I was there.  I still have an affinity for the teams and the people there, even though I’m Philadelphia through and through.” 

After doing part time radio work, including WPEN 950AM, late nights on WIP and some shows for Sirius XM NBA Radio, Penner decided it was time for a change and would have to leave the sports radio industry.

“It wasn’t going to be sustainable unless I was going to be able to sustain it full-time,” said Penner, who graduated from the University of Syracuse in 1990. 

Penner decided to invest in his own business and opened up a couple of franchise sandwich shops before selling the business in 2019.  He then went to work at his current job as a talent acquisition manager at “First Student,” the largest school bus transportation company in North America.

While he’s no longer in sports radio, he does think about it all the time.

“While I’m not listening to it 24 hours a day, I still follow sports very closely and I know what’s going on,” said Penner.  “It was a big part of my life and something I thought I would do forever but sometimes things don’t always work out.”

After leaving sports radio, Penner did have thoughts about somehow dipping his toes back into the industry in some way, shape or form.  He thought about doing a podcast but wasn’t sure he would have been able to put the right amount of time and effort into it given that he has a full-time job and a family.

With not enough hours in the day, it just wasn’t feasible but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the itch to talk about sports.

“I don’t think it’s something that I’ll ever not think about,” said Penner.  “It was a great time of my life, and I really enjoyed it.”

Although he doesn’t listen to sports radio all day long, he does pay close enough attention to the industry to know that the business has evolved.  Sports radio is no longer just about turning on the microphone and talking on the radio.  The industry has grown to the point where there’s a digital element to working in sports radio and there’s also the aforementioned opportunities that exist for those who want to get in the business by doing a podcast or YouTube show.

In Penner’s mind, the industry has changed and changed for the better because there are now more ways for young broadcasters to break into the business.

“There weren’t that many opportunities when I was moving around,” said Penner.  “There was not the ability to paint your own future.  You had to go where the job was.  With the explosion of the way people can get in touch with you, talk to you all the different platforms.  I think it has evolved in a positive way.  In a lot of ways, it’s opened up possibilities for people who probably just would have gotten shut out.” 

Sandy Penner enjoyed tremendous success in sports radio, and it was only because of circumstances that he left the business.  He’s still a huge sports fan and still pays close attention to the sports radio industry.  He’s got a lot on his plate these days with a family and a great job, but those sports radio juices continue to flow through his body.

Perhaps, one day, there will be an opportunity for him to get pulled back in.

For Tomi Lahren, The Time is Right to Expand Her OutKick Show

Garrett Searight
-
0

On Monday, Tomi Lahren announced she was expanding her Tomi Lahren Is Fearless program with OutKick to a daily endeavor, up from three shows per week.

Additionally, the program will now be aired live on OutKick.com at 1 PM ET instead of being live-to-tape and being published at 7 PM ET.

The progression for Lahren — who will celebrate her second anniversary with the digital outlet founded by Clay Travis in June — was a natural one that came at the perfect time.

“Right now, we obviously have so much going on in this country and I’m really heavily invested into the political elements going on as well as the pop culture elements. I mean, every day is really teeming with more things to cover. So three days a week just isn’t going to do it anymore,” said Lahren. “I have too much to say.”

While many will focus on the show moving from three days per week to five, in Lahren’s eyes, the show airing live is just as exciting.

“That’s really fun for me to have that live element. I feel like I’m directly interacting with people that are watching. We’ve always done the show live to tape, essentially, but it has aired later in the evening. But now with the show five days a week, I just suggested doing it live because I think that just brings in another exciting element of covering things as they happen,” she said.

With the changes to the program, Tomi Lahren will have much more flexibility not only in her comments but also in the content of the daily offering.

“One of the advantages of being live is that you can cover things as they happen. There’s always something going on. And so I would oftentimes say things that I really wanted to say something so I would either say it on my social media or I would do an Instagram Live or something like that. So now it just makes sense,” said Lahren. “Might as well do it for the show, might as well do it live in the afternoon and be able to cover things as they’re happening.

“And that also gives me a lot of flexibility to be able to talk about things in real-time and not worry about that five-hour gap if something is going to change in the day as things have been changing so wildly lately. So it just gives me the ability to kind of roll with it and I love doing that.”

With the 2024 presidential election hitting its stride, it’s a natural fit for Lahren — who admitted the program was always likely to grow to five days per week when she first signed on with OutKick — to expand to each weekday. However, she believes there’s much more content available to talk about than simply Trump vs Biden Round 2.

“I think right now everybody is just really looking for guidance when it comes to the election and sorting through all of the, not only the political elements but the cross-section of pop culture and even sometimes sports,” the 31-year-old Lahren said. “I mean, the summer really is happening and it’s kicking off with really every angle of everything.

“A lot of people might see the summer as a fun time or a throwaway time but not in the midst of an election year when we’re going to have two major political conventions. We’re going to have mayhem, likely at the Democrat convention. And obviously, the liberal pundits in sports, pop culture, and media, have no shortage of things to say. So I think giving me the opportunity to balance that out five days a week and talk about these things for my audience and the OutKick audience, it just makes all the sense in the world.”

Tomi Lahren, who pointed out that her audience is mostly comprised of viewers on the younger end of the coveted 18-49 demographic, believes having a daily digital component with OutKick will only help complement her work on Fox News.

“My OutKick show definitely has a different feel than what I do on Fox News and what I do on the channel so it’s nice for me to be able to have the afternoon dedicated OutKick, the evening is pretty much dedicated to Fox News, and sometimes the morning dedicated to Fox News. So I can kind of spend the entire day doing similar things but to different audiences and building what our digital audiences and our OutKick audience is,” she said.

“And I think, for me, I’m really the only one — to the most extent — that does politics on OutKick, so it’s really important for me to be able to have that and for the OutKick audience that might listen to a lot of sports, so they might listen to some more pop culture things for me to be able to inject my voice and my political voice five days a week in the afternoon, that makes a lot of sense for the OutKick audience that is more politically focused.”

The changes to Tomi Lahren Is Fearless take place on Monday, May 16th, with the program airing live on OutKick.com and also being seen on YouTube, Facebook, and X.

Sports Media Reacts to the Roast of Tom Brady

BSM Staff
-
0
Sports Media Reacts to the Roast of Tom Brady

Tom Brady was roasted live in front of a packed Los Angeles Forum and millions more watching on Netflix. ‘The Roast of Tom Brady’ featured many of Brady’s former teammates as well as nationally known comedians and was hosted by Kevin Hart.

Drew Bledsoe, Julian Edleman, Rob Gronkowski and Randy Moss were some of the former teammates who appeared on the show. Brady’s longtime head coach Bill Belichick was there as well as Patriots owner Robert Kraft who sat in the crowd.

The Roastmaster General himself, Jeff Ross, was on hand along with professional comedians Nikki Glaser, Tony Hinchcliffe, Andrew Schulz, Sam Jay and others. While Brady received rave reviews for his set and being willing to do this in the first place, Glaser and Hinchcliffe are receiving many of the compliments following what was a hilarious, true roast, complete with divorce jokes and plenty of topics one would expect such as ‘Deflategate’ and who was most responsible for the Patriots dynasty.

Many in sports media weighed in on the happenings:

Mina Kimes: Charles Barkley Brings a ‘Force of Personality’ on TV

BSM Staff
-
0

If Warner Bros. Discovery was to lose rights to broadcast the NBA, it could mark the end of the award-winning studio program Inside the NBA. The potential of a forthcoming end for the program, which has been on the air since 1989, has been loathed by many consumers who enjoy the on-air product. With host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley appearing throughout the regular season and playoffs, the program has found a way to adeptly and shrewdly blend information and entertainment surrounding live game coverage.

“I think we can reasonably argue that outside of Howard Cosell, Charles Barkley has been the greatest broadcaster in the history of all of sports,” Dan Le Batard said during an appearance on the Meadowlark Media podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. “[He is the] most award-winning; several decades of success doing what Draymond Green is trying to do in a way that will never be replicated.”

With negotiations continuing as it pertains to media rights for the National Basketball Association, The Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal was presenting a $2.5 billion bid to gain a package of games. While the exact parameters surrounding such an offering remain unknown, the price tag would represent a significant increase, especially since the league currently receives a reported $2.6 billion annually from its media rights.

The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) is reported to have reached a handshake agreement with the NBA to keep the rights, but Warner Bros. Discovery has ostensibly exited an exclusive negotiating window afforded to existing rightsholders with no deal. Moreover, the NBA is reportedly adding Amazon into the mix beginning in the 2025-26 season with its own deal on its streaming platform.

The entire cast of Inside the NBA signed 10-year contract extensions, but Barley, O’Neal and Smith all have opt-outs if Warner Bros. Discovery is to lose rights to broadcasting the NBA. The NBA on TNT property has been in existence since the 1988 season, rendering it the longest-standing rightsholder with the league. Through that time, it has presented no shortage of memorable moments and employed riveting, affable broadcasters in the sports media landscape. Le Batard believes Barley possesses a charisma the likes of which he has not seen in the history of the sports media industry, which could make him a highly sought-after free agent should he exit his deal with TNT Sports.

“Barkley getting away with stuff all of the time is fascinating to me because no one has been more influential on, I think, athletes trying to be broadcasters,” host Pablo Torre said, “and it’s funny because Barkley’s whole sort of shtick, you could argue, is that he never won a ring, and so he’s perpetually sort of beset by this criticism that he failed, and yet nobody has won more in an arena that every athlete who has won wants to get into more.”

ESPN analyst and Meadowlark Media personality Mina Kimes was on the show as well, and Torre spoke to her about the meaning of charisma for analysts. The rationale surrounding what Torre believes encapsulates that trait he feels is harder to determine with Barkley because of the fact that “his lack of knowledge is endearing.” The chemistry that exists between he and his colleagues seems to permeate through the screen for a preponderance of viewers that brings them keen insights and innocuous revelry.

“There’s a segment on Inside the NBA, the greatest studio show for my money of all time in any sport, in which ‘Who he play for’ is the premise, and spoiler alert, Charles does not know who that player plays for,” Torre said. “He gets away with stuff and he would be the biggest free agent, I believe, in sports media bidding history because of what’s happening potentially with TNT losing the NBA.”

Le Batard further emphasized the chemistry on the program and classified it as the type of rapport that Kimes shares with her colleagues on NFL Live on ESPN. Kimes articulated that Inside the NBA is difficult to replicate and represents a show she enjoys watching. Barkley, however, seems to be held to a different standard and adjudicated differently than others within the space.

“What he’s bringing to the table – it’s not even really about credibility for me – it’s the force of personality,” Kimes said. “He is amazing on television not because of his intimate knowledge of the league. I respect that, and it doesn’t mean that it’s unfair that I don’t get the same benefit of the doubt because I don’t have the talent that he has.”

Torre presented a comparison between Barkley and Jordan, both of whom were Hall of Fame players in their own rights but have differing résumés. Whereas Jordan won six NBA championships and is regarded by many basketball fans as the greatest player of all time, Barkley never won a championship and only played in one NBA FInals series in his 16-year NBA career. Yet Torre classifies Jordan as being miserable while Barkley is the face of the sport because of his amiability.

“Likability to me feels like a question of, ‘Do you want to hang out with this guy? Do you want to keep hanging out with this guy?,’ [and], ‘Do you want him around?,’” Torre said, “and the answer with Charles Barkley seems like the most unanimous, bipartisan ‘Yes’ despite all the ways he’s stuck his foot in his mouth that would have torpedoed other people.”

Michael Smerconish Univited From College Commencement Address Due to Passages From 2004 Book

BNM Staff
-
0
Michael Smerconish Univited From College Commencement Address Due to Passages From 2004 Book

CNN and SiriusXM host Michael Smerconish was set to give the commencement address at Dickinson College, a small college in South Central Pennsylvania. That offer has been rescinded, however.

Smerconish says that the college’s president informed him that he was no longer welcome to speak at graduation due to passages from his 2004 book Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post-9/11.

“In the last few days, some Dickinson faculty and students raised complaints about a book I published in 2004. That’s not a typo — 2004. They were left uncomfortable after a selective reading from my post-9/11 book through their 2024 lens. Signs at a student encampment this week displayed the demand of my cancellation alongside divestment in Israel,” said Smerconish.

One of the thoughts shared during his book was that a policy from the Department of Transportation stating more than two members of any ethnic group from being singled out for screening at airports not being allowable was “illogical” and “ludicrous.”

He added that the offering being rescinded represents “a cautionary tale for anyone in America who believes in fairness, common sense, the free exchange of ideas, rational decision-making, and the importance of leadership in the face of hysteria.”

In an editorial in the college’s newspaper, an Arab student “I’m outraged, frustrated, and disappointed … If Dickinson truly loves and values its students, shouldn’t it honor them with someone who reflects that love?,” adding his belief that “Dickinson students deserve better” than Smerconish.

Eric Von Haessler: Sometimes My Show Needs to Sound Like the Band on the Titanic

BNM Staff
-
0
Eric Von Haessler: Sometimes My Show Needs to Sound Like the Band on the Titanic

One of the most popular talking points in conservative talk radio circles is the need to “save America.” While 95.5 WSB host Eric Von Haessler doesn’t typically parrot many conservative talking points, he does believe in being a ray of hope.

While discussing some recent events on The Von Haessler Doctrine, including that “May the Fourth” and Cinco De Mayo would happen during the weekend, meaning he wouldn’t be discussing the topics because they weren’t happening on Friday or Monday.

He then shared a series of topics that had angered him, making him state “It’s just so hard to be in a good mood,” before sharing that he often has to pretend to be cheery.

“I have made the decision — which is very difficult — that we’re just going to pretend that things are not existential. We’re going to pretend that if we take three hours and not give a damn, it doesn’t mean that we have explained it to you or to our grandkids,” said Von Haessler. “We’re just gonna pretend that it’s a nice day, in a land that used to be called the United States of America, which was never ideal, by the way.”

Eric Von Haessler continued by noting that he feels like he’s the last ray of hope sometimes for people, which motivates him to keep bringing a fun attitude toward his daily radio show.

“Sometimes this show needs to be the dance band on the Titanic. Those people needed it, alright? They knew they were in trouble. Some of them were gonna live most of them were not. The richer you were, the better chance you had a living,” admitted Von Haessler. “That hasn’t changed. But they — the rest of the poor doomed souls on that ship — needed that band to keep on playing. And that’s what we’ll do.”

News Talk Radio 840 KXNT Hosting Las Vegas Mayoral Debate

BNM Staff
-
0
News Talk Radio 840 KXNT Hosting Las Vegas Mayoral Debate

News Talk Radio 840 KXNT will host a live mayoral debate among the top polling candidates on Thursday, May 9th.

Hosted by hosts Alan Stock and Sam Mirejovsky will moderate the event that will be held at the Plaza Hotel & Casino from 6-8 PM.

“As the premier talk radio station in Las Vegas, News Talk Radio 840 AM is dedicated to providing a platform for informed discussion and debate by offering voters the opportunity to hear directly from the leading candidates about their visions for the future of the city,” said News Talk Radio 840 AM Brand Manager Mark Bonilla.

Two candidates have confirmed their participation with the Audacy-owned station.

“We are honored to host the first mayoral debate of 2024 as an ardent supporter of growing downtown Las Vegas into a popular destination for tourists and locals alike,” said Plaza Hotel & Casino CEO Jonathan Jossel. “Our elected officials shape the future of our city and we’re excited to have this event in our iconic showroom as we welcome the public to attend and hear what’s next for Las Vegas.”

Rich Shertenlieb Announces Move to WZLX

BSM Staff
-
0
Rich Shertenlieb Announces Move to WZLX

Rich Shertenlieb has announced that he is joining Boston classic rock station 100.7 WZLX to host his own eponymous program titled The Rich Shertenlieb Show. The news comes after months of speculation surrounding his next career move after he departed Beasley Media Group-owned 98.5 The Sports Hub last November. Since that time, the station revamped its morning drive offering through the introduction of new co-host Rob “Hardy” Poole, leading to the program to be renamed the Toucher & Hardy show.

Pete McKenzie and Heather Ford both left the morning drive daypart on the outlet earlier Monday after the station said that it was moving in a different direction. It has not been confirmed if Shertenlieb’s new show will air during the daypart; however, the station did divulge that there would be a new show to take the station “into the future” that would be announced later in the day and debut soon. A message aired on WZLX during the afternoon from Shertenlieb in which he spoke about his new show. Co-hosts for the program will be revealed in the next couple of days.

“Boy oh boy are there a lot of things we need to talk about the least of which including how non-competes are the worst and should be totally illegal but also about how much I’ve missed you and how I’ve worked every day over the last several months to put together this show and great group of co-hosts well not every day because there were some days when I went to the movies by myself because no one in my family wanted to see ‘Dune 2’ which was a quality film, but I prefer the David Lynch version with Sting and the guy with pus boils all over his face hey how about them Celtics,” Shertenlieb wrote in a video posted on X.

Shertenlieb previously spent four years working at alternative rock station 99X in Atlanta, Ga. where he first met Toucher. Before the launch of 98.5 The Sports Hub in 2009, the duo hosted the Toucher & Rich program on rock station 104.1 WBCN and quickly gained notoriety in the space. There had been predictions that Shertenlieb would end up hosting afternoon drive on WEEI, but Toucher had previously suggested that he should move on from sports radio and find something where he can demonstrate his penchant for comedy.

Lindsey Reiser Leaves MSNBC for CBS News 24/7

BNM Staff
-
0
Lindsey Reiser Leaves MSNBC for CBS News 24/7

Lindsey Reiser is leaving her post at MSNBC to join the CBS News 24/7 streaming network as an anchor/correspondent.

Since joining MSNBC in 2020, Reiser has covered a multitude of stories, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II and her subsequent funeral, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the court cases of former President Donald Trump.

The hiring of Reiser at CBS News 24/7 coincides with the outlet’s expansion late last month, with its new flagship program with the same name set to debut as a one-hour program in June.

“CBS News 24/7 is a decidedly ambitious evolution of our streaming efforts,” said network President and CEO Wendy McMahon last month about the updated endeavor. “Data backs up our bet on a fresh, timely, and distinctive approach to breaking news and live coverage. Our audiences crave it, and we’re in the best position to deliver it.”

A graduate of Arizona State University, Lindsey Reiser previously worked as an anchor in El Paso and Phoenix before joining MSNBC.

Reggie Miller: ‘There Won’t Be Any Favoritism’ on Pacers-Knicks Call

BSM Staff
-
0
Reggie Miller: ‘There Won’t Be Any Favoritism’ on Pacers-Knicks Call

TNT Sports has announced its commentators for its coverage of the second round of the NBA Playoffs this week, which includes an Eastern Conference showdown between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. The first and second game of the series will be broadcast on TNT and truTV and available to stream on Max and will feature play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson, analyst Stan Van Gundy and reporter Chris Haynes. Longtime Indiana Pacers forward and TNT Sports analyst Reggie Miller will join the broadcast team for the second game of the series since he will be on the Western Conference Semifinals game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets on Monday night at 10 p.m. EST.

As a notorious nemesis to the New York Knicks with his deluge of clutch shots and key plays over the years against the team, Miller is often met with animus and hostility when he shows up to Madison Square Garden. During an appearance on Monday’s edition of the Dan Patrick Show ahead of his arrival in New York City later in the week, he divulged the reception he usually receives when he returns to the venue.

“During a regular season game, it’s really nothing,” Miller said. “I think it’ll be a little bit more heightened on Wednesday because there’s more at stake – let’s face it, right?”

One of Miller’s memorable moments playing against the Knicks came in June 1994 when he hit five three-point shots in the fourth quarter to cement a Game 5 win for the Pacers. Although the Knicks ended up winning the series and later losing in the NBA Finals to the Houston Rockets, Miller clutched his neck to signify that the team had choked the game away. The gesture was directed towards acclaimed filmmaker and diehard Knicks fan Spike Lee, who was sitting courtside for the contest. Both the Pacers and Knicks maintained a heated rivalry during the 1990s resulting in various games that stand the test of time.

“I’m looking forward to it, and for those of you wondering why I’m doing this game, it’s the same reason why Tony Romo or Troy Aikman, they do Dallas Cowboys games,” Miller said. “It’s going to be down the middle, right? That’s how it is. My job is to call it like I see it, so there won’t be any favoritism. For 18 years, was I an Indiana Pacer? Absolutely. But I’m sure I’ll hear the chants; I’m sure I’ll hear all those naughty words. I’m good with that, but I’m there to do a job to call a game.”

Patrick then asked Miller if he gets booed every time he shows up to Madison Square Garden, to which he replied that it is indeed the case. While the upcoming game will represent Miller’s first Knicks assignment for the season, he has called many of their games before on national television. In fact, he recently inked a long-term extension with TNT Sports to continue serving as an analyst on live game broadcasts. This week, Miller expects to hear more jeers as both teams vie to move closer to attaining a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“I will be surprised during the game if I don’t hear ‘Reggie sucks,’” Miller said. “Actually, I’ll be a little hurt if I don’t hear, ‘Reggie sucks.’ I kind of want that.”

1...1,6411,6421,643...2,890Page 1,642 of 2,890