Who’s available in town for the new sports talk 92.9 to hire?
Management at 92.9 is working their virtual Rolodex and fishing around Atlanta and elsewhere for qualified talk-show hosts for the new station set to debut in late September or early October. A good source of mine threw out some names of people who have been on the Zone and/or the Fan and might be available at the right price:
Beau Bock
Beau Bock is a legend in Atlanta sports talk radio circles.
He was one of the first big names in sports talk in Atlanta and now occasionally chimes in on the Zone. He even had a minority ownership of 790 at one point.
A.J. Cannon
I asked Cannon for his background via Facebook and here’s what he wrote: “I did the morning show on 680 The Fan when it first went on & went to afternoons with Beau Bock for a while before we were put back in the morning slot. Also did mornings and afternoons on 790 The Zone. I talk sports but my main thing is to entertain and drive the numbers above what a station gets with only diehard sports fans. I’m good at doing the comedy thing both live and pre-recorded. I realize sports radio isn’t about credibility. It’s audience building just like any format. Put in 10 years total doing sports radio in Atlanta.” (He’s now programming a classic rock station and doing afternoons on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and is open to going back since he has a daughter who lives here.)
Jeff Van Note
A former Atlanta Falcon, Van Note served as color commentator on the Atlanta Falcons and University of Kentucky football broadcasts through the 1990s and was a sports talk host. Van Note has served as color commentator for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 2004 to the present.
Chris Cotter
He now works for ESPN News. Before then, he was with Fox Business Network and host sports programs for CNN and Fox Sports South. He has also served as an anchor and host for SportsNet New York. Cotter has also been a guest host for Sports Extra and the Atlanta Falcons pre-game show on WXIA-TV. He worked at the Zone as a host for several years until 2005.
Chuck Smith
The Falcons all-time sacks leader, the former NFL player was a mid-day host from 2005 to 2007 with the Zone. To many Zone listeners at the time, the show never quite gelled with Smith and Matt Chernoff (now with Chuck Oliver on 680/The Fan.)
Max Howell
The former football coach worked for a total of eight years over two stints at 680/The Fan (1993 to 1997 and 2000 to 2004). He’s now on a sports talk station in Birmingham.
An update guy that was given a co-hosting job with Arnie Spanier and Martina O’Boyle on 680/The Fan a decade ago. He has done occasional fill-in update work at the Fan but I’m told he is more comfortable talking politics than sports.
Chadd Scott
Former producer for Chuck and Chernoff, he was fired for hurting Delta’s feelings. He’s now assistant program director and a show host at 1010XL in Jacksonville.
“Home Team” Brandon Leak
Update guy and Hawks expert at the Fan, he was given co-host duties for the Afternoon Saloon with Mike Bell and Chuck Oliver in early 2008. But he didn’t last long and show was replaced by David Pollack later that year.
Brandon Adams – Jeff Woolverton
Adams and Woolverton began doing weekends in 2004 until being given the mid-day slot on the Zone in early 2008. It lasted until July 2010 when Adams quit and Woolvy (as he is nicknamed) was phased out. Adams is doing very well in residential real estate while Woolvy is producing for CBS 46.
David Pollack
Retired from the NFL in April 2008, the Zone hired him that football season. He worked with Mike Bell until last summer. Kirk Herbstreit at ESPN decided Pollack was the next big thing and Pollack’s career has taken off so it’s unlikely he’d want to come back to radio.
Jamie Newberg
He co-hosted “Border Wars” on the Zone with Chernoff from April 2001 until March 2002. One of the top recruiting experts in the country, he is well regarded. He lives in Tampa with his wife and daughter.
Jim Donnan
Occasional host and regularly featured football expert on the Fan for several yeras, he was accused of being part of a Ponzi scheme last summer. He was served as the head football coach at Marshall University (1990–1995) and the University of Georgia (1996–2000).
Jamie Dukes
He was on Crunch Time on the Zone back in the late 1990s. He worked with Matt Stewart (now at CSS) and Mitch Evans, now at 92.9. He flipped to the Fan and did mornings there for a couple of years. He is now a big timer at NFL Network.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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79 comments Add your comment
SuperPhan
August 3rd, 2012
1:42 pm
What about Jeff Hullinger? I’m sure he’d feel more at home talking sports on the radio again, than talking about cancer puppies on 11dead.
GT_Buzzman
August 3rd, 2012
1:44 pm
They should give Roddy Jones a shot. He would be an excellent addition to an established broadcasters show.
GTBuzz
August 3rd, 2012
1:46 pm
Max Howell? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Ron Swanson
August 3rd, 2012
1:52 pm
I’d say it’s safe to cross David Pollack off the list. If he had wanted to continue to do sports talk radio, he would’ve stayed on 790. Now that he’s gotten a promotion and additional duties at ESPN, I doubt he wants to bother with having a daily radio show.
I also doubt that Beau Bock would be an option for the new station. He still does fill-in work for 790 and seems to be semi-retired. Plus, I really don’t think he’d go up against his pals at 790 anyway.
I think Cannon, Cotter, Scott and Home Team would be the most likely options from your list. Cotter has been anchoring for ESPNews, but his recent incident of allegedly plagiarizing someone else’s work on the air may be a problem for him there. I haven’t heard how ESPN handled that situation.
Clay
August 3rd, 2012
1:56 pm
Max Howell is the one person on this list who could get me to switch from 680 and listen.
The Coach
August 3rd, 2012
2:02 pm
You remember the scene in My Blue Heaven where they get together in the restaurant and they look around and say “there’s enough of us here to start a business…” There’s enough of us around here to start something big. I think Jimmy Baron would be a good host ala Chris Rude and give a marketable name with a successful history in Atlanta radio. I wouldn’t mind getting back into the fold for sure.
bulldogbubba
August 3rd, 2012
2:07 pm
SAY NO TO bEAU bOCK!!!!!Would not listen if he or any of the “new york” crowd ran the station. Go southern if you are gonna talk
DMA82
August 3rd, 2012
2:11 pm
Just to clarify, Jeff Van Note has not done color commentary on Tech radio for several years. That job is filled currently by former Tech QB Rick Strom.
All those guys you mention...
August 3rd, 2012
2:32 pm
…got booted from their repsective jobs here in ATL except Beau, Pollack, and Max “LS YEEWWWW” Howell – so, do not look for any of them to get with the new sports talk station – besides, they all suck big time in the genre…
G
August 3rd, 2012
2:33 pm
Worst name on the board: Chuck Smith. He’s had unsuccessful attempts at V-103 and 790. He is not suited for radio.
Home Team Brandon Leak: Probably one of the better choices on the board who deserves a shot to host. He’s cut his teeth on 680 and 790, and he’s a homer. Atlanta needs a “homer” for a change to be the voice of the city.
2Live Stews: This is the best opportunity for them to leave the shakles of Lincoln Financial, and get back to what made them famous. This is the only sports show in the region that’s ready for FM.
Alge Crumpler is also a good candidate. I’ve heard him guest co-host a few times and he sounds good. However, he’s rather limited to football only.
Guy Bailey
August 3rd, 2012
2:38 pm
If they have any sense they will drive a truckload of money into Chuck and Chernoffs houses to anchor drivetime.
Stuart
August 3rd, 2012
2:40 pm
I think Chuck Smith is an assistant football coach somewhere but I can’t remember where. I have a suggestion that is off the path some but what about Pete Van Wieren? Many of us learned baseball from the professor and he still has a great voice.
Ron Swanson
August 3rd, 2012
2:52 pm
Stuart
Chuck Smith was a DL coach at Tennessee for a brief time (I believe during Lane Kiffin’s season as head coach there), but I think he now runs a camp for high school players.
HoBag
August 3rd, 2012
2:55 pm
LOL – Yes!!! Jamie Dukes and Jamie Newberg are going to quit their lucrative jobs at NFL Network and ESPN, respectively, to the launch the Jamie and Jamie Show! Meanwhile – David Pollack will leave his cushy ESPN gig to help out the guy that originally recruited him, Jim Donnan, and crush afternoon drive with Pollack and The Ponzi Schemer!
Way to phone in a Friday afternoon article, Rodney.
Wayne stuck in AL
August 3rd, 2012
3:41 pm
Please not that troglodyte Beau Bock…
As for A.J. Cannon, he’ll never show up on time.
Max Howell is Paul Finebaum-Lite.
Brandon Adams and Jeff Woolverton should never be listened to while driving or operating heavy machinery.
David Pollack, James Donnan and Jamie Newberg know nothing outside the world of college football.
With no more NHL team, Chris Cotter wouldn’t be interested.
James
August 3rd, 2012
3:52 pm
How about Mark “The Packman” Packer from Charlotte? He was pretty good up there. He is also Billy Packer son.
Peter
August 3rd, 2012
4:00 pm
One One! The all sports format will fail in this market!
youneverknow
August 3rd, 2012
4:06 pm
A.J. Cannon has real talent, it would be great to have him back! To balance things out with an actual ex-athlete, I’d go with Beau or Noter.
Sage of Bluesland
August 3rd, 2012
4:37 pm
The list really isn’t realistic, as someone noted above: Pollack leaving his gig at ESPN/Dukes leaving NFLN? I don’t think so.
Just say no to the incomparably ignorant Jeff Van Note. I had to suffer listening to him all those years ago on WSB, where he constantly butchered the English language. He never could quite get “N-C-double-A”–and would spit out, “N-C-two-A-A”. I refuse to listen to anything that ingrate has to say (yes, I even heard him complain about the ‘57 Chevy given to him as a retirement gift by the Smiths; it required a lot of maintenance/parts…Classy, Jeff). Quite possibly the most ignorant person I’ve ever had the misfortune of listening to.
I second the notion of “The Packman” coming here. I listened to him in Charlotte and enjoyed what I heard. He will push the locals, that’s for sure. He does one thing that many of the existing shows seemingly don’t get: folks calling in.
I don’t get it–the very basis of entertaining talk radio is interaction/exchange between callers and hosts. Too many of the current lineups are too boring to even elicit interaction.
How sad. I know why 790’s morning show doesn’t get too many callers: that would take away from Chris Dimino’s interview questioning. I’ve never heard such an extreme where the multiple layers of suggested answers are interlaced with something remotely resembling a question. I’m sure Dimino puffs up a bit when the responder agrees…
Father A. Long
August 3rd, 2012
5:04 pm
Bo Beauck thinks Jerry Landfill is te greatest coach in history. Look up “idiot” in the ddictionary. You will see a picture of Bo.
Eric
August 3rd, 2012
6:14 pm
I don’t know if we may be seeing 680 and 790 talents jumping over to 92.9. The only setback would be the so called “non-compete clause”. I believe some have suggested Nick Cilleni and Chris Domino jumping over to 92.9. It would remain to be seen if CBS Atlanta would end its partnership with 790, in favor of partnering with 92.9.
We have music listeners that would perfer 92.9 abandoning this proposed sports-talk format, and keeping the music format.
phred
August 3rd, 2012
9:50 pm
Holy crappy, I am amazed no one has mentioned Snake Davis!
WAR EAGLE
August 3rd, 2012
9:54 pm
they should hire retired Braves, Falcons and Thrashers/Flames players. Maybe even hire the GREASEMAN!
Oxwinkle
August 3rd, 2012
10:56 pm
Agree with phred, when I think of entertaining sports reporting, I think Pete “Snake” Davis.
Holy Cr@p….it’s sports with Snake Davis!!!
Joe Biden will be available in January, but I think a functioning brain is necessary which he lacks!
Lou
August 3rd, 2012
11:17 pm
I can’t believe there will be a third sports talk station in Atlanta. Are there really enough people listening to the other two to justify a third? I can’t believe the names I saw tossed out there. That tells you for as big a city Atlanta is, it is not a big city in terms of Sports Talk radio. These choices are awful. AJ Cannon?, Max Howell? His accent alone would drive you to listen to anything else. Chad Scott, Brandon Leak and Brandon Adams can barely talk and none of those would make anyone say I have to tune in and listen to this. Chad Scott was dreadful doing sports updates. Every time he said his name it was like he was saying it with a question mark at the end. Chris Cotter is at ESPN, why in the heck would he join this station. This station has failure written all over it.
David Puddy
August 3rd, 2012
11:19 pm
“If they have any sense they will drive a truckload of money into Chuck and Chernoffs houses to anchor drivetime.”
Guy, Turnoff is an idiot. He behaves like he’s splitting the atom. What a joke.
RatedbjBj
August 4th, 2012
12:08 am
Sully who has been on Dave for a while would be great at sports talk. He started as a producer for the falcons broadcasts. He also used to call park view games back when Caleb king was there. Fineran and coy wire have been on the radio some, they sound good and have cred… Haul linger would be interesting as well…
The only person on this list I would want is newberg, he is great when it comes to football recruiting.
honky tonk man
August 4th, 2012
4:06 am
First Initiotic sacs .Max Howell would be better of reviving Hee Haw.I couldnt understand a dayuum thing he Eva said.Nuff said .Hullinger is solid would be a great Lead,i.e. Sports director.Just say NO to the Two live nuts.There brutal and would destroy the station from the get go with pure utter nonsense,and a lack of Real Sports knowledge ,Ya know like the name of Golfers,American League players,and any player in theAFC south.Their foolishness,and repetitive jawing at each other,is So Old,it stinks . Home team would be ideal,but will never step outside the box when giving credit to Any team oitside of Atlanta. i still Like Coy Wire.Hes a sports guy,not a me guyor a what happened to my daughter Sophie at school’today guy(Should
d never talk about family on a sports show).I say let the public try out for some positions,then add veteran backup. 680 has a good powerhour ,but the get dumbwoodpeckers own Cturnoff.whos alll about his life wife n kids and his big ego. Again no room to talk about family on a true blue sports talk bottom line.
jim
August 4th, 2012
7:21 am
DONNAN, HE KNOWS IT ALL.
Back in the day
August 4th, 2012
7:50 am
They should bring back the North and south show from the early days of 680. Knowledgable, local, funny
David Puddy
August 4th, 2012
7:51 am
Yeah,Donnan is as interesting as watching paint dry.
Sports fan
August 4th, 2012
9:53 am
Jeff Hullinger in morning drive, the 2 live stews in mid day and chuck smith in afternoon drive with jamie dukes in the evening would be a great line up fo rthis station to consider. Hullinger brings both news and sports to am drive. the 2 live stews bring both sports, entertainment and opinions to mid day and chuck brings personality with opinions and the ability to really talk sports to pm drive all he needs is a good news person on the side. A winning line up!
Fred Merling
August 4th, 2012
9:53 am
What about Jerry Ellinger from 680? Actually I have not heard him for a while. He did quite a bit for 680 over the years and I always enjoyed listening to him. I never understood why hw never go t a full time show. He was never a stat guy but always had an opinion that he could back up whether I agreed or not.
AtL Sharpie
August 4th, 2012
12:58 pm
I am a fan of Jeff Hullinger.
Smart is always good.
dave
August 4th, 2012
12:59 pm
Since 680 is the ESPN flagship station in ATL, it might be a good idea for 92.9 to team up with Fox Sports Radio. I was in Dayton, OH a couple of months ago, and I think they might have a setup like that, or else, if there’s only one sports-talk station in that area it’s a Fox Sports outlet. It would be good to have a real gauge of sports talk popularity besides 680 (which I like, for the most part) and 790 the Wannabe. Who knows, a few months from now, you might turn on 790, and hear a mariachi band, or community swap shop.
maxman
August 4th, 2012
1:28 pm
i don’t care who they get as long as they drive that bald-headed,loudmouthed know it all arrogant obnoxious jerk steak shapiro off the air,cha cha baby my azz
pete davis
August 4th, 2012
3:26 pm
Thanks for the mentions, I really need a gig since Border’s Books went bankrupt. Hope no one remembers that ratings went up right after I was fired.
Eric
August 4th, 2012
3:55 pm
Jeff Hullinger used to be very good as lead sports anchor over on FOX 5… and doesn’t seem to click as a TV news personality on 11Alive. IMO, Jeff would probably do good on 92.9, if CBS goes through with switching it from the current music format to the proposed sports-talk format.
Drew Nelson
August 4th, 2012
4:04 pm
Brandon Leak is sports guy for All News. As I understand, he goes where the Falcons go.
Lesster P.
August 4th, 2012
5:14 pm
Disagree on Hullinger I think the news reporting and anchoring works for him. I watch 11Alive it’s my station.
Real ATL Fan
August 4th, 2012
5:16 pm
The 2live Stews need to have their agent call this station ASAP.
They had the best show in sports talk in this town.
Why did 790 ruin this show, probably paying to much attention
to social media and the comments on this board.
Josh from Marietta
August 4th, 2012
9:07 pm
Get Nick Cellini and Chris Domino and do The Bottom Line 2
Ron Swanson
August 5th, 2012
1:14 am
Drew Nelson
I think you meant Brandon Leak goes where the Hawks go.
rod
August 5th, 2012
12:36 pm
stupid list Hullman, Pollack and Cotter giving up tv gigs? Beau and Noter almost retired. Brandon Adams sucks. I’ve quit listening to the 680 golf show because of him.
MAX HOWELL? Dear Lord.
Gaz
August 5th, 2012
1:27 pm
I have worked on air at both sports stations in the past (including a 2 year stint at 680 back in 2000 when they came back to town) and have worked with most of the various people on this list at one point or another. I will say that live radio is a very difficult medium and many people are simply not cut out for it despite their love of sports. While many of these names are “known” in Atlanta, that does not mean that they should be the people to host any new shows. That has been tried over and over and it usually does not work in the end. Most of these guys are good people personally, but fresh blood would be the way that I would go — Chris Cotter as the exception, although leaving ESPN would be crazy and a pipedream. Chris was fanstastic to work with and his overall sports knowledge is unmatched for those on this list. Totally cool guy. On the flip side, Jeff Hullinger is one of the biggest jerks that you could ever meet. The only thing more noticeable than his lack of sports knowledge is his arrogance and ego. He thinks he is somebody b/c people see him on TV, but simply put the guy is a total tool. Be in his presence for more than 2 minutes and you will despise him for life.
Newstalker 750
August 5th, 2012
5:24 pm
I worked with Jeff Hullinger at WSB Radio. He was popular among his coworkers, kind and hardworking. He was also very bright and informed. Attacks from broadcasting people come from those looking for work. It is very sad. I wish Jeff was still with us.
Black Falcon
August 5th, 2012
8:19 pm
as an avid listener to 1380 which if I’m not mistaken is owned by CBS they’ve been grooming new local sports talent right under everybody’s nose on the weekend
Morgan
August 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
They can’t bring back Max without me!!!
Bill
August 5th, 2012
10:17 pm
Living outside Atlanta metro area, I’m glad there will be a sports talk station that I can get decent reception during the day. There’s things I like about 680 and 790, but the signal is terrible after mid-afternoon, so I’m looking forward to something good out of this move. I’d like to see them get some good talent that’s fresh to our area.
2 live Moes
August 6th, 2012
7:00 am
Put us on, we know all sports alright alright. Where my dogs at? Tune in today on Sports 92.9 as we plan the funeral for this new station