Krystal Fernandez Has Competition - And He's Bald
First, let me set the stage by presenting a part of Tom Hoffarth's February 11, 2005 take on L.A. sports radio. Emphasis mine - I'll return to it later:
The best and worst of L.A. radio sports talk hosts -- Top 10
1. Steve Mason, KSPN-AM 710 weekday afternoons....
2. Petros Papadakis, KMPC-AM 1540 weekday afternoons....
3. Dave Smith, KMPC-AM 1540 weekday afternoon drive....
4. Joe McDonnell, KSPN-AM 710 weekday afternoon drive: After a year in which he's got his personal life on a new, healthy path, we bow out of reverence to the legend of L.A., thankful he'll be around for a long, long time....
5. John Ireland, KSPN-AM 710 weekday afternoons....
6. Lee Klein, KLAC-AM 570 late weeknights....
7. Fred Roggin, KMPC-AM 1540 weekday afternoons....
8. Larry Burnett, KLAC-AM 570 Lakers talk....
9. Rich Marotta, KLAC-AM 570 weekend boxing show: His "Neutral Corner" corners the market on pugilistic propaganda. Find it from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Last year: Unranked.
10. Steve Hartman, KLAC-AM 570 weekday afternoons....
Honorable mention: A. Martinez, KFWB-AM 980 Dodger talk; Mychal Thompson and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs, KLAC-AM 570 weekday afternoons; Jason Smith and Brooks Melchior, KSPN-AM 710 afternoon fill-ins.
Bottom five
1. (tie) Carlos Del Valle and Ray Crockett, KLAC-AM 570 weeknights: According to the desperate promos for their show, "Carlos and Crockett got street cred and they're in the 'hood." Before you call your real-estate agent to seek relocation, be aware that the station has lined up L.A. radio legend Phil Hendrie, who spent the last 10 years at KFI, to fill this 7-to-10 p.m. spot starting Feb. 21....
3. Mark Willard, KMPC-AM 1540 weekday mornings: With Roger Lodge all but gone from the morning show because of stalled contract talks, Willard has been assuming the position. No syndicated Tim Brando instead?...
4. Doug Krikorian, KSPN-AM 710 weekday afternoons: Jeff from Tarzana might be a better fit with The Big Nasty at this point....
5. Lee Hamilton, KLAC-AM 570 weekday afternoons: Sadly, the empire that "The Franchise" once ruled over -- specifically San Diego -- can't hear him as well anymore....
Horrible mention: Joel Meyers, KLAC-AM 570 L.A. Rewind weekday mornings; Terry Smith, KSPN-AM 710 Angels talk; Pete Arbogast, KMPC-AM 1540 Trojan Report; John Fricke and Ted Leitner, XPRS-AM 1090 (if you're considering going down south for some alternative talk).
Top five syndicated radio shows heard in Los Angeles
1. Jim Rome (KLAC-AM 570 mid-mornings; still has his fastball); 2. Dan Patrick (KSPN-AM 710 mid-mornings; more focused without Rob Dibble); 3. Colin Cowherd (KSPN-AM 710 mornings; especially his West Coast segment); 4. James Brown (KMPC-AM 1540 mid-mornings); 5. Van Earl Wright and Andrew Siciliano (KLAC-AM 570 mornings).
Well, you've seen several mentions above of KMPC 1540 The Ticket. It's probably a good station for Los Angeles, but I don't live in Los Angeles. For whatever reason, it's hard to pick up in the Inland Empire, and even in North Orange County. So I don't listen to it all that much.
I ended up listening to it last night because of the NCAA Men's Basketball final, and it turns out that Roger Lodge (yup, the "Blind Date" guy) has been replaced by some guy named Tony Bruno:
KMPC 1540 "The Ticket", “LA and Orange Counties’ Official Sports Station”, announced today that Tony Bruno has inked a deal to host a daily morning show. The Tony Bruno Show will debut Monday, April 4th and air 6am-10am PST.
Bruno, formerly of FOX Sports Radio was heard on over 100 stations across the country. Prior to joining FOX Sports Radio, Bruno was heard on ESPN Radio and his show was cleared on approximately 300 stations nationwide.
Clancy Woods, Sporting News Radio President said, "Tony is clearly one of the most gifted performers in radio today, and we are thrilled that he has agreed to join a team of talented and creative performers. His arrival at KMPC and Sporting News Radio underscores our commitment to provide the most entertaining and compelling sports talk programming available anywhere.”
“It's great to be back on the air in Los Angeles and especially on 1540 “The Ticket” KMPC. I've waited 6 months for the right opportunity to remain here, and now I've found it. With the line-up at "The Ticket" and Sporting News Radio, we have an obvious commitment to winning," said Bruno
Tony Bruno Bio
Tony Bruno has been called “possibly the best sports talk show host in America” by the Los Angeles Times. His career started at the age of 17 at WIFI in Philadelphia and a year later was working at the legendary pop station WIFL. Thirty-five years later, he has achieved what most sports broadcasters can only dream about. Tony launched both the ESPN Radio Network in 1992 from Bristol, Connecticut and eight years later launched FOX Sports Radio in Los Angeles. He’s been heard by millions of sports fans around America over the air and on XM Satellite Radio.
Bruno’s diversity and awareness separates him from most sports hosts and has led to general talk radio hosting chores at WCAU in Philadelphia and KFI in Los Angeles. Tony helped WIP in Philadelphia become one of the most successful local sports stations in America. Winner of numerous local and national awards for both sports and news reporting, Tony has covered dozens of Super Bowls, World Series, Olympics all over the world, and every sporting event of consequence from the Kentucky Derby to hockey to auto racing.
In 2004, Bruno was the only on-air personality to be named in the “101 Best Things in LA” in Los Angeles Magazine’s “Best of 2004” issue. He was also hand-picked by EA Sports to be a part of the most successful sports video game of all time – Madden NFL 2005, and has been renewed for Madden 2006. Tony has also been featured by Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine.
Tony has made several television appearances on ESPN and ESPN2. He has also become a regular on FOX Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” with Tom Arnold in Los Angeles.
Tony Bruno has three grown children and resides in Marina del Rey, California. He attended Temple University in Philadelphia, majoring in Political Science and Journalism.
One thing strikes me about that bio. When Bruno was on ESPN Radio, he was heard on approximately 300 stations. Then he moved to Fox, where he was heard on over 100 stations. Now, he's doing a non-syndicated show - in other words, one station. Where can he go from here?
Comments
I don't have a link to Tony Bruno pics. Sorry.