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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Ranking Denver's Sports Radio Talent...

Due to popular demand by none other than Mr. Power Rankings himself, Danny Williams, I follow up my article on Denver Sports Radio show line-up discussion with ranking Denver's Sports Radio Hosts. This is simply my opinion but I have been listening to Denver Sports since my teen years when there was only one local sports station, so I have some knowledge and history of the past 15-20 years of the landscape. There are many factors that go into this with the main areas being sports knowledge (we are talking sports after all), voice, interaction with listeners and entertainment value (humor, good takes, long awful pauses are all factors to consider), so strap on that chin strap, adjust your jock and get ready to have your mind blown and your brain fall out of your skull. This isn't Bleacher Report or some other website that makes you cycle through the B.S. to find out who's tops so we'll start at the top:


1. Vic Lombardi-Yes, Vic is a pretty face. Yes, Vic is kind of pompous and brash at times. But, Vic connects with the Denver listeners because we have seen him grow up from a talented young journalist to the mid-40s Denver Sports icon he has became. He is a young version of Ron Zappolo. Vic is entertaining, able to interact with anyone and is honest and a local guy. His show with Gary Miller early mornings built an insane fanbase that would chat while the two destroyed people's eardrums with their banter and sports discussions and before getting a regular stint on 104.3 The Fan, his segments with Joel Klatt and Mike Evans were can't miss discussions. He carries his show with Lundy and Mike Evans after the two drive you insane for an hour while Vic preps with a couple more ZZZZZs. Over 15 years in the Denver broadcasting market and hopefully at least 15 more to come, Vic is in his prime and we are lucky to have him on the radio and television locally. Vic can be heard 7-9 A.M. on The Fan Morning Show on 104.4 The Fan


2. Nate Kreckman-The Working Man was great radio when he did a show solo but his legend was built when he did a show with Joel Klatt. The two were the best under 30s radio pairing I have ever heard in Denver and may have been one of the top pairings ever only to be outranked by my favorites Vic and Gary and Jim Armstrong and Tim Neverett. Nate often gets off topic, but his entertainment value mixed with his sports discussions and his laugh all make for one very talented radio personality. While I am not a fan of his pro-MWC and anti-CU rhetoric, I can't fault him for being a homer to the conference that has paid him some extra dough and filled his head with inaccurate facts about the better university and conference in CU and the Pac 12. Back to the lecture at hand, he has helped develop Tom Nalen into a very solid radio personality after Nalen started fumbled his way through his first 6 months on the job. Kreckman is such a strong personality, the presence of Gary Miller was more of a third wheel on Nalen and Kreckman's Locker Room and Miller was no longer on the show starting early May. The Locker Room 3-6 P.M. on 102.3 ESPN Radio.


3. Eric Goodman-Goodman has bounced around at Mile High Sports from mornings to afternoon and back to mornings with different co-hosts at each stop. He is a strong personality that brings a very good discussion to the show. He is not the entertainer the two above are, but he has a very good sports IQ and welcomes discussions and differing opinions. Goodman is undervalued and now faces off against a juggernaut in Vic Lombardi every morning. He is trying to help bring along Mike Pritchard and while Pritchard is solid, a stronger co-host with experience could really make the show stronger and Goodman's abilities shine. While I despise his old co-host in Mark Kiszla, Kiszla at least was able to help show Goodman's shine. Jim Armstrong, Terry Frei or Gary Miller would be good co-hosts to pair with Goodman. Check The Morning Drive with Goodman and Pritchard 7-9 A.M. on 94.1 Mile High Sports.


4. Joshua Dover-How is an 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. host that is mainly a producer ranked so high? Well, he works his butt off and hits every part of the factors that go on the list. He is entertaining and in my opinion the best in Denver in interacting with listeners on and off the air, plus he has great knowledge and is brash and honest. He works hard in going to practices and doing the little things to the big things that others wouldn't. His working hours have been insane being asked to fill-in for others, producing a TV/radio show in The Press Box. He just keeps "producing" great radio whether behind the boards or behind the mic. A young talent that will hopefully keep making waves in Denver radio for years to come. Check out Denver Sports Nation from 8 to 10 P.M. on 94.1 Mile High Sports.


5. Peter Burns-Burns is entertainment and looks that are just not appreciated enough. There is a reason there is a TV show for the Press Box, it's Burns. Burns provides that "but if" element that makes radio entertaining since everything seems to be a conspiracy theory when it comes with Burns discussions. Burns ability to interact with Mark Kiszla for so long deserves a round of applause but Burns does his best radio when it is just him and Oren Lomena and/or Brandon Krisztal. Burns would succeed in any market and bigger and better things are sure to come his way. Though his time slot has no competition locally on the radio, it is not a good time slot for a program that often produces very entertaining discussions when Burns is directing traffic. Burns can be heard on 94.1 FM Mile High Sports 9-11 A.M. and then watched online on Denverpost.com.


6. Danny Williams-Williams is personable like no other in Denver radio. He is entertainment value like Nate Kreckman is. He sometimes is that friend of yours that you're like, that's too far but many of us that listen to sports so often and love sports, including myself, are that type. Danny works magic with listeners with his radio life partner in Cello Romano and there is little surprise they have a cult following. Some people in Denver sports and blogger-ship *cough Colin Daniels cough* can't stand the shows format but it's entertaining and a young version of Irv and Joe where the callers help make the show the entertaining factor it has become. Danny and Cello can be heard 4-6 P.M. on 94.1 FM Mile High Sports.


7. Cecil Lammey-How does a segment filler and weekend radio guy that mainly focuses on fantasy football and the NFL Draft make a Top 10? It's the year 2014 and fantasy football and the NFL and the talent level is a constant hot topic that Lammey is the best Denver has ever seen in the area. Degenerates like myself have been calling into his show for over three years to get advice. Lammey is personable, knowledgeable about the #1 sport in Denver, NFL football, and he has a large gathering of followers that appreciate the work he does. Denver is lucky to have him since people around the country take his fantasy advice on footballguys.com and call-in to get his advice during fantasy football season. Lammey in the off-season and prior to the fantasy football drafts is most entertaining if you want to really understand about a specific players abilities. Ride Shotgun with him weekends on 102.3 FM ESPN.


8. Scott Hastings-Hastings has the advantage of actually playing the game of basketball professionally and then being paired with a legend in Dave Logan for years, a local legend in Alfred Williams for years and then working with a seam head in Drew Goodman (who for years called the games Hastings played in on PSN). Hastings is funny and works well with others. He is knowledgeable about all sports and is a solid host in every phase. He's been doing early afternoons for years and helped make the lunch or drive around town from 12-3 an entertaining one. Check Scott out 12-3 P.M. with Sandy Clough and Drew Goodman


9. Oren Lomena-Lomena has been on Denver airwaves for years. He is hard working, intelligent and can talk any sport with a great amount of knowledge and then also throw some hip hop knowledge at you no one in Denver can compete with. Lomena had been buried for years as a fill-in guy and it's great to see him as one of the big guys on The Press Box, but I enjoy hearing Lomena when it's only him and one other guy in the studio the most. I enjoyed him He is a great guy when interacting with him, entertaining and off the FOODCHAIN!!! Lomena can be heard on 94.1 FM Mile High Sports 9-11 A.M. and then watched online on Denverpost.com.


10.-3 Way Tie I am going to cop out and make a tie between a few guys I have a lot of respect for and interest in their sports talk game for differing reasons. The group at 10 are Cello Romano, James Gomez and Gary Miller.
  • Cello is Robin to Danny Williams Batman, not the icons of Christan Bale and Michael Keaton, butthe George Clooney Batman so like the lowest rated Batman and then Cello is like the bad ass Joseph Gordon Levitt that doesn't want to be Robin to Batman. He is a good counter to Danny and helps reign that crazy horse in quite a bit.
  • James Gomez's weekend shows are really, really good and you get a great wrap of the week that just happened and a lot of knowledge. I try to run errands to catch as much of his show as possible.
  • Gary Miller is a legend in Denver Sports. He really was good on The Locker Room and provided more knowledge than either Kreckman or Nalen can pretend to have and was very funny, but was a third wheel. He is best suited for a 2-man show and while I wish it were with Vic, it would be great to find a way to get him on the air again. His subtraction from Denver Sports Radio took away one of the best.


Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
  • Renaud Notaro-From 6 to 7 P.M. on 94.1 FM you get what is going on in sports, Netflix and solid co-hosts that change from day to day.
  • Sandy Clough-Clough is very intelligent and knowledgeable. His greatest asset is that and working with other hosts, but his downfall is callers. He is an ass hole to most of his callers and believes he is more intelligent than every one of them. If he didn't rub people the wrong way and his one-man show dead air didn't turn off so many people, he really is a good guy to have in Denver Sports talk.
  • Dave Logan-He's on 850 KOA and knows sports, especially since he played all of them and played the game in the NFL and does play by play for the Broncos but his show is not really sports driven.
  • Brandon Krisztal-A great producer and glad he has found his way on to the airwaves more with his Press Box gig. I honestly believe his best work would be a separate show with just Oren Lomena or just Peter Burns.
  • Lance Britton-A face for TV but was stuck on radio. To be honest, he was the perfect co-host to Eric Goodman but the name and background of Mike Pritchard made him expendable in the eyes of Mile High Sports. Britton is good radio and a disappointment was met when he wasn't on the airwaves.

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