Has 104.3 The Fan Lost Denver?

The landscape of Denver Sports Radio changed dramatically to start 2016 and just two months later, it hit again but the radio listener and the sports stations are none for the better. 


104.3 The Fan looked promising with the addition of Armen Williams taking over as program direction.  He moved the talented duo of Shawn Drotar and Ryan Edwards from Late Nights to the 10 am to noon slot and added Joshua Dover to produce/co-host with James Gomez for Fan Late Night.  These two shows were the fans most diverse in sports topics and listener friendly, both in taking calls and discussing more than just Broncos every second of their show.

Unfortunately, news came on Friday March 4th, 2016 that both duos would be shuffled out of the line-up in favor of a more football heavy product and ESPN programming/live games in the evenings.  It was the lazy and easy approach for Williams and Co, but one that is very disappointing to many loyal listeners of those two shows.


It appears 104.3 The Fan is going right back to where it was the last time ESPN loomed overhead, headed national and being fucking lazy.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Cecil Lammey who will now be on 9-11 am, but the place he should have got is where Brandon Stokley filled in.  Stokley was added to Sandy Clough's show from Noon to 3 pm and it makes many scratch their head considering Stokley is like Joel Dreesen, a former athlete that is fun to listen to for about an hour a week but really brings nothing to the show.  The Fan now has a former NFL player from 6-9 a.m. and Noon-6 p.m. and during their 12 hours of live radio from 6 am to 6 pm, 104.3 The Fan now has a football only type guy on there the entire time and as evident by too many years with Big Al, the limited sample with Stokley and Schlereth's history, The Fan is all football year around.  I love football, it is my number one sport and Denver's number one sport but hearing the NFL for 12 hours a day for 52 weeks grows tiresome. 


The moves are frustrating, as I started to increase my listening of 104.3 The Fan with them being the only station in town on the FM dial as of January 3rd, 2106 and with their wise initial line-up decisions of LIVE local sports talk for up to 15 hours a day.  What else may be frustrating is seeing the best guy in the business Nate Kreckman on the free agent market and Williams choosing to put Stokley on and give Clough another hour to put me to sleep with his awful radio text reads from the 303 or the 720.  Sandy, use the first 3 digits or last 4 digits of the phone number, the area code is fucking pointless.  I digress, but Williams showed some intelligence having Kreckman paired up with old co-hosts Charles Johnson and Tom Nalen for a couple great weekend shows during the Broncos Super Bowl run.  But it was just a tease that still sees Kreckman seeking the best opportunity.  Williams fumbled an opportunity here.  He could have still added Cecil Lammey, Drotar and Edwards go 11 am to 1 pm, Sandy 1-3 pm and then plugged in Kreckman with Clough or finally replaced dead weight in Big Al.  Knowing what Alfred Williams demands in salary compared to what the guys that were cut is beyond frustrating considering you could pay 3 guys to do a job they work their asses off for in place of a guy that simply doesn't put in the prep to make him worthy of the premier spot.  Of course you are going to be the highest rated show in Denver when you have fans that can't hear the scratchy 1340 AM, hear the Broncos pre-game show every single day on 760 AM with Ed McCaffrey and Andy Lindahl.  Kreckman and Nalen or Kreckman and anyone would be able to captivate the current Drive audience and then pick-up all the guys like myself that have been trying to find something that is both entertaining, funny and stimulates the sports IQ.


It is March, the quarter ends March 31st, here is hoping Kroenke Sports uses the strong 950 AM signal to put Kreckman back on-air, put Vic Lombardi back on the radio since he is having a sports midlife crisis with his weird vlog/periscope/youtube channel thing he has going on and let's a refocused Scott Hastings get back into it.  And if Mile High Sports wants listeners back, they will add an FM signal again.  The number one complaint I get from fellow sports radio listeners is they just can't get the station, so they gave up on it.  I am at that point once 5 pm hits.  Mile High Sports may also have to think outside their box to lure in the big dog in Kreckman and help sell for him, since he would give the station a name that is well recognized and relevant to 2016.  I enjoy the shows Mile High Sports has, but their most recognizable show is an hour show in Irv and Joe.


No matter what happens, I say best of luck to Shawn Drotar, Ryan Edwards, James Gomez and Joshua Dover knowing that all 4 of those guys are some of the hardest working, most talented and best sports radio personalities out there.  Unfortunately, like in the sports newspaper game, even a fresh new face like Armen Williams is afraid to think outside the box and cut old, dead weight and give the up and comers the chance to shine.  Hope they all land on their feet and we hear news of Kreckman getting back on-air soon.  In the meantime March appears to be about Peyton Manning retirement, Broncos QB talk (will Brock stay or go) and what aging RB should the Broncos sign next.  Very little talk has been given to what is on the landscape: How will the Broncos address their awful Offensive Line situation, the losses they take in free agency; Will the Nuggets tank the last quarter of the season?  Are the Avs set up to even make the playoffs?  Will the Rockies hit 100 Losses and what is there to look forward to in their season.  The Super Bowl hangover needs to end, but instead of helping it end, 104.3 and Armen Williams just continued the drunken, brainless chatter.  Let's move on, like many diehard sports listeners will with Williams decision to can two of the station's best shows!