Monday, December 28, 1998
SPORTS ON TV-RADIO
And the winners and sinners of airwaves are ...
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
What follows are my first yearly broadcasting awards. They are not all-encompassing (I miss more local radio and TV than I see).
There are no “Best Anchor” or “Best Talk Show” categories. To pick categories like that is too much subject to personal taste.
Best play-by-play combo: Marty Brennaman and Chris Welsh on Reds TV. Informed opinions, lively debates and plenty of levity. Too bad they won't be doing any games now that the Reds are on cable only.
Lifetime achievement award: Bill Meridith from WCIN. Meridith has been working in radio for 25 years, and it's his second career. And he was back at work two weeks after a heart attack.
Most improved player: Anthony Munoz. The best move the big man made (off the field) was going to ESPN. They've worked with him, and it shows.
Outstanding player: Cris Collinsworth. It's hard to believe, but he just keeps getting bigger. He helped a good Fox pregame show go over the top. To mesh seamlessly with other big egos is tougher than it looks. Just ask Cris' buddy Boomer.
Luckiest man on the dial: Marc Amazon of HOMER/WLW. From the Wayne Campbell of sports talk to 38 states in six weeks. Amazon, to his credit, has delivered.
Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde Award: Dave Lapham, Bengals analyst on WBOB. When the game's going on he's one excitable boy, but afterward his analysis of what's going on from the front office to the practice squad is the best in town.
Nice expenditure award: ESPN paid $600 million for the rights to the NHL. That's the same NHL that pulled a 1.2 rating last season.
Take his license away award: To Dr. Hoops of HOMER, for opening his show Saturday with an extended interview of the coach of the Slovenia 22-and-under team. This on the day Louisville beat UK.
Rookie of the year: Brad Johansen on Bengals preseason TV. Johansen, the Channel 12 sports director, was network-quality in his first year.
Poofy-haired fancy innovation: E-Mail on Reds radio broadcasts. It was a great outlet for Brennaman.
Best show for a niche audience: Bill “Seg” Dennison's Sunday night auto racing show. Seg, Bill Cunningham's straight man, gets great guests. Mario Andretti, for instance.
Scoop award: To Channel 9's Dennis Janson, dean of anchors, for breaking the story that John Loyer had been fired.
Best announcer you never heard of: Sean O'Connor of the Prep Sports Network, who is good enough to do college or pro games.
Oops award: To Channel 12 for running a weather bulletin over the bracket just as UC's draw to the NCAA Tournament was announced. Runnerup: To WLW, which lost the signal in the last seconds of UC's victory over No. 1 Duke.
Gracious departure award: Bob Trumpy. When things didn't work out doing a morning show on BOB, Trumpy admitted it and moved on.
Titantic award: To George Vogel, Channel 5's anchor. He has done a great job keeping the sports operation floating at 5 while losing people all around him, including his right-hand man, producer Ron Millennor.
Best advice given on sports talk radio: WLW's Tracy Jones' tip to buy Intel at $84. The stock closed Thursday at $125.
Most prepared sports talker in town: Tie between Lance McAlister of BOB and WLW's Andy Furman. Both work hard, and it shows.
Least prepared sports talker in town: To Wild Man Walker of HOMER. Caller: “Wild Man, what do you think of Ohio State's chances tomorrow?” Wild Man: “Who do they play? I haven't seen the paper” This happened the week OSU played Michigan. I like the Wild One — he's perfect for WEBN — but he's miscast as a talk show host.
Say what award: To CBS sports honcho Sean McDon ough, who said before the season that CBS has put together its best pregame panel since Brett Musberger and company did NFL Today. The wooden panel of Jim Nantz, George Siefert, Brent Jones and Marcus Allen started off the season worse than the Bengals. And, even with some tinkering, it can't compete with Fox.
Most over-used prop award: That bat they kept trotting out on Channel 12 during McGwire-Sosa home run chase. A $39.99 piece of wood got more air time in September than Barry Larkin. Fewer hokey contests, more highlights.
YOUR TURN: Agree? Disagree? Call me at 768-8445 and leave a voice mail. Remember, keep it short, and leave your name and part of town where you live.
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