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Orlando Alzugaray, a Fixture on Miami Sports Radio

Jason Barrett

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As football season steps into overdrive and we all start hemming and hawing about our favorite college and pro teams, I called an old friend who is quite knowledgeable about sports and treated myself to a rainy afternoon sports jam session (or descarga, as we like to say in Spanish) over a delectable stogie at a tucked away cigar shop in Kendall.

The difference between my sports chat and the thousands of others taking place that very drizzly afternoon in South Florida is that I was conversing with none other than WQAM’s sports talk host Orlando “the big O” Alzugaray — and what a treat it was.

The “Big O” as he is affectionately called by listeners, has been a fixture on South Florida’s radio waves for over two decades. Consistently offering a local take on the Dolphins, Heat, Canes, Marlins and Panthers, Alzugaray is as down home Miami as you can get — a homer, a fan, the kind of guy you want to tailgate with.

Part of Alzugaray’s success in connecting with his listeners has been the fact that he feels the same pain we do when our local teams flop. “I love the home teams. I feel the pain the average fan feels, though I try to be analytical and realistic,” Alzugaray explained between puffs of his aromatic cigar. “And no matter how much I try to take a step back and be impartial,” he confided, “sometimes I too can be a ‘blind ass fan’ (a term that he has popularized on his show).”

It is precisely that “blind” passionate flare for local sports that keeps listeners like me tuning in every day.

In a market full of transplants, particularly from the Northeast, Alzugaray is refreshingly native. From his distinct musical rejoiners to references to events of Miami’s past, Alzugaray provides a rarity in South Florida media, a connection to our history — to events on and off sports fields.

“I’ve had a chance to go elsewhere,” he told me, “but Miami is where I want to be. It’s where my wife and I are raising our daughter. It’s home.”

The Big O is sometimes abrasive and challenging. However, it’s always done in the most unpretentious of ways. When you tune in to his show (weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) you’ll never hear him auditioning to get a network gig. He is as non-politically-correct as any radio talent in this market since the late, great Neil Rogers — quite refreshing in today’s cookie cutter, homogenous world of entertainment.

I began my own career in media over 20 years ago covering sports on the same station alongside the Big O and what impressed me about him then is still true about him today: He is tireless when it comes to watching, breaking down and analyzing sports. This guy really does his homework.

An example of this is his yearly trip to the college football Senior Bowl—an all-star game for college seniors, where pro scouts gather to evaluate talent. Alzugaray has been a mainstay at this bowl game in Mobile, Ala., and especially the week of practice leading up to the game for over 15 years — for most of those, he has paid his own way

“Actually, cigars have gone a long way for me in building relationships with lots of NFL scouts and general managers,” Alzugaray confided. “I stock up on stogies when I go up to Mobile and spend the week having after-hour cigars with many decision makers in the NFL. That’s how I’ve built some great relationships over the years. “

That is a testament to his work ethic and his desire to learn more about the game he talks about on the air, and the deep respect he has for the listeners who are intrigued by the inside information that the Big O gathers and shares with them on the air — or while enjoying a good cigar.

Read more at the Miami Herald which is where this article was originally published

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Steak Shapiro: Stuart Scott Was the Definition of a Talent

“He had the it factor.”

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Photo of Stuart Scott

As news broke this weekend of an upcoming 30 for 30 documentary on former SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott, many have been reminded about just how talented and revolutionary Scott was. Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden hit on that topic today during The Steakhouse on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta.

When Stuart Scott arrived on set, I’m telling you it was a gamechanger of all gamechangers,” said Golden. The show then played audio clips from a tribute SportsCenter ran on Scott the night of his passing featuring his unmatched delivery and his signature catch phrases such as “cool as the other side of the pillow.”

As the clips ended, Shapiro said, “That little montage, that is the definition of smooth. That is the definition of a broadcaster, a talent. Not just his writing, but his cadence…just listen to how smooth he is.”

Golden noted that much of what Scott did was unscripted and how she noticed the anchors who were paired with Scott looking at him with anticipation as they wondered what he would come up with next.

“He had the it factor,” Shapiro said. “…I’d put Patrick’s cadence up there with anybody, Olbermann’s flamboyance and Stuart Scott’s smoothness, if I’m thinking about sports anchors.”

Scott passed away at the age of 49 in January 2015 following a battle with cancer.

The 30 for 30 film will explore his rise up the ranks at ESPN, his influence on media and culture, the pain of a divorce and his fight with cancer that ultimately took his life. Scott’s daughters Taelor and Syndi will also lend their voices to the tribute to their father.

A release date has not yet been announced.

“I’m really looking forward to this because I think we’re going to learn so much…and he was the most beloved at [ESPN] and treated everyone with respect and dignity.”

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Mike Francesa: John Sterling Became “The Soundtrack of New York City”

“He’s like a character with a great booming voice. And he created his own style. Critics may have hated it, but you know what, the fans ate it up with both hands.”

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Photos of Mike Francesa, Chris Russo and John Sterling
Courtesy: SiriusXM/MSN.com

John Sterling, the legendary radio voice of the New York Yankees announced his retirement yesterday. Sterling spent nearly 65 years behind a microphone and called Yankees games for 36 years. Former WFAN hosts Mike Francesa and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo got together on Russo’s High Heat show on MLB Network to talk about Sterling.

“I thought of you after I heard the news about John,” Francesa said. “First, let me wish John well publicly for his wonderful career and I hope he enjoys his golden years and has a nice time. I’m telling you, Dog, you should take a bow for this…the guy who really got those home run calls started was you. You were the one who started wearing out the Sterling calls and then he started doing these home run calls, and I remember you playing them one after another after another.”

As they talked more about their relationship with the legendary voice throughout the years, Francesa added, “Sterling’s a character…he likes Broadway, he likes theater, he likes bouncing around New York city, he likes piano bars. He’s like a character with a great booming voice. And he created his own style. Critics may have hated it, but you know what, the fans ate it up with both hands.”

Francesa and Russo hit the airwaves as Mike and The Mad Dog in September 1989, shortly after Sterling had taken over as the radio voice of the Yankees. Prior to that, he had worked for Turner Sports covering the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. He had also called hockey and football.

Francesa said, about radio play-by-play broadcasters, in general is “the guy who is the soundtrack of a baseball team and he is the one fans remember, the one that the city remembers. In October the TV guys go away, network guys take over. They never have the great call; they never have the dramatic playoff call or World Series call. They don’t work those games, the radio guys work those games.

“And Sterling worked every one of those great Yankee wins and great Yankee World Series wins and all the dynasty years of the 90s and became the soundtrack of New York City.”

Sterling certainly had his own style and Francesa said, “Sterling described it differently; he had his own way of doing it. He left out a lot of the regular technical stuff…but he was very theatrical, he was very dramatic, and he was great at the big moment. He created a lot of stuff that the fans just absolutely ate up…I always got a kick out of him. He is a very unique personality…he is very entertaining.”

Russo said, “He has two things that are very important. He’s got a great voice and a great laugh…when he allows his partner to say something he contributes with a wonderful, big booming laugh, I think that goes a long way, too.”

“…He was blessed with a voice that he could take anywhere, to any octave and it never broke, and that’s the great voice. A voice like Nantz has, like Sterling has … that big, booming silky voice and he had one of those great voices. He used that as an instrument, he played it like it was an instrument. He knew he had that voice, and he played that voice all the time.”

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Greg Sharpe, Voice of Nebraska Football, Announces Cancer Diagnosis

“We are strong behind Greg Sharpe as he fights the toughest fight. The power of our Husker Nation is here to support him.”

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Graphic of Nebraska football with a picture of announcer Greg Sharpe
Courtesy: KLKNTV.com

Greg Sharpe, who has been the radio play-by-play voice of Nebraska Cornhuskers football since 2008 and also calls baseball games, announced he has been diagnosed with cancer. Sharpe revealed the news during Sports Nightly, a weeknight show he hosts with Jessica Coody.

“Tonight, my least favorite topic, it’s me and I don’t like to make much about myself,” he said. “…Sometimes when you have news and you don’t confront it, a lot of rumors and innuendos get thrown out there…so bottom line is, I have been diagnosed with cancer. I found out about a week or two ago. And so, we are getting close to the point where treatment will be necessary and so it’s going to disrupt my work here on Sports Nightly and probably some baseball broadcasts…I’ve got a great team of doctors that are putting together the plan…I have kind of had symptoms for a couple of months, it’s in the pancreatic region of the body…I didn’t want, night after night if I miss three, four straight [shows] for Jessica to have to answer questions…I didn’t want to go down that path.”

Sharpe talked about his wife being the leader of his support system and that his bosses have told him to do whatever he needs to do and miss games or shows when he needs to.

“I don’t like not completing my assignments…not doing my part of the job, so when I have to miss a show, miss a game, I feel like I’m not doing my work,” Sharpe said. “But I’ve been properly slapped on the wrist by co-workers…and family members saying, ‘Greg you have got to let us carry this for a while.’ That’s what it is. I’m not ready to walk away yet but I’m certainly going to have some disruption in my life in the coming months and just wanted to share that with all of you.”

Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen sent out a message of support for Sharpe, saying, “We are strong behind Greg Sharpe as he fights the toughest fight. The power of our Husker Nation is here to support him.”

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