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Former KNBR Host ‘Razor’ Ralph Barbieri Dead at 74 Due to Parkinson’s

“Barbieri battled the disease since 2005. He did not tell listeners about it until 2011.”

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Longtime San Francisco radio host Ralph Barbieri died Monday after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 74 years old.

Barbieri spent 28 years with KNBR, becoming one of the dominant voices in Bay Area sports radio. He had battled Parkinson’s since 2005 but didn’t tell listeners about it until 2011. His exit from KNBR in 2012 was a high profile story for the wrong reasons. Barbieri sued his employer Cumulus Media for wrongful termination citing his age and disease as reasons for his exit. Despite the messy ending of his relationship with the station, it doesn’t erase the nearly three decades of success enjoyed by both the station and the Bay Area sports radio legend.

Nicknamed ‘Razor’ for his distinctive voice and delivery, Barbieri spent 15 years working alongside Tom Tolbert in afternoon drive on the popular ‘Razor and Mr. T’ program. Upon learning of the news, Tolbert explained what made Barbieri special.

Barbieri’s former partner Tom Tolbert shared his thoughts on the loss of his friend and former co-host. “He was one of a kind, man,” Tolbert said. “He was special. Him and (Gary) Radnich basically built this station. Those were the two guys, the two mainstays, the two pillars that got this thing going. He was fiercely loyal, loved his family, loved (his son) Tate, loved me, I loved him. It was just so much fun.”

Another centerpiece of KNBR’s decades of excellence was longtime host Gary Radnich. He joined KNBR yesterday to chat with Tolbert, Rod Brooks and Larry Krueger about the passing of his friend and longtime colleague adding “When you flipped that dial and heard Ralph’s voice there was nobody else like that. Ralph led KNBR into the hey day of sports talk. He was different on the air…different off the air. An original with a good heart.”

The news of Barbieri’s passing brought out tons of reaction from Bay Area media members and sports figures. All remembered the Razor for his unique gifts as a broadcaster and the memorable moments he provided on the air and inside the studio.

https://twitter.com/susanslusser/status/1290423514252447744?s=20

KNBR program director Jeremiah Crowe issued a statement on the station’s behalf and said “We were all very saddened to learn of the passing of Ralph Barbieri. Ralph was a true legend during his 28 years career at KNBR, 15 of those teamed up with Tom Tolbert are a part of “The Razor and Mr. T” show. Ralph had a unique on-air style to go along with his unique voice. He was truly one of a kind. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his son Tayte who Ralph loved very much.”

KNBR also went into their audio archives and located a vintage rant from the Bay Area sports radio legend. To get a sense of who Ralph was and what made him unique click here.

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Sports Radio News

Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”

“Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin.”

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Photos of Kirk Minihane and Rich Shertenlieb

As the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”

On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.

“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”

Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”

WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.

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Sports Radio News

Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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Sports Radio News

Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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