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Let The Games Begin…And The Chaos Continue

“Brady busts, Belichick smirks, LeBron smells glory, and L.A. launches a spaceship — but as Covid rattles college football and MLB, why is Fox downplaying the national anthem protests so paramount to NFL peace?”

Jay Mariotti

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It’s almost amusing now, the way sports is smothering us with sensory overload. America’s archivists are occupied by more pressing matters, but as they record the gnarly story of 2020, they’ll marvel at how this collective blur — football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, cornhole — has done what this country still hasn’t done: Figure it all out and make something palatable from the abnormal.

We saw Tom Brady lose to Drew Brees AND Cam Newton on the same Sunday, as Bill Belichick grinned and hawked Subway sandwiches. We saw Aaron Rodgers flip the script and Cleveland flip the bird at Baker Mayfield, while Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson carried on. We saw LeBron James reach another conference final and the Clippers again clutch their throats. We saw Joe Burrow’s heartbreaking debut and the opening of a futuristic but barren $6-billion palace in Los Angeles, down the street from homeless encampments amid unbreathable air choked with wildfire ash.

We saw Alec Mills pitch a no-hitter weeks after Lucas Giolito did the same, which must be a sign of what could happen only during a pandemic: a Cubs-White Sox World Series. We saw Dodgers fans gather on Vin Scully Avenue and greet the Astros’ buses with trash cans, Joe Kelly pouty faces and other references to the electronic sign-stealing scandal. We saw two grown men ejected from the NBA Bubble, one the trash-talking brother of Rajon Rondo and the other for inviting a female COVID-19 tester to his hotel room. We saw Naomi Osaka take over women’s tennis while wearing names of Black shooting victims on her face masks.

And we saw almost no fans in the endless slabs of empty seats, hearing nothing but echoes and canned noise that only reminded us of the force-fed greed and frivolousness of it all.

They want us to think this is sports utopia, a heavenly convergence of seasons and events unprecedented on Planet Earth. In truth, it’s part of our ongoing dystopia. And there was no more glaring example Sunday than how the leagues and certain TV networks, with a collective conscience of zero, tried to pretend that two persistent viruses don’t exist.

Racial injustice? The NFL already is facing protest-related upheaval, a division between teams that don’t buy into the league’s sudden embrace of social reform and others that dutifully line up on the sideline and stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.’’ A pattern is developing — some teams boycott the national anthem by remaining in the locker room; some teams are split between players who kneel, stand or sit on the sideline; some teams stand united with no one kneeling; and some teams link arms and stand together, not just for the national anthem but the traditional Black anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing.’’ It’s a potential powder keg when the Patriots, coached by military man Belichick, have no players kneeling while the Dolphins, led by Black head coach Brian Flores, are in the locker room. Or when the Packers stay in the locker room while the Vikings are split — some standing, some kneeling — as nine members of George Floyd’s family watch from a stadium concourse in Minneapolis. Or when the Texans remain in the locker room while Patrick Mahomes, Face of the League, stands with the Chiefs as only one teammate kneels.

This divergence happened throughout the league and won’t be ending soon. I am not an advocate of keeping score on how people protest, but I know a sitting President who does just that, sadly making this a story. And I know an unemployed quarterback already disgusted by it all, with Colin Kaepernick tweeting Sunday that “the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life.’’

So why wouldn’t we notice every display? The Jaguars remained in their locker room while Colts head coach Frank Reich was the lone man kneeling on his sideline, as all his players stood. Mayfield, who had vowed to kneel, decided to stand, while Myles Garrett joined two other Browns players in kneeling. The Bills and Jets both stayed in their locker rooms in Buffalo, while the Falcons and Seahawks took a collective knee for the opening kick in Atlanta. The Cardinals stayed inside while the 49ers mostly stood. In Baltimore, Jackson kneeled while coach John Harbaugh stood. Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater kneeled. All of which were powerful scenes that feed directly into America’s noxious pre-election climate, creating the disunity desired by President Trump and no doubt causing heightened tensions in a league in which 70 percent of the players are Black. I’d like to think each player would respect the decisions of others, but once Trump gleefully weighs in about the small percentage of kneelers — and early TV ratings declines — yes, there will be Players Association backlash and hard feelings that lead to … God, who knows what?

“We don’t need another publicity parade, so we’ll just stay inside until it’s time to play the game,’’ Dolphins players said.

“Our intent is to bring attention to the issue of systemic racism and the injustice therein. We wanted to demonstrate a symbolic gesture of how we believe meaningful change happens,’’ the Colts said of Reich’s solo display. “(Kneeling) is not a posture of defiance but rather one of humility — taken by the White community — to acknowledge the injustice and inequality that is present and to find courage and resolve to make the changes needed.’’

“I have been showed that a gesture such as kneeling will only create more division or discussion about the gesture,’’ tweeted Mayfield, “rather than be a solution toward our country’s problems at hand.’’

The differing approaches were as complicated as racism itself. Not that you’d have known if depending on the Week 1 TV coverage. For a historic matchup of all-time quarterbacks, on what Fox Sports called “America’s Game of the Week,’’ the network didn’t bother showing the live anthem scenes in New Orleans. Wasn’t it important to see if Brees — who drew a firestorm of offseason criticism when he condemned sideline kneeling as a form of “disrespecting the flag’’ — chose to stand or kneel? And what would Brady do as a Trump associate? The only way of knowing was via news reports: Buccaneers and Saints players all stood during the anthem, and Malcolm Jenkins the only New Orleans player not on the field.

Where was Fox? The network showed the Vikings during the national anthem — and responded with broadcast-booth silence, saying nothing about the Vikings or Packers. Given the presence of Floyd’s family, wasn’t the scene worth commentary from Chris Myers and the crew at U.S. Bank Stadium? Or is this a hint that Fox — and, by extension, the NFL — will cowardly stick to football after NBC’s Cris Collinsworth at least addressed the racial tension before kickoff Thursday night? CBS was responsible in showing the Dolphins’ no-show and how the Bengals and Chargers linked arms for the anthem, with requisite booth and sideline commentary. And NBC got it right Sunday night, showing about a dozen Rams kneeling as quarterback Jared Goff stood, and, with owner Jerry Jones placing a hand over his heart, Dallas players standing at attention except for nose tackle Dontari Poe, who kept his vow to kneel. But naturally, the NFL Network loaded up the day with game highlights and little protest footage.

I bring this up not because Americans should be inundated by activism, but because players demanded that the league and TV partners cover the Black Lives Matter movement consistently — and not quickly turn away when audience segments are offended, as seen late in the Kaepernick movement. If players don’t trust the motives of commissioner Roger Goodell, the first evidence is how the networks handle the story. So far, the coverage is erratic.

And the coronavirus? What coronavirus? College football and Major League Baseball resumed shameless money grabs, despite a relentless flurry of positive tests that ignore health risks and already have turned seasons into mayhem. In a disturbing contradiction, Big Ten presidents were meeting to discuss a return to football as Michigan State, a member institution, was asking the entire student body to self-quarantine for 14 days. All while Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was making a mockery of Covid, saying he wouldn’t be forthright about positive tests heading into a game. “Just like we would with an injury, we made the decision not to broadcast that,’’ Riley actually said. “You don’t want to give your team a competitive disadvantage.’’ So let’s just conceal an infectious disease in the name of winning a football game! Boomer Sooner!

After a thrashing of Missouri State, Riley said the game nearly was postponed because, yep, his team was hit with a torrent of Covid cases, sidelining the starting running back and All-America kicker and leaving his offensive line in disarray. “It hung in the balance for a little bit, but we were able to do it,” Riley said after the 48-0 win. “Thankfully, we were able to.’’

Thankfully? Anyone concerned about the players, their families, their grandparents? How positive tests will contribute to more virus spreads on campuses, the current scourge of American academia? Across the sport, teams have Covid issues: Clemson was without three starters in beating Wake Forest … five Auburn starters have the virus … several games were postponed … and the ACC said it will scrap the season if at least eight of its 15 teams aren’t available to play, which likely would cause the SEC and Big 12 to fall into lockstep and shut down the College Football Playoff. Why are they even playing football when campuses are the nation’s hottest virus spots? “This is not a time when you can state with any sort of veracity that you’re going to play all your games,’’ Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby admitted. “We could find ourselves in the same situation that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 are in later in the season. I’m not prepared to have any bravado about it whatsoever.”

Baseball never should have attempted a season. The Covid interruptions have made the games unwatchable, stripping an already dawdling sport of all continuity and interest. MLB Is in a shameful race to claim $1 billion in TV revenue if a postseason somehow is completed. But now players are balking at commissioner Rob Manfred’s proposal to utilize Bubbles in the playoffs, in Texas and southern California, wondering why qualifying teams would have to quarantine for a week and force players to separate from their families. The answer is as obvious as a swab up the nose: The NBA and NHL have succeeded in keeping Covid out of restrictive environments; baseball has failed miserably so far outside a Bubble. Yet the pushback is considerable, especially from teams that have been Covid-free. “You’re asking us to choose between our families and the playoffs?” Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ union rep, told The Athletic. “That’s a stupid question, especially when we’ve played however many successful games this season. Obviously, there were two blips early on (Marlins and Cardinals), but it was out of poor choices by individuals. Other than that, it has been a pretty successful season. Why change all the protocols now?’’

Is he really asking that question? Unlike a regular season in which a team’s games could be paused for days or weeks after an outbreak, one positive test makes a mess of a postseason that can’t afford hiccups. 

Still, from Saturday morning through Sunday night, America managed to feel awake again, if not close to completely alive. This is the September buffet we’d heard about but never thought would happen, the full-blown resumption of sports that I railed against all summer. There’s still nothing remotely prudent about it, and if athletes who dare to play amid Covid are fighting significant medical effects years from now, please remember how I damned the leagues and networks that prioritized wealth over health. Billions of dollars breed corruption, and as we absorb Riley’s comments, tell me: Do you trust any people in power to be transparent when they can hide behind privacy laws or just openly lie? `As the NBA and NHL approach final rounds and MLB stumbles toward October, beware of such fakery.

It’s impossible to ignore the swirling convergence of crazy activity. The games are on TV around the clock, which gives the industry a chance to remind us “why we love sports,’’ as ESPN says. The surreal events of 2020 also mean people might not care about sports as much as they once did. They can watch, as a diversion, but can you really pull on a replica jersey when you’re trying to stay employed, pay a mortgage, educate your kids online and avoid the virus? I’ll be anxious to monitor the ratings. More sports are live in a single timeframe than ever before, yet even with a lack of original programming choices, who’s to say people will flock back to sports? The Jaguars, the only NFL team to allow fans Sunday, made 16,800 tickets available.

Only 14,100 showed up.

The games and individual performances still need to move and inspire us. Front and center were Brady and James, as they’ve been since the start of the millennium, creating new chapters in epic careers. James and the Lakers become the favorites to win the NBA title, resting as the hallway-rival Clippers crack as usual under pressure. Giannis is gone. Kawhi might be next. After all this time in confinement, think LeBron isn’t smelling the weirdest championship of his or any other lifetime?

“I understand the Laker faithful and what they felt or were going through over the last decade of not being in the postseason, or not competing for championships,” James said. “I took that responsibility as well. I’m happy I’m able to do a little bit and be a part of it.’’ Notice his humility when he’s in control.

Brady will be happy to survive his 44th year on Earth in one piece. He threw two interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked three times in a 34-23 loss to the Saints, and already, we hear Camp Belichick declaring victory — Brady was the product of the New England system and needed Belichick more than vice versa. It’s too early for all that, but so far, Newton — mobility! — owns one more victory in 2020 than the toast of Tompa Bay.

One of Brady’s picks went for a touchdown. The Bucs could have kept James Winston to do that. And if Brady thought Belichick was gruff at times, his new coach, Bruce Arians, blamed him for both interceptions.

“Poor execution. I made some bad, terrible turnovers,’’ Brady said. “I’ve obviously got to do a lot better job.  There’s no excuses. We’ve got to clean that up for next week.’’

And we’ll see him, at home against Carolina, on Fox.

The same can’t be said for the anthem, which, at the moment, is much more important to the national condition than Tom Brady’s arm strength.

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Will Women Dominate March Madness in 2024?

“Recognizable names matter. They are what draw interest from casual fans and keep them coming back. It’s something the men’s game has been missing for a long time.”

Demetri Ravanos

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2024 womens ncaa tournament logo with star players and coaches

Fields for both the men and women are set. It’s time to go dancing in college basketball. The sport more defined by its postseason than any other in America steps into the spotlight this week.

I believe we could see something extraordinary happen this year. While ratings for the women’s tournament climb each year, with last year’s title game setting a viewership record, the men have held on to the advantage. With the two trending in opposite directions though, I am ready to call my shot.

2024 will be the year the final of the NCAA Women’s Tournament overtakes the final for the NCAA Men’s Tournament.

There are bona fide stars in women’s basketball. You know all about Caitlin Clark at Iowa, but she isn’t alone. USC freshman Juju Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers stole their share of headlines too. Hell, LSU’s Angel Reese was in Sports Illustrated’s iconic Swimsuit Issuelast year. 

Everywhere you look, there’s celebrity in the women’s game. Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Roy Williams have retired. Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey are better known than most men’s coaches now. Geno Auriemma may be the last true icon left coaching in college at all.

Recognizable names matter. They are what draw interest from casual fans and keep them coming back. It’s something the men’s game has been missing for a long time. The best men’s teams somehow seem extra anonymous this year. It’s not to say there aren’t good players. I just don’t really know their names or what they look like.

I’m not just touting star power here. There are trends that say this very well could be the year the women take over. Last year, while LSU and Iowa were setting the good kind of records, UConn and San Diego State were moving the men’s final in the opposite direction.

There were a lot of reasons for the ratings drop on the men’s side. That lack of star power is big, but so is the lack of brand power. San Diego State is a mid major program. UConn may be a blue blood, but it’s a blue blood from an area of the country that doesn’t dedicate a ton of time to college sports. Coming off of a 2022 final that featured Kansas and North Carolina, a ratings drop of only 15% should maybe be celebrated.

Right now, there are major brands in women’s college basketball that are doing a lot of winning. South Carolina is the overall top seed. Clark, a brand all her own, has lead Iowa to a number one seed. Last year’s champ LSU will be a high seed as will schools with big, nation-wide fan bases like Texas and Ohio State.

ESPN also creates a real advantage for the women. The network has devoted a lot of attention to Clark’s records and to South Carolina’s undefeated season. It’s all in service of synergy. Yes, other networks may have some games, but the biggest event in the sport is on ESPN and ABC, the networks that put its stars front and center.

Conversely, the men’s tournament is spread across four networks that don’t show very much regular season college basketball. CBS starts airing doubleheaders on Saturdays beginning in January. TBS, which will carry the Final Four, doesn’t show any college basketball. Neither do TruTV or TNT.

I like the way the quartet covers the men’s tournament. I think the broadcast crews (now that Jim Nantz is out of there) are great and I enjoy the energy Charles Barkley brings to the studio show. I do not think for a second that CBS or the WBD networks are doing anything to hold men’s college basketball back. What I think is that the game itself is in a stage where it could use a central network acting as hype machine and broadcaster.

Audiences have proven over and over again in the last 18 months that there is an appetite for women’s sports on television. ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro makes no secret of the fact that he believes it is the best opportunity for ESPN to find new audiences. 

It may only be for one year. It may not even be a huge lead. Everything just feels like it is moving in the right direction for it to happen though. That’s why I’m calling it now. The NCAA Tournament will be the crown jewel of what has already been an extraordinary season for women’s college basketball. 

This will be the year that the women’s final overtakes the men’s final in the ratings. If ESPN is lucky enough to get Dawn Staley and South Carolina against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game, we could see a number it takes years for either final to top.

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The NFL Leads the Way With the Most Stars Turned Television Analysts

This could become the new normal in these sports, we’ll see how sports executives adjust in this ever-changing media climate.

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Photos of various sports broadcasters who were former athletes

Last week the NFL league year began, thus free agency started around the sport. And with that we watched the reports on television as tons of years and millions of dollars were thrown around.

Andrew Brandt, former Green Bay Packers General Manager and current professor at Villanova Law, is a great follow on X. Brandt does a great job translating NFL contracts, and what they really mean.

What does that have to do with sports media? Well, I was thinking how after a star or known NFL player or coach retires, the immediate thought is ‘what network could bid for his services?’ We saw that this off-season with Bill Belichick and Jason Kelce. I would not be surprised if the recently retired Aaron Donald gets mentioned.

However, this is not the same in the other major sports. Let’s take hockey out of it for a second, because there seems to be an established guard around the sport. Most of the same analysts that work for NHL Network and TSN also work for the national U.S based networks. As far as baseball and basketball, it’s rare to see legit first ballot Hall of Famers on the TV screen.

Studio Analysts on National TVMLBNBANFL
Players to Debut in 21st Century308
Players Who Won Championships628
Hall of Famers324

*MLB: ESPN, FOX, TBS

*NBA: ESPN/ABC, TNT

*NFL: CBS, ESPN/ABC (Sunday & Monday Countdown), FOX (NFL Sunday), NBC

Note this chart does not include JJ Watt and Rob Gronkowski who are both likely headed to Canton. Notably on that chart though, you see players from the 21st century are lagging.

Football has multiple advantages. For starters, playing careers are shorter, money is less guaranteed, so more players may look to television. Also, it is one day a week and that’s it. Even with ESPN, their Hall of Famer on their desk is Randy Moss. Moss does not get the same treatment as Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, Dan Orlovsky or others. The Hall of Fame receiver works only on Sunday NFL Countdown and maybe a feature here or there. The rest of ESPN’s NFL analysts are on multiple shows.

Basketball and baseball are multiple days a week. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal works twice a week for TNT on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the regular season. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley works once a week during the regular season. If you look at ESPN’s desk for the NBA Finals and marquee games on ABC, there’s not one former player. Occasionally you will see Kendrick Perkins, but he is not a hall of famer.

For baseball, FOX’s desk is probably the most beefed up it has been in its 29 seasons. With Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter, plus segments with 2003 NL Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis, it is one of the most star-studded desks in sports.

However, for FOX we will see that desk twice during the regular season. Once in June during the Mets-Phillies London Series, and in July at the All-Star game. Turner’s desk features 3-time All-Star Curtis Granderson, 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, and last year they brought in future hall of famer and 3-time MVP Albert Pujols. But for Turner, having a non-exclusive game package, not many will tune in and see that crew until October.

These are not the days when you can get Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Bill Russell, and Magic Johnson to do games. I mentioned the NFL’s lack of guaranteed contracts and short playing careers, well the players in the MLB and NBA play more years and have guaranteed contracts, for a lot of money, especially if you’re a top echelon player. That is what makes Tom Brady’s move to the booth so unique, because he could’ve easily chosen the Peyton Manning route where he could pick and choose his opportunities.

The podcast boon in basketball has already seen hall of famers Dwayne Wade and Kevin Garnett leave their regular obligations with TNT to pursue podcasts. League-owned networks also make it much easier. MLB Network and NBA-TV have hall of famers on their roster, but with their networks on every day, they can work around their schedules to get a CC Sabathia or Chris Webber to work in their studios.

During the conference call held by ESPN last week surrounding this season’s upcoming baseball coverage, VP of Production Phil Orlins was asked about the ongoing process of looking at recently retired players and adding them to ESPN. Orlins said “I would say my own personal thing is just trying to figure out how progressive the person is thinking about the game and also how ready they are to work. A lot of times, I’d rather find a guy four years after he’s done playing when he’s figured out it’s really, really time to get to work and passionate about it, than in some cases the guy that walks right off the field.”

This could become the new normal in these sports, we’ll see how sports executives adjust in this ever-changing media climate. All things to keep in mind with Amazon and Apple looking to join the NBA fray soon.

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Nick Wilson is Enjoying Life Back Home at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland

“It doesn’t mean that other sports towns don’t have this, but maybe the sports towns I’ve encountered don’t have it to this degree.  Clevelanders really take pride in their loyalty to the Cleveland sports teams.”

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Nick Wilson
Courtesy: Nick Wilson

It’s been almost two years since Nick Wilson left a successful run in Charlotte to return home to Cleveland to replace Adam “The Bull” in afternoon drive at 92.3 FM “The Fan.”  Wilson had some big shoes to fill and now the chemistry has been building with Dustin Fox to the point where it has been a seamless transition.

“Now that we’re almost two years in, okay now we can push that throttle a little bit more,” said Fox.  “Now we can see we’ve built the trust and laid the foundation.  Now let’s go ahead and really examine everything we do and see what’s working for us and what isn’t.  It’s been a really fun journey and I really like where we are.”

The scenario that Wilson returned home for was unchartered waters for him during his radio career.  When he moved to Charlotte, he was new but so was his co-host.  When he was paired with a new co-host, he was the established host.  And now after returning to Cleveland, Wilson was the new guy.

It would not have been appropriate to step into the huddle like a quarterback and bark out the signals.

“I couldn’t just come in and be like we’re doing these five things differently and this sucks and this doesn’t work,” said Wilson. “That show had been the backbone of the station for 11 years.  Adam and Dustin did a good show so I didn’t want to disrupt that rhythm for the audience.”

Much like the Cleveland sports fans and the teams they root for, Wilson brings a lunchpail type of work ethic to his show each and every day.  Like an athlete who doesn’t take a play off, a game off or a season off, Wilson goes into each and every show with the same intensity and the end goal to win each day.

And that’s his objective every day when he comes to work. 

“I look at every show as a living breathing entity,” said Wilson.  “You have to treat it with that kind of reverence.  I am in the business of making things as fun as they possibly can be.”

A native of the Cleveland area in Ohio, Wilson was working for his hometown sports station when he made the quantum leap to go to Charlotte for a new and wonderful opportunity to take his sports radio game to another level.  He loved working in Charlotte, but when the chance to come home came about, he jumped at the opportunity.

For Wilson, that opportunity was there because, to steal a line from “The Who”, the new boss was the same as the old boss.

“Andy Roth has been the brand manager since day one,” said Wilson.  “He was the guy who hired me.  He’s the guy who hired me again.  He’s the guy who was very cool in letting me explore the Charlotte option when he didn’t have to.”

Charlotte was good to Wilson, but there’s no place like home so he clicked his heels and came back to Cleveland to talk to his hometown listeners.

“With all due love and respect to the good people in Charlotte, it is much easier,” said Wilson.  “I’m speaking to myself when I’m talking to the audience.”

But coming home still came with an adjustment period of getting used to a new co-host, to make sure the show continued to produce good ratings and to make sure his work life was in concert with his family life.

“It took a hell of lot more energy than I remember it taking either time in Charlotte simply because it was a completely different approach,” said Wilson.  “It was probably at some point in this second football season that I looked around my work and my life mirrored each other.”

And Wilson, being an Ohio native, certainly was aware of the audience he was coming home to talk to.  Cleveland is a very unique and special sports town.  The fans rally around the Browns, Guardians and Cavaliers to the point where it’s more than just fans rooting for a team and sports radio hosts talking to the fans about those teams.

It’s a community effort.

“It’s family,” said Wilson.  “It doesn’t mean that other sports towns don’t have this, but maybe the sports towns I’ve encountered don’t have it to this degree.  Clevelanders really take pride in their loyalty to the Cleveland sports teams.  It’s like your family.  I can bitch about them so you better not say it if you’re not from here.  If you have not lived these wars, I don’t want to hear you talk about it.”

Wilson’s approach each and every day he hosts the show with Fox is to make sure that the audience buys into what they’re talking about.  It’s sports radio but it has to be both entertaining and informative.  You can’t fool Cleveland sports fans so the content has to jive with what the listeners expect.

And that’s what Wilson and Fox deliver on a daily basis.

“My North Star is pretty much I just want to walk out of that studio feeling like I just delivered something that nobody else can but is something that is up to a standard that people can trust and respect,” said Wilson.  “To me, that begins with having fun and being energetic and being on point with what people are talking about at a bar with their buddies.”

And now that Nick Wilson has established that chemistry with Dustin Fox and afternoon drive continues to be the anchor of “The Fan,” there is a buzz as to what lies ahead.

“I’m really excited to see how the next 18 months evolve,” said Wilson.

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