Sesame Street's Bob McGrath

Today I’m going to do something a little bit different and talk about one of my favorite TV characters who has passed away. The Colorado Radio Blog wants to send its deepest condolences to the family of Bob Mcgrath. Bob Mcgrath played Bob Johnson the music teacher on Sesame Street for 30 plus years. He passed away at the age of 90 with complications of a stroke. He was an original member of Sesame Street, He died at his home in New Jersey.  He was born on June 13, 1932 and passed away December 4, 2022.

Barbara Walters (who just passed away) said, “Bob who is he? The man behind the Alphabet songs, and the great sorting games, and songs. What was he really like?" Barbara went to Sesame Street to find out. They sang a verse of "People in your Neighborhood" together.

Even though I never knew Bob personally, I feel like I got to know him through Sesame Street After watching that segment, it made me wan"t to pursue a news job. I’m doing something much better with my podcast.  

A New York times article on his passing said, "When he first auditioned for the show, it was an old fraternity friend who told him about the project. He wasn’t interested in the project at first. The friend told him it was a Kid’s show on PBS. He had never seen a Muppet or ever heard of Jim Henson the puppeteer. After looking at some of the animation and some of the segments of the show he knew this show would be different. One thing that I didn’t know from this article was what the Sesame Street stage looked like. The article described it this way: The set was an urban brownstone stoop in front of a building's dark green doors and beside it’s collection of garbage cans. The article said that the character of Bob was reliably Easy going, and polite whether he was dealing with Oscar the Grouch, Elmo the red monster, or Big Bird. He was always this way whether he was singing the song “ People in your Neighborhood”, talking about concerns with young kids and Muppets, or visiting grouchy town with Oscar the Grouch which is one of the most popular scenes of the show.

Bob Mcgrath had this role on Sesame Street from 1969 through 2016.   In 2016, Bob, Rosco Orman who played Gordon, and Amelio Delgado who played Louis were fired from the show. Fans of the show for a long time were angry about this including me.  How could this show do this? I wondered to myself.  I grew up with Bob’s calming presence on the show. I didn’t think it was fair for them to fire Bob, and the other cast members of the show.

The show Sesame Street wasn’t the same without them there.  The show Sesame Street I knew growing up, and the show it is now are very different. The show now is a half an hour instead of an hour. The show now teaches different concepts than what I remember growing up. Bob was a big part of teaching concepts during the show If you would like to check out an interview that Bob and Amelio did together at one of the Comic Cons you can find it on YouTube. They explained why they were let go.

The first time I remember hearing Bob was on the Sesame Street book and record. The first words I remember from this record was “Hello Everybody.” The first song I remember Bob singing when I was listening to this record was  I’ve got two. Which was a song about the things on a person’s body that they have two of. The song started out in my third favorite key which is C and went up three keys to E flat Sometimes when Bob would start a song, he would have simple instructions which made the listener feel very comfortable to join into the song.

I also loved that the human cast were very encouraging to each other. When one of them would sing one of the verses. Gordon in particular was hesitant about singing his verse. It seemed to me that Bob made it easy for him. The second song I remember from this record was the song was called What Babies are Called. Bob sang this one with Susan who was played by Loretta Long. Bob and Susan had a great friendship on the show.  This song was written by Joe Raposo who was a writer of some of the songs for Sesame Street. I have heard both versions of the song, and I think that Bob and Susan’s version was the best version. After they sang some of the lines, they put in their own reactions to what they were singing about. For example: Susan would sing: Lions and Leopards have cubs which is the proper thing for them to do.” Bob’s reaction to this was very proper.”

Bob interacted well with the Muppet characters on the show. Anyone watching or listening to the show would be able to understand this. Later on, in the same album after Oscar sang "I love Trash", Bob Mcgrath said after the song that singing that song must have made Oscar very happy. Oscar had trouble admitting that. Bob said he could tell by the smile on his face. Oscar’s nick name for Bob Mcgrath was Mr. Blue eyes because of his eyes. They were blue.

Bob Mcgrath was always good about picking up on emotions from the Muppet characters. In one of my favorite shows, Big Bird was disappointed and angry that Granny Bird wasn’t coming to visit. Bob Mcgrath recognized that emotion and gave Big Bird some constructive ways to deal with his anger and disappointment. 

The last memory I would like to share is A Christmas song that Bob used to sing on Sesame Street, and he put it on Bob Mcgrath Sings Christmas Album “Keep Christmas with You.” In this song we are reminded to keep the Holidays and the memories with us all through the year. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a happy New Year.

I'll miss Bob.

Thanks for tuning in.

Peter McNab tribute

Jeremy Levy back with you. The Colorado radio blog is saddened and sends its’ condolences to the McNab family and the Altitude radio family about the passing of Peter McNab. Peter passed away from Cancer on Sunday November 6, 2022. Peter was the color announcer of the Colorado Avalanche on Altitude TV. He also did some games on Altitude sports radio as well as being the color announcer.  The first thing that Mark Moser shared about him was he had a whole body laugh. When he laughed it was like his whole body was laughing. Mark Moser came into the studio to talk about Peter on Monday November 7, 2022. Peter was a big part of Colorado Avalanche hockey and of the hockey games on Altitude Sports radio and TV.  My dad was telling me he played for the Boston Bruins, and Mark Moser mentioned the Bruin’s could have won the Stanly Cup for 3 years in a row when he was on the team.   Mark Moser also mentioned he played for Montreal Canadians. He had never won the Stanly Cup. His dad Max did when he played for the Detroit Red Wings. Mark Moser had so many wonderful memories of him and Peter together. Mark was Peter’s partner on the TV broadcasts. In the days when Peter would be going through the cancer treatments, Peter would ask Mark to help me on that game because he was not feeling the best. Mark always did and those broadcasts were still great.  Peter was a big golfer, and so was Mark. The best golf memory that Mark and Peter had was going to the final 4 together when that was in Colorado. They spent the whole game together. That was special. Brett Cain mentioned that when a person talked with Peter, it felt you were part of the family. When Brett came to Altitude sports radio back in January of 2019, he went to his first Hockey skate practice. Peter talked with him for a half an hour about hockey. That’s the kind of person he was.  Scott Hastings became a hockey fan when the Avalanche came to Colorado. When Scott would have him on the radio show he was doing at the time, Peter would never talk down to his listeners. He talked to the listeners like a friend. That  is also Scott’s philosophy as well. Scott, Josh, and Tyler Polumbus talked about that when you are entertaining listeners it should be fun.   When the Avalanche won the Stanly cup this Summer, Gabe Landeskog came up to Peter and said when he was a boy, he wanted to play the way Peter did. The memory I will always remember about Peter was during the celebration of the Stanly cup parade. Mark Moser was singing the song “Living on a Prayer” and Peter didn’t like his singing. He said it sounded terrible. He said it sounded like tripping on  a cat, and he told Mark Moser  to stop singing.  I thought his singing was on key, but it wasn’t the best singing. They played that clip a couple of different times during the shows on Altitude Sports radio. Vic had some wonderful memories of being with Peter as well.  On Kreckman and Lindahl, Nate and Andy mentioned that Peter taught them about the game of hockey. When he was on the radio with Mark Moser, or with Connor, I learned something by listening to him. Connor talked about what a kind man Peter was. If they needed anything on the road, Peter would get it for them. Andy Lindahl remembered a time when he was working as the producer of the sports zoo back on KOA as the producer. It was during the Av’s first run to the Stanly Cup. Andy was done producing that day. He wanted to get things ready for the next day’s show. One of these things was calling Peter to see if he wanted to come on as a guest on the sports zoo. Andy thought he was going to leave a message for Peter, but Peter actually picked up the phone in the middle of a game. Andy was surprised about that. Peter was surprised to hear from him. Many hockey analysts knew Peter. On the Avalanches trips many of the analysts would ask how is Peter doing? They hoped that Peter was doing okay.  Mike Rice knew him from the conversations that Colorado’s Morning news had. Mike Rice said what a kind person he was on the Dave Logan podcast. Dave Logan and Alfred Williams mentioned him on the Sports Zoo. When Alfred first got into broadcasting, he worked for Altitude TV. Peter was always very kind to him. Alfred and Dave both said what a wonderful hockey man he was.  I wish I could have done an interview with Peter for this blog. I would have loved hearing his insights into Hockey. I always enjoyed listening to him with Connor on the radio. It was fun listening to them during the run during the Stanly Cup. Peter was the main TV announcer for the Avalanche since the team arrived in Colorado from Quebec Canada in 1995. He was a 2021 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also played for Vancouver and New Jersey. He is best remembered for his seasons with the Bruins. He was a friend to so many.

He will certainly be missed by listeners to the team at Altitude Sports radio and TV and myself.

Thanks for tuning in.

Vince Scully

I started becoming a baseball fan in 2007 when the Rockies had their magical run to the world series. For me being a blind person, I enjoy listening to the way the announcers describe the game. Tom Sullivan a friend of mine who is also blind,  described it this way: The announcers paint great word pictures for me. Tom enjoyed listening to Vin Scully doing this. The Colorado radio blog is saddened by the news that Vince Scully passed away at the age of 94 in August. Vince was the Dodgers radio announcer from 1950 until 2016.  Vince was a great broadcaster. He described the plays vividly. Rockies announcer Jack Corrigan knew Vince.  Jack was on the Ross Kaminsky show on Wednesday August third and he said to Ross that one of the things he tries to do when calling a baseball game is use many different word pictures to describe the game. When I listen to a baseball game, I listen to how the announcers describe the game. Jack and Jerry Schemmel will get excited whenever the Rockies would play the Dodgers whether it was at home or on the road.  Vin’s last announcing of a game was at the end of the 2016 season. The last game he announced was the Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies.  Jack Corrigan and Vince went to the Catholic mass together as was their habit when the Dodgers came to town. Vince usually read the passages. That day Vince said, “Jack how about you reading the passage today?” Jack did. After the passage Vince said to Jack that he hoped Jack would be calling baseball games for as long as he did. Jack said this morning he would be 99 years old if that were to happen. Jack will always carry the excitement of each game with him like Vince did.  Jack said that every game is a new story to be told.  Mike Boyle interviewed Barry Stockhammer who spent many years with the Dodger organization.  Barry said that Vince was a special announcer for the Dodgers. Barry mentioned that when you listened to the Dodgers on the radio and Vince Scully on the radio, you were listening to a friend. As a blind person when I listen to Talk radio or sports on the radio I feel like I am listening to a friend. Mike and Barry brought up listening to baseball games on a transistor radio. My dad mentioned to me that when he was younger, he used to do the same thing, listening to Mel Allen and Phil Rizzuto broadcasting Yankee games. If you remember in my Mark Crowley interview, he also mentioned the same thing.  They also talked about that Vince would speak about the game to all levels. Vince brought everyone together. Mike and his daughter Kaylee got to meet him. It wasn’t only the older generation who knew him. People from my generation knew him as well. My feeling is when the Colorado sports are doing well, it brings people together. I think that Colorado fans of sports are some of the best fans. I love it when players mention that to radio announcers. Casey and Scott Bloyer interviewed Connor Shreve on the Bloyer effect on Sunday night August 7, 2022. Connor called Minor League baseball. Connor was impressed with how Vince persevered every season. Connor told the story about Joe Davis who took over for Vince. Joe said that was a master broadcasting class to sit in the booth with Vince when he was calling games. Connor’s favorite memory was Todd Helton’s last home run call. Vince was rooting for Todd to get a hit in his last game. That will always stick with Connor.  

Blind people who listen to baseball games on the radio always enjoyed Vince calling games. I subscribe to the A C B conversations list, and one of the people on that list brought Vince’s passing up. One person, Ray Campbell, said that blind people have an appreciation for the radio voices that paint the picture of America’s past time for us. Whether you enjoy baseball or not, the melodious voice of Vince Scully could be easily recognized. I agree with this!  Larry Gasman who is another person on the ACB Conversations list said he wished that he could have done an interview with Vince. A third person on this list mentioned he met Vince at a lunch and he was very kind. . Los Angeles is one of my favorite places to visit. I would sometimes catch a Dodger game on the radio on 570 KLAC radio and I always enjoyed listening to Vince Skully. Thanks to you Vince for creating such wonderful memories for so many people. RIP Vince.

Thanks for tuning in.

Broncos Season

Jeremy Levy back with you. Today I am going to be doing something different. I am talking about 2022 Bronco’s training camp. In my opinion, this has been the second-best Bronco’s training camp I have been to. My dad and I went twice this year. The first day as we were walking through the parking lot I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last couple of years have been a little bit of a disappointment because the feeling at the facility wasn’t as energetic as it was when we went during the Peyton Manning years.  I think this shows that the quarterback does make a difference. The Broncos have Russell Wilson as their quarterback now. He came from Seattle. As we were walking through the parking lot, a familiar voice said you can walk on the sidewalk. I thought the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place the voice. The voice said,” do you recognize my voice? I’m Brandon Kristzal from 850 KOA radio. I have always wanted to meet Brandon. Brandon then re-introduced me to Brandon Stokely who is with 104.3 the fan and is a former Bronco. That was a great start to this year's training camp experience. Brandon Kristzal  said after words he wishes he could have gotten a picture of us together. My only regret is that Brandon didn’t invite us on to the field. That would have been so exciting.  After meeting up with the 2 Brandon’s we continued on to our seats. The practices were more energetic. I could hear the music being played. I could hear the fans cheering for their favorite players when they did something good My dad said they looked more organized. He said that the second day was better because they were in pads the second day.

Dave Logan said on the Sports Zoo, and the Dave Logan podcast that he likes the practices that Nathaniel Hacket has implemented this year. We will know in future years if what he did this year would be helpful in the future.  I consider Dave Logan the best expert when it comes to football because he has been around the game for so long. Dave has the best knowledge about the game. This is why I enjoy listening to Bronco’s games on 850 KOA radio.  I consider Andy Lindahl my second expert when it comes to football. Andy said on Altitude sports radio 92.5 that he is looking forward to finding out about the right tackle position. He isn’t sure what they are going to do at that position. 

The second day I got to take pictures with some of the cheer leaders, and the Mascot. The second day was even more crowded than the first day we went. On the first day we were able to find seats, on the second day all of the seats were taken. People seem really excited about the improvements to the team this year. When Russell came out the fans got really excited.

Mike Rice is back doing the pregame show, the half time show, and the post-game show for 850 KOA radio.   Russell Wilson did not play in the preseason games.  Alfred Williams made an interesting point about that. KOA radio got a text on their text line saying that the Bronco’s haven’t made the play offs in 7 years and that concerned the fan who texted into the sports zoo. Brandon and Alfred talked about that the coach in Wisconsin took over the team a couple of years ago and they didn’t play their starters in the preseason. They went to the playoffs. Alfred and Brandon’s thought was this wouldn’t hurt the Bronco’s if they didn’t play their starters.  The Broncos have a new ownership group. This is really exciting for them. They seem thrilled for this opportunity. As a fan, I am really enthusiastic for the future of what the new ownership does with the Bronco’s. Dave Logan got to introduce them at the press conference the second week of August of 2022.

I am not sure if they need a new stadium right now. That might happen in the future.  Andy Lindahl brought up that question to fans however, I didn’t hear what the fans were thinking about that question One of my favorite players is Jerry Juedy a wide receiver. I am hoping he has a great season. Andy Lindahl’s question is can Jerry Juedy be a big part of this offence now that Tim Patrick is done for the year due to injury.

The first preseason game was against Dallas. Dave Logan liked Nathaniel Hackett’s time management of the game. Dave and Nathaniel didn’t like the running game In the Dallas game. Dave said in the second game that has gotten a little bit better. Dave liked Jalen Virgil who is a wide receiver. Dave said all 4 receivers had moments in the game that were good.   Josh Johnson started the first and the second pre-season games against Dallas and against the Bills. Bret Ripen started the third pre-season game against the Minnesota Vikings.  The big story for the Bronco’s and Bills game is Von Miller is now with the Bills. I listened Friday morning to 550 WGR radio to the morning show with Howard and Jeremy, and they were talking about Von being with the Bills. Dave Logan was saying that Von Miller might have a great season with the Bills. The most interesting name I have heard on the Bills is Tre 'Davious White. That first name is the most interesting name to me. The Bronco’s lost to the Bills 42 to 15. That was a bad game. The word that Alfred would use to describe the game is embarrassing. The seconds and third players didn’t play well on Saturday. Alfred Williams said it’s time to panic. Dave Logan was concerned. The Bronco’s won their third preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings 23-13. Nathaniel Hacket said the run game looked better. The next step in the process was narrowing the roster down to 53 players.  One of the players that I was surprised about was Jaquan Hardy who was a running back. He was cut by the Bronco’s. He might end up on a different team Brandon Johnson was a second player that I really liked who was cut by the Bronco’s. He might end up on the Bronco’s practice squad. Brandon is Charles Johnson’s son the Charles Johnson who used to be in Colorado Sports radio. I like it when fathers who play the game have their sons also play the game. Benjamin Allbright, was saying those players understand the game better, so they might understand better that they might get cut from the team. . The Broncos have their listening ears with other teams for players they can pick up. The player that Brandon Stokley was most surprised they traded was Malik Reed. He got picked up by the Steelers who are in Pits burgh. Alfred had a feeling they were going to trade him. It seems that Alfred was right again.

The first regular game of the season for the Bronco’s is tonight-September 12 against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. This is the day right after my birthday. This feels like a new era of Bronco’s football, and I am really looking forward to finding out about this new era of players. Thanks for tuning in.

Summer radio and TV news

Jeremys next radio blog for summer 2022

Jeremy Levy back with you. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer- I know I am! Here are some more radio and TV updates. The fan 104.3 the fan has elevated Richie Carney as assistant program director of 104.3 the fan and KEPN radio. This happened at the end of June. Richie is the Darren Mackey’s and Tyler Polumbus’ producer. Richie is excited to grow in his new role at the station. Nick Ferguson is no longer with KKFN radio from 6-9 PM. This show he hosted with Cecil Lammey. Orlando Franklin is now hosting the show with Cecil and is now called Orlando and Cecil.

Ryan Harris is no longer with 92.5 Altitude sports radio. He made the announcement at the end of June on the show Hastings Harris and Dover. The show is now titled Hastings and Dover. Good luck to Ryan with whatever his next plans is.  

At the end of May I found out that Dusty Saunders who wrote for the Rocky Mountain news and did a radio show on 710 KNUS in the early 90’s has passed away. He was in his eighties. I had a wonderful time listening to his shows with Joanne Ostro. Max Media has 2 openings for 1015 KJHM and 107.1 KFCO. They are looking for a promotions/ sales director and an on air personality. The on air personality is from 107.1. The sales director position has to be dynamic and energetic leader with a passion for Creating audience content and driving sales sponsorship revenue with the sales team. People need to send their resume, and cover letter to Sean Rhoads at Sean@maxmediadenver.com  Or you can send it to Adrien Scott at AScott@maxmediadenver.com.

 KKMG radio in Colorado Springs was looking for a new program director as Dylan Saulsberry exits. It hasn’t been announced yet who this is. This might be in a future post.

At the beginning of the summer, I heart media had some furloughs. This means that Greg Foster is no longer the program director of KOA radio 850 A.m. and 94.1 Fm and Freedom 93.7 and 760 radio. Greg started with KOA radio back in 2010. Before that he was in Utah. Also Tim Spence is no longer the program director of 630 KHOW radio. Dave Lauer is furloughed also from 850 KOA radio and the Mandy Connell show. He might be back in the future. Mike Rosen is also furloughed. He also might be back in the future.  Robbin Hart also got furloughed from doing news in the mornings for all fm radio stations in the Denver cluster and mid-days at KTCL radio.

KOA radio has secured it’s next program director it is Dave Tepper. Dave was most recently with Altitude sports radio 92.5 and 950 the betting radio station VCIN. There is no word yet who will be programming those stations. Michael Brown said on July 24, that he would love to keep Dragon Redbeard as his producer. He asked listeners to e-mail to a certain e-mail address and tell him why Dragon should still be the Michael Brown’s producer. The last I heard he got 150 responses. I e-mailed the e-mail address saying I was on board with this decision.  

The last 2 weeks of July on the George Brauchler show on 710 KNUS radio George hasn’t been there. He is in army training. Jon Caldara has been substituting for him. It is great to hear Jon on 710 KNUS radio. He likes fill in work on the radio. Brady King joins KOAA as sports anchor and news reporter coming from KJTV, and KCBD TV Lubbock Texas. I got this from Mike Mcguff’s blog. The people at KOAA TV are really glad to have Brady on board.  Eddie Haskell has left the afternoon DJ position on Max Media’s WGH in Virginia. Eddie used to be program director of KYGO radio and was the program director of the Fort Collins country Town Square media country station. He is taking the summer off before he decides where his next radio stop would be.  

Thanks for tuning in.

Radio updates and news

Jeremy Levy back with you to write more about Colorado Media for Spring of 2022. If one good thing can come from the Nuggets season this year is that Nikola Jokic won the MVP award for best over all basketball player for the second time in a row. There were people who thought Phildelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid  should have gotten the award. Matt Smith and Nate Jackson on 104.3 the fan talked about this the second week of May of 2022. There was an interesting article for me to read from the Barrett’s sports media blog. E S P N  N B A Analysts Brian Windhorst and Tim  Legler got the attention of Matt Smith who was filling in for Chad Brown and Nate Jackson during the Chad and Nate show from 9-11 on 104.3 the fan.  Windhorste and Legler felt like Embiid was the MVP and sounded offended that he wasn’t the winner. Matt Smith argued the same things could be said for Jokic, meaning that Jokic carried the team through the regular season and the playoffs when the Nuggets were in the series against Golden State. He argued that Jokic did more with less star power for the Nuggets. Matt didn’t understand how Embiid was Legler’s choice instead of Jokic. Matt said “There are several reasons why that is Garbage from Legler. Nate Jackson said that Jokic is the Rodney Dangerfield of NBA players. Nate Jackson said that Jokic does  deserve the award for the second year in a row. If you would like to read the full story it is on Barett’s sports media blog under sports radio news.  

Andrew Mason has joined 104.3 the fan as a contributor. Andrew has spent some time in the 2010’s as KOA’s contributor and the n he spent some time at Milehigh sports radio. This is great news for him.  

Parker Hillis has joined Kilt sports radio as its next program director. He was with 104.3 the fan for a couple of years. It is interesting that Parker and the former program director in Houston both worked at 104.3 the fan.

Cherise Fruge has has signed an exclusive V. O. imaging with Bens town. This is great news for her. If you remember she was in Colorado back when 92.5 radio was a party station. Congratulations to her. She succeeds John Clayton.

Brandon  Krisztal has been named lead sports reporter for KOA radio. He is no longer doing the sports reports in the mornings. He is doing all sports. Mike Rice has taken over as sports anchor in the mornings on KOA radio.  It is great hearing Mike’s voice again in the mornings on KOA radio Brandon is a co-host on the KOA Sports Zoo with Dave Logan and Alfred Williams. It is great to hear Brandon in this roll. . Tom Martino the Troubleshooter had back surgery in May of this year. He did some shows from his house. He is getting better and better each show. Well wishes go out to him.   

KS 107.5 program director has left the station. He left after the morning show had been canceled.

Aubrey Bishop has been elevated to promotions director at KRXP radio after Cate left KRXP radio.

Thanks for tuning in.

Avalanche!!!

Jeremy Levy back with you. I am really excited to report that the Colorado Avalanche went to the Stanley Cup finals. “You can go home, but you can’t Stay Here!” This Party Is Over!” The Avalanche WON the Stanley Cup Finals!” “They did it! The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup Champions! The final score of the last game was 2 to 1!” said Conor McGahey, announcer of the Colorado Avalanche on Altitude Sports radio 92.5.  This is something the Avalanche haven’t done in 21 years. The last time they were in the Stanley Cup finals was in 2001. I wasn’t a fan back then. I started becoming a fan in 2009 or 2010.   Mark Moser said “those of you that are young hockey fans, you don’t know what you are in for. This is going to get fun.” Mark said this on Moser, Lombardie and Kain on Altitude 92.5.  Bret Kain is going to learn how much fun the Stanley Cup Finals are this year. Mark Moser said that he is going to learn very quickly. I learned right along with Bret. I am going to take you back through the journey of which this Colorado Avalanche have been this year in the playoffs if you didn't follow along from a radio listener's perspective.

The Colorado Avalanche started playing the Nashville Predators. They won that series in 4 games. I e-mailed Dan Mandis who is the program director of WWTN radio in Nashville and he said that Nashville was a great Hockey town. The Avalanche were very resilient in beating the Predators. Then it was on to a 6-game series with the St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche lost 2 games in that series. St. Louis won a game 5 to 4 in Denver at Ball Arena. I tried e-mailing one of the hosts of the flag ship station Michelle Smallman to ask her about the atmosphere was in St. Louis but didn’t get a response back.  The Avalanche went to St. Louis the next game and won 2 nights later to move on to the Edmonton Oilers. The Avalanche won that series in 4 games. I also tried to get a comment from their radio station Ched 630   to try and get a comment but wasn’t able to.  

The Avalanche went on to face the Tampa Bay Lightning- 2 time defending Champion. Mark Moser was looking on Monday June 13, before the series, at the games the Avalanche have won against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He said they won one game 3 to 2 and one game 4 to 3. Mark Moser and Bret Kain were talking about the goaltender for Tampa. They were saying that he is a very good goalie. The Avalanche have beaten him, so they know that they can beat him. Bret Kain mentioned the Avalanche need to mind their P’s and Q’s. They might have trouble if Tampa Bay scores 3 or 4 goals in a game. It might be difficult for the Avalanche to come back from that. That was Bret’s and Mark Moser’s opinion.

The flag ship station for the Tampa Bay lightning is 970 WFLA in Tampa. I heard from Katie Butchino, who works for 970 radio in Tampa. Her quote to me was " I am a huge hockey fan. It’s impossible not to be in Champa Bay! We are SO excited here in Tampa! Hockey fans here are incredible and very underrated! People don’t realize how much this city loves the Tampa Bay Lightning. The entire city is ready to be 3X champions. It’s very energetic here right now. It you get the chance to be inside the Amalie Arena for a hockey game, even if you’re not a hockey fan, you’ll leave one - it’s unlike any sporting event I’ve ever been to. Incomparable!

The Avalanche went up 2 games to zero in the Lightning Avalanche series. They got an impressive win on Saturday June 18, 2022. It was a shut out 7 to nothing.   Altitude Sports radio 92.5 the flagship station for the Colorado Avalanche had special coverage on Saturday the 18th of June with Josh Dover and Josh Grizmer, the producer of the mid-day Masters of the Mid-day “us”. Josh Grizmer asks some great questions of guests.  It was great to hear from Lauren Gardner who now works for the NHL network, and the MLB Network who also worked for Altitude TV back in the day. She is now working in Florida. She was the best guest in my opinion on the show with Josh and Josh. She said she is hoping to get out to Colorado for games 6 or 7 if there is one. She likes many of the Avalanche players. Altitude sports radio is going to broadcast after the game until after midnight Josh Grizmer will be on after Between the Pipes is over tonight until after midnight.  Bret Cain with Mark Springer will be on from 3 until 5:30 on Saturday night.  That is a great combination of hosts.  In my opinion 104.3 the fan has the second-best coverage of the Colorado Avalanche. The Friday before the second game of the series 104.3 The fan had 2 familiar voices on that morning on the morning show Mike Evans and Sandy Clough. They were together broadcasting in 2001 when the Avalanche were in the Stanley cup finals. Mike and Sandy were remembering when they were together for the 2001 run to the Stanley cup. They went to New York for 2 of the games. They went to a Yankee game together. Mike Evans remembered he got a little bit mouthy with some of the fans. Sandy Clough said the Avalanche have a chance to have a Stanley cup final game at home just like they did in 2001. Sandy seemed to think that this series is going 7 games. He was wrong. They got it done in 6 games Sandy Clough was a guest on the Dan Jacobs show which airs weekends on 104.3 the fan and he said that the 2001 Avalanche had great players on it as well as this team. He said that the 2001 New Jersey Devils were better than this year's Tampa Bay Lightning team is. Dan was asking the question of his guests on fathers day weekend which team was better the 2001 Avalanche or this years Avalanche. It is hard for me to say because I wasn’t a fan of the 2001 team. Dan seemed to think that Kale Makar would be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I agree with him on that.

 On Sunday June 19, John Davis and Rachel from 104.3 the Fan are on talking about the impressive game last night. Rachel seems to think that Tampa is going to win game 3 on Monday night. John isn’t sure about that. I think John and Rachel make a great team together.  The Avalanche did lose game 3 in Tampa, but they came back with an impressive win on Wednesday night June 22, 2022. I love Connor McGayhey’s call of game 4 “Where did the puck go?” Peter McNab who is the color commentator saw that it went in with Nelson Kadri. “It went in!” with Conor’s voice cracking. Kadri had been out for the 3 weeks but was able to come back for game 4. Andy Lindahl said he was tired of the Tampa coaches complaining there were too many guys on the ice. Vick Lombardi and Bret Cain were impressed with the Avalanches win on Wednesday night. They both thought Tampa was going to win  It  was incredible. They thought it was going to be this kind of series through out the games. Vic Lombardi was so excited that he couldn’t sleep the previous night. Vic got up early to join Bret in the 6 AM hour of the Bret Kain Show.  Warm up skate for the Avalanche on the night of June 24, 2022 was electric. Connor McGahey said he has never seen it like this. Connor also said during the pregame show that the Avalanche are prepared for this. He expects a prideful game from Tampa Bay. Don’t think that Tampa is going to go quietly. Conor also said if he could wave his magic wand he would have Gabe Landeskog to have a big game tonight. I agree with that. He is my favorite player. The most important key for today's game is  don’t let the moment  be to overwhelming for the Avalanche. I am looking forward to finding out if they do win the cup tonight. I agree with that as well. They lost game 5 but were able to come back to Tampa and win game 6.  Downtown Denver has been busy with people   Hockey fans are so excited to have their team back in the playoffs and being successful. My Dad has been telling me he has seen pictures of people celebrating downtown.

The Colorado Avalanche had a parade Thursday June 30, 2022, to celebrate winning the cup. KOA radio’s Colorado’s morning news with Marty Lenz was broadcasting live Thursday morning. Mike Rice was along as well for this special morning. Altitude Sports radio was broadcasting as well. The most fun highlight for me being a listener was on Altitude Sports radio when Peter McNabb was joking with Mark Moser about his singing with the fans. I thought his singing was good. Anne from ABC 7 news and Peter McNabb didn’t like Mark singing. I thought that Jarod Bednar’s speech was the highlight of the parade. I also loved Gabe Landeskog’s speech as well. All in all it was a great Avalanche season. The question that has been raised now on KKFN 104.3 on this forth of July weekend by John Davis and his co-host filling in for Zach Bye and Brandon Stokley is which team between the  Nuggets and the Bronco’s will be the next one for a championship? I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to find out.  Thanks for tuning in.

Spring Update

Some weekday mornings 710 KNUS was a station I would flip to, but Peter Boyles retired from 710 KNUS on April 1. There was a going away party show for him at the View House in the Denver Tech Center. That was fun to listen to. I will be writing more about this in the future. George Brauchler has taken over as morning show host for now on 710 KNUS. 

Kelly Ford is doing internet entertainment for Live entertainment and cashless tipping app . Congratulations to her for this. Before this job Kelly was at WNSH radio in New York. She began her radio career at KYGO radio. I really miss her on the radio however, I am glad she found another job in the media universe.

Noah Ayala has joined Max Media Denver as the new morning host on Max media 101.5 KFCO radio. He came from California at from the station KDAY radio in Los Angeles. The move makes sense because the program director came from that station as well.   I have learned over the years that when a program director moves to a station he or she many times likes to bring other hosts from  the station where he or she is from. We will see what happens with this station. It is great that Max Media in Colorado is trying new voices on it’s radio stations.  

Nia Bender is now working for Audacy in Colorado as a  news reporter. Nia was most recently with Cumulus Media as a news anchor. Previous stops include 850 KOA radio and 710 KNUS radio. Congratulations to Nia.

Denise Plante of 106.7 the bull has launched a national campaign to support the American Cancer Society Researchers.   This is to honor her dad who passed away from cancer. I have met Denise before, and she is really involved with different charities. This is a wonderful project for Denise to be doing.

Carlos Lando is back working mornings on KUVO radio89.3 FM. He is on from 7-10 AM. Carlos used to be General Manager of the station. Carlos said we want to give people what they want. KUVO also had a very successful pledge drive. It was great hearing Susan Gatchett and Rodney Franks. I worked with all these people when I did an internship at KUVO and they are a great group.

Jay Williams has become 104.3 the fan’s Nuggets analyst. He will contribute to the Nuggets post game shows. Jay is familiar to fans of ESPN radio hosting from 4-6 A.M. on The Fan.  The name of that show is Kishon, Jay and Max. He is also an NBA analyst on ESPN TV as well. Also good wishes to Mark Schlerith of 104.3 the Fan.  Mark had a heart procedure. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, but is back hosting the morning show.

Congratulations to the Denver Pioneers for winning the NCAA Hockeychampionship against the Minnesota State team. Jay Stickney is the announcer for the Fan, and I think he does a great job. It was fun to hear him call the game.

It was time for the Colorado Broadcasters association dinner again. I enjoyed going to this dinner back a couple of years ago with Marc Crowley from 710 KNUS radio.104.3 won best station for covering the Nuggets. Tyler Polumbus won an award for the segment that he does on 104.3 the Fan during the afternoon show with D MAC (Darren Mckey). 104.3 the Fan also received an award for the best Nuggets podcast with Mike Evans. Best music station went to KRTR radio in Fort Collins.  They got the major market award. Small market was won by KWUZ radio which is a classic hits radio station. Large market went to KCFR radio.  Andy Lindahl of 92.5 radio won best post game show for the Bronco’s for Altitude sports radio.  850 KOA radio won for best news cast for Colorado’s morning news with April Zesbaugh and Marty Lenz. Congratulations to all of the crew out there. That is a wonderful show. I really enjoy tuning into that show. I flip back and forth from that station to 630 KHOW, 104.3 the Fan, and 92.5 KKSE Altitude sports radio station. KOA radio also got an award for best Bronco’s coverage as well. I agree they have the best coverage.

Speaking of April Zesbaugh, she is going to retire sometime in May from 850 KOA radio. I will really miss her. She has done a great job on 850 KOA radio since 1996. Steve Kelley wrote to me in an e-mail that is rare for a host to last that long at one station.  I have been a loyal listener of hers since 2003 or 2004 back when Steve Kelley and April Zesbaugh worked together. April said that Marty Lenz will do a great job hosting the show. He asks great questions of guests. A formal announcement will be in May of 2022.

Sticking with Iheart Media in Denver, Michael Brown has been given the opportunity to host a national show called the Weekend. This show can be heard on Freedom 93.7 and 760 radio K D M D radio from 10-1 PM on Saturday mornings and early afternoons. This show was hosted by Joe Pags Pagurillo who hosts a national show in the evenings on 630 KHOW radio from 6-9 PM. Joe will continue doing the weekday show nationally but will not do the weekend show any more. Michael hosted on the second Saturday in April and the 4th Saturday in April. We are not sure yet if this is going to be a permanent thing for him, but it is a great opportunity for him. Dragon Red Beard is producing for the Michael Brown show on 630 KHOW and for the Ross Kaminsky show on 850 KOA radio.  Angie Zetas who used to be a producer for 630 KHOW and for 850 KOA wants to be a DJ instead of a talk radio producer and that’s why she is no longer with the station. .

An interesting April fool's day joke on April 1, Steffan Tubbs announced he was running for Mayor of the city of Denver. There was much reaction to this. A week later he announced it was an April fool's day joke He had me fooled for a time. During that week Jon Caldara filled in for Stefan on Thursday. He did a great tribute to Peter Boyles.  Peter was the one who gave Jon Caldara his start in radio.

Rockies opening day happened this year and it was back to the normal crowds at Cooers Field. Ross Kaminsky and Mandy Connell did a show late morning from the Rockies Opening day festivities and it was a great pairing of hosts. Dave Logan and Alfred Williams were on late morning/ early afternoon. My favorite interview they did was with Dick Monfort. Dave Logan’s most interesting question was about selling the team. Dick’s answer was that he’s afraid if he sells the team someone else might have success. He doesn’t want that to happen. I thought it was courageous of Dave to ask that question. Jerry Schemmel is back in the booth with Jack Corrigan.

Thanks for tuning in.

Colorado media update

It is with a heavy heart that the Coloradoradioblog reports that Les Shapiro has passed away at the age of 65 years old with lung cancer. I found out about this Saturday January 29, 2022. I remember listening to Les when he was on Mile High 1340 sports radio hosting most recently with Eric Goodman.  Les also worked for 105.5 radio back when that was a sports station. On 105.5 radio, he worked with JoJo Turnbeaugh.  Les also worked for Channel 4 news back in the 1990’s and late 80’s.  Vick Lombarti was another great friend of his. They did a podcast together called Unstoppable.   On this podcast they interviewed athletes and how they went through difficult times. When Dave Logan and Scott Hastings were hosting the Sports Zoo together, Les Shapiro was one of the fill ins. He filled in with Ron Zappolo. Andy Lindahl might have been a producer for some of those shows and I bet he enjoyed having them as fill ins. Alfred Williams was a friend of his as well. KOA radio did a tribute for him from CBS 4. I thought it was a fitting tribute for him. Dave Logan said to reach out to people that you haven’t seen a while because you don’t know when they will be gone.   Mike Boyle also knew him a little bit as well. Les seemed like a very passionate host about sports. Sometimes he would have a very gentle voice on the air. His gentle voice reminded me of Mr. Buck who was one of my technology teachers at Pikes Peak Community college. I will really mis Les.  I wish I could have done an interview with him for this blog. He would have given me some great stories about working in sports radio.  The thing I will always remember that I can take away from Les’s work is what Vick Lombardi said about him- he always had great connections for his sports reporting. This is important for me as I start my media career is to develop great connections with people.

Kilo radio 94.3  is looking for a night jock.  This is a full time job with paid vacation, and insurance. Radio experience is a must and social media skills are a plus.  The program director is Ross Ford. The e-mail address to e-mail your resume to is Jobs@kilo.com. No phone calls. Ross is looking forward to finding out what job applicants he will get.

Well wishes go out from Jeremy Levy to Susan Whitken who was dealing with a back issue. She is hoping to be back on the air doing news for the Mandy Connell show soon. Susan, I hope that you get better soon David Kayle, Tom Mustin, Chad Baur, Laura Hatch, and Kathy Walker  have all been filling in for Susan. Brenda Stuard filled in Saturday afternoon February 5, 2022 for David Kayle. David is usually the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning news anchor for KOA radio.  It is great to hear Brenda back on KOA radio.

Angie Zetas, a producer, is no longer with Iheart Media producing for the Michael Brown show from 6-10 AM. Jesse Thomas has been filling in as the producer while they are looking for a replacement. I can remember a lot of fun times when Michael and Angie worked together. The time I remember most is when Michael and Angie were talking about her niece who was there for a visit and what a challenge she was. Angie and Michael got along so well as host and producer. I am hoping that they do find someone as good to replace her.  

Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor, is now on twice on 1460 the Answer KZNT radio on Sundays. He is on from 7-9 AM on Sunday mornings and he is also on from 5-7 PM on Sunday evenings.

There is some news in the podcasting world of Colorado. Lois Melkonian and Faith Donaldson have ended their "More To Life With Faith and Lois" podcast in the second week of January. The episodes can still be found on the website if people would like to listen back to the episodes. The website is Moretolifewithfaithandlois.com.

The Official Adventures in Odyssey podcast has celebrated it’s 400^th episode. This podcast talks about the Audio Theatre show on the radio Adventures in Odyssey. It is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. This podcast has different interviews with the voice actors, producers, writers, authors of books about the show, and other things as well. The hosts of the show are Bob Smithhouser, and Jesse Florea. It is hard to believe that this podcast has been around since September of 2007.

Thanks for tuning in.

Radio updates

Jeremy Levy back with you with some more radio updates. Some radio stations have  an employee of the month. For Altitude Sports radio for January it is Nate Kreckman  the afternoon host on Altitude sports radio 92. 5 He was awarded this on Tuesday February 15, 2022 for the month of January. Congratulations to him for this.

At the beginning of January Jason Cosmitsky who is the regular radio announcer for the Denver Nuggets on sports radio 92.5  was in covid 19 protocall, and Nate Kreckman filled in as the main host on the Denver Nuggets radio broadcasts. It was great hearing him in this roll. Bret Cain couldn’t believe how many stats Nate had during the broadcasts. He played some of them the next day on the morning show. He said that Nate didn’t take a breath while reading the stats. He and I thought that was funny.  

Armen Williams is leaving 610 radio in Houston. If you remember from past blogs he was recently with 104.3 the Fan. He also spent some time with 104.5 the team in New York. Congratulations to Armen for this new opportunity.  Armen will not be in radio anymore. He is going into the business world.

Jason Barett’s sports media’s top 20 lists are out. Dave Tepper got 18, for altitude sports radio and Raj Sheron got 14 for sports radio 104.3 the fan.  

Salem Media in Colorado are looking for sales assistants to join their team. Look on the 710 KNUS or 94.7 KRKS websites for the e-mail address to e-mail your resume.  I have been hearing about this when I tune into 710 KNUS shows.

During the radiothon KALC radio raised 1.1 million dollars. This is great news for them.

KYGO 98.5 radio was selected as station of the year for CMA (The Country Music association). Tracy Dickson of 98.5 KYGO was selected as best morning show for a major  market. Congratulations to her for this.  98.5 KYGO keeps it in the family and gets Mike Fisbeck as it’s next morning show co-host along side Tracy Taylor. Congratulations to him for this. I enjoy listening to them in the mornings. My favorite segment of the show is Tracy’s College of Hollywood knowledge where callers try and beat Tracy with Hollywood questions. If they beat her then they get 100 dollars of Tracy’s money. This happens at 7:30 AM every week day morning.

Way FM which is a Christian Cuntempory Music station has brought on 2 seasoned programmers for their music stations in Colorado. Robyn Sedgwick has been named General manager for Colorado and Kansas. Mike Weston is named Station Manager of Denver. Sedgewick spent the past couple of years as station manager of KCME radio in Colorado Springs. She also spent time at K200em Jazz radio in Colorado Springs.  Before that she spent time at a Christian radio station in Colorado Springs. Weston will report to Robbin. Congratulations to the both of them.  

The Colorado radio blog sends it’s condolences to Joel Folger. Joel did some work for KBPI radio back a long time ago and he is best remembered in the Minnesota and Dallas Texas area. Joel died of a heart attack last Thursday he was 65 years old. Services will take place at the beginning of March. I didn’t get a chance to listen to him on KBPI, but I’m sure he was a great DJ.  

Thanks for tuning in.

Colorado radio updates

Jeremy Levy back with you with some more news about Colorado radio and TV

The summer books are in for sports radio stations in Colorado. 104.3 the fan came in at number one in the sports category. KOA radio 850-94.1 fm came in second and Altitude Sports radio came in third. Altitude sports radio is maybe going to be making some changes. We will see what happens. As I have mentioned before Altitude sports radio  has started out a little bit slow with hosts and programming.  The big news is that Altitude 950 will now become a betting radio station called VSIN betting network. Altitude sports radio used to carry programming from Fox sports radio. Altitude Sports radio 92.5  will now carry this programming when there is not local programming or a sports event Nuggets or Avalanche or Rapids game . This is really exciting for them to add another betting sports radio station. One of the hosts, Michael Prichard, was on with Vick Lombardi, Mark Moser and Bret Cain. He will be hosting a show on the station 950.  I remember Mike from when he was with 104.3 the fan in Colorado.  He has been in Las Vegas hosting a show on 920 AM, the Raiders radio station. This is exciting news for him.  

Kelly Ford has left her New York country radio station post at Audacy country WNSH radio. That station has switched to playing hip-hop. I do hope that Kelly does find a new radio job soon. She was great on 98.5 KYGO back in the old days of KYGO radio.  

If you were wondering, like I was, what happened to Deborah Flora and why she hasn’t been on 710 KNUS for the past couple of months- well, she is running for Colorado State Senator. I really think she did a great show on 710 KNUS radio and I will miss her on Sundays.  There is a whole on 710 KNUS radio from 1-4 PM on Sundays now that Deborah has left the station.  They are playing Jill on money now in that time slot. George Brauchler has now moved into a week day show from 9-10 AM on 710 KNUS radio At the beginning of December. George went to do some army duty and Jon Caldara filled in on KNUS. It is always great to hear Jon. It was a surprise to hear him on 710 KNUS radio. He had some great shows.

 The Jimmy Segenberger show has moved into that 6-9 AM time slot on Saturdays.   From 5-7 PM on Saturdays is national programming Town Hall Weekend, and Hollywood 365 will air during that time slot I really wished that they would have found a local host for that time slot. Also Mark Howington is no longer with 710 KNUS radio doing news. I will miss him. I am not sure what happened to Scott Curtis in the afternoons. I am not sure where Rich Robinson is. Blake  Ulsin is doing the news now in the afternoons on 710 KNUS radio.

 Big Rob Lewis has moved from Iheart media Fort Collins where he was on KSME radio to  Town Square media Fort Collins. Rob was the program director of KSME, KOLT, KPAW, and a couple of the I heart media radio stations in Fort Collins. He resigned from I heart media the first week in October after his contract ran out. He is now doing afternoons on KKPL radio in Fort Collins. This is great news for him.

John Moug  is back in radio doing mornings in Seattle radio on Lotus communications star 101.5 KPLZ radio.  Angie Parker will be joining him in mornings on KPLZ. Salem Communications has promoted Santrella to Chief Operating officer. Back in overseeing president of Colorado Springs cluster and Denver Cluster. Congratulations to him for this. This is great news. Some of you might remember him when he worked on a Colorado radio station.

Colorado Public radio and PPCC radio in Colorado Springs are trading signals. PPCC’s radio station KEPC radio Will change their call letters to KXRE radio. That will air on 102.1 radio and 1490 radio on the A.m. dial. CPR’s public radio music station KVOQ radio will air on 89.7 radio. It will also air on 93.3 radio in Pueblo. The switch will happen in early 2022. This will give students an opportunity to intern with KRCC radio in Colorado Springs which is the CPR radio news station in Colorado Springs. Also Kosi 101 radio has started  playing Christmas music. That started at the beginning of November and will air all the way through the new year. The program director said that this has been a challenging year and they decided to make the switch at the beginning of November to make listeners happier. This is a great decision on their part.

Jerry Bell has retired from 850 KOA radio. I will miss him on KOA radio. I am hoping to stay in touch with him for years to come. I really enjoyed my interview with him. A lot of great people worked with him.

Thanks for tuning in.

Colorado Radio News and Changes

Jeremy Levy back with you with some more 2021 radio Updates. 

On KNUS radio Peter Boyles celebrated his 7 year anniversary with the station. Congratulations to him for this.

Steffan Tubs got Covid 19 and was off the air for a while. He is back and he is sounding better.  My favorite fill in for Steffan was Randy Corporon because he has a very calming voice on the air.

George Brauchler has had a busy summer. He has had some fill ins for his show while he has been doing some presentations for other states and he has also been working on finishing up some trials that he had when he was District Attorney. My favorite fill ins have been Chris Holbert and Debrah Floria.

Mike Boyle had his 30^th  anniversary of being on the air in Colorado radio. He had a fun event in Castle Rock at the Black Eyed Pea that I attended. This is a great restaurant. Congratulations to Mike for this. Also on Saturdays Mike has a new producer named Jean. Jim Nichols is still producing the Sunday show.  

Tom Moller has retired from 710 KNUS radio on October 15, 2021. I really had a wonderful time meeting him at the Colorado radio broadcasting dinner back a couple of Aprils ago.

 Coming up starting November 10, Casey Bloyer has started a new show. The Bloyer Effect is coming back from 7-9 P.m. This is great news for Casey and for KNUS radio.

John Morrisey is  retired from his full time traffic reporting  with KOA radio.  He will fill in on occasion on KOA radio in the mornings if the replacement traffic reporter isn’t available. The replacement reporter is Dave Hunter. I like Dave’s way of telling about the traffic. Congratulations to John on his retirement and also congratulations on Dave Hunter becoming the replacement for John.

Jerry Bell was off the air for a while. He had some surgery and he is back at work now. He is sounding better than ever.

Benjamin Albright got Coved 19. He didn’t go to the hospital and he was vaccinated. He got some medicine and he is back on the air. This is great news for Benjamin. I also enjoy Benjamin’s interviews during the different shows on KOA radio.  

Koa and 630 radio have new schedules. The KHOW radio schedule is as follows: from 6-10 AM-  The situation with Michael Brown. Then from 10 AM – 2 PM is the Trouble Shooter Show with Tom Martino. From 2-4 PM. is Leland Conway. Then from 4-6 is Dan Caplis. The KOA radio schedule is Colorado’s morning news show from 5-9 AM. Then from 9 AM to 12 PM. is the Ross Kaminsky show. From 12-3 PM is the Mandy Connell show. Then from 3-6 PM is the sports zoo with Dave Logan ,Alfred Williams, JoJo Turnbeaugh and Rick Lewis. From from 6-9 PM is Bronco’s Country Tonight with Benjamin Albright and Ryan Edwards.

Also the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche were in the play offs again this year. The Nuggets made it to the second round. In the first round they played the Trail Blazers. The Nuggets won that series. I e-mailed Chad Doing who is a sports radio host there and he said that there were a lot of fans there. “The atmosphere for the limited capacity was exceptional. “

Then the Nuggets played the  Phoenix Suns. I e-mailed a couple of the people who work in the media there and two of my friends that lives there and here are some of the comments.

From Mack Watson: The atmosphere around Phoenix is electric! This town hasn’t seen the Suns in the playoffs for over a decade and everywhere you look people are wearing their Purple and Orange, PROUDLY!

 From my friend Terry Bickel:  It is crazy the Nuggets and Suns are playing each other. I live in Tucson that is an hour and a half from Phoenix,  However, a lot of people here are sowing their Phoenix Suns pride. They are excited that they are in the play offs.  

From my friend Kathy Blanchard: I’m as shocked about the Suns as anyone. I think the last time I remember the Suns being really good was when the Bulls beat them for the championship. There are a few Ex UArizona players or at least player on the Suns.  A championship for Arizona would almost make up for the miserable year we had in sports. 

From Brook Wagoner who works for Kold TV who used to work for Channel 4 KCNC TV: We have a lot of people rooting for The Suns here in Southern Arizona. The fans really showed up for the team, and there’s a lot of excitement. Everyone would love to see them win!  Proud of them for their season. Of course, I have a soft spot for the Nuggets – they were always so kind to the Wednesday’s Children who got to come out and watch practice.  So for me – it’s a win-win!

Suns ended up winning

 Thanks for tuning in.

Warren Byrne Tribute

Jeremy Levy back with you. Today I am going to write about one of my favorite shows that I have been a big fan of since 1997 - the Warren Byrne restaurant show. I know that Warren didn’t want any fan fair, but he is an important person in my listening to talk radio. Let's take a walk down memory lane. Warren first started on the air in the early 80’s on KOA radio. In the early 90’s he moved to 1430 KEZW. I can still remember when I first heard his show. One day I went with my mom and dad to help a friend move into his new house. My mom and dad wanted me to have something to listen to. I had brought my little boom box. I was flicking around the dial and I discovered 1430 KEZW. The show that was on was the Warren Byrne restaurant show. Back then he was on Saturdays from 11-2 and Sundays from 10-noon. I first tuned in on a Sunday. This was significant because this was his last Sunday show. Warren announced that he was moving his Sunday show to Wednesday evenings from 5-7 PM. I wished I had caught some more of his Sunday shows before then. I decided that I liked his style of broadcasting. His voice sounded high and light. He sounded like a elf in the Harry Potter books. I decided I would tune in on Wednesdays to hear him. He was still on Saturdays from 11-2 p.m. I had never heard a mid-week restaurant show. What would it be like? I was excited and maybe a little bit nervous about this new show. I wanted to turn it on right when it started. That day seemed to drag on forever. I tuned in at 4:50 so I wouldn’t miss any of it. Back then KEZW played songs from the 50’s like Frank Sinatra, and other singers from that era. Warren must have been a little nervous as well. When I would listen to him it sounded like he had a little bit of trouble with new things. That show was fantastic and I became a regular listener.When I first started listening to him a lot of people would call in which made the show very interesting. Callers would call in about American restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Italian restaurants, German restaurants, and they would call in if they were looking for some unusual cuisine. Warren would put it out to the listeners and try and see if they could find what the caller was looking for. This was a fun part of the show to see what listeners would come up with. The show would also take calls about restaurant experiences that listeners had. Warren described it as the peoples show.Another thing I really enjoyed about his show was the music that he used. This is where I first learned about a type of music called no named music. This is where radio stations put together music for different shows that had instruments in the music, but there is no words to it or no title. Warren had this type of music and it was also catchy. Warren would take calls even if people didn’t like a particular restaurant. He would let the restaurant know and would try and correct the situation.Another thing that was interesting about his show was that Warren would put together meal deals with his sponsors. This was called the 1430 meal deal. The restaurants would have a couple of items on the menu for $14.30 per person or $14.30 per couple. These meals would be an appetizer, an entrée, and dessert. It would start on a Saturday and wrap up the following Thursday. I liked how Warren would describe these deals. My favorite days listening to Warren’s show were when callers would call in about hamburger restaurants because that is my favorite meal when I go to a restaurant. A restaurant that I tried from listening to his show was Poppies restaurant at Iliff and Colorado Blvd. The burgers and French fries are really delicious and they give you a good portion of food. One year during the holidays Warren was talking about a seafood restaurant called the Cherry Crest restaurant. He mentioned that they had a deal going on where you could get a steamer bucket of food which included fish, vegetables such as corn, and clams for people to take home and prepare at home. My mom, Dad, and I took advantage of the deal and the food was delicious.One of my favorite callers to Warren Byrne’s show was a caller named Lidia from Littleton. Lidia was blind and the way she would describe the restaurants that she went were really enjoyable to listen to. I always looked forward to hearing where she had been. There was another caller named Fred who had some disabilities as well. He also did a great job of explaining the restaurants and the dishes that he had.My dad called into one show to talk about a restaurant called the Denver buffalo Company. He said to Warren that the food was over priced, but the food was good. Warren Byrne said that’s part of what you pay if you want that great buffalo experience. Paul Macgregor Mr.-fix-it would do an interview with Warren before his show sometimes. One day Warren announced that he was kicking off a brand new contest to the show. Paul asked, “ Can I take part?” Warren said, “No we can’t we can’t win anything on the station Paul considered Warren like a father figure to him. He could always turned to him for advice on where to go and eat. The contest was that callers could win a gift certificate to a restaurant that was a sponsor to his show. This was a fun contest because the callers had to know who the sponsors were. Also on a Wednesday evening Warren announced that Rick Crandall was going to be out of town the next day. Warren was going to be filling in for Rick on the St. Joseph’s hospital health program that was on Thursdays from 6-7. They were going to be talking about chronic pain. Warren made a joke that some people call him a chronic pain. I tuned into that show and Warren had some good questions for the guest who was a doctor. On another Wednesday program Warren did a broadcast from a restaurant I can’t remember which restaurant this was. The broadcast went better because the remote technology was better. After a couple of months Warren moved his show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to 12-3 p.m. on Saturdays because the program schedule on KEZW grew to add The Garden Wise Guys which is now Ask the Garden Pros. This was a great show to listen to if you wanted to learn about all of the restaurants in Colorado and about dining in Colorado. Back then Warren had a lot of calls to his show. It was difficult to get in on those shows. When I got into middle school I found out that my teacher aid Mary Moden loved listening to Warren Byrnes show as well. Also one of my English teachers Mrs. Eileen Cox really enjoyed listening to the show as well.Back in 2003 or 2004 I was selected to be a guest/ co-host on the Nancy Merrill cooking show that was on Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. right before Warren ‘s show. Warren came in early to prepare for his show. I got to say a quick hello to him. Nancy told me that Warren gets really nervous before his show and that’s why he wasn’t in the talkative mood.One year Warren put together a trip for listeners to go on with listeners to his show. This trip was to Alaska. They first stopped in Seattle Washington for a couple of days and then the group went on to Alaska on a cruise ship. Warren was able to bring the equipment with him so he could broadcast from Seattle the first weekend and then on the Saturday coming back. During this time his show was on from 10 a.m. -1 p.. m The way he was able to do this was he was able to arrange with the intercom radio station KIRO radio to broadcast from their studios for the Saturday shows. The first Saturday things didn’t go according to plan. They had a couple of computer problems. The producer Janine must have had to work pretty hard that particular day. They finally got the computer problems worked out and Warren got on at 10:40 that day. 40 minutes after his show was supposed to start. On the Wednesday program that week when Warren was on the cruise Warren had Shannon Byrne his daughter fill in for him. She was a great host to listen to as well. It would have been great if she would carry on the tradition of hosting the show. On that particular show Shannon was looking for some suggestions from listeners on where to take her father when he got back from his trip for father’s day. She got some good suggestions.After a couple of years, the schedule on 1430 KEZW opened up a little bit and Warren moved his show again from 12-3p.m. to 9 A.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. During this time Warren tried a couple of things with the Wednesday shows. He tried for a couple of weeks doing a 1 hour show every day of the week and that didn’t quite work out. He reverted back to the 4-7 p.m. show that he did on Wednesdays. Around this time KEZW moved into a brand new studio in the Denver Tech center. This is where the intercom family of stations is now. Warren had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the new set up in the new studio. They had a new introductions for his show and one of them the introduction person paused in just the wrong place and Warren thought it was his turn to talk, and it wasn’t his turn. On that Wednesday show Warren told about some memories about radio from the past before they would tape everything was live so you could hear the mistakes as they happened. I thought that was interesting I always enjoyed listening to Warren’s show during the holiday time. He would bring a happy feeling to the holiday season.A couple of years later Warren moved his show to the new oldies station called Cruisin Oldies 950. He was on from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. then he moved again from 10 A.m. to 1 p.m. After a couple of years Warren moved back to 1430 KEZW because crusin 950 didn’t work out I am finishing writing this on November 18th of 2020 because on this day it is Warren’s birthday. I am hoping this will be a great present to him. On the 4th of July of 2020 Warren Byrne retired from doing the Warren Byrne restaurant show. Rick Crandall wrote on the KEZW website that he and Warren were talking in January of 2020 about Warren Retiring. Then the pandemic hit. He also wrote that there were times that Warren wanted to let his listeners know on the 4th of July Saturday that it was his last show, but decided to not mention it The final show was about reminiscing about restaurants from the past. This was a great last show to go out on. Warren wanted to go out on top just like he always did.The word I would use to describe the Warren Byrne restaurant show is successful. The show was really a success and I am hoping that the things I have learned from listening to the Warren Byrne restaurant show will transfer over when I start my own podcast in the next couple of months. Thanks to you Warren Byrne for teaching me about how to do a great show and also of how to be successful. Thanks for tuning in.

Jeremys radio fall and winter updates

Jeremy Levy back with you to write about radio changes in Colorado and national radio.What is happening to the other programming schedules? I’m glad that you asked. 630 KHOW radio has Ross Kaminsky from 6-10 A.m. Then Tom Martino The Troubleshooter is on from 10-2 P.m. Michael Brown has come back to 630 KHOW and hosts from 2-4 and Dan Caplis hosts from 4-6 p.m. I flip back and forth during the day from 630 KHOW to 850 KOA radio. The 850 KOA radio’s schedule is as follows Colorado’s morning news from 5-9 A.m. Dave Logan and Rick Lewis from 9-12 Mandy Connell from 12-3 and a new show hosted by Alfred Williams and JoJo Turnbeau from 3-6 p.m. Bronco’s country tonight is still on from 7-11 p.m. I will be writing my opinions about these changes in a future post. With these changes there comes a change that is a sad change. Jerry Schemmel is no longer with KOA radio. He was cut due to budget cuts. Mike Rice has taken over as the other Rockies announcer with Jack Corrigan. This is an interesting change. Jerry Schemmel has joined 104.3 the fan as a fill-in host and he has brought over his show called Amazing Americans which airs on Sundays at 7:30 a.m. to 8 A.m. It’s good to have Jerry back on the air.I will comment about KHOW’s changes. I am really glad that Tom Martino the Troubleshooter is on for 4 hours. I really think this was a great move for KHOW radio. It’s good to hear Michael Brown back on the air. Michael is fun to listen to on Fridays. He opens up the phone lines on Fridays so people can call in. These are classic shows. Fridays are the best days to listen to this show. It is also good to hear Dan Caplis on KHOW radio. I really miss him not having a partner. I really thought Krista Kafer was a great partner for him. I am still unclear as to why she is no longer on the show with him. Some older listeners really enjoyed Craig Silverman on with Dan Caplis. That partnership lasted for about 10 years. I think the ratings would show that was a good partnership of hosts. If you want to have a successful radio show with a partner then the chemistry needs to work. Speaking of Craig Silverman he is no longer with KNUS radio anymore. Back in November of 2019 Craig joined Dan for one of his shows. That next Saturday Craig was pulled off of KNUS’s airwaves for being critical of president trump. I read about this on Michael Robert’s westward articles. Craig’s contract said that he couldn’t compete by being on 2 different radio stations. After the second week in November the Craig Silverman’s show on KNUS is no longer on the Saturday morning line up. KNUS really enjoys live and local programming on Saturdays. They tried a host named Deborah Flora and they also tried George Brauchler in that time slot. They finally decided to move Randy Corporon’s wake up show from 6-9 a.m. to 9-noon on Saturdays. They also started a new show called the George show from 6-9 a.m. This is a great move for them. I really enjoy listening to George Brauchler when he was with KHOW radio and also his fill ins on 710 KNUS radio Good luck to Craig with what his next job would be . Steffan Tubbs is on KNUS from 3-7 p.m. on 710 KNUS. This started during the pandemic Also on KNUS Chuck Bomiwell and Julie Haden are no longer with the station. From 1:3 Sebastian Gorka is on Chuck and Julie are doing podcasts on their own. The reason that Chuck and Julie are no longer with KNUS is because Chuck made a comment about there being a shooting so they wouldn’t talk about what was going on in the world. The program director said that he was thinking about moving Sebastian Gorka into that time slot anyway, so it worked out in the end. I will really miss Chuck and Julie. Good luck to them with their podcast During the pandemic some of the I heart employees have been furloughed. 2 in particular that I have heard about are Jon Caldara and Dragon Red Beard of KRFX radio. Jon Caldara from KHOW radio is hoping to be back on the air soon after the pandemic. This is good news for him. I am not sure about Dragon. I am hoping that he will be back in the fall. Also with I heart media Some of the weekend schedule of local hosts also got furloughed. Pat Miller was one of them as well as Greg Hollenbeck of the modern Eater show. They are both doing podcasts. Good luck to both of them.Warren Byrne retired on July 4th weekend. I will write more about this in an up-coming blog.Also well wishes go out to Mike Boyle. Mike had a bike accident and was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. He is on the mend his daughter Kaylee is in town to take care of him. Mike is sounding as good as ever.KATC country has re-branded and has a new morning show with Bo and Wendy. {Bo Jaxon and Wendy Labree). Bo Jaxon has moved back to Colorado after being in Kansas programming KFTI radio. Wendy Labree has gotten back into radio. After being gone for a couple of years. I am hoping to do an interview with them with both of them down the road. I am excited to do this.During the Corona Virus intercom has made some cuts. The one in Denver Steve Edwards is out as afternoon host at soft oldies 1430 KEZW. I e-mailed the program director Rick Crandall and he said that he is hoping to hire him back after the virus is over. This would be good news for him and for the station. It is really a shame that some radio groups have to make cuts. It is part of the business though. I am hoping that some of these people can find jobs in radio again. More about this later.There is a new News Director for KUSA channel 9 that moved back from Texas. Tim Ryan has come back to KUSA after serving the same roll at KVUE in Austin. Before that he was with KUSA for a long time. I got this information from Mike Mcguff’s Blog.Those people who would like to work in Wrap or hip hop radio in Denver should send a video to Rick Thomas at Rito@maxmedia.com They also need to send their resume The reason for this change is because Flow 107.1 has flipped formats. They are now known as Jammin 107.1 I’m not sure what is going to be on 101.5 radio yet.Joel Hillan is no longer with KCNC channel 4 doing weekend traffic. I will miss him. I first heard him on KOA 850 a.m. doing news for them. He always had a very gentle voice that was easy to listen to. Good luck to him with what ever his next plans are.Kathy J and Larry Ulaberry are out as the morning hosts on 107.1’s morning show. Their contract couldn’t be renewed. I will miss them. Good luck to them in whatever their next adventures would be.Rick Thomas has joined Max Media as program director of it’s cluster of stations. They are Jammin 101.5, and Flow 107.1 radio. Rick was most recently with Cox Media group in Florida at Magic 94.9” WWRM, CHR “Hot 101.5” WPOI, and Soft AC 105.5 WDUV . He joined max media Colorado earlier this year.Kyle Cunningham is leaving Colorado Public radio for a job outside of radio. There is no word yet about who will replace him.John Fulham has retired as intercom president of Intercom Denver. Good luck to him in his retirement.Jason Thomas has joined 102.3 KVOQ radio as afternoon host. He came from Intercom’s WXRT radio in Chicago.Also Colorado College has taken over Colorado public radio 91.5 radio in Colorado Springs. Colorado College has entered into a partnership with KRCC radio which is 91.5 radio in Colorado Springs. They will pick up the Colorado matters show from Denver. This is exciting news for them. They will also be building a new studio in 2021. This is really good news for them Jenny Gentry has moved into the role of chief operating officer at Colorado Public radio. She has been with the company for 36 years. She has helped the station in a number of ways so congratulations to her. .KUVO radio moved into their new studio this past week. As you might remember I helped out on a project for them of the best Colorado Jazz artists. This project will be exhibited in their new studio.Cumulus Media Urban AC “Magic 107.3” KMJK North Kansas City/Kansas City has appointed Jowcol ‘Boogie D’ Dolby as Program Director. Dolby most recently spent a few weeks earlier this year as Operations/Programming Director for Max Media Denver. He previously spent twelve years at Radio One as OM of WDMK/WGPR/WPZR Detroit, WFUN/WHHL St. Louis, as well as s other stations. That was a short stop in Colorado for him. Good luck to him in Kansas City.Daren Rains has passed away. Daren worked at a lot of different radio stations. One of them being KKMG radio. Daren passed away from Covid 19 virus. I am sorry to hear this for his family.Rex Long has moved to KKMG 98.9 radio in Colorado Springs as it’s new program director. He transfers from 101.9 WHYY radio in Montgomery Alabama. He has also spent time in Abilene Texas at KCCD 103 radio . Congratulations to Rex Long.KS107.5 radio adds Tino Cochino for nights. KS107.5 radio has decided to go national radio during night times with the Tino Cochino show. He succeeds DJ Stacks. This is his first intercom station. Also at Intercom communications Chuck Sullivan has moved from Milwaukee WI where he was market manager to take the same position in Denver for intercom in Denver.101.5 radio has moved voice tracker KJ Bland from weekends to afternoons replacing the same-day replay of the Larry & Kathie morning show from sister Hip-Hop “Flo 107.1” KFCO. Bland previously hosted middays at KRNB Dallas until the end of 2017 and has also served as MD/midday host at WMKS Greensboro NC and APD/midday host at WJMZ Greenville SC.The national show Brook and Jubel in the mornings radio show which is on KKMG radio has a new producer Jeff Dubow. Jubel has left the show and Jeff has been named as co-host now. This is an interesting change Jubil has moved back to Seattle to be on The art hip hop station there. .Brian W Washington has left the program director position at 106.7 the Bull to join Hubbard radio country KNUC 98.9 radio as it’s afternoon host. That leaves Chelsea T without a co-host for afternoons at 106.7 the Bull in Colorado. Melanie Miltz has been tapped as market manager of Bonneville Denver which owns Kosi 101 Kygo radio, KKFN Radio, and Kepn radio. She joins from Hubbard Radio KSTP radio in Minnesota. This is a good move for her. KSTP radio seems like a very popular station Good luck to Melanie.Brenda Egger has joined I heart media as it’s market president. She joined from Altitude sports radio. She replaces Tim Hager. She is familiar with all of Colorado having spent time with Citadel broadcasting in Colorado Springs and she has also worked for CBS radio that changed to Wilks broadcasting she was market manager there. Good luck to Brenda.Also in the Country radio world Bob Kingsley has passed away. Bob hosted a national country count down show on KYGO radio and KUBL radio on weekend mornings. My friend Lucas really enjoyed listening to him. A lot of fans of country radio will really miss him. Sticking with Country radio in Fort Collins KYAP radio 96.9 radio has a new sound to it as it flips to Throw back country 96.9 radio. They are owned by Appaloosa broadcasting but Border media partners has taken them over. I look forward to hearing more about this group of radio stations and this new station.Don Imus passed away at the end of last year. Don worked was a national host. He was on what was known as 1280Ralf KRRF in Denver.Also Eddie Haskell has been named program director of Max Media radio stations in Virginia. He was in Colorado for a long time with stops at Bonneville radio stations and also IHeart media in Fort Collins. Good luck to him as well. KYGO is looking for it’s next morning show host or hosts. Guy David has left the station after 2 or 3 years. Tracy Dickson has been hosting solo for now. Those who are interested should check out the Bonneville website and submit their resumes. Also Johnny E Kage has been named Program director of 106.7 the Bul KUBL in Colorado. John E is now the program director of 2 I heart media radio stations. 106.7 the Bull and 95.7 KPTT radio which is hip hop.For those of you who remember 92.5 the Wolf there used to be a host on there named John Moug. After the Wolf John went to San Diego to do mornings at Excetra Fm 92.9 radio. He is now with Mix 106 in Boise Idaho. He has joined their morning show with Karlie Cash. John still voice tracks at stations in Connecticut.Also Brian Hatfield is no longer with McDonald broadcasting country WKCQ in Saginaw Michigan. For those of you that have been long time fans of KYGO you might remember that Brian was with KYGO for a long time Also those of you who remember a program director on KIMN radio 100 radio there was a program director named Ron Harald. Ron was the program director for a couple of years before taking some other radio jobs most recently in Seattle. He has left Seattle at Hubbard radio stations. Good luck to him. Also Kevin Kosc is no longer on nights at Hubbard radio WTMX radio in Chicago. Kevin was with KALC radio back in the early 2000’s. This is sad news for him. Good luck to him with what ever his next move would be. .Dave O’Brien has joined 99.5 the mountain as it’s new morning show host. He has joined from Emis Communications in Indiana. This is exciting news. He was with Hank FM 97.1 for a long time.Oldies Crawford radio station 810 KLVC has a new translator. The FM translator is 95.3 radio. This is good for them as it gives them an FM signal. This means that more people can hear the station. There is a new mid-day host on Kosi 101 radio as Jackie Selby exits after her contract could not be renewed. I will really miss Jackie. She was a wonderful host and I met her a couple of years ago while on a trip with my voc rehab class. Good luck to Jackie with her next goals. Emily MackenzieIs the new mid-day host at Kosi 101. Emily used to be with Mix KIMN 100 radio doing mid-days and she was also doing the morning show for a time. KALC radio has parted ways with their mid-day show as well. Carson and Amber are no longer doing mid-days on the station. Amber has moved to the afternoons to join Slacker and Steve. And Carson has joined Jamie White and BJ Harris in the mornings as their producer. Shawn Swallow is no longer with Kalc’s morning show. Kalc just plays music during the mid-day time slot.Orange and Blue 760 is no longer on the air. It is now Freedom 760 radio and they have an FM. Signal at 93.7 radio. 1510 and 93.7 radio KNRC radio is only on 1510 radio. The programming schedule for freedom 93.7 and 760 radio is as follows- Glen Beck from 7-10 a.m. Rush Limbach from 10-1 P.m. Sean Hannity from 1-4 p.m. Buck Sexton from 4-7 p.m. and Dave Ramsey from 7-10 p.m. It is all national programming.104.3 the Fan had to figure out what their plans would be in the afternoons after Alfred William’s departure from the station. Daren Mackey or his nick name D-mac needed a good partner to work along side him. For a couple of months Daren was working with Tom Nalen. Tom most recently worked with Nate Kreckman back a couple of years ago. People thought that this was a great change. Tom has moved on to a different job in Massachusetts. The show that is on now is D-mac with Tyler Polumbus. Tyler has returned to the fan. Nick Ferguson was hosting with them for a little while. That was a great line-up of hosts. Nick is still on the fan, but he has joined with Cecil Lammey in the evenings from 7-9 p.m. This was a good change. Also this month of June the fan is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary. They have brought back some of the old hosts that used to be on the station like CJ Charles Johnson. It was good to hear him a couple of weeks ago one night with Nick Ferguson and Chad Brown.On 104.3 the fan there is a new fill-in host who was a former Bronco. Nate Jackson. This is good news for the fan.Mike Pritchard has started a new radio show in Los Vegas on KRLV 920 a.m. Clay Baker will be paired with Mike Pritchard. This is interesting news for him. The Raters games will air on KOMP f.m. and KRLV radio One other quick thing. Les Shapiro has left Mile high sports radio 1340 A.m. He retired from the station. He has moved to Arizona. I will really miss his show on Mile high Sports radio. I first heard him filling in for Dave Logan and Scott Hastings back when they were doing the sports zoo together. Ron Zappolo was his co-host. Also speaking of Mile High Sports radioKDCO will surround its local programming with BetR’s national shows including Follow the Money with Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard, Brent Musburger’s My Guys in the Desert and The Lombardi Line, hosted by former NFL executive Michael Lombardi.Mile High Sports also publishes a local magazine and was purchased in 2017 by former Fox Sports Radio weekend host and KKFN Denver Program Director Nate Lundy.The BetR Network, partnered with Skyview Networks for network audio and affiliate sales and distribution, announces its partnership with Denver’s leading independent voice for sports fans, Mile High Sports. Through this affiliate agreement, Mile High Sports (KDCO) is bringing credible sports betting information to Denver, including select content from VSiN, The Sports Betting Network.Thanks for tuning in.

Bernie Egan is a blind radio host who lives in Indiana

Jeremy Levy back with you this week to write about one of my interviews. Bernie Egan is a blind radio host who lives in Indiana. I first read about him on the People Moves InsideRadio website that he was retiring. Bernie still works weekends on WYXB radio B105.7. I also e-mailed one of the program directors. Scott Roddy, about some other hosts and he also told me about him. I recorded this interview back a couple of Octobers ago with my job coach at the time, Leah Wing She was my job coach from Shalom Denver. After my questions to Bernie, Leah had a couple of other questions for Bernie. The main thing I learned from Bernie is that blind people can accomplish their goals and dreams. Bernie has been in radio for a long time. He still enjoys working on weekends.When I talked with him over the phone I could sense how much he loved the industry.Here is my interview with Bernie.Jeremy Levy: I first heard about you from InsideRadio people moves and I know that you have been in radio for a long time in Indiana. Is this where you got your start in radio?Bernie Egan: I bothered a lot of radio people until they gave me a chance basically. I started talking to people at the different radio stations and that’s how it all started.JL: I heard in an interview on the station's website that you started in Muncie, Indiana. Which station was this? Also when you started on that station what challenges did you face being blind and wanting to work in radio?BE: That was WERK in Muncie, Indiana. That would have been 1980. The challenges I faced when I started were convincing the people at the station that I could do the job. I mean I knew what to do. It was convincing the people at the station that I knew what to do.JL: At WYXB radio did you come across the same challenges?BE: After WERK I worked at WEMS radio After that I switched over to WYXB radio and I’m now doing weekends there. They were pretty helpful about accommodating me. Everything is now touch screen now.JL: Which is a little bit of a challenge for those of us who are blind.BE: Yes that is true.JL: How do you compensate for this?BE: The way it works is I have a plexiglass board that goes over the touchscreen. This board has holes in it where my finger can touch the screen in the places I need to do it. It enables me to start songs, start commercials, or stop the system if I need to talk without music under me.Comment from Jeremy Levy. I think this is a wonderful accommodation!JL: You have been at WYXB radio for a long time. What is it like working for such a heritage radio station?BE: I got very lucky landing with a great company. I have been with this company since 1981. I have worked with 2 different radio stations with the same company. It’s been great. I got so lucky. I can’t believe that I get to do this for my career that I love.JL: I also heard your name from a program director who used to be in Indiana named Scott Roddy. What was it like working with Scott?BE: I know Scott from his time in Indianapolis. I never worked for him.JL: If you did I’m sure that it would have been great. Scott is now in Oregon doing radio out there at KWWJ The Wolf in Portland Oregon. You have worked with Ann Richards for a long time at WYXB radio as well. Did you learn anything from her and how is she to work with?Be: It’s very nice. It’s a great relationship. Everyone there is very accommodating.JL: What is your favorite part of working in Indiana radio?Be: Just really being on the air. I think it is all theatre of the mind. It’s like painting a picture when you talk on the air. Things that you say sometimes you just never know what people might come back with. I’ll see comments on face book sometimes of things I have said on the air sometimes and I don’t remember I said those things.JL: Are there any special remote broadcasts or special interviews that you have done that are some of your favorite radio memories?BE: Probably the one that comes to mind is John Cougar Mellenncamp. I did an interview with him back on WENS and it was an hour long interview. It just went very quickly. He just stayed on as long as we wanted him to.JL: What would be your advice for someone wanting to get into radio?BE: It’s a lot more difficult than it was back when I started. There are fewer people in it now because of voice tracking. Program directors don’t have to have as big of a staff. Because of the technology aspect of it it is a lot harder as well. What you really have to do is to have someone who really believes in you to say we will do what it takes to get you up to speed. It’s just more difficult.Leah Wing: How do you think radio is going to change in the next 5 years?Be: I think it has changed so much already. I think that radio really needs to find a way to create it’s own foot print going forward because everything has changed. Everything you want you can get on your phone or you can get on your computer. You don’t necessarily need to listen to the radio to get your music or information. Radio basically needs to figure out a way reinvent it self. I really appreciate Bernie Egan sharing this interview with me. It was helpful to get another blindness prospective from a host that has been in it along time.Stay tuned for information on my new podcast.

Tributes to Don Martin and Mindy McNeil who passed away

Jeremy Levy back with you with some sad news to report. Don Martin who was on KIMN 950 for years and was also with KOA radio for years has passed away. He passed away last September and he was in his 80’s. Don first started on KIMN radio 950 doing traffic reports and he was also the news director at the station. Don’s first introduction into radio was when he started a radio station when he was in high school. Don had a deep and calming voice. His voice sounded like Jerry Bell’s voice. When Don started his own radio station the call letters were KDON radio based on his first name. Those of you in Colorado would remember him doing the Shane Company commercials. The tag line was “Now you have a friend in the diamond business." Then he would give the directions on how to find the Shane Company. I first heard one of those commercials back on news talk 630 KHOW during the Mr. Fix-It show with Paul Macgregor. Don worked on KOA radio as program director in the early 90’s. 1994- 1996. The reason why I know this is because Dave Logan and Scott Hastings mentioned on the "Zoo You Hear What I hear" CD that I have. Chris Olinger got trained by him. Chris went on to be another one of the great program directors of KOA radio. Lee Larson also knew Don and the wonderful work that he did for KOA radio. . After Colorado radio, Don moved to California to program 570 KLAC radio which is a sports station. I remember Dave Logan and Susie Wargin doing an interview during the 2016 Super Bowl. He sounded great during that interview.Peter Boyles said that Don Martin was a radio guy. I also found out that when ever there was a weather disaster that Don would be covering that on KIMN radio. Don had a studio in his basement which is very similar to what I’m going to do in my new home. Don also mentored Hal Moore. I remember listening to KHOW radio back in 1996 and 1997 and the term for the traffic person was called KHOW "radio sky spy." Don coined that term. In Colorado there is a road that connects I-70 and I-25. It is called it the mouse trap. Don also coined that phrase as well. The word pictures that he painted were really great. . Peter Boyles said on his show that Don was a radio maven. Whenever someone big in the radio industry passes away Peter likes to mention them and bring guests on to honor them. Every year Peter mentions the passing of Alan Berg in June. I really think that Peter is providing a great service by doing these tributes. Peter knew Don when he first was getting into radio. When Peter first got into radio and he was working with Bob Lee, Don was their traffic guy on KWBZ radio.RIP Don Martin. A lot of people will really miss you.In other very sad news, Mindy McNeil, one of the secretaries that worked at KUVO radio has passed away. She had asthma. I am not exactly sure if she passed away from Covid 19 or not. I was office mates with her when I was doing my internship at KUVO radio. She was a fun person to talk with. I really believe she really cared about making the station great One example is that she used to put together the food and wine events for the station. The reason why I knew this was because Rodney Franks, who is on from 3-6 p.m. on KUVO, mentioned this. Rodney and Mindy really enjoyed talking with each other. . When I was learning the route in the studio to intern with Andy O’Leary, the first couple of times she helped me into the studio. I feel I did a wonderful job showing her how to interact with a blind person by showing her what sighted guide was. During the KUVO pledge drives Mindy produced them. This meant that she really liked to tell people’s stories. She liked to hear people’s stories and to tell them back to the people that were listeners and the people who pledged money to the station. Mindy was also the current events reporter for the station. In my brief time there I shared a little bit of my story. I really wish that I shared more of my story with her. I also heard her on one of the pledge drives and she was a great host on the air. Her voice sounded interested in the jazz that they were playing that day This particular day she was working with Arturo Gomez. It was the last day of the fall pledge drive. They got to their goal at the end of the day. Mindy said when she first came on with Arturo that today was the first time that particular pledge drive that she worked on the air with Arturo. I found a tape of this that I had taped. I also remember her working with Steve Chavez, who works on Saturday mornings. Mindy was a very important part of what they did at KUVO radio and I'm sure she will be really missed there and by her friends and family.RIP Mindy McNeil.Thanks for tuning in.

Amazon Alexa

Jeremy Levy back with you. This week I’m going to do something a little bit different. I am going to talk about the Amazon Echo that I have in my room. I have learned how to do many things with this device. When I first got the Echo wasn’t sure why I would need this device. I was a little hesitant to try it. After some exploration and finding much enjoyment, I was hooked. I am always finding new things. If you are looking for something other than TV or radio, I would really encourage you to try Alexa and figure out how to use it.Here are some of the things I have found that it can do. It can play music. After I discovered this, I found out that I can request different songs, artists, and even different albums. On top of that, I can thumbs up a song or thumbs down a song. Thumbs up means that you like a song and thumbs down means that you don’t like a song. You can also skip songs that you don’t want. My friend Lucas who I have blogged about and I had a lot of fun with creating our own play lists of our favorite artists. Alexa has a lot of artists and a lot of different songs. Sometimes, though, it can be a little bit frustrating when it doesn’t give you the song or artist that you want.Another thing the Echo can do is play different radio stations. I have a lot of fun playing different radio stations from around the country and even different parts of Colorado. I found out last year that I don’t have to miss any of the Mike Boyle Restaurant Show in Colorado Springs on Saturday mornings anymore. Before I got the Echo, I couldn’t get his show in Colorado Springs on my regular radio because the signal didn’t reach. Another example is that I really enjoy getting up on Sunday mornings and asking for the station WBAP radio in Dallas and listening to Neil Sperry’s gardening show. This is a lot of fun for me.Another thing that Alexa can do is you can play games with it. My favorite game is Go fish the card game. Lucas taught me how to play this game and I really enjoy playing. Another game that he taught me is song quiz. Song quiz is where Alexa gives you samples of songs and you need to tell her the artist and the name of the song to get points. Lucas really enjoys playing country song quiz and he gets all of them correct because he is such a country music fan. Another game it can play is puzzle runner. Alexa gives you 2 different choices and you try and pick the right one. For example, it would ask you 2 different milk shakes Vanilla or chocolate. If you picked chocolate a high sound would play. If that wasn’t the correct one than you would get a low sound and then you would have to try it again. Another thing it can do is United States geography quiz. It would give you a state and then you would need to guess the capital of that state. Another game it can play is Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I haven’t quite figured out how the rules for this game yet. This is something I am going to check into.Another important feature of Alexa is you can ask it questions about the weather. I like asking what the weather in Honolulu is, and what is the weather in Pinnopolis, South Carolina, where Lucas lives.I have heard of washing machines and dryers that can be controlled with Alexa. I have also heard of thermostats and air conditioners that can be controlled with Alexa as well. I look forward to checking out these skills in my new downstairs house where we live.This just touched the surface of all the things the Echo can do. If you know of things I or other blog readers might enjoy, please share it.Thanks for tuning in.

News coverage of the outbreak

Jeremy Levy back with you. I hope that everyone of my readers and followers is staying safe during this time.Today I wanted to write about radio during the Corona Virus.In my opinion KOA radio has been doing the best job with coverage. When the virus first started, I enjoyed listening to Dave Logan and Julie Browman on the Logan and Lewis show from 9 AM-noon on 850 a.m. and 94.1 FM. They kept the listener informed as to what Colorado’s efforts were and they also talked about some sports along the way.Mandy Connell’s show has been informative as well. She did talk some about the virus, but she also talked about other fun topics as well and she put some fun things on her blog. Mandy also has been featuring small businesses. Every day she has callers call in if they have a small business and she promotes them a little bit. People can e-mail these to her at Mandy@KOAnewsradio.com. KOA has stopped their national programming on the weekends for local coverage. On Saturdays from noon to 3 Ross Kaminsky is on with coverage. Then from 3 PM-6 PM is Mike Rice. From 6PM-9 PM Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Albright have been on. Sundays from 10 AM-noon is Lou from Littleton. It is so good to hear Lou From Littleton again on KOA radio. Mike Rice is on from noon to 3 PM and Jon Caldara is on from 3 PM-7 PM. KOA radio breaks in with every press conference and every President’s speech. You can hear it in its entirety.The station that has the next best coverage is KNUS radio. Stefan Tubbs has been my favorite host to listen to on KNUS. He goes to every press conference from the governor. He also does informative interviews. For example, he did one with the news director of WCBS radio named Tim Shelton, who informed listeners to the situation in NY city. He also did one with a reporter from KOGO radio in San Diego named Phil Faraar, with an update from that city. And he also has been interviewing Steve Fudderman from CBS news radio who had a national update. At the beginning of the outbreak, Stefan was having callers call in if they had a small business and they were still open to let the listeners know what the store or restaurant was doing. The other person that I think has been doing a great job on KNUS is Mike Boyle. On the KNUS website there is a list of restaurants that people can get grab and go meals at restaurants. Mike has broadcast from some of these restaurants to promote the deals that they were having. My favorite show was when he was at Pegasus restaurant.KOA radio and KNUS radio are the 2 stations that are making a real difference in the community. They are bringing people together. That has been part of their slogans for both KNUS and KOA radioSome people that want to be news anchors or radio talk show hosts are not sure that they want to cover disasters or important things that are going on. I have learned that radio hosts and live coverage is important to let the listener know what is going on. A radio drama that I listen to on Saturday mornings called Adventures in Odyssey had this lesson in last Saturdays show. In the show, a news reporter named Ted Humphries was trying to find the best stories to cover. He was getting a little bit tired of the stories he was already covering. He tried a couple of different stories, but the important story was the one that got him the viewership. It is really good to know that when there is serious stories that radio stations cover the stories.In my opinion it is amazing how technology has changed. Some of the radio people can do their shows from their house using remote equipment. That is what KOA and some shows on 630 KHOW have been doing with their shows. Altitude Sports 92.5 and sports radio 104.3 The Fan have been doing the same thing. The Fan has one host in the studio and one host at their house. Sometimes there are challenges with doing this with routers and the equipment but for the most part it has been working well. Mandy Connell on KOA has been doing her show from her house. She has her producer on skype on the computer while the other producer is in the regular studio. When I first started listening to the radio in 1996 they didn’t have this technology. When there was a snow blizzard the radio host had to call into the station over the phone in order to do their show. Wow! Technology has really changed for the better. .Thanks for tuning in.

Passing of Wayne Yaffee

Jeremy Levy with some sad news to report. Wayne Yaffee who was with EZ 1430 and intercom and KNUS for years and years has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Wayne was a legend in the radio business. He was a talented musician, a gifted radio guy with a great sense of humor, and always a gentleman. Last year, Wayne earned the Best Scheduled Newscast award from the Colorado Broadcasters Association representing the 710 KNUS News Department. His radio career included stops in Grand Junction and at stations here in Denver including KIMN, KOA, KEZW, KALC, KOSI, KQMT, and here at 710 KNUS. He served as a Disc Jockey, Program Director, Production Director, and Newsman. He did it all with excellence! Before I started listening to Wayne he was with KOA radio. The first time I remember hearing Wayne Yaffee’s voice was when he was with EZ 1430 KEZW. He was doing introductions for the different shows on the weekends. I remember his introduction for the Mr. fix-it show by heart. “it’s time for Mr. fix-it Paul Macgregor on 1430 KEZW. If you have a problem around the house that needs attention we have people to help with all your abilities and now Mr. fix-it. Also when he was with 1430 he also filled in once on the Warren Byrne Restaurant show while Warren took a vacation to Germany. Wayne talked with Mr. Fix-it Paul Macgregor on his show before he did the Warren Byrne Restaurant show Paul asked him “Are you a gourmet or a gourmand?” Wayne said “I wouldn’t know the difference..” Paul explained to him that a gourmand likes everything.” I had never heard that word before. Wayne did the Warren Byrne restaurant show similar to the way Mike Boyle hosts his show. On this particular show a couple of the callers tried to stump Wayne with questions. Wayne explained that Warren had a computer with him with all of the restaurant names and their phone numbers and all of their information. Wayne had to have all of the listeners help to get through the show. This was also where I learned about the phrase Elvis has left the building. Wayne said this in the second hour of the show referring to Warren Byrne not being there. Wayne was on KEZW until 2012 or 2013. He took a little time off to spend more time with his family. In 2014 or 2015 I heard him doing news for 710 KNUS during the mid-days. The thing I will remember about Wayne was his soft and calming voice. It always sounded like he had a smile in his voice. I would have loved to interview him for my blog. I asked him once but he declined my offer. I will miss Wayne and his wonderful radio work that he did for both intercom radio and 710 KNUS.

Tribute to Carroll Spinney (Voice of Big Bird on Sesame Street)

Jeremy Levy back with you with some sad news to report. Carroll Spinney, the actor who first voiced and brought to life Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Grannie Bird on Sesame Street has passed away at the age of 85. I would like to pay a tribute to him.I can remember days as a young child listening to Sesame Street. Whenever I heard Big Bird’s voice, played by Spinney, it always mad me smile. The way Carroll played Big Bird reminded me of myself because of his curiosity. I can remember going to Disneyland and there being a Sesame Street show at the park. My dad told me that I was in my stroller and suddenly my ears perked up. My dad had a little bit of trouble figuring out what was making my ears perk up. He finally realized that I was hearing Bob Mcgrath and Big Bird. We went over to listen to the show. I also remember having a tape of Big Bird music. I remember that a friend of mine, Gayle Scheihing, copying this tape for me. The first song on this tape was big Bird singing a song called There Is Just One Me. This song was special because it reminded me as the listener that I am my own person and there is no one else like me. That is just one of the lessons I have learned from Big Bird and Carroll Spinney over the years.Another song that is one of my favorites was a song titled Tall Enough. In this song Big Bird sang and talked about being small that you can’t do everything, yet you still can do things and when you get older you can do more and more things. It was a little bit surprising to me at the beginning of the song Big Bird saying that he wasn’t as tall as he is now (It taught me that everyone grows). The next song I would like to talk about is, Everyone Makes Mistakes, that conveys the words in the title. This is a good reminder for all of us. Even as adults, we can make mistakes.Listening to Big Bird and Carroll Spinney play Big Bird has given me a lot of joy over the years and I feel like Carroll’s voicing of Big Bird over the years has shaped me into the caring and curious person I believe I am today. Listening to the Sesame Street tapes I had over the years with Big Bird helped me discover different keys of music. I really liked a lot of the Big Bird music because it was in my favorite key of music which the key of F.When I listened to Sesame Street and Big Bird was in the show, I would love to stay tuned to find out what was going to happen next to Big Bird in the show that particular episode. My favorite TV Sesame Street interactions on Sesame Street were Big Bird and Bob Mcgrath. I really think that Bob had a good grasp of Big Bird’s curiosity and feelings.I also really enjoyed the interactions with Big Bird and Snuffy. It was really nice for Big Bird to have a best friend named Snuffy. It reminds me of my best friend Lucas. Some times Big Bird would come up with a great idea and Snuffy and Big Bird would try and make Big Bird's idea work. I really liked episodes like that. As I have gotten older it was nice to listen as Big Bird would develop other friend ships such as Baby Bear.I really liked it when Big Bird and Grannie Bird were together on Sesame Street. The main song that I remember them singing was a song called I will Sing With You. This song's message is even though your family isn’t close to you sometimes that they will always be in your heart. One time on Sesame Street, Big Bird spent a whole week at camp. This was a little bit hard for him, but that weeks episodes talked about it being alright to miss your family when you are apart from them.Bob McGrath said in his online tribute on Facebook that Carol Spinney was a great person. I agree with this. Carroll’s characters have always helped guide me be a better person. I will miss Carroll Spinney.Happy Holidays and Happy 2020 to one and all. I am looking forward to a great year with lots of adventures.Thanks for tuning in.