Major San Diego Sports Radio Changes

fssd-1360

See that logo? That’s what the industry calls a radio collaboration, folks.  Clear Channel Media and Entertainment San Diego announced today the launch of XTRA 1360 FOX Sports San Diego. 

If you’re here, you know I’m bit of a self-proclaimed San Diego sports media critic. I’m not a journalist. I’m a blogger. I offer up very biased opinions. I’m not objective. I’m very subjective. Just making sure we’re clear on that. There’s been a lot of turnover in San Diego sports radio over the past few years. From way back to the terrible and short-lived Bleacher Bums…to Hacksaw getting bounced around and l lawsuits with JD Hayworth… to getting replaced by Dan Sileo… to Josh & Charod leaving AM1360 for AM1090, Judson and Costa took their spot on AM1360, then Josh & Charod fired… Dave & Jeff were fired after taking over mornings on AM1090 for Scott & BR after they got fired… then Scott & BR got re-hired… in the mix was always Darren Smith, as he bounced around time-slots. Like I said… a LOT of changes. So what are they today?

Well, there are a lot of them, so I’ll try to categorize.

The World of Sports (TWOS) with Ben Higgins and Chris Ello on XTRASports1360 has been cancelled.

Ben broke the news on twitter this morning that he and Chris are no longer doing TWOS.

This next tweet was a heartbreaker for me.  

Ello looks so, so sad. Made me sad. So, why are they gone? Well, ratings. As most all of you know, Dan Sileo took over for Hacksaw awhile back, which I thought would be a boost for AM1360’s ratings. Guess not.

Must read: The Tangled Web of Scott Kaplan, John Maffei, Dan Sileo, U-T San Diego, and The Mighty 1090

Back to TWOS. I enjoy listening to Ben… a lot. Hell, I even co-hosted TWOS with Ben once. Very disappointed he’ll no longer be on the radio. Ello, well, I disagree with almost everything that Chris says on air. But, their juxtaposing views is what made the show work. However, oftentimes, Chris frustrated me so much that I’d often have to change the channel because I couldn’t handle his nonsense. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in this, and I’m sure that hurt ratings for their show. From all accounts, Ello is a really good dude… a heart of gold, I just didn’t particularly care for most of his views on their show. Wish Chris the best of luck.

So, who is taking over the morning slot for XTRASports1360? Well, the incestuous relationship continues between The Mighty 1090 and AM1360. DAVE & JEFF are back!

“Dave & Jeff” – Dave Palet and Jeff Dotseth

The last time I wrote about Dave and Jeff was when Scott & BR were moved back to AM1090 mornings, and Dave & Jeff, along with Josh & Charod, were fired by BCA Radio. <– over 75 comments here from readers.

Dave Palet and Jeff Dotseth’s return to AM1360 is not a huge surprise as they’ve had the “Dave and Jeff Show” for the past few months on Saturdays from 12-4PM on Fox Sports Radio, which aired on AM1360. If, by chance, you never read about how Scott Kaplan first got fired… well, you can find that all here: San Diego’s Morning Radio Darlings, “Scott & BR” are No More: Scott Kaplan Fired by XX1090, What About Billy Ray Smith? <– over 200 reader comments on that bad-boy.

Chargers Power Hour with Judson Richards & XTRA at Night:

Judson was obviously part of the dynamic duo, alongside of Mike Costa, on The Driiiiiiiive. Sad to see them split up, but excited for Judson. He will now host his own show in the 6pm-8pm timeslot. Love Judson. Love what he brings to the table as a former professional baseball player. He’s a surfer with a great sense of humor and his finger on the pulse of young sports fans. He’s honing his radio craft and I’m looking forward to hearing his new show. Will be fun to see who* he brings into studio with him from time to time… *head tilts to Mike Goff*

Loose Cannons with Steve Hartman and Mike Costa, (Steve Hartman Returns to San Diego airwaves):

If you’re too young to remember Steve Hartman on the San Diego airwaves, you’re not alone. I’ll be honest, he was already in LA when I started paying attention to San Diego sports media. I do know that he’s a bit of a local legend in the radio business and I’m pretty pumped to hear the new show with Costa. I asked Costa his thoughts,

His pedigree and resume speaks for itself.  Looking around San Diego sports talk radio, you don’t get bigger than Steve Hartman.  As somebody who has admired him, going back to when I was an intern under Steve (yeah Steve, that just happened) and the late Chet Forte, this is an awesome opportunity.  His only downfall, his wonderful head of hair.  I am immediately jealous.  There’s no fear of him embarrassing the station, the show, etc.  He knows what works, what does not, etc.  He knows how to win…period! “

If your memory needs jogging of Hartman… give these old “sports” cards a look-see.

690 cards

The new lineup, from the full press release over at SanDiegoRadio.org <– worth a click

XTRA 1360 FOX Sports San Diego (KLSD-AM) weekday programming lineup:

6:00 – 9:00 a.m.                     Dave & Jeff

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.         Jay Mohr Sports

12:00 – 2:00 p.m.                  The Dan Patrick Show

2:00 – 6:00 p.m.                     Loose Cannons with Steve Hartman and Mike Costa

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.                     Chargers Power Hour with Judson Richards

7:00 – 8:00 p.m.                     XTRA at Night

8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.         FOX Sports Tonight with Jason Smith

So, there ya have it. The “XTRA at Night” is still Judson, so it’s essentially a two-hour show for him. Not really sure what this Jason Smith show is. Jay Mohr isn’t going anywhere, and Dan Patrick is still on tape delay. That means Darren Smith over at AM1090 will continue to absolutely dominate the mid-day ratings in San Diego. Dominate. He’s the best, so he should dominate.

I asked Mike Costa, as he’s a major part of what’s happening at the station, top sum up his thoughts:

Cannot tell you how great it is to know Judson will still be a big part of things, to have Steve as a partner, Dave and Jeff in the morning slot.  You talk about true team members, that defines all of them.  And that absolutely defines Ben and Chris as well.  I feel you have to like and respect who you are fighting the fight with and I really care about the guys that are part of this new launch. Knowing that you’re going to run into people in the hallways you like as people first and care about how their show does, that’s what we have here with Judson, Steve, Dave, Jeff, Jim Russell and Ernie Martinez. Our great listeners can attest, when you meet our line-up in public, what you hear is who you meet.  A very likeable bunch, on-air and off. This will be a ton of hard work and a ton of fun.  The rear view mirror has been ripped out of this new vehicle.  Onward and upward.  Our program director Brian Long is perfect to captain this for us.  Having been in major markets, on the mic and behind it, he knows what the recipe is.  In my book, he’s a very “don’t cry about the labor, just show me the baby” type of guy.  Cannot wait for Monday.

In conclusion, sad for Ben and Chris… but this is the business they’re in. It’s a tough one. Happy for Dave & Jeff, but to be honest, never really listened to them much, but if I’m driving in the morning… I’ll be tuning into them over Dan Sileo on AM1090. Kind of excited for both Costa and Judson. I think it will be cool for Costa to team up with a seasoned radio vet in Steve Hartman. On the flipside, I’m pumped for Judson to make a name for himself with his own show… not to mention he’ll still be doing the Chargers post-game shows.

What do you guys think? To the comments section!

-bp

[Again, see full press release with Steve Hartman quotes from Joe Nelson]

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