Sports Radio 790 The Zone was founded in 1997 by co-presidents Andrew Saltzman and “Steak” Stephen Shapiro, however as of Monday, August 30, Lincoln Financial Media (FM Star 94.1) has caused a shakeup in Zone management. Lincoln Financial Media announced earlier this week that it is purchasing the assets of Big League Broadcasting, aka The Zone. According to a release from Lincoln Financial Media, who has leased the WQXI-AM frequency to 790, senior management of The Zone will remain in place following the acquisition, but Star’s VP/GM Rick Mack will be promoted to Senior VP/GM and will oversee LFM’s stations in Atlanta.
Said LFM President and CEO Don Benson in a release, “the addition of 790 The Zone strengthens our Atlanta operations and (Mack) is the perfect person to lead this new unified effort for us.”
Several members of The Zone’s higher-ups will have a bit of a role shuffle as Saltzman will become VP/GM of WQXI and will report to Mack. Neal Maziar has been named Station Manager, according to the release and Shapiro, a Mayhem in the AM co-host, will serve as Station Brand Manager. Said Saltzman in the release, “we have accomplished a great deal as entrepreneurial broadcasters, and this acquisition allows 790 The Zone to compete at an even higher level. I am please with the development of this strategic partnership.”
Shapiro said he has enjoyed the experience of building The Zone from scratch. “It’s satisfying now to be part of one of the great radio companies in America. Big League and LFM has always made a ton of sense, and I’m thrilled to see it come to fruition.”
No timeline has been announced on any potential changes either behind the scenes or personnel-wise.
After 36 years of roaming the sidelines on University of Georgia games, Loren Smith is being replaced by Chuck Dowdle on the Georgia Bulldogs radio network. Smith will still participate in the pregame show while Dowdle’s role will expand from just working the postgame show. Dowdle retired from WSB-TV last December and has been a part of 680 The Fan’s coverage of the Atlanta Braves and has appeared on 680 The Fan programming as well.
Football rules the city of Atlanta for 51 weeks a year and we are certainly now in a bit of a football frenzy with the start of the college pigskin season. I tuned to 680 The Fan last Monday and immediately a smile came to my face when I heard Jim Donnan on the Rude Awakening. The former Georgia head coach really seems to have found his caller as a football commentator, and I really enjoy his folksy manner when talking about football opposed to defending his play-calling as Georgia’s head coach. Much like Lou Holtz, Coach Donnan has grown on me after stepping away from the sidelines and I have become a reborn fan of Donnan. I must admit that when he was let go as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, I spit good riddance at him, but now, I welcome his voice on 680 whenever I hear it.
High school football was certainly the rage last week on TELEVISION and it should be again this week on the local level. Last Saturday, CSS’s Matt Stewart and Chuck Oliver brought both games of the Progressive Football Challenge from North Gwinnett High School and I thought the coverage was decent. Oliver did a great job offering color, but I didn’t think the sideline reporter brought anything to the broadcast, and Stewart rushed a few calls that a little patience would have been better for the moment and he could have confirmed the ruling and the player. But I will look forward to DVRing those games to watch after getting home from providing color commentary for the Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Friday Night game of the week. (This week should be an emotional evening as McEachern will retire the No.5 of former running back Rajaan Bennett, who was scheduled to go to Vanderbilt before becoming the victim in a murder/suicide. The Indians will then face No.2 Lowndes. The best pregame show in the state begins at 7 p.m. with the game getting under way just after 7:30. For more details, visit gpb.org/sports.)
ESPNU had a pair of high school games on the air and will be at it again this week as Class AAAAA No.1 Camden County, the two-time defending state champion, host USA Today No.2 Miami-Central. The coverage begins at 8 p.m. this Friday.
As far as last week’s GPB game of the week, Collins Hill hosted a “blackout” for just the second time in school history, and the strategy worked as the Eagles knocked off No.8 Roswell 13-9. Taylor Heinicke, a member of the Score Metro-44 entering the game, earned his way onto the Score 44 with nearly 200 yards of passing, including a 51-yard TD and a one-yard TD sneak. The Score 44 is a fluid list that can change each week if a player does enough to earn his way onto the list. For this week’s list, check out our website at scoreatl.com or you can go to our high school site, gaprepnews.com. The gaprepnews site is done in conjunction with the GHSA and is updated several times a day with the best stories from all around the state. If you missed the Collins Hill/Roswell game, you can also watch the replay on gpb.org/sports or on gaprepnews.com.
An interesting argument was made last week on Score Atlanta Sports Sunday, heard on Sports Radio 790 The Zone, during The Great Debate. The debate was “which will get more coverage this fall: the Braves as they make a playoff run or the Georgia State Panthers’ first football season?” You might think the easy answer is the Braves, but interestingly enough David Rosenberg made some nice arguments for the Panthers, saying that football rules in Atlanta and history can be made each weekend as Georgia State does something new each week, ie, a first touchdown in school history, a first win, a first shutout, etc. Also, should the Braves start to fade down the stretch, people will tune out and instead focus on the new local football team. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but he brought up some interesting points. Baseball is America’s pastime, but football has become America’s passion. If the Braves don’t make a deep run and if Georgia State gets hot early, folks may decide to get in on the ground floor and forget about the Braves.
Finally, the Young Guns on 790 The Zone were announced last week. Four guys will be given a regular spot one night a week to do a show. The Young Guns are on a 90-day probationary period and when the “trial run” is over the future of the Young Guns will be decided. I am looking forward to hearing these guys without being shackled by Steak running point and we can hear if these guys really are the next big thing. They were introduced to Atlanta during a recent edition of Pollack & Bell and one of the young guns promised that, if it were up to him, they’d only talk football. Hopefully they can come with a fresh angle and not something that four other shows per day have already recycled over and over.
Can you believe he said that?
“We’re big believers in sports radio, with the success of our other properties in Denver and Miami. The Zone’s veteran management team and roster of talented employees will give us an even stronger presence in the format.”
Don Benson, LFM President and CEO. The Zone was acquired by the same folks that own Star 94, and let’s just hope that Cindy and Ray don’t get offered a spot with Mike Bell when away doing ESPN. That might make Mike Bell’s head explode.
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