Monday, August 31, 2015

Less Radio High School Football Games

     There will be a less amount of high school football broadcasts on the radio in South Florida this year compared to previous seasons. Several local radio stations that the audience had listened to high school football on a consistent basis will not broadcast games this season.
     Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM stopped its run of high school football games for the first time since 20l0. The purchase of the radio station by CBS Radio from Beasley Broadcasting had something to do with it. The South Florida High School Football Show did have an agreement with WQAM to broadcast games.
     Another station that has broadcast high school football games for several decades will not be doing it this year. Mike Dee had announced the Glades Central Raiders and Pahokee Blue Devils on Sugar 900 WSWN-AM in Belle Glade. The main reason was the station was acquired by JVC Broadcasting during the middle of the 20l4 high school football season.
     Good Karma Broadcasting will have high school football for the sixth consecutive year. ESPN Radio l06.3 WUUB-FM have the full slate of Oxbridge Academy regular season games in 20l5 with Jeremy Marks-Peltz as the play-by-play announcer.
     The amount of radio stations that announced high school football games has dropped from five in 20ll to just one this year. Back in 20ll there were Broward County and Dade County games on WQAM with Mike Levine, Mike Dee had Glades Central and Pahokee football games on Sugar 900, Palm Beach County and St. Lucie County football games with Ken LaVicka on ESPN Radio 760 WEFL-AM, Dwyer football games with Ric Blackwell on 960 WSVU-AM and Broward County football games with Erik Lengyel on l470 WWNN-AM.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Strikers Dominate Indy

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers scored the most goals in a game in their five-season history as they handed a 7-l rout to the Indy Eleven on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium. Their previous high for goals scored in an NASL game was against the Atlanta Silverbacks when they won 6-2 on October l9, 20l3.
     Fort Lauderdale(4-2-4) struck quickly with two goals in the first seven minutes of play. Stefano Pinho scored the earlier game of the season for the Strikers 68 seconds in with an overhead kick. PC made it 2-0 for his third goal of the year during the seventh minute. It was the fastest two goals the team has scored to begin a game in 20l5.
     Indy(2-5-3) pulled to within one goal in the l6th minute when Dane Richards scored after he intercepted a pass deep in Strikers territory. Martin Freitas gave Fort Lauderdale a 3-l lead when he fired a shot from the right side to the far post in the 20th minute.
     The Strikers added four more goals during the second half. Freitas scored in the 67th minute while Stefano completed a hat trick with his llth and l2th goals of the season during the 77th and 8lst minute. PC finished the victory with a score in the 85th minute.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

WMEN Drops Hank Goldberg

     640 Sports WMEN-AM has dropped Hank Goldberg as their afternoon host. He has held that position since early May. Joe Raineri moved from the midday shift to the afternoon spot while the station will add Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports Radio in September. Raineri previously hosted the afternoon show at 640 Sports from November 20l4 until late April 20l5.
     Goldberg had co-hosted a Saturday midday show from Gulfstream Park during football season first with Andy Slater then with Tom Jicha from September 20ll to December 20l4. He started to broadcast the Saturday show outside of football season earlier this year until late April.
     He is best known for his long tenure as the afternoon host on Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM. Goldberg worked at that organization from October l992 until December 2009. He did have a short stint as the morning host at WQAM in 2004 and 2005 when 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM flipped their format to sports.
     Goldberg hosted the evening sports show Sportstalk 6l0 on WIOD-AM from the late l970s until September l992. He lost that position and his role as radio game analyst for the Miami Dolphins.
     He has worked in local and national television over the last 30 years. He was a sports anchor and Sports Final panelist on WTVJ-TV from l983 to l992. Goldberg moved to ESPN where he worked from l993 until late 20l4. He held several posts there which included pro football reporter, thoroughbred horse racing studio analyst and giving predictions on NFL games.

Craig Minervini Back On Panthers Telecasts

     Craig Minervini will return to Florida Panthers telecasts on Fox Sports Florida for the 20l5-l6 season as the studio host. He replaces Drew Goldfarb who has held the position for the last two seasons. Minervini will work with new studio analyst Randy Moller who just moved from his post as Panthers radio play-by-play announcer two weeks ago.
     Minervini held the studio host spot on Panthers television broadcasts from September 2003 until April 20l2. He made less than ten appearances in his final season when he shared studio duties with Frank Forte and Allison Williams. Minervini, a Syracuse University grad, has been a part of Marlins telecasts as the main studio host on Fox Sports Florida and its predecessor Fox Sports Net Florida since 2002.
     His first professional broadcasting job was in the late l980s as a sideline reporter for World Wrestling Federation where he was known as Craig DeGeorge. He moved to South Florida and became a sports anchor at WPBF-TV Channel 25 in West Palm Beach. Minervini would then have a long reign as a sports anchor at WTVJ-TV Channel 6 in Miami.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Phillies Blank Marlins

     Aaron Nola pitched eight scoreless innings as the Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Miami Marlins 2-0 at Marlins Park on Sunday. The Marlins and Phillies are now tied with the worst record in Major League Baseball at 50-74.
     The Phillies got off to a l-0 lead during the third inning against Adam Conley. . Cesar Hernandez walked with one out then went to third on a Andres Blanco double into deep left field. Aaron Altherr knocked in Hernandez on a sacrifice fly to center.
     In the seventh inning, Chris Narveson entered the game in relief for the Fish and he was welcomed immediately. Cameron Rupp was the first batter up and he would hit a solo home run to right field on a 2-l pitch.

Strikers Shut Out FC Edmonton

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers made a long trip to Canada and defeated FC Edmonton 2-0 at Clarke Field on Sunday. The Strikers have won two straight games and are undefeated in their last three games.
     There was no scoring in the first half by either club. Stefano Pinho was fouled inside the l8-yard box and rewarded a penalty kick. He converted it during the 59th minute to give Fort Lauderdale(3-2-4) a l-0 lead.
     FC Edmonton(4-3-3) surrendered a second goal in the 85th minute and gave the Strikers a two-goal cushion. Shawn Chin centered a pass where Stefano put in a shot from six yards out.

Friday, August 21, 2015

The Ticket Off FM Radio

     l04.3 The Ticket WAXY-FM will no longer simulcast the sports talk format that was on 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM. Entercom Communications flipped the radio station to an alternative music format as of Friday. 790 The Ticket has aired a sports format on the frequency since August 2004.
     It has been a spectacular run for l04.3 The Ticket who have been the top rated sports format radio station in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region for 23 consecutive months going back to September 20l3. They had changed from a musical format in late August 20l2 when Lincoln Financial Media acquired it to become the first FM sports station in South Florida.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Doug Plagens New Panthers Radio Voice

     The Florida Panthers have named Doug Plagens as the new radio play-by-play announcer for the club. Plagens takes over for Randy Moller who has moved over to Fox Sports Florida as a studio analyst and rinkside reporter for Florida Panthers telecasts. He becomes the fifth radio voice in franchise history following Chris Moore, Jiggs McDonald, Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller.
     Plagens, a Syracuse University and Lake Forest College grad, has spent the last four seasons as the radio play-by-play announcer of the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. He also was the radio play-by-play announcer of the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League at the same time. He was the director of broadcasting and media relations contact for both clubs.
     He previously worked for the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL as the radio play-by-play announcer. Plagens also had stints as a sports anchor and reporter in Youngstown, Ohio at WKBN-TV, WYFX-TV and WYTV-TV.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Strikers Take Rowdies And Florida Derby

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were able to get by the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium and captured the Florida Derby which is competed between both clubs. It was the second straight year that the Strikers won the head-to-head series after losing the previous four seasons to the cross-state rival Rowdies. Fort Lauderdale ended up with a 2-1 edge in games and an aggregate lead in goals of 5-3.
     The Coastal Cup which had been battled for by both teams over the last five years with not be decided for a couple of months. The Jacksonville Armada were added to the equation in 2015 and the Strikers have two games slated with the Armada in the NASL fall season while the Rowdies have one games left on the road in Jacksonville.
     All the scoring in this contest was done during the first half of play. Fort Lauderdale(2-2-4) struck quickly in the fourth minute when forward Stefano Pinho took advantage of a Rowdies turnover. He turned and lifted a 24-yard shot with his left foot into the top left corner of the net to give the Strikers a 1-0 lead.
     Tampa Bay(2-4-1) evened it up at 1-1 during the 19th minute. Midfielder Georgi Hristov send a free kick into the penalty area from the right side and forward Maicon Santos connected with a shot from five yards away to beat Strikers goalkeeper Josh Ford. 
     The Strikers regained the lead and got the game-winning score in the 43rd minute. Midfielder Walter Ramirez took a free kick from the edge of the penalty area on the right side. Rowdies goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky made the initial save, however midfielder James Marcelin pounced on the rebound and scored from four yards out.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Florida Panthers Drop PA Announcer

     Bill Murphy will not by the Florida Panthers public address announcer at home games for the 2015-16 campaign. The team will hold a tryout for the position along with a new national anthem singer on August 26 at BB&T Center.
     Murphy was the public address announcer of Florida Panthers home games for over 13 seasons. He has been known in South Florida as a disc jockey for several radio stations. Murphy had a long reign as the afternoon host on Big 106 WBGG-FM and has recently worked as a production director and weekend host on Magic 102.7 WMXJ-FM.
     He replaced John DeMott who was the public address announcer in the first five seasons with the team when they played at Miami Arena. DeMott moved up with the Panthers to Sunrise where he did it for two more seasons.
     Longtime University of Miami public address announcer Jay Rokeach was brought in to replace Murphy back in the late 2000s when Murphy was shifted to the game operations arena host spot. That just lasted a couple of months and Murphy was brought back to take over public address announcer duties.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Randy Moller Leaving Radio For TV

     Florida Panthers radio voice Randy Moller will be leaving the radio booth and join Fox Sports Florida television broadcasts for the upcoming 2015-16 season. He will replace Bill Lindsay in the role of studio analyst and work as a rinkside reporter during televised games called by Steve Goldstein and Denis Potvin.
     Moller began in broadcasting at the start of the 1996-97 season when he replaced Alain Chevrier as radio game analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Chris Moore. He was elevated to the radio play-by-play position when Steve Goldstein was promoted to the television play-by-play post for the 2007-08 season.
     He called games on the radio with Bill Lindsay as a game analyst for two seasons then he announced games by himself for the last six seasons. Moller is best known for his pop culture and movie line references following a Florida Panthers goal.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Bill Lindsay Out From Panthers Broadcasts

     Florida Panthers studio analyst Bill Lindsay will no longer be on team broadcasts for Fox Sports Florida. Lindsay played for the club as a left wing in the first six seasons of the franchise from 1993-94 to 1998-99. He rejoined the Cats for one more season in 2002-03.
     Lindsay is most remembered for scoring the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Boston Bruins at Miami Arena to give the team their first series victory in team history. He went around Ray Bourque and fired a wrist shot while in mid-air by Bill Ranford. They have only won two playoff series since then.
     He has been part of Panthers broadcasts either on radio or television since 2007. He joined as a radio analyst in 2007-08 when Steve Goldstein shifted from radio play-by-play announcer to television play-by-play announcer and Randy Moller moved from radio analyst to radio play-by-play announcer.
     Lindsay was elevated to television game analyst on Fox Sports Florida in 2009-10 when the contract of Denis Potvin was not renewed. Potvin returned to the Panthers telecasts as a game analyst last season and Lindsay took over the new role of studio analyst alongside Drew Goldfarb and rinkside reporter during game broadcasts.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Channing Crowder Rejoins WQAM

     Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM announced that Channing Crowder will be returning to the radio station as of Tuesday. He will be an afternoon co-host alongside Marc Hochman and Zach Krantz. The afternoon show with Hochman and Krantz has been on the air since April 2014.
     Crowder, a former Miami Dolphins linebacker from 2005 to 2010, was let go by WQAM last month. He co-hosted an early afternoon show with WTVJ-TV sportscaster Adam Kuperstein in two different tenures.
     He retired from professional football in August 2011 and joined WQAM as a fill-in host and Miami Dolphins expert. Crowder replaced Steve Goldstein as the early afternoon co-host in October 2012 and remained there with Kuperstein until September 2013. He did a short three-month stint as the afternoon co-host with Brandon Guzio for the rest of the year and then moved back to the early afternoon show in January 2014.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Strikers Blow Big Lead To Cosmos

     The Fort Lauderdale blew a three-goal lead in the second half to tie the New York Cosmos 3-3 on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium. The Strikers are winless in their last three games and next host their cross-state rivals the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Florida Derby on August 15.
     Fort Lauderdale(1-2-4) scored the only goal in the first half in the 23rd minute. Walter Ramirez was tripped up in the penalty area and the team was rewarded a penalty kick. Gabriel converted it as the Strikers got a goal against the Cosmos for the first time in 358 minutes of play.
     It was a different story in the second half as both squads combined for five goals. Ramirez fired a shot off the left post and into the net during the 48th minute. He made it a three-goal margin in the 57th minute as he moved around the goalkeeper and smashed the ball into the open net.
     New York(2-1-3) began to pull a miraculous comeback in the 62nd minute when Leo Fernandes redirected the ball on a header following a cross from the right side by Hunter Freeman. Four minutes later, Alan Moffat took advantage of a turnover and struck a 25-yard shot to close the gap to 3-2.
     The end of the second half sent the local South Florida crowd in shock as the Cosmos tied the game up two minutes into injury time with a heartbreaking goal. Sebastian Guenzatti was able to score to help New York pull even at 3-3.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Strikers Fall To Silverbacks

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers played their final game of a three-game road trip as they were defeated by the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1 on Wednesday night at Atlanta Silverbacks Park. The Strikers lost their second straight game after going undefeated in their first four games to begin the NASL fall season.
     The Strikers return for a two-game homestand later this week. They will take on the New York Cosmos on Saturday night then face their cross-state rivals the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their only appearance this season at Lockhart Stadium on August 15 in the Florida Derby for the Coastal Cup.
     Pedro Mendes got Atlanta(4-2-1) on the scoreboard first in the 41st minute. Fort Lauderdale(1-2-3) evened it up during the 49th minute when Walter Ramirez scored from an acute angle. Mendes picked up his second goal of the game in the 66th minute to give the Silverbacks the victory.

Cosmos End Strikers Streak

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers had their four-game unbeaten streak in the NASL fall season snapped on Sunday as they fell to the New York Cosmos 2-0 at James A. Shuart Stadium. The Strikers have been unable to defeat the Cosmos for the third time on Long Island since they entered the league in 2013.
     The Cosmos had held the Strikers scoreless on opening night at Lockhart Stadium to start the NASL spring season with a 1-0 victory on April 4. They make their second visit this season to Lockhart Stadium on August 8.
     It was the first time that a Strikers game was broadcast live on local television in their recent six-season history and were on WSFL-TV Channel 39. Fort Lauderdale(1-1-3) was the only club in the NASL that did not have a local television contract at the beginning of the season.
     New York(1-1-2) put in two goals during the first half. Hunter Freeman fired a shot from the right side into the far corner of the net in the 27th minute. Leo Fernandes was able to tap the ball in from close range after a pass by Raul during the 43rd minute.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

WMEN To Get New Operator

     Dean Goodman of Digity Media and Palm Beach Broadcasting has decided to sell all four of his West Palm Beach radio stations to Alpha Media. It is expected to get the sale approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Department of Justice several months from now.
     The strange twist in the situation is that Digity Media runs the operations and sales for 640 Sports WMEN-AM and 850 WFTL-AM which are owned by a group lead by Mark Jorgenson. This agreement was made by both parties back in April.
     640 Sports moved their radio studios a couple of months ago from Pompano Beach to West Palm Beach. The final program on that station that moved into the new studio location was the Sid Rosenberg morning show last week.

Miami Ratings July 2015

     104.3 The Ticket WAXY-FM was on top of the ratings for sports format radio stations in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region for the 23rd consecutive month. It turned out to be a great period for the three competitors during the month as all of them improved despite being in the part of the year which is considered the sports graveyard.
     The Ticket ended up going from a 1.9 to a 2.2 in July which tied their highest rating since July 2014. They also increased their margin of victory over their nearest competitor with their stable daytime lineup. Former Miami Hurricanes lineman Brett Romberg and ESPN reporter Israel Gutierrez was added as guest co-hosts to the morning show that is hosted by Jonathan Zaslow and Joy Taylor.
     Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM got a slight bump in the ratings as they moved from a 1.0 to a 1.1 for this month thanks to their coverage of the 2015 NHL Draft which was held in Sunrise. They let go early afternoon co-hosts Adam Kuperstein and Channing Crowder when the ratings period ended and started four-hour blocks for their weekday daily lineup. WQAM will have a similar setup as most CBS Radio owned sports stations have around the country.
     Miami Sports 940 WINZ-AM showed an increase for the first time in a while after being flat for the last five months. They went from a 0.2 to a 0.3 in the month of July due to the social buzz of Jose Fernandez returning to the Miami Marlins after being out for over one year due to an injury.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Miami Dolphins Move Spanish Broadcasts

     ESPN Deportes 1210 WNMA-AM has picked up the Spanish language radio rights to the Miami Dolphins. It has been a busy week for ESPN Deportes 1210 as they signed a new one-year deal with the Florida Panthers several days ago to broadcast 41 home games of that club.
     The Spanish language Dolphins broadcasts leave 1140 WQBA-AM which had been their only radio home for the team during the 2010s. The station still has the Miami Heat radio broadcasts which are announced by Jose Pineda.