[radio] Can Houston support THREE all-sports radio stations? It's coming.

As much as some of you would like 790 to crumble and die... I do think this town needs more competition when it comes to sportsradio.

610 is bad... it used to be better, but the morning show sounds like a caricature of itself, and they now devote so much time to Richard Justice (its like he has his own show), along with their predictable takes on anything Houston sports... they reached a ceiling a long time ago.

Lord isn't worth talking about... Vandemeer is okay... bottom line is both of them aren't that knowledgable about sports in general (Vandy can handle football)... I don't know why we're going to complain about guys from NY not knowing Houston sprots, when there have been guys on the air here for years that still don't know much more than the average sports fan about Houston sports.

Matt and Adam sound like they know their stuff... but its just an awful time-slot to get noticed. They also get bumped by Rockets games, or whatever other college games 610 covers during the week.

790 has got Pallilo+Dalati, and that's it. They'd both make 610 a lot better... but sports-wise, they can hold their own with any of the guys they left behind. If all sportsradio in houston DIED tommorow, those two would still find jobs somewhere.... and Vandemeer would still be the PBP guy for the Texans... other than that, I'm not sure any of the other guys would be first in line for major jobs.

 

I agree Nick, Matt and Adam need a better time slot, If I were them I would be looking at moving to 790's morning slot. Then there would be some true competition.

the only time Cowherd is good is when he's talking to Beno Cook.

 

790??? Never heard of it...Im a 610 guy. Which one is better?

 

Nick --

i'm not rooting for a 790 crash. if they present a good option, great! i listen to charlie in the afternoon. the rest of the programming sucks, in my opinion...outside of some of the ESPN stuff. now the ESPN stuff is going away.

i'll be rooting for the FM station to do well, without a doubt! i think that's exciting news. but 790 isn't the "option" or "competition" i was hoping for.

as for justice..he's in studio at 610 one day...for a couple of hours on wed mornings. that's it. he doesn't get more air time than that. of course 790 has lopez, which is thrilling radio, too.

 

Excuse me but they are the home of the UH Cougars

Oh god

 

the ticket isn't bad... when they actually talk about sports. we had a 3rd sports station up here (it was fox sports) but it folded a few months ago. i doubt houston will be able to sustain all 3.

 

610, especially in the AM has become strictly college football, mixed in with a little Texans they never talk about the Rockets or Astros or the big national stories. Mark and Rich are awful, Palillo absolutely blows them away, Matt and Adam have the best show and are probably the most entertaining. They talk a lot of Rockets, unlike everybody else and they appeal to a younger crowd. The new show with Davies and Dukes is better than 610, but I'd actually rather listen to Colin Cowheard. Rome's act has gotten a little old, with the sucking up and ripping guys and then sucking up to them afterward.

 

john granato doesn't talk about the astros?? are you kidding??

i'll grant you virtually no one is talking about the rockets. the rockets made that bed, frankly. i wish that weren't so, but it is. but the astros?? they dominate sports conversation all summer long on the morning show on 610.

 

Why is it the flagship station of the Rockets rarely talks about the Rockets (besides Matt and Adam)? I think it's because John and Lance have very little to say about them. If I was a betting person I'd put money on the Rockets moving their broadcast to another station when the contract is up. I can understand the 610 emphasis on the Texans but the imbalance is just ridiculous.

pgabriel, I agree that FoxSports will help kill 790. It's awful! And the Davies guy sounds just like Frank Caliendo doing his John Madden impression. He and Dukes just can't carry a show. Between them and the John/Lance duo, most of the time one station is worth listening to. I switch back and forth constantly based on whichever station stays on track at that particular moment.

 

What is so interesting about the Rockets right now that warrants talk on a daily basis? To me, the only questions are... Is T-mac healthy?, Is Yao healthy? Is T-mac healthy?

After that, nothing really matters. I'd like to talk about how the new acquisitions will impact the team... but Yao and T-mac have to both be healthy/functional for this to be an actual team.

(Pallilo will talk NBA basketball if you call in about it... always has. He may not be all rah-rah about the Rockets right now, and why would any knowledgeable fan get too optimistic when you know your season is just one T-mac/Yao injury from being over. If those two are healthy, look out).

 

And the callers aren't talking Rockets. I realize this is a Rockets message board and it may be difficult to understand...but interest in the Rockets is by far the lowest in this city among the 3 major sports teams. A sports radio show ebbs and flows with the interest of the market it plays too. How often do you hear a listener call in and say, "hey, let's talk rockets."??? It just doesn't happen that often. But particularly right now it doesn't, given the season is a month away and, as you say, there isn't much to say yet.

 

The NFL is not only America's favorite sport... its America's favorite form of entertainment PERIOD.

Not suprising that they'd rather talk about anything (good or bad) related to the NFL, than the NBA.

 

I don't know which one is Davies and which one is Dukes, but they both sound like Frank Caliendo doing his John Madden impression, except they actually talk that way all the time. They're still better than Mike & Mike though. Golic by himself is actually okay, but "Greenie" has the worst voice in the history of the world besides....

John McClain, who is the reason I can't listen to 610 75 percent of the time because that cement-gargling dude is always on. McClain makes Bum Phillips sound like William F. Buckley. I mean, I can't understand how anyone could actually voluntarily listen to that guy. He needs to be at Gitmo torturing prisoners by speaking.

I like the 610 afternoon guys when McClain isn't on, mostly when they do trivia contests and stuff like the Magnificent 7 and 6 pack or whatever. The morning show can be funny sometimes when they do stuff like Mack Brown on a mobile.

I can't pick up 97.5 fm where I am (College Station), that frequency here is an unlistenable blend of the H-town talk station and the Waco pop station, so it just sounds like a garbled mess. But I don't like any of the ESPN hosts I have heard anyway, or Fox for that matter. The only Fox sports guys I ever liked were Kylie & Booms, and they're not on anymore I don't think.

 

Yup, and that's why the Rockets just re-upped with SportsRadio610 for another five years this summer.

I think it was five years.

 

It isn't just right now, it's over the course of 12 months. Because of the remade roster, currently there is buzz about who starts at PF, the Bonzi Wells signing, how well Battier will help, Novak, V-Span etc. There is a LOT more to talk about than just Tracy and Yao's health.

Kam: Very interesting. Either money talks or the Rockets must be like their situation. When they were on AM740 years ago and Sportsbeat was a good show, the Rockets got plenty enough talk for me. I like the Texans, but the same old blabber about the o-line, d-line, pass rush, Mario Williams, running game, etc gets old to me just like Rockets talk would get old to someone else. If it weren't for Matt & Adam, 610 would be a lost cause for the Rockets except the game broadcasts themselves. Just MHO. The Dallas sports stations are much more into the Mavericks than 610 is into the Rockets, at least when I go up there 6-10 times/year.

 

you gotta here the score in chicago!

 

last time i was in chicago the Score was talkin about the bulls in the offseason every day all summer long! of course they'd also talk about about the cubs and sox....but in houston all you hear is ASTROS! im still hearing about the astros and the season is over

 

Thank you very much Bob McNair. THIS IS HOUSTON!!!! If you need a Cowgirls fix, go to Dallas. It's bad enough that they get equal coverage in the Chronicle.....

 

I'm a little bitter at 790...their evil owners, Clear Channel, inexplicably decided not to air internet streaming of their radio stations to connections outside of the US. When I want to get my Houston sports radio fix I have to listen to Rich Lord and Marc Vandemeer. How do I put this? I *despair* at their ignorance about sports. It is depressing how little effort they put in at actually giving the listeners insight and information into the sports we care about. The "personalities" they rely on are an unhealthy mixture of Nerd and Old Fart with a tinge of Obnoxious Guy at a Bar. What has Houston done to deserve this long line of crap on the radio (Republican robot Dan Patrick, Kenny Hand, Ed Fowler....ugh)?