Lame Duck Raiders Bad Business for Entercom; 'The Game' (95.7 FM Sports); Gruden Doesn't Do Weekly Show with Damon Bruce Who Is Pretty Pissed Off; With A's Leaving, The Game Has Little Game; Wednesday Sports 415 Media Schmooze

 SPORTS RADIO is quite lucrative to the station because sports in general is huge; big business jock radio dominates the media landscape even if you're not inclined to follow sports; that said, the revenue streams that are generated make gargantuan globs of money for local and national outlets.

The Giants are healthy money makers for KNBR and Cumulus even if the team stinks; they drive the car and butter the bread; so to, the 49ers. Relationships are vital to the cog that brings in the big dough; the GM; the star players and non-star players do frequent interviews on their respective flagship station. KNBR relies on its weekly chat with Kyle Shanahan, 49ers coach; John Lynch; its GM also does the talk circuit. Teams around the league and their home stations have similar relationships. It's called business and it benefits both.

Except for the Raiders and Entercom and its stations; KCBS (all news and carrier of Raiders' football games on Sunday) and 95.7 FM (The Game)

Jon Gruden, that coach racking up the big money (at $10M a year for 10 years) doesn't do a Monday call-in show with PM drive host, Damon Bruce even though he's contractually obligated; by extension, so too the Raiders. It's to the point now that Bruce routinely rips Gruden and the Raiders about this situation --I don't know if that's good business to air your dirty laundry but I applaud Bruce for being honest because the Raiders, even in good times, are absolutely the WORST sports franchise in the world to conduct business with; Entercom and its minions are experiencing this for the first time and are both embarrassed and royally ticked off.

Beyond the obvious discomfort is the fact that the Raiders horrific act on and off the field is bad business for their broadcast partner; try to sell Raiders' football now when the team is one foot out the door in Oakland and headed to Las Vegas probably next year (playing in a college stadium when the new one will be ready, maybe, in 2020).

Damon Bruce

Gruden doesn't do any shows. The worst part is the Raiders organization doesn't care and almost flaunts its giddiness --some things will never change.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

"The Game:" has a lame duck Raiders and a soon-departed Oakland A's who will leave its flagship come 2019. As Susan Slusser of the Chronicle reported the A's will be on a more franchise-friendly station --maybe KFRC if they can buy the current religious station; or snatch up some AM or FM outlet that will actually talk about the team. 95.7 FM hosts rarely talk A's baseball even when the team shined like it did this year.

Yes, frankly in good times, the A's don't generate the same traction as do the Giants but given the fact that KNBR is so embedded with the Giants that's never been surprising.

To its credit, KNBR builds its entire talk structure around the team. The A's haven't been able to garner that treatment with The Game. It's unpleasant if you're an Athletics fan but it's fact.

Then again, with the Raiders about to become extinct on their Entercom client and the A's on a different station for 2019, that leaves the Warriors as the only sports team (and a golden one) left.

Good sports-talk radio is mostly host-oriented but having teams on the domain not only brings in more money and revenue streams, but prestige too. That counts both ways. Just ask KNBR and Cumulus during the Giants' run of championships in 2010, '12, and '14.

Does Anyone Care that Raiders Are Moving to KCBS for '19 Season?

 

DO YOU CARE...that Raiders games are moving to KCBS? I don't but, hey it's news.

102 year-old Brent Musburger is just thrilled.

Oakland Raiders' Great Marv Hubbard Passes; 'Old Mother Hubbard'; John Madden Comments

 Marv Hubbard defined the Raiders of the 70's. He was mean, tenacious, rugged and fierce. Funny too. A real character. He didn't have the perfect football body but just gritty and big enough to play running back.


They called him "Old Mother Hubbard." Hubbard had the definitive spike, the closest thing to the real deal when diving into the end zone.


Hubbard died on Monday just a few days short of his 69th birthday.


John Madden talks about Marv Hubbard. (From KCBS)


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Wednesday PM Sports-Talk Media In The 510 and 415: Raiders Hire Jack Del Rio; 49ers Hire Jim Tomsula; Talk-Shows Lines Filled

 DEL RIO: Hired. Raiders.

TOMSULA: Hired. 49ers.

*Who wins? Why.

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Damon Bruce Interviews New Oakland Mayor-Elect, Libby Schaaf On 95.7 The Game; Candid One-On-One; Refreshing Back And Forth On A's/Raiders Future (Audio)

 I was listening to Damon Bruce interview new Oakland Mayor-Elect, Libby Schaaf on All-Sports, 95. 7 FM, The Game.

It was a very spot-on interview both by Bruce and the more-than-candid Schaaf who didn't sound like the typical rah-rah politician.

The subject matter was Oakland and its commitment, or lack thereof, in keeping the A's and Raiders in town.

As Bruce noted during and after the interview, the new mayor-elect has a lot more important matters on her plate than trying to woo billionaires to maintain residence in a city that has a multitude of problems but also lots of buzz too. She was sincere, or at least she sounded sincere. Perception is the key. It was refreshing and so was the banter between Madam Mayor and Bruce. Certainly better than another soon-to-be, ex-mayor who didn't sound too good.

When he's on his game, Bruce offers up a plethora of all that's right on the Game. I've often said he's a pretty damn-good interviewer too--too bad we don't get more of this on the station but in time maybe we will.

This type of adult-sports programming wouldn't happen on rival KNBR; they're more into trivial pursuit and making sure their clients are happy. But 95.7 provides a welcome relief from the relative minutiae from 680 and Bruce's interview on Wednesday afternoon with Libby Schaaf was more than welcome.

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Damon Bruce is Already Ranting and Raving and Screaming and Yelling But Not About Women

(95.7 The Game)

Allen Davis 1929-2011

One of a kind.