Carolina Sports Talk Is Back...At Least Online

Carolina Sports Talk returns after an almost two-year hiatus from the public view. In the "re-incarnation," Carolina Sports Talk takes the form of a blog, not a radio show. And while you won't be able to "hear" the show through this venue, at least you can get your fix of my unique perspectives on all things sports, with a particular focus on the Carolinas.

First, a brief background on the genesis of this product. I had worked as a radio, television, and newspaper reporter in the Southeast since beginning in the business as a young pup at the age of 21 -- way back in 1983. During that time, I carved out a niche as a great radio news broadcaster, a solid, story-breaking television reporter, and a damn good writer, but my passion was always for sports. I did have some sporting gig opportunities, such as high school play-by-play, a college football and high school interview program called Saturday Morning Quarterback , and a syndicated college football prediction column in weekly newspapers across the Southeast. However, news departments needed my news reporting talents more than they needed my sports reporting expertise, so I reluctantly followed the news path that flowed.

Flash forward to 2004. I had moved back to the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, and found plenty of news opportunities in local radio. By 2005, I was working with the Cumulus-Myrtle Beach cluster of stations -- which just happened to include an ESPN affiliate.

I did some sidekick work on a local show, then found myself in place to claim a position finally befitting my broadcasting calling -- I was asked to host "Carolina Sports Talk."

From the time we began broadcasting the show, I felt a high comfort level. Joined by a few broadcasting cohorts and comrades who were well-schooled with great sports kowledge, I felt the Grand Strand of South Carolina was getting an informational, yet fun sports talk show that didn't simply plow over the same grounds that regular ESPN programming was doing for the other 21 hours of the day.

While the show was on the air (2005-2007), we interviewed in-state and out-of-state college and NFL football coaches and players, golfing greats, Major League baseball players, NBA players and coaches, and broadcasting and sports writer personalities from across the Carolinas. We re-lived the careers of some great past players, with them telling their stories as only they could, and we brought formerly unknown information -- and great stories -- to light regarding various sports celebrities.

It was in late 2007 that the then-market manager for the Cumulus group in Myrtle Beach had some other ideas. Despite the show's popularity, he began to secretly plan for a new afternoon sports talk show that would replace Carolina Sports Talk. The idea was to bring in a friend of his from his past radio experience in Florida, to become sexually edgy on the air, and to have the show basically dredge the same old topics that the national programming on ESPN focused on from day-to-day.

In other words, if ESPN had been beating a dead horse all day regarding, say the Tuck Rule play from New England's big playoff win over Oakland years ago, well, the new show could do the same thing, and allow locals to call in.

The premise is shallow, and serves up no new ground for local listeners. It was lazy, gimmick radio that was aimed at getting more listenership from those who had moved from the northeast to the Grand Strand, and to get them to call in and beat the same dead horse that had been beaten for much of the prior 24 hours on the national network. That was the case in 2007, and that hasn't changed.

The move marked at least the temporary demise of Carolina Sports Talk , yet the ratings dropped immediately, and haven't been able to reach the marks of my show.

It might seem like radio is a rough sport, and I suppose it is. I had done nothing but garner great ratings with a solid show, only to be yanked for the whim of a manager who rewarded his friend with an out-of-place show. I was a little bitter for a while, but I came to realize that it wasn't the end of my world. I just had to expand my horizons, and not allow a small bump in the road to derail my desire to flourish in a sports reporting environment in the Southeast.

After some time, I decided to move forward with another effort to communicate to the masses via radio, television, newsprint, or on the Internet. Final plans have not been completed on the expected future projects, but a new blog has been born.

Carolina Sports Talk is back, for now, at least in blog form,and I will be sharing my thoughts on a variety of topics involving sports in the Carolinas (and more) in the coming days.

Hold on for what promises to be a very informative, entertaining blog. I will guarantee that the writing will be crisp and original, and will not be simple repeats of what the national broadcasters and writers are offering all day long.

And while the Myrtle Beach-Cumulus group doesn't seem to have much interest in reviving my show, there is a possibility that the show will be brought back on another viable Grand Strand station in the near future. Of course, I will post developments on this blog.

Now, without further adieu, Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Carolina Sports Talk Online!