WLQR 106.5 the Ticket and other radio

Thank God for Satellite radio. There is a ton of content - something for everyone. You can get a Sirius Online subscription for about $40/year. Play through your PC/Laptop/MAC/Smartphone/Tablet.

When I can, I enjoy listening to the entertaining local meatball sports hosts on The Really Big Show at AM 850 WKNR Cleveland from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You can pick up AM 850 in Toledo on a vehicle radio and inside a dwelling that's not a wire mesh. The only ESPN radio host that I liked was Colin Cowherd, so if I want to listen to him, I use the Internet.

Of course, Coast to Coast remains the best show on radio.

I still enjoy 93.5 FM - oldies, especially when driving. And I'll second jr's:

i was still dabbling in a little WSPD until johnny d took over, and now it's unbearable. thankfully i can plug my iphone into the car stereo! i usually use the "spotify" app for music, and also tune into different NPR stations from across the country. Chicago's for example is pretty terrific.

"i was still dabbling in a little WSPD until johnny d took over, and now it's unbearable."

+¹⁰⁰

88.3 jazz weekly day time - Mitch Albom drive time...not great but not WSPdud

REALLY dissapointed with 106.5 now. The shows and hosts on there don't hold a candle to the ESPN lineup before. What were they thinking switching?!?

REALLY disappointed with 106.5 now. The shows and hosts on there don't hold a candle to the ESPN lineup before. What were they thinking switching?!?

I'd have to say that I like Frank Beckmann on WJR from 9-noon. He isn't spineless and he has on good guests.

What is WSPD thinking by putting Johnny D on? I've given him a try, but I can only listen so long to "discussions" about tattoos and vasectomies before I have to turn him off. It reminds me of the raunchy Denny Schaffer show on 92.5. You know when he encouraged naked volleyball--before he found religion.

Jim Rome moved to 106.5. I know a lot of people hate him but I love the show.

Cumulus went with CBS sports and 106.5 had no say in it, as Norm will gladly tell you. I still listen for the local shows, The Front Row & Drive Time.

Then I take it you missed the single night of Bubba the Love Sponge on 104.7FM. Not sure who it really was but I never laughed so hard at such a disgusting host. I was somewhat in a state of shock and awe while he was broadcasting, called people into the office to listen and confirm of what I was hearing on the radio. It might have been a joke but he never let the listeners in on the joke while he was broadcasting, I think it was supposed to be a 3 hour show but I don't think he was on for the whole period and he was not on the next night. He was fairly rude and generally obnoxious to anyone calling in.

Lc, Bubba TLS used to be on one of Howard Stern's channels on Sirius. He's a Florida guy who did his best Stern impression. It's been a few years since I subscribed to Sirius, not sure if he is still on there.
Last I heard of him was a few months back with the Hulk Hogan sex tape. Bubba was the Hulkster's friend and the lady from said tape was Bubba's wife.

This was back in 96 I think he popped onto 104.7 for 1 night and never heard of him again.

If you get a chance, consider listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show from 10am to Noon on ESPN980 out of Washington DC. You can download the podcast for your drive time. The show is a good mix of sports, pop culture, politics, and old guy radio.

Im a fan of radio too, however, it just ain't what it used to be. I go back to the days of Ernie and Paul Carey on WJR too. I know things change, but Jim Price is flat out terrible. He was a terrible player and an Al Kaline hanger oner for life. Nice guy, bad broadcaster.

As for the talent locally....yeeeeshhh..... Norm Wamer? Are you kidding me? I often think of what a traveling business person thinks when he's passing thru Toledo trying to pick up the local sports talk station. Norm has coughed into the mic more times than....well I dunno...he does it a lot. WSPD used to be the gold standard. Its now pretty much worthless with little talent. Fred's got talent, but it's wasted on the tired and played out theme of angry white guy.....like I want to be even more stressed on my way into work listening to politcs and bithching.... Mitch Albom on WJR is quality stuff...if you can get by Mitch's love of Mitch. Drew and Mike on WRIF have been my long time morning show, though they have definitely fallen off..... Anyone else tired of the concservative domination of the airwaves? I mean it's just the same message over and over and over.

let me add......we need more entertainment value in radio. Things that make you laugh. Interesting stuff. Some unique perspectives. Im a big sports talk fan, and I like Rome, love the new Jay Mohr Show. Why? Because they inject tons of humor. Its not just all silly "analysis" hour upon hour. ESPN Radio? Meh.....Mike and Mike, is formulaic garbage. Bland as all get out. The Herd? Meh. More analysis upon analsis...and usually of teams that I could not care less about from the major population centers.

I was working that night, at WCWA. Ron Hindman was the board operator at WIOT during that show. I can even remember the enthusiastic inter-office memo from PD Lyn Casye about Bubba's arrival on WIOT. I recall he was only on for one night because something went wrong, but for the life of me I can't remember what. It wasn't something technical, it was legal or political, and I knew what it was at the time but I have forgotten...

If I recall correctly, he was eventually 'replaced' by something called 'Love Phones?' Or something like that? Clear Channel was just bound and determined that the evening slot on WIOT would feature some sort of sophomoric talk show. I think Will Worster was the DJ on shift when they pre-empted him with Love Phones, and made the poor guy sit there and run the board (i.e. sit and read a book and push a button once every 15 minutes) (and such a lazy job with no union, no less! Damn unions!) I remember walking in to his studio, giving him a look, and saying something like "what the hell is this?" and he just sighed, shrugged and said something like "this is...for what's out there...I guess."

BB, Norm laugh/coughs into the mic so it is okay. How he still runs the place is beyond me. Norm has pictures of somebody above him, I'm sure.

Can't say as I disagree with this list:

Talkers Magazine: Heavy Hundred of Sports Talk

Of note--former WRQN (93Q) morning guy Steve Mason doing great in LA with John Ireland. They clock in at #18.

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Rome is good, but the whole super macho man schtick gets as old as others. Plus, anyone of a certain age remembers Rome's wise ass pushed to the floor by Jim Everett. Hard to take "The Jungle" or any of his manly man crap seriously with that emblazoned in memory.

Haven't listened to Mohr too much, but like what I've heard so far. We'll see how long he sticks with it, since he has the acting bug...

Mike and Mike just repeat the shit out of everything. If you've listened at 6:30AM, don't worry about anything after 8AM...they're on repeat mode...

I actually like Colin Cowherd, but he suffers from a light version of the same repetition as Mike and Mike. Usually just download his podcast.

CBS Sports radio is being rolled out nationwide far far far too soon. Their personalities simply don't have any star power and their banter is fucking terrible. It will get better over time....suffer for now.

Have people found more success and enjoyment through Satellite radio or streaming through the computer. If so, tips or links would be appreciated. I'm just really tired of dialing around and not finding anything I want or not knowing where to find the things I do want to listen to.

My favorite aggregator of streams is tunein. More comprehensive than iheartradio. Check it out.

Can't say as I have a favorite--I like hearing radio from all over the world.

Iniitially I was getting almost every channel out there. Now it seems that tunein has lost several stations, like it's a cumulus/clear channel thing. Anyone else notice this?

How Norm Wamer is still on the air is beyond my comprehension. The only part of his show that is remotely good is when Dan Dakich is on.

Although I'm not a fan of the CBS line-up, I still like Norm Wamer. He is not over the top and flamboyant, running the show like we are in a major metropolis. He is pretty laid back and easy to listen too on the way home from work...unlike Johnny D! "Drive Time" on the other hand is annoying. I wish Norm would just fill that time as well. I think the station has a little too much baseball talk sometimes,especially in the off season when there are much larger sporting events going on.

I try to like Norm, I have given him many chances, but he really is terrible. I was at the Central vs St Johns game he was broadcasting from and he looked awful. Wrinkled sweatshirt, barely fitting him....(he looked like a short order cook at a diner) A little respect for the game, station and High Schools would have been nice.

^^Sounds like a GM has to have a talk with Norm about appearances.

Just like in any business or business transaction, people judge you by the words you use and the clothes you wear. You don't have to show up in a Brooks Brothers suit, but what you describe sounds pretty bad.

^agreed...Norm Wamer is AWFUL.

I give him credit....he's pursued a dream and gets to live it. But I can't help but wonder....how can people who are serious about business continue to keep him on the airwaves? Honest to goodness...he reminds me of when we were kids and used to do fake radio broadcasts into a tape recorder. Except he's an adult version of it.

I think the first all-sports radio station in Toledo was AM 1470, which began sports talk back in the mid-1990s, correct? Besides some local sports hosts, it was affiliated at that time with the One-on-One sports radio network, which got bought by Sporting News Radio. But in the late 1990s or around 2000, AM 1470 switched to being an ESPN radio affiliate.

I was glad that Toledo finally had an all-sports radio station, since other markets obviously had them earlier.

I think Norm Wamer has been with the Toledo all-sports radio network since the beginning, correct? Maybe he helped bring an all-sports station to Toledo.

The amount of radio coverage of local college and high school sports that exists today did not exist prior to AM 1470 becoming an all-sports station. So if Norm helped make this happen, then in my opinion, he can pretty much do whatever he wants at the station.

As always, you can buy a radio with tuning capabilities or seek funding to start your own competitive, local sports radio network.

Back in the 1990s maybe before AM 1470 became an all-sports station, I think Norm co-hosted a Saturday morning radio show on one of the local AM stations, and this show focused on local sports. I cannot remember the other host's name, but it seemed like he was a long-time local radio host/legend who loved local sports. This other host passed away some years later. In a way, this other host acted like a mentor for Norm. If any of that inspired Norm or whoever to bring an all-sports radio station to Toledo, then they've got my gratitude.

It's possible that Norm does this because he loves sports and local sports in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan and not because he's getting extremely wealthy from it.

Maybe someone can post the official timeline of the Toledo all-sports radio network and the people credited for making it happen.

Sidenote: Sorry to break the news to people who have grown up around here, but about all of you have that nasally, Michigan accent with occasional bouts of the Cleveland accent mixed in, and that does not play well on radio. You need that accent professionally trained out of you to sound "nice" on the radio. But I accept it as the local flair, so it's okay with me.

ok Norm

Sidenote: Sorry to break the news to people who have grown up around here, but about all of you have that nasally, Michigan accent with occasional bouts of the Cleveland accent mixed in, and that does not play well on radio. You need that accent professionally trained out of you to sound "nice" on the radio. But I accept it as the local flair, so it's okay with me.

I spent my first 22 years in this city, worked on the radio for five of those years, then left to pursue larger market dreams. Not once was I professionally trained, other than regular "airchecks" with my program director...and PDs are certainly not voice coaches. One just told me to listen to others and do what they do so I would suck less.

I've worked long term jobs in Hawaii, St. Louis, Las Vegas, and Miami. I've also done syndicated (national) music formats. Never once did my accent become an issue. Actually, Midwestern accents are still a gold standard for broadcast...please note how many Boston Brahman, New York/Chicago Italian, Southern "drawls", Dakota Norwegian, and others you hear, compared to our Midwestern tilt.

People who are "nasally" on the radio, although that may inherent in their speech to some degree, are this way because throwing your voice through your nose is a way of amplifying it without putting pressure from your diaphragm through your vocal cords. For most, its easier than learning the proper diaphragm techniques. It makes your voice shrill enough to cut through music and other audio and certainly amplifies it, but sounds terrible. Many people, not just Midwesterners, need to be broken from this mode and taught, essentially, "stage voicing"...meaning learning to speak naturally, yet projecting loud enough to work in a microphone.

Good points, O.H.

I guess jr has never heard of Gordon Ward, Michael Drew Shaw, Bill Charles, Buddy Carr, or Don Edwards?

As to your last point, I was always told to let the mic do the work, and work your board accordingly. Keep music and beds potted below your own voice.

The thing that saw me getting brow-beaten by my PDs was this peculiar habit I had to use the word 'afternoon' on air, even at 10AM. Doesn't matter how well you use your voice when you're saying something that dumb.

and the Phillys SHIT out the Reds...

As to your last point, I was always told to let the mic do the work, and work your board accordingly. Keep music and beds potted below your own voice.

First, thanks Sohio. Good insight on the whole Bubba deal. I was also actually on the air that night so I never heard the apparently memorable broadcast.

Second, regarding your statement, I think it depends on the format if that actually sounds good. Rock stations, talk, etc. where voice is predominant or exists over dead air (i.e. you don't talk over song intros), a more laid back let the mic/board do the work is OK.

More intensive formats (CHR--Top 40, Hot AC, even classic hits/oldies), mixing your voice with the level of the music sounds much better. In those formats, I was always taught to mix voice to the same level as the artist performing the song or maybe just a smidge hotter...nothing more. That requires some amount of "push" from your voice. Jamming the pots up and down to control volume is noticeable by listeners as music goes from soft (behind a comparatively loud DJ) to LOUD after he/she is done talking and is not pleasant.

Plus, even in a pure spoken word format, someone who has a weak voice can't make it up by simply potting the mic hotter. Weak is also a quality, not just volume...and it makes the speaker sound unsure of him/herself. All announcers at some point, whether it is radio DJ, club DJ, event emcee, whatever, need to project vocal confidence.

Good afternoon :)

"Sidenote: Sorry to break the news to people who have grown up around here, but about all of you have that nasally, Michigan accent with occasional bouts of the Cleveland accent mixed in, and that does not play well on radio. You need that accent professionally trained out of you to sound "nice" on the radio. But I accept it as the local flair, so it's okay with me."

jr: Seriously? As sort of noted above, go to most any major market where there are heavy accents (to us, anyway) such as Boston, New York, the Deep South and the anchors sound like my next door neighbors. By design.

A Southern accent is completely acceptable on baseball announcers:

Do you remember...

Ernie Harwell calls last inning of 1987 Detroit Tigers AL East clinching game (aka Frank Tanana's 1 - 0 shutout against the Blue Jays).

Damn, he is sooooooo missed....

Spend 8 minutes listening. You'll feel good on this cold February day.

Yes, seriously. You all talk funny. And if you read my comment, I said it's fine with me. So what's your malfunction?

Thanks to hanging around you Black Swamp rats, I now speak two goofy languages: southeast Ohio drawl and northwest Ohio nasal, and occasionally for sophistication, I combine the two in the same sentence.

Remember, this was about sports talk radio. It's not a critical service.

Are the sports pages in newspapers still written at a fourth grade reading level? It's mindless entertainment.

I didn't understand the bashing of a local sports radio talk show host. It's sports. Are comparisons being made between a local host and a nationally syndicated host? Norm won't stack up to Rome and Cowherd, but those last two hosts won't be discussing Toledo area sports.

I don't think 1470 is sports talk anymore, I swear I was listening to it yesterday and there was one of the conservative talk shows on it.

I listened to NPR and the week before the super bowl I heard two articles on the game. In Norm's defense....he is better than NPR.

Found a few nuggets tonight on oldhometowns TuneIn and IHeart radio links – thank you. (I am listening to ESPN Radio out of Philadelphia right now)

Most of my frustration seems to come when I am in the car trying to find something to listen to. To solve this issue I might have to delve deeper into Foodies’ Sirius radio input. I am hanging on to my commitment to be less of a tech person by a thread and pretty soon I think I’ll have to make a choice between joining the rest of the World or finding a quiet little cabin in Montana.

… as a side note who misses this on radio? – “… and now you know the rest of the story. Paul Harvey, good Day!”

@jr: "So what's your malfunction? "

Um, no malfunction jr - lighten up. Just never heard anyone speak of a "nasally Michigan accent."

@Danneskjold: "… as a side note who misses this on radio? – “… and now you know the rest of the story. Paul Harvey, good Day!”

I do. I very much miss Paul Harvey - as a radio personality and a decent, honorable man.

IMO, Fox Sports is better than the CBS Sports, and now 1230 has the Dan Patrick show on from 9a-noon. Also, they finally dropped that jazz show in the morning.

I couldn't disagree more boxingfan, if you are talking local. Fox Sports WCWA's signal is terrible and every commercial is a Public Service Announcement - some of which are ten years old. UGH!

"Hi I am John from Banner Mattress!" - That was nasally!

Nothing is worse that Rose City Motors or Brian Allias from Hanson's Windows.

hi, this is Brian Elias ... click

What's wrong with Rose City Motors? They'll bring the veHICKul right to you!

it's funny that you defend Norm, yet criticize the supposed nasally delivery of news people. Have you ever listened to Norm? He is like the poster child for head colds. The King of Nasal, if you will. Im not hearing with other broadcaseters elsewhere, but man, Norm sounds like he has a clothes pin on his nose. Then there's the Walleye's Matt Melzak......

Between the laughing at unfunny material, speech deficiencies, poor guests (except for coach dakich), I do not see how it remains on the air. The advertiser dollars must be sufficient to keep it afloat. Or it is a throw-in advertisement when purchasing other stations within the group. Buy X spots on K-100, and get 3 free on 106.5. Alaways a way to average out your dollar cost and show demographic info to satisfy the business owner.

I imagine that they sell advertising entirely on the strength of it's Ohio State/Detroit Tiger coverage. The non-revenue generating slots (re: Norm and Joe Rychnovsky and Mike Miller, et al) are focused on being low cost....and not having to pay higher dollars for genuine radio talent.

It was Don King who was Norm's mentor who later passed away who laid some of the early groundwork. Norm undoubtedly was instrumental in developing sports talk in Toledo. . Though if not for him, somebody else likely wouldve stepped up. Sports radio is a staple of almost every decent sized market nowadays. Regardless of his impact...him and the rest of the crew's talent level, imo, comes up far short of what "could be" for local Toledo sports talk. He's not entitled to an on air job for life.

While I greatly appreciate the effort to provide a local slant to sports in the area and the coverage topics specific to the Toledo area....someone needs to tell them that there is more going on in the area than at Whitmer, SFS, and CC. That coverage gets old quick.

Regardless of his impact...him and the rest of the crew's talent level, imo, comes up far short of what "could be" for local Toledo sports talk. He's not entitled to an on air job for life.

He may be the most economical option and probably has taken pay cuts to remain with Cumulus. Most likely, they are exploiting his love of sports and sports radio and relentless dedication to the station to extract the highest possible performance they could get out of anyone at his pay level.

Put simply: there's most likely nobody else who could do his job as well as he can for the money he as accepted as payment. And it will continue that way until he quits or passes out at the board.

While I greatly appreciate the effort to provide a local slant to sports in the area and the coverage topics specific to the Toledo area....someone needs to tell them that there is more going on in the area than at Whitmer, SFS, and CC. That coverage gets old quick.

Well...I can understand Whitmer simply because of the size of the school and alumni base. But spreading the coverage around to other big/ranked programs might be nice.

Side note: It bugs me when you have two stations covering the same basketball game. Central Catholic has most of their games on the WOLF. WLQR will pick up the same game every so often. Why?

oldhometown - I can see Norm having to sell ad space in order to pay for his own salary. That might explain the relationship.

Agreed. It's likely to be entirely a "bang for the buck" decision as to the quality of the local programming and talent.

Tigers - glad to see I'm not the only little on here (TK reference for those non-listeners).

I've been listening to Tony's radio show since the ESPN days in 1998. This show is the greatest thing on radio.

For those who are looking for something, check it out. It is a local Washington DC show, but lots of national sports and news stories are discussed.

Drive Time &Mike Miller generate sponsor dollars of their own. Pretty sure that's how Front Row got bumped down in the time slot.