By Jeff Moss
December 16, 2011
DetroitSportsRag@gmail.com
So the other night a DSR Tipster emailed me a link to some sort of classified ad on a website forum called allaccess.com.
The post stated the following:
“Major Market looking for a PD/host for AM sports station. Must live sports, love people, prep like mad, enjoy going to practices & games, and interact well with the sales team. Interested? Send resume and aircheck as well as salary requirements to: sportspdhostsearch@gmail.com.”
The major market? Detroit.
The station? WDFN-1130AM.
When I read the ad I enjoyed a brief chuckle and wondered what dumb sap would actually apply for a job at a Dead Man Walking radio station.
I had planned to respond to the forum ad with an email to the poster “Michael McCoy” listing MY credentials for the gig. It was obviously going to be a joke, but I was still trying to figure out what an aircheck was when a better story developed.
Last night, I attended Tom Kowalski’s annual holiday party at the Brewhaus in Keego Harbor. The event was held for the first time since Killer’s death and was done so in his honor with the tradition of raising funds for needy children continuing.
The want-ad for a new WDFN program director and on-air host was the buzz of the evening with rampant speculation that former 1130 blabbermouth/PD Gregg Henson would either be applying for the job or had already done so.
The native Detroiter who ushered in the era of Detroit sports radio back in the 90s and who also ran WXYT for a time is currently employed at WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Operations Manager of that legendary AM station.
Since his departure from 97.1 years ago, Henson has worked in Philadelphia, Austin, Dallas, Kabul, Medicine Hat, Tel Aviv and finally Fort Wayne. In the middle of all of these radio gigs he also opened up a Java Jungle coffee joint that didn’t make it in Texas.
Even with all of that globetrotting, it was always my belief that he would jump at the first opportunity to get back into the Detroit market due to his desire to return to his hometown and his massive ego.
So here is the big question. If Henson does throw his hat into the ring for this gig, would Clear Channel take him back?
It has been nine years since 3-G jumped ship and left DFN to run 1270 and the management that ran 1130 back then is all gone.
If Henson wants to come crawling back to Detroit for a fraction of what he once made in this market, would Clear Channel exec Til Levesque give him that opportunity?
To be quite honest I have very mixed feelings about this possibility. And the assembled media members at the Killer function could probably see the wheels turning in my head while I pondered this potential contingency.
There is no love lost between Henson and myself. Our last conversation on Twitter ended in an ugly fashion with the bald, short witted bully telling me that I am a bitter, single man who will never have children and is just jealous I never had a job in Detroit radio.
And my nuclear response in which I replied that I never, EVER applied for a media opportunity in this town (a fact Henson is well aware of) and that I was actually MARRIED and my wife had suffered a miscarriage pretty much ended our frayed “relationship.”
http://www.facebook.com/groups/368347210004/doc/10150721880775005/
Look, I don’t like the dude. I can’t stand his politics, he comes across as a racist when talking about our President and I think he is a lousy talk show host who really doesn’t know jack shit about sports.
But as a program director? I don’t know.
Fuck, if Ralph Reed got hired as the PD of WDFN and he actually put on compelling shows that provided an alternative to the shit on 97.1 (Karsch-Anderson, Caputo-Fifthian, Riger, McAllister, Roseanne Barr, etc.) I might be able to overlook his Christian Conservative leanings.
Part of me would love to see SOMEONE …. ANYONE reenergize the Detroit sports talk radio battle, but would it come with the same old, “Guy Talk” and “We aren’t bought and paid for by the TEAM” bullshit that was played out a decade ago?
Bringing the band back together with a Jamie Samuelsen/Henson morning show isn’t the answer, but either is the current schlock that is currently airing on 1130 right now. Shit, I run a website that is supposed to cover this garbage and I couldn’t even tell you what is airing on WDFN these days.
Russ McNamara? Rico Beard? Or is it Rod Beard? Or maybe Brian Wilson’s beard? Who are these people anyway?
The one thing that does seem apparent is that WDFN isn’t throwing in the towel just yet. They are obviously looking for someone to give the station an identity and while it is an absolute Hail Mary to think that they can compete with an FM signal without a big budget, it looks like they are going to toss that bomb.
Will that eventual detonation result in the return of Gregg Henson to Detroit after years in exile?
I would send him a Tweet and ask him if he is desirous of a return to hometown, but he blocked me after our ectopic pregnancy debate so that just isn’t possible.
I guess we will just have to wait and see come spring if Octavio Dotel isn’t the most well-traveled recent addition to the Detroit sports scene.