Ranking the Top OKC Sports Media Members, The Top 2

OK, the day is finally here. You may have guessed by now who the top two are but I garunteee some of you will be suprised by the order that they're in. Before we get to our top two though, lets take a look at some of the guys (and girls) that didn't quite make the cut.



In no particular order, I considered:

Jenni Carlson, KEBC (whatever that is) radio host and Oklahoman columnist: Hey, I know Jenni, I like Jenni, couldn't make the cut though.

Curtis Fitzpatrick, WWLS morning radio co-host, KOCO sports anchor, Sports Night Oklahoma co-host: Curtis was right on the cusp, but he's never been the leading man on anything. Number 3 guy at KOCO, too. Still, a bright future and a young talent.


Bob Barry Sr., Voice of the Oklahoma Sooners and KFOR sports anchor: Could have made a past list but not now. Way past his prime. Also, doesn't really have an avenue for expressing his opinion.

Doug Gottlieb, ESPN radio host and television NCAAB corespondant: Thought about putting him in the running, but way too national for this list.

Kirk Humphries, WWLS host and golf corespondant: Also close, but golf is his specialty and I didn't really want any specialty guys on this list.

James Hale, KOKC radio host and OU insider: Again another specialist. Never really been a fan. I think he says "uhhh" every six seconds.


Robert Allen, WWLS corespondant, OSU insider, and voice of the Yard Dawgs and COX's coverage of Oklahoma High School Football: Yet another specialist. I like him, but he can't be put into the top 10, he's a role player.

Chris Callahan, KOCO sports anchor: He was quality, but he left, so I guess it doesn't count.

Now, with no more further delay, the top 2...





2) Al Eschbach, WWLS radio host: Unlike everyone else on the list, Al does just one thing. However, he does that one thing to perfection. Really, it can be argued that Al is the most important figure in Oklahoma sports media history. One of the first of his kind, a pioneer into the genre of sports talk and he is one of the reasons it became such a huge success, not just regionally, but nationally as well. Anyone who knows sports talk knows about Al. His trademark hat and candid personality helped build a legend. He may have the best overall sports knowledge in the state. Argues his point very well. He was even featured on a SportsCenter special about sports talk radio. There was one other Okie on that feature though...
Knowledge: Past 5, Present 5
Charimsa: 9
Opinion: 10
Resources: 8
Overall Score: 37/40

1) Jim Traber, WWLS radio host and co-host of FOX25's The Locker Room: OK, I have to clarify, I personally don't think he's the best in the city. However, given the criteria I outlined for choosing the best, it was hard to argue. Who's more opinionated, has a more firey personality, or has more resources than Jim Traber? As a former major leaguer, he has a strangle hold on qulaity interviews and "reliable sources" in the city. Traber is often trashed and critisized by callers but he unarguably keeps them listening. His arguments are a unique blend of knowledge and intimidation. It should also be noted that Jim always feels that he has the moral high ground on his callers. However, getting past the superiority complex, Jim Traber just may be the most complete sports media guy there is, even if he isn't winning any popularity contests anytime soon.
Knowledge: Past 4, Present 5
Charisma: 10
Opinion: 10
Resources: 10
Overall Score: 39/40

Ranking the Top OKC Sports Media Members, 3-6

OK, it's day 2 of our series that counts down to the top sports personality in print or on the air waves in OKC. Without further delay, lets continue the countdown...


6) Toby Rowland, KREF Morning Radio Host and KWTV Sports Anchor: OK, I'll be the first to admit that the six spot may be a tad lofty for Toby, especially considereing that he tops sports directors BBJ and Mark Rodgers even though he himslef his just a #2 guy. However, no doubt that the heir apparent to Dean Blevins and News 9 is on a come up in the OKC sports scene. He's young and full of all sorts of energy on top of a very complete knowledge of the current sporting world. He's a personal favorite, which may have had some influence on his position. Again though, he's an up and coming media star.
Knowledge: Past 3, Present 5
Charisma: 10
Opinion: 8
Resources: 5
Overall Score: 31/40


5) Mike Steely, WWLS Morning Radio Host and co-Host of Fox25's The Locker Room: In all honesty, his morning radio show is as close to perfection as it gets. Though the phony celebrity callers and philosophical debates on Mother's Day take center stage, Steely's vast knowledge of sports history is also top notch. Also co-hosts The Locker Room with Jim Traber. The two complement each other well, as Jim Traber takes himself very seriously and Steely takes nothing seriosly, to create by far the most successful program put together by Fox25.
Knowledge: Past 5, Present 4
Charisma: 10
Opinion: 7
Resources: 6
Overall Score: 32/40


4) Dean Blevins, WWLS Corespondant, KWTV Sports Director, and co-Host of The Sunday Night Sports Blitz: Dean is perhaps the greatest professional in the business, at least in the city. News 9 has had the best nightly sports broadcast among all the major stations. This is partly due to funding, but partly due to the immense skill of Blevins. The personality could use some color, but Dean alsways gets the best interviews and usually breaks the story before anyone else.
Knowledge: Past 5, Present 5
Charisma: 6
Opinion: 7
Resources: 10
Overall Score: 33/40


3) Berry Trammel, WWLS Radio Host and Oklahoman Chief Sports Columnist: For years, people have awoken to Trammel's words on the front page of the sports section. Trammel is at that age where he's old enough to have an enourmous knowledge of sports history but not too old to the point where he's pushing retirement and near senility. His ideas are often challanged by Traber and Eschbach on the Dominance Hour, but he always defends them (even if it isn't that well) and isn't afraid to step outside of popular opinion.
Knowledge: Past 5, Present 4
Charisma: 7
Opinion: 9
Resources: 9
Overall Score: 34/40

OK, tomorrow, the top 2 are revealed as well as a look at those who couldn't quite make the cut. Try not to lose too much sleep in anticipation.

Ranking the Top OKC Sports Media Members, 7-10

While thinking of what to write on our young yet promising blog, inspiration struck me. People love rankings. People also (at least here in Oklahoma) enjoy following their favorite sports media member as much as they do they're favorite sports team. So I thought why not further draw from our very regionally focused fan base and create a ranking of the top sports personalities in city limits?!?!

I derived the rankings not from my own presonal opinion (well, not directly at least) but instead I developed an objective set of criteria thet each is to be judged upon. The criteria was a verstatile and complete knowledge of not just one sport, but all major sporting avenues, charismatic appearances on radio, television, or in his or her writings, being starkly opinionated (controversial or not), and access to solid resources (players, coaches, general managers, you know, poeple that know stuff). Media members got a score (out of 10) for each category (knowledge, charisma, opinion, resources). The knowledge score was derived from two parts. These were present knowledge (knowledge of the sporting world since 2000) and past knowldge (knowledge of the sporting world before the year 2000). Candidates got a maximum of 5 points for each one of these sub-categories and these were added together to get the larger overall knowledge score.

So, without delay, here is the bottom of the top 10:


10) Myron Patton, KREF radio host and FOX25 sports director: It's hard for Myron to be really be competitive being the highlight talent for both the last place sports radio and news provider. He left the state awhile to be an actual news anchor in Louisiana, but came back to both Oklahoma and the sports scene.
Knowledge: Past 3, Present 5
Charisma: 9
Opinion: 6
Resources: 4
Overall Score: 27/40





9) Mark Rodgers, WWLS radio host and KOCO sports director: Some might think this is kind of low for Mark, but honestly, I've never been a fan. I don't have a problem with him or anything, I just think he's all the Jim Traber bark with none of the Jim Traber bite. Though I think that KOCO sports coverage is generally better than say KFORs, I think ninth is about right for him. Radio show is average, no more no less.
Knowledge: Past 3, Present 4
Charisma: 9
Opinion: 8
Resources: 5
Overall Score: 29/40




T-7) Bob Barry Jr., WWLS radio host and KFOR sports director: I really enjoy BBJ, personally. He's bright, experienced, and makes me laugh (whether or not it's intentional). I enjoy his radio a lot more than the nightly news though. Senior was also in consideration for the list, but wasn't able to make the cut, sadly.
Knowledge: Past 4, Present 4
Charisma: 8
Opinion: 8
Resources: 6
Overall Score: 30/40






T-7) John Rohde, JOX radio host and Oklahoman writer: The number 2 guy at the Oklahoman. Known for out of the box ideas and sports projects/ranikings/stories for the Oklahoman. I enjoy him, not a favorite, but usually an interesting article.
Knowledge: Past 3, Present 5
Charisma: 8
Opinion: 7
Resources: 7
Overall Score: 30/40

Come back Tuesday for 3-6 on the list and Wednesday for the revealing of the top 2!