Early and Late ... New Station, Belated Praise

One of the nation's best sports towns gets a second sports-talk radio station Monday -- its first full time on the FM side of the dial -- when 93.7 The Fan begins broadcasting in Pittsburgh.

CBS Radio has invested in the station (which was once home to one of Pittsburgh's more popular morning shows as B-94 for years), and along with bringing in talent for a mostly local lineup the network might eventually become a player for team rights and broadcasts. That remains in the future, though.

Things begin at 6 a.m. Monday with a three-voice morning show led by Paul Alexander, who has worked in Pittsburgh for several years on TV and radio. Before that, he spent most of is career in the Altoona/Johnstown/State College markets. He'll bring imporant experience and passion to the station's morning drive show.

The lineup also includes: Vinnie Richichi, brought to the station from Seattle, and Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; John Seibel, formerly of ESPN, and Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (possibly the best sports columnist in the market), from 2 to 6 p.m.; and Gregg Giannotti from 6 to 10 p.m., who comes from WFAN in New York City.

What might be most interesting about the stationand its lineup will be the tone of shows. Pittsburgh sports talk has traditionally stressed substance over style and honesty over hype. As the market expands, though, there might be some differentiaon necessary to draw listeners -- especially to a station without team broadcasts.

There might be room in the market for the station to craft a niche, though.

Now, looking back -- and hopefully this counts as better late than never -- kudos to Steve Jones and Jerry Fisher of the Penn State Sports Network. Last Saturday with Minnesota in State College for a men's basketball game, the heavy snow prevented the Big Ten Network's scheduled play-by-play man from making it to town to work the game on TV. So, Jones, usually the voice of Penn State on radio in the region only, took the TV seat -- and did a good job working with BTN analyst Jim Jackson.

It's not easy for a team guy to move from a sometimes myopic position to an overall role, but Jones' always strong preparation certainly helped. He narrated the game's open, called the game right down the middle and set up Jackson repeatedly to make points.

With Jones off the Penn State radio broadcast, Fisher took his place. Fisher usually calls Penn State's women's basketball on radio and he slid into the men's broadcast without a problem. The good work by both was a testament to their professionalism and talent.