95.7 “The Game” extends Brandon Tierney, searches for Eric Davis’ replacement

East Bay Sports Guy July 18, 2012

This is not exactly breaking news, but given the way most of you seem to enjoy talkin’ sports talk radio, I thought I’d pass this along.

Though the terms of the contract have not been disclosed, 95.7 “The Game” confirmed on Monday that it has extended the contract of Brandon Tierney, co-host of “The Drive”.

“Bay Area sports fans have taken notice about the new sound for sports that we’re building at 95.7 The GAME,” Tierney said. “There’s nothing I look forward to more than talking sports with each and every one of them as they head home for the day.”

While Bay Area sports fans have taken notice, they haven’t exactly turned to the dial. The most recent ratings show “The Game” losing ground to not only KNBR 680, but also KNBR 1050. With co-host Eric Davis leaving the station at the end of July, “The Drive” faces an even steeper climb in its quest to compete with KNBR’s Tom Tolbert.

Davis is departing “The Game” for greener pastures, as it were. He’ll be co-hosting “NFL AM,” the NFL Network’s new nationally syndicated morning show. “The Game” has been auditioning co-hosts, most recently Lincoln Kennedy. A former offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders, Kennedy is currently the co-host of the “Gargano and Lincoln Show,” which airs Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Radio. If Kennedy’s audition is an indication, it would appear as though “The Game” wants to pair Tierney with a former athlete. Sorry, Ralph Barbieri fans.

About the Author

A resident of Oakland, East Bay Sports Guy (otherwise known as Scott Preston) often spends his time wearing v-necks--sometimes deep, sometimes not--and watching the teams that play in the Coliseum. You can follow Scott @EBSportsGuy.

89 comments

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erick

I think that "Stan", they guy who always comments on this site, should get a spot on as co-host with brandon tierney. they have the same MO - lot's of "DISLIKE's"

Stan

Thanks..I can tell you the Stan and Beane segment would be beyond atomic,it would be super nova. I'm not swayed by Slick. I am a lifetime bay arean. And ..no butchering of the latin players names. I might just go the extra distance and ask them how to say their names correctly..something Kuiper never does. The only problem is..at party's? I get sore throat after 10 minutes of nonstop talking...and that would make for a really lousy Radio host.

Otis Byrd III

Sorry to go off topic again but, Ted Ramey (sp?)the guy who has done the updates on KNBR this week, the same guy as Ted Posey? Their voices sound the same, even though there is somewhat of a difference. Today, Damon said something about Ted Ramey not being known as Ted Posey anymore, or something like that. LOL. But yeah, I was just wondering if anyone knows if Ted Ramey and Ted Posey are the same guy, or different guys. Sorry for the random question.

Stan

I think your on the right track. I know its very common to use different names by an individual as they go from one radio station to another. I'm not sure why some do and others dont. I guess if your good you stick to your real stage name all the time.

devnull

Heh, WKRP flashback: Dr. Johnny Fever Johnny Sunshine Johnny Cool Heavy Early ... "Booger!!!"

Otis Byrd III

Oh ok, thanks Stan! That's true too

Stan

Their might be a dozen woman in this country who go by Allie Katz..lol..

rick

Hey Stan. How come there are over 20 responses from you regarding this one post? Either back off with the clutter or start your own blog. I will await your attack on me.

Stan

Attack? I've never- on any blog attacked a fellow poster who didn't take the first swing at me and my mama. And as far as those "votes"..I figure the same crowd KNBR panders too and who voted for the whole Bush family. So,I take them as a badge of honor. No pretense from me to appeal to them.

devnull

Not everyone who disagrees with you is a Republican or even a conservative, in spite of you branding them as such. And, disagreeing with you is not an "attack" in and of itself, though you apparently don't see it that way; instead declaring it "the man" trying to "shout you down" or some similar refrain.

devnull

You haven't proved anything, other than you believe everything you write, which should hardly be surprising. Declaring "I proved it" over and over again has no real meaning, particularly on an internet blog.

Stan

Oh,its true. When middle aged men write about my mother..and More then just Simon have sunk that low..I know my enemy. As a matter of fact even to you I said "You see or read only what you want" about my posts. And then,you proved it.

devnull

"As I have said over and over.." That doesn't make it true.

Stan

You got it wrong and I know you see what you want to see -or read. You ever read what Simon or BA Rich or I think blaster posted to my posts?..no "I dont agree"...they right for me and Mama. I have never attacked a fellow poster who didn't cross a line and get personal about me first. As I have said over and over..they are frustrated because I do know what I'm talking about and since they can't prove me wrong,like 10 year olds they throw tantrums.

Stan

Rick..you do see Simple Simons posts dont you? And if ignore you republican types..you take that as a win..and if I answer? "you post too much". Look at the Penn State post..I offended two of the regular conservative Pedo's I guess also.

Otis Byrd III

I know this has nothing to do with Brandon Tierney or Marty Lurie but, no offense to "The Guru", but why is yelling/screaming on his show? Yes, he's a passionate guy and a good/decent new sports talk show host, but he can still get his point across without yelling/screaming. Even though I have no background in radio, "The Guru" might have to change the yelling/screaming on his show.

TommyJ

Guru's much better than the average fan would be on the air, but the Stephen A Smith bit needs to go away. Yell for emphasis, not all the time.

Otis Byrd III

Yeah, I agree. Yelling/screaming would be ok if he's trying to make a point or drive home a point, but don't do that for the whole show. It kind of makes him comes across like he's mad, even though he's just passionate, or fired up like he said he was.

Blaster

His style is grating. I would rather listen to static. Or even Marty Lurie. {{Shudders}}

Stan

I'm waving my hands in de air,like I dont care..and I dont!

Stan

As much as I hate those kars for kids commercials on 95.7...I like the Target TV commercial where the teacher (who looks like Dr. Lovelace from Wild,Wild,West) sings about school supplies to "Word Up". They dont show it enough.!

Stan

You get me, you sucker DJ's?

TommyJ

The Game announced Jon Ritchie for two days and Rod Woodson for two days as potential Tierney partners. Both good when I've heard them in the past. Don't know if they will have the rapport and other sports knowledge that Linc seemed to have (clubhouse leader). Will be interesting to hear Woodson's take on the Raiders since he just had a one-and done under Hue The Magnificent (at least in his mind). Don't consider Stubblefield or LoNeal potential co-hosts since I already get fatigued by their takes on the frequent game hits during football season, much less four hours.

Blaster

I liked Kennedy the best, as well. Plus, he lived here for a long time and is a man of the people. When I was in college, he used to come into Rasputin's in San Lorenzo and trade his CD's for store credit and go buy more CD's. He'd sign autographs and BS with staff and shoppers the whole time. Really cool, down to earth guy. Him and J-Rich were frequent customers. Simpler times, I guess. So, back to the show and 2012. Yes on Kennedy and send "Ay! Yo!" jackass packing!

TommyJ

Yeah Rasputins is a cool place; used to go there when I worked in the 510. I get Amoeba's in the Haight now; no athletes but lots of musicians.

Otis Byrd III

Speaking of that talkers.com list, yeah, that list is a joke. Even Gary didn't even take that thing seriously. He said Cumulus stuffed the ballot box. LOL. Even though I didn't know some of those hosts and was suprised that some former athletes now do radio shows, there were some well known hosts (Tony Bruno, Jim Rome, JT The Brick, Dan Patrick I guess, et. al) who deserved to be on that list, but a lot of that list was a joke. How is Damon Bruce, Marty Lurie, or even Chris Townsend, not on that list? The Gary and Larry show isn't that bad, but are they seriously the 17th best sports talk radio show in the country? I don't think Gary thought so. haha.

Blaster

Marty Lurie?! Noooooo OBIII!!! I was so relieved when the Giants snagged him from the A's. The guy NEVER shuts up. He does those marathon shows because he works for free. IDK, I don't really like lawyers, so I guess Marty was already behind the proverbial eight ball, but I think I would rather bathe in a pool of battery acid with a Brillo pad as a loofah than listen to any more Marty Lurie.

Otis Byrd III

hahaha. Oh dang, wow. LOL.... Now I see where some of the dislike for Marty Lurie comes from on here. It's because he's a former lawyer. At least Marty is a cool former lawyer. A lot of former lawyers are douches, or they appear awkward to talk to. LOL... No offense to anyone on here that might know or does know a former lawyer. LOL. Yeah, Marty does have a lot to say. That's probably one of the reasons why his postgame shows are so long. Yes, he is working for free and I guess KNBR doesn't pay him, but he gets paid through the ad's, right? I forgot how he gets paid again. But yeah, his shows might not really on KNBR's dime. But yeah, his marathon postgame shows do show his passion for the game too though. He loves baseball so much, that he could literally talk about it all day, which he pretty much does on the weekends. You have to admit that it's cool that he allows some callers and listeners to have dinner with him at Original Joes.. Marty's postgame shows are almost like the perfect kind of shows on weekends, because things are more slowed down on weekends, even though I'll admit that it would be nice if Marty had a breather some weekends. Sometimes you feel bad for him because he's on so much on the weekends. It's almost like, poor Marty. The A's letting him go might've been a mistake though. Look how popular Marty is now, even though a lot of his popularity might've been because of the Giants success in 2010. He probably did for sure benefit from the Giants success in 2010. He was new to KNBR that year, and he kind of became a phenomenon because of his postgame shows that year, and he was doing some postgame shows with F.P. on Sportsphone in the playoffs and WS in 2010. Marty was something new at the time, and the Giants won the WS the year he came to KNBR. It was almost like he was a good luck charm. Marty comes to KNBR, the Giants win the WS!Maybe he wouldn't have been as popular if the Giants didn't win the WS in 2010, or if he started at KNBR in the Giants down years back in 2006, 2007, and 2008. If he would've started at KNBR in those years, that would've been interesting to see how he would've discussed the horrible Giants losses back then, and try to put a bow and a positive spin on a game where Benitez blew a save or when the Giants had veterans like Klesko and Ray Durham in the lineup in 2007, back when callers like "Salty Balty" wanted Sabean fired, and things were really bad for the Giants at the time.... That's baseball. LOL. j/k. But yeah, a lot of Marty Lurie's popularity probably did have a lot to do with the Giants success in 2010. If Marty Lurie was still covering the A's now, I'm not sure if 95.7 would have him do long postgame shows on weekends, like KNBR does, especially since they are trying to appeal to a younger audience. By the way, did Marty have these marathon shows when he was with the A's? I didn't know about Lurie until 2010, even though I think my brother-in-law told me about him in 2009, or in 2010 when it was announced that he was coming to KNBR. I wonder how many Giants fans knew about Lurie before he came to KNBR. But yeah, I like Marty Lurie as a sports radio talk show host, even though his postgame shows can be way too long sometimes. Give his show a chance. You'll like it!

Otis Byrd III

I totally agree with you on Marty! He's the type of host that you can listen to on weekends, while you're doing other things. KNBR got a find in Marty Lurie. Imagine if he was still with the A's. As good as Marty Lurie is, it's kind of surprising that the A's let him go. If he was doing these kinds of shows for 95.7 on weekends during baseball season, yeah, Marty probably wouldn't have been as popular, but 95.7 and the A's would probably have more pub. I agree about who cares in the grand scheme of things if he's on for hrs. at a time on weekends. He's talking baseball, and it's good to hear a host have an extended post game show, and give anyone a chance to call in and chime in about how they feel regarding Giants issues. Yeah, it probably is harder for guys who work with Marty because they are pretty much at KNBR all day on weekends, and it might ruin their social life, at least during baseball season, because they have to work so many hrs. on weekends. It seems like Marty though usually has different board up guys/producers during his shows, if the people who where there in the morning with him, have to cut out and leave later. P-Con is normally with Marty in the mornings for Giants weekend home games, but not for postgame. Yeah, I do agree that he does let the bad callers take over the show at times, or let callers like "Salty Balty" or even that new caller who's becoming a regular on KNBR named "Neck", go to long on their rants, where you have to laugh at them at little bit,and it kind of ruins the flow of the show. LOL.... Yeah, the nickname topic got kind of old, and yeah, the Lincecum topic has been talked about ad nauseum. Yeah, the Ron Wotus interviews can be kind of boring. LOL. Ron Wotus is a good guy and a good bench for the Giants, but yeah, he's not an exciting interview, even though him and Marty usually have a good back and forth. That's cool that they are both good friends. That must be cool for Marty that pretty much everyone in the Giants organization, respects him and knows who he is. Yeah, it is good that he gets on the Gants marketing department about the bobbleheads and other Giants promotional giveaways throughout the season. They should give them to everyone. It's unfair and kind of dumb when only the first 20,000 or so fans get them. What happens if kids want a bobblehead, but they showed up late to the game? That kid won't be able to get that bobblehead that they wanted. They should order at least 40-50,000 bobbleheads and other Giants promotional giveaways, so that everyone at AT&T for that game, could get one. Hopefully the Giants marketing department at least considers it. They have the money to order at least 20-30,000 more, don't they? But yes, that's good that I'm not the only one on here who likes Marty's show. I was surprised at all the negative comments in the article on here about Marty, a few weeks ago or so. I was shocked, really. I haven't met Marty before, but he seems like a great guy, and it's nice to have a real baseball show on weekends during baseball season, where you can listen to serious baseball discussions, despite the length of it at times. KNBR knew what they were doing when they brought Lurie in. It's kind of too bad that he wasn't well known or as well known, before he came to KNBR though.

TommyJ

Marty is old-school, handcrafted. He's vanilla ice cream,; lemonade on the back porch on a hot day. I happen to like those things, lot of people don't. On a Sunday night if he wants to go 18 hrs, who cares in the grand scheme of things. You're right OBIII about running errands and listening to his show; it's the perfect reset-for-the-upcoming-week programming. Not too deep,but not cheerleading enough. Dislike when ML lets the callers take over the show with a beaten topic i.e.-Lincecum or nicknames. And I can see why some inside people (DBrown) would tire of being there ridiculous hours screening calls and eating cold Amici's. Could do without Ron Wotus every Sunday morning (ZZZZ); how about rotate other Giants coaches? Do like when ML chastizes SFG marketing for making people stand in long lines for bobbleheads (it is ridiculous; they are sold out every game, the giveaway probably costs 35 cents. Give one to everybody like ML says!)

simon

I hope you're kidding when you suggest Marty Lurie belongs on a list of the "100 Most Important Sports Talk Radio Hosts in America." I like Marty, he seems like a nice guy who is reasonably knowledgeable about baseball but his show is just plain painful to listen to. He's got negative charisma, no audience and is insignificant at best.

Otis Byrd III

haha. I'm seriously not.... Marty Lurie is great, he knows the game of baseball, and it's clearly his passion. Yeah, his postgame shows are a little too long at times, especially the ones on Sunday afternoons. I can see how that can be painful, especially if you have nothing else to do. Sometimes I take naps on his long postgame shows, and when I wake up from a longer nap, he's still on. haha. Now, if you are running errands on the weekend, and they involve you going on the road, or traveling different places throughout the Bay Area, that's where Marty's how comes in handy. It can keep you company, especially if you want to hear good and deep Giants discussion, as well as baseball discussion. Marty is great though. It's really hard to say something bad about the guy. Just curious but, why do you say that he has negative charisma, no audience, and is insignificant? Marty is a positive guy overall, and he usually has the best case scenario in mind, when he talks about the Giants. Marty has a huge audience. He has so many different callers each weekend, as well as the regular callers to his show. Marty is significant. Everyone on KNBR respects him, even though he gets made fun of because of his longer postgame shows, but I'm sure that's all in good fun though.

Stan

RICH LEIBERMAN 415 MEDIA..has a guest post who explains talker.coms ownership and history. Is not the "respected"media bible. Its Satan's scribblings.

B.A. Rich

Stan, quit pimping that weak ass blog of slander over here.

Stan

Like they say..it ain't slander if its true..and it ain't bragging when you can back it up!..lol.

Stan

Are talking about yourself again Simon?...weird, you dont seem to notice you've embarrassed yourself. Give it a rest.You lost, so quit while your only way behind.

simon

The only thing Stan can back up is his mother's car if he can find the keys. There is a difference between being right and being oblivious!

simon

Oh, that mean there is one other anonymous poster, other than Stan, disparaging the TALKERS poll. Stan of course is in love with "RICH LEIBERMAN 415 MEDIA" because it publishes all his posts and Lieberman, like Stan is obsessed with Radnich animosity. But at the end of the day, it's a pathetic little blog, run by an envious little man, that no one in the world pays any attention to. TALKERS, on the other hand, has a large following in the industry and people pay attention to their polls and their opinions.

Stan

As usual Simon leaves out the fact that I was right, HE is wrong..lol... But Simon always has monkey poo to sling to make him happy.

Stan

I know John...like the rest he thought he found "proof " to prove me wrong or show me up..and like the rest,It turned out I WAS RIGHT all along. They get frustrated..lol.

John Sports

WOW!!! Stan I think you have really gotten underneath Simons skin he seems obsessed with this talkers list.

Otis Byrd III

Speaking of Eric Davis, where was he today? Today was supposed to be his last show on 95.7. Tierney said they were going to have fun on Eric Davis' last show today and everything. I'm surprised Tierney didn't mention why Eric Davis wasn't there today. I'm sure he mentioned it at the beginnig of the show, but I'm normally listening to the Damon Bruce Show at that time. You would've thought Tierney would mention multiple times why Eric Davis wasn't there today to keep people informed, considering it was supposed to be Eric Davis' last show on 95.7 today. I had to guess why Eric Davis wasn't there. I'm guessing he probably couldn't make it, or maybe contractually, NFL Network wouldn't let him do one final show for 95.7? I was looking forward to hearing Eric Davis on 95.7 today. I was surprised to hear Roxy Bernstein, even though Roxy Bernstein is pretty good. He sounds a lot like Dave Flemming, but the guy could be a good co-host. He's another guy that's kind of underutilized on that station.

John Sports

He mentioned it a few time's, Eric was suppose to be on three more Days...But I guess between the move down to LA and getting started on the NFL Network he couldn't make it work.

Otis Byrd III

Oh ok, my bad. I didn't hear him mention that, even though, yes, I do recall that Eric Davis was originally supposed to work 3 days this week. You do make a good point that him moving to L.A. and getting started on NFL Network, probably were factors in him not being on 95.7 this week.

Blaster

A black co-host would also please Stan. This coming from a Chicano who has to look to Mark Ibanez a my sole beacon of brown light for sports in the Bay Area, as mami y papi didn't teach me Espanol growing up. !Chingar! lol

John Sports

No worries Otis, but yeah it would have been nice if he was on at-least one more show, I am looking forward to some of the people they have lined up to replace him though. I really think Lincoln Kennedy will get the gig...Which would be cool with me...I think he would be a great addition.

Blaster

Tierney sounded nervous around Kennedy. I think he behaved himself out of fear. Lincoln is a big, big man. Plus, I used to listen to him on Saturday mornings on his syndicated show and he has better "chops" then the NY blowhard. Hey, anyone around here notice how many more callers all of the shows have been taking this week on the Drive? I don't listen all the time, but when I tuned in, I noticed A LOT more callers. A LOT more A's talk. A little more Raider talk and a lot less "Timmy" talk. Are the hosts reading these blogs? Is the "pimp"? Keep the changes for the better coming. Extension for the bald hack was a bad move, but just move him to weekend cleanup or make him a Yankee insider. Maybe make him a parking attendant? IDK, just take him off "The Drive".

Otis Byrd III

haha. Yeah, Tierney did sound a little nervous around Lincoln Kennedy. Lincoln Kennedy means business, and he doesn't take any mess. Kennedy would probably beat Tierney's butt, if Tierney would've messed with him. LOL. With that being said, I'll admit that Kennedy and Tierney was actually a good pairing earlier this week. Kennedy is another guy that can keep Tierney in check, should Kennedy be Tierney's permanent co-host. As far as the changes on the "The Drive" this week, yeah, they have taken more calls, but they still don't take a lot of calls on that show. Hopefully 95.7 is starting to get the message that you need to take calls on a sports radio talk show. They have talked more A's now that the A's are playing better baseball, and as a Giants fan, I'll admit, the A's have been funner to watch in recent weeks. About Lincecum, you could only say so much about Lincecum. It seems like everything that has been said about him so far this season, has been said. The Lincecum topic has been ran into the ground this season, with all the local media coverage surrounding his struggles so far this season. Yeah, his struggles this season are a concern, but it seems kind of tiring at this point, when Lincecum's struggles are talked about now. It just hasn't been his year this year, and hopefully he can continue to improve in the 2nd half of this season. Yeah, there has been more Raider talk, now that it's getting closer to football season. The Niners are getting talked about more now as well. I'll admit 95.7 does a good job giving both the Niners and Raiders equal time in analysis, even though they lean more towards the Raiders though..... That would be funny if they are reading this blog. We are giving them some helpful suggestions, if they really are reading this blog. Yeah, I agree with you about Tierney. Extending him was a bad move. Yeah, he came all the way from the East Coast, and yeah, he's still trying to get acclamated to this area and we will have to give him more time to adjust but, why extend someone that's already not popular in this area? 95.7 is pissing off their listenership by doing that. LOL at the things you said that 95.7 should do with him. Yankees Insider? haha. He did seem excited when they were interviewing Yankees radio play-by-play announcer, John Sterling. It was almost like he was able to talk Yankees again, a team he really is a fan of, and is more familiar with. John Sterling is his friend. I agree that Tierney should be off "The Drive" though. That's probably the time when 95.7 gets most of their listeners. Do they really want Tierney on at that time? As has been said earlier by a lot of people here, they really should move Townsend to "The Drive". I brought up having Tierney co-host with Lund, but that might not go well. 95.7 should try that out to see if it works though. Maybe Tierney could be the co-host Lund needs. I don't think Tierney would want to do it. His ego probably let him do it, but they got to get him out of the 2-6 PM timeslot at some point, if they plan on keeping him long-term, and if he wants to stay on 95.7 long-term.

Stan

Well,to give Eric the benefit of the doubt my super brain figures he was only offered year to year by thegame. Football net, must have given more and with perks. And,I would trade the bay area for Culver City..great weather and right next to 90210. I almost bought there..sigh...

but the sportsworld revolves around LA. So, to get ahead and stay ahead, you have to be in LA.

Otis Byrd III

Sadly, that's the case, yes

Otis Byrd III

Eh, I'd rather live here in the Bay Area. Yes, I am a San Francisco guy and I'm a little biased but, the Bay Area is great! L.A. is a nice place to visit, but I think the Bay Area is a better place to live. It's too bad that Eric Davis has to move to L.A. for the NFL Network gig. I'm sure they probably did give him more perks, and maybe they gave him more job security than 95.7. Plus, if you had a chance to take a national gig like NFL Network, wouldn't you take it? I'm sure we all would. Plus, he gets to talk football, which is more his strong suit, even though Eric Davis really does have good/passable knowledge of other sports outside of football, where he can give a good detailed opinion. But yeah, I'll miss Eric Davis on 95.7. At least he will still call 49er games on KNBR with Ted Robinson.