If I’ve learned anything from doing this, it’s that people have opinions they’re more than willing to share about the state of Bay Area sports talk radio. Whether it’s about guys getting hired, guys getting fired, guys squabbling or something somebody said, people really care about this stuff.
So I figured that we should put your opinions to good use … for you! This week we’ll be asking for your feedback on a radio-related question every day from Monday through Thursday. You can comment as many times as you like on each post, but each post you comment on will count as one entry (no matter how many times you comment), so the maximum number of entries will be four.
Two winners will be chosen to receive a Pizza Party for 10 from Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria, with the winners announced on Friday. Good luck!
Monday’s question: Who’s your favorite host on KNBR?
There are so many to choose from, and you don’t have to narrow it down to the full-time guys. Replacement and/or fill-in hosts are welcome, as well. I’m guessing the opinions put forth in the comments will vary quite a bit. Here is a list of hosts to choose from:
- Brian Murphy (“Murph and Mac”)
- Paul McCaffrey (“Murph and Mac”)
- Larry Krueger (“The Gary Radnich Show with Larry Krueger”)
- Gary Radnich (“The Gary Radnich Show with Larry Krueger”)
- Bob Fitzgerald (“Fitz and Brooks”)
- Rod Brooks (“Fitz and Brooks”)
- Damon Bruce (“The Damon Bruce Show”)
- Tom Tolbert (“Mr. T”)
- Eric Byrnes (“Mr. T”)
- Ray Woodson (“Sportsphone 680″)
- Marty Lurie (Giants pregame and postgame)
- Patrick Connor (“The Sports Saloon”)
Let’s leave Jim Rome and the rest of the syndicated hosts out of this, but if you want to go with someone like Ray Ratto, Ted Robinson or Kevin Lynch, by all means feel free. As long as you keep things local, any answer will work.
One last thing: if you want to be eligible to win the Pizza Party from Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria, you MUST enter a valid email address. Someone missed out on a free Large Pizza from Amici’s a couple weeks ago because the email address was fake and I refuse to play detective when we’re giving out prizes plenty of other people would love to win. Your information is completely safe and won’t be sold or given to anyone else, but without a way to contact the winner I have no choice but to choose someone else.
I look forward to seeing your responses. The decision-makers at KNBR and Cumulus probably do, as well.














49ers Hot Read
49ersnews.com
49erswebzone.com
Niner Insider
Athletics Nation
95.7 FM The Game
Bay Area Sports Talk
Popblerd
Ray Ratto – CSNBA
Ruthless Sports
Giants Extra
Giants Talk
Giants365.com
GiantsPod
Optioned to Fresno
Fangraphs
Pro Football Talk
Feltbot's Warriors Blog
Joe Lacob & Co. [libelous slander]
WarriorsCentral.com

Rod Brooks is by far the best. He's consistently very funny, thoughtful, engaging. Fitz works well with him. They're good together. Radnich is awful. Obnoxious, and not entertaining. Mostly, he's embarrassing. Annoying vocal mannerisms, boorish, childish. What KNBR needs is a lot more diversity on the air. I like middle-aged white guys just fine. But there are way too many on a station serving one of the most diverse regions of the country covering sports teams that are dramatically more diverse than the KNBR staff.
Brian Murphy is as good as Fitz and Brooks suck. He carries the mornings with his sense of humor and timing with his co-host P. Mac. He also is a respected journalist who has worked himself up the ranks from Newspaper to Radio. Fitz and Brooks it is pretty obvious and long suspected that the Warriors pay for their show. Fake laughter is why Bob Fitzgerald is known as giggles, and Brooks is the token black guy on Cummulas.
Damon all the way. For the two or three that mentioned Fitz... are you kidding me? You should all get together and listen to some girly pop song and may be watch Notredame game. That guy is the worst. If this was a rating of 1 to 10.. he would get something like -100. I haven't even listened to his show for the last 3 years. I root against Notredame just because of him.
Damon Bruce for me. Been to see him twice when I've been over and speak regularly online. Closely followed by Mr. T. Enjoy him with Byrnesy and KNBR should put up his whole shows in the same way they do DBruce's.
Mr. T, been listening to him since I was kid rolling around with my pops in his beat up old pick-up after daycare. Love how he is his own man and wont change for anybody. I do like D Bruce, but I think he tries to hard to sound like the Jim Rome show, from his music and announcer lead ins to his "worlds longest interview questions."
Radnich's kid,2025- " I remember when I drove with my dad in his used Bentley" "Sometimes-he didn't even wash it that day." "Times were bad,but the memory's are great".!
@Bigcalidawg should win that pizza party for sure! Best comment I've ever read on the site. I agree Tolbert is my favorite.
Preeciate it Hamp
I think Brian Murphy represents the voice of the fan better than anyone on that station today.
I can't decide between Brian Murphy and Damon Bruce. I love Murph's enthusiasm with the Giants, along with being my morning commute host, but Damon just seems to encompass everything I look for in a (mostly)non-biased sports talk host. And I agree with him more than anyone else.
D Bruce- Hands down
Tolbert is a fool with it. I listen to sports radio for a relaxing break and homie is like beer in my ear. Go head, T.
murph and tolbert
BYRNES!
1) Damon Bruce: Honest, funny, and just light years ahead of the rest of KNBR (except Tolbert). 1a) Tolbert is down to earth, honest, and entertaining. Radnich's schtick is predictable. Krueger has no personality. Kate Scott bring nothing. I listen to Rome during that time slot. The morning show is a clinic on jock sniffing. Murphy is half decent but McCaffrey is completely useless. I actually listen to Bruno during that time slot on Philly radio via app because that show is a mess. Fitzgerald and Brooks, haven't even bothered to listen in a few years. Condescending elitist Fitz, I cannot even watch Warrior games. Brooks is just a slightly less douchy version of Fitz. All Damon, all afternoon. Byrnes, he is alright but I laugh when he denounces steroids. Woodson, takes the worst callers ever and is soft. Lurie, see Woodson. Conner, he is no Dibley. KNBR has a talent problem, the cupboard is bare. The Game is going to take a run at them and if the station ever loses the Giants they will become an afterthought.
Mr. T
Radnitch - he assumes the listener already knows sports and doesn't need spoon feeding. gives great perspective, humor and interviews. Murph and Mac- fun and the voice of the SF fan Lots of underused talent, but so solid, especially Ted. Robinson, Kate Scott (a healthy return soon) and the Rays - Woodson, Ratto
Mr. T, w/o Caffeine Dude. (the other guy isn't Spicoli, he's way not mellow enough...) I still enjoy some of Radnich's stuff, but only listen when I'm in the car at all, and now that baseball season is over, not really much at all.
Ray Woodson is one of my favorite KNBR hosts as well. I guess if I can put a 4th favorite KNBR host, it would be Woodson. Woodson has done a great job on Sportsphone. He does a good job handling the crazy/drunk callers who call-in at nights after games. You can tell sometimes that he wants to lose it, with some of the crazy/drunk callers who call-in after games. But yes, Woodson has a quality show overall with a good back and forth with the callers. I agree that he talks sports. At first I didn't care for Woodson doing shows when he used to fill-in on all the shows because he seemed boring and he has dry humor, but with anything, the more he did Sportsphone, the better he's become and gotten.
I'm just going to mention Paulie Mac because he won't make the best or worst list. Does he even exist?
5-9, "Beav"
Well, thats kind of the problem "Paperback." I do listen in the mornings and the only way I can tell if Paulie is there or not is if Murph mentions that Paulie is out that day. Or sometimes if I listen really hard, I can hear one of Mac's "See ya coach" at the end of one of Murph's interviews.
Gary!! and Ralph : (
Eric Byrnes and Damon Bruce are my 2 favorite!
Tom Tolbert...although I am very biased because I am an Arizona Alum and I get really excited whenever he says "Bear Down."
My top 5: (1) Eric Byrnes (2) Damon Bruce (3) Ray Woodson (4) Brian Murphy (5) Tom Tolbert
I have no idea how Eric Byrnes is getting votes in here. Two words: triathlete interviews. Blech.
D. Bruce is good. I honestly cannot stomach the rest.
And as others have pointed out, Marty Laurie does an fine job covering the sport of baseball. His sincere enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through which makes listening to him all the more enjoyable.
I'll give my two cents to the following: Damon Bruce Ray Woodson Larry Krueger What do they all have in common? A quality sports oriented program. When I tune in to these three I can count on hearing an honest appraisal of the local teams. Good "sports talk".
Damon Bruce, but just because the rest of them are so awful. I'll give D-Bruce a listen every so often, but he's trying so hard to be edgy and in your face that he just comes off as annoying
My thumb up is for "annoying"
Mr T, Tom Tolbert, all the way. You can't go wrong with a guy who sports a "No Fear" tattoo. ;)
When your almost 7' tall and weigh 900 pounds "No Fear" is redundant.
Damon Bruce - best host on knbr Bob Fitzgerald - worst host and brown noser on knbr
Tom Tolbert, no question is the best host. Anyone who votes for Rod Brooks, Bob Fitzgerald or Pauly Mac are idiots!
Damon Bruce, overall. His shameless self-promotion can be annoying, and sometimes he is reactionary. But the show is very creative, and he's not afraid to challenge the local sports status quo, which is refreshing. Best "ranter" since Ralph Barbieri was canned. Honorable mention: Marty Lurie for baseball. Krueger for football. Tolbert for basketball.
BTW, I think Ratto could be a superb regular. In print, I find his opinions predictable. But on the radio, I think he's pretty damn good. The act works.
Ratto's schtick works fine when most of the local teams are doing well. When they're all bad, it's like getting pissed on while you're vomiting in the gutter.
Ha. Poetic analogy. Very nice.
1. RADNICH - Still the King 2. Ralph ( I miss his ... unique ... style ) 3. Marty Lurie 4. Ray Woodson 5. D Bruce 6. Mr T 7 Murph 8. Mac
Damon Bruce and no one else is even close. But he's kind of wasted on 1050. If they don't move him back to 680 soon I hope he gets a better gig in another market. Going to do the same poll for 95.7? That would be interesting.
Yes, I hope he leaves, too! LOL
Marty Lurie followed by Ray Woodson, they don't interrupt and are smarter than all of the others combined.
Fitz, not afraid to point out to callers when they are dead wrong, not a blow hard like Krueger who tries hard to be "controversial"
It's not some special talent to slam the dumb opinions of sports fans. Anyone who knows sports and has half a brain can do that.
*pompous ass*
Fitz puts down EVERY CALLER who has a different opinion than him. Pomous Ass
Uyyyyy yuyyyyyy. Pound it, pound it. Pound it. Got to vote for D. Bruce. Plus he's the only KNBR host to have his own sandwich. Unpaid plug to Ike's Lair.
Yeah he's a real ham.