On The Air
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
September 30, 2005

WPEN 950-AM debuts its sports talk format Monday.  At press time, the shows set to air are “The Tony Bruno Show” from 9 a.m.-noon, Jim Rome from noon – 3 p.m., and “The Jody McDonald Show” from 3 – 7 p.m.  Former WIP 610-AM funnyman Joe Conklin and his “friends” such as Andy Reid, Merrill Reese, and Mike Quick are scheduled to visit McDonald’s show on a regular basis. For those sports fans that didn’t follow Conklin to his stint on rock station WMMR 93.3-FM (though he did a killer Pierre Robert impersonation), it will be fun to have him back.

WIP is combating the new station with “Eagles Week.”  Every day during Howard Eskin’s 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. show, a different member of the team will co-host beginning with Donovan McNabb on Monday.  The rest of the lineup is Dhani Jones on Tuesday, former player and current team ambassador Hugh Douglas on Wednesday, Greg Lewis on Thursday, and Sheldon Brown on Friday.

Other Eagles who appear on WIP are Brian Dawkins, who visits the “Angelo Cataldi Show” on Monday morning, and Jeremiah Trotter who has a show with Anthony Gargano the night after each game.

Most sports observers feel that although it’s good that there will be another sports-talk option in town, WPEN won’t be able to overtake WIP, which has held a virtual sports-talk monopoly here since 1986.

Sixers’ superstar Allen Iverson’s recent trip to Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China will be featured in the debut episode of the new television series “Drive Magazine,” produced by the Sixers.

Sixers’ announcer Marc Zumoff followed Iverson on his six-day tour for Reebok.  The series will air once a month, beginning November 7^th at 8 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet. Zumoff enters his twelfth year as the play-by-play man for the team.  Iverson is going into his (gulp) tenth year with the team (time flies!)

Zumoff was blown away by the popularity of Iverson on the other side of the world.  “In China, the media turnout was presidential.  Everyone there is fascinated with his persona,” he remarked. 

According to industry web sites, former WB17 sports anchor Geraud Moncure has landed at GoTV Network in Los Angeles, California as a sports reporter/anchor.

Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver will announce this week’s Eagles-Chiefs game at 4:15 p.m. on Fox.

This weekend’s big Neshaminy-Truman game will air on CN8 tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.  Steve Degler and Jeremy Treatman will call the action.

The NFL will start airing anti-steroid public service announcements this weekend.  It could’ve saved itself time and money by referring viewers to VH1’s “Breaking Bonaduce.”