Peter Brown Memorial Rankings (2020)

This is the annual rankings of the sports talkers in the Cleveland Market.

1. Ken Carmen (-) 92.3 The Fan

Ken Carmen is near perfection

2. Dustin Fox (+1) 92.3 The Fan

Someone takes a run at Dustin Fox and he keeps on churning out great takes.

3. Adam the Bull (-1) 92.3 The Fan

Really, we're splitting hairs between the Bull and the Fox.

4. Les Levine 92.3 The Fan / Cleveland.com

Les is the equivalent of a Hall of Fame Utility Infielder.

5. Jeff Thomas - 92.3 The Fan

Best supporting cast member on any show in the city. (I copied and pasted Thomas' review from the last two years.)

6. Tony Grossi - 850 WKNR

What's so hard to figure out? When the Browns win, Grossi gives 'em softballs. When the Browns lose, they get hardballs. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

7. Jim Donovan - 850 WKNR / 92.3 The Fan

Entertaining insights from an energetic broadcaster.

8. Je’Rod Cherry - 850 WKNR

Best day to day broadcaster on KNR.

9. Emmit Golden - 850 WKNR

A shot of joy in a sometimes bleak sports landscape.

10. Brian Windhorst - 850 WKNR

A better broadcaster than the team he covers.

11. Andy Baskins – 92.3 The Fan

Surprisingly, once he focused on radio, he seemed to get a little sharper.

12, Anthony Lima – 92.3 The Fan

Lima is awesome with Carmen, but when I listen to him on the weekends, I remember why he's not elite.

13. Chico Boreman - 92.3 The Fan

The Fan continues to entertain sports-talk insomniacs.

14. Mike Snyder - 1100 WTAM

Now in the Journalism Hall of Fame.

15. Garrett Bush - 92.3 The Fan

There is something about The Barbershop host that is engaging, whether you agree or disagree with him. Bush has a unique delivery for Cleveland radio.

16. Jeff Phelps – 92.3 The Fan

Consistently consistent.

17. Jody Mac - 92.3 The Fan

A nice weekend option.

18. Mike Trivisonno – 1100 WTAM

Still can't tell the difference between current shows and old shows. A dearth of new content.

19. Nick Camino - 1100 WTAM

Meh.

20. Chris Fedor – 92.3 The Fan / Cleveland.com

Still straddling the line between love and hate, but too often closer to hate.

21. Tony Rizzo - 850 WKNR

This is sad. A few years ago he was must-listen radio. Now I can't get past the fact that he is singlehandedly responsible for bringing Cleveland 2 of the 3 worst sports talkers in, maybe, the past 25 years. (Goldhammer and Rizzo Jr.) Can't listen to the Senior Rizzo anymore.

22. Beau Bishop – 850 WKNR

In another city, he would be dead last.

23. Mike Rizzo - 850 WKNR

College radio broadcasters do a better job.

24. Nathan Zegura – 850 WKNR

Nathan Zegura File Photo

Zegura is the most complex and hardest one to evaluate on the list. Here's the reason: When the Browns win, Zegura has a strong delivery, impeccable research, and good radio presence. When the Browns lose, he sounds like Baghdad Bob. And the Browns lose A LOT. Let me give you a very specific example: On December 31, 2019, reports were leaking out throughout the day that GM John Dorsey could be fired from the Cleveland Browns. That was inexplicable. Since Jimmy Haslem bought the team in 2012, he had fired 6 coaches and 4 general managers. Firing another general manager in such a short amount of time would be nearly unprecedented in the modern NFL era.

Then, around 2:15 PM, 92.3 The Fan reported that Haslem had indeed fired GM John Dorsey, as reported by 3 other outlets. I listened to Adam the Bull rightfully vent about the termination and I went downstairs to do laundry. At 2:30 PM I turned on 850 WKNR to hear what Cleveland Browns Daily had to say. Zegura was crystal clear that even though every outlet in town was reporting Dorsey's termination, he wasn't going to report it as official until he received a statement from his bosses. At 2:35 he reported that he had received the official press report from both the Haslems and John Dorsey. Zegura stressed that it wasn't a termination, but a mutual parting and read both statements.

(You would find out later that 'Mutual' meant the Haslems tried to take away Dorsey's power, but he didn't want to quit because he still wanted to get paid.)

Then Zegura said, "nobody wants to win more than Jimmy and Dee." And right at that moment, he sounded like the kiss-ass at your job who thinks the smartest person on Earth is their boss. Jimmy and Dee Haslem aren't only terrible owners, but their ineptitude is approaching that of former Cavs owner Ted Stepien.

I hope that the Browns are paying Zegura a TON of money, because no one, absolutely no one, takes up for an ownership group that has gone 21-75-1 more than he has. At least if Zegura traded professional respect for cash, that would make some sort of sense.

25. Aaron Goldhammer – 850 WKNR

sei morto per me

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