This is the annual rankings of the sports talkers in the Cleveland Market.
1. Ken Carmen (-) 92.3 The Fan Usually we just say "Ken Carmen is awesome" and move on. Not this year. This past summer, Ken was on a monologue and finished with the classic biblical line "you reap what you sow." Then he made a self-depreciating comment "this is me reaping YEAH, this is me sowing, DAMN." It was then that I realized that Carman had the natural verbal acumen to be a stand up comedian.
And, I don't know if it was the stress of the coronavirus pandemic, or the stress of being a Father, but Carmen was a bit edgier this past year. Which brings us to the Ken Carmen Conundrum. Carmen is head and shoulders above the pack and is clearly the best sports talker in all of Cleveland, but he's young. Does he pull a Bernie Kosar and find a way to stay connected to Cleveland? Or does he go national and pull a Vince Cellini and disappear? That glimmering moment was an epiphany, Ken Carmen may be too good to keep in Cleveland.
2. Dustin Fox 92.3 The Fan My Father-In-Law took the Dustin Hookup. Thanks Dr. Dan 3. Adam the Bull 92.3 The Fan Again, we are splitting hairs between the Bull and the Fox. During the pandemic, they weren't just sports talkers, but your friends. 4. Les Levine 92.3 The Fan / Cleveland.com Great where ever he turns up. 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 three years.) 6a. Tony Grossi - 850 WKNR 6b. Jim Donovan - 850 WKNR / 92.3 The Fan It's weird hearing Grossi and Donovan talk about the Browns when they're good.
8. Je’Rod Cherry - 850 WKNR
I heard him paired with Ken Carmen on a Browns pre-game show. Cherry is a champion on a bad team (WKNR).
9. Emmit Golden - 850 WKNR
Again, during a pandemic, Golden was WKNR's version of your friend. 10. Garrett Bush - 92.3 The Fan Laid back and insightful. He's like a sports talker version of Snoop Dogg
11. Andy Baskins – 92.3 The Fan
Maybe it's my imagination, but he really seems better since he left Channel 5. 12. Brian Windhorst - 850 WKNR Wndhorst suffers because he is tied to a sport that is taking some PR punches for not always being about sports.
13. Chico Bormann - 92.3 The Fan Still late night's best option. 14. Andre Knott - 1100 WTAM
Radio veteran who is in WTAM's late night rotation. 15. Nathan Zegura – 850 WKNR When the Browns win, Zegura sounds great.
16. Jeff Phelps – 92.3 The Fan One of the few personalities that doesn't shine when annoyed.
17. Anthony Lima – 92.3 The Fan Very polarizing from day to day. 18. Chris Fedor – 92.3 The Fan / Cleveland.com I think he moved up because others fell below him.
19. Greg Brinda - 1100 WTAM
Should be much higher, but you never know when he'll actually be on the radio.
20. Nick Camino - 1100 WTAM {shrug}
21. Dennis Manoloff - 1100 WTAM
I liked hearing Manoloff as a guest on shows, not sure how I feel as him as the host.
22. Matt Fontana - 850 WKNR
Every time I turn on Fontana's show, I hear more static than Fontana. (Which isn't his fault, that's the station's fault.)
23. Tony Rizzo - 850 WKNR Is Hammer still on your show? That's why you're down here.
24. Mike Trivisonno – 1100 WTAM Barely talks sports. Now an anti-masker. Officially senile.
He is now the equivalent of Diane Feinstein in Cleveland Radio. 25. Aaron Goldhammer – 850 WKNR
Dead Last.
5 YEARS IN A ROW!
Apologies to Chico Bormann. Last year I didn't do a spell check on your name and entered it incorrectly.
No apologies to Mike Trivisonno. When hawking Living in a World I Don't Understand t-shirts, he should have considered that he doesn't understand the world anymore due to cognitive decline.