Black and Blue Review
T his is a big week for fans who want smarter media choices in Charlotte. The overall quality of the area’s sports talk radio scene has improved greatly with two additions.
In Monday’s BBR This Morning, we asked you to give Marty Hurney’s new radio show a chance. In this edition, we’ll introduce you to WFNZ’s new “Prime Time” host, Chris Kroeger.
Sure, it’s a cliché to say good things happen to good people, but that’s exactly what happened in this case.
We started to get to know Kroeger during the disastrous 2010 Panthers’ season, and despite his faith in fellow Appalachian State product Armanti Edwards, it was obvious the lesser known Mountaineer was destined for big things.
A former WFNZ intern, Kroeger spent the last three years working for behemoth broadcaster IMG College in Winston-Salem. Last month, WFNZ essentially stopped its search after hearing Kroeger fill in during the vacant afternoon slot just once.
Unfortunately, if you’re looking for #HOTTAKES, he isn’t going to be your guy. He’s not a shock jock who will take personal shots at players and staff while never visiting the locker room. And since Kroeger grew up in the Charlotte area, he has a genuine appreciation for all teams and sports in the Carolina’s. Yes, even NASCAR.
Ahead of his debut, we recorded our latest BBR Podcast with Kroeger Saturday afternoon. Since he’ll be spending a decent chunk of his shows talking Panthers, we figured fans would want to know his history with the team.
Is the North Carolina native a Panthers fan? What did he make of their unprecedented offseason? What kind of Panthers talk should you now expect from 3 to 7 p.m. on WFNZ?
We chat about all of that and more here: BBR Podcast on iTunes
Apologies for the sketchy audio, a product of recording over the phone.
If Episode 3 is not live on iTunes yet, here’s a SoundCloud alternative:
BBR NUGGETS
- The U.S. World Cup team won. Ghanaian Edmund Kugbila lost. — Twitter
- Monday’s debut of “Hurney and Gardner” featured an interview with the man Marty Hurney hired, 2013 NFL Coach of the Year Ron Rivera. — ESPN 730
- Former Panthers’ cornerback Drayton Florence has a tryout with the Ravens this week. — Baltimore Sun
COMING UP
The Panthers’ three-day minicamp kicks off Tuesday morning. Unlike OTAs, the media is allowed to attend all practices. Like OTAs, tweeting is thankfully prohibited once practice begins. And like OTAs, quarterback Cam Newton won’t be a full participant.