Earlier this week, KSPN 710 AM announced some changes to their station lineup. Gone are John Ireland and Kevin Kiley. The new lineup gives solo shows to Steve Mason, Dave Dameshek, and Brian Long. Both Sports By Brooks and Tom Hoffarth question whether this new schedule will be an improvement.
Maybe I'm the only person, but I'm really going to miss The Big Show with Steve Mason and John Ireland. I found the chemistry between Mason and Ireland to be some of the best in all of radio. Their show started in the 1990s on XTRA 690, when Jeanne Zelasko was their traffic and sports update girl. They were reunited on KSPN a few years ago, and had enjoyable segments that included Crossfire, BSI, and pre-1981 baseball trivia with Crazy Sue Kolinsky. The pair were also famous for soliciting some hysterical listener-made songs, and they were written up in Sports Illustrated for getting Michelle Tafoya to say various phrases on Monday Night Football by donating money to charity when she did.
There were times when I'd listen to The Big Show in my car that I was laughing so hard that I almost needed to pull over. It provided some fantastic radio entertainment. Sports by Brooks reports that KSPN was disappointed with Mason & Ireland's ratings, but it's awfully hard to build a listener base when large chunks of the show are regularly pre-empted for Angels and Clippers games. At least Mason is staying on with a show, and I hope it's as enjoyable with him alone as it was with Ireland.
