2001 Sofa Awards

Outstanding Sports Talk Radio Host:
Kevin Kietzman, WHB 810

2001 was not rife with sexy local sports stories, but that didn't stop Kevin Kietzman from occasionally throwing a tattered wet T-shirt on a pig and calling it Britney. When presented with no story, Kietzman has quickly learned that the way to the top of talk-radio ratings is to invent one. Kietzman painted the sexy but inaccurate picture that David Glass favored building a new downtown baseball stadium. This shock-jock ploy unleashed a torrent of controversy throughout the local media that is still reverberating. Kietzman built his radio reputation breaking stories and outworking his competition. He also enjoyed and profited from an almost freakish run of tantalizing local sports stories that ran from 1999 through 2000 -- Ethan Lock's profane tirade at Carl Peterson, Marty Schottenheimer's surprise "retirement," David Glass' decision to buy the Royals, Tamarick Vanover's and Bam Morris' legal woes and Derrick Thomas' deadly accident to name a few. Whether you love or hate his style, it compels people to listen to 810 during the afternoon drive just to hear which way the wind is whistling through KK's microphone.

Forgettable Sports Talk Radio Host:
Don Fortune, KMBZ 980

How sad is it that a guy who put in almost forty years in the biz has an on-air "retirement" celebration in his honor and then is doing live commercial cut-ins for his old show a few days later? When athletes hang around the game too long, we all wish they had left with some dignity. When old broadcasters like Don Fortune refuse to hang it up, we're just glad our radios come with a scan button.

Outstanding Talk Radio Show:
"Crunch Time," 810

The teaming of Bill Maas, Tim Grunhard and Frank Boal on a midmorning sports-talk show is the biggest blow 810 has dealt its competition since Jerry Green shocked the local radio landscape in 1999 by dropping $8 million to buy a 50,000-watt signal. While much of the local sports-talk radio scene has flattened out and become about as exciting as Tony Muser's mug, "Crunch Time" reminds its audience just how much fun Marconi's invention can be. Maas, the featured stud of this three-horse hitch, has no qualms about discussing any topic; the more controversial the better. Grunhard has dropped the Chiefs' cheerleading skirt he wore right after he left the team and will be missed if he takes a job coaching at, say, the University of Kansas or Notre Dame. Boal is little more than the metronome for this ensemble, but even he is beginning to shed his conservative skin and speak with an edge. These three appear to be having the time of their lives, and their laughter is both genuine and contagious. No one expects this show to stay out of drive-time for long.

Forgettable Sports Talk Radio Show:
Fortune and Rose, 980

This was an ugly pairing from the start -- and not merely as seen through the eye of the 980 Web cam. Entercom tried to resuscitate Don Fortune's falling Arbitron numbers by pairing him with Jim Rose, a Nebraska know-it-all. That Fortune and Rose never hit it off personally or professionally was apparent to anyone listening to their radio show -- especially their bosses at Entercom, who blew up the experiment in August. Rose landed on his feet when he was chosen to replace wimpy Warren Swain as the official radio play-by-play voice of University of Nebraska football. Fortune continues to haunt the halls of Entercom as the Ghost of Careers Past.

Outstanding Sports Reporter:
Todd Leabo, 810

Todd Leabo's on-air role at 810 almost disappeared during 2001. Unfortunately, the addition of the more Kietzman-friendly Danny Clinkscale to "Between the Lines" reduced opportunities for Leabo to enlighten listeners with his personal brand of inside information. But it is the sliced sound bites that Leabo delivers fresh from Truman Sports Complex that make the commute home enjoyable and informative. The likable Leabo always has a story to tell about the quotes and interviews he has scored, and he usually delivers it in an unassuming, seen-it-all voice that was made for e-mail.

Forgettable Sports Reporter:
William Jackson, KCTV Channel 5

William Jackson came to Kansas City in August 1994, the same month that Jason Whitlock started at The Star. In the seven years Jackson has been the sports director at Channel 5, I can't remember a sports story that he has broken or even made a meaningful contribution to. His slick smile and buddy-buddy handling of athletes betray a seventh graders' understanding of sports journalism. His work on the "Chiefs Locker Show" with Donnie Edwards and Tony Gonzalez is just embarrassing. How can you sit beside Donnie Edwards for four months without asking him why his performance has continued to deteriorate for the past three years?

Outstanding but Underrated Talent:
Dave Borchardt, alias "Davey B," 810

Davey B first made a name for himself as the Cricketmeister on Whitlock's morning show. He is the Picasso of sound drops, never missing an opportunity to embarrass a caller or poke fun at a show's host. Borchardt also works feverishly at updating the "Crunch Time" Web site with interviews and sound bites so that it dwarfs the sites of the station's other two shows. It is no mystery that the decline of Whitlock's show coincided with Davey B's departure from it.