Top Ten On-Air Personalities of Cincinnati

Cincinnati is a city rich in contemporary sports history.  From 'The Big Red Machine' in the '70s, to some of the less prominent sports such as the Cincinnati Cyclones hockey team winning last years' ECHL Kelly Cup. 

Many Cincinnati sports figures from this era are currently prominent on the National sports broadcasting scene:  Former Bengals Chris Collinsworth,  Solomon Wilcots, and Boomer Esiason are currently covering NFL for major networks.  Tom Jackson also covers the NFL and resides in Cincinnati.  Joe Morgan is a color analyst for ESPN  baseball.  

What about the on-air personalities covering the local Cincinnati market? With sports being such a large part of life in the Cincinnati area, these personalities are a significant part of our lives.  Below is a brief run down of some of the top on-air personalities covering Cincinnati sports.

Best of Cincinnati

Marty Brennaman (Reds play-by-play-700 WLW)

 Brennaman is an inductee in to the Broadcasting Hall-of-Fame.  The only MLB announcer that can be considered in the same conversation with Vin Scully; called NCAA Final Fours; called Aaron's 714th home run in his first broadcast as Cincinnati Reds play-by-play announcer;

He is someone the people in Cincinnati cannot wait to turn on the radio to listen to. His tell-it-like-it-is style is equal in praise and criticism of both Reds and opponents alike; locks in each win with the phrase "this one belongs to the Reds!"

Mo Egger (Talk-show host—1530 WCKY)

Talks all local sports.  His opinions are common sense based and down to earth. His understanding of the intricacies of sports far surpasses his colleagues; he truly loves Cincinnati sports but keeps a subjective grasp on teams' successes, not giving biased praise; voices opinions on various aspects of sports and creates a great call in show.

Thom Brennaman (Reds play-by-play-700 WLW/FSN Ohio)

Son of Marty; has taken on several play-by-play assignments in recent years including FOX Saturday baseball and BCS football games.  He has a powerful voice that projects excitement on important and exciting plays;  has been calling baseball across the country for several years. I feel he overestimates his baseball knowledge at times and makes unnecessary and boisterous criticisms.

Hal McCoy (Reds beat writer-Dayton Daily News)

National Baseball Hall-of-Fame inductee; has a strong understanding of the Reds as well as the MLB in general; his analysis of the meaning of moves is typically dead on; gives a good, in-depth analysis without being overanalyitcal; does a weekly in-game segment with Marty Brennaman.

C. Trent Rosecrans (ClearChannel Cincinnati reporter and blogger)

Simple, realistic, and strait-forward analysis of the team he's covering; maintains his simplistic approach by not inferring situations that aren't there. His blog is entertaining, often humorous, and informative.

"Wild Man" Walker (On-air personality—102.7 WEBN/Cincinnati Cyclones PA announcer)

One of the best voices around; incredible delivery, incredible excitement; offers humor to his radio bits; informed and strong supporter of all local teams.

Lance McAllister (talk show host—1530 WCKY)

Creates a good afternoon talk show covering all local sports; shows a undeniable love for his work and the local teams; seems to lack knowledge of some of the intricacies of sports.

George Grande (Reds play-by-play/FSN Ohio)

Anchored first Sportscenter broadcast; a former college player has a decent understanding of the game; does not overstate his knowledge, as he does well to deflect intricate baseball questions to partner Chris Welsh. His knowledge creates a very good baseball watching experience.

Brad Johansen (Bengals play-by-play/700 WLW, 92.5 WOFX)

Creates a great broadcast for radio; a good voice and great inflection; many of his calls have made it on SportsCenter highlight reels. I feel he should be more prominent in the city but very few people miss the Bengals on TV.

Chris Welsh (Reds Color Analyst/FSN Ohio) 

Former MLB pitcher; offers insightful knowledge about the game of baseball and the Reds team during a broadcast; broadcasting delivery has room for improvement but offers a positive experience overall.

Worst of Cincinnati

Paul Dougherty

Minuscule understanding of intricacies of sports; a miserable radio show. He is a phenomenal columnist, however, for the Cincinnati Enquirer—his radio show was just cut on Thursday.

Alan Cutler

Unbelievably inflated ego; most people accomplish something more than a  six a.m. time slot before thinking they have rose scented feces; utter lack of sports knowledge and closed to caller opinion—his show has also been cut in a wave of ClearChannel budget cuts.

Geoff Hobson (Bengals.com)

Seems to be knowledgeable about the Bengals and the NFL; I just have a problem with a guy with a Boston accent covering the Bengals.

Let the debate begin.