Skip to main content

Stan, loved the show

The staple for Pittsburgh sports fans to get an opinion is going away.

Stan Savran's "Sportsbeat with Savran" will broadcast its last show on Monday on FSN Pittsburgh.

"Sportsbeat" has been on in some form since 1991, dating back to its days on KBL.

The decision reeks of economics, with Liberty Media being known as one just to broadcast games and little else. By all accounts, Savran's show was still drawing ratings.

But let's go back to what Pittsburgh sports fans will miss.

Savran's show leaves a void at a time where unrest over the Pirates is quite possibly at an all-time high, and the Penguins and Steelers are coming off of championship seasons. Steelers training camp is just weeks away, so you know there will be plenty of questions out there about who will be the backup linebacker.

Fans love their sports, and they loved this show.

It became really popular with Guy Junker as co-host. The catch phrase from callers was, "Love the show."

Now, there is no more.

Living a couple hours out of Pittsburgh, it was easy to get a pulse on the sports fans by tuning in Fox Sports Pittsburgh and watching the show. The "Tunchistrator" with Tunch Ilkin was one of my recent favorite segments.

It remains to be seen what will replace Stan's show. Hopefully it won't be soccer, but I doubt whatever is scheduled will attract ratings like Savran did.

Then again, I don't think Liberty Media cares what fans want or watched. They just want to watch dollars flow into their pockets.

If you didn't see it already, Bob Smizik on his blog posted a number to reach Liberty. It wouldn't hurt to vent.
To register complaints: 720-875-5400. Liberty Media's web site is http://www.libertymedia.com/contact-us.aspx.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pirates opener: A lot to like

I'm a sucker for opening day. I've been going to Three Rivers/PNC Park many years now to kick off the start to Pirates' season in good times and bad. I enjoy the crowds, the ceremonies and all of trimmings that come with the opener. Monday at PNC Park was no different. Except if you're looking at the Pirates' record at PNC. Zach Duke looked like an all-star, the offense looked like the Lumber Company of old and the crowd had one heck of a time celebrating the Bucs' 7-0 win. It was just the Pirates third win at a PNC Park opener. The game was one to remember. Adam LaRoche (!) and Ryan Doumit hit home runs, Freddy Sanchez looked like a former batting champion and the fans actually had "the wave" going around the park. But it was Duke's day. It was his third career shutout and the first shutout in a home opener since 1978. Yeah, it was a good day. It all came together for the Pirates. Maybe there's more down the road this year.
2 comments
Read more

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid?

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid? That was the first question that popped into my mind when I heard he wanted a new deal from the Steelers. I remember the details: Mike Wallace wanted more money than the Steelers wanted to offer, so the Steelers turned around and signed Brown to a $43 million deal over six years. That was 2012. Today, we learned that Brown will skip offseason workouts in the hope of getting a new deal. Honor your contract. It's that simple. Brown signed a deal that caused some people to scratch their heads at the time. It looked like a great deal for Brown. And after two seasons, it looked like the Steelers made a terrific call with the long-term deal. Brown had almost 1,700 yards receiving last year to go with 13 TD catches. That's a heck of a season. However, in exchange for long-term security, Brown looks like a bargain today. That's how it works. Or, at least that's how it's supposed to work. Now Brown wanted paid e...
2 comments
Read more