Jun 20, 2018. Your NEW Hornets Radio Play-By-Play Broadcaster Chris Kroeger caught up with Steve Martin, 30 Year Voice of the Charlotte Hornets, on WFNZ during his show on. "Steve Martin narrated so many of those memories on radio and television. Four years flew by in the blink of an eye as I began to fill-in on play-by-play opportunities and host a weekly studio show. Kroeger worked into the stations sports rotation, putting him in many roles surrounding Mountaineers football and basketball games. Had Mike not been into that, like Im not working with Jacks kid or anything like that, I never would have gotten up out of the ground. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com. He landed his most recent gig with WFNZ in June of 2014, becoming the host of the stations weekday afternoon drive show from 3-7 p.m. I commuted 90 minutes each way, a few days per week to provide pregame, halftime and postgame coverage for UCLA Bruins basketball into the early hours of the next morning. I think for the people that drive around all the time and never get to step inside the arena, youre the only picture they ever see of Hornets basketball. If you wanted to do a talk show, you could do it. Its going to be a new era.. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. I know the fans of Charlotte are looking forward to his expanded role as the new voice of the Hornets., As someone that grew up in Charlotte, my earliest and greatest memories as a sports fan came at the Charlotte Coliseum and watching the Hornets, said Kroeger. Gene Honda, the public address announcer acknowledged Dave Willss time with both teams as well as his loved ones. Multiple announcers have lost their jobs over bad comments this year Related Former NBA Star Al Jefferson Spent $23,000 on a Good Night's Sleep After growing up listening to Steve Martin, Kroeger had the opportunity to succeed his idol. In 2019, Chris Kroeger was let go partway through his first season for still undisclosed reasons. In order to make their way into the playoffs, the Hornets will have to become true road warriors: Six of their final eight games are on the road, starting with three games out west against the Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Utah Jazz before a trip back east to play the New Orleans Pelicans. He will be replaced by longtime Hornets radio voice Steve Martin, who will come out of retirement to call the final eight games of the regular season beginning with Friday night's match against the Los Angeles Lakers. He hasnt been active online since his firing. He replaced Chris Kroeger, who was unexpectedly dropped from the Hornets' broadcast team in March of 2019, months after getting the job.The Hornets declined to discuss the reason for Kroeger's . Although just 31 years old, Kroeger is well-versed in the industry and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organization. Kroeger, a Charlotte native, will be replaced by his predecessor, Steve Martin for the remainder of this season. One of the last bobcats games ever played and the first hornets game in over a decade. After calls started streaming in, Kroeger realized hed forgotten to feed the broadcasters microphones back in. They put out the fist; you shake it, but you have to pronounce, Stick-shift, and the awkwardness goes away.. Farber knows that neither of his predecessors Chris Kroeger and John Focke lasted into a second season in that job. . WFNZ is the official radio home of the Hornets, broadcasting all of the teams preseason, regular-season and postseason games. A team spokesman would not provide a further explanation. Privacy Policy. Theres no one more qualified and passionate to represent the Hornets.. Shot making in this Jazz-(N-word) game is awesome! Ever learning, constantly evolving and always looking ahead. Were into that second and third generation of sports fans where its been passed down., I think its been really cool the last few years to be on the air every day and people say, Chris, you speak for us as a fan base. Now, I get to take that opportunity to the Hornets broadcast. The station did offer a local afternoon show when longtime sports radio programmer Terry Ford helped found the station. Thats the cool part, too, because I think the teams established, but clearly from a basketball side of things, youre trying to take this to another level, says Kroeger. Things wont be done exactly the same, which is a necessary part of the sports radio industry, he states. It's back! I take that very seriously.. When he was eventually offered the position, he immediately accepted, although says the new role still hasnt hit him just yet. This is, to me, the best job in the world I get to watch sports for a living and I love every moment of it. He had this knowledge that was institutional where he could point back to a single game or play that was run even 10, 15 years prior, said Kroeger. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) Radio broadcaster Chris Kroeger and the Charlotte Hornets have parted ways. Chris Kroeger Announces New Role As Charlotte Hornets Radio Play-By You could hear him call a game with Matt Carroll at home and it was great. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. I became the youngest play-by-play broadcaster in the NBA - its better to be lucky AND good! Tonights the second and third rounds. Kroeger spent the past three seasons working on the teams radio broadcasts as the pregame show host and sideline reporter. Rex Chapman - Ep. 3 | Audio Length: 42:52 The 22-year-old will be the first to admit his 2022-23 campaign had too many peaks and valleys. One of the more underrated difficulties of calling sports on the radio is the imperativeness to make the audience feel like its in the arena watching the action live. I thought I was going to get fired. Lexington sports station 96.1 The Zone has flipped from sports to Americana music and rebranded as 96.1 The Hound. Slappy's reopens after two year closure. The Senior NFL Draft analyst promised a special thank you for the show. Longtime Hornets broadcaster Steve Martin, who retired after the 2017-18 season, filled in on radio the rest of that season before Focke was hired. Woo hoo Lets Go Islanders! As an organization, we do not condone this type of language, the Hornets statement said via Twitter. Kroeger Bringing Passion, Familiarity to Hornets Radio Broadcast So Bridges will serve 10-game suspension for start of 2023-24 season. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. That flexibility, he hopes, will allow him to tap into his past job experiences and bring dynamic content to the team he grew up rooting for. The first round came and went and Rothenberg did not hear his name or the name of the show. Kroeger left his weekday radio show on the Hornets flagship station, 102.5 and 610 WFNZ The Fan when he was named the teams new play-by-play announcer last June. I was offered a full-time producer position, working with schools like Arizona, Cal, Oregon, Texas, UCLA, Washington and others - continuing to studio host while adding production, traffic and distribution responsibilities to my duties. The video board at Guaranteed Rate Field showed footage of Wills during his tenure with the White Sox. and our A homer is (the announcer) who thinks every call against their team is a bad call. He worried that it meant that Kiper considers DiPietro & Rothenberg a fifth-round show., If I go to day 3 and havent mentioned you, Ill be replaced by Todd McShay on this show, Kiper joked, saying he has never been under so much scrutiny before. A new era of Charlotte Hornets basketball continues to take shape and now another piece is officially in place for the upcoming 2018-19 season. There was a problem saving your notification. Focke previously worked for the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA Minnesota Lynx. Chris Kroeger Catches Up with Legendary Hornets Broadcaster Steve People were uncomfortable watching Al Dukes get all tangled up and twisted up.. It was quite the opposite of that. Focke was fired in September after using the N-word in a Tweet. Beginning in 2009, former Hornets great Dell Curry joined Martin on the television broadcast. Dukes expressed how he is fed up with disorganization, and he explained how it was pouring rain outside and the confusion Uber drivers had in navigating the event location. In 2019, nearly a decade after leaving Appalachian State certain of a desire to work in broadcasting but without a plan of how, I was named the radio broadcaster for my hometown Charlotte Hornets - capitalizing on my name in the market, my relationships in the organization and my work ethic and talent. sports podcasts. Becoming just the second radio voice in Hornets history, Kroeger had felt his responsibility deeply. Giannotti felt that doing that would have aggravated the moment, surmising that he may have never been invited back to UBS Arena. Before retiring at the end of the 2017-18 season, Martin never missed calling a Hornets game in team history, now hell have eight more to add to his iconic resume. "As someone that grew up in Charlotte, my earliest and greatest memories as a sports fan came at the Charlotte Coliseum and watching the Hornets," said Kroeger in a statement upon his being hired. With a career thats spanned from local radio to play-by-play for the NBAs Charlotte Hornets, there is no task too small or job too large. twitter. Steve Martin narrated so many of those memories on radio and television. I woke up the next morning thinking, I know Ginas mad at me. Rothenberg suggested that Kiper do it during the time his favorite team, the New York Giants, were on the clock. As fate would have it, a flyer for the student radio station caught my eye. There, he said, he both learned and failed. Time was spent with family, building memories and fostering a competitive spirit that rages strong today. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (The Charlotte Observer) - The Charlotte Hornets have indefinitely suspended radio play-by-play announcer John Focke after a tweet he sent Monday which included the N-word. When I wasnt at school, I was almost certainly outside with friends and family, playing sports and creating new games and competitions. I am so indebted to that man for so many things, and that is right at the top of the list.. Steve Martin will take over as radio broadcaster for the remaining 8 games. Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph bring to life what cant be seen. Game No. Much of how he learned to interact with players and conduct himself on the road came from his time working with Mike Shannon. While working part-time to pay the bills, I joined a college friend to launch a sports radio show, buying airtime, selling advertising and bringing the entire production from idea to air - all by a few newly-minted young broadcasters. He was really well-connected and well-regarded. You have permission to edit this article. For home outings, he provided sideline reports, injury updates, statistical notes and postgame interviews for the teams flagship station as well. Chris Kroeger Named Radio Voice of the Charlotte Hornets I really did, and I deserved to be.. Shortly after graduating in 2010, Kroeger was hired as a Pac-12 Broadcast Producer and Studio Host for IMG College in Winston Salem, NC, where he was primarily tasked with archiving all the stations on-air content. Broadcasters - Charlotte Hornets Focke apologized on his Twitter account around 10 p.m. Monday night. In 2020, John Focke was fired after tweeting a racial slur. Just keep watching., Dave Rothenberg agreed that there is time to make up for the oversight. The names Buck and Shannon carry a lot of weight with St. Louis Cardinals fans. I didnt have a major at that point. Its very conversational. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. After graduating Piedmont High School, I attended Appalachian State University. One introductory course for the radio station was all it took to get bitten by the broadcasting bug. The extra-curricular activity turned into a majorand little did I know, a love affair, extreme passion and soon-to-be career. On Thursday, the Charlotte Hornets suddenly announced that Chris Kroeger was no longer with the organization. To me, Steve called a basketball game maybe the way some baseball announcers call a game. To be correct, to be on time and to be accountable. Dan Mason Joining VSiN as Investor and Strategic Advisor, 98.7 ESPN NY Adds Dan Graca to NY Jets Gameday Shows. (Thursday), like so many days the last few weeks, was emotional. Now, near week's end, Kroeger is the radio voice of the Hornets no more. In addition to his daily sports radio obligations, Kroeger has also been working on the Charlotte Hornets Radio Network since 2015 as well. He vaguely remembers his wife telling him he was shouting at the revolving door, questioning its existence. Ive been there, the caller stated. Kiper countered that despite what it may look like on TV, there is a lot of structure to the conversations on the dais on draft night. Mike would have been coming over to our house to, I guess, go through broadcast 101 with my dad. Radio is such an interesting medium because you connect with those [on-air] voices in such a way, he said. Kroeger was removedabruptly in March of 2019, just before a Hornets West. Now, the 31 year old Kroeger is about to take another step forward in his career. Chris Kroger is no longer with the Hornets organization. That was the beauty of Steve. If you werent at the game, I think you would feel, Man, the other team just did something impressive too. I think Steve always did a good job of being fair to both sides, but when the Hornets were winning and making special plays, he really brought that to Hornets fans.. A native Charlottean who attended Piedmont High School and grew up rooting for his beloved hometown team, Kroeger first got his start in radio as a sophomore at Appalachian State. We had a student union just like everywhere else and I think I saw a flyer that said WASU was looking for radio DJs and I thought that seemed interesting, recalled Kroeger. A Charlotte sports radio staple since 2014, Kroeger has yet to make a public statement regarding his surprising departure from the Hornets. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Snippets are a new way to share audio! Kroeger, a Charlotte native and lifelong Hornets fan, had been just nine months into his dream job upon his departure. The Hornets declined to discuss the reason for Kroegers departure. The Charlotte Hornets have indefinitely suspended radio play-by-play announcer John Focke after a tweet he sent Monday which included the N-word. To reach him by email clickhere. . Archived post. 10th Pick: Chris Kroeger fallout - YouTube So, Ive got a lot of pressure on me tonight., Chip Caray Brings The First Family of Baseball Broadcasters Back to St. Louis. Charlotte Hornets suspend radio announcer who tweeted N-word instead of Nuggets', (NBA/Charlotte Hornets | NBA/Charlotte Hornets), Coroner IDs victim in deadly crash with golf cart, Woman facing DUI charges, Charlotte auto shop owner sentenced to prison for falsifying emisson inspections, Rowan man charged with kidnapping ex-girlfriend, demanding ransom, Lives are in danger as N.C. nursing home inspections lag, North Carolina obscenity bill gets OK in Senate vote, PLAN AHEAD: Latest Weather Forecast Video. I cant thank WFNZ enough for allowing me to build and connect with Charlotte sports fans over the last few years and Im excited to continue to grow that relationship with the Hornets.. Or do you simply want to talk sports and broadcasting? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Focke responded to a text from The Observer on Monday night, saying he would not have additional comment for now. SportsCenter | Charlotte Hornets | TuneIn | SiriusXM | WFNZ. Rick Bonnell has covered the Charlotte Hornets and the NBA for the Observer since the expansion franchise moved to the Queen City in 1988. Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. Martin spent fifty years in broadcasting, including calling every Hornets game in the franchises history. Kroeger built his interest in radio by working at WASU, the student-run radio station on App States campus. Charlotte Hornets Announce 2018-19 Preseason Schedule Chris Kroeger Kroeger was removed abruptly in March of 2019, just before a Hornets West Coast trip, and the team never publicly addressed why. Kroegers departure comes less than one week after his enthusiastic call of Jeremy Lambs game winning buzzer-beater was featured onSportsCenterand replayed by radio stations around the country. In addition to serving as Hornets play-by-play announcer, he does a weekly podcast for the teams website. No offense to T.V., I dont think you have the connection with some of the voices because the picture is right there in front of you. Its been really humbling, but its been a really cool exercise.