Change in Omaha Sports Radio

[Greg S]

Mike Schaefer joins 1620, and he and Connor Happer are the new morning show from 6 - 10 AM

https://1620thezone.com/happerschaefer/



From the website, it looks like Matt McMaster will be on 10-2 with Josh Odson

https://1620thezone.com/middayswithmatt/

See no mention of Gary Sharp

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

[Brad]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

[nebugeater]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

For a few more hours, I can dream that he joins the afternoon show and Josh Peterson is gone instead.

[Greg S]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

For a few more hours, I can dream that he joins the afternoon show and Josh Peterson is gone instead.

Yeah I am hoping for the miracle and he takes over the afternoon show. Gary would be a big improvement over John and Josh.

[nebugeater]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

For a few more hours, I can dream that he joins the afternoon show and Josh Peterson is gone instead.

Yeah I am hoping for the miracle and he takes over the afternoon show. Gary would be a big improvement over John and Josh.

I can deal with John, at least used to, but I no longer listen and use to almost daily. It has been a long time since I tuned in other than if there is breaking sports news, and when that happens,s they are not playing their stick

If it is working for 1620, so be it, but I talk to others who feel the same way. Maybe I am no longer in their traget market as a sports fan and season ticket holder for some things and someone that goes to many more sports events.

[Brad]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

For a few more hours, I can dream that he joins the afternoon show and Josh Peterson is gone instead.

Yeah I am hoping for the miracle and he takes over the afternoon show. Gary would be a big improvement over John and Josh.

I can deal with John, at least used to, but I no longer listen and use to almost daily. It has been a long time since I tuned in other than if there is breaking sports news, and when that happen,s they are not playing their stick

It might be time to start looking at satellite radio. With the sports radio changes (Some of which I am fine with, but not all) and the the FM music stations not staying in their lane, 2026 is off to a rough start.

[nebugeater]

If no Gary Sharp that's a huge loss.

I agree, such a nice guy and so much local sports knowledge.

For a few more hours, I can dream that he joins the afternoon show and Josh Peterson is gone instead.

Yeah I am hoping for the miracle and he takes over the afternoon show. Gary would be a big improvement over John and Josh.

I can deal with John, at least used to, but I no longer listen and use to almost daily. It has been a long time since I tuned in other than if there is breaking sports news, and when that happen,s they are not playing their stick

It might be time to start looking at satellite radio. With the sports radio changes (Some of which I am fine with, but not all) and the the FM music stations not staying in their lane, 2026 is off to a rough start.

Not to derail this, but that is where I have gone for my morning drive. Since KFAB is no longer local, starting at 5 AM ( Now 6 AM), I have gone elsewhere, and most of the time it is satellite. Based on my time on the road on the AM drive there are a lot of people comuting between 5 & 6 and I cannot be the only one

[OmahaRedWing]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

[nebugeater]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I knew it was too much to hope for. Thanks for posting so I do not have to tune in

[Linkin5]

That’s awesome they got Schaefer after 247sports let him go, he is fantastic at sports talk radio.

[Toto]

Firing Gary is corporate greed. Matt McMaster is complete garbage and Josh Peterson is slightly above garbage but still bad. Gary's salary was probably more than both those kids salary put together, so Gary got the shaft. Terrible move by NRG.

[Brad]

That’s awesome they got Schaefer after 247sports let him go, he is fantastic at sports talk radio.

Shafer is good, I just wish they found a way to add him and keep Gary.

[Linkin5]

That’s awesome they got Schaefer after 247sports let him go, he is fantastic at sports talk radio.

Shafer is good, I just wish they found a way to add him and keep Gary.

Yeah agree that would have been preferable. I wonder if Gary goes to Hurrdat, joins the Ticket in Lincoln, something else local, or leaves the state again.

[OmahaRedWing]

If Gary goes elsewhere, I will follow him. No one currently on 1620 is even close to him talent-wise.

[nebugeater]

That’s awesome they got Schaefer after 247sports let him go, he is fantastic at sports talk radio.

Shafer is good, I just wish they found a way to add him and keep Gary.

There are a couple good sugetions here on how they could have kept him and parted ways with others

[Greg S]

That’s awesome they got Schaefer after 247sports let him go, he is fantastic at sports talk radio.

Shafer is good, I just wish they found a way to add him and keep Gary.

There are a couple good sugetions here on how they could have kept him and parted ways with others

Anyone know who's doing play by play for UNO games now? Gary was kind of the voice of UNO sports.

[Brad]

Anyone know who's doing play by play for UNO games now? Gary was kind of the voice of UNO sports.

I assumed he is still doing Omaha Play by Play. Those are usually separate contracts. NRG let Terry Leahy go many years ago and he is still doing UNO hockey PxP on an NRG station even though he works for an iHeart station now.

[nebugeater]

Anyone know who's doing play by play for UNO games now? Gary was kind of the voice of UNO sports.

I assumed he is still doing Omaha Play by Play. Those are usually separate contracts. NRG let Terry Leahy go many years ago and he is still doing UNO hockey PxP on an NRG station even though he works for an iHeart station now.

Agree, but the one thing he needs to continue is to find a reg job locally. I cannot imagine they would cover travel if he lives out of the area.

[Greg S]

Gary has posted on Twitter:

[nebugeater]

Gary has posted on Twitter:

Confirms what I and many have suspected that it was not his choice. Thanks for sharing

[OmaHawk]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

[nebugeater]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

Welcome to Eomaha and join in when you can! Congrats on Post #1

[Brad]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

Are you the same "omahahawk" that has been a member here since way back in the day?

[OmaHawk]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

Are you the same "omahahawk" that has been a member here since way back in the day?

Nope. Longtime lurker, decided to create an account so I could add to the discussion.

[Linkin5]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

If you don’t like 1620 but still want local content you can check out Average Joes Sports Show podcast (Chris Schmidt’s show where Gary Sharp is on Saturdays), Hurrdat Sports Live (Damon Benning’s show), Early Break (on The Ticket in Lincoln with Sipple and Bill Busch), Nick Bahe Podcast, Schick and Nick Podcast, and Husker Online Podcast (Sipple and Sean Callahan), just to name some of them. Also welcome!

[Brad]

Ugh, we are still stuck with John and Josh.....no Gary on 1620 anymore it seems.

I’ve been listening to sports talk radio in Omaha for 30+ years and Bishop is hands down the worst host to be on local radio. And he’s even worse on Creighton games. He sounds like what an NAIA or JuCo level announcer would sound like, if they stunk at their job.
I haven’t listened to 1620 since these recent changes. Relying on National and KC/Denver stations.

Are you the same "omahahawk" that has been a member here since way back in the day?

Nope. Longtime lurker, decided to create an account so I could add to the discussion.

Sounds good, just making sure you were not the same person and having password issues. Welcome to the forum.

[nebugeater]

If you can access the Story in the OWH today about Alan Usher's company buying the Omaha NRG stations, you should read it. I read it in the Fremont Tribune.

Focuses a lot on 1620 and sports. Makes comments that he hopes to take some of the 1620 content to other stations he has in other parts of Nebraska. This includes the Broadcasting of Creighton sports.


Good read. Not providing a link since I do not have online access to the OWH and only get a splash page. to subscribe

[OverlookedFarm]

Wow. Big loss.

Peak 1620 was 10-15 years ago or so. Sharp and Benning, Bahe-Vrz and John-Josh-Mike. I'll never forget driving to work in the morning and listening to Damon tell his perspective on LP after his cellmate's death with Gary and the audience listening in. It was truly powerful. I didn't walk into the office on time just to sit and listen. It was riveting.

When I was in outside sales, that's all I listened to. Then sport as a whole got really boring and uninteresting, but the 1620 talent remained. Great roster. I think John suffered when he had to carry the show when Josh/Mike weren't around.

Back when the husker fanbase still had hopeium of some miraculous resurgence, listening to the revolving cast hosting Big Red Overreaction was epic. First 30min were always on fire!

I feel for those guys trying to carry on a show with very little of substance to talk about day-in day-out in recent years.

1620 had such limited range, barely could pick it up out of Omaha, and the app was functionally terrible to be honest.

[nebugeater]

Has anyone heard or seen any updates on Gary Sharp?

I know it can take a while to land something esp. if you are without warning you are gone. The flip side is that he seems respected in the industry, so things can sometimes come together quickly.

[Greg S]

Has anyone heard or seen any updates on Gary Sharp?

I know it can take a while to land something esp. if you are without warning you are gone. The flip side is that he seems respected in the industry, so things can sometimes come together quickly.

KFAB? Emery Songer is stepping down. I know it's a long shot because he's a sports guy. Just a thought.

[nebugeater]

Has anyone heard or seen any updates on Gary Sharp?

I know it can take a while to land something esp. if you are without warning you are gone. The flip side is that he seems respected in the industry, so things can sometimes come together quickly.

KFAB? Emery Songer is stepping down. I know it's a long shot because he's a sports guy. Just a thought.

Interesting thought I would not hate that and I think he can cover a lot more than sports

[Greg S]

Has anyone heard or seen any updates on Gary Sharp?

I know it can take a while to land something esp. if you are without warning you are gone. The flip side is that he seems respected in the industry, so things can sometimes come together quickly.

KFAB? Emery Songer is stepping down. I know it's a long shot because he's a sports guy. Just a thought.

Interesting thought I would not hate that and I think he can cover a lot more than sports

Yes so incredibly talented.

[Greg S]

Did we lose ESPN 590? At times recently it was static. Another time I heard turned over and a song in Spanish was being played. Just tried to stream it and it said the Rich Eisen show was on but came up unavailable.

If they did go by the wayside, Omaha lost 2 of their 3 full time Sports stations in a matter of a couple months (1180 the Zone 2 is now Yacht Rock).

Greg

[Brad]

Did we lose ESPN 590? At times recently it was static. Another time I heard turned over and a song in Spanish was being played. Just tried to stream it and it said the Rich Eisen show was on but came up unavailable.

If they did go by the wayside, Omaha lost 2 of their 3 full time Sports stations in a matter of a couple months (1180 the Zone 2 is now Yacht Rock).

Greg

I haven't listened to 590 in quit a while, but yes it would be bad to go from 3 stations to 1 station. I'm assuming that will hurt UNO, Creighton, Chasers, Lancers, Etc.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Did we lose ESPN 590? At times recently it was static. Another time I heard turned over and a song in Spanish was being played. Just tried to stream it and it said the Rich Eisen show was on but came up unavailable.

If they did go by the wayside, Omaha lost 2 of their 3 full time Sports stations in a matter of a couple months (1180 the Zone 2 is now Yacht Rock).

Greg

I haven't listened to 590 in quit a while, but yes it would be bad to go from 3 stations to 1 station. I'm assuming that will hurt UNO, Creighton, Chasers, Lancers, Etc.

Man, if this is true, it’s unfortunate…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[nebugeater]

Did we lose ESPN 590? At times recently it was static. Another time I heard turned over and a song in Spanish was being played. Just tried to stream it and it said the Rich Eisen show was on but came up unavailable.

If they did go by the wayside, Omaha lost 2 of their 3 full time Sports stations in a matter of a couple months (1180 the Zone 2 is now Yacht Rock).

Greg

I haven't listened to 590 in quit a while, but yes it would be bad to go from 3 stations to 1 station. I'm assuming that will hurt UNO, Creighton, Chasers, Lancers, Etc.

Man, if this is true, it’s unfortunate…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

Didn't they have a Facebook page? I am not finding anything there are all for them

[nebugeater]

New post that is 2 Min old when I redid my facebook search by a page called RadioInsight.com

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AS648JC6D/







https://radioinsight.com/headlines/3409 ... signs-off/

SummitMedia has signed-off Sports “AM 590 ESPN” KXSP Omaha NE.

The Nebraska Association of Broadcasters reports that the station went silent on Friday, February 20 as the station’s tower land was sold. KXSP had been running the national ESPN Radio lineup after its morning show “Hurrdat Sports Radio” hosted by Damon Benning and Ravi Lulla and afternoon show “Hail Varsity Radio” moved to digital only distribution last year. KXSP also lost the play-by-play rights to the University of Nebraska last July.

The stations was historically best known as WOW from 1926 to 1999. After a run as Adult Standards “Magic 590” KOMJ, the station flipped to Sports in 2005 first as “Big Sports 590” until 2011.

Following the flip of 1180 KZOT to Yacht Rock, the demise of KXSP leaves Usher Media’s “1620 The Zone” KOZN as the only Sports station in Omaha.

[Ankeny Husker Freak]

You think of the monster AM radio signals, there's 590, 540 in Fort Dodge, 570 in Yankton. AM 590 goes silent.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/3409 ... signs-off/

[HskrFanMike]

When I saw the ratings posted here, I noticed that KXSP-590 ESPN was only pulling a 0.3, causing me to wonder how they are keeping the transmitter powered.

Friday, they pulled the plug on 590-AM. 50,000 giant is off the air; they sold the transmitter site and shut it down.

https://ne-ba.org/omahas-kxsp-am-no-longer-operating/

[Mr.Nuke]

KXSP aka 590 appears to be no more.
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/3409 ... signs-off/