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New Radio Show Launches for NC State-Virginia Tech Game
‘Bobby Murray Tailgate Show’ will be broadcast live on WPTF-AM 680 from Fan Zone
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The Wolfpack open their 2005 football season on Labor Day weekend. |
A show that may be familiar to long-time NC State football fans is returning with a new format and some new faces.
“The Bobby Murray Chevrolet Tailgate Show,” an hour-long show that will be broadcast live from the Fan Zone in front of the RBC Center for all NC State home football games, will debut on Sunday, September 4, 2005, at 5pm on WPTF-AM 680, prior to the NC State-Virginia Tech game at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The show, broadcast exclusively on the long-time flagship station for Wolfpack sports, will also air from Champps Restaurant in Raleigh’s Triangle Town Center when the Wolfpack plays on the road.
“The flagship arrangement between WPTF-AM and NC State is one of the longest-running partnerships of its kind in the nation,” said Al Bunch, the general manager for WPTF. “As we approach our 44th consecutive season together, we are excited to offer this expanded coverage.”
The show will precede the statewide network broadcast of the “Toyota Pre-Game Report” with Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes and Johnny Evans, and will feature four personalities that are familiar to sports fans throughout the Triangle. Veteran announcer Don Shea will contribute, along with three regular panelists Patrick Kinas, Neil Solondz and Tim Peeler.
The Pack will kick-off the new season with a new pre-game show at the Fan Zone next to Carter-Finley Stadium. |
“Last season, we added `Inside Wolfpack Sports with Lee Fowler’ television show to our lineup during the spring and summer months,” said Brian Asbill, general manager of Wolfpack Sports Marketing, which will produce the 11 live shows. “Even with that addition, there continues to be a strong interest on the part of our fans and sponsors to increase the amount of our local programming, particularly in the Triangle area.
“We’re pleased to be able to respond to that market demand.”
Fans who arrive early at Carter-Finley are encouraged to visit the live show, which begins after the Wolfpack team’s “Walk of Champions,” to visit with the panelists during breaks and to match wits with their weekly picks of college football games, which will be posted on the elevated stage.
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About the Personalities
The panel, which has nearly six decades of experience covering sports along the East Coast, will discuss upcoming games among Top 25 powers, talk about Heisman hopefuls and break down ACC games each weekend.
Kinas recently completed his sixth season as the Director of Broadcasting for the Carolina Mudcats. He will also begin his fifth year as the play-by-play announcer for the NC State women’s basketball team this fall.
Solondz, a New Jersey native who graduated from Rutgers in 1992 with a degree in English, is completing his second season as the broadcaster for the Durham Bulls. In addition to his eight years of broadcasting minor-league baseball, Solondz also has extensive experience in covering college football and basketball, after spending five years as the sideline reporter and pre-game and post-game host for Rutgers football and basketball.
Peeler, a North Carolina native who graduated from NC State in 1987 with a degree in English, spent nearly 20 years writing about college sports for newspapers in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is currently a feature writer for www.GoPack.com, a contributing editor for the NC State Alumni Magazine and Blue Ribbon Football and Basketball Yearbooks. He is also a frequent contributor to publications such as Sports Illustrated, Eastern Basketball and Southern Sports Journal.
“This group of analysts brings together a broad base of knowledge about athletics, and I think we will be able to generate enlightening conversation about college football across the country,” said Peeler, the state chairman for the 19 Heisman voters in North Carolina. “I just hope my broadcasting-savvy partners can keep me from spilling coffee in the sound equipment.
“We’re all looking forward to entertaining fans throughout the coming season.”
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Thanks to WSM’s Brian Asbill for this capcom story.
