Soccer Coverage on Radio is alive and well..

Jim Williams: Satellite radio maintains soccer presence
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Jim Williams, The Examiner
Jul 15, 2006 5:00 AM (6 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 1 of 5,572 articles

WASHINGTON - After award-winning coverage of World Cup 2006, XM Satellite Radio soccer channel 147 continues to cover soccer in Spanish with the legendary Andres Cantor talking all things soccer as well as baseball, boxing and a number of other sports. XM Deportivo is all Spanish sports talk 24/365.

Meanwhile, XM 148 has gone dark for now. However, XM officials told me they are aggressively working on plans to keep soccer a part on their network, which is great news.

In the meantime, SIRIUS is ready to welcome soccer fans to its service, which features three hours of live interactive soccer shows Monday through Friday.

SIRIUS is also home to the Barclays Premiership games starting next month. You can hear a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday plus weekday matches. The announcers are the home broadcasters so you really get a true British soccer feel for the games, right down to knowing what songs to sing.

SIRIUS soccer talk line starts with “The 2 G’s,” heard Monday through Friday from noon-1p.m.

Gazza Richards, a former pro player, and Graham Bell, a former FA referee, bring a true London ‘barrow boy’ (Google it) approach to this fast-paced talk show centered on the world of English and American soccer.

“We are really a fan driven show and we love to talk all levels of soccer with our callers,” Bell said. “This is a true labor of love for us and our callers are just as passionate about the sport as we are.”

“World Soccer Daily” airs weekdays from 1-3 p.m.

The original radio hooligans, Steven Cohen and Nick Geber, first hit the airwaves on Fox Sports Radio in Los Angeles. “World Soccer Daily” has fast become the nation’s most talked about and respected soccer show and it routinely has the biggest names in the game worldwide. Nick and Steven also host “Fox Football Friday” every Friday at 9 p.m. on the Fox Soccer Channel.

“We are always looking to expand our following and we have a number of ways for fans to get involved beyond the calls, which we love,” Cohen said. “Our listeners have access to message boards and we encourage lively debate. We have a show that gives soccer fans real in depth information in a fun and entertaining way.”

Lax approach

It may not be the World Cup, but to lacrosse fans it is still a big deal. CSTV will carry the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships beginning this weekend from Ontario, Canada. CSTV also offers a free, live video streaming feed via CSTV.com.

» Saturday: Canada vs. Iroquois, 1:30 p.m.

» Sunday: Canada vs. USA, 4 p.m.

» July 22: Championship, 3:30 p.m.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.

Examiner