Sports Radio: Mark Lawrence, Brandon Lang, Scott Spreitzer, Bobby Ventura and Others

We get a lot of questions about sports handicapping radio
shows. Let’s give credit to Mark Lawrence, one of the pioneers in radio handicapping
with his “Against the Spread” radio show. Mark and Lenny Stevens, whom I was a
guest many times, are probably the two pioneers. Journeyman Mike Lett is another.

Now Scott Spreitzer, Brandon
Lang, and Bobby Ventura spend a lot of money doing infomercial appearances. Spreitzer and Lang (AKA Brandon
Lane) both are solid broadcasters who bring
information and personality to the table, but Ventura
is “painful to listen to. It is radio at its worst,” reports Brian Gould of ScoresOddsPicks.com.

SportsByline with Ron Barr used
to have some of the SportsMemo handicappers on
satellite radio and was pretty useful.

Still, we use sports radio hosts who have great
overlapping information for the sports bettor. Norm Hitzges of The Ticket in
Dallas, the recovering Jody McDonald of WPEN ESPN Radio in Philadelphia, Billy Werndl off the “Too Much Show” in San Diego, Mike Francesa
and even the Mad Dog of WFAN in New York, Mitch Levy
of KJR in Seattle.

Others report they like Stoney &
Wojo, Howard Eskin of WIP in Philadelphia
(a favorite of Lines-Maker.com
staffer Rex DeStephano), the Dennis and Callahan Show
on WEEI in Boston,
Mike and Mike (Mike Goldberg and Mike Golic) of ESPN
Radio, Tony Rizzo of WKNR in Cleveland,
among many others.