It wasn't the best-kept secret in Milwaukee radio, but long-time "Bob and Brian" contributor Steve Czaban returned to local airwaves Friday morning. He's set to be the new host of a morning show on FM 97.3 "The Game," beginning Monday.
The Washington D.C.-based sports-talk host, who abruptly ended a more than 20 year run with Bob and Brian last October, was announced as the new morning host at 8 a.m. today.
Czaban was a popular fixture during his time with 102.9 The Hog, and will be on the air from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays.
The iHeartMedia station, which flipped to sports talk from a contemporary hits format in late November, made the announcement Friday during the "Drew and KB" program.
"The chance for me to do more in Milwaukee was too good to pass up," said Czaban in a station news release. "This is exactly the style and attitude of sports radio that I love to do."
Drew Olson, a former OnMilwaukee senior editor, and former WKLH morning sidekick Kevin "KB" Brandt, had held down the morning slot since the station launched. The duo will now move to afternoon drive (3-6 p.m.), replacing Madison-based Mike Heller, who will move to the mid-morning slot behind Czaban.
Here is the new lineup for 97.3 The Game:
6-9 a.m. – The Steve Czaban Show
9-11 a.m. – The Mike Heller Show
11 a.m.-1 p.m. – The Crossover, featuring Milwaukee Bucks radio announcer Ted Davis and WISN-12 sports director Dan Needles
1-3 p.m. The Double Team, featuring Bob Brainerd, Dario Melendez
3-6 p.m. Drew and KB
Czaban, a former OnMilwaukee contributor who lives in Northern Virginia, will continue to host an afternoon drive show on The Team 980 in Washington, D.C. He is expected to spend roughly one week per month in Milwaukee and will welcome Olson, Brandt and other Wisconsin-based guests to his show on 97.3 The Game.
Bob and Brian, who have dominated ratings in the male demographic coveted by sports radio programmers, replaced Czaban with another D.C.-based sports talker, Tim Murray. In addition to hosting a gambling show on NBC Sports Radio, Murray works as the pre- and post-game host for the Navy Football Radio Network.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
