Sports Fan Radio Network

The Sports Fan Radio Network was a national sports talk radio network that existed from 1993 through 2001, when it abruptly folded.

SportsFan Radio Network officially debuted in 1993 with 80 hours of programming per month. Based in Las Vegas, the network broadcast its flagship show SportsFan Tonight from the Sports Theatre in the Las Vegas Hilton. Original hosts of the show were Geoff Nathanson and long time NFL scribe Howard Balzer.

By 1994, SportsFan expanded to a 24/7 format, seven days a week. The signature show, SportsFan Tonight moved its broadcast location from the MGM Grand Las Vegas in 1994. Later it moved to the sportsbook at the Mandalay Bay. The daily line up included baseball's all-time hit leader Pete Rose, as well as a stable of young talent. Others hosting shows over the years included former NFL QB Sean Salisbury, former NFL All-Pro Tim Ryan, Fox and CBS host James Brown, longtime broadcaster Pat O'Brien, former NBA coach Matt Goukas, NHL great Phil Esposito, former NFL All-Pro Bob Golic and former NCAA basketball coaches Bill Frieder and Fran Fraschilla. Other hosts included Bruce Schein, Chris Russo (now Russell), J. T. the Brick, Steve Cofield, Rob Tepper, Chuck Powell, Ryan Williams,Marty Tirrell, Ken Miller, Soren Petro, Rob Fischer, Mike "The Sports Pig" Responts, John Phillips, John Rabe, Brandon Tierney, Jim Brinson, Chad Andrus. Scott Ferrall, Dave Cokin, Eric Pollero, Tim Neverett and others. By the late '90s, SportsFan partnered with CBS Sportsline to broadcast two shows daily. One program was hosted by Craig Carton, the other "The Drive" with Scott Kaplan and Sid Rosenberg. Later they landed a handful of other significant names, including Nanci Donellan (a.k.a. "The Fabulous Sports Babe") from ESPN Radio. Keith Olbermann also hosted a few shows.

In 2001, however, the network began facing intense pressure from upstart network Fox Sports Radio, which had the major backing of industry giant Clear Channel Communications. Additionally, SFRN's parent company, Winstar Communications, a NASDAQ-traded telecommunications firm, began experiencing severe financial trouble (which eventually ended in bankruptcy). Determining that the network could not compete with ESPN, Fox, and One on One Sports, Sports Fan Radio Network began dismantling. Eventually, Donnellan was fired one week before the Super Bowl, leaving J. T. the Brick and Scott Ferrall as some of the remaining hosts, hosting two live shifts plus replays throughout the day. The network folded in May 2001, ceding most of its affiliates to Fox.

After being released by Sports Fan, The Fabulous Sports Babe took an approximately 6-year break from radio broadcasting, during which she underwent treatment for cancer. She returned in sporadic guest hosting gigs in 2007, and in April 2008, returned full-time as the co-host of "Brantley and the Babe" on WHBO in Tampa Bay. After various stops on Tampa Bay area radio stations, she left radio again in 2014.

Chuck Powell hosted news talk and FM morning radio in Phoenix from 2003 to 2009. He's now with Seattle's KJR from 10a-Noon.

After the folding of Sports Fan, Frank Andrews, whose real name is Angelo Fracassi, changed his stage name to "Zig" and went to work in his native Western New York, for the now defunct radio station WNSA. After that station was sold off, Zig landed a job at Sirius Satellite Radio, where he hosted NHL Live (until that show moved to XM) and is currently a weekend anchor for Sirius NFL Radio and Mad Dog Radio.

Soren Petro now hosts "The Program" in Kansas City on 810 WHB, one of the largest sports talk stations in the country (covering six states).