Greg Brady (broadcaster)

Last updated

Greg Brady (born 1971) is a Canadian radio host. He currently hosts the morning drive show Toronto Today on Global News Radio 640 in Toronto. Previously, he was a sports radio host with Sportsnet 590 The FAN from 2010 to 2019.

Contents

From 2007 to 2017, Brady was a regular play by play announcer for NFL games carried on the BBC. He is also a regular pundit on the BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk , holding the record for most wins on the show, alternating that honour with John Rawling over the years, and has been a freelance sports correspondent filing reports from sporting events across North America for various BBC Radio services for over twenty years.

Biography

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Brady attended the University of Western Ontario where he studied Political Science. After finishing his four years, he then completed Fanshawe College's journalism program

Brady began his career in broadcasting at CIXX-FM, the campus radio station of Fanshawe College. He moved on to CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, then joining WDFN in the late 1990s. He appeared in various broadcast roles at WDFN before he settled into co-hosting the Jamie and Brady show, with Jamie Samuelsen, from 2002 to 2007. [1] Brady was fired along with co-host Samuelsen and update host Matt Shepard in November 2007. [2] Both Samuelsen and Shepard were eventually rehired by WDFN, [3] [4] leaving Brady as the only member of that show not to return to Detroit radio. As a non-American citizen without employment, Brady was forced to move back to his native Canada where he co-hosted The Bill Watters Show on AM640 Toronto Radio. [5] [6] He has also presented Leafs Lunch on the same station. [7]

Brady also has been an ice hockey play-by-play broadcaster for six seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. He spent five years as the first-ever broadcaster for the Saginaw Spirit, [8] and spent the 200708 season broadcasting for the Windsor Spitfires.

Brady is father of two young boys and is married to fellow sports journalist and women's hockey pundit Rachel Brady. He resigned from AM640 on June 23, 2010 in order to pursue a more favourable schedule at the FAN 590 to accommodate his family life.

On August 16, 2010, Brady made his debut on the Fan 590 on the 12 noon 3 pm timeslot with The Greg Brady Show. On September 13, 2010, Brady made his hosting debut for Hockey Central at Noon , co-hosted with Doug MacLean and Nick Kypreos, on the 12 noon 1 pm timeslot, with The Greg Brady Show being reduced to the 1 pm 3 pm timeslot.

On February 10, 2011, Brady was reassigned to the 5:30 am 9 am morning show on an interim basis after Andrew Krystal was removed from that timeslot, while still maintaining his co-hosting job on the Hockey Central at Noon timeslot. On March 10, 2011, Brady was officially named the new morning show co-host on the Fan 590, alongside Jim Lang. [9] [10] Daren Millard was named as Brady's replacement as co-host on Hockey Central at Noon. [10]

On February 8, 2017, it was announced that Brady would be part of Sportsnet 590 The FAN's new morning show: Sportsnet's Starting Lineup with Brady and Price. The new show, which launched on February 27, 2017 features Elliott Price, Brady and longtime Toronto Sportscaster Hugh Burrill. [11]

In 2019, Brady left 590 for Global News Radio 640 in Toronto and became the morning drive host in 2021, after the station fired Mike Stafford. The program was renamed Toronto Today in September 2021. [12]

BBC and Fighting Talk

Brady also does freelance work for the BBC, including co-commentating for the Super Bowl, [13] other NFL playoff games, and regular season games played in the UK, and reporting on Wimbledon. He has also been a regular pundit on the BBC Radio BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk since its debut in 2003; [14] while he regularly contributes to the programme via ISDN from Toronto (earlier Detroit), Brady has been making appearances in studio since 2007, coinciding with the annual NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium, London. He has been described by Gillian Reynolds, radio critic of The Daily Telegraph , as "fast on the factual draw and witty with it." [15] Mark Pougatch, writing for The Times , has described his observations as "entertaining." [16] BBC Five Live reaches around 6 million listeners. [17]

The 2011-12 FT campaign was Brady's most successful to date, with six victories and five appearances in the Defend the Indefensible final, including a controversial double victory on the show's 8th birthday special on 8 October 2011 to put him ahead of rival John Rawling with 41 wins all-time. As of 19 May 2012, Brady has notched 44 wins during his FT career. Brady's record of six wins and as many appearances in Defend the Indefensible that season gave him his first-ever appearance in the FT Champion of Champions show, where he unfortunately did not make the final, finishing in a third place tie with Dougie Anderson.

Related Research Articles

CJCL is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toronto, while its transmitters are located near Grimsby atop the Niagara Escarpment. It is the flagship station for the Toronto Blue Jays, and also airs games from the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Bisons and Buffalo Bills. CJCL is a CBS Sports Radio affiliate.

CFIQ is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond Hill, Ontario, and serving Greater Toronto, Southern Ontario and Western New York with a talk format known as "640 Toronto". Owned by Corus Entertainment, CFIQ's studios are located at the Corus Quay Building in Toronto; despite the station's city of licence being a suburban community north of the city, the transmitter is located in the Niagara Region town of Lincoln, 60 kilometres southwest of Toronto.

Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media.

Andrew Krystal was a Canadian news reporter who worked for CityNews on Citytv Toronto. He had previously been a radio talk show host, his most recent stints being on the Rogers Communications news talk network in The Maritimes, and sports talk radio station The Fan 590 in Toronto. Krystal was also a writer and occasional TV current affairs panelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Kypreos</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Nikos "Nick" Kypreos is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He is currently a hockey analyst on the Sportsnet cable television network in Canada.

<i>Prime Time Sports</i>

Prime Time Sports was a sports radio talk show produced from the studios of CJCL, Sportsnet 590 The Fan, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show was hosted by Bob McCown until June 21, 2019, when McCown left the show. After his departure, the show was hosted by Jeff Blair, with Stephen Brunt or Richard Deitsch serving as co-hosts until its final show on October 11, 2019.

Hockey Central is the brand used for programs and segments covering hockey on the Canadian sports channel Sportsnet. The Hockey Central name encompasses several programs, including segments aired during Sportsnet Central, pre-game reports for Hockey Night in Canada and other NHL telecasts on Sportsnet, CBC, Citytv, and the Sportsnet 590 radio show Hockey Central at Noon.

Stephen Brunt is a Canadian sports journalist, well known as a former columnist for Sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet, and former co-host on podcasts for Sportsnet.

Gord Stellick is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former NHL executive. Stellick formerly hosted The Fan 590 Morning Show with Don Landry, and also appears on Hockey Central on Rogers Sportsnet. Currently, Stellick serves as host of the pre-game edition of "Blue And White Tonight" between 6PM-7PM on The Fan 590 during the game nights that the Toronto Maple Leafs play as well as the post-game edition of the show. Stellick is co-host of the "NHL Morning Skate" drive time show with Scott Loughlin on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's NHL Network Radio. Stellick replaced former host Mike Ross, host of "Hockey Today" since 2009

Mike Toth is a Canadian sports anchor, formerly on Rogers Sportsnet's Sportsnet Connected and with the Fan 590 in Toronto. He grew up in Bassano, Alberta and then spent much of his early career in Calgary, Alberta with CICT-TV as a sports anchor and co-host of the station's "Sports @ 11" nightly sports broadcast. He then worked as a sports anchor for TSN's SportsCentre. After leaving TSN, Toth hosted the Hockey Central program, as well as guest hosted Prime Time Sports on The Fan 590. Toth was also a co-host on the Fan 590's "The Bullpen" with Mike Hogan from 10:00am to noon.

Jeffrey James Marek is a television personality and radio host for properties originating from Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. Jeff has hosted Live Audio Wrestling, Leafs Lunch and The Jeff Marek Show, as well as making notable television appearances on TSN Off The Record and Leafs TV After the Horn. On October 1, 2007, he started as the host of Hockey Night in Canada Radio, signing a one-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio in mid-August, 2007. From 2011-2024, Marek worked with Sportsnet, before being dismissed due to leaking NHL draft selections to a friend while part of the broadcasting panel. He was the host of Hockey Central and also hosts The CHL on Sportsnet. Between 2014 and 2016 he occasionally hosted Hockey Night in Canada games that were played in the morning.

Hugh W. Burrill is a Canadian radio sports anchor. Hugh was born in Pembroke, Ontario and raised in Chalk River, Ontario.

William Wayne Watters is a Canadian sports media personality and former Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sean Baligian is a sports radio broadcaster who has been on the Detroit sports airwaves, for WDFN and WJR. He is a native of Livonia, Michigan and graduated from Livonia Stevenson High School.

Michael "Stoney" Stone is a long-time American radio host that helped pioneer the sports radio format in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known as the former host for Stoney and Wojo at WDFN from 1994 to 2009, then became the morning show host at WXYT-FM from 2009 until 2024 where he stepped down from full-time host to fill-in host. He also appears weekly on the late Sunday night sports newscast at WXYZ-TV.

Paul Romanuk is a Toronto sportscaster and writer. He was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

The Bill Watters Show is a former sports talk radio program on CFMJ AM640 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hosted by Bill Watters and Jim Ralph, it aired weekdays from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.

Jim Lang is a Canadian sportscaster, formerly with Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet Radio Fan 590 in Toronto. During his Sportsnet tenure, Lang co-hosted the weekend edition of Sportsnet Connected alongside Evanka Osmak.

<i>Tim & Friends</i> Canadian TV series or program

Tim & Friends is a sports talk show hosted by Tim Micallef that was produced by the Canadian sports television network Sportsnet where it aired. The program, originally known as Tim & Sid and hosted by Micallef and Sid Seixeiro, was established in 2011 as an afternoon radio show on CJCL. The program gained a television simulcast on The Score in 2013. On July 1, 2015, the program was re-launched on Sportsnet as a dedicated television program. On October 14, 2019, the Tim & Sid telecasts began simulcasting on CJCL, replacing Prime Time Sports as its late afternoon drive program. Seixeiro left the show in 2021, and the show was rebranded as Tim & Friends. During the summer of 2021, Tim & Friends stopped being simulcasted on CJCL and again became a dedicated television program. Tim & Friends concluded its run in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hebscher</span> Canadian sports journalist

Mark Hebscher is a Canadian television and radio personality, and author.

References

  1. George B. Eichorn, (2003), Detroit's Sports Broadcasters on the Air, page 112. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   0-7385-3166-9: "Jamie and Brady Show heard weekday mornings on WDFN-AM. Greg is a huge hockey enthusiast who also started on WDFN as an update anchor. Brady also co-hosts the Ice Time hockey show on WDFN."
  2. "Layoffs Spread At Clear Channel/Detroit, Youngstown". AllAccess.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  3. Austerman, Mike. "2007 News Archives: December 2007 Archives". Michiguide.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  4. Austerman, Mike. "2009 News Archives: April 2009 Archives". Michiguide.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  5. Greg Brady scores great gig, Press Release: AM640 Toronto Radio welcomes Greg Brady. January 03, 2008
  6. Toronto Star, TheStar.com, Jan 04, 2008: "NEW HOST: AM 640 Toronto has tabbed Greg Brady as the permanent replacement for Jeff Marek on The Bill Watters Show."
  7. The Globe and Mail, Globeandmail.com, April 29, 2008: "In Toronto, Brian Duff has quit AM 640's Leafs Lunch. Program director Gord Harris said the workload for Duff, who is a prime-time host for NHL Network, had become burdensome. Afternoon drive co-host Greg Brady has taken over for Duff."
  8. OurSports Central, February 4, 2005: "Brady has been the voice of the Saginaw Spirit since the team's inception in 2002-03"
  9. Your Name (this will appear with your post) (2011-03-10). "Sportsnet Radio Names Hosts for FAN Morning Show". Broadcastermagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  10. 1 2 Archived March 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Wake up Toronto: Sportsnet's Starting Lineup with Brady & Price Coming Soon to Sportsnet 590 the FAN". 8 February 2017.
  12. "Toronto Today with Greg Brady".
  13. World Screen News, Super Bowl to Air Live on BBC, Jan 25, 2008: "Digital viewers will also have access to a Beginner’s Guide To The NFL and BBC Radio 5 Live’s commentary provided by Arlo White and Greg Brady"
  14. BBC, Press Office, Fighting Talk returns on Five Live, 3 September 2005
  15. Gillian Reynolds, Fighting for the Saturday crowd [ dead link ] - Telegraph Online, August 24, 2004: "The winner last weekend was regular American contributor Greg Brady, fast on the factual draw and witty with it."
  16. Mark Pougatch, It's time to decide on middle England [ dead link ] - Times Online, April 11, 2005: "Listeners to BBC Radio 5 Live's Fighting Talk on a Saturday morning will be familiar with the entertaining observations of Greg Brady"
  17. "RAJAR". Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2013.