By Dave Hughes, DCRTV.com

Baltimore’s Mid-Atlantic Sports Network plans to carry the new John Riggins radio show in afternoons come July. Riggins launched his show on Washington's all-news WTOP 103.5's digital HD2 signal in April.

A key source now said Riggins will be getting the "prime later spot" of about 4-6:30 p.m. on MASN with Scott Garceau airing from 2-4 p.m. Garceau, who does afternoon drive on 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM, currently airs on MASN from 3-6:30 p.m.

MASN believes Riggins would be more effective counter-programming to Comcast SportsNet's "Washington Post Live," from 5-6 p.m.

The Riggins addition is actually a return to MASN, which aired his old Triple X sports talk show in afternoon drive from 2006 to 2008.

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There are rumblings Baltimore sports media veteran Steve Davis could be returning to the airwaves soon.

CBS Radio hasn’t confirmed anything, but reports say Davis is being eyed to co-host mornings with Ed Norris on 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM.

Norris, a former Baltimore city top cop, frequently talks politics and other non-sports topics so Davis, a former sports anchor for Channel 45/WBFF and WBAL radio, could be paired with Norris to give mornings more of a sports feel. However, sources say Davis is not popular with Orioles' management, and 105.7 is the Orioles' radio flagship.

WJZ-FM flipped to sports talk in late 2008, and as of late its ratings have been sagging. Although CBS executives deny it, some local radio sources said the loss of Anita Marks as co-host with afternoon driver Scott Garceau has hurt the show’s ratings. She was particularly popular with WJZ-FM’s sponsors, with her frequent personal appearances at promotional events around town.

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Speaking of radio ratings, the May monthly numbers are in and Baltimore’s sports talker are not in the top 10.

WJZ-FM, 105.7, the Orioles flagship, ranked 14th in the overall age 12-and-over numbers. ESPN Radio sister, WJZ-AM, 1300, was 37th, with Fox 1370 WVIE and WNST, 1570, tied for 47th. DC sports talker ESPN 980 ranked 29th in the Baltimore market. News talker WBAL radio, which airs sports shows in the evenings, placed seventh.

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For those who consider Maryland Public Television’s “Motorweek” a sports show, Yolanda Vazquez enters talk show diva Oprah Winfrey's contest for a show on her new cable TV network, OWN, which launches early next year.

Vazquez has been a freelance reporter for “Motorweek” for 10 years and picked up a batch of awards from automotive groups for her "Motorweek" reporting. Vazquez worked at Channel 13/WJZ from 2001 to 2004.

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Longtime local radio veteran Don Geronimo, whose “Don And Mike” show was heard for many years on Baltimore’s 1300 AM and 105.7 FM, lands a new midday gig at a Sacramento sports talker KHTK.

Geronimo, who relocated to Ocean City after leaving his D&M gig in 2008, is doing the show from a home studio until he relocates to Sacramento later this year. He frequently talks sports and is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan.

The show can be heard at KHTK.CBSlocal.com from 3-7 p.m. eastern on weekdays.

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Jim Williams of the Examiner said the first World Cup soccer matches from South Africa are doing well ratings-wise in Baltimore, which ranks 10th nationally among market popularity. The U.S.-England match saw 6.6 percent of all Baltimore TV households tune-in via ESPN.

During the tournament, Comcast SportsNet has been airing encore presentations of five memorable DC United soccer matches. The series, which is hosted by CSN's Russ Thaler, runs the week of June 21.

Posted June 24, 2010