Chris Canty, Michael Kay, & John Ourand Credit: ESPN, USA Today Images, Liam McGuire

This week, we’re celebrating the highs, lows, best, and worst of the year with The Awfulies.

Started in 2022 and expanded in 2023, the Awful Announcing staff has cast its votes for who we think should take home the coveted golden microphone. Keep an eye on category and winner reveals all week long. And be sure to let us know who your pick would have been for the winners.

Today, we honor the very best in sports radio and sports media podcasting in 2024.

Best Sports Media Podcast

Now, we have a soft spot for Awful Announcing’s sports media podcasts, The Play-By-Play and Awful Announcing Podcast, but sadly they’re not eligible in this category.

You could argue this was the best year in sports media podcast history. The field not only includes a lot of shows but the quality of those podcasts is impressive.

Andrew Marchand, last year’s co-winner in this category, started Marchand Sports Media Podcast and continues to bring good reporting and discussions to the stories behind the stories in the sports media world.

SI Media with Jimmy Traina leads with heavy-hitter guests and entertaining dialogue about the state of sports media.

Pablo Torre Finds Out has become an invaluable resource for some of the most oddly fascinating stories from the corners of sports media and the sports world in general.

Sports Media Podcast, hosted by Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane, remains a great resource for the sports media news of the day and offers up some intriguing interviews you don’t tend to find on other sports media pods.

Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, a stalwart of the space, has honed its focus on several valuable places, including the people working behind the scenes and unheralded journalists fighting the good fight in their corner of the world.

The Press Box always provides fresh and insightful commentary on the week’s top media stories and makes for an enjoyable listen.

In the end, however, we have to give the Awfulie for Best Sports Media Podcast of 2024 to The Varsity.

New pod: @matthewberrytmr.bsky.social on the new economics for on-air talent in sports media.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t…

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— John Ourand (@ourand.bsky.social) December 15, 2024 at 6:46 AM

John Ourand, who co-won this category last year, introduced The Varsity as part of his work at Puck and immediately hit the ground running. Whether he’s interviewing ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro, talking shop with WaPo’s Ben Strauss, or digging into the details with Axois’ Sara Fischer, The Varisty’s well-rounded guest list and topical discussions make it a must-listen for everyone from the C-suite to the cheap seats. Ourand, who we also named Best Sports Insider of 2024, is making good on Puck’s investment in him, with listeners and readers reaping the biggest benefits.

Best Sports Radio Show

The sports radio world might be in limbo but that hasn’t stopped the industry’s brightest stars from capturing listeners’ attention, encouraging fierce debates, and entertaining millions around the country.

It was a crowded field of nominees for the best sports radio show of 2024, but our finalists include The Rich Eisen Show, Mad Dog Unleashed, Freddie and Harry, Boomer & Gio, and last year’s winner, The Dan Patrick Show.

The Best Sports Radio Show of 2024 is one that is, sadly, ending. However, by taking home the coveted Awfulie, The Michael Kay Show goes out on top.

Say what you want about Michael Kay, Don La Greca, and Peter Rosenberg, but few radio programs kept us consistently entertained and wondering what they might say next, especially when it was a complaint or angry rant about New York Yankees fans. They saved plenty of entertaining vitriol for Aaron Rodgers, Hawk Tuah critics, curse words, ‘mouth-breathing lowlifes,‘ ‘clown callers,’ the New York Mets, and even one another. Kay found himself in the middle of many storylines throughout the year and made his commentary a must-listen.

The show in this form ended in December, with Kay starting his own program and La Greca and Rosenberg partnering with Alan Hahn. Still, the memories, and especially the angry diatribes, will last forever.

Best Sports Radio Personality

This was another category that called for many worthy nominees. Among those considered were Adam Schein, Chris Russo, Rich Eisen, Mike Greenberg, Freddie Coleman, and Colin Cowherd. While Eisen and Russo split the award last year, we have a brand-new winner in 2024.

In a field full of sports radio hosts who can bring the heat while also delving deep into debate on the story of the day, Unsportsmanlike’s Chris Canty stood out, emerging as what Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod said was “ESPN’s new take machine.”

Chris Canty is willing to say “the thing.”

You know “the thing,” which doesn’t only help his radio show, Unsportsmanlike, go viral on a regular basis, but also fills hours of subsequent ESPN programming. Criticizing former Kyle Filipowski for not doing more to avoid injury during a court-storming, blaming Joe Burrow — and not the Bengals’ defense — for Cincinnati’s 0-3 start, calling for the Dallas Cowboys to tank and starting an on-air feud with Stephen A. Smith by referring to one of his takes as “asinine”; they all qualify as “the thing.” And to this point in his tenure as an ESPN Radio host, Canty’s been willing to say it all.

Canty’s 2024 pièce de résistance might have been comparing Aaron Rodgers to a cancer “that has metastasized within the New York Jets organization and I don’t know how they fix it.” (That was in early October, mind you…). If the puzzle for a sports radio personality is to figure out how to make listeners tune in so they don’t miss what you have to say next, Canty has solved it.

Check out all of the Awfulies winners here.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.