The latest status with Zach McCrite

Alrighty folks… hang on tight.  I’m gonna air ALL THAT DIRTY LAUNDRY about my departure from 101 ESPN in St. Louis.

Yeah, just kidding. (and with that, I will bid most of you adieu since I figure you’re done reading)

Truth is, there isn’t a whole lot of dirty laundry to air.  I thought I did well there.  I know I worked my ass off.  And it was made very clear to me that the separation was not performance-based.

Now, this is the first time I’ve ever really been “let go” from a radio gig, so maybe them saying it wasn’t performance-based is just something they say to everybody.

But, I’m going to refuse to believe that for two reasons:

(1) Ego (yeah, I got one.  So do you.)
(2) My boss there always shot me straight.

That second reason is why the separation was so surprising to me.  I figured I would’ve got an inkling of something going on a little earlier.  But, truthfully, I don’t go digging for reasons I might be released.  Maybe I should.

Anyway, seriously, no hard feelings with anyone at 101 ESPN.  In fact, the station showed me how a real sports station is actually supposed to be run.  A boss that critiqued my work and provided constructive criticism and praise, a sales team that sold a relative no-name to that market like myself, a producer that took care of the stuff behind the scenes including guest-booking, etc.

That’s not easy to do in a lot of markets.  Louisville used to be one of them, but they have bulked up plenty since I left.  That’s now an exciting market.

Fact is 101 ESPN made me better.  I wish I knew about sports radio then what I know now.  It rekindled my love with this profession and really made me more confident in my ability to be really good at it.  It was the first time in my six years leading up to my hire there that I had ever been coached.

So a huge thanks to all of those that helped me along the way: Rick Venturi, Bernie Miklasz, Randy Karraker, D’Marco Farr, Bob Ramsey, Brian Stull, Derrick Goold, Joe Strauss, Tony Softli, John Semar, Michelle Smallmon, Todd Wise, Mike Rider, Marty Jenkins, Travis Green, all of the sales people, and especially my three bosses along the way Hoss Neupert, Kent Sterling and (the man who hired me) Jason Barrett.  I’m very grateful to all of you.

Okay, so what’s next?

Well, this blog is one thing.  I’m going to keep producing content.  I don’t need a radio signal to that.  It keeps my name out there and it gives me the freedom to do what I love as much as I can.

At the same time, I’m on the horn with whomever will listen.  There have been some bites.  Some are very intriguing, but it’s got to be the right fit for Lady EZ and I.  We will see, but the good news is at least people are (at the very least) mildly interested.

Thanks for all of your support.  I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of that.  I am very proud of the work I did here and I’m especially proud of the theory I helped debunk that sports radio hosts that aren’t originally from St. Louis can’t last more than 12 months in the market.  Boy, did I hear that enough.

Always feel free to contact me through this website or through twitter (bigez) or facebook (bigezbigez).