The MeanGene Show/Sports Kings
About
The Sports Kings originally started out as a local sports talk show on KHPY AM 1530 in Moreno Valley CA in 1999. At the time, it was called 'Out of Bounds Sports'. Founded by Gene Thompson,and included Denny Sharma, Paul Cordova and Steve Turner, that show aired on Sundays immediately following the afternoon games on the west coast. After repeatedly getting turned down by the Los Angeles Lakers for media access, we turned our efforts to baseball and was accepted as a credible media outlet by the Los Angeles Dodgers, followed by the California Angels.
In 2002, we were successful in landing a early morning show on Los Angeles mega talk radio station KLRA 870 AM. This show was hosted by MeanGene and Wayne Brown along with Denny Sharma. Although the show was independent, we were able to reach the entire Los Angeles population and surrounding areas which included Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange County. It was at that time we begin to gain respect as a credible media outlet and was granted access to the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Oakland Raiders, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, the XFL and others including the Ducks of Anaheim. In 2002, we also received a media invite to cover Superbowl XXXVII in San Diego between the Raiders and Buccaneers. During that time, we received full access to the entire Super Bowl including player access and all events.
Gene Thompson relocated to Dallas Texas in 2005, two years after that the goal was to get back on the air talking sports. The Sports Kings was formed in 2007 as an internet radio program. The name Sports Kings came from a show hosted by Fred Favors which also aired on KRLA Newstalk 870 in Los Angeles. Fred Favors and Gene 'MeanGene' Thompson would work together briefly in Los Angeles on KWRM AM 1370 prior to MeanGene moving to Texas. The name Sports Kings was chosen as a compliment to Fred Favor's awesome show along with his golden radio voice.
In Dallas, the Sports Kings consisted of a new group of individuals, MeanGene, Rod Johnson, Darrell Jordan, Randy Shortancy and former Dallas Cowboys and 2-time Superbowl Champion Jim Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat's presence really helped grow our audience and added valuable content to our show. While in Dallas, the Sports Kings promoted and aired our show on KNFX Phoenix Arizona, WCGO Chicago and WWPR Tampa Florida. In addition, we added MeanGene's longtime friend Ronnie Brooks to the show. MeanGene, Ronnie Brooks and Rod Johnson hosted the Sports Kings from 2009-16. In 2015, we got a call from Yahoo Sports Radio to air our show nationwide on over 400 station affiliates. The Sports Kings suffered a huge setback in 2016 with the passing of Rod Johnson, but was able to continue our show on Yahoo Sports Radio which ultimately became SB Nation Radio. The program aired on SB Nation until December 2018.
Today, the show is heard nationwide on iHeartRadio on its major podcast platform. In addition to iHeartRadio, the show is also featured on Tunein Radio, Google Play and iTunes. Our listeners expand from the West coast to the East coast and internationally in Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, and France. A few of our guest have included former Oakland Raider Lincoln Kennedy, former Pittsburgh Steelers Bryant McFadden and Levon Kirkland, former Los Angeles Lakers Micheal Cooper, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Alstott, WNBA coach Pokey Chapman, Utah Jazz play by play announcer Craig Bolerjack, NCAA Football analyst Jerry Palm, Houston Texans Whitney Mercilus, NFL Network Analyst Cynthia Frelund and Brian Baldinger and many more.....
We hope you continue to listen to our show as we find ways to improve and expand.
Thanks
MeanGene