Courtesy Orlando Sentinel

(January 16, 2009) Just when you thought you had all your buttons set on your car radio, the Central Florida sports-talk lineup is changing again.

Genesis Communications this week moved its weekday sports programming from 1190 AM (WAMT) to 1080 AM (WHOO), creating a mix of local and national sports talk on the ESPN affiliate.

The Beat of Sports with Marc Daniels and Mike Bianchi (9-11 a.m.) moved to WHOO and The Sports Section with Marc Ryan now can be heard daily on ESPN-1080 from 8-10 p.m.

"We tried making 1190 a hybrid, but have decided it's best to put all the sports on one station and to give listeners as much local programming as possible," said Genesis Communications Vice President Paul Proly.

Ryan, 31, has been hosting his show, along with sidekicks Mike Ruth and Chad Brillante,either weekly or daily since September 2005. We caught up with him this week for five quick questions.

Weekend Watchdog: How did you get your start in talk radio?

Marc Ryan: I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a sportscaster. They didn't have a sports-radio program at the University of Florida so, I majored in telecommunication production. ... After college, my mentor, Paul Porter, the arena voice of the Orlando Magic, told me, "Marc, there are two things you can do to get into radio: you can sweep the floors for 10 years and hope you get lucky, or you can make a little bit of money outside of talk radio and go and purchase your own show." That's what I did and I was fortunate to get a chance with ESPN-1080.

WW: Who are some of your influences?

MR: I think Colin Cowherd has the best national sports show.I like Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, too.

WW: Considering we have just one professional sports franchise in this market, do you think we have enough sports-talk, or too much?

MR: In my experience, there's more to it than you think. ... This really is a melting pot for sports. While the Magic and UCF are really the only two big draws in Orlando, there are many people here who want to talk about Tampa sports, or people from the Northeast who want to talk about the Red Sox and Yankees ... and Gators fans and 'Noles fans.

WW: I know you're a Gator, but do you think Tim Tebow has received too much publicity, or is he really worthy of all the accolades?

MR: Last August I said he was one of, if not the best, college football players of all time and my co-hosts and callers laughed at me. ... When he graduates a year from now, he will be — if not the clear-cut greatest college football player of all time — at least in the top five.

WW: You've followed the Sentinel's coverage of George O'Leary. Has it been fair?

MR: Absolutely, it's been fair. ... There isn't much direction in this program right now, and where there's smoke, there's fire.

WHOO's new lineup

With Genesis moving the Daniels/Bianchi and Ryan shows to 1080 AM, the station had to adjust its national programming. The new lineup:

• Mike & Mike in the Morning: 6-9 a.m.

• The Beat of Sports: 9-11 a.m.

• The Herd with Colin Cowherd: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

• The Jim Rome Show: 1-3 p.m.

• Fritz & O'Neill with Jerry O'Neill and Brian Fritz: 3-6 p.m. (previously O'Neill and Brady Ackerman).

• Various local programming: 6-8 p.m.

• The Sports Section: 8-10 p.m.

• ESPN network shows: 10 p.m.-6 a.m.