Riter will compete directly with his former teammates at WGR, Mike Schopp and Chris (The Bulldog) Parker. However, WECK Operations Manager Tom Schuh said that Riter’s show will be more general talk from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. before it shifts to sports talk for the final hour at 6 p.m.

WECK, which needed to replace Bill O’Reilly in the afternoons because the Fox News star is ending his radio show, picked a great year to grab the UB football (which used to air on WGR) and basketball games. The Bulls won the MAC football championship and are in first place in their division in basketball going into to-day’s game with Toledo (noon, ESPN2).

WECK also is carrying New York Yankees baseball games this season. The Yanks last were carried here by WGR.

Finally, a show that Buffalo News sportswriters Allen Wilson and Rodney McKissic have been doing on different stations, “Sports Insiders,” will move to WECK at 7 p.m. Mondays in March. Fox Sports will replace Riter in the evening.

Sports talk fans also head to Canada’s Fan 590, the station with afternoon programs that feature former Buffalo News hockey columnist Jim Kelley and former Niagara University basketball coach Jack Armstrong.

And (Ted) Shredd and (Tom) Ragan frequently talk sports on their afternoon program on WEDG. They were in Tampa this week for the Super Bowl. Former Tampa Bay star Simeon Rice provided one of the week’s most entertaining interviews on their show. Rice blasted recently fired Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden as a “fraud” (he’s been blasting Gruden on every show he’s been on) who is disliked by the players and added he wouldn’t mind playing for the Bills. However, Vic Carucci, the former Buffalo News football writer who now works for NFL.com and WEDG, said a day or two later that the 34-year-old Rice has too much baggage and is finished in the NFL.