Courtesy Charlotte Observer

(March 18, 2009) When Gary Williams left WFNZ radio in January after almost 10 years, it left a big hole in the local sports-talk scene. Williams, 42, was the best in town, and while WFNZ has made moves to replace him, what's left isn't nearly as good.

Williams now hosts “The First Word with Gary Williams” weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on SIRIUS/XM satellite radio, which is available to nearly 20 million subscribers . His show is part of a new all-sports channel, Mad Dog Radio, which is only available via satellite.

Williams began talks with SIRIUS officials in early December and he flew up for an audition just before Christmas. He was packing 10 days later. “I wasn't looking to leave,” Williams said. “I was totally stimulated and happy. When I started at WFNZ, it was to help build something and I think we did that. I consider this similar. There's not been a 24-hour committed national sports-talk radio channel. I love the fact that we can build this thing together.”

Williams moved to Livingston, N.J., where he's living in a condo with a friend. He drives 35 minutes into New York City to host his show. His wife and two daughters are in Charlotte, but Williams hopes to sell his house here and move his family soon.

While he's no longer working with a co-host, Williams' show will sound familiar to local listeners. He's well prepared and knowledgeable, only now his topics are more national . He said he doesn't think he took a risk by joining a company that was close to filing for bankruptcy protection last month.

“I don't want to live my life professionally, or personally, going ‘I wish I had,' ” Williams said. “This turned me on so much from the challenge of doing national radio, and if it doesn't work out we'll move on.”

If you don't have a satellite receiver but have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can hear Williams – or any other SIRIUS XM programming – this spring. The satellite broadcaster plans to stream its subscription services to those Apple devices. Smart move.