Courtesy St. Louis Post Dispatch

(May 15, 2009) The yanking of Jim Hanifan from the Rams radio booth has caused quite a stir among listeners who loved his blunt, no-nonsense analysis. Gone will be his blistering criticism when players on the home team messed up, something that was immensely refreshing to listeners who endured a team that was 5-27 the last two seasons.

Gone too probably will be the delay-system that was implemented on the broadcasts in case Hanifan became infuriated and uttered a word that he often used on the sidelines when he was coaching.

The shift of Hanifan from the booth to the pre- and postgame shows this season is tied to the move of the broadcasts from KLOU (103.3 FM) to WXOS (101.1 FM), the area's newest sports-talk station.

Without Hanifan, the broadcasts will be OK. Steve Savard, who is back for his 10th season, is solid on play-by-play. D'Marco Farr should develop into a fine solo analyst after gaining experience in the No. 2 role behind Hanifan last season.

But is simply "OK" the way for the 101.1 FM to start its run with the local NFL team, especially after debuting at the bottom of the heap among the three stations skirmishing for the audience in local sports-talk radio? You'd think not.

This isn't a shot at Farr; it's about removing Hanifan, who with his brusque, heartfelt and insightful analysis is the voice that separated Rams broadcasts from the norm. In fact, Savard often had his finger near the "cough button," the device that cuts off his microphone, during the broadcasts so he wouldn't be heard cracking up to a Hanifan outburst.

"I'm on that cough button at least once a half with 'Hanny' because what he's saying is hilarious — or so brutally honest — it catches me off guard,'' Savard said. "I never know what's coming with 'Hanny.'"

A DIFFERENT SPORT

The multitude of games each week in baseball, basketball and hockey leads fans of those sports to often listen to the radio while doing other things. But the NFL, with its once-a-week schedule of contests in time slots that are appealing to the masses, becomes appointment viewing — people carve out the three hours to watch the home team on TV.

Thus these radio broadcasts need to offer something extra to pull listeners who are in front of the tube. And Hanifan was that hook for Rams radio.

Sure, WXOS wants its own identity. That's nothing new, and was a big reason why Wayne Hagin was run out of the Cardinals' booth in favor of John Rooney when the Redbirds changed flagship radio stations four seasons ago. Sure, Hanifan will be 76 in September and might slow down soon. But Hanifan, who has deep ties to the last two eras of St. Louis pro football (Cardinals as well as Rams), gave no indication of that on the air last year and certainly wants to continue in the booth.

"I heard from a lot of people who got upset about it,'' Hanifan said Thursday. "It's kind of like a kick in the rear end, but I don't want to create a big deal about this.''

WXOS program director Jason Barrett preaches patience and said he's not surprised by a public outcry about the move.

"I totally expected that; he's an institution and everybody loves the guy," Barrett said. "It's a testament to Jim, he's a great talent. But it's also May. People haven't heard (the new lineup) yet. Once they hear the broadcast I'm confident they'll enjoy what they hear. I think D'Marco's the future in the broadcast. He's a helluva analyst, it's going to be a good thing. It's time to realize that potential.''

Barrett also touts the fact that Hanifan will be accessible on the postgame show.

"Going home from a game you can talk to him now (via calls) and before you couldn't connect with him," Barrett said. "For people who love 'Hanny,' you'll get the chance to interact with the guy, whereas you didn't get that before."

Then why not keep him in the booth and also on the postgame programming?

In simple logic you'd think WXOS would want to provide every reason for fans to listen, not any reason not to listen to the game broadcasts. The removal of Hanifan from the booth surely falls into the latter category.

"The Rams couldn't be more pleased with the broadcast team (WXOS) has assembled to bring Rams' football into our valued fans' cars and homes,'' team executive vice president Kevin Demoff said in a statement. "We share (the station's) commitment to putting the best possible product on the air.''

Great — then it's obvious what to do.

There are 13 weeks until the Rams' first exhibition game. In that span, logic needs to prevail and have Hanifan reinstated to the broadcasts. He, along with loads of listeners, would like that.

"Oh yeah,'' Hanifan said. "But the ball's in their court.''