Courtesy the St. Louis Post Dispatch

(January 28, 2011) The Birds are back at KMOX, and so is a beefed-up sports staff at a station that in the 1960s and '70s had what many consider to be the most stellar such department in radio history.

There's no Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Dan Dierdorf, Dan Kelly, Bob Starr, Bill Wilkerson, Gary Bender, Bob Burnes or Bob Broeg in the rotation. But there will be a few links to the glory days - Cards announcers Mike Shannon and John Rooney, plus Ron Jacober, are in the mix as 1120 AM expands its sports coverage beginning Monday when it goes to athletics-only programming from 6-midnight weekdays.

Mike Claiborne, who was dropped by KTRS (550 AM) shortly after it was announced last summer it was losing the Cards back to KMOX, and Scott Warmann have been added on a part-time basis. They'll augment a department that already includes sports director Tom Ackerman and staffer Kevin Wheeler, plus part-timers Jacober, Cards TV broadcaster Dan McLaughlin and Blues radio play-by-play man Chris Kerber.

It's not the murderers' row of KMOX's glory days. But the expansion in athletics coverage, centered around the return of the Cards to the station after their five-year departure to KTRS, plus the presence of Blues and Mizzou play-by-play, makes the "America's Sports Voice'' moniker more viable.

Wheeler will continue to be the primary host of "Sports Open Line,'' the caller-driven show that has been a KMOX staple since the 1960s. It airs from 6-9 on nights KMOX doesn't have play-by-play, then the new "Sports Hub'' follows until midnight and fills the spot John Carney's entertainment-oriented show held for 12 years. Carney has moved to morning-drive at KEZK (102.5 FM).

"There are so many dates that we carry games that it is hard for anybody who was a general interest talker to gain much traction,'' KMOX program director Steve Moore said Thursday.

Kerber, McLaughlin, Claiborne and Warmann will be the primary hosts of the "Hub" as well as being on pre- and post-game programming on game nights and also contribute to KMOX.com.

Ben Boyd, a highly regarded former producer at sports stations KSLG (1380 AM) and WXOS (101.1 FM), has been added as executive sports producer at KMOX and the "Hub'' will be more issues and guest-oriented than "Open Line,'' Moore said.

"What we're trying to do is put a different spin on sports in the evening, have a lot more guests and a lot of analysis of what's talking place not only in St. Louis but around the sports world,'' Moore said. "I can't say there won't be segments where we go to callers, but it's really going to be shorter segments, faster pace.''

KMOX also will get back the show Shannon and Claiborne conduct from Shannon's restaurant, a program produced by the team, and it's scheduled to air Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays following home games. This show generates some of the best baseball banter found anywhere, and the move from KTRS back to KMOX will make it available to a much wider national audience.

KMOX also will have a bevy of weekends sports fare, including Jacober's "Sports on a Sunday Morning'' and a lot of shows with McLaughlin.

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