By Paul Sykes
Johnny Renshaw, the former afternoon drive guy on the defunct 93.1 The Ticket radio station, has resurfaced in Louisville on television. He’s hosting an hour-long sports show on the CW (Channel 7 on Insight) from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. five nights a week. It’s not for the faint of heart or puritanical, catering to the under 25, thug boy wannabe crowd out there. Funny since Renshaw appears to be part of the over-40 generation.
He definitely isn’t a fan of Steve Kragthorpe, based on the numerous two word slurs he heaped on the Cards football coach during the Wednesday night airing my brother and I viewed last night. Jabbering against a backdrop of music and movie posters on his set in Jeffersontown, Renshaw reviews the important college basketball games that took place earlier in the evening, has a guest via telephone (last night was Sporting News radio personality Arnie Spanyer).
He discusses point spreads, conference standings, and details of his personal life while “busting” raps and rhymes about callers, himself and celebrities. Jay Leno he is not. But, if you enjoyed the radio show, you’ll be entertained with his non-stop, gear changing rambles on the world of college basketball and his personal trials and tribulations.
This show isn’t for everybody. It’s a bizarre version of Sportscenter, complete with clips of the highlights of the sports day. Some viewers probably don’t get the direct and indirect references to adolescent life he tosses out non-stop. But, for a much different look and approach to sports than the traditional “talking heads” take, it’s worth a look.