HE'S BACK!
Lance Zierlein returns to Houston radio with Gow Media, will reunite with John Granato on ESPN 97.5
Nov 22, 2017, 8:53 am
One of the most prominent names in Houston sports talk will return to the air on Nov. 27 when Lance Zierlein re-joins the team at Gow Media.
Zierlein will reunite with John Granato on ESPN 97.5, on a show that will air each weekday morning from 7-9:30 a.m., reprising a legendary duo that dominated the Houston sports talk landscape for more than a decade.
“Lance has long been one of the top talents in sports. He can both inform and entertain,” said David Gow, CEO of Gow Media. “And to reunite John and Lance is a homerun. For years people have asked me when those two could do a show again – now the stars have aligned.”
The Bench will air from 7-9 a.m., followed by 30 minutes with Granato and Raheel Ramzanali. Zierlein will also make appearances throughout the day on the station's other shows.
Zierlein worked for Gow Media from 2007 until 2011 and was instrumental in the launch of the company’s initial station, 1560 The Game. He and Granato were the key players in that station’s birth after working together for roughly 10 years at 610 AM. Zeirlein most recently worked for SportsTalk 790.
He also works for NFL Network and specializes in draft coverage.
Zierlein’s addition adds to an already strong stable of radio talent at ESPN 97.5, SportsMap 94.1 and the SBNation Radio Network including Granato, Sean Salisbury, Charlie Pallilo, Barry Laminack, Joel Blank, Ramzanali, Del Olaleye, Patrick Creighton, Nate Griffin, Barry Warner and The Blitz with Fred Faour and A.J. Hoffman.
The local lineup at ESPN 97.5 will feature The Bench from 7-9 a.m., Granato and Raheel from 9-11 a.m. with Zierlein doing the first 30 minutes, Ramzanali and Olaleye hosting from 11-1 p.m., The Usual Suspects with Blank and Laminack from 1-4 p.m., and The Blitz from 4-7 p.m. Salisbury will move to the SBNation Radio Network to focus on his highly successful national show and TV show simulcast on beIN Sports.
In addition to the radio talent, the company added longtime columnist Ken Hoffman to CultureMap this year.
“Lance caps off a great year for us,” Gow said. “With Ken Hoffman, Charlie Pallilo and now Lance Zierlein joining our already-strong roster of talent, we believe we have assembled a “dream team” at Gow Media.”
Gow Media owns SportsMap, CultureMap, ESPN 97.5 FM, SportsMap 94.1 FM, the SBNation national radio network, PodcastArena, and Gow Media Audio Publishing, an audio book hosting site.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!