DC Radio: 'Man Cave' To Debut Monday On ESPN 980

According to published reports, it appears "The Man Cave" will launch after all on WTEM 980 AM, WWXT 92.7 FM and WWXX 94.3 FM  / ESPN 980 starting Monday, March 30.

The new morning show was originally "canceled" the day before it was scheduled to debut on March 16.  At the time, it was reported that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who also owns the radio station, was seeking to kill the program to silence a prominent media critic of his team.

Now, according to The Washington Post, the show will start Monday March 30, although there is no mention on the station's website, as of this writing.

And there's no word on the status of WTEM Program Director Chuck Sapienza. He was either fired or resigned during the dust-up.

The show, which will be co-hosted by former Washington Post columnist Jason Reid and veteran radio and TV personality Chris Paul, was scheduled to debut March 16.

However, the show did not air as scheduled, and the station offered no explanation to listeners. Instead, it aired ESPN Radio’s nationally syndicated “Mike and Mike” show, which has occupied that time period on ESPN 980 for years and apparently will now move to SportsTalk WSPZ 570 AM, a sister station also operated by Red Zebra Broadcasting, the parent company owned by Snyder.

Several individuals associated with ESPN 980 and in the local radio industry alleged that Redskins management ordered “The Man Cave” killed to get back at Reid for his criticism of team management. A sports-talk rival, WJFK 106.7 FM / the Fan, gleefully aired promotional spots mocking the Snyder-owned station.

WTEM and Red Zebra officials have not explained the reason for the delay.  And there's no explanation as to why the show is suddenly back-on.  But, the reason could be as simple as owner Daniel Snyder doesn't want to pay Reid and Paul for doing nothing during their two year contracts.

And in a bizarre and unexplained subplot, The Washington Post reports someone made prank calls to WTEM this month claiming to be John Skippers, the president of ESPN — one of the most powerful sports media figures in the country — and demanding the show’s cancellation, and nearly succeeded.

While the call was a hoax, the person making them mimicked Skipper’s Southern drawl and knew enough about ESPN 980’s inner workings to initially convince station executives that they were from Skipper.

After a flurry of phone calls between ESPN management and WTEM management, it became clear the call was a hoax. And ESPN Radio, issued a statement:

“ESPN did not determine the local programming changes by the Washington, D.C., radio affiliate, nor did any member of ESPN management reach out to the decision makers in order to influence any such decisions."

Still unanswered is why “The Man Cave” was delayed — and why ESPN 980 has not offered an explanation to listeners.