Houston Radio: Lance Zierlein EXITS SportsTalk KBME

Lance Zierlein

Radio Vet Lance Zierlein aired his last show Friday on iHM's SportsTalk KBME 790 AM.

Starting Monday, SportsTalk 790 afternoon host Josh Innes will take over the 6-9 am show, while Zierlein's partner Matt Thomas moves to middays.

“Honestly, I need a break,” Zierlein told CultureMap Houston. “Getting up early day-after-day, my alarm goes off at 4:43 am, can be challenging. It gets even tougher when you work a second job for NFL.com. It just wears you down.”

Zierlein is sticking with his writing position at NFL.com.

“I am responsible for draft content on NFL.com and that includes 500 draft profiles each year. That requires substantial film study and additional background work. I will be starting my work earlier this season to get a head start,” he said.

Zierlein is one of the most enduring, successful sports hosts in Houston radio history – two decades on the air talking Rockets, Astros, and Texans. And food and hip-hop and eventually five children. During that time, he crisscrossed the AM dial, working for SportsRadio 610 (KILT-AM), SB Nation 1560 (KGOW 1560), and SportsTalk 790 (KBME-AM).

At least for now. He is keeping the door open for a return to radio in the future.