The San Jose Earthquakes announced Thursday that 1220 KDOW will broadcast all Earthquakes games on the radio in English in 2009. The agreement marks the Quakes return to the airwaves in the English language after airing games in Spanish only in 2008. The Earthquakes also announced that they will broadcast all 15 home games in Spanish exclusively on the team's official website, sjearthquakes.com.
"We are happy to air every Earthquakes game live on the radio in 2009," said Earthquakes Executive Vice President David Alioto. "KDOW is the ideal station for us to re-launch our English-language radio network."
The game broadcasts on KDOW kick off this Saturday, March 21 when the Quakes host the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. PT at Buck Shaw Stadium. All 30 regular season games will air live. As part of the agreement, Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop will appear every Sunday during the season on KDOW's weekly sports show, Sports Ramble. Yallop will appear with host Chetan Chaudhari at 8:30 p.m. PT each Sunday to talk Quakes soccer.
"KDOW is proud to partner with the Earthquakes," said KDOW General Sales Manager Wade Sherman. "The team has a long tradition of success and a strong fan base. We are looking forward to sharing the excitement of Earthquakes soccer with our audience on the Bay Area's only 24-hour business talk station."
John Shrader will serve as the radio voice of the Earthquakes in 2009. He has been the voice of the Earthquakes (Clash) either on radio or television since 1996 and has worked in Bay Area broadcasting for over 25 years. He currently teaches journalism and media at San Jose State University, San Francisco State University and San Jose City College. Prior to his current duties, he spent 14 years at all-sports station KNBR 680 AM, where he hosted talk shows and covered the San Francisco 49ers. He has broadcast numerous events around the country, and spent time at two San Jose television stations, KNTV and KICU. For nearly a decade Shrader was the voice of San Jose State athletics. Shrader called the 2002 & 2003 MLS All-Star Games and the 2002 and 2003 MLS Cup Finals on the radio.
The Earthquakes will also launch Spanish-language web broadcasts this Saturday, March 21 on sjearthquakes.com. Fans can tune into every home game during the 2009 Earthquakes season by clicking on the "Multimedia" link at sjearthquakes.com. Carlos Cesar Rivera returns for his second consecutive season as the voice of the Quakes and his fifth overall. A native of El Salvador, Rivera hosts a popular sports talk show from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. PT Monday through Friday on 1370 AM that covers MLS, Mexican League soccer, as well as many other sports. Rivera, who has worked in radio in the Bay Area for over 25 years, has also called games for the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks in his career.
