‘The Sports Leader’ now lags behind

How the mighty have fallen.

While there were some peripheral firings as well — longtime “creative director” at KNBR Tony Rhein was canned for the second time (he was also let go in the wake of the Larry Kreuger debacle in 2005, although both ended up back with the company), as was half of the afternoon show in the form of John Lund.

But the biggest hit was the company parting ways with longtime drive-time host Tom “Mr. T” Tolbert, a mainstay on the station for 28 years.

Tolbert’s stay in the Bay Area was even longer when you consider his three years spent in the early 1990s playing for the Golden State Warriors. A fan favorite with the Warriors, Tolbert was equally beloved when he got to KNBR and was paired with the late, great Ralph Barbieri.

Like former longtime KNBR host Gary Radnich, Tolbert was equally comfortable breaking down a zone defense as he was talking about pop culture.

What made Tolbert’s firing even harder to take, and to a lesser extent Lund’s, was the fact that they are being replaced by a couple of behind-the-scene guys who are now going to be on the mic. If the names Derek Papa and Greg Silver sound familiar, it’s because they are the sons of 49ers play-by-play and KNBR host Greg Papa and longtime NFL and until recently, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Mike Silver.

That kind of perceived nepotism has not sat well with KNBR fans on social media.

But fans are just as upset at KNBR’s parent company, Cumulus Media, which owns more than 400 stations around the country. The huge conglomerate and its bean counters decided that those fired last week — on the heels of another fan-favorite, Paul “Paulie Mac” MacCaffrey getting the heave-ho from the morning show about a year ago — had to be about money. Why pay these old heads gobs of money when these youngsters are willing to work for pennies on the dollar?

What companies like Cumulus don’t understand is that despite the dying medium that is radio, these voices are part of the community and can’t easily be replaced. Sorry, but Derek Papa and Greg Silver just don’t have the range or the life experiences to replace what was lost. Sure, they may know all the point spreads and all the fantasy football ins and outs, but they can’t bring a history of life to the airways like those who have been let go can.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years with the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers broadcasts, as KNBR is the flagship station for both. I can see the ratings for the station plummeting — I, for one, am a longtime sports-talk radio listener and I had all but given up on KNBR, except for Tolbert occasionally. Now there is no reason to tune it all.

If the Giants and 49ers take their balls elsewhere, that really will be the end of for the one-time “Sports Leader.” As it is, it’s on life support.

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Burlingame High School had two coaches receive honors this week.

Longtime cross country coach Steve “Obbie” O’Brien was named a Central Coast Section Honor Coach. O’Brien has spent 30 years coaching cross country at Burlingame, leading the Panthers to the 2023 CCS Division III title and sending scores of runners to the CIF State Meet.

What makes the CCS Honor Coach award even more satisfying is that they are nominated by their peers. Menlo-Atherton’s Eric Wilmurt, Hillsdale’s Chris Lucey and Burlingame’s Chris Coleman nominated O’Brien for the honor.

Burlingame volleyball coach Hannah Korslund was named to the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) 2024 class of 30 under 30 — the top 30 coaches under the age of 30. Korslund coached the Burlingame freshman team in 2022 before taking over the varsity job last year. In two varsity seasons, Korslund is 47-12. She led the 2023 squad to a CCS Division III championship and this year led the Panthers to a co-championship in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division and a spot in the CCS Open Division bracket.

“Both Hannah and Obbie are extremely deserving of these recognitions and exemplify the true meaning of what being a coach really means,” said Burlingame athletic director John Philipopoulos in an email. “We are very fortunate to have them both on our staff as are our students and entire BHS community.”

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There was a mistake in Monday’s CCS cross country roundup. Menlo-Atherton’s Cason Mitchell and Thomas Bernadicou both qualified for the CIF State Meet, but the Bears, as a team, did not.

Apparently I misread the “I,” indicating qualifying as an individual, next to their names as a “T” which would mean they qualified as a team.

Like I said earlier this week, it was long, busy weekend.

Nathan Mollat is in his 24th year covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.