‘Bad Boy of Sports Radio’ set to bless local air waves starting Monday

Through the years, radio personality Allen Smothers has earned the title of being the “Bad Boy of Sports Radio.”

Yet, such has been merited over air waves in places like Fayetteville, N.C., and Florence, rather than those on the Grand Strand.

On Monday, that will all change.

Smothers will debut in the 7 a.m. morning slot for 100.3 The Team on Monday. The show will run for three hours on weekdays.

“For years, I’ve been able to do things in Florence and Fayetteville, talking about sports on the Grand Strand but our show mainly reaching places in Marion, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties,” Smothers said. “Eventually, I knew someone would open the door (here). I bided my time and it worked out, and I could not be more excited.”

The longtime radio personality each fall serves as the voice of high school football for HTC, along with being the play-by-play man for the Beach Ball Classic every December. Though previously making cameo appearances on local air waves — among them 100.3 The Team – his show will now be able to address the subject for which he is most knowledgeable, the Grand Strand sports scene.

“I’ve been a part of this market and people know who I am, but they’ve never heard my morning show before,”Smothers said. “While I’ll be on 100.3 The Team, I don’t work for Cumulus Broadcasting. I own content of my show, so I’ll be able to talk about local stories mostly, with 3 percent of the show being devoted to things on a national basis.”

In addition to autonomy in terms the show’s content, Smothers has leeway to expound on topics some would rather not tackle.

“Just like Dan Patrick or Jim Rome, I’ll be able to talk about what I believe is important to the local audience,” he said. “I’ll use language some have not heard on the radio before, some things people will wonder whether we can get away with.

“The first six weeks are always tough. But my friends and family are who I am mainly worried about. On my shows I talk about stuff in my life, my career, embarrassing moments in my life and the people in it. In Florence or Fayetteville, people don’t know who these particular people are … but here I will have to answer to people like my mom or (Myrtle Beach Mayor) John Rhodes, but I’m ready for that.”

According to Smothers, the show will now cover 13 counties in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions of the Palmetto State.

This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 8:17 PM with the headline "‘Bad Boy of Sports Radio’ set to bless local air waves starting Monday."