“Drive Time,” a sports talk radio program that premiered April 30 on ESPN 106.5 FM The Ticket, broadcasts every weeknight from 5 to 7 p.m. Hosts Mike Miller and Anthony Bellino talk to guests about a variety of sports. What makes the radio show unique? For starters, “Drive Time” is broadcast from a car dealership, Monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM Superstore.

“We are very proud and excited to have two quality people like Mike Miller and Anthony Bellino,” Superstore owner Ralph Mahalak, Jr. said.  “Both have great resumes in the sporting and broadcasting world, but the emphasis of the show will be their interviews with great guests recognized both nationally and locally.”

The talk show hosts, both from Monroe, have a long history of sports broadcasting.

Miller began his career in 1980 as the play-by-play voice of the International Hockey League’s Toledo Goaldiggers and went on to spend nine seasons as the radio voice for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Occasionally, SiriusXM Radio will recruit Miller to broadcast various sporting events, including the Presidents Cup of the PGA Tour.

In the spring of 2011, Miller broadcasted his 2000th game.

Bellino is the public address announcer for the Toledo Mud Hens and the University of Michigan’s Wolverines baseball. He is also a voice of Rockets football at the University of Toledo and a voice of both the men’s and women’s basketball programs at UT.

Together, Miller and Bellino will interview guests from all types of athletic backgrounds.

“‘Drive Time’ is going to be a multi-faceted show,” Mahalak said. “Miller and Bellino will be covering all sports, not just basketball and football.

“The goal of the show is to have three to four guests every night over the course of two hours.”

Mike Miller, left, and Anthony Bellino.

The radio show’s first guests were Mario Impemba, the play-by-play broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers, and Miami Heat television host and courtside reporter Jason Jackson. Audie Cole, an NFL draft pick from Monroe, was also interviewed.

A majority of “Drive Time” will broadcast from inside the Monroe Superstore, but a portion will come from remote locations at sporting or high-charity events.

“We want to get our listeners involved,” Bellino said. “We want to get out there and see the event firsthand, but we also want to be seen by our audience.”

In addition to being on the scene, Bellino also hopes to capture a larger audience by utilizing

social media.

“Drive Time” has its own Twitter account and works with 106.5 FM The Ticket’s Facebook page. By providing alternative methods of communication with the show, Bellino said he believes he can reach younger listeners.

“Since I am younger, I think I can stay on top of the social media and bring a younger demographic into the news sports show,” he said. “This will not be the typical sports radio with a group of 50-year-olds rambling about sports. We want to hear from everyone. If the phone lines get jammed, younger listeners can use social media as another avenue to contact us live on the show.”

Listeners who do not live in the Toledo area can still stream “Drive Time” live online or on their smartphones. The sports talk show will also be aired on 1470 AM in addition to The Ticket.

The Superstore is located at 15160 S. Dixie Highway in Monroe.

“People are always coming in and out of here,” Mahalak said. “We’re really excited for the show, because there’s going to be a lot of action and energy right here.”

Tags: Anthony Bellino, Jr., Mario Impemba, Mike Miller, Monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Superstore, Ralph Mahalak

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2012 at 7:50 am and is filed under Media, Sports.
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Inspirational speaker Ronnie Bachman will bring his anti-bullying message to several Toledo-area middle-schoolers this week as part of his 11-state tour.

Bachman had a birth defect that led to his legs being amputated when he was 4 years old. Although he had prosthetics, Bachman abandoned them in favor of walking on his hands by the time he turned 18.

Ralph Mahalak Jr., left and Ronnie Bachman.

The Detroit native doesn’t let his disability slow him down physically or emotionally. He encourages middle-school students to do the same.

“Often I’ll say to them, ‘It’s not important what happens to you, it’s important how you handle what happens to you,’” he said.

Bachman attended Cody High School and Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Metro Detroit because he wanted to be a radio personality. When he was trying to break into the business, he became the subject of the documentary “Walk This Way,” which received several awards. The documentary was co-produced by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, who also makes a cameo. Bachman counts Tyler as a friend of 36 years.

“I was walking around on my hands, messing around with [Tyler’s] stuff backstage in his dressing room and a guy came in and said, ‘Wow, dude, look how you get around.’ And without missing a beat, Steven said, ‘We walk like this (gestures at feet), but Ronnie walks this way.’ And it was like a new thing was born,” Bachman said.

Kathryn Vander, director and producer of the documentary, first asked Bachman to speak to middle-schoolers in the ’90s. Bachman was reluctant, but once he made his first presentation, he was hooked.

“As soon as I was done, someone asked me to do it again. And I did it again. And to make a long story short, that’s well over 1,000 shows ago.”

“Walk This Way” is also the name of Bachman’s book, which is slated for release this winter. In addition, Jeff Thomas of Rainstorm Pictures in Monroe shot a pilot for a potential Bachman reality TV show. Thomas is trying to sell it to networks, Bachman said.

Monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Superstore sponsored the local section of Bachman’s tour. The Superstore is part of the Dodge 20 group, a network of dealerships that help support each other. Dodge 20 members along with Linamar Corporation are sponsoring Bachman’s other stops, including those in Canada. Bachman’s tour stops for Nov. 7 to 11 include Washington Junior High, Whiteford Middle School, Monroe-area Catholic schools, Dundee Middle School, Ida Middle School, Wagar Middle School and Carleton/ Newport-area Catholic schools.

Ralph Mahalak Jr., owner of Monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Superstore, met Bachman about 12 years ago. He brought Bachman to speak for the Dodge 20 group in Detroit a couple of years ago.

“Unilaterally, 100 percent of them (in Dodge 20) signed up to invite Ronnie to their communities so Ronnie could get into the schools in their areas,” Mahalak said. “We need to get his message out as quickly as we can and to as many kids as we can. It certainly seems bullying has gone to a new level with these teenagers and you’re seeing more suicides and more kids getting hurt. All I can say is we can’t save everyone, but we can certainly try.”

Tags: Carleton/ Newport-area Catholic schools, Dodge 20, Dundee Middle School, Ida Middle School, Monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Superstore, Monroe-area Catholic schools, Ralph Mahalak Jr., Ronnie Bachman, Steven Tyler, Wagar Middle School, Washington Junior High, Whiteford Middle School

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 10:53 am and is filed under Education, Star.
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