Beverley excited for his, NBA’s future
Deal with Clippers means Beverley can compete for title with two of NBA’s best
For a moment after he heard Paul George was headed to the Clippers, Pat Beverley wondered if he was being traded to Oklahoma City.
“I heard the news from Chandler Parsons,” Beverley said. The two former Rockets were hanging out in Las Vegas this summer when Parsons told Beverley the Clippers had won the free-agent battle for Kawhi Leonard.
“I was like, ‘OK, cool. Awesome,’ ” Beverley said. “Then he said, ‘I think you just got Paul George, too. I bet they traded you to OKC.’ ” Beverley laughed.
“I’m glad that’s not how it went down,” he said.
The Clippers did land the two superstars and Beverley will play alongside both as he enters his eighth season in the NBA. It’s been a long, winding road for the defensive specialist, but he’s loving every minute of it. And he credits the Rockets for their part in it.
“That’s the organization that gave me my chance,” he said. “This is where I started, where I really got my chance
Sean Pendergast, Lord’s former afternoon co-host, will move into the morning drive time slot alongside former Texans defensive lineman Seth Payne that was vacated by Meltser’s departure.
Landry Locker and John Lopez will continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the only weekday time slot unaffected by Thursday’s decisions not to renew the contracts of Meltser, who has worked at KILT since 2010, and Lord.
Lord’s departure represents a sharp break with KILT’s sports talk heritage. He joined KILT in 1995, less than a year after it switched to an all-sports format, and has been heard on Houston area radio stations since the late 1980s.
“This is a job that helped me get
through the major portion of my adult life,” Lord, 61, said. “It helped me put my daughter through college and allowed me to work a dream job.
“For decades, I’ve been doing what a lot of people would do for free, which is come in and talk about sports for four hours. I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate.”
Lord said he hopes to continue in radio, adding, “I feel I can still do the job as well as I’ve ever done it, and if someone out there is interested in having me represent them, I would love to talk with them.”
The decision to part ways with Lord and Meltser is the latest shakeup at KILT under program director Armen Williams, who was hired from Denver earlier this year with the charge of turning around a ratings decline that began taking shape in 2017 and has
accelerated in recent months.
Williams last month dropped morning drive co-host Paul Gallant and hired relative radio newcomer Matthew Jarecki as the station’s late-night host.
Sarah Frazier, Entercom’s Houston market manager, said Lord “played an instrumental role in building this heritage station and will always be an integral part of its legacy. We’re thankful for his work ethic and contributions to the station over the years and wish him the best.”
Regarding the new afternoon lineup, Frazier said Stoerner “has a natural connection with the audience and a distinct delivery and southern charm. (Kamla) brings a national platform with instant recognition from his years at NBA TV, and his passion for sports will be evident instantly.”
Lord, a native of Brooklyn, moved to Texas in 1981 and
worked at stations in El Campo and Rosenberg before joining allnews KTRH (740 AM) full time in early 1989.
He moved to KILT in 1995 and worked with former Houston Post columnist Kenny Hand from 199599, with Charlie Pallilo from 19992005 and over the next decade with Matt Jackson, Robert Henslee, Josh Innes, Pendergast and former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson.
Meltser, a graduate of Syracuse University and a recent graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, joined KILT in 2010. He began as a solo host before joining Brad Davies in 2011-13 and Payne in 2013. Their show was moved from middays to morning drive in 2016.
“I was concerned that this (his departure) might happen,” Meltser said. “Our job on the radio is to criticize people if the results aren’t good, and our results against (other Houston sports talk stations) have not been great the last couple of months. So I respect their decision.”
Meltser said he hopes to seek other opportunities in broadcasting and said he was grateful to Gavin Spittle, the station’s former program director, for bringing him to Houston and to Payne, his on-air partner since 2013.
“Coming to Houston changed my life in a positive way,” he said. “I love the city, and I appreciate the nine years that I had at (SportsRadio 610).”
As for Payne, he said, “Seth is as good as any former athlete working on sports radio in the country, and I hope people appreciates what they have in him. The six years with Seth was a wonderful experience.”