Jeff Haney says new ‘Leroy’s Sports Hour’ on-air time is a winner for host, gamblers

By Jeff Haney

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008 | 2 a.m.

By his own admission, John Kelly was “going nuts” during a recent two-month hiatus from “Leroy’s Sports Hour,” which left him without a daily platform for his observations about sports gambling.

Kelly, the host of the Las Vegas-based show sponsored by Leroy’s sports books, returned to the air Monday on a new station, at a new time, with an expanded presence.

Beginning this week, the program is scheduled to be broadcast from 10 to 11 p.m. seven days a week, 365 days a year, on KLAV 1230-AM.

(Full disclosure: I will appear as a guest on tonight’s show.)

The new time and place for the show comes two months after Leroy’s sports books’ relationship with Lotus Broadcasting ended. It previously aired weekday afternoons on Fox Sports Radio affiliate KBAD 920-AM.

Not only did Kelly welcome the switch to a seven-days-a-week slate, he pushed for it. In fact, Kelly said, the weekend version of the show could be expanded from one to two hours as football betting heats up.

“It’s an extension of what I do already, an extension of my life,” said Kelly, an avid sports bettor and handicapper. “It’s part of what I do already. It really helps keep me in tune with what’s going on.”

The benefits of the new station and revised schedule for Leroy’s Sports Hour appear to outweigh any drawbacks.

Going from five to seven days is a definite plus.

Although it’s difficult to describe a “typical” day for a Las Vegas sports bettor, the 10 p.m. starting time is about as close as possible to a universal sweet spot. If it were any earlier it would compete with West Coast baseball and basketball games. If it were much later it might degenerate into a niche program rather than a show with widespread appeal.

In terms of radio rivalries, the Leroy’s show figures to own its time slot. Instead of facing strong, locally driven competition in the afternoon, it mostly goes up against national sports-talk drivel that can charitably be described as noncompelling.

“I’m a radio junkie, too,” Kelly, a Northwestern graduate, said. “I’m a listener myself. I think this time slot gives us a nice opportunity to be the last word of the day in sports talk and in sports gambling.”

The show’s format is not expected to change substantially, with Kelly interacting with guests from the sports betting scene as well as focusing on special events such as the popular Leroy’s football handicapping invitational contest.

“The key is the guest list,” Kelly said. “We’ll continue to try to get the best guests we can.”

Another perk for listeners: Only six minutes of each hour are scheduled for commercials.

PGA Championship

With Tiger Woods sitting out another major, the PGA Championship is considered wide open, and the odds reflect it.

Phil Mickelson is listed as the 8-1 favorite to win the event, which takes place Thursday through Sunday at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Mich.

Every other starter — including British Open champion Padraig Harrington — is 20-1 or higher, according to odds at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book. Also listed at 20-1 are Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh.

Woods, the two-time defending PGA champ, would typically be a heavy favorite in the range of even money to 2-1.

Mickelson, who won the event in 2005, is pitted against Furyk in one of 15 head-to-head matchups at the Hilton.

The over/under on the winning score is 277 1/2, and it’s minus-200 (risk $2 to net $1) there will not be a hole-in-one.