George Plaster

George Plaster (born 1959 in Nashville, Tennessee) is the popular host of "The Sports Zone", a daily afternoon sports talk radio program broadcasting on WGFX-FM (104.5 The Zone) in Nashville, Tennessee. Plaster has hosted the show since shortly after its 2003 inception, and for ten years prior, hosted "SportsNight", a similar program on WWTN-FM. Plaster also hosts "The State Auto SportsZone", a weekly television show that airs on Sunday nights from August to May on WZTV. [http://www.fox17.com/sections/sports_zone/video.shtml]

Contract dispute

In the summer of 2003, Plaster was the central figure in a very public contract dispute which led to, and later hampered, his move to WGFX. When Cumulus Media agreed to purchase WWTN from Gaylord Entertainment Company, Plaster invoked a contract loophole which voided his contract with WWTN. Earlier in the year, however, Plaster had begun negotiations with Citadel Broadcasting Company to move his show to then-Classic Rock station WGFX (Plaster was suspended from WWTN for nearly two weeks in February 2003 after Gaylord officials reportedly learned of his backroom dealings). Plaster left WWTN in July just as the sale to Cumulus was completed, having been employed by the station since the early 1990s. He announced through other media that his show would resume on WGFX in August.

However, on August 11, 2003, just hours before he was to debut on WGFX, Cumulus (with assistance from Gaylord) was granted an injunction in Davidson County Chancery Court, preventing Plaster from appearing on his new show. Cumulus had sought to quash Plaster's new contract, citing a non-compete clause in his original WWTN contract. Plaster was under the assumption the clause had been voided along with the contract, which had been signed by Gaylord Entertainment, not Cumulus. Cumulus then filed a breach of contract suit against Plaster, and he reacted with a countersuit alleging that Cumulus was illegally hampering his ability to make a living. Willy Daunic and Darren McFarland, who both also made the move to WGFX (though without legal consequence since neither was under contract to WWTN), took to the air in Plaster's place and continued that way for two full months. On October 11, the case was settled without trial, and Plaster received an undisclosed sum of money from Cumulus and Gaylord. He was also allowed to join his co-hosts on WGFX, where he continues to broadcast to this day.

Public perception in the ordeal favored Plaster, and most of his audience followed him to WGFX. Meanwhile, "SportsNight" continued at WWTN without Plaster, and was later moved to WNFN-FM, where it continued to compete with "The Sports Zone" until March 13, 2006. On that Wednesday, "SportsNight" was canceled and its hosts (those who once worked with Plaster) were fired, effectively ending the saga. "SportsNight" saw its ratings consistently and significantly drop in the three years following Plaster's departure. In July 2006, after three months of earning respectable ratings airing ESPN Radio programming against Plaster, WNFN launched "The Sports Guys", a new afternoon show hosted by legendary Nashville sportscaster Bob Bell and former Middle Tennessee State University head football coach Boots Donnelly.

Voice therapy

In February 2006, Plaster began to experience difficulties with his voice, which soon became serious enough that he was forced to curtail his on-air activities. He began receiving voice therapy at Vanderbilt University's Voice Clinic. In April 2006, Plaster's participation in "The Sports Zone" has been limited to online "cyberchat" on the station's website. On May 17 it was announced that Plaster would return to the airwaves on a limited, one-hour-per-day basis, effective with the May 19 show. He did so, conducting an interview with his good friend, former San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, and Vanderbilt University center (and current ESPN Radio basketball commentator) Will Perdue. In early June it was announced that he would begin to appear on the show for two hours daily.

Other work

Plaster formerly served as the play-by-play voice for Memphis State University and Vanderbilt University as well as the Nashville Kats Arena Football League franchise. In the mid-1990s, Plaster served as co-host of a television show entitled "Sports Talk" on WNAB-TV.

In addition to his daily radio show, Plaster currently hosts a regular video on demand show available to Middle Tennessee's Comcast subscribers, entitled "Plaster On Demand", which is shot after every Tennessee Titans home game. Plaster also broadcasts occasional basketball games for Western Kentucky University's radio network and Georgia Tech football games for cable television network CSS.

Honors

In 2006, Plaster was named to the inaugural "Talkers Magazine" "Talkers 250" list [http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44] , highlighting the 250 most influential talk radio hosts in America. He remained on the list in 2007 and 2008.

Personal life

Plaster is a Nashville native. He is not married.

George Plaster is a graduate of Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, TN, where he will be inducted into their Distinguished Alumnus Hall of Fame in June 2008. Also, he attended and earned a degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

External links

* [http://www.1045thezone.com/?pid=5189 George Plaster bio at 1045thezone.com]