Sean Baligian
Encyclopedia
Sean Baligian is a sports radio broadcaster who was on the Detroit sports airwaves, for WDFN
and WJR
. He is a native of Livonia, Michigan
and graduated from Livonia Stevenson High School.
in Toledo, Ohio
in 1995. In 1997, he was named sports director and host of The Evening Sports Show. Baligian broadcasted several sports for the station including OHL
hockey, CCHA
hockey, and was the analyst for both University of Toledo
football and basketball.
In 1998 he began working part-time for WJR
in Detroit, doing a Sunday call-in show. He worked on the Detroit Lions
post-game show with former Lion Greg Landry
.
He began working for WDFN in May 1999 and left WSPD in August 1999 to work for WDFN full time. He hosted the 9:00 am–12:00 pm show It is What It Is (a reference to a quote given to reporters by former Detroit Lions
running back James Stewart) as well as a weekly fantasy football show Fantasy Sports Geekly which ran from August through December. Baligian co-hosted Ice Time, a WDFN seasonal weekly hockey program, with fellow WDFN personality Greg Brady
. Baligian would briefly work for both WDFN and WSPD again in 2004, and in May
of that year he moved his Toledo afternoon sports talk show to WCWA
when the station went all-sports. All three stations are owned by Clear Channel
.
Baligian writes a fantasy football blog during the football season for Mlive.com. His fantasy football column has also appeared in The Detroit News
.
Sean has also begun the underground movement of MEATA—Men Eating All the Tasty Animals—in response to all the media coverage offered to PETA
for its every action due to its fashionable support by certain high-profile celebrities. In celebration of all things MEATA, Sean has begun an annual barbecue-style outing where all people are extended an open invite to enjoy, which has evolved into a charity food drive. This event is simply known as MEATA, and held at a different Detroit-area location each summer. The 2007 MEATA was held in the parking lot of the Compuware Sports Arena
in Plymouth, Michigan
.
On December 9, 2005, to protest the contract extension of Detroit Lions
general manager Matt Millen
, Baligian organized an "Angry Fan March" at Ford Field
, where several hundred fans carried signs and chanted "Fire Millen!" and other comments for about 45 minutes. "This was never about hating the Lions," Baligian was quoted as saying about the march. "It's about loving the Lions. We deserved better."
On October 17, 2007, Baligian was named Best Radio Sports Talk Host by the Detroit Metro Times for the people, places and things that make metro Detroit great.
Sean hosted the first edition of the renamed Detroit Lions
postgame show on October 21, 2007 called "Cornbread Corner". The name was chosen by the fans on an on line poll after the Lions demanded that WDFN stop calling their postgame show The WDFN Detroit Lions Postgame Show. The reference to cornbread
was a running joke at WDFN: "eating the cornbread" refers to the blind optimism many Detroit Lions fans show prior to the start of the season (similar to the expression "drinking the Kool-Aid"). Another Detroit sports radio station, WXYT, owns the broadcast rights to the Lions' broadcasts and the Lions asserted that WDFN was infringing on their trademark.
Sean also wrote a monthly column for In Play! Magazine magazine, beginning with the premiere issue in April 2007.
On January 20, 2009, it was announced by WDFN that Baligian, among other WDFN hosts were being let go, as the station would begin to air syndicated national sports content.
On Monday, August 17, 2009, Sean Baligian started an afternoon drive show with Ryan Terpstra, on the new ESPN 96.1, in Grand Rapids, MI
On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, Sean Baligian resumed hosting the morning show on WDFN from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Monday through Friday.
On Monday, October 24, 2011, Sean Baligian announced that he was parting ways with WDFN and his show: Sean, Terp, and Killer, which was broadcast weekdays from 3-6pm.
WDFN
WDFN is a sports-talk radio station in the Detroit, Michigan, market. It broadcasts in the AM radio band at 1130 kHz. WDFN is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season, was the flagship station for the Detroit Pistons....
and WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
. He is a native of Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
and graduated from Livonia Stevenson High School.
Radio career
He began his radio career as a producer/reporter at WSPDWSPD
WSPD — branded The Talk of Toledo - 1370 WSPD — is a news-talk radio station licensed to Toledo, Ohio. WSPD broadcasts on a full-time basis with 5,000 watts, including a directional signal pattern at night...
in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
in 1995. In 1997, he was named sports director and host of The Evening Sports Show. Baligian broadcasted several sports for the station including OHL
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
hockey, CCHA
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...
hockey, and was the analyst for both University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
football and basketball.
In 1998 he began working part-time for WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
in Detroit, doing a Sunday call-in show. He worked on the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
post-game show with former Lion Greg Landry
Greg Landry
Gregory Paul Landry is a former American football player and coach who played quarterback in the National Football League from 1968 to 1981 and again in 1984...
.
He began working for WDFN in May 1999 and left WSPD in August 1999 to work for WDFN full time. He hosted the 9:00 am–12:00 pm show It is What It Is (a reference to a quote given to reporters by former Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
running back James Stewart) as well as a weekly fantasy football show Fantasy Sports Geekly which ran from August through December. Baligian co-hosted Ice Time, a WDFN seasonal weekly hockey program, with fellow WDFN personality Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...
. Baligian would briefly work for both WDFN and WSPD again in 2004, and in May
May 2004
May 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:...
of that year he moved his Toledo afternoon sports talk show to WCWA
WCWA
WCWA is a radio station licensed to and serving Toledo, Ohio. It is the second-oldest radio station in Toledo, and during AM radio's heyday it was a close second in popularity to WSPD-AM for many years.-History:...
when the station went all-sports. All three stations are owned by Clear Channel
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
Baligian writes a fantasy football blog during the football season for Mlive.com. His fantasy football column has also appeared in The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
.
Sean has also begun the underground movement of MEATA—Men Eating All the Tasty Animals—in response to all the media coverage offered to PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
for its every action due to its fashionable support by certain high-profile celebrities. In celebration of all things MEATA, Sean has begun an annual barbecue-style outing where all people are extended an open invite to enjoy, which has evolved into a charity food drive. This event is simply known as MEATA, and held at a different Detroit-area location each summer. The 2007 MEATA was held in the parking lot of the Compuware Sports Arena
Compuware Sports Arena
The Compuware Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Plymouth Township, Michigan. Originally known as the "Compuware Sports Arena," its name was officially shortened on September 11, 2007, to better market the venue for non-sporting events it hosted.-History:...
in Plymouth, Michigan
Plymouth, Michigan
Plymouth is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,132 at the 2010 census. The City of Plymouth is an enclave completely surrounded by Plymouth Charter Township, Michigan.-Geography:...
.
On December 9, 2005, to protest the contract extension of Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
general manager Matt Millen
Matt Millen
Matthew George "Matt" Millen is an American former National Football League linebacker and a former executive. Millen played for the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins. In Millen's 12-year NFL playing career, he played on four Super Bowl-winning teams...
, Baligian organized an "Angry Fan March" at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
, where several hundred fans carried signs and chanted "Fire Millen!" and other comments for about 45 minutes. "This was never about hating the Lions," Baligian was quoted as saying about the march. "It's about loving the Lions. We deserved better."
On October 17, 2007, Baligian was named Best Radio Sports Talk Host by the Detroit Metro Times for the people, places and things that make metro Detroit great.
Sean hosted the first edition of the renamed Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
postgame show on October 21, 2007 called "Cornbread Corner". The name was chosen by the fans on an on line poll after the Lions demanded that WDFN stop calling their postgame show The WDFN Detroit Lions Postgame Show. The reference to cornbread
Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...
was a running joke at WDFN: "eating the cornbread" refers to the blind optimism many Detroit Lions fans show prior to the start of the season (similar to the expression "drinking the Kool-Aid"). Another Detroit sports radio station, WXYT, owns the broadcast rights to the Lions' broadcasts and the Lions asserted that WDFN was infringing on their trademark.
Sean also wrote a monthly column for In Play! Magazine magazine, beginning with the premiere issue in April 2007.
On January 20, 2009, it was announced by WDFN that Baligian, among other WDFN hosts were being let go, as the station would begin to air syndicated national sports content.
On Monday, August 17, 2009, Sean Baligian started an afternoon drive show with Ryan Terpstra, on the new ESPN 96.1, in Grand Rapids, MI
On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, Sean Baligian resumed hosting the morning show on WDFN from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Monday through Friday.
On Monday, October 24, 2011, Sean Baligian announced that he was parting ways with WDFN and his show: Sean, Terp, and Killer, which was broadcast weekdays from 3-6pm.