Sandy Clough returns to 104.3 The Fan on Monday - alone

Mystery solved.

The last time Denver sports talk radio listeners heard Sandy Clough on the airwaves on 104.3 The Fan was way back in the beginning of April when he covered the NCAA basketball “Final Four” for the station. Since then, the veteran host has been the subject of much speculation and his absence from The Fan’s lineup has been a closely guarded mystery as well as a total bummer for his legions of listeners.

Clough will be all alone – and on 104.3 The Fan – once again beginning Monday, July 25. He will take the place of “The Football Insider with Cecil Lammey” 10 a.m. to noon on weekdays. It’s a time slot Clough has previously occupied.

Lammey will remain The Fan’s Broncos Insider and will almost certainly play the role of fill-in when other hosts are not available. Listeners can only hope that Lammey’s fantastic fantasy football show, Gametime Decisions, also returns for 2016.

Sandy Clough is easily the most respected if not beloved sports radio talk show host in the Denver market. For him to disappear for the entire summer was extremely odd, especially since the station continued to refer to the noon to three show as “Sandy and Stokley” – referring to Clough and his short-term co-host, former Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley – even though Charles “CJ” Johnson had seemingly taken Clough’s place on the program.

I did much digging into Sandy Clough’s disappearance, tapping every Fan insider I knew for more information. One thing I can say for Bonneville International, The Fan’s new parent Company, is that they do a great job of keeping people quiet. All I ever got from anybody was the company line which was that Clough was ill and that there was no timeline for his return. From people outside the station, though, including some of Clough’s friends and former colleagues, I was able to assemble other scattered bits of what may or may not have been information.

One resounding theme of the scuttlebutt was that Clough was unhappy. In the wake of the sale of 104.3 The Fan to Bonneville International, several things occurred which folks told me didn’t sit well with him. One of those things was the station’s firing of Scott Hastings and the manner in which is was handled. Another was the fact that he was paired with Brandon Stokley suddenly and without his knowledge. This was apparently a management decision based on the desire to involve more former NFL players at the station as part if its “never an off season for talking football” initiative. While this tactic has, by all reports, resulted in great ratings and happy advertisers for The Fan, it doesn’t jive with Sandy Clough’s style. For that matter, a co-host isn’t really his style, either.

Another thing that has been widely speculated is that Clough had flirtations with the new Altitude AM 950. Although I can by no means confirm this, I have heard rumors that the station and he discussed placing him in the time slot currently occupied by the nationally syndicated Rich Eisen show which airs from 10 a.m. to noon on Altitude. It’s possible (if not likely) that some type of non-compete arrangement made Clough’s transition to Altitude impossible.

****Update: according to the good folks at Altitude radio there was no contact whatsoever with Clough****

Whatever the case, listeners have been absolutely clamoring to hear Clough on the air again.

The great Denver Post media columnist Dusty Saunders once called Sandy Clough a sports “essayist” and it’s an apt description. Clough is a heady and contemplative type with an innate ability to keep his dialogue rolling in an almost “stream of consciousness” kind of way. While he has performed nicely with a range of different partners over the years, most listeners prefer to hear Sandy Clough all alone.

As for Clough’s most recent time slot,  12 – 3 p.m., it will continue to be occupied by his fill-in Charles Johnson and his former co-host Brandon Stokley which is a shame because, with all due respect to the both of them, that show sucks.

Welcome back, Sandy. We missed you.