Grant Paulsen has been a fixture on 106.7 The Fan for years now. Speaking to him, it’s simple to see why. He’s a pure communicator who’s a passionate sports activities fan. Grant may speak all day lengthy. He’s additionally in a position to present a degree of substance as effectively. Getting to talk with him was a pleasure, as he’s a really shiny thoughts within the media area. Right here is the dialog we had this morning.
Q: What do you concentrate on the latest MASN information and the way will it influence the franchise transferring ahead?
A: It’s a sport changer. I feel it is a large, large deal. This has been an ominous cloud hanging over the Nationals for a very long time. At its core, it’s simply ridiculous that the Orioles owned the Nats native TV rights. This could give them the chance even in an unpredictable period of native TV and Main League Baseball of constructing more cash on their TV deal and having more cash coming into the group.
It additionally removes what was not solely an impediment for the Lerner’s, but in addition an excuse that was inbuilt for a very long time. I feel it’s a actually good factor for the staff, the possession and the followers.
Q: What are your ideas on this offseason, do you assume they need to have achieved extra?
A: I used to be disenchanted by the offseason. There isn’t a motive why they may not have been extra aggressive at this level of their construct. I really feel as if they’ve the younger expertise to compete. Should you take a look at trios of ascending younger gamers, there are only a few groups with a greater triumvirate of younger bats than James Wooden, CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews. To complement these guys with assist in the lineup like an enormous bopping energy hitting run producer would have been appetizing. Equally, within the rotation, I believed this might have been the offseason the place they may have made the leap and gone after a formidable entrance of the rotation sort arm.
Moderately, they haven’t spent the previous couple of years, which I used to be on board with. They had been rebuilding, and nonetheless are to some extent. They’ve achieved such an excellent job on this rebuild, primarily with the trades, particularly the Juan Soto deal. The system has gone from being not notably good to being in a a lot better spot and far deeper. It’s not simply the studs like Dylan Crews who had been drafted early. They’re graduating inner choices like Jake Irvin and Jacob Younger. These guys weren’t drafted within the first couple rounds. All of these issues are good, however I believed it was time so as to add and complement with some greater finish expertise to get them over that .500 mark and construct a wild card sort staff. Hopefully they do this subsequent yr however I don’t assume there was any motive why they couldn’t have achieved that this yr.
Q: Inform me slightly bit about your self? Did you develop up within the space and had been you all the time in love with DC sports activities?
A: I’m born and raised in King George, Virginia, which is subsequent to Fredericksburg. I used to be a die arduous Orioles fan, however I liked all DC sports activities groups although. The Redskins on the time, the Caps, the Wizards had been my squads. For baseball, I used to be an enormous Orioles fan, obsessive about Cal Ripken jr. and Brady Anderson as a child. As I received slightly bit older, the group turned Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora and many others. I’d drive as much as Camden Yards once I received my license at 16 so many instances at evening that my dad sat me down and requested me the place me and my buddy had been going, he didn’t imagine us. Over a house stand, we’d go to a few or 4 out of six video games, driving two hours as much as Baltimore. Trying again, my mother and father letting me do this was fairly loopy.
Anyway, I used to be an enormous O’s fan. Even when the Nats got here, I stayed an O’s fan. When the Nats got here whereas I used to be in highschool, they had been simply one other staff to me. My DC ties didn’t instantly make me gravitate to them. I used to be very loyal to the Orioles. I began working day-after-day on 106.7 the fan again in 2014 doing Grant and Danny. Most days we’d speak in regards to the Nats and due to that you’re watching the Nats to do your job and you will the clubhouse to cowl them. I began to get to know folks across the group and participant. You understand, I watched them on a regular basis understanding that in the event that they gained it was higher to speak about them. You begin rooting for them that manner after which over time it turned pure that the Nats had been on my main display screen. It’s the DC staff and I’m a DMV man. They turned my membership and I watch 162 video games. They’re what the Orioles had been once I was a child.
I root for the O’s as effectively. My spouse is a die arduous Orioles fan and we go to Camden Yards. I’m elevating my youngsters as Nats followers as a result of that’s house for them as effectively. They’ve some O’s gear as effectively. I’ve received two TV’s down in my man cave, so typically I’m watching them each.
Q: How did you get into radio, and was that all the time an curiosity for you?
A: Sure truly, I used to be fortunate. My uncle was a disk jockey, a morning radio host for a rock station in Pittsburgh unrelated to sports activities. It was nearly like an Elliot within the morning sort present. They did quite a lot of comedy bits and speak, but it surely was a morning present the place they performed music on a rock station. Once I went as much as go to him once I was actual younger, I went in to see it and thought it was the good factor on this planet. He was speaking right into a microphone and hundreds of individuals had been listening. Once we would exit to dinner after we visited him folks would come up and inform him they liked the present. I simply thought it was superior.
From there, we received into this argument in regards to the Redskins vs the Steelers in a preseason scrimmage. At this level I used to be about 9 years outdated, and I used to be speaking trash about how the Redskins beat the Steelers 14-7 within the scrimmage or one thing. He was like how have you learnt all this? He had me name into the radio present one morning to argue in regards to the sport considering it was humorous that I used to be slightly child and so passionate. It seems that individuals appreciated the section, so he had me on for a number of weeks in a row to be his sports activities bookie the place I’d give the betting strains and inform individuals who to wager on. It turned a comedy bit on his radio present, however I believed I used to be truly Mel Kiper or one thing.
Lengthy story quick, the native newspaper wrote a narrative on that. I began writing a bit within the native newspaper. A neighborhood newscast filmed slightly story about how I used to be writing and doing radio as slightly 10 yr outdated. None of it was overly spectacular. Then I began making picks on Channel 9 in DC. From all of that, I received the massive break of showing on the Letterman Present, which I ended up doing six instances, which is loopy to consider. It was one of many thrills of my life.
From that, Sirius XM reached out to me once they had been launching round ‘01/’02 and so they requested me to be on the air as a younger teenager, 13 on the time to host a sports activities present on a chat channel. I began internet hosting radio exhibits once I was 13, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It was one thing I actually fell in love with. The alternatives I received from being a cute little child finally dried up as a result of I used to be now not younger, or cute or little or a child. I went to high school at George Mason and saved plugging away. I all the time had exhibits on XM all through after which I received my foot within the door at 106.7 the fan as an assistant beat reporter on the Redskins beat. I served as an assistant to Chris Russell on the beat for a yr. When he left for 980 the subsequent yr, I took over because the beat reporter and I did that for 4 years, masking the staff throughout the Mike Shanahan period. Then after these 4 years, I received a mid day present with Danny Rouhier in 2014. He and I are nonetheless collectively within the afternoon 10 years later.
Q: What’s your daring prediction for the 2025 Nationals season?
A: Hmm, I like that, let me take into consideration that. I’m attempting to assume if that is daring sufficient, however I’m considering Mackenzie Gore 200 strikeouts. He punched out about 180 final yr, I feel he will get to 200 this yr. I’ll say James Wooden hits 30 house runs. My final one is that Dylan Crews steals 30 baggage.
