Mike Valenti set to co-host national NFL show; Terry Foster's role grows at WSN, at doctor's urging

For more than a decade, Terry Foster and Mike Valenti were the co-kings of Detroit sports-talk radio.

They continue to play significant roles in the local media landscape, albeit separately for the last five years. And both have new projects in the works.

Valenti, who continues to dominate the ratings during afternoon drive on 97.1 The Ticket with new co-host Rico Beard, is getting a national platform from parent company Audacy. Starting this week, Valenti will co-host an NFL preview show with former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason. The show will tape Thursdays, then air Friday nights on all Audacy stations throughout the country.

Valenti, 41, made the announcement during Tuesday's show on 97.1.

He said working with Esiason will force him to cut out an hour early from 97.1 on Thursdays throughout the NFL season and in the playoffs. The Esiason show will air through the Super Bowl.

“Very excited about that," Valenti said Tuesday on 97.1. "It’s basically what I was doing on here on Sundays and we finally got to go make this official and make it big.”

Esiason said he and Valenti will provide "unparalleled insight" on each weekend's games.

The show will be called "Kickoff With Boomer & Valenti."

Valenti's rise to local prominence began in 2004 when, just out of college at Michigan State, he joined Foster for "The Sports Inferno" on 1270-AM. That eventually became "Valenti and Foster" and moved to the FM dial, at 97.1, becoming one of the highest-rated local sports-talk shows in the country. Valenti has had national opportunities in the past, including a well-publicized flirtation with WFAN in New York City in 2017.

Foster suffered a stroke in October 2016, returned to the show in January 2017, then retired in April 2017, the pressures of the job proving detrimental to his health.

Valenti hosted the show solo until 2020, when Beard was hired.

Meanwhile, it's been a slow journey back to the airwaves for Foster, who has been doing some work for Woodward Sports Network, an internet-streaming platform that features several local media personalities and former Detroit athletes. Recently, it was announced that Foster would join the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. "Big D Energy" show, featuring former Red Wing Darren McCarty and local broadcaster Neal Ruhl, the voice of Oakland University basketball and the Detroit City FC soccer team. Foster plans to appear on the show three days a week, typically Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The work is more than just a job — it's part of his rehab process.

"I have a neurologist," said Foster, 63, "he said he wants me to do two things — things that make me happy, and he thinks doing some type of radio show on a part-time basis does that, and he also wants me to blog.

"He thinks that's good for me. It's working the brain, it's working the voice. That's where I am. I can't just exercise my body. I have to exercise my mouth and other stuff, which I never thought about before."

Foster calls his role with Woodward Sports Network less stress than 97.1 The Ticket, which is why his doctors urged him to get back into a daily sports-talk routine.

Foster was a long-time writer and columnist with The Detroit News — most notably, he covered the Pistons "Bad Boys" teams of the 1980s — before retiring in 2015.

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tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984