Sports talk radio host Brandon Tierney finds new life with ‘Unleashed’ show

He’s getting right back into the batter’s box.

Sports radio and television host Brandon Tierney started a brand-new show just three days after his WFAN program “BT & Sal” with co-host Sal Licata came to an end Dec. 19.

Called “BT Unleashed,” Tierney broadcasts the show in his office on YouTube and other platforms, tackling popular and thought-provoking topics in New York sports.

His former program on the famous sports radio station, which aired weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for over two years, ended just weeks after it was announced that Craig Carton would make his second return to WFAN and host the afternoon drive timeslot. Due to the shakeup, the station decided to cancel “BT & Sal” much to the sadness of the hosts and their fans.

However, just a week and a half into the new show, Tierney said he is embracing the new challenge and transition to his solo show.

“First and foremost, it’s about the content and that’s always been a natural thing for me,” he told this paper. “It’s the same amount of preparation. It’s the same structuring of a show. It’s a lot of the same principles that I’ve always had doing terrestrial radio. It’s all transferable. The only thing is that now there’s a digital component that I had to get used to, which was really daunting but it’s been a family affair. 

“My son has been a rock star with setting things up and making the graphics look better and finding a way to sync it with X so it’s going out on YouTube and X,” he said. “Those are things that I honestly would’ve been frustrated trying to figure out or wouldn’t have figured out.”

Rather than taking time to perfect the show, Tierney wanted to quickly pivot to his new venture while improving it along the way.

“I thought it was a pretty easy decision,” he explained. “I felt the iron was hot. I certainly felt a desire for more of my work and I wanted to get right back out there. People understand that it was an abrupt ending at the FAN and that this is a pretty dramatic transformation. I don’t get too wrapped up in, ‘Oh, this graphic is not perfect.’ I think they are digging the content, and I’m really enjoying doing it.”

One of Tierney’s dreams was to host a show for WFAN, so to have his program come to an end was difficult, especially on the final day.

“There was a lot happening, and I felt very vulnerable on air those last few minutes as I was trying to compose myself and say goodbye,” he said. “I felt that love and feeling the embrace, the warmth and support. I have always felt there were a good amount of people that enjoyed my stuff and style, but I’ve never been lifted and almost carried like I felt by so many people. I think there were a lot of reasons for that. I think a lot of people felt that ‘BT & Sal’ shouldn’t have ended.”

During the emotional final show, Tierney’s father called in to reminisce on his long career, including stints at ESPN, CBS Radio and San Francisco sports radio and congratulate him.

“I know it’s been a great trip so far,” he said. “I know the changes of current life, and you’re going to adapt to whatever you have coming forward, and we’re going to be with you 100 percent. We are so proud of you.”

Tierney was born and raised in Marine Park. He attended Good Shepherd, where sports were an integral part of his life, playing basketball, baseball and football.

In the 1980s, he played for the Brooklyn Cadets Baseball Club.

“It was such a great experience,” he said. “Great players. I played a couple of years for the Brooklyn Hurricanes (Football Club). I played a ton of CYO (Catholic Youth Organization).  My fondest moments were Good Shepherd and St. Mark’s CYO, and going to Bay Ridge and playing St. Patrick’s and OLA and Holy Innocence. This was bouncing around Brooklyn from gym to gym to gym.”

Although Tierney attended Xavier High School in Manhattan, Brooklyn continued to shape his love for sports and writing. He grew up watching basketball legend and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, who is also from Marine Park.

“For me, the summers in Brooklyn were about waking up and playing one one-on-one wiffle ball at eight in the morning with my best friend Tommy and playing hoops at the park for a couple of hours,” he said. “As I got older, I drove to Sheepshead Bay and went fishing. My first job was at Roll N’ Roaster. I’ve been out of Brooklyn for a long time, but it’s never left me, and it never will.”

As for the new show, Tierney says he will improve it in time with callers, sponsors, new graphics and special guests. Despite providing similar content, he doesn’t consider his show competing with WFAN.

“I’m not looking at it like that at all,” he said. “I’m not competing with WFAN. I’m competing with the world. That’s not a Hallmark cliché. I’m on a mission to make this phenomenal and I feel great about the start. I’m always going to maintain transparency. It’s different. It’s not every two weeks there’s a nice fat check coming in right away. That will hopefully happen but not right now and these are daunting thoughts that everyone in the world and in life can relate to. 

“I’m no different just because I have a cool job. The mission is wherever I was before is to fly past it and I believe that I will.”

BT Unleashed can be found on youtube.com/@BTunleashed. Tierney can also be seen on “The Red Storm Report,” a weekly television series providing an inside look at the St. John’s Men’s and Women’s basketball programs on MSG Network.