Beloved Calgary broadcaster Pat Steinberg pens heartfelt note after Sportsnet 960 shutdown
The city of Calgary is still reeling after the shutdown of its only all-sports radio station last week.
Sportsnet 960 was abruptly pulled off the air on July 7, after being a part of six stations across the country shuttered by Rogers, which also included another 660 News, another Calgary station.
The reason for the mass shutdowns was “due to declining audience and revenue trends,” and no warning was given ahead of time. The shutdown now leaves the Calgary Flames without a place to air games over the radio next season.
This resulted in a lot of talented Calgary broadcasters losing their jobs. The most prominent of which might be Pat Steinberg, who has been working with Sportsnet 960 for over 20 years. The veteran Calgary broadcaster took some time before releasing a statement, but finally broke his silence on Saturday.
“It sure has been hard to put these last few days into words, because I don’t know if I can properly describe what the numbers 960 and 660 mean to me,” Steinberg wrote. “Kelly [Kirch] hired me in the Spring of 2004 as some pencil-necked kid who spent high school doing a pretend radio show in his room after school.
“Being a part of Calgary Flames hockey on this station is all I ever wanted to do. So, when I think of a 22-year run, all I do is smile. Personally, I am proud of every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears. Truly all worth it.”
Rambled so much I needed a Word document. Perhaps through some blurry eyes.
The support this week has been overwhelming.
Thanks for everything, friends. 🖤🩶❤️ pic.twitter.com/mB9J3vnOIt
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) July 11, 2026
Steinberg penned a lovely personal history of the station, recounting his early memories of listening to a team of Peter Maher, Doug Barkley, Jock Wilson, and Mitch Peacock. It was those people, he wrote, that helped inspire him to become a sports broadcaster.
He then went on to describe his time at the station, where he was brought on by Kelly Kirch and joined an all-star cast of Joe Sports, Kevin Usselman, Rob Kerr, Mike Richards, Dean Molberg, among others.
“Somehow in that mix, I got a shot doing 20/20 sports updates in the afternoon. Being a little chime-in cohost with Rob, Dean, and Rick Lafitte here and there,” Steinberg wrote. “Did a silly little show called Sportsline Saturday with Kyley Topping, where I thought getting to choose the intro music was the coolest thing that’s ever happened.
“One day in 2009, Kirch asked if I wanted to take over doing the call-in show Overtime. What a life-changer. The community we built on that show still exists, and I love every single one of our callers, emailers (that was a thing), and texters.”
Steinberg did not get into his future plans after getting laid off from 960. Instead, he used this letter as a chance to thank everyone for helping him live out his dream job. It’s clear that this station meant the world to him, and being forced to leave was not an easy thing to go through.
“Thank you all for being there through it all. We’ll miss you to no end and never forget you made the station what it was. We’ll see you down the road!”