“Sports, sports, sports.”

WXOU radio host Matt Pocket is all too familiar with hearing the word when he enters a room full of colleagues. It just comes with the territory of being the lively sports talk radio host he is.

Going into its third year on the WXOU airwaves, ‘The Corner Pocket’ has become something of an institution at the campus radio station.

The Corner Pocket

It’s a show that is almost immediately identifiable thanks to Pocket’s booming voice and enthusiasm for all things sports-related.

According to Pocket, who serves as WXOU’s sports director, the goal of the show is to combine sports talk with some “good old-fashioned entertainment.”

“We’ll bicker and banter about sports, but we’ll also try to keep it fun and make you laugh instead of having you sit and listen to us talk about stats all day,” Pocket said.

Recently moved to Mondays, the show airs from 6-8 p.m.

Pocket has been hosting a regular radio show since 2006 when he attended Warren Cousino High School.

When he came to Oakland University in 2008, he picked up right where he left off and got involved at WXOU.

Pocket said his show has evolved since he first started. He phased out music breaks and found other people to have discussions with during the broadcast.

The biggest change to the show has been the addition of Pocket’s regular co-host, Rob Grieser.

“He’s been a great co-host — really easy to play off of and he brings a lot of energy and a lot of fun to the show,” Pocket said. “Right away from our first show together, I knew I was going to be working with this guy for a while.”

Pocket said he knows that many of the listeners perceive the show as a bit crazy and over the top sometimes, but this outlandishness is where the entertainment value is generated.

“We try to go for the most hilarious outcome,” Pocket said with regard to the digression of the discussion.

The show’s focus is generally on the local professional sports teams, but ‘The Corner Pocket’ doesn’t shy away from talking about some of the more obscure corners of the sporting world like English Premier League soccer.

“My favorite part of this show is that we can do it our own way,” Grieser said.

“Granted we may not make many friends for calling the Lions a bunch of raging buffoons or if we call out the Pistons for their poor decisions, but this is the way we do it.”

The show on Sept. 20 will feature a call-in from Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill — just the next name on a list of notable guests to the show that includes sports columnist Pat Caputo and Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson.

Award-winning work

In addition to hosting the show, Pocket has brought WXOU some notoriety with some awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

During basketball season, Pocket serves as the play-by-play caller for WXOU’s broadcasts of OU men’s and women’s teams.

In 2009, Pocket won first place for sports play-by-play at the MAB awards. Last spring, he placed second in the same category.

WXOU’s general manager, Andrew Grieve, has worked with Pocket for two years and said he values the contributions he’s making to the success of the station.

“He means a lot for sports broadcasting and he really led us in the door with Michigan Association of Broadcasters awards. He helped us become more of a contender.”

To listen to ‘The Corner Pocket,’ tune in to 88.3 FM or stream the show live on wxou.org every Monday beginning at 6 p.m.