An alarm clock rings every weekday morning at 5:30 inside Randy Karraker's home. The first ring signifies exactly 90 minutes until he goes on the air at 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He gets up, gets out the door and into the nearby studio by 6:00. The 58-year-old has been working since he was 15, but his recent move to morning drive resulted in the first time he's ever had to use an alarm clock to wake up for work. 

My first night in the business – 101 ESPN
Courtesy: 101 ESPN

Karraker has always worked in the afternoon or evenings. This includes the entirety of his long sports media stint in St. Louis, where he's one of the most recognizable and respected voices in the city. But things are different now hosting Karraker and Smallmon from 7 to 10 a.m. 

"I live really close to the studio," Karraker said. "I get up at 5:30 and I'm into the studio by 6:00 and we go on the air at 7:00. We do most of our show prep, almost all of it, before then anyway, so it's worked out surprisingly well. I didn't think I would have as easy of a time as I have in getting up in the morning and being able to actually perform during the morning show, but it's been alright."

Karraker made his name in St.Louis during afternoon drive hosting The Fast Lane. But he's carrying the same mentality he's always had with 101 ESPN into his new morning drive shift. His motto is very simple.

Win the hallway. 

Competition doesn't always come from another sports radio station across town. Sometimes it can come from a great local podcast, or in Karraker's case, great music stations that are in the exact same hallway as him. Seeing as 101 ESPN doesn't have a serious sports radio competitor in the market, Karraker's biggest competition are the same faces he sees every morning. 

"The Rizzuto Show on 107.5 The Point is dominant and the show right next door to us, KSHE 95, they're both dominant groups. But there's no sports competition, which makes things interesting. When I took the job, my goal was to always win my own hallway."

Karraker has done a terrific job of transitioning into morning drive. A new time slot with a new co-host isn't the easiest task to give a talent, especially when the show sounds much different than the one he was on before.

"It's changed in that, when I was with The Fast Lane in afternoon drive, it was much more of a locker room setting, because I was working with former pro athletes," Karraker said. "Michelle is exceptionally knowledgeable and she's a fan like I am. We don't have the locker room credibility that Brad Thompson or others have, so that part is different, but other than playing point guard, I give my opinion a lot more and Michelle gives her opinion a lot more. From a content standpoint it's different as well, because we're reacting to what happened the night before, as opposed to what happened from 8 am to 2 pm. We're reacting to overnight games, which is much better because it's much more fresh. We're the first people of the day to talk about last night's Cardinals or Blues game."

St. Louis is a fascinating sports radio market. Maybe one of the more interesting in the country. Whereas the NFL dominates in just about every major market, it's shunned by many people in the city after the Rams moved back to Los Angeles. It's one of the few cities where the MLB and NHL fare much better on the air than the biggest storyline happening in football. At its core, St. Louis is a true baseball town with an appetite for the game that takes a backseat to nobody. But if there's a major city that cares the least about the NFL, it may be St. Louis. From an outsider's perspective it's almost as if they want the whole country to know how little they care about it. 

Kansas City Chiefs aren't ready to court St. Louis fans
Courtesy: Getty Images

"The Cardinals are far and away No. 1," Karraker said. "Since the Blues won the Stanley Cup they're a true No. 2. But then No. 3 is overall Major League Baseball coverage. And then at No. 4 you still have the NFL, despite the disdain so many locals have for that league. During the season there is a whole lot of talk about the National Football League. Now, are we talking a whole lot about Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers rumors on a daily basis like the mothership is doing? No, we're not doing that. I don't believe that level of interest exists here. And then there's Missouri with the SEC and closing in on a decade being in this league. That's a big taking point during their season. We're not talking about Mizzou football in the middle of May, but we get through most of our days with Cardinals, Blues and then the big stories of the day in sports."

Luckily for Karraker and the entire 101 ESPN team, the Cardinals are in the hunt just about every single year. But even when the team finally experiences a down year, don't think baseball talk will slow down on the airwaves. 

Especially with Karraker and Smallmon, who seemingly echo the voice of the fan, which has resonated extremely well with the listeners. The audience has also responded very well with a female voice next to Karraker. Some might be surprised,but Karraker sees attendance at games as proof there's many female listeners in his market. 

"Our show is doing really well, obviously our demographic is men 25-54 but we've moved up to fifth in persons 18-plus, which we're very happy with," Karraker said. "I think the thing we forget in the media, and this is even true with teams, they have a tendency to forget, for example here in St. Louis, 50 percent that walk through the gate at Cardinals games are female. Same thing with the Blues games."

Karraker's ability to adapt has been the biggest reason why he's been such a fixture in St. Louis. He's showing that every day in his new time slot with his new co-host. The cool thing is how excited and optimistic he is for the future of his new show, while also being proud of his old show, The Fast Lane. 

"It's fantastic," Karraker said. "It's a younger vibe and they all know a ton about sports. It's a fun listen. If you want a show where you want to be informed but also laugh a lot, this is a great show to go to. I'm really proud of those guys. The show is really good." 

101 ESPN - Sports Talk for St. Louis
Courtesy: 101 ESPN

Karraker and Smallmon just want to win their own hallway. If that can happen, 101 ESPN could be in position to see its best days as a station.