Meet the Sports Team

Bryan Barrett
bryan@goprimetimesports.com
Bryan began his broadcasting career at WGNS while in high school. After hosting the morning news/sports for six-years, Bryan left to become the morning news anchor on the Tennessee Radio Network. TRN has over 80 radio affiliates across the state – WGNS one of them. Bryan began there in 1998. He was promoted to Associate News Director in 2003, Assistant News Director in 2004 and News Director in 2006. Bryan was called back to WGNS in May of 2007 as the station’s Operations Manager and afternoon drive personality. He hosts “Rutherford Issues,” (weekdays at 3pm) a show about just that…issues that affect Rutherford County. All these years, Bryan continued to play an important role in WGNS programming, even while at TRN. He’s been a part of the Primetime Sports team since 1993, has been doing play-by-play for high school football on WGNS since 2002 and has been doing play-by-play and color commentary for basketball since 1994. Bryan is also co-host of the Prentice Alsup Heating and Air Coaches Corner (Saturday mornings at 9) with Jon and co-hosts the iDEAS Tees Primetime Sports Scene (Monday nights at 6). In his free time, Bryan enjoys his being with his family and working in his church. He has two children, Dalton and Bobbye Susanna. Bryan has been married to his wife, Heather, since 1998. Bryan and his family attend Holly Grove Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon, Sunday School teacher and assistant music director.

Jon Dinkins
jon@goprimetimesports.com
As the principal of Wilson School and a former basketball coach at Walter Hill, Jon knows the importance helping our young people succeed. Since 1996, Jon has co-hosted shows and worked on football and basketball broadcasts as part of the Primetime Sports team. Jon also grew up in Rutherford County and enjoys watching our student athletes succeed. Jon is host of the iDEASTees Primetime Sports Scene (Monday nights at 6). He and Donnie do color commentary for football and have since 2002. Jon also does play-by-play and color commentary for high school basketball, softball and baseball. He is also a co-host of the Prentice Alsup Heating and Air Coaches Corner (Saturday mornings at 9). Jon considers baseball his true love – especially the Atlanta Braves. Jon has been happily married to his wife, Stephanie, for more years than she’s willing to admit! They have one daughter, Samantha…who is married Brett Jackson and following in her father’s footsteps. She is teaching and coaching basketball at Eagleville. Jon is now also a grandfather and is loving every minute of it. He’s a deacon at Unity Baptist Church, where he also serves as worship leader.
 

Donnie Johnson
A multi-sport Rutherford County athlete (in his much younger days), Donnie has been a part of the Primetime Sports team since 2001. Donnie lettered in several sports at Riverdale before going to MTSU and playing baseball for the Blue Raiders. He's spent his years since in education and has served as principal at Rockvale Elementary School for many of them. He’s co-hosting the iDEASTees Primetime Sports Scene with Jon and Bryan and has done color and field reports for football since 2002. Donnie adds great insight on the game and has a deep compassion for local sports. Donnie also helps out with various other Primetime Sports broadcasts and games throughout the season. In his spare time, Donnie loves to work around his home and bleeds orange. If you talk Vols with him, you’ll find a new best friend.
 

Rafferty Cleary
Rafferty is a student at MTSU, studying broadcast journalism. He comes to Murfreesboro by way of Kingsport, where he played high school football for the Dobbyns-Bennett Indians. While attending high school, he had the opportunity to do sports broadcasts and shows on the Kingsport City Schools radio station, WCSK. In fact, his work was recognized in 2011 at the Midwest Regional High School and College Radio Conference. Rafferty received first place in the sportscasting / play-by-play category for the "Power Hour of Sports." You can hear Rafferty reporting from the sidelines in football along with doing color in basketball, softball and baseball. Rafferty hopes to continue in sports broadcasting after his studies.

Chip Walters
Chip Walters is the "Voice of the Blue Raiders" in football and men's basketball. Walters, who spent the previous six years as a color analyst for football, took over the play-by-play duties for football and men's basketball in April 2009.Walters holds the third-longest tenure for Middle Tennessee broadcasters behind only the late Monte Hale and current women's basketball and baseball broadcaster Dick Palmer. In addition to these duties, Walters hosts the Rick Stockstill and Kermit Davis television shows and radio shows, emcees various Blue Raider events, and is the host of the Two-Minute Drill on GoBlueRaiders.com. Walters also sells corporate sponsorships for Nelligan Sports Marketing. Walters, who held the position of director of Public and Media Relations for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration for six years, served as the marketing and promotions director at Middle Tennessee from 1993 to 2003. The Columbia, Tenn., native worked to expand Middle Tennessee's overall corporate sponsorship program while overseeing the entire Blue Raider Network, coaches television shows, and gameday publications. Prior to working for Middle Tennessee, Walters worked several jobs in sports broadcasting including working for WGNS before then going to the Tennessee Radio Network from 1986 to 1991 as sports director. Walters called play-by-play for minor league baseball affiliate the Nashville Sounds and did freelance television work for WNAB and WSMV. 

Dick Palmer
Dick Palmer is the "Voice of the Blue Raiders" in women's basketball and baseball. Palmer, a 1960 graduate of Middle Tennessee, has been broadcasting sporting events for the past 50 years and ended a 25-year run in 2005 of calling Blue Raider football. From 1971 until his return to Murfreesboro, Palmer was the voice of the Memphis Blues Class AA baseball team, the Memphis Pros (later the Tams) in the American Basketball Association, and the Memphis Grizzlies in the World Football League. Earlier, he worked in Jackson, TN, for nine years, broadcasting a wide range of high school sports, as well as Union University's basketball games. Palmer, who co-hosted the first sports call-in show in Nashville during the mid-70s, was the studio host for Vol Network Football Broadcasts for five years and has called the TSSAA Basketball State Tournament on the Tennessee Sports Radio Network every year since 1982. A little league baseball coach since the 1960's, Palmer has enjoyed a long career with Palmer Wholesale. Palmer and his wife DeLois have three sons, Richard, Mike, and Jon, and he's a proud grandfather.