In the Phoenix sports-talk market there is Arizona Sports 98.7 FM and everyone else.

The station has contracts with all four major pro sports teams as well as Arizona State football and basketball.

It’s the only station with local programming from 6 a.m. to 6 pm.

In the latest Nielsen ratings, Arizona Sports had a 2.2 rating while Fox Sports 910 came in at 0.5 and NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM at 0.1.

In essence, if not the strictest sense of the word, Arizona Sports has a monopoly on the market. But the station also has its critics, those who believe its relationships with the Valley’s sports teams leads to biased coverage.

One of those critics is Jody Oehler, afternoon sports-talk host of Fox Sports Radio 910 AM. It’s not so much the reality that stirs Oehler’s stew; it’s what one particular antagonist can put forth as fact – and is not questioned enough about his reporting.

Over the past several months Oehler has used his Twitter account to take repeated shots at John Gambadoro, co-host of the Burns & Gambo show from 2-6 p.m. weekdays on 98.7 FM and inarguably the highest profile sports-radio personality in the Valley

Feb. 27:

Gambo providing cover once again for his buddy Bobby Sarvs (Suns managing general partner Robert Sarver). Nothing about the Suns will change until Bobby Sarvs changes his ways. Seems like the Suns shouldve started a search for a new GM right after they fired their old one.

Dec. 12:

He’s not interested in being honest with his audience, he’s interested in protecting his relationships.

Dec. 7, responding to a tweet from @BurnsAndGambo that said John Gambadoro let it rip about the state of the Phoenix Suns:

Doesn’t mention Robert Sarver once. I guess when you have vacationed with the owner, its hard to hold him accountable. #pipeitup

Why the public criticism, which is not uncommon in markets like Philadelphia and Boston but has been largely absent from the Valley sports talk radio landscape?

“I don’t actually think it’s unusual,” Oehler told The Athletic. “In most markets that happens. It’s only unusual in Phoenix. I think really what has happened is that there is a certain level of frustration about a lot of the unchecked information that comes out.

“I don’t consider myself the ombudsman for Phoenix media by any stretch but when you get someone in the platform he has and he’s getting information wrong and not admitting he got it wrong, somebody has to step up and say there needs to be a level of accountability.”

Oehler, who calls Gambadoro the “top dog,” cited three instances in which Gambadoro’s reporting led him astray:

Before the 2018 NFL Draft, Gambadoro said the Cardinals would not trade up in the first round to draft a quarterback. Arizona did so, moving up to the No. 10 pick to take Josh Rosen. On the night of the NBA Draft, Gambadoro tweeted that the Suns had made a deal with the Charlotte Hornets. No trade was made. Then he sent out a tweet saying, “Being told the Phoenix Suns will select Donte Divencenzo (sic) with the 16th pick.” Instead, the Suns traded up to acquire forward Mikal Bridges.

Oehler acknowledges that Gambadoro often gets information before any other media source in the Valley. Arizona Sports plays up Gambadoro’s ability to break stories, calling him the “ultimate insider.” Oehler’s contention is that when Gambadoro gets things wrong, as all journalists sometimes do, he’s not held responsible.

“I think he’s gotten a little reckless and someone has to hold his feet to the fire a little bit,” Oehler said. “I’m wrong all the time. I give 30 opinions a day and I’ve never been 100 percent. If you go around creating this impression that you’re all knowing and never wrong, when you’re wrong somebody is going to point it out.”

Oehler said he’s also heard from current and former Suns employees that Gambadoro has a “personal relationship” with Suns managing general partner Robert Sarver and that listeners have a right to know that information when Gambadoro is discussing management and ownership issues within the franchise.

Ryan Hatch, vice president of content and operations at Bonneville Phoenix, said no one at the station would respond to Oehler’s comments.

That’s understandable. By getting into a war of words with Oehler, Arizona Sports would only raise Oehler’s platform in the Valley. Right now, he’s the nippy dog barking at their heels.

Oehler admits his criticism of Gambadoro is in part self-serving saying, “I’m not doing it out of some noble calling, that I was put on this earth to be John Gambadoro’s personal accountability guy. … I’m coming for him. He knows it. I know it.”

Oehler said he has not heard from Gambadoro in response to his Twitter criticisms and doesn’t expect to, even if they happen to see each other at a sporting event.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people who support what I’m doing,” he said. “I take that as I’m going down the right road.”

Suns, Coyotes ratings

The Arizona Coyotes are fighting for a playoff spot, and their performance is reflected in television ratings on Fox Sports Arizona. The Coyotes are averaging an 0.4 rating, up 22 percent over last year.

Surprisingly, the Phoenix Suns also have seen a viewership jump on Fox Sports Arizona despite suffering through another losing season that’s included a 17-game losing streak. Casey Taggatz, vice president of communications and content for the Suns and Phoenix Mercury, said the Suns are averaging a 0.9 rating, up 21.8 percent from last season.

By comparison when the Suns last made the playoffs in the 2009-10 season, their games garnered a 3.4 rating on Fox Sports Arizona.

It’s baseball season

Fox Sports Arizona again will broadcast all 162 Diamondbacks games with its familiar voices in place. Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly will call the games with Jody Jackson, Todd Walsh, Mark Grace and Brandon Webb handling pre- and postgame duties.

In addition, there will be 26 Spanish telecasts on Fox Sports Arizona Plus (all Saturday and Sunday home games) with Oscar Soria and Rodrigo Lopez on the call.

(Photo of Robert Sarver, arms crossed, on March 4, 2019: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)