WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Greg “The Gay Sportscaster” Sherrell is demanding justice on the Energy 92.7 airwaves. Over the weekend, someone broke into his car in the Castro and snatched his valuables and laundry. Gone are his trendy undies, but the most devastating loss is his cherished “glittery shirt,” the one with “Music Saved My Life” written on it.

“I want my glittery shirt back!” he bleats out on-air with a Texan twang.

Co-host Fernando Ventura seizes the opportunity to egg his friend on, asking if the culprit had nabbed that particular pair of designer jeans with the flowers on ’em as well.

Such is the lively early morning banter that pops up weekdays between the dance music on the independently owned station. But what makes this FM program an original – besides being the only San Francisco Bay Area station to exclusively spin dance music – is that it appears to mark the first time a Bay Area commercial morning radio team has been made up of two openly gay men.

Originally, the plan was to have Ventura paired up with a woman. But no Grace to his Will could be found.

When Ventura suggested that Sherrell, whose cheeky sports updates had already scored with listeners, be given the job, the idea met with resistance.

“The first thing that the program director told me was: ‘No, it’s not going to work, because it’s going to be two gay guys, and you’re going to be labeled “The Gay Show,” and you’ll never really appeal to much more than gay people,”‘ Ventura said.

But that all changed.

One day in 2005, Ventura invited Sherrell to host the entire show with him. Their on-air chemistry clicked with listeners – the theatrics of Greg smoothly playing off Fernando’s low-key persona.

But why in the Bay Area hadn’t this been heard of before?

“I don’t have an answer for that,” said John Peake, program manager, who joined 92.7 after the show was in place. “Certainly, gay marketing has come out of the closet in the last few years.”

From a cultural perspective, what’s most remarkable about the show is how the sexual orientation of 92.7’s hosts is integrated into the proceedings but isn’t the focal point, said Terence Kissack, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.

“Here you have a general mass audience broadcaster who has as its general voice two openly identifiable gay men, and it’s part of who they are but it’s not the main focus,” he said.

“The culture of the Bay Area is one where you have the acknowledgment of difference and a blurring of lines around identity.”

Sherrell and Ventura say positive buzz from fans combined with radio execs who heeded listener input and the power of the mighty dollar made it a reality.

“I can guarantee that none of the other radio stations – even if it worked – they would still not have done it. Here, they took a chance,” Sherrell said.

Ranked as the favored call letters for 25- to 54-year-old males in San Francisco County, the station is popular not just with gay men but straight women and men, the hosts say. The signal beams south to San Jose and north to Petaluma, but wavers in and out around Walnut Creek. Other competitors such as KFOG and Alice97.3 – reach larger audiences. Fans can also listen in on the station’s Web site, which attracts listeners nationwide, Peake said.

“The Fernando and Greg Show” is not the only program with gay appeal. The Bay Area happens to be well-dialed with gay-themed programming.

One of the most recent entries is the two-hour national “Radio With a Twist” program, created by the founder of the gay Logo cable channel. It debuted in January 2006 and airs on Alice97.3 FM. Nationally, it reaches more than 50 million people and will spawn what founder Matt Farber calls a huge expansion plan, part of an upcoming partnership with a “major radio entity.” Details won’t be announced until late September, he said.

He calls Energy 92.7 a wonderful station, but rather one-note in style. “Radio With a Twist” does reach many more listeners, partially because of a stronger signal, and in Farber’s estimation, it’s a much more broad-based and all-inclusive program.

“It’s become wildly successful wherever it airs,” he said.

Sherrell believes the morning model he and Ventura have created could work in big cities such as Dallas and Los Angeles.

“It’s just not gay people who love this morning show,” he said. “Tons of straight men and women love it, and it’s because it’s just about two people’s lives.”

Unlike much of the public radio content for gays and lesbians, the dial at 92.7 stays fixed on the light and carefree, rarely the serious. That’s because listeners demand it. One time, Sherrell and Ventura weighed in on the JonBenet Ramsey case, and the reaction was overwhelmingly negative.

“They come to this radio station to feel good,” explains Ventura.

Some of the regular features 92.7 morning listeners like include “Homo vs. Hetero” – a call-in trivia contest that pits gays against straights; “Sassy Sports,” with Greg dishing the dirt, the news and the commentary – including his views on the hunkiness of some players.

Sherrell enjoys playing the more bitchy “out there” role to Ventura’s – for lack of a better term – straight man, the one who talks about cozying up at home on weekends with his partner. But Sherrell doubts the raucous show would have gotten out of the starting gates if advertisers weren’t on board.

“Quite frankly, if it didn’t resonate with some advertisers initially, there would have been no way they would have thrown me on the air. I believe they saw they could make money off of that personality.”

For 36-year-old Ventura, a 17-year radio veteran, being able to talk about his partner, Tom, and his three dogs is a welcome change from what he’s encountered in his career.

“I’ve had a morning show experience where my program director expected me to make up a wife and kids just so I could quote/unquote relate to the audience.”

At 92.7, there’s simply no need – and certainly no use – to keep anything stuffed in the closet.