I HATE New York Sports Radio

[Guest undisputedjericho]

THE GOOD

Michael Kay: ESPN; Mid-days

Brandon Tiereny: ESPN; Various; Sunday afternoon

Jack Arute: ESPN; Various weekend nights

Todd Wright: ESPN; Various; overnights, nights

Adam Schien: WFAN; Weekend nights

Chris Carlin: WFAN; Weekend nights

Richard Neer: WFAN; Various; Saturday morning

Kate Delany: WFAN; Various; weekend nights

Sid Rosenberg: WFAN; Weekday mornings (Mac & Sid Show)

Jody McDonald: WFAN; Weekday mornings (Mac & Sid Show)

Rich Ackerman: WFAN; Various

 

THE BAD

Mike Greenberg: ESPN; Weekday mornings (Mike & Mike)

Mike Golic: ESPN; Weekday mornings (Mike & Mike)

Tom Keegan: ESPN; Weekday rush hour (Wally & The Keeg)

Wally Matthews: ESPN; Weekday rush hour (Wally & The Keeg)

Jim Rome: ESPN; Weekday nights

Bob Valvano: ESPN; Weekday overnight

Don Imus: WFAN; Morning; nationally syndicated; simolcast on MSNBC

Steve Somers: WFAN; Week nights

Ann Ligouri: WFAN; Various, weekend nights

Ed Randall: WFAN; Sunday mornings

Joe Beningo, WFAN; Weekday overnights

 

THE BEARABLE

Chris Russo: WFAN; Weekday afternoon; simolcast on YES Network (Mike & The Mad Dog)

Mike Francesca: WFAN; Weekday afternoon; simolcast on YES Network (Mike & The Mad Dog)

 

-----------------------------

 

Now that we have the list, let's begin. I listen to a lot of sports talk radio. (As you can see, since I know every single host on New York's two stations) It's good background noise and sometimes things actually happen (IE, a call from Jerome from Manhatten, a middle aged Yankee/Knick fan who takes 'fanatic' to another level) Yeah, it's pretty lame listening to all this crap on the radio which is basically the same on every show. But that is besides the point.

 

Now, what feature do radio hosts usually need the most? That's right, their voice. (Have yourself a cookie if you got that correct) What is my beef with most of these hosts? No, not because most of their anti-Yankee bias is unbelievable. It's because their voices are incredibly annoying and irratating. Any of you out there in Internetland in the NYC area can vouch for this. These hosts are unbearable.

 

I don't really like falling asleep to music, so I throw on either the Fan or ESPN. What do I get, 5 days out of 7? WFAN's Joe Beningo, with the heaviest Brooklyn accent you can possibly imagine. Not to mention a constant stutter. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-can't believe....it-it-it-it's crayz!!!" Anti Yankee: Check. Then, on ESPN, you have "The V Show" with Bob Valvano, who sucks wind after every sentece and smacks his lips together in the most annoying fashion. I can't fall asleep to this shit.

 

On the weekends, WFAN throws out my three favorite hosts on their station in one night. Kate Delany, a very knowledgable chick, Adam Schien, a Yankee fan and thier best overall personallity, and Chris Carlin, producer of Mike and the Mad Dog, who oddly enough is a Texas Ranger and Pittsburgh Steeler fan, despite being a native New Yorker. These hosts are quite enjoyable, but I only get to hear them twice or so a week. Usually on the weekends ESPN radio gives you "Post Game Locker Room" with Jack Arute, who reminds me of Jon Miller of ESPN baseball fame. Good host, covers alot of stuff during his hours on the air. They also vary who does the overnight, sometimes it is Valvano and sometimes it is Todd Wright, who I like, but a lot of times doesn't talk about the mainstream sports.

 

Now, we'll take the night shows right into the mornings. Even though it's not a sports show, Don Imus may have the absolute worst combination of voice and show shit syndrome. You probably know him werever you are. No one can escape that suckbag. On ESPN, we have the Mike & Mike show. Greenberg you know from ESPNEWS, occasionally Sportscenter and sometimes does voiceovers on ESPN TV. Heavy lisp. Golic is not as bad but Greenberg makes the show unlistenable. Too bad some of my favorite sports morning shows have gone by the wayside within the last year. On the former WNEW, we had the Sports Guys, which Sid Rosenberg was a part of for a while. This show had a little bit of bad luck, over its two year run or so, it had about 15 hosts. Then, Richard Neer took over the show, but it didn't last too long because they changed the format of the station to a Z100 copy. Luckily, the morning problem is solved by putting on K-Rock's Howard Stern Show.

 

Next, unfortunatly, the two best shows run head to head. Mac & Sid of WFAN take on Michael Kay of ESPN. Can't say anything bad here, so I'll just save myself further arthritis down the road.

 

After Mac & Sid, we have Mike and the Mad Dog, who you may or may not know, depending if you have the YES Network, where you can see their ugly mugs on TV for 5 1/2 hours a day, chewing the headphone wires, picking their noses, stratching their heads and other uninteresting things that go on during (this type of) radio show. These two are very asshole-ish, and are very elitist as well. (Mike will go on forever about horse racing, Russo won't shut up about tennis) It's tolerable even though they scream at callers and Russo has a very annoying Elmer Fudd type speech impediment. This is a horrible head to head match up, because it is against Wally and the Keeg of ESPN, two writers from the NY Post (or Daily News, I'm not sure) who are damn annoying as well. I can't put my finger on the way Keegan talks. Its kind of a Minnesota accent, 10x more annoying, and Matthews has a lisp.

 

Evenings is Steve Somers on WFAN. I hope this bastard dies. It literally puts me in a state of anger whenever this douchebag accidently makes it on to my radio. Met bias? BAH GAWD yes. He constantly belittles the Yankees and praises the Mets. He believes the Mets are better than the Yankees. (After the 01 Series, he said the Mets would have won the series because they beat Randy Johnson once that year) The Yankees could lose to Boston, 1-0, against Pedro Martinez, and he'll never stop on them. On the same night, the Mets could beat the Bad News Bears and he would praise them as the better team. It's unbelievable. Not to mention he has the "I'm the cool radio guy" slick tone, but he has the heaviest lisp in the known universe. Contrastally, ESPN gives you Jim Rome. Now, this guy is the biggest elitist on the radio. Not to mention, he leaves about 15 seconds of dead air in between every sentence he says, and practices poor radio practices such as shuffling papers so close to the microphone you'd wanna stick a fork in your ears. By the way, I stand corrected, THIS is the worst head to head matchup between the two stations.

 

And, the cycle repeats. This is the hell of the the sports radio listener in the New York area (I'm from Jersey) Sound off if you feel my pain, and thanks for reading. Phew.

 

/Rant

[Guest MaxPower27]

You could just do what I do, and get all of your sports news online and skip the talk radio.

 

I only have Tom Abraham down here, and all he wants to talk about are the Florida Firecats' and their struggles on the offensive line against Birmingham.

 

Occasionally, we get Mike and Mike in the morning, and I find both guys to be enjoyable.

[Guest DerangedHermit]

I agree mostly but Kay sucks total ass.

[Guest undisputedjericho]

Kay's appeal is more to Yankee fans since he's been a Yankee announcer for 10+ years.

[Guest DerangedHermit]

Definitely, I don't think I've seen a Met fan that likes him.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

ESPN Radio is horrible. It's either outright commercials, commercials disguised has updates, zany and wacky banter, or the host kissing ass to a player, coach, or some ESPN personality.

[Guest alkeiper]

I don't usually like sports radio programs, but stations don't come in very well anyway, so its a moot point. I remember hearing Tony Kornheiser's show before he had his tv show, and thinking "man this guy sucks." Now I love the tv show.

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

Here, we get Fox Sports Radio all the time except for Jim Rome and O's games. We don't have any local shows other than the community service shows the station airs sunday mornings at 6:30 am.

 

Ben Maller (2-5 am) - Good host, I like his website a lot, he comes up with odd sports news a lot..

Mark Patrick (5-8am) - Horrible except for his voice impersonations which are awesome. Can't say things like My team when (or if I guess) you call.

Tony Bruno (8 am-noon) - Horrible..I don't know why he's considered the big host on the network. I guess its because they lured him over from ESPN Radio where he was one of their big hosts..

-Jim Rome-

Jim Daniels/Jason Smith (3-7pm)- very good overall show, I used to like it when it came on 2am to 5 am..

Steve Czaban (7-10pm) - I don't hear enough of his show with O's games on during his slot, but he does use a lot of Simpsons audio clips and he has a funny segment called the "Daily Czab" which is funny when I get to hear it.

JT The Brick (10pm-2am) - probably the best show on Fox Sports Radio. I can understand how he won one of Jim Rome's Smackoffs.

 

I've gotten to the point where all I listen to is Fox Sports Radio..its actually pretty sad..

[Guest Doyo]

I've listened to Don Imus a few times and I'm wondering if you have to

be part of a secret club to understand him and the other people on there?

 

Is there a lot of injokes or what? To me they sound like:

"Coming up at 7:45 we will have the news. Unreal, I can't take it. "

"Har har haha. Put on a happy face."

"Indeed, the one and only. Hahaha. Put a fork in it."

"The idiots. Zimzubawubba, har haha!"

"Have you tried my brother's salsa?"

[NYU 0]

Interesting. Personally, Steve Somers is my favorite sports radio host. I don't see him having much of a Mets bias, as even he knows they suck right now. I found it hilarious when he said the Mets should change their slogan to "We're the New York Mets - Deal With It." He just seems to have a calm voice and a great sense of humor. He doesn't wheeze and scream at his callers like that douchebag Christopher Russo, but he actually mixes both respect and humor in his answers. I guess we just have two very different opinions, but I find him the best sports talk show host on radio today.

[Guest treble charged]

What's the name of that old lady who calls into Joe Beningo most nights (or at least she did, I haven't listened for a few years and she may be dead or something now)?

 

Doris, maybe.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

WE get WFAN down here in Philly, too. I'll flip back & forth between WIP and WFAN, usually on the drive home in the afternoon (and sometimes at night).

 

Steve Somers annoys me to no end. Mike & the Mad Dog I can take in short doses, but extended listening gets really annoying, especially when they go off on tennis & horse racing. How is that compelling radio?

 

Jody McDonald used to be on WIP. I miss Jody Mac.

 

Do you get WIP where you're at in Jersey?

[Guest DerangedHermit]

What's the name of that old lady who calls into Joe Beningo most nights (or at least she did, I haven't listened for a few years and she may be dead or something now)?

 

Doris, maybe.

Doris from Rego Park.

[Guest undisputedjericho]

I shut it off when Doris comes on. She doesn't even add anything to the show. She just says that she liked what she saw in the Mets game. No matter what. I guess it's good to be positive. But she finds positive in everything. And every other syllable I think she's going to cough her lungs out.

 

'WIP' I don't think so...what is the station number? I'm all the way up in North Jersey, 15 minutes from the city.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Whatever happened to Bob Kemp. He did a late night radio show. He was one of the few I enjoyed. Mostly because he was so critical and wasn't an asskisser.

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

JT The Brick (10pm-2am) - probably the best show on Fox Sports Radio. I can understand how he won one of Jim Rome's Smackoffs.

I don't listen to sports/talk radio that much anymore, so I don't know 99% of those names.

 

I, however, think Rome is entertaining, and used to LOVE listening to J.T. the Brick when he used to be on Sportsfan Radio. I was scanning the dial one night and heard his voice talking about a Lakers/Kings playoff game. My jaw just dropped. However, I've listened to him a few times on Fox and liked him better when he was at his old station.

 

Not saying I don't like him now -- it's just that he seems a little bit reserved and his callers aren't at good...

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

'WIP' I don't think so...what is the station number? I'm all the way up in North Jersey, 15 minutes from the city.

610 AM. I don't think it'll reach that far north, though.

[Guest undisputedjericho]

I just checked, and it doesn't; but maybe it will when I go to the shore in a couple of weeks, since it is fairly close to Philly and we get both NY and Philly TV stations down there.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Whatever happened to Bob Kemp. He did a late night radio show. He was one of the few I enjoyed. Mostly because he was so critical and wasn't an asskisser.

He left Sporting News Radio to work out in Arizona. Kevin Wheeler took his time slot.

 

On the subject of NY callers, is it okay if I toss Jerome off a tall bridge? He'd be bearable somewhat if he didn't go off on those retarded, screaming rants where you can't make out whatever the fuck he's saying. I'm shocked that some stations haven't banned his ass for good.

[Guest undisputedjericho]

Half the reason I listen to this stuff is to here Jerome.

 

"Get ridda Mondesi....he's a piece of garbage!!! I want him outta here and I want Brian Giles!!! And Weaver has to go, trade him for ...... "

 

The guy is gold.

[Guest Anglesault]

THE BEARABLE

Chris Russo: WFAN; Weekday afternoon; simolcast on YES Network (Mike & The Mad Dog)

Russo might be the stupidest man on Radio.

 

Doris, maybe.

 

DORIS!!!!!!!!

 

From Rego Park.

 

She calls at all hours of the day and night.

 

I also think she has emphysema.

 

Still, Met fans are the most annoying callers

 

"Hey, (insert radio host) I have a trade for you! 13 team trade, long and complicated, but in the end, we give up Benitez and a patch of grass, and get Bonds, Sosa, Roy Halladay and the reincarnated Babe Ruth! Do you think it could work?"

 

No, you fuckwad.

[Guest Steve J. Rogers]

Michael Kay: ESPN; Mid-days

 

You being a Yankee fan would say that.

 

I disagree.

 

The guy sounds like a total suckup when he is bashing WFAN, especially when in conjunction with Al Leiter who is starting to show how sensitve to criticism he is. And on the other hand he has no problem doing the same things he rips WFAN (specifically Chris Russo) for, only thing is he bashes anyone who is not affiliated with the Yankees or his close personal friend Al Leiter

 

Richard Neer: WFAN; Various; Saturday morning

 

Have to disagree here, he just knows baseball and football and doesn't seem to know or care about anything else (see his missing various Devil Stanley Cup games)

 

Mike Greenberg: ESPN; Weekday mornings (Mike & Mike)

Mike Golic: ESPN; Weekday mornings (Mike & Mike)

 

Have to disagree here as well. I wonder how people react to them in other markets.

 

My problem is, there show is severely hampered by the NYC's affliate's time schedule (actually the entire station is hampered by its "need to hit all the breaks" mentality, sometimes you can blow past a 20/20 or something) and I really don't like the local segment as it seems too forced often

 

Jim Rome: ESPN; Weekday nights

 

Intresting, I would think Rome would work well here, if he was live. And apparantly he will be by the end of the summer. Ferrall did well here both as a network guy (WFAN) and local (he was starting an uptrend at the time of his dismissal from WNEW)

 

Don Imus: WFAN; Morning; nationally syndicated; simolcast on MSNBC

 

I-Man shouldn't count for obvious reasons

 

Intresting that you failed to mention the guy that if you listen to 1050 ESPN who seems to be the hottest host in the market, Donnie Pucks himself, Don LaGreca (weekend mornings)

 

Steve