To all you fans - stop bitching about the Eagles. And Harry Kalas needs to retire.
-P
Monday, November 03, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sports Radio 950 is now 950 ESPN
Sports Radio 950 is becoming 950 ESPN tomorrow. Really. No April Fool's. Their ads have been bragging "never heard in Philadelphia before," which if you used to listen to ESPN 920, you'd know is pretty much true. The lineup includes:
Mike & Mike, 6 AM - 9 AM (replacing the fired Glenn Foley and status-to be-determined Michael Bradley and Meredith Marakovits - chances are the station will keep Meredith around).
Jody McDonald, 9 AM - 1 PM (Jody Mac moves from the anti-Eskin afternoon drivetime back to the midday spot he previously did on WIP).
Mike Tirico, 1 PM - 3 PM (snore)
Mike Missanelli, 3 PM - 7 PM (back from ESPN 1050 in NYC, formerly as Screamin' A. Smith's sidekick)
The Locker Room, 7 PM - 11 PM (Harry Mayes, fresh off the Fanatics midday show, is back in his old evening slot with Dan Schwartzman, sole survivor of the ESPN 920 wreck)
Misc (Dan Patrick, who was previously in at 9 AM - 12 PM for Tony Bruno's old slot, is now syndicated from 11 PM - 2 AM; Jason Smith is on the ESPN graveyard shift from 2 AM - 5 AM, whoever he is; and a one-hour rehash of Sports Center)
WIP got into the reshuffling act, too, moving Glen Macnow from evenings back to his former 10 AM - 2 PM shift with the Cuz. That spot opened when Steve Martorano left (no idea if voluntarily this time around). The 700 Level.com reports that Ike Reese will take over Glen's evening slot. Hmm. Not sure if Ike is entertaining enough for a solid 4 hours with no co-host.
Our thoughts?
X: I'll miss Glen on the drive home. Putting him with the Cuz is good for them, but essentially 950 and 610 are putting their most likable hosts in combat, or Mac vs. Mac. The former co-hosts Howard and Mike will try to verbally assault each other, though Mike doesn't seem to favor verbal assaults so much as physical ones.
P: Eskin vs. Missanelli is like a no-win scenario. As for mornings, I try to listen to Delaware's 1290 AM since they still have the First Team on Fox with Steve Czaban, which was the startup morning show on 950 until Henson and Foley got going. The only downsides to Czaban's show are the obligatory NASCAR interviews with Michel Rahal and oodles of talk about hi-fi systems, none of which I can afford. On the plus side, anyone who has a clip from Johnny Bravo when discussing the night's TV picks is OK in my book.
X: And Mike and Mike don't really do anything for me - I used to listen to them on 920, but that was mostly for Peter Gammons during baseball season. I thought Golic's blasting of ESPN hiring Tony Kornheiser for MNF was pretty funny - Golic, a football guy, was hired to be everyman, while Kornheiser, an everyman, was hired to be the everyman on a football show. Personally, I find Kornheiser more entertaining on PTI than Golic is on Mike & Mike. Greeny is inoffensive. Pairing him with Sue Bird a few years ago on a chaotic ESPN commercial was awesome (two ladies talking).
P: Al Morganti, Keith Jones and Hugh Douglas should have their own morning show. I'd certainly listen. I still remember when Al was reading the update one morning when Rhea was unavailable, and Al just said "there were some games in the NBA last night," and quickly moved on to the NHL scores. On Keith's first show, he said "Al, why don't you introduce yourself?" And Hugh is, well, Hugh.
Mike & Mike, 6 AM - 9 AM (replacing the fired Glenn Foley and status-to be-determined Michael Bradley and Meredith Marakovits - chances are the station will keep Meredith around).
Jody McDonald, 9 AM - 1 PM (Jody Mac moves from the anti-Eskin afternoon drivetime back to the midday spot he previously did on WIP).
Mike Tirico, 1 PM - 3 PM (snore)
Mike Missanelli, 3 PM - 7 PM (back from ESPN 1050 in NYC, formerly as Screamin' A. Smith's sidekick)
The Locker Room, 7 PM - 11 PM (Harry Mayes, fresh off the Fanatics midday show, is back in his old evening slot with Dan Schwartzman, sole survivor of the ESPN 920 wreck)
Misc (Dan Patrick, who was previously in at 9 AM - 12 PM for Tony Bruno's old slot, is now syndicated from 11 PM - 2 AM; Jason Smith is on the ESPN graveyard shift from 2 AM - 5 AM, whoever he is; and a one-hour rehash of Sports Center)
WIP got into the reshuffling act, too, moving Glen Macnow from evenings back to his former 10 AM - 2 PM shift with the Cuz. That spot opened when Steve Martorano left (no idea if voluntarily this time around). The 700 Level.com reports that Ike Reese will take over Glen's evening slot. Hmm. Not sure if Ike is entertaining enough for a solid 4 hours with no co-host.
Our thoughts?
X: I'll miss Glen on the drive home. Putting him with the Cuz is good for them, but essentially 950 and 610 are putting their most likable hosts in combat, or Mac vs. Mac. The former co-hosts Howard and Mike will try to verbally assault each other, though Mike doesn't seem to favor verbal assaults so much as physical ones.
P: Eskin vs. Missanelli is like a no-win scenario. As for mornings, I try to listen to Delaware's 1290 AM since they still have the First Team on Fox with Steve Czaban, which was the startup morning show on 950 until Henson and Foley got going. The only downsides to Czaban's show are the obligatory NASCAR interviews with Michel Rahal and oodles of talk about hi-fi systems, none of which I can afford. On the plus side, anyone who has a clip from Johnny Bravo when discussing the night's TV picks is OK in my book.
X: And Mike and Mike don't really do anything for me - I used to listen to them on 920, but that was mostly for Peter Gammons during baseball season. I thought Golic's blasting of ESPN hiring Tony Kornheiser for MNF was pretty funny - Golic, a football guy, was hired to be everyman, while Kornheiser, an everyman, was hired to be the everyman on a football show. Personally, I find Kornheiser more entertaining on PTI than Golic is on Mike & Mike. Greeny is inoffensive. Pairing him with Sue Bird a few years ago on a chaotic ESPN commercial was awesome (two ladies talking).
P: Al Morganti, Keith Jones and Hugh Douglas should have their own morning show. I'd certainly listen. I still remember when Al was reading the update one morning when Rhea was unavailable, and Al just said "there were some games in the NBA last night," and quickly moved on to the NHL scores. On Keith's first show, he said "Al, why don't you introduce yourself?" And Hugh is, well, Hugh.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Daryl Johnston must be on crack. Or Frank Gifford possessed his body.
One observation from watching the Pro Bowl: Daryl Johnston of Fox Sports, who noted that Osi Umenyiora was the Giants' only Pro Bowl rep, and "that just speaks to their great chemistry." As Kyle's mom on South Park would say, "Wha-wha-whaaa?"
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sports Illustrated: Super Bowl 42 Champion Patriots
Too much confidence? This morning's boston.com article by Dan Shaughnessy on New England's Super Bowl loss had an ad for Sports Illustrated, with the annual freebie enticement to subscribe: Super Bowl DVD, T-Shirt, and football. Unfortunately, they all had Patriots logos.
Well, some kids in Nigeria or Uganda will wind up with the T-shirts.
Well, some kids in Nigeria or Uganda will wind up with the T-shirts.
(Not) Patriots' Day
Congrats to the Giants, who stunned the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl 42. I knew there was trouble when it was only 7-3 Pats at the half. If the Pats had been wearing white jerseys, it would have looked worse: Tom Brady might have resembled a Seattle Seahawk from the late 70's, with blue and green mixed all over. Blue, for the Giant defenders who constantly got past the Pats' O-Line, and Green, for all the grass stains Brady got from hitting the turf over and over again.
Kudos to Blogger, which suggested "Goestenkors" when I typed the letter "g" in labels. Coach G has guided #25 UT to a 15-7 mark this year. Her former team, #9 Duke, is 16-5.
-X
Kudos to Blogger, which suggested "Goestenkors" when I typed the letter "g" in labels. Coach G has guided #25 UT to a 15-7 mark this year. Her former team, #9 Duke, is 16-5.
-X
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Eagles in Transition
Now that the Eagles are making plans for 2008, it's time to revisit comments from Mark Eckel of the Trenton Times made back in November 2007. Eckel wrote a devastating column regarding the Eagles' front office woes, including lots on Tom Heckert, who was considered by Atlanta and Miami for its front offices:
Heckert wouldn't know talent if it walked into his office, and it would have to walk into his office since he never leaves the building...The Eagles continue to insist they are "a few players away." However, QB Donovan McNabb, who sees his own time in Philly coming to a close, stated on his blog that the Eagles need lots of better players - after all, 8-8 isn't good enough to get you in the playoffs anymore, not with the NFC East as good as it is now.
Here's an exercise for you to do in your spare time. Go over the Eagles' current 53-man roster and circle the good players -- not solid players, not players the Eagles tell you are good -- the truly good players.
If you get to 10, you circled too many.
Then go over players who probably shouldn't be on the roster, or any other roster. When your hand gets tired, you're done.
Just like the Eagles.
ESPN 920's el foldo
ESPN 920 closed up shop earlier this month. Once it revives, Philadelphia's REAL sports station will be New York's REAL sports station, as they will simulcast NYC's ESPN 1050. Fans of Stephen A. Smith and Mike Missanelli, rejoice (yes, the sound of one hand clapping).
Previously I bashed ESPN 920 because:
- It billed itself as Philadelphia's REAL sports station (don't talk smack if you can't back it up).
- Its signal barely reached Philadelphia, and if you live in Chester or Delaware counties, you mostly just got fuzz.
- At night, its signal was overcome by a Canadian country station (CKNX, Ontario). Basically the only sports on 920 I heard in Delaware County were Canadian. Ooof.
- There was only one local show during the week - afternoon drivetime, which featured a rotating cast ending with Program Director Dan Schwartzman, who was let go as a result of the latest move. Schwartzman wound up on SportsRadio 950's The Locker Room
a few nights last week.
Simulcasting 1050 from NY is fine if you want to hear NY personalities after the national shows. But couldn't listeners just tune in to 660 The Fan if they wanted NY radio?
As for the national ESPN shows, Mike and Mike are take-it-or-leave-it for me - they're OK. Colin Cowherd doesn't do anything for me. The few times I've heard him, nothing special jumped out. The departed Dan Patrick was a little too smug for my liking. His new show was picked up by SportsRadio 950 and airs 11 PM - 2 AM. His replacements on ESPN: Mike Tirico (1 PM - 2PM) and the aforementioned Screamin A. and Mikey from 2 PM - 4PM. Ugh.
-X
Previously I bashed ESPN 920 because:
- It billed itself as Philadelphia's REAL sports station (don't talk smack if you can't back it up).
- Its signal barely reached Philadelphia, and if you live in Chester or Delaware counties, you mostly just got fuzz.
- At night, its signal was overcome by a Canadian country station (CKNX, Ontario). Basically the only sports on 920 I heard in Delaware County were Canadian. Ooof.
- There was only one local show during the week - afternoon drivetime, which featured a rotating cast ending with Program Director Dan Schwartzman, who was let go as a result of the latest move. Schwartzman wound up on SportsRadio 950's The Locker Room
a few nights last week.
Simulcasting 1050 from NY is fine if you want to hear NY personalities after the national shows. But couldn't listeners just tune in to 660 The Fan if they wanted NY radio?
As for the national ESPN shows, Mike and Mike are take-it-or-leave-it for me - they're OK. Colin Cowherd doesn't do anything for me. The few times I've heard him, nothing special jumped out. The departed Dan Patrick was a little too smug for my liking. His new show was picked up by SportsRadio 950 and airs 11 PM - 2 AM. His replacements on ESPN: Mike Tirico (1 PM - 2PM) and the aforementioned Screamin A. and Mikey from 2 PM - 4PM. Ugh.
-X
Pats win again (ho hum)
What happened since the last time we were here? The Sawx won another World Series, the Celtics picked up Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and (yawn) the Patriots are back in their fourth Super Bowl in seven years. Not bad.
We went to the Temple-Duke game at the Wachovia Center earlier this month. LOTS of Duke fans in attendance. The Blue Devils played an average game, good enough to beat an average Temple team, but will Duke be good enough to challenge Carolina? Hm. Probably not.
We went to the Temple-Duke game at the Wachovia Center earlier this month. LOTS of Duke fans in attendance. The Blue Devils played an average game, good enough to beat an average Temple team, but will Duke be good enough to challenge Carolina? Hm. Probably not.
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