ESPN 950 goes FM; Steve Phillips can't keep it in his pants

ESPN 950 is now simulcast on 97.5 FM. Or vice versa, depending on your perspective. Their website (and advertising around Philly) now bills the station as 97.5 The Fanatic, Philly's first FM sports station. There's a podcast link from the midday show from Tuesday with Harry Mayes and Tony Bruno speaking with...

Steve Phillips, who popped up in the news today due to his suspension from ESPN and leave of absence over a tangled "fatal attraction" affair with a 22-year old ESPN production assistant.

The letter Brooke Hundley dropped off at Casa Phillips for Marni Phillips to read included (besides a vivid description of the ESPN analyst's genital area birthmarks), this gem:

"Whether he chooses to stay in a loveless marriage for his kids or to move on and be with someone whom he says makes him feel better than he's ever felt, it's up to him..."

Bizarro-world aspects of the affair apparently included Hundley pretending to be a high school student to insinuate herself with Phillips's high school-aged son, her inclusion of her cell phone number in the letter so Marni Phillips could discuss matters with her, and apparently a voicemail that said "I care about Steve and make him happy and we both can't have him."

No reports of boiling rabbits yet, but damn! Considering Phillips was sued for sexual harassment while GM of the Mets in the late 90's, you'd think he'd stay clear of extra-marital kitty. Wrong. Update from Captain Obvious: Marni Phillips has filed for divorce. Just stupid, stupid, stupid.

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.