Sports Talk Hosts, Whatcha Looking For

[Texsox]

Inspired by another thread, I was wondering what y'all are looking/listening for in a sports talk show host.

 

I want good to great guests, good pacing, relevant stuff outside of sports, and finally, if the host absolutely has to, perhaps some commentary from the host.

 

I don't care as much about what the hosts thinks, I'd rather spend a hour listening to six guests than the host and one guest, no matter how knowledgeable the host may be. Keep it moving, I don't want to spend thirty minutes on one topic, well at least most of the time.

[DrunkBomber]

Ya I pretty much think the same as Tony. I really like Mike and Mike, except when one of them isnt there and they have a sub host. I cant stand Dan Patrick. he tries to make these quasi "bold" statements and then picks the emails that dont agree with him and rips them. its too much force feeding you his opinion. MJH are pretty good and are decent at keeping a conversation going without a guest which I would assume is because theres three of them.

[greasywheels121]

Gage, Mario, and Heads.

[Scwible]

I'm not really sure why but I've liked Boers and Bernstein for a while now. I do get annoyed with them from time to time, but it's far less than with others, like say Dan Patrick. Maybe it's the stupidity of some of the stuff they do that goes on during the show that brings me in. Sometimes they do get a god complex though which does get me to switch it off for a while.

 

Another person though I've liked more and more is Laurence Holmes. He seems to handle the listeners in a different manner and has a good knowledge base.

[ZoomSlowik]

1) At least some humor. Obviously the goal is to be entertaining, though B&B and MJ&H can get a little carried away.

 

2) Good sports knowledge, the fewer stupid, un-informed comments the better. I don't need you to be drawing up X's and O's or taking a deep exploration of the strategy (in fact, that gets kind of tedious), but I want you to have at least a decent feel for what's going on in the league and players and teams' strengths and weaknesses (with an emphasis on the home teams).

 

3) I prefer local hosts to national. Granted I follow a lot more than the local teams and it can get annoying when they talk about the Bears for the entire show all week, it's even more annoying to hear them do the same thing with the Yankees or Red Sox or whatever other team/player they feel like talking about. When I was at Spring Training they spent an entire show on Kobe Bryant, and I was about ready to strangle somebody.

 

4) As for specific aspects of programming, I generally like a bit of a mix in the programming, not depending too heavily on one aspect.

 

Having good guests is nice, but I don't really want more than two or maybe three in one show, that gets to be a little much. Also, it's gotta be relevant, I don't really want to hear from someone like Vida Blue for no real reason, and it gets hard to stick to that if you're stacking up a ton of guests (the one exception is right before March Madness).

 

I like some host commentary, at least to set up the topic and get the discussion started, though it can definitely be awful if they're pontificating for a long time, especially if #2 above is an issue. Also, I HATE it when they talk for like an hour about something that's not a huge story, like the Ben Wallace headband fiasco or a player's holdout.

 

Again, I like some callers, but not an excessive amount. Also, that's more variable in quality depending on the knowledge level and general attitude of the callers. However, it is nice to get some fan input on topics.

 

I also personally like to keep non-sports topics to a minimum, otherwise I'd listen to something else. It's okay if there's a funny story or if it's tangentially related to sports, but I don't really want to hear people arguing about how much to tip a skycap or something like that.

Edited April 12, 2007 by ZoomSlowik

[Chisoxfn]

See Dan Patrick show (nothing is better).

[Texsox]

See Dan Patrick show (nothing is better).

 

Best show.

[Mr. Showtime]

I'm LURKING~! while at work and had to chime in on this.

 

Mike and the MadDog is where it's at when it comes to sports radio for myself. I enjoy B&B, and Murph from time to time.

[shoota]

Inspired by another thread, I was wondering what y'all are looking/listening for in a sports talk show host.

 

I want good to great guests, good pacing, relevant stuff outside of sports, and finally, if the host absolutely has to, perhaps some commentary from the host.

 

I don't care as much about what the hosts thinks, I'd rather spend a hour listening to six guests than the host and one guest, no matter how knowledgeable the host may be. Keep it moving, I don't want to spend thirty minutes on one topic, well at least most of the time.

 

I'm a Jim Rome fan. I've noticed when I tell people that, most disagree and mention the Jim Everett interview and think Rome's a hack.

 

I was too young to listen to him back then, but I think his style has changed drastically compared to today. I can't blame Chicagoans for not realizing this change because Rome's show isn't live here, so it's easy to miss.

 

His interviews are smooth and professional; he amazes me how he thinks of a question relevant to what the interviewee just stated. He's very well prepared in his interviews and show scheduling.

 

He has 3-4 interviews daily in his 3-hour show, with sports-diverse guests, usually favoring whatever sports are current.

 

But I wouldn't listen regularly if it weren't for his humor and the witty emails from the listeners. Rome often has a segment where he will talk about bizarre current events no one else covers, like an intoxicated college student who stole a gay ram from his school's lab and was pulled over with it in the back of his pickup.

 

I used to buy his program through his web site, allowing me to listen without commercials. I plan on buying it again soon.

[shipps]

Lawrence Holmes is probably my favorite right now.He is not a bitter old man like most of the hosts out there and yet he doesnt sound like a young,cocky,know it all either.

[SoxFan562004]

I like Scott Ferrall on Sirius 101. I could completely understand why people wouldn't like him, but he talks about gambling lines, has fun with sports, and has great MMA/UFC guests

[AddisonStSox]

Hands down, the best sports talk-radio show is Boers and Bernstein.

 

Both of those guys are so far ahead of their time it's not even funny.

 

It's the best thing to ever happen to Chicago sports radio and for whatever reason if they were to move to some sort of satellite service (i.e. XM, Sirius), I would pay double the asking price to have them from 2-6 every working day.

 

Brilliant. Hysterical. Informed.

 

They absolutely are doing the show for themselves; but, if you get what they are all about, it is simply a gift.

[southsider2k5]

Pretty much most sports radio is a complete waste of time IMO. They are just a bunch of guys who take contra-opinions to generate phone calls, or saying stupid things to get attention. There is no one in this town I would be upset with if they weren't on the radio tomorrow.

[RockRaines]

I really like Mike and Mike. If it was a local show, they would be tops for me. I like to be entertained, I like good chemistry, and I depise the opinions of people like Jim Rome, where their word is supposed to be taken as god's decree.

[Steve9347]

I really like Mike and Mike. If it was a local show, they would be tops for me. I like to be entertained, I like good chemistry, and I depise the opinions of people like Jim Rome, where their word is supposed to be taken as god's decree.

 

I think Mike and Mike are good, but the interviewing and hyping everyone ESPN gets really, really old.

 

I'll take Boers and Bernstein, but only because Carmen and Silvy got screwed out of a good timeslot and I can't hear them anymore.

[GaelicSoxFan]

Hands down, the best sports talk-radio show is Boers and Bernstein.

 

Both of those guys are so far ahead of their time it's not even funny.

 

It's the best thing to ever happen to Chicago sports radio and for whatever reason if they were to move to some sort of satellite service (i.e. XM, Sirius), I would pay double the asking price to have them from 2-6 every working day.

 

Brilliant. Hysterical. Informed.

 

They absolutely are doing the show for themselves; but, if you get what they are all about, it is simply a gift.

I like B & B except for when when Bernsie gets condescending. When some callers try to give a simple yes or no answer to a question, he sometimes wants them to clarify. Sometimes, when a caller tries to clarify their position, he yells "JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Edited April 22, 2007 by GaelicSoxFan

[GoodAsGould]

I like Mike and Mike to a degree, but really they repeat themselves so damn much that you can listen to the show for 30 minutes and get out of it the same as you would for listening to it for 4 hours. I actually enjoy Rosenbloom and Salibury and i also really like Dan Patrick.

 

 

I used to every so often enjoy the Mike North show, but he has just gotten to the point I cant stand him anymore. And the rest of the score lineup is just bad, I don't understand how people like Boers and Bernstein. And on ESPN, Jim Rome is the worse and Ive also never gotten why people enjoyed MJH

[spiderman]

Lawrence Holmes is probably my favorite right now.He is not a bitter old man like most of the hosts out there and yet he doesnt sound like a young,cocky,know it all either.

 

I think we have different shows coming out of our radio.

[AbeFroman]

The best four (in no particular order):

 

Laurence Holmes, Zack Zademan, Dan Bernstein, Terry Boers...

 

That's it... Thats the list

[Middle Buffalo]

See Dan Patrick show (nothing is better).

I disagree, and I used to like him on SportsCenter. I do like the hour with Olberman, but I hate any interaction he has with Phil the Showkiller. Certain guests, like Reggie Miller, are terrible, but he keeps having them on. It's awful when he has Miller and Mark Jackson on and the argue with each other. He kisses up to the guests because he wants to be their friend, and I hate how he talks about pop culture. He's a middle aged guy trying to sound relevant by bringing up Jay-Z or the like. Oh, and it doesn't show up on radio, but his hair dye job is terrible. It makes his face look older.

 

Jim Rome can be funny, but he literally repeats the same sentance two or three times sometimes and just changes a word. His rants are good sometimes, but the majority of his callers who read theirs are terrible.

[Steve9347]

The DP show is horrific.

[GoodAsGould]

Whenever a thread about radio sports guys come up I always have to add, Kevin Wheeler was the best ever, im still sad he is gone and the guy that took the overnight shift is the worse ever on 670.

[GaelicSoxFan]

Whenever a thread about radio sports guys come up I always have to add, Kevin Wheeler was the best ever, im still sad he is gone and the guy that took the overnight shift is the worse ever on 670.

That's because it's syndicated. Sporting News Radio.

[rangercal]

Whenever a thread about radio sports guys come up I always have to add, Kevin Wheeler was the best ever, im still sad he is gone and the guy that took the overnight shift is the worse ever on 670.

I hope wheeler gets back on the airwaves. He was my favorite.

[GoodAsGould]

I hope wheeler gets back on the airwaves. He was my favorite.

 

Does anyone know like what he is doing, is he doing radio part time now at all or have any plans in getting back into it. He was a hater, but he sure was enjoyable to listen too, plus he had great callers too. I miss the dave in mississipi conversations.