Briefly... on Sports talk radio

WIP is letting Martarano go and putting Missanelli back where he belongs, on air, with Gargano on the Midday show. Finally I can listen to the midday show again without feeling like a desperate sports geek settling for whatever is on 'IP. Ultimately, I think Missanelli worked better with Eskin than with Gargano, and better still with Fredericks, of course.
Ranking my favorite Sports talk shows:
1. Mike & the Mad Dog, WFAN
2. Howard Eskin, WIP
3. Steve Somers, WFAN
4. Paul Jolovitz/ Jim Jackson, WIP
5. Tony Paige, WFAN.

I think Jackson should stick with WIP, or just host a regualr show during the Flyers' off-season (which has been extended for some time now). He's fair, pays attention to national sports, and makes intelligent points. Tony Paige has been a real joy to listen to late nights coming home from work. Somers has given me new respect for the Mets, a team I have never cared for in my entire life. I like Eskin because his entire show is based on ridiculing others, and people still call in. Eskin's show isn't so much about sports, because it is easy to catch him unknowledgeable about a sports topic, especially if it isn't local, but it is about people, everyday people "bowing to the king".
Mike and the Mad Dog have to be #1, and by a lot. Many commercials do not spoil the experience of listening to two geniuses dissect sports with passion that is not easily found or replicated elsewhere in the world of sports journalism, let alone elsewhere on the dial. I know when I tune in to that program that I am listening to a piece of history, a gift of entertainment that will not always be around. Flashy-"sportscenter" journalism is the wave of the future, with less focus on the past and on the facts, and more focus on the rumor and controversey. Sports is certainly not the only subject matter to see this shift in style through. In fact, I hold onto sports journalism and historical stories as relics of fact-reporting styles that have long bit the dust in today's fast paced media medium. So, Mike and the Dog, whether it is recounting great boxing matches from the early to mid 1900's, or addressing Major League Baseball one division at a time; they make the subject matter interesting with emphasis and fact.
Time for a nap.