A lot of stuff going on in a very packed show. Guests include Zach Harper from Talkhoops.net and Matt Sebek from Joe Sports Fan.
But first, we start the show with people we hate. And people who lie.
First, Brett Favre. Rather than type it all out here let’s just say that Favre clearly only cares about his legacy and has proven that he’s not the conquering hero people wanted him to be. Has he tarnished his legacy past the point of ever being able to fix it? How can anyone in America still be a fan of this man? And when he eventually does retire, why would any television want to hire a guy who everyone hates?
Speaking of a guy in media who everyone hates, a lot of listeners have been asking me to comment on the flame war in Philly between
Colin Cowherd and Mike Missanelli. The long and short of it...Cowherd went on one of his typical blowhard rants about how dumb local radio callers are when they complain about play calling or the quality of a coach on game day. They sleep in their offices blah blah blah. Mikey Miss, always looking for an angle to be the voice of the people in Philly, took Cowherd to task on his show later that day. Eventually the two, who by the way work for the same station in Philly now, battled it out on Missanelli’s show. So my thoughts....it’s wrestling. It’s fake. Total schtick.
Now, do I think Missanelli really has a problem with Cowherd? Yes. And do I think that Missanelli would invite anyone he doesn’t agree with on the show to yell at them for a while? Yes. That’s Mike’s role in Philly. As I said, he’s the voice of the people -- The People’s Champ -- and he’s made his name doing that. He’s fought against Howard Eskin that way and now he’s fighting with Cowherd that way.
For Cowherd, of course he brought up Eagles fans. The man just got a radio show that now airs for an hour in Philly. You don’t think he’d try to be the hatable outsider to garner some publicity, would you? Nah, not him. His radio virtue seems so true.
Cowherd got what he wanted. The attention of Philly radio listeners. And media for that matter. And he got to yell back and forth with the local radio hero on his air, which by the way, is the top-rated show on the entire station.
The only thing this feud was missing was pyrotechnics and
Doink the Clown. That’s not to say that Cowherd isn’t totally wrong and Missanelli isn’t totally right. But Cowherd is almost always wrong with his sweeping generalizations...that’s what he does. And while ESPN’s people -- I know you’re listening -- think that what they did made great radio and got people talking, well it did. We took the bait and talked about it. We’re talking about you. But we’re not listening. And that’s what should matter.
Dom DeLuise died this week so we take a moment to remember one of the funny guys of our time. Cannonball Run I and II are still some of my favorite movies of all time. What a cast, what a story and man the cars were awesome. Not to mention Smokey and the Bandit. Nick remembers Dom for his penchant for cooking. First Pontiac and now Dom...someone give Burt Reynolds a hug.
Three’s a Crowd:
We bring in Zach Harper from Talkhoops.net to discuss the NBA playoffs. The Celtics-Bulls series was a great show, but is everyone making too much out of the importance of a first round series, especially if the Celtics don’t get any further than the second round?
Also, LeBron James won the MVP, but does he need to get to the Finals for this season not to be considered a failure? And how much does the NBA need LeBron vs. Kobe for the Finals to be a success? Has the NBA put all its eggs in one basket like the NHL did with Crosby vs. Ovechkin? Are there any other matchups worth watching?
We also get the low down on the goings on at Talk Hoops, including the Bill Simmons for Timberwolves GM campaign (that Simmons started, mind you).
Culture Pop:
Matt Sebek from Joe Sports Fan finally joins the show to talk about...American Idol. Sebek is probably the only sports blogger more obsessed with Idol than me.
First we talk about the shirt he photographed (but did not make) showing just how racist Cardinals fans really are. And then back to Idol. We don’t really dissect the best singers, so don’t worry. We talk about the bubble we all live in when watching the show.
Imagine watching minor league baseball and having the announcers tell you the players are the best in the country. You know they aren’t but the announcers keep telling you they are. Then they bring in former MLB All-Stars to tell you how good these minor leaguers are as well. Imagine 30 million people watching this every night. Then flip the channel up one and see Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halladay and think...wait a minute....those minor leaguers really do suck.
That’s American Idol. But we don’t turn the channel up one and realize they all suck. They all suck. If Allison would have won you can make the case for ‘undiscovered talent’ as she auditioned when she was only 16, but the finals could be two guys in their late 20s -- one who has worked in Hollywood for years -- and we’re supposed to forget the fact that if they were any good, they would have been called up to the majors a long time ago.
Sebek and I discuss how we allowed ourselves to be duped because the show used to be entertaining. Now it’s not even good drama as Simon has softened when he realized how much money he can make off these contestants. Has technology, and the ability to download the songs (hence track who is buying which artist’s work the next day) changed the way the show is run, and the way Simon judges? Has the show officially jumped the shark?
And we promise, next time Sebek is on, we’ll talk sports.
Housekeeping:
I’m on The 404 today in NYC. So check that out. And email us to tell us who you think our favorite Phillies of all time are (as many guesses as you like). Winners will go into a hat and two people will come to the Phils-Gnats game on May 31st. Beers on us.
Thanks for listening.
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