« Major Update: History of the Smack-Off | Return to Main | KILE AM 1560 in Houston »
The 13th annual Smack-Off will be held on Friday, May 4, 2007. Dreamt up by Jim Rome and his producer Travis Rodgers, the Smack-Off is an invite only competition among the show’s elite callers. The winner of the contest is crowned King of Smack for the year.
To prepare for the Smack-Off, you should probably check out my Smack-Off history page. You can listen to a whole lot of past calls and can familiarize yourself with the participants.
Romey's sound engineer, Alvin Delloro, cut a promotional clip for the event; you can listen to it Here.
The Jungle airs from 11am to 2pm Central Time, check the website for the Jungle to find your local affiliate.
Here are the previous winners:
2006 Sean the Cablinasian
2005 Sean the Cablinasian
2004 Iafrate
2003 Sean the Cablinasian
2002 Jeff in Richmond
2001 Silk in Huntington Beach
2000 Doc Mike DiTolla
1999 Sean the Cablinasian
1998 Steve Carbone
1997 Doc Mike DiTolla
1996 Jeffrey DiTolla Esq.
1995 JT the Brick
I'll be posting my call-by-call comments and my top ten list
Congrats to the Cablinasian, who I thought was a legitimate winner this year whereas he stole it from Greg in Vegas last year. Congrats to Milk in da D who had the wisdom to enter the clones at the top of my odds list into the Stucknut Smack-Off challenge; enjoy that jersey.
I don't visit Stucknut often, but I had to check in today to see if anyone else thought Joe in the O.C.'s second place call was way overrated by the crew. I'm a fan of Joe, but that was a subpar effort with a few memorable lines thrown in to mask the stench of average.
As I see it there are 12 guys with a legitimate chance to win this thing. Populating the bottom half of the odds list, you'll find many of the talented but long absent SoCal and early syndication legends. Should any of these guys decide to call they would have a good shot at the top five or even a Smack-Off win; however, they just don't call anymore, not even for the Smack-Off. My odds are based on talent, my perception of how much Jim likes the caller's work, and whether or not I think the guy will call.
And now the odds, bet 'em like you would the ponies:
| Odds | Clone |
|---|---|
| 9-2 | Sean the Cablinasian: As long as he's interested in participating, Sean will be the favorite. Effortless smack runner. |
| 7-1 | Iafrate: Former best caller never to win, he consistently brings it on the big day. |
| 8-1 | Greg in Vegas: In my opinion he's the current best caller never to win, but he shouldn't be; his call was hands down the best in 2006 and the same argument could be made for his call in 2003. |
| 9-1 | Joe In Orange County: Believe it or not, the young upstart will be appearing in his fifth Smack-Off. His rookie call was great and ended with a legendary buzzer duo. Joe could recapture that magic at any time. |
| 9-1 | Terrence in Sierra Madre: The people's caller and the other guy that is arguably the best never to win. His early Smack-Off history is inconsistent, but of late he has been right in the thick of things with solid calls. |
| 12-1 | Rachel in Houston: Rome seems to like her. I like her too, but I'm not convinced she has the extra gear necessary for the big win. She's very much in the Jeff on a car phone in Phoenix mold; a good regular caller with little upside. |
| 12-1 | Steve Carbone: Former caller from Loyola-Marymount turned phone-slap turned radio show host turned clone. He has the game, but will he call? |
| 12-1 | Vic in NoCal: The Next Big Thing, Vic opened at 15-1, but on Wednesday he placed a Smack-Off caliber call in which he called his shot in a huge way. Very creative use of resets and a nice deadpan delivery with good pacing plus Jim seems to really be a fan. I know I've previously said that rookies don't win the Smack-Off, period. This guy might be different. If he weren't a rookie Vic would be in the 8-1 range, at 12-1 he might be a smart money play. |
| 13-1 | Doc Mike DiTolla: Opened at 18-1, but I get the feeling he'll call this year. Doc Mike goes at his calls similar to Dennis Miller's standup routine and has the same level of condescension. As a two-time winner he could easily walk away with the win should he show up. |
| 14-1 | Casey in Vegas: Like Joe in the O.C., Casey is one of the now grizzled new breed callers. Runs excellent smack and has the upside to take home the crown. |
| 14-1 | Jay Mohr: You know him from films like Paulie and Jane Austen's Mafia! and you might remember him from his days as a regular Jungle caller and occasional host, and now the word is he'll make a return to the Smack-Off. Jay made a very solid call in the 2001 Smack-Off, but as a professional comedian he has to be perfect to overcome the higher expectations. I'm a fan and I hope he calls. |
| 15-1 | Bill in Knoxville: His rookie call in 2005 was decent but entirely unremarkable. His sophomore effort showed promise. I doubt he'll win, but I think he is certainly one of twelve guys with the potential. |
| 25-1 | Jeff on a car phone in Phoenix: Formerly a regular contributor to the show, he now calls solely for the Smack-Off and to run some smack leading up to the event. Jeff has never fared well in the main event and has had the hammer dropped on him more than Paris Hilton. Last year he did manage to earn his first top ten finish (ninth). |
| 25-1 | Silk in Huntington Beach: Another regular contributor who typically has bottom of the top ten potential in the Smack-Off. Silk broke through in 2001 with a win, but that was a well planned call and an aberration in his Smack-Off history. Look for a nice trip down memory lane that might make the top ten, but probably not. |
| 25-1 | Jeff in Richmond: I've never been a fan of his act and I hate that he won the 2002 Smack-Off. He could make the top ten, but there is no way he'll ever win again. |
| 30-1 | Jim in Fall River: Like Bobby from Brooklyn used to be, Jim is a high octane screamer that can run some premium smack, particularly of the clone-on-clone violence variety. He's been absent for a couple of years now or else he'd be much higher in the odds. |
| 30-1 | Trapper in Dana Point: Trapper has essentially quit the Jungle, but his 2004 call was so brilliant that I'll continue to list him. |
| 35-1 | Dan in DC: An excellent caller who at one point (maybe still is?) was a sports radio host in the D.C. area. A couple of his Smack-Off calls were high enough in quality to win it all. |
| 40-1 | Oliver in St. Louis: He's been in the last three, but I don't see him doing much. |
| 50-1 | Irie Craig: It's been years since the resident Jungle stoner managed to wake up in time to participate. It'd be nice to hear from him, but even in his prime he never had Smack-Off winner game. |
| 50-1 | Orrin in Denver: Bidding for the often ill-fated Guardian of the Jungle mantle, Orrin followed Guardian tradition by flaming out on the big day. He could rebound with a quality call, but like The Donald pondering the allure of Rosie, "I don't see it." |
| 50-1 | Jeffrey E. DiTolla Esq.: The lesser half of the Smacking Brothers DiTolla, Jeffrey has not bothered to call since 2001. I see no reason for that trend to end. |
| 50-1 | Gino in San Antonio: Like Jeffrey DiTolla, Gino has not called for the Smack-Off since 2001. Gino did make a few calls prior to last year's event, but nothing came of it. Gino was a gifted smacker and has the potential to win, but likely will skip again. |
| 50-1 | Dave in St. Louis: An e-mailer turned caller that got himself off the bubble and into the big dance. He has some game and probably won't do anything to embarrass himself should he decide to call. |
| 50-1 | A.J. Pierzynski: The White Sox catcher is a lightning-rod for controversy and runs some pretty good smack. That being said, I'm not sure his laid back rap in interviews will translate to a quality Smack-Off performance. More than likely he'll end up somewhere between Harbaugh and Tolbert and will only serve to eat about two minutes of valuable time. |
| 55-1 | John in C-Town: He won't win and hopefully won't waste our time with a call. |
| 65-1 | Chuck in Phoenix: He's done something right to have earned invites in 2005 and 2006, but he's never actually competed in the event. |
| 70-1 | Justin in Boise: Got in last year and did nothing to impress. |
| 75-1 | Kerwin in Riverside: Formerly gifted caller that just doesn't participate anymore. |
| 90-1 | Dean in Huntington Beach: An old school SoCal guy that has game, but he hasn't been in since 2002. |
| 250-1 | Mike in Wichita: Rookies don't win this thing. |
| 250-1 | Jeff in Vancouver: Rookies don't win this thing. |
| 250-1 | Lear in Annapolis: Rookies don't win this thing. |
| 250-1 | J.T. the Brick: He won the first Smack-Off, got his own nationally syndicated show, and hasn't called since. |
| 250-1 | Tom Tolbert: Former NBA'er called in 1999 with a solid effort, but probably won't call this time. |
| 250-1 | Megan the Manual Buzzer: Megan from Sacramento got in on the strength of her take on Jim's manual buzzer sound. No chance to win. |
Other propositions:
| O/U | Bet |
|---|---|
| 4.0 | Number of Past Champs that call |
| 16.5 | Total Calls making it to air |
| 3.0 | Instances of the buzzer |
| 5.5 | 1st Hour Calls |
| 7.0 | 2nd Hour Calls |
| 4.0 | 3rd Hour Calls |
| 5.0 | Total uses of the phrase, "I would be remiss if..." |
| 1.5 | Rookie Callers in the Top 10 |
| 0.5 | Rookie Callers in the Top 5 |
Odds for each hour to produce the Champion:
| Odds | Bet |
|---|---|
| 7-1 | 1st Hour | 3-2 | 2nd Hour | 4-1 | 3rd Hour |
You forgot Jim Harbaugh. ;-)
And the Donald.
Wow, I somehow forgot to listen to the first two hours. Andrew, will you have the recordings of the first two hours?
I'm going to listen to the 3rd hour now.
lmao at Vic not calling in. He made Jim look like a moron, and Jim is probably pretty pissed.
Just announced-When Rome returns next Monday he will explain why Vic was a no show. marriachi band practice ran late is my guess
Terrence rented out a tractor trailer and took out Vic's car.