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I've been listening to sports talk radio since the summer of 1997. That was when I started listening to the Jim Rome Show. I still listen to that show religiously, but Rome’s been mailing it in for about four years now. Whatever the reasons, he is on the decline. Sure he still has moments of brilliance and there is still the yearly Smack-Off which is probably the most entertaining and anticipated day on my calendar, but Rome is dangerously close to outright sucking.
Since returning to Houston, I began rolling out of bed and turning on 610 AM and listening until about 6:00 in the evening. After Rome's show, Marc Vandermeer (the play-by-play voice of the Houston Texans) and Rich Lord did a four hour show. It was your typical bland local show with Vandermeer spouting his overly optimistic viewpoints, which when the Texans were involved, crossed way over the line into childish naiveté. For his part, Rich Lord would spray hyperbole around like a studio analyst on ESPN, good or bad Lord's take was at the extreme end of every issue. Not to mention his embarrassing Vince Young man-love.
But the morning show team was different. Lance Zierlein and John Granato had great on air chemistry and played off each other very well. Their show had the feeling of early Jungle syndication-era greatness; the show and its callers became topics, inside jokes were floating around, and the hosts brought sharp humor while mostly staying on the topic of sports. They didn't seem to have inflated egos, but were just a couple of buddies (albeit knowledgeable) who were talking sports or whatever else came up; there was an element of what makes the Sports Guy brilliant in what John and Lance brought to the table.
Even the Jungle itself owes a little to these guys; they played a large role in having Steve Elkington appear on the Rome show way back when because they sent some tapes of Elk on air with them to T-Rodge. They had a great rapport with Astros slugger Lance "the Big Puma" Berkman. During his time with the Rockets, John Barry would often contribute to the show. And even Sean "The Cablinasian" Pendergast, five-time Smack-Off winner, would pop in from time to time. Over the last two years that I've been listening to their show, John and Lance have easily and consistently put out a better product than Jim Rome. It's not even close. As a die-hard clone from way back, I never thought I would say that about another sports talk radio show.
Then just shy of the ten year anniversary of their show's existence on 610 AM, John Granato sued the station, got out of his contract, and disappeared from the airwaves with little fanfare or explanation. They gave Marc Vandermeer a week of co-hosting with Lance, but Marc isn't that funny and the chemistry was awful. Matt Jackson and his slight lisp filled in after that and brought some of Granato's sensibilities back to the morning, but that too was short lived because, like his former co-host, Zierlein was unceremoniously removed from the station amid uncertain circumstances. Here is how Zierlein described the situation recently on his Houston Chronicle website based blog.
Question:
Sorry Lance, but I don't believe you got fired or let go -- I think you demanded more money and respect ( a la Granato ) and you decided to leave. Before you know it, we'll hear you on another radio station again ( possibly with Granato again ).
I didn't "demand" more money. They offered more and I didn't want to sign a long-term 3 year contract with over 6 months still left on the present one. My radio partner from 10 years was gone and the general sales manager in charge of getting commercials was gone along with two of the salespeople and I'm just supposed to jump in feet first to a 3 year deal with less than a month to see how things would shake out at the station? Wouldn't that be kind of stupid? I could have taken the money but I didn't because I didn't have enough knowledge about how the station would perform without Granato (hell I hadn't even had time to see a ratings book that didn't include him).
Incidentally, the morning show is now the unlistenable duo of Marc Vandermeer and former Heisman trophy winner Andre Ware.
So for now I'm back to Jim Rome only radio and listening to my iPod the rest of the time. But change is on the horizon. At some unknown point in the near future, Houston radio station KILE 1560 AM will undergo a format change from crazy foreign language crap to sports/guy talk radio and will likely get new call letters to complete the change.
The lineup will have John Granato returning to Houston radio. They have John Harris, a childhood friend of Lance Zierlein and a frequent guest on their former 610 AM morning show. They have the Cablinasian moving back to Houston from Chicago to live the life of a radio host. They have Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman, who like Sean the Cablinasian is a massive fan of Seinfeld (the TV show); in addition Hoffman will bring his wealth of fast-food knowledge. So with that crew already signed up, it seems like just a matter of time before Lance Zierlein is on board, especially when you consider some of the behind the scenes management people are former 610 AM employees whom he has spoken well of recently.
This station has me excited. It's like with directors like Wes Anderson, P.T. Anderson, Judd Apatow, etc. You take a group of talented friends that are used to working together and can riff off each other and the creative process is bound to benefit from it. I just hope they have an online streaming audio capability because I'll likely be back in Austin before this thing launches.
Final note and bit of trivia: Remember that Pittsburgh Steelers coach that accidentally forwarded a porn video to new NFL commish Roger Goodell? That coach was none other than Larry Zierlein, father of Lance Zierlein.
UPDATE:
As of 8/21/07, KGOW 1560, or "The Game" as they've taken to calling themselves, is on the air in Houston. Driving around in northwest Harris County today, the signal was mostly clear, but background static was annoying, especially near power lines. Apparently the issues are temporary. The nighttime signal strength is ridiculously weak, but they do have an application for a 19,000 watt array that is pending FCC approval. That would make them the number two nighttime signal in Houston, trailing only KTRH 740 and their 50,000 watt blowtorch. Streaming audio is available through The Game website.
UPDATE:
As expected, on 11/1/07 Lance will join Granato on 1560's morning show.
How will you listen to Houston radio when you move to Austin?
Dude, check the second to last paragraph. Streaming audio is where it's at. It seems like most stations are doing it. My hope is that this new station will too.
So the Cablinasian rumor has been confirmed? I bet his show would be way better than Rome's. Like you said, Rome's show was once great, but for the past 4-5 years has gone downhill and these days it's at an all time low. That's why none of the old great callers call anymore, they know it's a joke.
The Cablinasian rumor has been confirmed. David Barron posted the confirmation in an article on 6/22/07. The bit about Sean is at the bottom of the article. I'll copy and paste here too:
Pendergast, Harris join KILE
As expected, five-time Jim Rome smack-off champion Sean Pendergast and college football analyst John Harris will join John Granato and Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman as talk-show hosts on KILE, station owner David Gow said Thursday.
Both are former Houstonians. Harris, who is returning from North Carolina, was valedictorian of his high school class at Lamar Consolidated and is a frequent contributor to local and national radio shows, including, formerly, KILT, on college football issues. Pendergast will return to Houston from Chicago, where he worked in private business.
sounds interesting. I may give a listen if Lance returns.
I only listen to 610 because they have online streaming of the Jim Rome show, and Rome's sarcasm-riddled takes are unmatched.
one more thing:
I was reading granato's blog post from june (http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2007/06/610_took_me_off_my_show_and_al.html#comments)
and he mentioned "Thanks. The "keep em fresh" segment you are referencing should still be in the audio vault on sportsradio610.com."
I couldn't find that segment. you have any idea about this?
Yeah man, I found it, and I've decided to host it on my web space. Here's a link:
It's from the 9-2-2006 show and has the guys riffing on the ridiculous D-line substitution patterns that the Texans were using last year.
Bonus audio, Lance's meltdown after the Titans beat the Texans in OT on a long Vince Young run.
One more bit. It's a Friday week in review segment from 8-28-2006. The bulk of it is Granato's story about meeting his new Chinese neighbors, Ron and his wife Pong. I literally almost peed myself when Granato went with the "very Chinese" card and then Lance did the Andrew Dice Clay bit.
The morning show currently on 610 is about as bland as it can get. I bet they're losing rating like crazy. 790 is even worse. I hope something comes along soon.
thanks for the audio, Andrew. I never really got to hear Lance and John, so the audio is a real plus.
I read through ALL the comments on that blog note from granato. mostly people nominating sneaky hot chicks.
that Charlie call is hilarious. Was he really serious? Kubiak at quarterback? Well, there's the KUBIAK projection system and quarterback Kubiak has a ring to it...