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Sports Talk Hosts Going off on Tangents

I get what you're saying. This is historically why Tony Kornheiser, for instance, only liked to interview other members of the media.

It was their job to say something, so they'd always say something good in the interview.

And if you remember, about 20 years ago, Kornheiser was the biggest thing in sports media and his ESPN talk show was such a refreshing change from "The Fabulous Sports Babe," who would have on regular fluff interviews with coaches. I get it.

But a lot of that comes from the interviewer. Is he willing to ask the coach the question the public really wants to hear? Is he or she willing to risk ticking off the coach, and will management support the host if he or she does?

Going back to the original topic- the thing about sports talk is basically it is about personality. And when you think of modern coaches, there are very few that are real personalities anymore.

So yes, a rant about how Coach Dull can't inspire his team by a talk show host is often sports talk at its best.

It's when they're ranting about eating frozen popcorn chicken when the home team is three hours away from playing for a world title I have a problem with.
 
Don CT said:
Sports talk is just like conservative talk. Air your grievances. You don’t get people calling in when their team is winning. Only when they want to complain.
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Not 100 percent sure about that.

While yes, I can remember talk shows that couldn't stop the callers from talking about what was wrong with the losing home team when the stands were empty, this again speaks of the crutch of a host needing callers to support his show.

In this day and age, he shouldn't have to do that.

Take a look at sports talk ratings and you'll find they are their highest when the local team(s) are winning. I think WEEI was the first sports station to ever rank No. 1 in the book- and it happened in 2004 when the Red Sox finally won the World Series and the Patriots were on their way to a World Title.

I can remember in Pittsburgh KDKA-FM- 93.7 The Fan- pulling in a rating of better than 10 to lead the market when the Pirates went to their first playoff in 20 years back in Oct. 2013.

You mentioned callers. I can recall after big victories by the home team no shortage of fans wanting to call in and happily discuss the fortunes of the team- the scene where they were when they won- do you think we'll have a dynasty- etc.

Personally I think that's the case for conservative talk radio as well. Granted, it was another time, but I can remember when Rush Limbaugh was just starting to take off circa 1990 listening to him, he'd spout how good things were going after eight years of Ronald Reagan and with George Bush's 91 percent approval rating, and it's not like he had a shortage of people wanting to call in back when talk shows relied on callers.

Fact is- relate to your audience and entertain and everyone is going to want to come to the party.
 
Pratte4Life said:
Not 100 percent sure about that.

While yes, I can remember talk shows that couldn't stop the callers from talking about what was wrong with the losing home team when the stands were empty, this again speaks of the crutch of a host needing callers to support his show.

In this day and age, he shouldn't have to do that.

Take a look at sports talk ratings and you'll find they are their highest when the local team(s) are winning. I think WEEI was the first sports station to ever rank No. 1 in the book- and it happened in 2004 when the Red Sox finally won the World Series and the Patriots were on their way to a World Title.

I can remember in Pittsburgh KDKA-FM- 93.7 The Fan- pulling in a rating of better than 10 to lead the market when the Pirates went to their first playoff in 20 years back in Oct. 2013.

You mentioned callers. I can recall after big victories by the home team no shortage of fans wanting to call in and happily discuss the fortunes of the team- the scene where they were when they won- do you think we'll have a dynasty- etc.

Personally I think that's the case for conservative talk radio as well. Granted, it was another time, but I can remember when Rush Limbaugh was just starting to take off circa 1990 listening to him, he'd spout how good things were going after eight years of Ronald Reagan and with George Bush's 91 percent approval rating, and it's not like he had a shortage of people wanting to call in back when talk shows relied on callers.

Fact is- relate to your audience and entertain and everyone is going to want to come to the party.
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Most of Rush’s fame was complaining about Clinton and the cigar scandal
 
Listen to NY or Boston sports talk. The only topics are Yankees, Giants, Jets. Red Sox, Patriots. Now the football teams are all bad in both cities.
 
Don CT said:
Listen to NY or Boston sports talk. The only topics are Yankees, Giants, Jets. Red Sox, Patriots. Now the football teams are all bad in both cities.
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I have. But as I mentioned before, WEEI was No. 1 when the Red Sox won the World Series.

But I think you'll find local sports talk show hosts will talk about what is local. That's the formula. It's what the audience cares about.

Doesn't matter if it's New York, Boston, Columbus or Butte.
 
Don CT said:
Listen to NY or Boston sports talk. The only topics are Yankees, Giants, Jets. Red Sox, Patriots. Now the football teams are all bad in both cities.
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WFAN seems to talk about the Knicks more often than WEEI and WBZ-FM talk about the Celtics. (Insert comment about racist Boston fans here.) And hockey has a hard time getting any attention on any sports station in either city.
 
Pratte4Life said:
I have. But as I mentioned before, WEEI was No. 1 when the Red Sox won the World Series.

But I think you'll find local sports talk show hosts will talk about what is local. That's the formula. It's what the audience cares about.

Doesn't matter if it's New York, Boston, Columbus or Butte.
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Hosts will talk about what the callers want. They might have topics but it’s the callers that set the tone.
 
CTListener said:
1993. And so what? The Lewinsky scandal broke toward the end of 1997, the affair having begun in 1995. Rush already had a huge following before Clinton said a word about "that woman." Rush's solid ratings preceded both the scandal and Clinton's presidency.
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When did Rush peak in popularity.
 
Don CT said:
Hosts will talk about what the callers want. They might have topics but it’s the callers that set the tone.
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Again, you're hung up on the idea it's 1987. Callers aren't important to sports talk anymore. To be honest with you they started getting phased out around 1991 when ESPN Radio went on the air.

And even in 1987, a host that allowed callers to dictate the content of his show was a weak host.

A host gets the kind of callers he deserves. If he's acerbic, he'll get callers that want to challenge him.

If you're Jim Rome, you're going to have that Frat Boy callers.

If you're intellectual, you're going to get intellectual callers.

But does Pat McAfee, the hottest name in sports talk today, even take calls?
 
Pratte4Life said:
Again, you're hung up on the idea it's 1987. Callers aren't important to sports talk anymore. To be honest with you they started getting phased out around 1991 when ESPN Radio went on the air.

And even in 1987, a host that allowed callers to dictate the content of his show was a weak host.

A host gets the kind of callers he deserves. If he's acerbic, he'll get callers that want to challenge him.

If you're Jim Rome, you're going to have that Frat Boy callers.

If you're intellectual, you're going to get intellectual callers.

But does Pat McAfee, the hottest name in sports talk today, even take calls?
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Dan Patrick is maybe the most successful sports talk host and he takes calls.
 
Don CT said:
Dan Patrick is maybe the most successful sports talk host and he takes calls.
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How often? His show is not about having conversations with his listenership, either. It's about interviews and conversation with his co-hosts.

To be honest, how many shows are about taking calls? It's not "Open Phone America" with Larry King anymore.
 
Pratte4Life said:
How often? His show is not about having conversations with his listenership, either. It's about interviews and conversation with his co-hosts.

To be honest, how many shows are about taking calls? It's not "Open Phone America" with Larry King anymore.
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It’s a huge part of his show taking calls.
 
Don CT said:
It’s a huge part of his show taking calls.
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I don't know if I would agree.

I can't say I listen to his show every day but I was listening on Monday and he mentioned on Friday he would have on Woody Harrelson on as a guest.

I'm a casual listener to his show and find it enjoyable but not addictive. And I'm not saying you're incorrect, but I can also say I do not remember any calls to his show.

Again, it's just not 1987 anymore. The days of Pete Franklin saying "I talk to more sports fans than anyone" are over.

Today a host that views his show as an open forum would appear to be unprepared and lacking contacts.
 


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