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Jim Rome's Ego Stroke

S

screamformelong

First of all, I've always enjoyed Rome's show (although I found it much more entertaining in the mid- to late- 90s). That being said, I am rolling my eyes these days as his shows have disintegrated into an endless stream of callers pleading with him "not to abandon the radio show," "not to jump to satellite radio," etc. Is he that insecure, that he needed to provide the impetus for these calls by mentioning on the air he was considering going to TV full-time...or is this some sort of contract renewal negotiation ploy? He pulled this same crap a few years ago, the last time his contract with Premiere was up for renewal.

All I know is, it makes for horrible radio. And Rome's show was already on a downward spiral.
 
I wonder if the old heads on this board could explain (or try to explain) the success of Rome's show. What shows (preceding his) had the same or similar style and format as his? Now for my ramble. I agree--Rome's radio show these days is not good at all. But the worst part of Rome is the same thing that was so bad about Vince Lombardi: the less-talented imitators who mimic their hero. In other words, their legacies. The famous Lombardi quote "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" was taken out of context; the great Lombardi, in all likelihood, could have probably successfully coached 10-20 years later...he would have been more flexible in dealing with modern athletes if he knew that was what it would take to win. But in the wake of Jerry Kramer's book' 'Instant Replay', literally hundreds of Lombardi wannabes around the country felt as though the Lombardi approach, as detailed by Kramer, was the correct one. I travel some, and surf the 'net even more...and the Rome wannabes who host local sportstalk shows around the US are a testament that Rome's style, like Lombardi's, cannot be duplicated. Exhibit A: the JTBrick FSR show. Exhibit B: the Siciliano show, when he subs for Rome. In all my years of listening to (and creating my own) sportstalk radio shows, Siciliano aping Rome is alone at the top as "Spinal Tap great". Which, of course, is a good thing only if you can turn up your guitar amplifier to 11.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by josephandrews on 02/18/06 01:33 AM.</FONT></P>
 
>Is it hard to imagine this scenario ???
Jim's espn tv show is about to get axed. He's lost his great supporter at ESPN, Former programming hotshot Mark Shapiro. (left for job with Dan Snyder, owner of the washington redskins). Presumably, he now has less support at espn.
>You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn tv. Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick in several markets. (the answer is yes)
>So all this tv/radio talk by Jim is a premptive strike. When his Tv show gets pulled--Jim will be able to say, "I chose radio over tv."
Its keeps up the facade that Rome has control, and is still in demand.
>Shocked that anyone would be fooled by this. I mean, ask yourself, who's really clamoring for Rome on tv. He's bombed on three or four shows.
And his latest venture is awful.
Rome will be resigned by Premier. There's knowhere else to go.
Sporting News has little big market clearance. Fox is a disaster.
And espn has Patrick (and unless his contract is up at the same time--Rome isn't going anywhere.)
XM and Sirius ? Why would Rome give up his 200 markets of ratings and equity for the unknown. When he can possibly have both, if Premier can get him on XM and Sirius.
Of course, this is all just a guess.
 
You're right on the money. There's no doubt that when the dust settles, he'll announce "I've chosen radio." That's why this manufactured drama is so ludicrous and disingenuous.

> >Is it hard to imagine this scenario ???
> Jim's espn tv show is about to get axed. He's lost his
> great supporter at ESPN, Former programming hotshot Mark
> Shapiro. (left for job with Dan Snyder, owner of the
> washington redskins). Presumably, he now has less support at
> espn.
> >You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn tv.
> Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick in
> several markets. (the answer is yes)
> >So all this tv/radio talk by Jim is a premptive strike.
> When his Tv show gets pulled--Jim will be able to say, "I
> chose radio over tv."
> Its keeps up the facade that Rome has control, and is still
> in demand.
> >Shocked that anyone would be fooled by this. I mean, ask
> yourself, who's really clamoring for Rome on tv. He's bombed
> on three or four shows.
> And his latest venture is awful.
> Rome will be resigned by Premier. There's knowhere else
> to go.
> Sporting News has little big market clearance. Fox is a
> disaster.
> And espn has Patrick (and unless his contract is up at the
> same time--Rome isn't going anywhere.)
> XM and Sirius ? Why would Rome give up his 200 markets of
> ratings and equity for the unknown. When he can possibly
> have both, if Premier can get him on XM and Sirius.
> Of course, this is all just a guess.
>
 
> You're right on the money. There's no doubt that when the
> dust settles, he'll announce "I've chosen radio." That's
> why this manufactured drama is so ludicrous and
> disingenuous.
>
> > >Is it hard to imagine this scenario ???
> > Jim's espn tv show is about to get axed. He's lost his
> > great supporter at ESPN, Former programming hotshot Mark
> > Shapiro. (left for job with Dan Snyder, owner of the
> > washington redskins). Presumably, he now has less support
> at
> > espn.
> > >You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn tv.
>
> > Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick in
> > several markets. (the answer is yes)
> > >So all this tv/radio talk by Jim is a premptive strike.
> > When his Tv show gets pulled--Jim will be able to say, "I
> > chose radio over tv."
> > Its keeps up the facade that Rome has control, and is
> still
> > in demand.
> > >Shocked that anyone would be fooled by this. I mean, ask
> > yourself, who's really clamoring for Rome on tv. He's
> bombed
> > on three or four shows.
> > And his latest venture is awful.
> > Rome will be resigned by Premier. There's knowhere else
>
> > to go.
> > Sporting News has little big market clearance. Fox is a
> > disaster.
> > And espn has Patrick (and unless his contract is up at the
>
> > same time--Rome isn't going anywhere.)
> > XM and Sirius ? Why would Rome give up his 200 markets
> of
> > ratings and equity for the unknown. When he can possibly
> > have both, if Premier can get him on XM and Sirius.
> > Of course, this is all just a guess.
> >
>
Romey has always been a much stronger personality on the radio than on TV. He looks and acts too stiff on TV, and though I like JR I have never liked him on any of the television shows he's done.

That said, I find myself listening to him less and less these days. His show has not really changed much, and I suppose since it's worked for so long why change it? But if I could give him a few suggestions, they'd be:

1. Lose the phone calls. Once in a while you get a good caller, but most of them suck. Maybe have quarterly smack-offs instead. I always find myself reaching for the dial when he starts getting lame callers.

2. Don't pull any punches during interviews. Remember when he called Jim Everett "Chris Everett", and got the table thrown on him? Those were the good 'ol days; now his interviews all sound patronizing.

3. If you do an interview, don't follow it up by reading 200 e-mails that tell you how great the interview was. That makes for horrible radio.

4. Make sure you have enough topics to last three hours. The second and third hours usually sound like a copy of the first hour, except possibly for interviews.

I still like him, but he has to find a way to keep it fresh or he'll start losing everyone. And as far as TV, he should just walk away from it with no excuses; it's not his strength to say the least.<P ID="signature">______________
Woody in the East Bay</P>
 
> > You're right on the money. There's no doubt that when the
>
> > dust settles, he'll announce "I've chosen radio." That's
> > why this manufactured drama is so ludicrous and
> > disingenuous.
> >
> > > >Is it hard to imagine this scenario ???
> > > Jim's espn tv show is about to get axed. He's lost his
>
> > > great supporter at ESPN, Former programming hotshot Mark
>
> > > Shapiro. (left for job with Dan Snyder, owner of the
> > > washington redskins). Presumably, he now has less
> support
> > at
> > > espn.
> > > >You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn
> tv.
> >
> > > Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick in
> > > several markets. (the answer is yes)
> > > >So all this tv/radio talk by Jim is a premptive strike.
>
> > > When his Tv show gets pulled--Jim will be able to say,
> "I
> > > chose radio over tv."
> > > Its keeps up the facade that Rome has control, and is
> > still
> > > in demand.
> > > >Shocked that anyone would be fooled by this. I mean,
> ask
> > > yourself, who's really clamoring for Rome on tv. He's
> > bombed
> > > on three or four shows.
> > > And his latest venture is awful.
> > > Rome will be resigned by Premier. There's knowhere
> else
> >
> > > to go.
> > > Sporting News has little big market clearance. Fox is a
>
> > > disaster.
> > > And espn has Patrick (and unless his contract is up at
> the
> >
> > > same time--Rome isn't going anywhere.)
> > > XM and Sirius ? Why would Rome give up his 200 markets
>
> > of
> > > ratings and equity for the unknown. When he can possibly
>
> > > have both, if Premier can get him on XM and Sirius.
> > > Of course, this is all just a guess.
> > >
> >
> Romey has always been a much stronger personality on the
> radio than on TV. He looks and acts too stiff on TV, and
> though I like JR I have never liked him on any of the
> television shows he's done.
>
> That said, I find myself listening to him less and less
> these days. His show has not really changed much, and I
> suppose since it's worked for so long why change it? But if
> I could give him a few suggestions, they'd be:
>
> 1. Lose the phone calls. Once in a while you get a good
> caller, but most of them suck. Maybe have quarterly
> smack-offs instead. I always find myself reaching for the
> dial when he starts getting lame callers.
>
> 2. Don't pull any punches during interviews. Remember when
> he called Jim Everett "Chris Everett", and got the table
> thrown on him? Those were the good 'ol days; now his
> interviews all sound patronizing.
>
> 3. If you do an interview, don't follow it up by reading 200
> e-mails that tell you how great the interview was. That
> makes for horrible radio.
>
> 4. Make sure you have enough topics to last three hours. The
> second and third hours usually sound like a copy of the
> first hour, except possibly for interviews.
>
> I still like him, but he has to find a way to keep it fresh
> or he'll start losing everyone. And as far as TV, he should
> just walk away from it with no excuses; it's not his
> strength to say the least.
>


I still like Rome also, however, we've heard this whole "career crossroads" thing before. I think you're right, he knows he doesn't really have a chance for a full-time TV gig, so he's going to re-sign with Premier for a bunch of jack.

According to what I've been reading, both Sirius and XM Radio are losing piles of money. How can they possibly afford these huge contracts such as Howard Stern's??
 
> > > You're right on the money. There's no doubt that when
> the
> >
> > > dust settles, he'll announce "I've chosen radio."
> That's
> > > why this manufactured drama is so ludicrous and
> > > disingenuous.
> > >
> > > > >Is it hard to imagine this scenario ???
> > > > Jim's espn tv show is about to get axed. He's lost
> his
> >
> > > > great supporter at ESPN, Former programming hotshot
> Mark
> >
> > > > Shapiro. (left for job with Dan Snyder, owner of the
> > > > washington redskins). Presumably, he now has less
> > support
> > > at
> > > > espn.
> > > > >You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn
>
> > tv.
> > >
> > > > Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick
> in
> > > > several markets. (the answer is yes)
> > > > >So all this tv/radio talk by Jim is a premptive
> strike.
> >
> > > > When his Tv show gets pulled--Jim will be able to say,
>
> > "I
> > > > chose radio over tv."
> > > > Its keeps up the facade that Rome has control, and is
> > > still
> > > > in demand.
> > > > >Shocked that anyone would be fooled by this. I mean,
> > ask
> > > > yourself, who's really clamoring for Rome on tv. He's
> > > bombed
> > > > on three or four shows.
> > > > And his latest venture is awful.
> > > > Rome will be resigned by Premier. There's knowhere
> > else
> > >
> > > > to go.
> > > > Sporting News has little big market clearance. Fox is
> a
> >
> > > > disaster.
> > > > And espn has Patrick (and unless his contract is up at
>
> > the
> > >
> > > > same time--Rome isn't going anywhere.)
> > > > XM and Sirius ? Why would Rome give up his 200
> markets
> >
> > > of
> > > > ratings and equity for the unknown. When he can
> possibly
> >
> > > > have both, if Premier can get him on XM and Sirius.
> > > > Of course, this is all just a guess.
> > > >
> > >
> > Romey has always been a much stronger personality on the
> > radio than on TV. He looks and acts too stiff on TV, and
> > though I like JR I have never liked him on any of the
> > television shows he's done.
> >
> > That said, I find myself listening to him less and less
> > these days. His show has not really changed much, and I
> > suppose since it's worked for so long why change it? But
> if
> > I could give him a few suggestions, they'd be:
> >
> > 1. Lose the phone calls. Once in a while you get a good
> > caller, but most of them suck. Maybe have quarterly
> > smack-offs instead. I always find myself reaching for the
> > dial when he starts getting lame callers.
> >
> > 2. Don't pull any punches during interviews. Remember when
>
> > he called Jim Everett "Chris Everett", and got the table
> > thrown on him? Those were the good 'ol days; now his
> > interviews all sound patronizing.
> >
> > 3. If you do an interview, don't follow it up by reading
> 200
> > e-mails that tell you how great the interview was. That
> > makes for horrible radio.
> >
> > 4. Make sure you have enough topics to last three hours.
> The
> > second and third hours usually sound like a copy of the
> > first hour, except possibly for interviews.
> >
> > I still like him, but he has to find a way to keep it
> fresh
> > or he'll start losing everyone. And as far as TV, he
> should
> > just walk away from it with no excuses; it's not his
> > strength to say the least.
> >
>
>
> I still like Rome also, however, we've heard this whole
> "career crossroads" thing before. I think you're right, he
> knows he doesn't really have a chance for a full-time TV
> gig, so he's going to re-sign with Premier for a bunch of
> jack.
>
> According to what I've been reading, both Sirius and XM
> Radio are losing piles of money. How can they possibly
> afford these huge contracts such as Howard Stern's??
>
Good point. Sirius took a big gamble signing Stern to that large of a contract, but needless to say it was more to promote and validate their own existance (the 'see who WE got?' syndrome!). But that said, anyone they sign now for a large contract will have to bring some assurances of an expanded audience- and I'm not sure Romey will command that type of contract. Stern appeals to a large group of people; Romey only appeals to sports types and only some of them at that. <P ID="signature">______________
Woody in the East Bay</P>
 
>You would have to think espn radio hates Rome on espn tv.
> Doesn't his radio show--comptete against Dan Patrick in
> several markets. (the answer is yes)

Perfect example of this, and probably says more about Dan Patrick's knowledge of his own network

I was listening one afternoon in the summer of 04 and Patrick had Craig Kilborn as a guest hyping the "Boys Are Back In Town" series of SportsCenter with all the former anchors doing a show

Well Kilborn asked Dan about Jim Rome (The Everett incident did happen on his ESPN2 show Talk2) and Dan said Rome isn't allowed in the building

Uh Dan-o, Rome was on TV ON ESPN for a while, granted he does it from LA, it is still ESPN programing. Not everything revolves around the Dan Patrick edition of SportsCenter, but considering the egos involved at the World Leader Patrick probably believes his show is the only one that "matters"
 
Here's the deal with Rome. As you guessed, he's using this as a ploy for a new radio deal. Why, because he is about to lose his TV show with ESPN only to be replaced by Colin Cowherd.

His pathetic attempt to involve the listner is a sham and insulting anyone who was been a fan the last 10 years. Pulling a "Howard Stern" is not a good move, especially when you're lying to the listener. Mark my words, he's not going to leave the paycheck of radio ($2K+ a year for 4-years).

You heard it hear first!
 
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