Archive for the 'Sports Talk Radio' Category

Rap at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 19, 2008
in NBA, Rap and Sports Talk Radio
. 1 Comment

As all of my reader(s) know, I love rap about sports.

So, because of that love, I must re-distribute (AKA blatantly re-post other people’s hard-earned content) this quick rap about LeBron James from over a year ago, but just now making its rounds on the Internets.

The biggest Sports Talk Radio Show in Los Angeles (possibly the biggest radio market if you cede that people in New York are on public transportation and don’t get the radio) had it’s main host and co-host, basically, not believe in LeBron. But it was soo much more than not believing; they belittled him.

So this had to happen to them:

Link to file

We all should learn something from CAVSBOARD.com. Your eyes don’t lie. Admit to greatness when you see it or can see it coming. Admit to reason. Stop being unreasonable, even if you think it creates “ratings”. “PTI” works because Wilbon and Kornheiser are good together, not because they disagree all the time (which they don’t). That’s why I don’t watch “Around the Horn” or anything Skip Bayless does. Someone has told them to just dissent to whatever is reasonable because it gets good ratings. Although there is some point to that (intelligent and thoughtful, yet passionate discussion of differing sides is good TV or Radio), but that LA Radio Host (Steve Hartman) just differs from the norm for the hell of it. It is almost unlistenable at times when he tries to corner people for any statement they make, when the public can clearly tell what is meant.

Mike and the Mad Dog at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 15, 2008
in Sports Talk Radio
. 1 Comment

It’s a sad day in Gotham.

I Have Black Friends at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 20, 2007
in My Roommate and Sports Talk Radio
. 1 Comment


My Roommate brought this audio clip to my attention- It’s of Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton - a “veteran” of Southern California radio - pulling out the worst cliche in the book last weekend on his sports talk show.

I hate when people pull this one out- and if you hear someone say this, then you know that they are DEFINITELY a racist. That’s a fact.

What the caller is referring to, according to his Wikipedia page- which has been edited since- was during a media roundtable on his show on XTRA Sports (an old LA radio station), Hacksaw was asked why XTRA had no black hosts. He replied that blacks knew football and basketball, but not much else. He was blasted in the press for this statement, but Hacksaw blamed the media writers for a betrayal of trust.

My Roommate found that and the following “Controversies” - again, on the old Wikipedia page- that Hacksaw, 59, has been involved in:

* In 1993, he apologized after calling Fritz Quindt, a sportswriter with the San Diego Union Tribune, a “faggot” and “less than a man” for revealing Hamilton’s real name (the name Lee Hacksaw Hamilton is a pseudonym). Members of the community, including former Charger Ron Mix, GLAAD, and others asked Hamilton to apologize to Quindt. However, the apology came with other vitriol directed against Quindt, and XTRA management refused to take further action against Hamilton.

* During the Rae Carruth incident, he asked a caller if ‘…blacks are more likely to abuse their spouses than other races.?’

* He called Hideki Irabu, a Japanese pitcher, a ‘fat Jap’.

* Hamilton was also very harsh towards Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf for his on-the-field and off-the-field behavior, calling Leaf a bum.

* He ripped Vince McMahon for his handling the death of pro wrestler Owen Hart in 1999, calling the WWF The World Wide Fraud.

* In 2002, he resigned as play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Vikings after just one preseason game. It came after a reporter for a weekly African-American newspaper in Minneapolis–who is also the father of current Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald–exposed racist and sexist comments that Hamilton sometimes used on his talk shows. Hamilton was to replace longtime Vikings announcer Dan Rowe, 2003 and 2004 seasons).

* Perhaps his most infamous soundbite as XTRA host, Hamilton urged a fan of the then-Los Angeles Raiders to “Put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger”, after the caller accused Hamilton of grandstanding for the Chargers. (Ironically, he could also be very critical of the team, which could have caused the Chargers’ relationship with XTRA to end after the 1997 season. The team has since broadcast on music stations where the hosts are thought to be more supportive.)

Oh yeah, and he’s completely unbearable to listen to. It’s awful. Half his show seems like he’s reading from the AP Wire and the other half is him telling people to “REACT” to topical stories. It was no surprise to me the first time I saw his picture. I mean look at that awful toupee- and those double-rimmed glasses. How could anyone hire this man?

NBA at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on May 1, 2007
in Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, NBA and Sports Talk Radio
. 0 Comments

I love this game.

As I predicted (not that hard), the Cavs swept the Wiz (more on the Cavs at a later date- sadly, this is how the national media is treating them, too). T-Mac, back spasms and all, had 16 assists to lead the Rockets (also 20 bench points) and Big Shot Bob came through again (or AI came through again to take shots away from Carmelo).

I think everyone sees the Jazz winning on Thursday to force a Game 7 back in Houston Saturday. I really didn’t think these teams were that evenly matched and that home court would sway each game, practically. Whatever happens- if GSW pulls out the upset (actually- Dallas winning now would be a huge upset), I’m going to be highly excited to watch Monta, Baron, and Crew run up and down while Mehmet or Yao slowly chases after them, gasping for air. Should be fun.

And what is going on with these assist totals? 23 for Nash, 19 for J-Kidd, and now 16 for T-Mac? I think we might see Larry Hughes with double digit assists in these playoffs- well, let’s not get too crazy here.

When Nas raps about you, you know you’ve left a legacy. Big Shot Bob hit another big shot (Tim Duncan lead them in points, rebounds, and assists, but, hey- Robert Horry hit a shot) and the Spurs pulled away at the end. Late in the 3rd the Nuggets looked very solid, but George Karl pulled Carmelo Anthony for over 5 minutes because he just got his 4th foul and the Spurs got back in the game. Knowing how Carmelo plays (great scorer, but not a particularly great defender or passer) it amazes me how much better he makes teams. Seriously- if you look at Carmelo’s overall game, he doesn’t seem to be someone who will make his entire team better. In fact, Kobe Bryant should help a team way more than Carmelo should (Carmelo should help a team as much as Michael Redd does) but then you watch the games and Carmelo really lifts them up- more than Iverson does.

George Karl has now lost two straight games and he’s admittedly made substitution mistakes. This game he admitted his 8-man rotation is very thin and playing Allen Iverson for 45 minutes may be too much. In Game 3 he knew he should have taken out J.R. Smith when he was really hurting his own team, but he wanted to probably keep him in there for J.R.’s confidence. Well, now your team is down 3-1, so, unless this is part of the master plan for next season, I’d suggest you just try to win Game 5 at all costs and not worry about anything else, George.

One last note on Robert Horry- sort of. I don’t really like Jim Rome. His TV show isn’t completely unwatchable, but it does go from “Rome is Burning” to “Around the Horn” to “PTI” as “not so watchable”, “more watchable”, to “fantastic”. His radio show, on the other hand, has its moments. He’s awful with a guest, though, (he puts on the worsts guests, too- some random Dude on the Tigers, some uninteresting Nascar driver, etc.) always asking them the easiest questions and no one has more dead-air than Jim Rome. But- from time to time- he does have interesting and amusing takes on things and the culture he has created on and around his show is what makes it worthwhile to listen to. And by that, I basically mean his emailers. His callers even annoy me most of the time, but the emailers that now every other show has copied make me listen to it when it’s on. My favorite email of all time was the time someone wrote “War my wife recovering from Cancer”. Although that was unintentional humor, I’m not sure Rome didn’t realize that and that’s why he read it on-air. But, back to Robert Horry, another great email came through this morning that Rome sort of passed by, but obviously read it on-air because he knew what it was talking about. It read, “Dear Jim, What did you want me to do? Pass the ball to Carlton? Signed, Robert Horry.” If you don’t get that joke, then this link means nothing to you as well- so just ignore it. If you do get it, though- you’re welcome.