Phe nom inal thread.
Heh.
“When in Rome…” …pump really hard.
ESPN Radio in Chicago (ESPN 1000) has made a habit of hiring local shows for large chunks of the day. Do you have to live in Chicago (or at least like Chicago teams?) to listen…maybe.
When I’m travelling, I somtimes hear Cowherd, and I’m 50/50 on him. I like the contrarian nature, but it does seem forced.
Rome was… … …horrible. When I worked at a small family-owned brokerage, it was the only thing on the radio. The owner was in the habit of calling us “clones”. It was painful.
Love Mike & Mike. I’ll support Golic…I think he’s actuall pretty good at breaking down football stuff without making it seem like rocket science in import. I also like Mark Schlereth (“Stink”). He could be a good radio guy at some point.
If there are any Chicago ESPN-listeners on the SDMB, can someone explain to me why Harry Tienowicz (sic?) still has a job?
-Cem
I used to listen to Rome from time to time, and in small doses, he could be funny.
But what really grated, after a while, was his utter phoniness. I mean, he’ll act like he’s a tough guy who’s unafraid to tell it like it is, unafraid to offend anyone… but whenever he has a guest (except for the famed Jim Everett incident), he turns into the biggest butt kisser imaginable!
Wow. Jim Rome haters spend a lot of time listening to Jim Rome. Huh.
-T.D.,
Clone
Eh. I think the last thing call-in radio needs is another blowhard who shouts a lot.
I think Rome’s show is great. I typically catch his radio show in the day, if I can, as well as JRIB on ESPN.
Rome has a difficult job. He has to give takes and comment on the stupid things athletes do, but also has to weigh the fact that he needs these same athletes to make his show work. I think the e-mails from the clones tend to be hilarious. And perhaps as importantly, he keeps the show funny and moving while keeping it clean (anti-homophobic, anti-racist). Here in Boston, as soon as ESPN Radio came to town, I ditched WEEI because they are so provincial.
For instance, today’s show has him pitched in a battle vs. a lot of clones jumping on the Tim Hardaway bandwagon - “I don’t want my kids exposed to gayness,” and he is taking them all on. Not too many sport radio types would take that position, and argue with listeners about it.
Yeah, Rome uses terms like “Nocal” and “Socal” and “lettuce” … that’s his regional slang. So what?
If your only impression of Rome is the Everett shove (because that’s all it was), that was years ago, and he is much better and older than he was then. The Smack-Off and The Year In Review shows are probably the best thing about the holiday season for me.
Mike & Mike and Cowherd don’t do much for me. Won’t turn 'em off, but won’t tune in for 'em. When I roll into a city for longer than a few days I’m either looking for the station with Rome or Streamlinking it.
I despise him as well. God, I miss Tony Kornheiser’s morning show.
What’s with Rome’s
10
second
pauses
Between points? It’s radio! Keep talking, stupid!
Jope
Not really. I have heard examples of every point in the OP, and have listened to perhaps 4 hours of Jim Rome in the last 2 years. He’s just that easy to pigeonhole.
Joe
Paul … Harvey…has been doing this for years.
I hate Rome, but I also hate Cowheard, and unfortunately they are on at the same time here. The only reason I listen to either one is that I have to listen to one of the other. I miss Kornheiser!
But Mike & Mike are great, and I still like Dan Patrick although he is much better with a sidekick like Ron Dibble or Keith Obermann.
Obviously someone likes him. Jim Rome wasn’t built in a day.
[Disappears over the horizon …]
I can’t listen to his show. He doesn’t speak English, but rather some sports-oriented slang of the dystopian future, like ‘city-speak’ from Blade Runner. Rome-speak.
When only he or Polka music can be received from my car’s current location (and Polka music usually wins out fairly quickly) I’ve listened to a few minutes of his show. He doesn’t seem to get to much said in the little airtime not committed to commercial breaks. I hate that. If I gotta listen to 5 minutes of commercials for every ten minutes of programming time, make it worth my while. Don’t sit there with a self-satisfied smile that I can HEAR, talking in slang-terms that only long-time listeners will get, taking. . . forever. . .to. . .finish. . .a. . .sentence, that in the end, wasn’t worth waiting on.
I like Rome.
I really miss Tony Bruno. 
Nope. I listened to him for a while because I wanted to give him a chance. Now, I only turn him on if one of my friends calls to let me know there will be a guest I would be interested in.
If he actually says “Nocal,” he really is an idiot… It’s “Norcal.”
EPIC!
I actually used to like Jim Rome about 10 years ago, but now I can’t stand him. I am not even sure what station he is on.
Generally I am indifferent to Cowherd, but I do like his “Spanning the Globe” segment, which coincides well with my morning commute.
Hear hear. Tony K. usually makes me laugh out loud at least twice per PTI, even when I’m not stoned. He’s the man.
What, California? No, we have straight people too. Or are you just gratuitously throwing slurs around?
He’s not exactly the only one in sports talk radio, though. Granted, I’ve heard it more on Fox Sports, but that annoying bullshit is all over the AM dial.
I used to love PTI, but it’s gotten more and more gimmicky, like the rest of the sports talk world. ATH irritated the shit out of me when it started, so I never watched it again.
“Nocal” is probably a slur.
When Rome makes a point ,he repeats it over and over. He does not even improve just repeats. I scream to my self are you going to say something else or what. Then I turn back to NPR.