I don’t know which is worse, turning on the radio and hearing Rome’s annoying drabble or flipping the station and catching “Dr.” Laura in the middle of one of her lectures.
Give me Tony any day.
I can’t stand either one of them.
I hate Kornheiser more because I used to live in DC, and the guy can’t write either, and he doesn’t know sports. Seriously, his column reads like he picks through Dave Barry’s trash can.
I’m a big fan of Kornheiser, and generally can’t stand Rome. But the other day, I heard Rome make some good, somewhat controversial (to sports fans, perhaps) points about gay athletes. It was surprising to hear him defend gay athletes, simply because of his uber-macho aura. I won’t listen to the show regularly or anything, because I just can’t stand his manly radio voice, but I have a tad of respect for him now.
hrh
He has always spoken out against racism and gay bashing and that is why I liked his show.
Until he uttered “stupid little bitch” in a cold demeaning way about that 12 year old girl. Not once , but a couple of times. And I haven’t listened in 5 years because of that incident.
I used to like Rome quite a bit, and dislike Kornheiser quite a bit. Kornheiser’s cut the gap quite a bit (strangely enough for me, since I moved away from DC), to the point where on a given day I’d probably prefer Kornheiser’s show. (He’s on an FM frequency where I live, so that might have something to do with it, I suppose.)
As for the “rivalry,” I’d guess it dates to when ESPN Radio (or at least WTEM in Washington) shifted its lineup to put Kornheiser from 10 am - 1pm, Eastern, which means that one hour of his show (the last hour) overlaps with one hour of Rome’s show (the first hour). WTEM in DC had just picked up Rome about six months earlier and not surprisingly (since Andy Pollin, or Andy Polleee, is the PD) it carried (and still carries) Kornheiser all three hours, then picks up the last two hours of Rome.
This was about when Rome’s show was moving progressively eastward…Detroit, DC, Miami. Rome started demanding he get his “third hour back,” and every so often when a DC caller said Rome should bring a “tour stop” to DC, Rome said that if DC gave him back his third hour, then he’d do a DC tour stop. (All of this stuff soon became mocked by Kornheiser.) Rome and the Clones then derided Kornheiser’s show for its “sports…and other stuff” approach, and after a while DC clones (or whoever…) would call in to report Tony’s poll question of the day, which always seemed to be “What’s you favorite fruit?” or “What’s your favorite condiment?” Rome at some point let the Clones do this exclusively, and would only add that some cities prefer “the local guy,” which is sort of disingenuous of course, since at the time (still not full-scale Clear Channel/Premiere world domination) Kornheiser probably had as many affiliates.
As mentioned, Kornheiser would mock Rome’s insistence for the third hour and would use Rome’s by-now-cliched “gloss” in a similar manner: “rack me,” “thanks for the vine,” etc. For a while, Kornheiser referred to Rome as an “overgrown Ken doll.” I suspect, but I of course don’t know, that WTEM management (Clear Channel types) probably instructed Mr. Tony to back off a bit when he’s referring to a Clear Channel property or find a new home station, because he doesn’t do it as much. (Then again, Kornheiser is the only WTEM property to get ratings; he’s No. 1 middays 25-54 males in DC, which doesn’t mean he dominates like Don and Mike do in DC, but it’s pretty good.) Or maybe this is just a tired subject, since most of the “rivalry” occurred in around 1999-2000.
Aw, the joys of working on the 7th floor of a government building, listening to a 50,000 wat station with good building penetration.
Oh, an by the way, everybody’s taste is different, but I find the Dan Patrick Show especially tiresome. IMHO Patrick is a pompous lightweight. He’s not as objectionable as J.T. the Brick, but he’s in the same league.
djf750, I’m not saying it never happened, but I listen to that show every day (for a long, long time), and I have never heard Jim Rome refer to a 12 year old girl as a “stupid little bitch.” I have heard him refer to professional athletes in derogatory terms plenty of times, but never a “non-combatant.” I don’t think that the parent company would stand for that (at least I hope not).
Like I said, I’m not saying it never happened, but I would be shocked if I heard it said, and I haven’t yet.
Any other Rome listeners hear that blast?
I know this isn’t GQ, but I wanted to thank you for answering my query in such wonderful detail.
I think the worst thing I ever saw Rome say was on his TV show a few years back when Playboy magazine was offering to do a feature on a women’s basketball player who was voted the best-looking athlete or some such. Rome actually said that Playboy was disgusting, claimed that it’s only readers were dirty old men and other perverts.
Now this is Playboy we’re talking about. This isn’t Larry Flynt’s latest collection of hardcore lesbians. This isn’t Bob Guccione’s latest spread of a woman peeing into various pieces of dinnerware. This is Playboy. You know, the magazine that has real articles, interesting interviews, has featured some of the best short fiction written over the past few decades…need I go on? This is about as softcore as nudie-mags get, it doesn’t even really deserve the label “porn”…in fact, even my calling it a “nudie-mag” just now might be overreaching. And here’s Jim Rome ranting about how perverted the people who read the magazine are. Did he realize how many of his audience, males aged 18-50, probably are Playboy readers, at least occasionnally?
It sounded like one of those things guys occasionally say when women are around because they think it’ll make them seem progressive on and sympathetic to women’s issues, to try to get laid, but that no man actually believes. In the process, he just insulted a large percentage of his viewers. That was it for me, I’ve refused to listen to or watch Rome since then (excluding for about 2 hours per year when I catch part of his year-in-review show on my way home to Maryland, when he’s the only thing you can get on the AM radio after I go through Wheeling WV onto the Penn Turnpike…he actually puts clips of his idiot callers into the year-in-review, like some caller in Virginia who likes to use metal detectors, oh frickin’ boy.)
Here’s a conspiracy for the ages–was the Rome/Everett fight on the set of Talk2 staged? It seems like it would be just the thing to put both Rome and ESPN2 on the map.
War “Rome is Burning!”
The worst thing about Rome is that he could have an intelligent, insightful show if he wanted to. Instead he just panders to the lowest common demoniator in his audience. He tries way too hard to be cool/hip and only his fans would actually think he is.
There’s almost no sports talk worth listening to (and very few sports writers worht reading for that matter).
I am telling you he said it, and not just one time. I have kept all the faxes and the letter I sent to him. The last time I heard him say it was May 29, 1998. That was the day I quit listening to him because what he said disgusted me.
I also emailed Bill Plaschke, the LA Times columnist who would appear on his show and he emailed me back (after about 3 emails) and said he heard it too and he told me he said something to Rome about it.
I too find it hard to believe a grown man would say something like that ON THE RADIO and not have anyone at the station reprimand him. I know it sounds very strange but he said it in 1997 and then again 1 year later when they made fun of the spelling bee again. It is held every May.
I used to love that show, and I like I said earlier, he read a lot of my faxes on the air. I looked forward to listening and found the show very funny and entertaining (except when he was doing another interview and kissing ass)
I thought he was a great guy until I heard that. Find the audio from that date and a few days earlier that week and you can hear it yourself.
I know it sounds crazy, and like I said already I could barely believe he said it and then said it a few more times. It really bothered me because my daughter was 12 at the time and because of the cold way he said it.
There is something wrong with that guy.
Ok, I’ll bite…
I’ve listened to Jim Rome since he started for XTRA 690 (San Diego) back in 1991. He has come a long way from his “scrub saturday” status to one of the biggest talk show hosts in America (and dare I say, Canada?). His gloss was refreshing back then and still has stamina to this day, although he doesn’t refer to it often of late. He’s had numerous interviews, some extremely insightful (Sheldon Kennedy, Utley, Billy Bean, Bob Costas, Rex Huddler, etc., etc.), some quite humurous (Don King, Mark Grace, T-Buck, Rex Huddler, Vargas v. Oscar de la Hoya, etc., etc.) and some dreadful (usually a college kid who got drafted in the first round), but overall, his show has still the bite it did last decade. When he is on the radio, the day flies by quickly and I usually have a smile on my face by lunchtime. That’s what matters. Sports is a microcosm of real life, and Rome does a great job of leveling the players to our level through interviews or through parody. The “Mercur”, “The Cat”, “Father’s supporting their daughters in the porn business” <:rolleyes:>, makes me laugh to the point of tears. Sports radio with humor, and great interviews = perfect combonation.
Spelling Bee Girl - I don’t recall Rome calling the 12 year old a “bitch” either, but I do remember Rome stating that “she was climaxing” when she spelled the word ‘eumonym’(sp?) for the championship. She screamed the letters out and did have some level of distress in her voice worthy of a climax.
The Everett incident - Rome was just as upset with “Chrissie” like the rest of us So-Cal Ram fans with the phantom sack he took way back then, he deserved it. Rome said that to “Jim” like a representative for all of us collective So-Cals, and we saw nothing wrong with it.
As for the Kornheiser - Rome rivalry, callers would report the stupidity of Kornheiser’s “polls” and Rome would usually take the high road, “I talk sports and interviews, and other people will talk about me.”, (referring to Kornheiser) and then move on to other issues. Rome does talk about slowly bumping out Rush Limbaugh on some of the affiliates that he would occassionally pick up, but other than that, he doesn’t rip on them (too much - Sports Blob!)
An acquired taste (like beer), Rome is still refreshing to listen to considering whats on. Some people have ridden his coat tails (JT the Brick, the Mayor of Poway and the Phone Slap Stevie Carbone), but Jim Rome has never ridden on anybody’s tail to get where he is. Asskissing on occassion to get an interview is the only weak point to his character, but the interview style is only second to Bob Costas, and Jim did it from the ground up without a network behind him in the beginning – I guess you do have to resort to asskissing in the beginning like he did, but he doesn’t do it as much now because of his status.
I listen to The Ticket as well. It destroys the other sports talk radio shows. Much better ratings than either Fox or ESPN in the Dallas area.
That’s the one. After he did his comedy about the girl and the spelling bee in general, he muttered “stupid little bitch”. That was in May 97 and then a year later he did it again after they played that clip and then the clip from the 1998 spelling bee.
I’m curious Yeticus, if what I am saying is true, (which it is) would it bother you enough to quit listening to him? And if not, what WOULD he have to say?
Before this incident, he also would make reference to Jon Benet Ramsey, the little girl who was murdered. This was about a year after her murder. He would say things like “I’m getting a lot of Jon Benet Ramsey faxes, and I am NOT going to read them. QUIT SENDING THEM.”
He did this in a JOKING way, and that bothered me too. He should never have even mentioned her name on the air. This was a little girl who was brutally murdered and he was treating it very lightly.
RexDart , thanks for the thanks…
Yeticus Rex , while Rome doesn’t usually join in the mocking of Kornheiser’s act now (thereby I suppose taking the high road), the thing of it is that in the beginning of the “rivalry,” he did dog Kornheiser’s show a lot.
For me, I guess my taste in any talk show host is cyclical. With Rome, I go through phases. Only now, the “on” phases are much shorter, and the “off” phases are much longer.
Slight hijack, but on the subject of Jim Rome…I thought he said after he left “The Last Word” that he wasn’t going to do TV anymore. So–was “I’m not going to do TV anymore” code for “I’m not going to work for Fox anymore,” or did ESPN make an offer he couldn’t refuse?
Duke, I didn’t know Rome said he’d never do TV anymore. I remember him saying on his radio show that he was weighing whether to keep the radio show or the nightly TV show, because both were too much, especially with him now being a father. Also, I think the choice was easy because FOXSportsNet is a sinking ship, with only the “Best Damn Sports Show Period” gaining any traction. But at the time (at least from when I listened) he made it apparent that he was looking for a weekly television show.
BTW, for those from the DFW area who have praised “The Ticket”–I looked up the ratings and they drew a 3.3 overall share (10th in the market) last ratings period, which is awesome for an all-sports station. The only other sports station I see listed, an ABC-owned station that must be the ESPN Radio affiliate, doesn’t ever make it to a 1.0 share, and I don’t even see what must be the FOXSportsRadio/Premiere sports affiliate listed.
On a related note, is Norm Hitzges well-liked in the DFW area? (I suppose he must be.) I recall him being a spectacular flame-out as a color man during ESPN’s first season doing baseball (1990).
Ok, I gotta call you on this one. What is wrong with mentioning that little girl’s name on the air? Is it because she’s not an athlete? He discusses non-sports issues quite a bit. Is it because she was murdered? Or a child victim?
I will agree that jokes about dead people are in questionable taste. Granted, I have a questionable sense of humor, so I still laugh. But is it really that big a deal?
Slight hijack- Could the tabloids get off that little girl now? I swear I saw a story about that girl and her mom last week.
Not 100% sure he could have an intelligent, insightful show, but the rest of this quote is dead on. I don’t think I’ve ever heard, on any radio show, a more stupid (in general) set of listeners than Rome’s. It’s like listening to Beavis n Butthead calling/emailing in, but without their penetrating insight and profound wisdom.
And so he panders to them. Good for him, it makes him money, but it makes for an extremely idiotic show. “Rack 'em”, “grill” “jack” etc are not uber-cool code words or slang - they’re just plain stupid.
Of course, his show might also be better if he could make a single point in less than 5 minutes, without those tortuous pieces of dead air and the repetitive statements (not even reworded - he says the same damn sentence 4 or 5 times).
Whether you like Tony K. or not, he is light-years more intelligent, as are his listeners.
I seriously doubt anyone could really dispute this. Kornheiser’s college was so awesome that it changed its name. 
Someone earlier mentioned that Rome’s interviews with college guys/recent draftees can be brutal. The single funniest riff I’ve ever heard him do was replaying the one word response Shawn Marion of the Suns (after just having been drafted out of UNLV) gave Rome: “Yeah.” (With a slight sniffle.)
—So, how about the Dodgers? They really suck this year, don’t they? “Yeah.”
—So, Shaq’s an awesome player, don’t you think? “Yeah.”
—In this complicated world, do you ever feel the urge to drop everything you’re doing and take a deep breath? “Yeah.”
That kind of thing. I’ve only heard Rome carry on with the same bit for a whole segment and remain entertaining: The Shawn Marion bit, and the bit where he describes “every episode of Cops.”
BTW, clones, J-Stu on Blind Date–May 9.
So who saw “Rome is Burning” tonight? I think it has room to grow but showed promise. It seemed like a “lite” version of the radio show. I’m surprised that they couldn’t find better voice mails to play. But I liked the panel discussion (especially because they had Dennis Haysbert on). Overall it was an average debut, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for now. I’ll probably enjoy it more after I go back home where Rome isn’t on the radio and I won’t have already heard most of his takes.
Oh, and best interview ever–the Chucky Brown “Red Lobster” take, which led to this classic “Last Word” reset which is often replayed:
JR: We’re joined on The Last Word by Isiah Thomas. Zeke, good to have you on the program.
IT: Thanks, Jim. I just got back from Red Lobster.