Mike Tirico to ESPN Radio
I've listened to a lot of ESPN Radio this summer and followed Dan Patrick's departure with interest. I debated with my brother over who should fill his slot. A great radio show has an announcer (or announcing team) that has some kind of unique schtick. Mike and Mike in the Morning are a great pairing because of their contrasting personalities. Colin Cowherd's uniqueness is a combination of his sense of humor, his preparedness, and his grating not-made-for-radio-yet-somehow-likable voice. Patrick had a different sense of humor, got great guests and is a fantastic interviewer. I like Eric Kuselias a lot, but he's a tier below Cowherd.
Meanwhile, John Seibel and Doug Gottlieb are crap, as are everyone else on ESPN Radio from 4pm to 2am, especially Amy Lawrence but ESPECIALLY Fred Coleman. I actually like listening to the latter for the unintentional comedy of his inane comments and constant stream of ill fitting cliches. Jason Smith, if you're awake after 2am, is pretty solid. Definitely Kuselias level, which is good enough for that time slot.
Mike and Mike, The Herd, and Dan Patrick was a great lineup. ESPN needed to get somebody special to fill Patrick's slot. Today they announced Mike Tirico would be the man to jump in that hole. (Actually, Tirico will only take 1-3pm. The final hour will go to the Stephen A. Smith Show, which broadcasts from 2-4 in NYC.) As much as I love everything Tirico has ever done, I'm not ready to say this is a slam dunk.
Tirico has a lot in common with Patrick. Despite his history in radio (he did sports radio at Syracuse University and was one of the first personalities on ESPN Radio when it started in 1992), Tirico is, like Patrick, a TV guy. They both come off as highly intelligent, thoughtful guys. They're both extremely polished, especially compared to a Colin Cowherd, for instance. Patrick sucks up to everybody. Tirico gels with anybody.
There's huge differences, too. Patrick turned out to be a strongly opinionated guy on his radio show. It's hard to imagine Tirico being as fierce with his opinions. That may be because Tirico's play-by-play background has less room for personality than Patrick's SportsCenter anchoring background. Also, Tirico is black. With the constant stream of stories where race may or may not be a factor, that is a significant trait.
I have heard Mike on the radio a couple times over the past month. As it turned out, he really was one of the least opinionated guys I've ever heard on the radio. Still, he was interesting, mainly because of his intelligence. I just didn't hear anything to suggest he might have that certain something that makes a good host or hosts great. But he didn't sound awful.
Here's what I would have done if I was ESPN: I've got a endless array of smart, interesting personalities I can put on the radio, so why not flex that power? Scott Van Pelt was fantastic when he came on a couple times for Dan Patrick this summer. Trey Wingo was also very good. Linda Cohn is an intelligent woman. (Oddly enough, when I caught her on in the Patrick slot, I discovered that her New York City accent is magnified 100x on the radio. I actually think it was because she was trying to be more opinionated. Could be fatal for her, and I can't think of another ESPN woman who I'd want to hear on the radio.) Why not give each of these guys the full three hour slot one day a week? That would keep Tirico from becoming over-exposed, which is a real danger at this point. And the variety of opinion would make for interesting radio.
The only problem is sports radio's tendency to beat a dead horse about a million times past the point where it is, well, dead. When Mike and Mike talk about Barry Bonds for an hour, then Cowherd talks about him for an hour, then Patrick talks about him for an hour...etc... you can understand the problem. On the other hand, you're more likely to actually hear something new an interesting about Barry Bonds if more people are talking about him, especially with the batch of really smart people ESPN could throw out there.
That would have been interesting. And at the very least, maybe one of the people ESPN threw out there would separate himself so much that it'd be a no-brain decision a year or two down the road to give him the show by himself. Still, I'm hopeful about Mike Tirico. It could have been much worse. Fred Coleman could have been given a solo spot.
Meanwhile, John Seibel and Doug Gottlieb are crap, as are everyone else on ESPN Radio from 4pm to 2am, especially Amy Lawrence but ESPECIALLY Fred Coleman. I actually like listening to the latter for the unintentional comedy of his inane comments and constant stream of ill fitting cliches. Jason Smith, if you're awake after 2am, is pretty solid. Definitely Kuselias level, which is good enough for that time slot.
Mike and Mike, The Herd, and Dan Patrick was a great lineup. ESPN needed to get somebody special to fill Patrick's slot. Today they announced Mike Tirico would be the man to jump in that hole. (Actually, Tirico will only take 1-3pm. The final hour will go to the Stephen A. Smith Show, which broadcasts from 2-4 in NYC.) As much as I love everything Tirico has ever done, I'm not ready to say this is a slam dunk.
Tirico has a lot in common with Patrick. Despite his history in radio (he did sports radio at Syracuse University and was one of the first personalities on ESPN Radio when it started in 1992), Tirico is, like Patrick, a TV guy. They both come off as highly intelligent, thoughtful guys. They're both extremely polished, especially compared to a Colin Cowherd, for instance. Patrick sucks up to everybody. Tirico gels with anybody.
There's huge differences, too. Patrick turned out to be a strongly opinionated guy on his radio show. It's hard to imagine Tirico being as fierce with his opinions. That may be because Tirico's play-by-play background has less room for personality than Patrick's SportsCenter anchoring background. Also, Tirico is black. With the constant stream of stories where race may or may not be a factor, that is a significant trait.
I have heard Mike on the radio a couple times over the past month. As it turned out, he really was one of the least opinionated guys I've ever heard on the radio. Still, he was interesting, mainly because of his intelligence. I just didn't hear anything to suggest he might have that certain something that makes a good host or hosts great. But he didn't sound awful.
Here's what I would have done if I was ESPN: I've got a endless array of smart, interesting personalities I can put on the radio, so why not flex that power? Scott Van Pelt was fantastic when he came on a couple times for Dan Patrick this summer. Trey Wingo was also very good. Linda Cohn is an intelligent woman. (Oddly enough, when I caught her on in the Patrick slot, I discovered that her New York City accent is magnified 100x on the radio. I actually think it was because she was trying to be more opinionated. Could be fatal for her, and I can't think of another ESPN woman who I'd want to hear on the radio.) Why not give each of these guys the full three hour slot one day a week? That would keep Tirico from becoming over-exposed, which is a real danger at this point. And the variety of opinion would make for interesting radio.
The only problem is sports radio's tendency to beat a dead horse about a million times past the point where it is, well, dead. When Mike and Mike talk about Barry Bonds for an hour, then Cowherd talks about him for an hour, then Patrick talks about him for an hour...etc... you can understand the problem. On the other hand, you're more likely to actually hear something new an interesting about Barry Bonds if more people are talking about him, especially with the batch of really smart people ESPN could throw out there.
That would have been interesting. And at the very least, maybe one of the people ESPN threw out there would separate himself so much that it'd be a no-brain decision a year or two down the road to give him the show by himself. Still, I'm hopeful about Mike Tirico. It could have been much worse. Fred Coleman could have been given a solo spot.
Labels: ESPN, Mike Tirico, radio
posted by Prof. A at 7:10 PM
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