Mike Tirico Show Unveiled

I just finished listening to the first installment of The Mike Tirico Show (1-3pm EST on ESPN Radio) and, well, I'm giddy!

First, let me refer back to my thoughts on the transition away from the Dan Patrick show which I jotted down on Monday. This is what I wrote:
"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... 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."

What ESPN is actually doing is even better than what I had come up with. I'll get to that in a second. Since Mike Tirico was my childhood idol and the main reason why I went to Newhouse at Syracuse University, I felt obligated to listen to the whole show and take notes. Here's what I thought:


Segment 1
The first thing Mike said was that he didn't like that the show was named after him because he didn't want the show to be about him. In one obvious way, this first show was very much about Tirico: he did it live from the radio studios of WAER, located inside Newhouse on the SU campus, where he first got his start in broadcasting. (Tirico was in town because the school opened up Newhouse III yesterday.) But Mike set a tone over the course of the entire show that made it clear that the show was not about him at all. In fact, I don't remember him offering a single sentence of opinion on any of the stories he touched on over the course of two hours.

Tirico spent the segment explaining some of his thoughts on how the show would work. He said he would be joined by three personalities later in the show that would be regular co-hosts for the show. He ended the segment teasing the first guest, Bob Costas, who was also in town for Newhouse III.

Grade: A, I was left with high hopes for the show's co-host-heavy format.


Segment 2
Costas, who I should point out is not one of the co-hosts, spent most of the segment recounting his two greatest personal athletic achievements. It was a fun topic, though it did take perhaps a little too much time.

Tirico squeezed in two good questions at the end. First he asked Costas to comment on the McNabb/black QB issue. As usual, Costas provided the best answer I've heard so far. He refused to dismiss McNabb's complaints or racism as a continuing issue in sports, but he gave plenty of evidence that racism is no longer a major problem in the NFL. He noted that last year all three of the Jag's QBs were black, and when Leftwich was cut, another black QB, David Garrard, took his place. Costas said Warren Moon clearly faced racism in trying to get an opportunity in the NFL 15 or 20 years ago, but in 2006 Vince Young was drafted before Matt Leinert.

Then Tirico brought up Major League Baseball's Wild Card playoff system, which Costas had criticized when it first came out. Costas admitted, "I was wrong...it played out better than I thought." He said one of the best parts about it was an advantage that even the pro-Wild Card people hadn't foreseen; it allows the Red Sox and the Yankees to meet in the post-season. The downside, Costas said, is still that there is now nothing really at stake for the Red Sox and the Yankees in the regular season. They are both very likely to make the playoffs.

Costas is a genius, so I wanted to recap his thoughts. Let's move along...

Grade: A-, the show got away from Tirico a bit with Costas's ramblings.


Segment 3

Tirico unveiled his first co-host: Scott Van Pelt! I was ecstatic that Van Pelt was going to be a part of the show. Like I said Monday, the guy is fantastic on the radio. He's just a lot of fun. He introduced himself a little bit, then they talked baseball. Van Pelt warned Yankee and Red Sox fans not to ignore the fact that the Indians and the Angels are really good teams and have better records. Good point.

Grade: B+


Segment 4

Scott Van Pelt remained on the air the rest of the way as a sort of sidekick, a role he plays quite well. Actually, it just occurred to me that his jokester style is a great match to Tirico's plain pleasantness. The second co-host phoned in: Kirk Herbstreit!

Herbstreit was slightly unexpected, but I like the idea. Just to prove he could contribute during football's off season, Van Pelt and Tirico shared two stories about Herbstreit calling them randomly to discuss some non-football sports event. Then the three of them all started making fun of each other. Fun times.

Grade: B, they lost my attention just a bit in the second half of the segment.


Segment 5

They opened the segment with that famous clip of the Flutie Hail Mary, and it turns out the guy shouted "He did it! Flutie did it!" is Dan "The Duke" Davis, the guy who does the sports updates all day for ESPN Radio. It was his birthday, so Tirico and Van Pelt wished him a happy one.

Then they quickly brought on the 3rd and final co-host: Michele Tafoya! It had to be a woman, of course, and they picked a good one. Does anyone dislike Tafoya? She's recognizable and well-spoken. Actually, she's the biggest X-factor of the four hosts. We'll see what she brings to the table. She had an odd start. After Tirico said Michele's job would be "keeping the guys straight" Tafoya playfully asked if the guys would turn gay if she wasn't around. Everyone laughed uncomfortably.

The second half of the segment featured a surprise caller. Dan Patrick called to wish Tirico and Co. good luck in his old slot. He was very funny.

Grade: A-, DP was fantastic.


Segment 6

Tim Finchem led off the segment talking about the new drug testing policy announced by golf's various governing bodies. Van Pelt finished up the interview asking about the FedEx Cup.

The show ended on the highest possible note. Tirico brought in a guest who is always guaranteed to please me. He's the most sports-aware coach out there and he's the greatest sports figure in Syracuse history: Jim Boeheim.

Boeheim, I have to say, sounded his age (62) over the radio. (That reminded me of my prediction of the over/under for how many years Boeheim has left: five.) They talked US basketball then Tirico finished with a quick question about SU hoops. Boeheim said he's got a good group of young players this year and that he's excited about their chances, though college basketball is always tough these days.

Grade: A+, anytime Boeheim is on a show, it gets an A+.


Overall

Like I said, I think this Tirico +3 idea is even better than my idea of rotating hosts. I like the people they've selected and I think if anyone can pull that sort of show off, it's Tirico who seems to gel with almost anybody. I think 2 hours is a great amount of time, rather than 3, because Tirico tends to sound uber-intelligent and that can start to wear on listeners (see: Bob Valvano). The Van Pelt-Tirico relationship is key. If they start clicking, the show could really take off.

Grade: A

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.