14 : Thanks for the link to the Wallace essay. Looks good.

16 : Dang, I’m dying to know the answer to that Ainge/Bo question. I’d look into it but I want to see if I can come up with it first. Did Garth Iorg play for the Royals, maybe? Ah, I bet it’s some drifting reliever.

I’ve seen Lewis Black; he made me laugh. Mitch Hedberg must have been great.

But I’ve listened to sports radio on and off since 1991. I Used to listen to the FAN more often. It seemed to be come in better here in Hartford back in the day. Lately, I’ve listened to more ESPN radio with an occasional turn of the dial to WEEI.

Even before 1991, WTIC in Hartford had an evening sports show with an old guy named Arnold Dean. He was like the anti-Jim Rome. He probably said stuff as stupid as what Dibble says, but would do it in a nice way. BTW, Dibble’s dad was an award winning newsman at WTIC. I swear to God.

Great stuff as always.

I’ve only ever called in to a sports talk show twice — Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton out here on the west coast. Even though I like Hamilton, yes you do get rushed through when you finally get on the air.

A truly fascinating description of talk radio in general and what the imperatives and techniques are is David Foster Wallace’s 2004 piece, “Host” (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200504/wallace) It’s crucial to remember that talk radio does not need or try to be informative or correct, only entertaining.

QUOTE:

The fact of the matter is that it is not John Ziegler’s job to be responsible, or nuanced, or to think about whether his on-air comments are productive or dangerous, or cogent, or even defensible. That is not to say that the host would not defend his [position]—strenuously—or that he does not believe it’s true. It is to say that he has exactly one on-air job, and that is to be stimulating.

One other note is that I have a friend who is a radio producer, and I have more than once been recruited to make a staged phone call to a national talk show. Nothing sinister, but just as a way to bring up a particular topic that the host wanted to get on the table.

How is the book coming?

JWP

http://wezen-ball.blogspot.com/2008/12/through-years-jim-rice.html

Wait a minute. So the guys who “cheat[ed] to get better” SHOULD be honored for what they accomplished on the field, but a guy who cheated in a way that didn’t improve his playing ability shouldn’t?

8 : Rice and his long wait is like the aging hood who after years and years of hijacking trucks and breaking guys kneecaps finally gets made. Took him awhile, but made is made. I’m happy about it.

In regards to Rice, I e-mailed a writer I like a great deal, Bob Ryan from The Boston Globe and various ESPN programming, and asked him if was bothered by the idea of the Hall having such pseudo-luminaries as Jim Rice, Orlando Cepeda and Ton Perez and NOT having Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Ryan quite adamant that this presented no problem to him (he was actually a little snippy (uncharacteristically) and haughty.
I just don’t know what the point of the HOF is without Bonds and Clemens. That would be a huge, huge hole.

(I’m dead-set against Pete Rose, however; he did not cheat to get better, like the steroid guys did, but God knows he’s a whole other nasty-message-posting issue.)