Sports Talk Radio: A Matter of Taste

It's amazing how far we have come in the world of sports and sports media. 15 years sports talk radio was seen as a wasteland. A place for chauvinistic pigs who brought cheerleaders into their studio to prance around half naked in bikini's. Sports talk radio was the lowest common denominator.

Now flash forward to today. While sports talk radio is still viewed somewhat as a wasteland it has come a long way. Blogs are now viewed as the ultimate wasteland, home to the lowest common denominator. Sports talk has branched out to where there is a sports talk radio station in every town in America. The Jim Rome Show became syndicated which opened the floodgates for syndicated sports talk radio. Today there are three main syndication companies: ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and Sporting News Radio. So whether you like it or not, sports talk radio is a part of sports culture today.

This brings me to a larger point, if you listen to sports talk radio who do you listen to? Do you listen to a national show only? Do you listen to to both a local show only? Do you listen to both national and local sports talk radio? None?

Myself I listen to the Jim Rome Show and the local Bay Area show "The Razor & Mr. T" on KNBR. I've listened to Rome's show since 2004. I've always enjoyed his take on sports and I would be lying if I say I don't enjoy the e-mails he reads on air or the soundbites that are played. I listen to the local show "The Razor & Mr. T" because I enjoy their opinion on the 49ers and Giants. They're the only ones worth listening to on KNBR besides Damon Bruce.



While I don't listen to these shows full-time I will occasionally listen to these shows.

Mike & Mike in the Morning- These guys are painful to listen to. They bring no opinion or insight into the sports they are talking about. Maybe they're too vanilla or maybe ESPN wants them to succeed or maybe it's both, but don't ever expect a hard hitting opinion from these two. 

Colin Cowherd- I have a love hate with Cowherd. I used to love his show when he first hit the ESPN airways back in 04. Eventually though I started to despise Cowherd and this has nothing to do with him blowing up blogs. I despise Cowherd because he constantly contradicts what he says. For example, he crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers this year for not giving LeBron James enough support. As soon as LeBron left he said the Cavaliers gave him enough support and that he should have won at least one title in the past two years. Well what is it? LeBron wasn't given enough support or did he have enough? Contradicting Cowherd is a good listen every once in a while.

Dan Patrick- I've never understood the popularity of Patrick on the radio and this goes back to his ESPN days. He constantly brags about his Emmy's, guest appearances in movies, and hobnobbing with celebrities. The Dan Patrick Show is the "Entourage" of sports talk radio. 

Petros and Money Show- Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith are fast risers in the sports talk world. Originally just based out of Los Angeles recently their show was syndicated by Fox Sports Radio. I've enjoyed their stints as guest hosts on the Jim Rome Show. They're a good listen if you can find a station they're on.

Like I said before, I don't listen to those shows all the time but I will occasionally listen to those shows. Say what you want about Mike & Mike in the Morning, Cowherd, or Dan Patrick they get ratings. And at the end of the day that's what matters.

We all have different tastes. I like Jim Rome and some people don't. Some people like Colin Cowherd and some people don't. We as people will listen to whoever we want to because they like that person's opinion. Some people may not like any of the national opinions and just like their local voice. Some people might like their local voice and none of the national voices. And some people don't care for sports talk at all. We all have different tastes and that's all what matters with sports talk radio.