The end of summer...

Summer, summer, where have you gone?  It seems like just yesterday we were crying for warm weather and a right-handed bat in the middle of the Phillies lineup.  Fast forward a few months and we have an earthquake, a hurricane, and gangly, awkward, perfect 5-hole hitter.  Not a bad summer. 

Like with any season, summer goes too fast because we look too far into the future.  In the summer, we can't wait for Halloween and hoodie weather.  In the fall, we can't wait for Delilah's Christmas hits every night on B101.  In the winter, I can barely contain myself while thinking about Clearwater and our guys.  I think if we stop looking ahead and try to focus on what's in front of us, these summers will feel a lot slower, like we are actually there in the moment and not watching it pass us by. I guess that could be said for life as well.

I went with Gina <3 to Bonefish Grill last night before seeing an okay movie, My Idiot Brother (I thought I could relate).  Bonefish Grill was very, very good. The service was great and the fish was as fresh as Joey Cone's wardrobe.  It got me thinking, however, about how most cities and towns lack a sense of personality anymore.  I could go home after work today and go food shopping at Wal-Mart, have dinner at Bonefish Grill, and go to the gym at LA Fitness.  I could repeat the same cycle in a hundreds of cities across the States.  I'm sure at one point Deptford wasn't just Best Buys and Outback Steakhouse, but rather it was full of local restaurants and ma and pa department stores that felt like Deptford.

 I'm happy that in Philadelphia we get a little more local flavor with independent restaurants and shops, but suburbia is becoming a black hole that sucks in large corporations and housing developers (well.. errrr) and ejects home-grown, longstanding small businesses from their roots.  But nah, let's protect those big corps that are ruining what made America a great place, free enterprise.  Big Business is not America.  Big business is a means for a guy in a suit making 500,000 a year to hide beneath an umbrella of underlings and a cavalcade of lawyers.  There is no accountability, no face to the problem.  It's just the company.  If I have an issue with a Wal-Mart, my problem will very likely be squashed or tossed into some suggestion box.  If I have an issue with a local hardware store, the people that own the place will help me; because they care and they understand that my suggestion could make them better. Wal-mart doesn't care.  Small businesses care.  Small businesses have heart.  Small business is the guy in rags on the street corner blowing a smooth rendition of "What A Beautiful World" from his trumet as passerbys flick nickels into his instrument case.  Wal-Mart is 80's hair metal bands.  Look at me! Look at me!

This has nothing to do with summer, I know.  It's pathetic, I just want America back.

Or is this what America is and always was?

ENTERTAINMENT BLENDER- The State of Television

     It is hard to believe that another school year is upon us. The Fall TV season is fast approaching and it is time to take a look at the best stuff currently airing. Three comedies leap out right away in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Wilfred, and Louie. In its eighth season, Larry David has removed all the filters on his character after finalizing a divorce with his wife Cheryl in the season premiere. Deemed “The Social Assassin,” David has been on a tirade against the minutia that happens in everyday human life that we would all like to question out loud but typically refrain from doing. Like his previous show Seinfeld, all episodes tend to wrap up in delicious fashion with the various subplots intertwining. The big arc this season involves Larry and his agent Jeff moving to New York for a few months. Guest stars have included Ricky Gervais and Rosie O’Donnell. Ratings are at an all-time high, meaning we can probably expect another season of this gem. What one has to appreciate about Larry David is that he is so loaded and only signs on for more seasons if he has a worthwhile idea. If you are a fan of comedy, this show will be worth your while.

Philadelphia Sports Talk Radio

For as long as I can remember, sports talk radio has been a part of my life.  I remember hearing the WIP sports update jingle every morning in my mom or dad's car on my way to school.  It had long been the juggernaut of talk radio in Philadelphia, lampooning other local stations with witty dialogue and fun contests.  Their young and vibrant hosts were fresh, brash and very much welcomed in a time when newspapers and news stations offered very little criticism of the local sports team.  Cataldi was there to boo the Birds for drafting McNabb. Eskin was there to pick on the Phillies at any chance possible.

But as the years wore on, those youthful, scathing hosts became old and irritating.  Audiences began tuning their dials to new stations, on satellite radio and on the internet.  In the time of instant internet chats and message boards, sports radio became an antiquated bore that could only sustain itself if it changed with the times.  610 WIP didn't.

Enter 97.5 FM, the fanatic.  The Fanatic, also simulcasted on 950 AM, saw WIP's complacency and the rising interest in Philadelphia sports teams (particularly the resurgent Phillies) and set out to be everything that WIP wasn't.

At first, their attempts were scoffed at.  The 97.5 on-air talent was poor and the content was boring, until 2008.  It was in that year that The Fanatic signed former 610 host Mike Missenelli to anchor their afternoon drive show.  Since that point in time, the resurgent Missenelli pushed The Fanatic up and beyond his former station by surrounding himself with quality hosts both young and old, adding a text-board for listeners and treating the show's callers with respect.  His former competitor Howard Eskin won't admit it, but Missinelli's domination over him in recent years surely was a driving force in his recent resignation.

With the recent announcement of WIP moving into its new FM digs at 94.1, I want to give my thoughts on what shows will interest me the most.  Let's count 'em down.

Power Rankings
1. Mike Missinelli - Mikey Mush has risen from his own professional hell to become "the voice of the people" in Philadelphia.  I don't always agree with him, but there's no denying the entertainment found in his shows.  What separates Mike from the rest is his odd humor and ability to talk about things other than sports.

2. Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow - If you want real sports analysis, this is the show to listen to.  Cuz and Prof have been doing sports radio for years and they truly understand this sports landscape.  Gargano is a lovable I-Tailian who rejoices with the callers when our teams win.  Macnow is solid, but offers little in the personality department.

3. Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team - I used to love this show.  Now I can barely stand it.  It's usually a complete bore saved only by the hilarious genius that is Joe Conklin.  I like Rhea Hughes, Ricky Bo, and Keith Jones, but Angelo doesn't know sports well enough to yell as much as he does and Al Morganti simply doesn't talk enough.

4. Tony Bruno and Whoever - TB is beloved by a lot of people in the region, but I never got his shtick. He's okay, but how many drops can one take before they change the dial?

5. Baldy and Mays- Brian Baldinger is a nice addition to 97.5 but he isn't a game changer.  Harry Mays along with Dan Schwartzman might be the WORST thing to happen to sports radio in this city ever.  I can't stand his grating voice and his outdated views on the world around him.  He knows less about sports than the keyboard I am typing on. ughh.. and schwartzman, that guy seems like he was punched a few times growing up.

Most Underrated Sports Radio Personalities
- Phil from Mt. Airy (97.5)
- Larry Bowa (97.5)
- Sonny Hill (94.1)
- Rob Ellis (94.1)
- Seth Everett (94.1)
- John Marks (97.5)

Looking forward to........
     Michael Barkann's new show on WIP.  Entertaining guy, should be a good listen.

Voice I can hear over and over again....
     Dutch Daulton. Talkin' Baseball with Dutch has its dry spots sometimes, but just hearing Dutchy saying "Right on" keeps me happy and listening.

Football's Back!!......who cares

To say that I’m a hardcore sports fan is a bit of an understatement. I live and breathe sports, 24/7 to the point where some might think it’s kind of weird. As a sports fan this time of year has always been exciting for me. By this time I could usually tell if the Phillies were going to make a push for the playoffs and another division title and the last months of the baseball season are always fun due to the pennant races, but the thing that got me so pumped up was the start of football season. The National Football League has always been my crown jewel, my number one. I could tell you everything about any team, who their kicker was right down to who their third string quarterback was. This year, to quote the famous BB King, “The Thrill is Gone.”

I really don’t care about football right now. I have no interest in it, and quite frankly I’m disgusted with it. People that have known me for years or even a few minutes can pick up two things about me, I love the Dallas Cowboys with all my heart and I absolutely HATE the Philadelphia Eagles. Some people might think, “Ant, you don’t care about the NFL cause the Cowboys suck.” Or “You’re just jealous that the Eagles got all those free-agents.” Actually, I really don’t give a shit at all. If this was a normal year, I would be downright sick at the moves the Eagles have made, but instead I just don’t care. I used to read the Dallas Morning News everyday online and waste hours in forums reading about the Cowboys and potential free agent signings and draft picks, and this year, nothing.

The biggest factor that has lead to my overall disinterest is the NFL lockout. It made me realize just how much the NFL does not care about me, the fan. The fact that the players and owners could not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement for months is ridiculous. We all heard the cliché millionaires vs. billionaires and that’s exactly what it was, I’ll never make anywhere near what these guys make, and granted I don’t have the physical abilities that they do but still it got to the point where it was down right nauseating. How many times on Sportscenter did we have to see file footage of a bunch of players and owners getting in a out of cars, or Roger Goodell talking to Jerry Jones or some shit like that. Get over yourself. I lost a lot of respect for the NFL over this lockout debacle, and I can honestly say I don't know when and if I'll ever feel the same way about the league again.

Who knows, I write this on the first night of preseason games, I may be sucked right back in come week one, or at least when the fantasy football drafts get going. I just don’t see it happening, my frustration grows everyday and the fact that I live in the Philadelphia area doesn’t help. I can’t begin to explain how it kills me that the Phillies are in the midst of a historic run that they haven’t seen in their entire franchises history, yet they are only given 5 minutes of time on a 30 minute show. All the sports talk radio shows are dominated by this “all hype team”, and the Phillies are more like an afterthought. But I digress. It’s going to be an interesting season for almost every team, player and fan this year so I guess I’ll sit back and try to enjoy the ride.

-Zorzi

Writers gotta write

So I have 40 minutes left on my lunch break, and I want to ramble.

• Have you ever had a love affair with a sports team?  For the life of me, I can't differentiate between "being in love" and what I feel for this Phillies team.  It feels eerily similar.  And it's not a sexual, homo thing.  It's like I just want to wrap my arms and legs around a 3-dimensional Phillies logo and squeeze it until it the words look jumbled. Mr. Z and I have texted each other multiple times in the past few weeks after the Fightins amazed us again and again. We always write, "I love this team". We all do. LET'S GO EAT!!
• For those in my generation who watched the WWE in the late '90s and, like me, lost interest in the past decade due to dull storylines and recycled gimmicks, there once again is a reason to spend your Monday nights watching RAW.  Some try to compare what CM Punk is doing to what Steve Austin did to usher in the "Attitude Era".  In a ESPN podcast I just listened to Punk dubbed this new time in WWE history as the "Reality Era".  He wants to show fans multiple sides of a wrestler's character instead of the traditional one-dimensional "Duke the Dumpster Drose" types.  The only way to draw back disillusioned fans is to remove the illusion altogether and show them what is "beyond the mat" and behind the individual characters.  CM Punk is doing just that, saving the WWE one match at a time.
• Snooki blew off my morning drive radio show this morning (The Opie and Anthony Show on XM Sirius).  Personally, I am indifferent to these no-talent HACKS, but these Jersey Shore DOLTS really grind my gears.  It blows my mind to think about the money these reproducible every-twentysomethings-at-the-jersey-shore are making, but when they start to turn into insolent pricks I start to get angry.  I know, it's not their fault that MTV picked up their show. And it's not their fault that my demographic chooses to watch boring nothings instead of doing anything else.  But who the hell are you, Snooki? What talent do you possess that makes you different from every other girl in the club? I tell my friends this all the time. I can walk into The Ocean Drive on any summer night and pull 4 Snookis, 5 Situations, and 12 Ronnies out of the crowd and interchange them onto that show with no discernible difference. But I challenge you to find 1 Louis C.K. or 1 Jimmy Rollins or 1 Taylor Swift AKA people with superior talent to normal human beings. They are the ones that deserve our attention in entertainment! The ones that can do things that we can't!!!!!
• I'm liking this rant thing, I think I might do it every week. Still have ten minutes left in my break.. peacee

- JD