Sports Guys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
'The Sports Guys' was a morning drive time sports radio program that was broadcast on WNEW-FM in New York City from Spring 2000 to early 2003.
The show never had great ratings and suffered from poor station management and direction. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that the show was up against Howard Stern on a station that was co-owned with WNEW. In fact, this show had one of the most busy revolving door of hosts of any morning show. It was very common for a host to go on "vacation" and then never return to the show. At it was however, the personalities of the show that gave this show its appeal.
Contents |
[edit] History
In Spring 2000, WNEW-FM abandoned its long-time rock music format and went to a talk format. In an effort to attract the 18-35 male demographic, they decided to use a Sports "Guy Talk" format in the mornings. In Philadelphia this had been largely successful with WIP's Morning Guys Show. WNEW lured the successful syndicated team of Scott Kaplan and Sid Rosenberg from Florida to New York City. In Florida "Scott and Sid" had a syndicated show called "The Drive" that was also on the Internet. Thus Sports Guys was born.
G Gordon Liddy producer Matty Staudt was brought up to be the Executive Producer.
WNEW's Sports Guys never achieved the ratings they had hoped for. In fact, WNEW as a talk station never took off; only the afternoon duo of Opie and Anthony had any real ratings success. By the time Scott Ferrall had taken over the show, the name "Sports Guys" was dropped. Following the firing of Opie and Anthony, WNEW never recovered and eventually dropped the talk format altogether in early 2003.
While it seemed like the hosts were the best of buddies, many of the hosts did not get along. After Scott Kaplan left the show, negative comments from both Scott and Sid on each other were made public. Sid Rosenberg continually and vocally expressed his displeasure about Eddie Ifft not being a Sports Host. Finally, Sid and Craig Carton both would make negative comments about each other when Sid left the show.
Here is a list of the combinations of hosts:
- Scott Kaplan and Sid Rosenberg (Scott and Sid)
- Scott Kaplan, Sid Rosenberg, Eddie Ifft, and John Riggins
- Sid Rosenberg and Eddie Ifft
- Sid Rosenberg, Craig Carton, and Eddie Ifft
- Sid Rosenberg, Craig Carton, and Blain Ensley
- Craig Carton and Blain Endsley
- Scott Ferrall and Blain Endsley
- Scott Ferrall
- Jacob McAreavy
- Chris Dimino
- Richard Neer and Harris Allen
[edit] Hosts
[edit] Scott Kaplan
Scott Kaplan was one of the original Sports Guys that made up the team of Scott and Sid. Scott lasted for about 6 months with the Sports Guys and left in the Fall of 2000 from what was believed to be creative differences with the station and show. These creative differences seemed to surface with the addition of Eddie Ifft to the show.
Following his departure from the "Sports Guys", Scott surfaced in Southern California on the San Diego-based radio station XTRA-690. He along with Billy Ray Smith made up the morning team known as "Vast Morning Wasteland". Scott was also frequently seen on Fox Sports West's Sports Roundtable. However, things changed early in 2003, when San Diego based XTRA-690 merged with Fox Sports 1150 in Los Angeles. Since Fox had Tony Bruno at the time, Bruno became the new morning guy and Scott and Billy Ray were on the sidelines. Scott still does some weekend work for Fox Sports Radio and is rumored to be surfacing on other Southern California based radio outlets.
Scott resurfaced on San Diego Sports Radio with his partner Billy Ray Smith, former pre-seau successful linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, on the new Mighty 1090 Sports Radio. So far the "Scott and BR" show has been a success. With hilarious antics and cutthroat interviewing, Scott and BR have gained a cult like following. The recent success of "Scott and BR TV" has entertained San Diego sports fans for weeks.
[edit] Sid Rosenberg
Sid Rosenberg was one of the original Sports Guys that made up the team of Scott and Sid. Sid lasted on the show for about a period of one year. For the first 6 months, he was paired up with Scott Kaplan. Shortly after Eddie Ifft's arrival Scott left and Sid did the show with Eddie Ifft as they searched for new hosts. Eventually Craig Carton and Blaine Ensley would become Sid's new partners when Eddie quit. Sid's love for New York Sports with an extremely funny personality made him a must listen to in the mornings. Sid eventually left the show when he and management agreed to mutually depart ways.
Following his departure from the Sports Guys, Sid landed on WNEW's sister station, WFAN as a weekend sports host and as the Sports Reporter on the Imus in the Morning Show with Don Imus. Sid's sense a humor made this a natural fit on Imus. Sid's career almost went into a major tailspin when he made some negative comments on sisters Serena Williams and Venus Williams. WFAN removed Sid from the air, however Don Imus who liked Sid convinced management to let him back on and Sid issued an on-the-air apology. Sid's hard work would eventually payoff when he would become the mid-day host with long time WFAN personality Jody McDonald (McDonald would later be replaced by Joe Benigno) He continued to work the Imus show as well until May 2005 when he was removed from Imus in the Morning after making negative remarks about Kylie Minogue's battle with breast cancer. Earlier in 2005, Sid took a month long leave of absence from his midday show when he entered into drug/alcohol/gambling rehabilitation. Then in September 2005 he no-showed on an assignment and was forced to resign from WFAN altogether.
Following his departure from WFAN, Sid returned to South Florida to become the midday host of O.J. and Sid. Sid is now teamed up with former Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver O.J. McDuffie on the midday show on 790am The Ticket.
[edit] Eddie Ifft
Eddie Ifft joined the Sports Guys in the Fall of 2000 as a comedic presence to the duo of Scott and Sid. It was a highly criticized move because most felt Scott and Sid had good chemistry and it did take things in a new direction. In fairness to management and Eddie, this is a very common theme in radio today - adding comedians to morning shows. (In fact, 610's WIP in Philadelphia had a full-time comedian) Eddie was talented, but the combination did not mesh well. When Craig Carton joined the show in December, 2000 - Eddie finished up the year and then vanished from the show, because he truly couldn't stand Craig and thought Craig was talentless and redundant. Also, Eddie received a development deal with the WB Network for his own sitcom. Eddie's period when he was a Sports Guy was sometimes referred to as The Only Time Worth Listening To The Show.
Eddie still does comedy work throughout the country, and can be heard often on Sirius Satelite radio. He does have a website that keeps tabs on him - [1]
Eddie appeared on the NBC Reality Show Last Comic Standing II.
[edit] John Riggins
Former New York Jets and Washington Redskins all-pro Running Back, John Riggins was not officially a Sports Guy. He often would come to the show during Football Season of 2000. For a while, it seemed that Riggins would join the show. Riggins did an outstanding job and meshed well with many of the main hosts. His guest appearances would vanish after the NFL 2000 season.
Riggins would continue to be involved in broadcasting. He was currently involved with NBC's Arena Football coverage. He also worked on the YES Network's This Week in Football.
In 2004, John Riggins has been cast on the CBS Soap opera Guiding Light.
[edit] Blain Ensley
Blain Ensley made a name for himself in New York City as Rocky Allen's sidekick on the Rocky Allen Showgram heard on WPLJ and WABC. After Rocky Allen got cancelled, Blain took a brief sabbatical from radio while still collecting his contract. When the Sports Guys was looking for someone to replace Scott Kaplan, Blain was brought in. Blain was another comedic presence and it was clear that they were looking for someone to fill some of the gap left by Eddie. Since Blain was well-known in New York, this seemed to be a good fit - however Blain did not have the depth in Sports. Despite not having the Sports Knowledge, Blain never claimed to be an expert.
Eventually Blain would become part of a trio with Sid and Craig. He became the brunt of many Elmer Fudd look-alike jokes and took it well. When Sid left, he and Craig carried the show as a duo for another 8 months. Blain seemed to mesh well with Craig. However when Craig left Blain joined his replacement Scott Ferrall. Scott and Blain didn't seem to have the same chemistry as Blain did with Craig. Blain would leave the show to take another job, but he was one of the few Sports Guys who did not vanish. Blain would eventually be the Sports Guy with the longest tenure (over 1 year!)
Blain went to Detroit and was reunited with Rocky Allen on WDVD in Detroit. The Rocky Allen Showgram was mostly available as an internet-based show.
Blain has surfaced in Philadelphia. He has joined WMMR's "Philly Guys" Show. This is basically a classic rock station with an emphasis on Guy Talk and Sports. The bizarre twist to all of this is that now Blain is using the name "Jack Blainy". Unfortunately in mid-2005 the show was cancelled.
Blain served as the executive producer of the "Mix Morning Crew" show, back at WNEW-FM (now known as "Mix 102.7").
On September 20 2005, Blain made a return to WPLJ in New York City when the Rocky Allen Showgram came back to the station for the afternoon drive time shift. The Rocky Allen Showgram can be heard on WPJL (95.5 FM) in New York City or via the internet at http://www.wplj.com
[edit] Craig Carton
Craig Carton, a graduate of New Rochelle High School, came up from 610-WIP in Philadelphia in late 2000 and would eventually become Scott Kaplan's replacement. Craig Carton was a brash weekend host known as "The Kid"→. He had filled in on WIP's Morning Show and was familiar with the Sports Talk/Guy Talk format. It seemed a natural fit for Craig to get the job in New York. Craig was a Sports Guy for 1 year. He worked with Sid and Blaine (and briefly with Eddie) and then just Blaine when Sid left. Craig took the show in new directions and Sports Guys became less hard-core Sports, doing such stunts as an on-the-air Cockfight and Pastapalooza. Craig spent most of his time on the air trying to divide Yankee fans from Met fans and it seemed to alienate both sets of fans. During Craig's tenure as ratings were still sour, he and Blaine held a successful phone-in campaign to get pledges to remain on the air. It helped Craig to last another 6 months before he vanished from WNEW. Craig has earned a reputation as being hard to work with, especially in a heterosexual environment.
Craig and Blain were the duo that was on the air at WNEW when the events of September 11th, 2001 first unfolded.
Craig has become a "Jersey Guy" on New Jersey 101.5. He has a non-Sports based talk show with Ray Rossi that is held weekday afternoons. His reputation as a shock-jock would soon grow. In 2005, Carton became embroiled with an on the air feud with NJ Acting Governor Richard Codey. Carton made comments about Codey's wife Mary-Jo's battle with postpardum depression prompting Codey himself to confront Carton in the studio. Carton would say "What Gov. Codey ought to do is approve the use of medical marijuana so women can have a joint and relax instead of putting their babies in a microwave. Then all they want to do is cook Doritos. Women who claim they suffer from this postpartum depression ... they must be crazy in the first place." Codey would go back to respond: "I wish I weren't governor, I'd take you out", but did not say he would challenge Carton to a fight.
[edit] Scott Ferrall
In mid-December of 2001, Sports Guys fans were shocked on the arrival of the raspy-voiced Scott Ferrall replacing Craig Carton. Ferrall had a mixed reputation in a prior stint as a Sports Talk Show host in New York. Ferrall's arrival brought the hard-core Sports back to the Sports Guys along with the humor from Sid's old days. However, Ferrall's brand of humor is different and takes some getting used to, but the Sports knowledge was there. Ferrall was teamed up with Blaine for a short-time before Blaine departed. Following Blaine's departure the Sports Guys name was retired and the show became known as "Ferrall in the Morning". Ferrall was the morning guy when Opie and Anthony were fired. Following the dismissal of Opie and Anthony, WNEW was thrown into turmoil and it seemed that Ferrall would become a casualty in late 2002 and would be replaced by Chris Dimino.
While at WNEW, Scott's web site was maintained by Tasteless Ginny Sanchez.
Ferrall would surface on South Florida Sports Radio WQAM-560 in Miami - first doing weekend work, then as a daily host. He was eventually let go WQAM and then surfaced at 105.3 in Atlanta.
Ferrall now is currently heard on Fox Sports Radio as an overnight and weekend host.
As of 04/2006, Ferrall is working as weekday evening host 8pm-12am ET with his own 4 hour show on Howard 101 on Sirius Satellite Radio
Ferrall Bulletin Board on SternFanNetwork
[edit] Chris Dimino
Chris Dimino would come up from Atlanta and take Scott Ferrall's place on the morning show that was now called "Sports in the Morning". Dimino only lasted a few weeks, but seemed to develop a following during this time. His show got away from the "Guy Talk" format and became much more of a hard-core Sports show. It wasn't clear whether Dimino was an interim move or not, but Dimino should have been given the chance to develop the audience and the show. Unfortunately Dimino's arrival was during the aftermath of Opie and Anthony.
Chris would eventually return to Atlanta to Sports Station 790-The Zone.
[edit] Richard Neer
Richard Neer is long known to New Yorkers for over 25 years. He was a DJ on WNEW during its Classic Rock days and was a long-time weekend Sports host on WFAN. Richard's honest approach and knowledge of both Rock and Sports made him a fan favorite. Richard had 2 tenures as WNEW's Morning Host during its Rock Days and both were unsuccessful ratings-wise. Richard was then asked to become the new "Sports in the Morning" host replacing Chris Dimino. The new show would have a twist. It would be "Sports in the Morning - powered by the FAN". Richard was essentially taking his WFAN show to WNEW (while still working weekends at WFAN) and continuing the hard-core Sports talk format that Chris Dimino had set forth. The ratings never took off and when WNEW dropped the talk format, Richard Neer would complete a third unsuccessful stint as a WNEW Morning Host. Thus would end the Sports Guys/Sports in the Morning saga.
Richard Neer would return to working weekends and occasional nights on WFAN.
[edit] Harris Allen
Harris Allen was a co-host with Richard Neer. He was previously one of the overnight jock at WNEW when it was classic rock, and has worked at WFAN. He currently works at Sirius Satellite Radio and at WFNY New York (92.3 Free FM on the weekends.
[edit] Producers
[edit] Matty Staudt
Was Executive Producer through all the changes, but left the show because of differences with Craig Carton. He is now the Executive Producer of the top rated "Sarah and No Name Show" on KLLC in San Francisco.
[edit] Olive, Chris Oliviero
Was with the show for the entire time it aired as Producer. He is now VP of Programming for Viacom Radio.
