Joe Benigno

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Joseph S. Benigno (born September 1953) is an American sports radio personality. He is currently the co-host (with Evan Roberts) of the 10am-1pm weekday timeslot on WFAN in New York City.

Prior to joining WFAN, Benigno was a frequent caller to the station, known on-air as "Joe from Saddle River." He would get his first taste of radio experience in 1994, when he guest-hosted a show on WFAN as a result of winning a contest held by the station. He would then host a sports-talk show on a radio station in Elizabeth, New Jersey before returning to the station as their overnight host in 1995. He would continue as overnight host until November 2004, when he was moved to middays to co-host with Sid Rosenberg after Rosenberg's previous co-host, Jody McDonald, did not have his contract renewed with the station. After Rosenberg resigned from the station on September 12, 2005, he became the sole host of the midday show. After more than year of hosting the show solo, Joe was paired with Evan Roberts on January 2, 2007

Benigno is a longtime die-hard fan of the New York Mets, New York Knicks, New York Rangers and especially the New York Jets, and is not afraid to go into tirades when his teams aren't doing so well. He is a Jets season ticket holder and lives close to the Meadowlands. His daughter has sometimes called in to defend the New York Yankees.

Benigno has a history of giving nicknames to his Producers that become permanently attached to them. These include "Sugar" Ray Martel, "The Moose" Marc Malusis, and "The Sheik" Rob Axisa.

He usually pronounces his name, "Beningo".

[edit] Quotations

"We'll be here with you until 1 o'clock when ooooooooooooof coooooooourse the Mike and the Mad Dog program will come your way." --
"Dov Kramer, the INCOMPARABLE Sugar Ray Martel on the other side of the glass..."
"Who's better than you?" or "What's better than that?"
"Oh the pain" -- usually used in the context of being a frustrated Jets and Mets fan
"How you doing babe?" -- to male callers
When on-air, co-host Evan Roberts mentioned he was on "wikipedia" all night long. Joe replied back, "What is that, pornography?"
"You Cant Make It Up"
"What, are you KIDDING me??"

During his tenure on the overnights, one of Benigno's sponsors was Umberto's Clam House, an Italian seafood restaurant in Little Italy on New York City's Lower East Side. The advertisements for Umberto's were read by Benigno personally and were usually backed up with the theme song for The Godfather series of movies. Benigno would also close the advertisement by stating "for the best in late night dining, go to UMBERTOOOOOOOOOOOO'S CLAM HOUSE!"