The Jim Rome Show

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
The Jim Rome Show


Genre Sports talk
Running time 3 hours
Country Flag of United States USA
Home station Premiere Radio Networks
Starring Jim Rome

The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific (12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern). The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, the programming arm of Clear Channel Communications, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as on the Internet from Rome's official website.

Contents

[edit] History of the show

The Jim Rome Show began on XTRA Sports 690 in San Diego as a local, five-hour nighttime program, running from 7:00 p.m. to midnight Pacific. (In addition to this show, Rome frequently hosted a Saturday morning show which he nowadays refers to as "Scrub Saturday.") At a later time, the popularity of the nightly show prompted a shift to a four-hour daytime slot, running weekdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Pacific.

In 1996, Clear Channel Communications picked up the program for national syndication. Some time after syndication began, the show was shortened by one hour, and the broadcast location was shifted from XTRA Sports 690 to the Premiere Radio Networks studio complex in Sherman Oaks, California, near Los Angeles. In late 2006, as part of Rome's new contract, he was granted a new studio, and the introduction was changed to describe the show as coming from "Southern California". In March 2007, the introduction reverted announcing the location as Los Angeles.

[edit] Show personnel

In addition to Rome, the behind-the-scenes personnel are frequently included in the show's content, although very rarely with speaking roles.

Name Duties Notes
Jason Stewart
AKA "J-Stew,"
"Mr. Automatic"		 Talent coordinator
(setting up interviews, screening phone calls)		 Outside the show, Stewart is known for having appeared on the reality TV series Blind Date, the ABC sitcom According to Jim (on March 21, 2006), commercials, and for a small role in the USA Network TV movie Murder at the Presidio. Rome made his line from the movie "Heh heh, you always say that" popular with the Clones, so much so that a song was written about him by the band Three Day Weekend.[1] Before he was the show's phone screener, Stewart was a caller to the show while he was a student at Cal State Fullerton, and was known as "Jason in Fullerton." He participated in Smack-Off 1995 with a call that coined the phrase "walking the thin line of blasphemy." His call was considered the worst call ever in the Smack-Off and is an occasional target of ridicule by Rome and the Clones.
Travis Rodgers
AKA "T-Rodge"		 Senior producer,
e-mail screener		 Rodgers reportedly screens over 2,000 e-mails each day. He has been associated with Rome as a producer for twelve years, and is also a producer on Rome's TV show Jim Rome Is Burning.
Alvin Delloro Engineer Delloro handles the technical aspects of the show and runs (hangs up on) bad calls.
Brian Albers Engineer (former) Albers served as engineer for nine years before Delloro, and was often nicknamed "Whitey" or "White Man" by Rome, for allegedly being an albino. He abruptly left the show and moved to Austria in March 2005. Albers was long known to consider The Jungle to be nothing more than his day job. While in Europe, he hosted a radio music show using the name "DJ Humorless".
The XR4Ti Crew see above Rome calls Stewart, Rodgers, and Delloro “The XR4Ti Crew," from the brand name of Rome's first car, a Merkur XR4Ti.

[edit] Nature of the show

The Jim Rome Show, also known as "The Jungle," consists of Rome's opinions on issues in sports, entertainment, and off-beat news; interviews with athletes and celebrities; and telephone calls and emails from listeners.

The show's most notable attributes are extensive use of "smack" (Rome's term for "gloatful, uninhibited, and unbridled" sports talk, peppered with personal jargon), name-calling, sarcastic humor, and "takes" -- set-piece diatribes delivered by Rome and the "Clones" (loyal listeners).

Rome has stated on numerous occasions (especially when announcing new affiliate stations) that it can be difficult for new listeners to enjoy the show, as there is a steep learning curve before they can fully understand the format and content. He has also compared acquiring a taste for the show to acquiring a taste for beer, and recommends to new listeners: "Give it two weeks. If you still don't like it, give it two more weeks."

[edit] Show format and content

[edit] Nicknames

For a list of frequently-used nicknames on the show, see here.

Rome enjoys giving people and places (especially selected affiliate cities) humorous nicknames. He refers to his loyal fanbase as "The Clones," while he himself is called "Van Smack," "Romey," and "The Pimp in the Box" by acquaintances and the Clones. Dozens of athletes and coaches have been tagged by Rome with nicknames, including Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach kruh-ZOO-skee"), Terrell Owens ("To" instead of "T.O."), and Bill Belicheck ("Hoodie"). Affiliate cities that have received nicknames include the Los Angeles area ("So-Cal"), Omaha ("Bugaha"), and Washington, D.C. ("The District").

[edit] Regular bits

Although the show's content revolves around current, topical issues, it also has a number of recurring features, some of which appear almost daily and some which are more infrequent, including:

  • Sarcastic Humor - Rome's takes frequently contain deadpan sarcasm, which some callers have complained about and/or misunderstood. When Rome claimed that a man playing basketball on a Michigan poster was Tony Gwynn, a caller rebuked him, saying "I believe it's Glen Rice." After Rome referred to Brian Shaw as "The Pride and Joy of St. Mary's," a caller said that Shaw actually played at UC Santa Barbara. Rome replied with "I know when I'm wrong...I get paid to do this...and Brian Shaw is 'the Pride and Joy of St. Mary's.'" Rome has also referred to Angels manager Mike Scioscia as "Tony Scioscia," which prompted another unsuspecting caller to attempt to correct him. Rome insisted "No, I know who you mean, it's Tony." For new listeners, interpreting when Rome is being sarcastic and when he's serious is part of the show's learning curve. For example: On one occasion, a caller's take seemed to be more of a lame comedy routine. After the call was run, Rome said flatly, "Clones, you are not funny...I, on the other hand...am quite amusing." Unsuspecting listeners might take that as Rome being disgustingly conceited, but Clones would consider it merely a clever way to ridicule the caller's bit. Rome will also use "allegedly" or "reportedly" in a sarcastic fashion when describing a story that is widely perceived to be true, but not journalistically proven. If someone does something outrageous or unusually foolish, Rome will occasionally say that he/she is being criticized by another person who did something similar. Another way that Rome adds sarcasm to his takes is by saying what he means to say, then interrupting himself with a loud "ERRRRR!" to say something that has a more positive spin.
  • "War" - Parodying Auburn's battle cry "War Eagle," callers and emailers frequently recite the phrase "War" followed by their favorite team, player, or other activity, to show their fondness of it. "Un-war" is used to note something that has fallen out of favor. (See here for details.)
  • Jungle Karma - Rome maintains that an athlete's appearance on the show or failure to appear for whatever reason will create (respectively) good or bad "Jungle Karma," improving or diminishing the athlete's performance in an upcoming game. He points to the outcome of games after appearances on his show as "evidence." However unscientific it may be, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the trend may be true. Rome has stated that "the Karma does not discriminate," referring to its effects being dissociated from whether Rome likes or dislikes an athlete.
  • Tongues - Many college football teams reward players for exceptional plays by affixing decals to their helmets. Well-known examples include Ohio State, whose players have buckeye stickers, and Florida State, who rewards players with tomahawk stickers. Rome decided that when he has an exceptional segment on the show, he puts a tongue sticker on his microphone.
  • Border Wars - Often when leading up to a significant event (such as the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, etc.), or after a controversial game, fans of the teams will call or email the show and denigrate the opposing team's city. This usually degenerates into a back-and-forth "war" between inhabitants of the two cities where nearly every call or email Rome receives is from someone looking to weigh in. One notable "border war" that flares up occasionally is United States vs. Canada (or "America Junior", as Canada has been termed on the show). It is also quite common for callers in one city to provoke another for seemingly no reason other than its existence.
  • "Freaking" - When Rome is exceptionally impressed with an athlete or other celebrity, especially after an interview, he will proclaim they have earned the middle-name title "Freaking." The first such guest was Evel Knievel, who conducted an unforgettable interview, such that Rome from that point on, referred to him as "Evel Freaking Knievel." Others who have been given that name include NASCAR driver Richard Petty, who told Rome about how he drove in the 1980 Talladega 500 with a broken neck. Rome's response after the interview was "Richard Freaking Petty." Many athletes have earned this distinction.
  • The Smartest People in the Jungle - Rome has bestowed this honor upon those whom he considers the most intelligent people he's interviewed on the show. Honorees include: Al Michaels, Bob Costas, David Halberstam, Jim Lampley, John Feinstein, and Hubie Brown. Alternates include Joe Buck and George Will. Caller Jeff in Richmond received an honorable mention after stating that he was "born and bred for success and achievement."

[edit] Takes

For a list of Rome's most frequently used takes, see here.

The principal portion of the show's content is Rome's takes on topical issues in sports and other odd news stories. Rome begins each show with a monologue consisting of abbreviated takes on the topics he intends to cover over the course of the show. As the show progresses, he will elaborate his take on each topic, adding in new material and also commenting on any phone calls and e-mails that add to or contradict his takes. If new topics are broached, Rome will usually give takes on them as well. Rome's takes are essentially spoken-word editorial columns, and as such are direct and to-the-point, highly opinionated, and often harshly critical and/or blisteringly sarcastic, depending on the topic. This approach is one of the principal facets of his "smack talking" broadcast style, and is what helped him make a name for himself. However, it has also led to some controversy, as one of the most frequent criticisms of both Rome and The Jim Rome Show is the pervasively negative attitude that is displayed toward foolish behavior from athletes and celebrities. In response, Rome has stated that the moment that people stop doing stupid things is the moment he will stop talking about people doing stupid things.

There are a large number of takes which have gained notoriety on the show and which are frequently "reset" (brought back up) if they are relevant to the day's discussion, or if Rome wants to re-introduce the topics to new listeners. These include the "Celebrity Drunk Bus," Rome's Merkur XR4Ti, and his mocking of Lee 'Hacksaw' Hamilton(whom Rome worked with at XTRA 690; and whom Hamilton would frequently refer to as "rookie") boy bands, and ads for male potency drugs. Sports takes which are frequently reset include Rome's loathing of soccer, wrestling, the WNBA, and NCAA college baseball, and his love of NASCAR, which he at one time hated. Takes on "Softball Guy," "gambling degenerates," "Corvette Guy," and ice cream men are also featured, as well as Rome's dislike of Star Wars, reality television, and Dungeons & Dragons.

[edit] Interviews

In addtion to his takes, Rome conducts interviews with sports (and occasionally pop culture) personalities. Most interviews are done over the telephone; however, he will sometimes have an in-studio guest, who usually stays for several segments.

Rather than having prescheduled guests for interviews, Rome relies on Jason Stewart to contact potential interviewees, and sometimes does not know who will be on the show until the day before their appearance. This approach sometimes leads to guests not showing up, or losing their calls in the middle of an interview. If an interviewee is expected to call in during a given segment, Rome notifies the Clones that the prospective guest is "on the clock," a reference to a phrase often uttered during the NFL Draft.

There is not a set number of interviews per day, but the show averages about one per hour, per day. All interviews are recorded and saved. The most memorable are often reset in future shows as sound bites, and occasionally are declared as the Huge Call of the Day.

[edit] Telephone calls

Rome encourages listeners to call the show, and frequently drops the show's phone number, with the caveat that calls will be screened by J-Stew. However, phone calls do not take priority over Rome's own takes and the scheduled interviews, so he only fields a handful of calls during any given broadcast, and has on occasion not taken any calls. He is highly critical of radio talk shows which emphasize phone calls, opining: "When some radio jock says 'No one takes more calls than me; this show is about you, the caller,' what that guy is actually saying is 'No one has worked less and has less to say than I do.'" Rome also states that "more of me and less of you is better for the show," although he will sometimes take several calls if listeners with a history of good calls are calling the show, or if he has discussed a particularly hot or controversial topic which is generating a large amount of response. Rome frequently describes the segments in which interviews are not scheduled as "wide open" or "open phone."

Rome responds to greetings, questions, and compliments, but otherwise offers callers free rein to give their takes. If he especially enjoys a call, he will announce that the call be "racked"; this is a signal to Alvin to save the recording of the call. On the other hand, he is notorious for "running" callers who perform especially poorly. These calls are interrupted with a loud buzzer and immediately ceased; the caller will often be ridiculed by Rome and the Clones. Although Rome is said to run calls, it is actually Alvin who performs the task. Occasionally, Alvin will run a call that Rome does not feel merited being run. If this happens, Rome lets the caller know that Alvin was responsible.

Rome has a number of rules regarding what callers can and can't do in their calls:

  • Callers who are unenthusiastic, incoherent, extremely offensive, or who are obviously reading their takes are immediately run.
  • Callers who are "flaming"/"flaming out" (losing their train of thought or stumbling over their words) are expected to admit to it and hang up on their own to keep from getting run. A caller named Fabian is used as an example of what can happen if a caller hopelessly flames.
  • Callers are sometimes on hold for long periods of time before they make it on air; those who complain about how long they have been on hold are usually run, with Rome ridiculing them for wasting their own time.
  • Due to a seven-second delay, callers must listen to the show through their telephone with their radio turned off. Otherwise, when Rome puts them on-air, they will miss their cue, get run, and be subject to ridicule. Rome often comments on how if he can hear his voice through the phone (due to the delay), the caller is not paying attention.
  • Callers are expected to pay attention to the show and generally stay on-topic. This was exemplified once when Rome reset his "gambling degenerates" take. Thinking he heard the name "Ellen DeGeneres" over the radio, a caller started defending the actress, and was immediately run.
  • Callers cannot start their calls by stating their names. Whenever Rome goes to callers, he announces their names and where they are from. Callers who repeat this information will frequently be run, and Rome will ridicule them for telling him something he and the listeners already know.
  • Callers should refrain from singing (whether actual songs or parodies), on the grounds that those who attempt to sing typically have no business doing so. Three exceptions to this rule include: long-time caller "Iafrate;" an opera singer who used to call the show; and after Smack-Off 2005, when callers made pitiful attempts to complete Terrence in Sierra Madre's song, "Hey, Mister J-Stew."
  • Callers cannot make their takes into poems. Clever haikus are the sole exception.
  • Callers cannot use their own made-up nicknames. Nick in Green Bay stated that his friends called him "Dinglebomb." To this, Rome responded, "Your friends may call you 'Dinglebomb,' but I'm going to have to stick with Nick from Green Bay." Sometimes, J-Stew will direct the caller to state his nickname to Rome, in an attempt to get the caller run. Such was the case with the caller Ray in Huntsville. When Rome greeted him, Ray responded with "Thanks for the vine, Jim, but my name is actually 'RayDog'." Rome simply said, "'RayDog,' what's up?" and the buzzer immediately followed. Occasionally, callers will avoid J-Stew's trap, mention the baiting on-air, and subject J-Stew to ridicule from Rome and the Clones for the rest of the day.
  • Callers (and e-mailers as well) cannot substitute female names in place of male names in order to make their point or to question an athlete's masculinity. Rome has stated repeatedly that this tactic "is not what we're/the show's about".
  • Callers are discouraged from predicting that their calls will be strong enough to get "racked" on the grounds that the vast majority of such calls have been of poor quality.

Ultimately, a call may end in one of four ways:

  1. Calls that violate the aforementioned protocols are almost always run.
  2. Calls that are subpar but make a point Rome wishes to expand upon are interrupted by Rome without the buzzer.
  3. Calls that are okay or good but encroach on a commercial break are also interrupted by Rome. Sometimes Rome will let such a call continue if he thinks it will finish within a reasonable timeframe; if it doesn't, he will interrupt the call and acknowledge his error in taking the call when he did.
  4. Very good calls are finished by the caller on their own terms. If it is particularly good, Rome will ask that the call be "racked."

Occasionally, Rome will declare a Friday show as a "Zero Tolerance Friday;" on these Fridays the rules for callers are more strictly enforced.

Rome has a particular fondness for calls from members of law enforcement, especially those on-duty. At the end of their calls, Rome requests that they "prove" they are on-duty by turning on their siren.

Callers frequently include derogatory smack directed at other Clones in their calls. Rome refers to this as "Clone-on-Clone violence" and has a somewhat dim opinion of it, as it detracts from time that could be used for sports takes, although he does not discourage it.

Rome's self-proclaimed rules for Clones calling the show: "Have a take, don't suck, or you're gonna get run."

[edit] Huge Call of the Day

At the end of the show, the best overall call is dubbed The Huge Call of the Day and replayed with much fanfare. There are no set criteria for what earns a call Huge Call status. Most Huge Calls feature exceptionally insightful and/or pointed commentary, and/or a great deal of smack that is not only articulate but inventive and humorous. On rare occasions, an extremely odd call will be named as the Huge Call. Sometimes a Huge Call from a previous show or a notable Smack-Off call will be replayed if no calls get racked. Rome will also use segments of an interview as the Huge Call if he feels it is appropriate. Notable instances include interviews conducted during the broadcasts on Radio Row during the week before the Super Bowl (when Rome takes few if any calls) and a 2006 interview with Jeff Gordon. If content in the show’s last segment runs over the time needed to play the Huge Call, it will be played in part or not at all.

Sometimes Rome will award Huge Call winners with a prize, typically provided by a show sponsor. These prizes have included the Slingbox and gift cards from J.C. Penney.

[edit] Callers

For lists of noteworthy callers, see here.

There are a number of Clones whose history of solid calls to the show have earned them "legendary" status. Some of the most well-known of these callers include Sean "the Cablinasian" in Houston (a play on Tiger Woods' self-defined race), "Iafrate," Silk in Huntington Beach, Jeff in Richmond, Terrance in Sierra Madre, Irie Craig, and Greg in Vegas. There have also been a number of callers whose calls have become "infamous" on the show due to their poor quality; these calls are frequently reset for mocking and/or comedic effect. These callers include Alex in Louisville, Willie in K.C. (the only caller to date to be permanently banned from the show), the aforementioned Fabian (often referred to as "Flamian"), Iggy in Springfield, T.J. in Jacksonville, and Tommy in Detroit.

[edit] E-mails

For a list of commonly used references in emails on the show, see here.

Rome frequently reads emails on-air, usually around ad breaks. Some emails are simple statements of satisfaction about the show or comments on interviews. However, many emailers write their messages in the voice of athletes, public figures, or even the aforementioned "infamous callers," responding with a comment that reflects one of that person's most embarrassing public moments. These particular emails almost always relate to whatever topic(s) were just discussed on the show, usually in a sarcastic and/or ironic fashion. Occasionally emailers will sign their contributions from "Rome's Dad," "Rome's Sister," etc. Rome will always mention that it is funny when his "family" emails the show, yet do not know their own name. Rome also mentions that it would be miraculous to receive an email from his father, who is deceased. Occasionally a Clone will email him as J-Stew, prompting Rome to wonder why J-Stew, on the other side of the glass, would email him and not speak to him directly.

In addition to writing in the voice of a famous person, some emails are written in the voice of an inanimate object. The most creative and obscure personified items are the most popular, and are often read on-air.

A large portion of the audience listens from work, and is presumably sitting in front of a computer either in their office or cubicle. Whenever something extremely funny happens on the show, many emailers claim they laughed so hard they spit coffee, soda, or even food all over their monitor or keyboard, some jokingly suggesting that it is now ruined.

Emailers frequently add postscripts, such as "war-" (see "War" reference above), smack about other emailers, or qualifications. Emailer Dave in St. Louis began the custom of using qualifications with "non-hunter," a veiled reference to a press release by PETA that suggested male hunters have small genitalia. Sexual preference, ethnicity, or marital status are also used as qualifications.

If Rome dislikes an email's content, he will often heckle the author, then discard it by crumpling the printout in front of the microphone (or activating a paper-crumple sound effect). Allegedly to stave off floods of these kinds of emails, he will warn listeners of jokes and references that he does not want to see. Offensive emails can also earn the author criticism from other Clones. A prime example came on May 22, 2006, when Julian in D.C. suggested that Elmer's and Alpo were ready to welcome Barbaro to work for them after breaking down in the Preakness Stakes.

Rome likes to ridicule emailers for poor spelling and grammar. While he understands that most emails are written quickly and are not proofread, he will often mention extremely bad cases on-air.

During the last half-hour of the show, Rome will announce the Huge Email Contest, in which he reads a handful of emails which were especially funny and/or interesting. Sometimes he will declare a winner, but this is not held to the same level of prestige as the Huge Call of the Day. More often than not, there will not be a contest, due to a lack of quality emails.

Some Clones have achieved "legendary" status in the Jungle for the frequency and/or content of their emails. Mike T in C-Town, Francis in Glendale, and Dark Gable are three well-known email Clones.

Back in the early days of the show, before the public ubiquity of Internet email, Rome accepted faxes from the Clones and ran a Huge Fax Contest on the show. The customs surrounding email contests and on-air reading of emails are thought to have evolved from this beginning.

According to Rome, Travis Rodgers maintains a bulletin board which features the best or oddest emails which have been received on the show. Occasionally Rome will received an email which he feels merits inclusion on the bulletin board, and will ask Rodgers if it is worth adding to the board.

[edit] Classic soundbites

For a list of soundbites used on the show, see here.

Rome has a large archive of soundbites from celebrities and regular people who said or did something embarrassing or unusual within range of a microphone, and he loves to mine this archive for on-air ridicule. A clip is usually only played when a take, either from Rome or a caller, makes reference to it. In July 2006, in the wake of the Manual Buzzer take (see below), Alvin created a medley called "Alvin's Mix," consisting of pieces of dozens of classic soundbites used since the show's inception. Alvin continues to add more soundbites to the mix, and it was last updated on October 31, 2006. Rome has described "Alvin's Mix" as sixteen years of radio rolled into a little over three minutes. There is now a version in double speed of Alvin's Mix, which Rome finds especially funny.

Some of the most frequently used soundbites include Carl Lewis's mangling of "The Star-Spangled Banner", Peyton Manning and Danica Patrick calling people "idiots," Mike Tyson's various vicious remarks, a number of clips from Tiger Woods, Rafael Palmeiro's testimony before Congress on steroid use, and Allen Iverson's response to questioning his missed practice sessions. A number of shorter soundbites are played over and over again occasionally for comedic effect. These include Mel Gibson's line "Gimme back my son!!!" from the 1996 movie Ransom, "The Laugh," Tommy in Detroit's "walrus," and Ozzie Guillen's "Psshht...please!" Rome also makes use of the "Manual Buzzer" (his imitation of the show's horn buzzer) and Michael Jackson's "Adult Early Warning Detector."

[edit] Music and sound effects

Like other radio talk shows, The Jim Rome Show has distinctive bumper music and sound effects integrated into its format. At six minutes after each hour, the show opens with the song "Lust for Life" by Iggy Pop (in the first hour, three rings of a bell, such as those used in boxing matches, precede the song). The segment at the bottom of each hour opens with "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses, referring to the show's nickname. The final segment of the show is opened by the song "Up All Night" by The Boomtown Rats, which was used in Rome's original late night show in San Diego. Other songs used as bumper music for commercial breaks include "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang, "Righteous" by Eric Johnson, "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow, "So Whatcha Sayin'?" by EPMD, "Happy?" by Mudvayne, "Got the Life" and "B.B.K." by KoЯn, "Styrofoam" by Fugazi, "American Idiot" by Green Day, "The Rock Show" by blink-182, and "Romeo Delight" by Van Halen. After the Huge Call of the Day is played, the bell rings three times again, a quick sound drop is played, and "Lust for Life" is played again to close the show. Sound drops used include:

  • "That's whack" - Ex-Lakers head coach Del Harris attempting to say a line from Shaq's rap album.
  • "Ohhh, unbeebable" - A quote by golfer Jumbo Ozaki, when asked about Tiger Woods.
  • "I think what I'm supposed to say is 'thank you, I'm out'" - taken from a call by an elderly lady who surpassed all expectations, delivering an impressive smack-filled call.
  • "Yes! And it counts!" - A trademark call by Marv Albert, which he uses during basketball games.
  • "That's-When-You-Know-What-The-Answer-To-That-Question-Is" - Boxing referee Mills Lane during his Tyson/Holyfield post-fight press conference.
  • "Without the nicks and cuts of a blade" - J-Stew in a Norelco commercial.
  • "Clones is strong as horseradish!" - a quote from a program director who wanted to drop the show from his station
  • Denny Neagle imitating a steam whistle.
  • A clip of Rome saying "HU-HU-HU-HU-HUUUUUGE!" (possibly digitally altered to achieve the effect)

[edit] Special shows

[edit] Smack-off

Main article: Smack-Off

The Smack-Off is an annual invitation-only competition, held in mid-to-late spring and which takes up the entire program on a Friday. The contest is a way to recognize the best callers to the show, as well as a means of determining the best caller of the year. Rome refers to the Smack-Off as the most important show of the entire year.

[edit] Year in review

In late December, Rome holds a special program called the "Year in Review." This was originally a one-day affair but was extended to three days in 2005 and two days in 2006. Going month by month, he recounts the good, the bad, and the ugly of the year that was in sports. He also mixes in the best of the off-beat news stories that were featured on the show. For this show, Rome schedules no guests and takes far fewer phone calls, preferring e-mail responses.

[edit] Tour stops

Main article: Jim Rome Tour Stops

A Tour Stop is a limited access show, often held in an arena or other large venues, and featuring sports-related guests, activities and surprises. A few times throughout the year, Rome will reward a syndication city with a Tour Stop.

[edit] Radio row

During Super Bowl week, Rome typically broadcasts live from Radio Row on-location at the game's host city. Since there are many celebrities that peruse Radio Row, the show's format is more interview-oriented, allowing Rome to conduct many impromptu interviews with passers-by. As a result, far fewer calls are taken and fewer emails are read.

[edit] Holidays

On holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Labor Day, etc.), a pre-recorded Best of the Jim Rome Show is aired, hosted by producer Travis Rodgers.

[edit] Rome reports

The Jim Rome Show offers a 60-second teaser called The Rome Report for affiliates to air daily. The Rome Report usually offers a brief synopsis of one of Rome's takes from that day's program. The reports serve as commercials for the program, and are often broadcast during afternoon drive time.

[edit] Guest hosts

Rome's contract with Premiere Radio Networks stipulates copious paid vacation time. At length he preannounces when he is going to be "in the basement" (on vacation) and for how long. He justifies his frequent absences to the Clones by proclaiming "I take a lot of vacation because I get a lot of vacation" (a parody of a comment made by Patrick Ewing during the 1998 NBA lockout). To ensure live content on days when Rome is absent, The Jim Rome Show is hosted by a rotating stable of guest hosts, including:

  • Boxing/Olympic analyst Jim Lampley. Rome sometimes resets a rant made by Lampley while guest hosting, ridiculing the "media-driven hype" surrounding the year 2000, and how it was erroneously referred to as the beginning of the new millennium. Lampley also has been known to blast emailers for poor grammar and overall stupidity.
  • Sportswriter Skip Bayless. When Bayless hosts, the show generally has a recurring theme, as he resets his belief that the Ohio State Buckeyes stole the 2003 BCS Championship, his self-proclaimed addiction to Diet Mountain Dew, and his obsession with the volleyball scene in Top Gun (which Rome shares). He also actively debates callers, as opposed to Rome who rarely interacts with callers. Bayless is a polarizing and unpopular guest host, and many Clones call him "Skip Clueless." Rome, for his part, has no problem with Bayless and occasionally needles the Clones with the news that Bayless will be guest hosting.
  • Author and columnist John Feinstein. Feinstein's appearances are usually low-key in tone and dominated by interviews. He also appears frequently on the show as the subject of a Rome interview.
  • Former ESPN anchor and current NFL Network personality Rich Eisen. Eisen once commented that he had always thought the show's email address was "rome@habitate.com" until he guest-hosted. The actual address is rome@haveatake.com, but Rome tends to say "haveatake" quickly.
  • Roger Lodge, host of Blind Date. Lodge arranged for show contributor Jason Stewart to appear on the reality show. Lodge is also a frequent panel guest on Rome's ESPN program Jim Rome Is Burning.
  • Fox Sports Radio personality Andrew Siciliano (from Gametime Live). On May 12, 2006, while Siciliano was guest-hosting, a caller coined the term "teammateship" (referencing Barry Bonds as an example of bad "teammateship"). This amused Siciliano, who remarked that the term should be entered on the Wikipedia article about The Jim Rome Show. Shortly thereafter, a caller stated that he had done so, prompting Siciliano to wonder "where these Wikipedia people come from." Siciliano has quickly gained favor with Rome, and he is usually the one to substitute if Rome leaves on short notice.
  • Pop culturists Randy and Jason Sklar (of the ESPN Classic program Cheap Seats), whose subject matters are rather random.
  • KLAC radio personalities Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith. The pair, who host an afternoon drivetime show for the sports-talk station, filled in for Rome on Presidents Day 2007.

Former guest hosts of the show include:

  • Fox Sports Radio personality Steve Czaban (no longer guest hosts, although he hosted several days in a row in 2001 when Rome's son Jake was born).
  • Comedian Jay Mohr (nicknamed "Slam Man"). During a 2004 appearance, Mohr made vulgar references to the recently-deceased Ronald Reagan and toward Muhammad Ali's battle with Parkinson's disease. Listeners and affiliates alike called Premiere to complain about his comments, and he was asked to refrain from accepting the offer to guest host the show in the future. Since then, Mohr has occasionally called the show, with no apparent objection from Rome.

Many callers and emailers have low opinions about the show's guest hosts, opining that none can compare to Rome himself. On August 21, 2006, after a two-week vacation by Rome, caller Kim in Houston expressed her dissatisfaction, referring to the substitutes respectively as "Jim Buffoon" (Lampley), "Skip Balloon" (Bayless), and the "Two Bazzoons, the Bizarre Sklar Brothers."

[edit] Future of the show

Since its inception, The Jim Rome Show has always been offered on terrestrial radio, and has not been offered on satellite radio. The show is, however, offered on streaming and podcast through the official web site. On May 6, 2003, Rome made a return to TV with Rome Is Burning (later Jim Rome Is Burning) on ESPN, and occasionally hinted about switching the radio program to satellite, or abandoning the radio program altogether, in favor of television full-time.

Rome is often quite vocal about his frequent displeasures with affiliates, specifically those who do not carry the entire three hours, air the show on tape delay, or frequently pre-empt the broadcast. Rome has openly admitted that he is intrigued by the idea of satellite radio and broadcasting the program free of affiliates' interference. However, he is also aware of some listeners' problems with paying for satellite radio, and has received numerous phone calls and e-mails from terrestrial radio listeners who have said that the humor of the show has brought them through difficult times or keeps them entertained at work.

On April 27, 2006, Rome stated that he will keep the radio program going, but initially made no commitment to satellite or terrestrial. On July 11, 2006, Rome announced that he signed a multi-year deal wih Premiere Radio Networks to keep the show on terrestrial radio. In addition, he stated that the show may be simulcast on satellite radio in the future.[1]. Clear Channel provides content exclusively to XM Satellite Radio, including the entire Fox Sports Radio network.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_Jim_Rome_Show_f91d.html"