The Junkies
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| The Junkies | |
| Genre | Talk, Sports |
|---|---|
| Running time | Monday through Friday 5 am to 10 am |
| Country |  United States |
| Home station | WJFK |
| Starring | John Martin “Cakes” Auville Eric Carlton “E.B.” Bickel Jason William “Lurch” Bishop John-Paul “J.P.” Flaim |
| Producers | Chris "CK" Kinard Bret Oliverio |
| Air dates | 1996 to present |
| Website http://www.junkiesradio.com |
|
 Podcastjunkiesradio.com [1] |
|
The Junkies, formerly known as The Sports Junkies, are a group of four male radio personalities who host a morning-drive radio show broadcast in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The show is heard on WJFK 106.7FM. The show primarily focuses on the day-to-day lives of the Junkies, but also contains a consistent mix of discussions about sports, women, and popular culture. The show debuted in the Talkers Magazine Heavy 100 in 2008 at #100.[1]
Contents |
On-Air Personalities
John Martin “Cakes” Auville
Known as “Cakes,” Auville was born in 1970 and adopted by his parents at five weeks old .[2] He was raised in Bowie, Maryland alongside fellow Junkies Eric Bickel and John-Paul Flaim, and attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. After high school, Auville studied communications at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, about which he is occasionally ridiculed for achieving a 1.5 GPA one semester ;[2] he then managed a local Toys Я Us store until making radio his full-time occupation in 1996.[3] Auville's family currently lives in Olney, Maryland. He married his wife, Amy, in 1995. They have three children, Kurt Joseph (1997), Juliet (2002), and Brendan Craig (2004). After the birth of their third child, Auville had a vasectomy and has since been mocked with the name “Johnny Blanks.”[3]
Eric Carlton “E.B.” Bickel
Bickel was born in 1970 and grew up in Bowie, Maryland where he grew up across the street from fellow Junkie John-Paul Flaim and in the same neighborhood as John Auville. Bickel attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he befriended soon-to-be-Junkie Jason Bishop. He lettered in tennis. After high school, Bickel attended the University of Maryland, where he majored in psychology and received his master’s degree in school counseling before becoming a "Junkie" in 1997.[3] Bickel married his wife, Dina, in 1996. They have two kids, Stephen (2000) and Megan (2002).[2]
Jason William “Lurch” Bishop
Nicknamed "Lurch" because of his height (an allusion to the Frankenstein-like butler on the television show “The Addams Family”), Bishop grew up in Lanham, Maryland and befriended fellow Junkie Eric Bickel while attending DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he played basketball. Six-foot-six in height, Bishop went on to play basketball at the University of Richmond, where he received a scholarship, but transferred to Salisbury State University the following year to pursue a degree in communications.[3] Bishop currently lives in Ashburn, Virginia with his wife Teresa and their two children.
John-Paul “J.P.” Flaim
Simply known as “J.P.,” Flaim was born in 1970 and grew up across the street from fellow Junkie Eric Bickel in Bowie, Maryland. Flaim attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, and then went on to major in international business at the University of Maryland, College Park before studying law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] In 1997, Flaim failed the Maryland bar exam, reading his results publicly while on the air; however, he passed the exam the following year and can now legally practice law in Maryland.[3]
Flaim is also a professional middleweight boxer, fighting under the name "The Latin Donkey." He sports a 0-1 record, losing in his December 9, 2006 debut fight to Jay Watts by TKO in the first round, just days after the passing of his father-in-law.[4] He is currently the 991st ranked Light Middleweight out of 999 in the world.[5] J.P.'s performance in his professional debut earned him the nickname Glass Joe[citation needed].
Flaim is married to Carol, and in 2000 they had their first child, Kelsey.[2] In February 2007, the Flaims had their second child, Dylan Carlos.
Other show staffers
- Executive Producer Chris Kinard (a.k.a. CK): Has been with the show since 1998 as an intern, named producer in 1999. He moved with the show to WHFS in 2002, and back to WJFK in 2005. Kinard grew up in Fairfax Station, VA and attended Lake Braddock Secondary School and American University.[3] He was recently named WJFK's Program Director. [3] .
- Producer Bret Oliverio (Michaels): joined the show as an intern when he was 18. He attended Lake Braddock Secondary School and graduated from James Madison University. He won $50,000 while participating in the Bodog's Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker tournament in 2006.[6]
- BDK Reviews movies weekly on the show.
History
Auville, Bickel, and Flaim grew up as friends in Bowie, Maryland. Auville and Flaim attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School; at the same time, Bickel met Bishop at DeMatha Catholic High School. Bickel and Flaim also attended the University of Maryland together. After graduating from college, the foursome and other friends hung out and often shared living quarters. In 1995, the four began their broadcasting career as a hobby with a 30-minute cable access show in Bowie featuring sports chat and irreverent humor.
The show focused on the interplay of the foursome, featuring guests such as Playboy models, rock notables, and local sports celebrities such as University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams. Their high local ratings lead to their national debut on May 18, 1999, airing on about 50 affiliates of Westwood One's radio network. [7] That syndication was short lived however.[citation needed]
Through the show's history it occupied a night slight from 7-11pm and 8-12pm from mid 2001 until early 2002. In October 2002, the show moved from WJFK to WHFS during morning drive time slot.[3] When WHFS changed formats from alternative rock to Spanish-language the show returned to WJFK-FM in a lunchtime spot. In 2006, the Junkies show returned to the morning drive replacing the Howard Stern show when it ended its run on terrestrial radio.
Events
- Junkies Poker Open
The Junkies have sponsored four "Junkie Poker Open" events at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Texas hold'em poker tournament has gained some notoriety as former World Series of Poker contestants (Lee Childs, among others) have participated in the events.
| Event | Location | Date | # of Players | Purse | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPO 1 | Borgata Hotel Casino | November 30, 2006 | 300 | -- | Derrick Childress |
| JPO 2 | Borgata Hotel Casino | May ??, 2007 | ≈420 | ≈$32,000 | Gary Heffner |
| JPO 3 | Borgata Hotel Casino | November 29, 2007 | 365 | ≈$28,000 | Andrew Phillips |
| JPO 4 | Borgata Hotel Casino | May 29, 2008 | 310 | $29,934 | Al from Brooklyn + 6 Player Chop |
- Unauthorized Redskins Pre-Game Show
Since the 2004 season, the Junkies have hosted a 2 hour pre-game show prior to kick-off of each Washington Redskins game live from Champps Restaurant at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia and airs on WJFK-FM. The show is considered "unauthorized" because they have continued doing the program even though WJFK no longer holds the rights to broadcast the Redskins games.
- Upersay Owlbay Party
The Junkies host a party for the NFL championship game at a Washington area restaurant or bar. The name is based on a Pig Latin version of the phrase "super bowl" due to the NFL's active pursuit of trademark issues with the Super Bowl name.
- Junkies' Spring Break Party
An annual spring break themed party held at the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia.
References
- ^ "Talkers 2008 Heavy 100". Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
- ^ a b c d e The Washington Post Magazine cover article (02/26/2006)
- ^ a b c d e f g h The Junkies Official Web Site
- ^ "Glass Jaw Is Half Empty" The Washington Post article (12/11/2006)
- ^ BoxRec.com Retrieved on 06/30/2007
- ^ Bret Oliverio Takes Home the Win in Episode 2 of Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker (04/18/2006). Archived from the original on 04/08/2007. Retrieved on 06/30/2007
- ^ "Called up to 'The Show'" Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal article (06/07/21999)
