The Las Vegas Review-Journal published an excellent piece on radio host John Tournour, famously known to listeners as J.T. The Brick. Believe it or not, but “The Brick” has been making noise across the nation for twenty years.
Prior to venturing into the industry, Tournour was making a great salary as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. But no amount of money could pull him away from the one thing he cared most about – sports!
J.T. would dial up Jim Rome to discuss multiple issues, especially his beloved New York Knicks. He called into “The Jungle” so much that Rome nicknamed him J.T. The Brick, which was a way of jabbing the Knicks for being a collection of bricklayers when it came to shooting the basketball.
Each time “The Brick” phoned in, his takes were unique and full of passion. They were also strong enough to earn him the honor of becoming Rome’s first “Smack-Off” champion.
That performance got the attention of a few industry people, and soon thereafter, J.T. was given an opportunity to host his own sports talk show. The show launched on Memorial Day in 1996, on the Sports Fan Radio Network. Tornour was just 30 years old at the time.
Much has changed over the past two decades, including his reach across the country as a host on Fox Sports Radio. J.T. says the most notable difference is the way people have become more fascinated by the stories outside the lines than the ones that take place inside of them.
“It used to be about who scored the points in the fourth quarter, who scored the game-winning basket. Now it’s morphed into personal lives more than X’s and O’s,” said Tournour. “It’s become the TMZ-ication of sports”.
