Sports Radio News
Chris ’Mad Dog’ Russo, Suzyn Waldman and Jeff Smulyan Enter The Radio Hall of Fame
The radio industry gathered in Chicago for the 2022 Radio Hall of Fame. The event took place at the Radisson Blu, and saw a number of sports media professionals in attendance. Among them, Spike Eskin of WFAN, Chris Oliviero of Audacy New York, Mitch Rosen of 670 The Score, Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network, and Steve Cohen, Steve Torre and Eric Spitz of SiriusXM.
The event, which was hosted by KFI’s Bill Handel and created by Kraig Kitchin and Dennis Green, saw a total of 10 broadcasters inducted into the radio hall of fame. Hosts Ellen K, Lon Helton, Walt ’Baby’ Love, Mark Thompson, Carol Miller, Marv Dyson and ’Broadway’ Bill Lee all received recognition for their contributions to the industry, offering personal stories about their careers and thank you’s to those who helped them along the way. Thompson’s speech in particular stood out, especially when he talked about stirring the pot and reminding the room that “attention draws ratings, ratings mean money, and money saves jobs.”
Ryan Seacrest flew in to introduce Ellen K, legendary morning host Scott Shannon was in the building, as were industry executives Julie Talbott, Ginny Morris, Susan Larkin, David Kantor, and Erik Hellum among others. But it was the three most connected to the sports radio industry who we were on hand to support.
Chris ’Mad Dog’ Russo, Suzyn Waldman and Jeff Smulyan each took their place among the industry’s greats. Russo was the first of the group to be recognized. A video of some of his on-air moments ran first, followed by an exceptionally moving video tribute sent in by Stephen A. Smith. The popular ESPN talker shared how much Russo has meant to him personally and professionally, throwing in a few jokes and Mad Dog impressions along the way.
Russo then took the stage, promising to keep his speech short so everyone could get back to watching Game 3 of the World Series. After producing a few laughs, Mad Dog got serious and took everyone through his broadcasting journey. He shared how he got started in Jacksonville, got a break from Larry Khan, sent in a tape for a NYC job at WMCA that he saw in broadcasting magazine, became known as ‘Mad Dog’ thanks to Bob Raissman, and landed a weekend gig at WFAN.
He talked next about getting a break after Imus heard his weekend show, and an even bigger opportunity when Mark Mason paired him with Mike Francesa in afternoon drive. He talked about the Mike & the Mad Dog partnership, his decision to take a risk and move to SiriusXM, and all that he’s enjoyed and overcome to build an audience on Mad Dog Sports Radio.
After thanking his agent, his parents and wife, and sharing a story of how he and his wife first met, Chris explained that he’s had a great year but this honor is a big deal to him. As much as he’s loved First Take, Mike and the Mad Dog, and making more than thirty appearances on David Letterman’s former television show, radio is what he enjoys most. He shared how in late July he had just lost a Tennis match and was upset about it when his boss (Steve Cohen) called to tell him he had been chosen for induction into the radio hall of fame. Russo admitted he cried all the way home, and then exited the stage to a standing ovation.
The man who started the sports format, and operated some of the industry’s top radio brands in the biggest markets across the country, Jeff Smulyan, was next to address the room. After a classy video introduction from his longtime friend and programming boss Rick Cummings, Smulyan told the room his secret to success has been his family and surrounding himself with good people. He shared a few stories from his career and signed off by expressing his gratitude to the hall of fame for recognizing his work.
Wrapping up the night was Suzyn Waldman. The New York Yankees broadcaster who was the first voice on WFAN congratulated Chris ’Mad Dog Russo’ and Jeff Smulyan on their honors and thanked Chris Oliviero for putting her on the ballot for entry into the hall of fame. Waldman talked about being recognized as a trailblazer but never sought out to be one. All she wanted to do was talk about sports.
Suzyn pulled no punches, detailing how many hurdles she had to overcome during her career to get to where she is now. She pointed out some of the male jealousy and unprofessional behavior she had to put up with and thanked Joel Hollander for having her back through all of it.
Waldman also thanked Mark Chernoff for giving her a shot in middays, Eric Spitz for taking her calls whenever she was frustrated, and Steve Cohen for the tremendous remote work they did together with Yankee programs. She shared how bringing Yogi Berra and George Steinbrenner together became a big part of her career, and thanked the former Yankees boss for believing in her. She then thanked her friends and colleagues, the hall of fame, and brought the show to a close.
Sports Radio News
Damon Amendolara: ‘It’s Hard to Leave What We’ve Built’ at CBS Sports Radio
“The coolest thing about this place for the last 11 years is they gave me total freedom to do what I wanted to do. My mind was the only limit in what we could do creatively.”
Sports Radio News
Phillies Star Trea Turner Thanks 94WIP’s Marks & Reese For Inspiring Turnaround
“Obviously, the whole thing happened and the rest is kind of history. Started playing a lot better and it was thanks to you guys and the crowd.”
Sports Radio News
Mike Florio: Can Taylor Swift Fans Save Sunday Night Football Without Aaron Rodgers?
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof.”
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Chris ’Mad Dog’ Russo, Suzyn Waldman and Jeff Smulyan Enter The Radio Hall of Fame
The radio industry gathered in Chicago for the 2022 Radio Hall of Fame. The event took place at the Radisson Blu, and saw a number of sports media professionals in attendance. Among them, Spike Eskin of WFAN, Chris Oliviero of Audacy New York, Mitch Rosen of 670 The Score, Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network, and Steve Cohen, Steve Torre and Eric Spitz of SiriusXM.
The event, which was hosted by KFI’s Bill Handel and created by Kraig Kitchin and Dennis Green, saw a total of 10 broadcasters inducted into the radio hall of fame. Hosts Ellen K, Lon Helton, Walt ’Baby’ Love, Mark Thompson, Carol Miller, Marv Dyson and ’Broadway’ Bill Lee all received recognition for their contributions to the industry, offering personal stories about their careers and thank you’s to those who helped them along the way. Thompson’s speech in particular stood out, especially when he talked about stirring the pot and reminding the room that “attention draws ratings, ratings mean money, and money saves jobs.”
Ryan Seacrest flew in to introduce Ellen K, legendary morning host Scott Shannon was in the building, as were industry executives Julie Talbott, Ginny Morris, Susan Larkin, David Kantor, and Erik Hellum among others. But it was the three most connected to the sports radio industry who we were on hand to support.
Chris ’Mad Dog’ Russo, Suzyn Waldman and Jeff Smulyan each took their place among the industry’s greats. Russo was the first of the group to be recognized. A video of some of his on-air moments ran first, followed by an exceptionally moving video tribute sent in by Stephen A. Smith. The popular ESPN talker shared how much Russo has meant to him personally and professionally, throwing in a few jokes and Mad Dog impressions along the way.
Russo then took the stage, promising to keep his speech short so everyone could get back to watching Game 3 of the World Series. After producing a few laughs, Mad Dog got serious and took everyone through his broadcasting journey. He shared how he got started in Jacksonville, got a break from Larry Khan, sent in a tape for a NYC job at WMCA that he saw in broadcasting magazine, became known as ‘Mad Dog’ thanks to Bob Raissman, and landed a weekend gig at WFAN.
He talked next about getting a break after Imus heard his weekend show, and an even bigger opportunity when Mark Mason paired him with Mike Francesa in afternoon drive. He talked about the Mike & the Mad Dog partnership, his decision to take a risk and move to SiriusXM, and all that he’s enjoyed and overcome to build an audience on Mad Dog Sports Radio.
After thanking his agent, his parents and wife, and sharing a story of how he and his wife first met, Chris explained that he’s had a great year but this honor is a big deal to him. As much as he’s loved First Take, Mike and the Mad Dog, and making more than thirty appearances on David Letterman’s former television show, radio is what he enjoys most. He shared how in late July he had just lost a Tennis match and was upset about it when his boss (Steve Cohen) called to tell him he had been chosen for induction into the radio hall of fame. Russo admitted he cried all the way home, and then exited the stage to a standing ovation.
The man who started the sports format, and operated some of the industry’s top radio brands in the biggest markets across the country, Jeff Smulyan, was next to address the room. After a classy video introduction from his longtime friend and programming boss Rick Cummings, Smulyan told the room his secret to success has been his family and surrounding himself with good people. He shared a few stories from his career and signed off by expressing his gratitude to the hall of fame for recognizing his work.
Wrapping up the night was Suzyn Waldman. The New York Yankees broadcaster who was the first voice on WFAN congratulated Chris ’Mad Dog Russo’ and Jeff Smulyan on their honors and thanked Chris Oliviero for putting her on the ballot for entry into the hall of fame. Waldman talked about being recognized as a trailblazer but never sought out to be one. All she wanted to do was talk about sports.
Suzyn pulled no punches, detailing how many hurdles she had to overcome during her career to get to where she is now. She pointed out some of the male jealousy and unprofessional behavior she had to put up with and thanked Joel Hollander for having her back through all of it.
Waldman also thanked Mark Chernoff for giving her a shot in middays, Eric Spitz for taking her calls whenever she was frustrated, and Steve Cohen for the tremendous remote work they did together with Yankee programs. She shared how bringing Yogi Berra and George Steinbrenner together became a big part of her career, and thanked the former Yankees boss for believing in her. She then thanked her friends and colleagues, the hall of fame, and brought the show to a close.
Sports Radio News
Damon Amendolara: ‘It’s Hard to Leave What We’ve Built’ at CBS Sports Radio
“The coolest thing about this place for the last 11 years is they gave me total freedom to do what I wanted to do. My mind was the only limit in what we could do creatively.”
Damon Amendolara opened his CBS Sports Radio show on Thursday morning by acknowledging that his days at the network are numbered. SiriusXM announced yesterday that he will be taking over the morning show on Mad Dog Sports Radio beginning October 2.
“Instead of a cold open here, I just thought I would talk and reflect and use today and tomorrow to do the same thing,” he said to start the 6 o’clock hour.
He thanked by CBS Sports Radio and the audience for being integral to the show’s success. He noted that finding a dedicated audience is what helped the show grow in overnights and move to more prominent day parts of the course of the last eleven years.
“These eleven years have been a pure joy to work here at CBS Sports Radio,” Amendolara said. “I’ve said this often. The coolest thing about this place for the last 11 years is they gave me total freedom to do what I wanted to do. My mind was the only limit in what we could do creatively. Man, and for those that are creative, maybe you’re a painter, you’re a musician, maybe you’re an artist, a sculptor, maybe you just look at landscaping and see a bunch of weeds and go, ‘I can create something out of that,’ or maybe you see a car that needs to be renovated and go, ‘I can create something out of that.’ Those things, to me, are my oxygen. I love that part of this job. And they let me do it. I mean, look at how weird this show is sometimes! They let me do it, and for that I am forever grateful.”
He said that the show felt complete once it made the move from nights to middays. That is when Andrew Bogusch and Pete “The Body” Bellotti joined the show.
“I have worked with some amazing, amazing people. Bellotti and Bogusch and me and Mraz (former producer Shawn Morash). I just couldn’t have asked for anything more. These guys are next-level talented, next-level committed, and it was just such a synergy immediately. It was like, ‘Wow, this is special. And that started in 2017. So I can say without a shadow of a doubt, the last six plus years of working with these guys, these shows mid-morning, then we were promoted to mornings going into 2020. These six years with Bogusch and Bellotti have just been the greatest radio I’ve ever done.”
He concluded by saying that in the end, the offer that SiriusXM made him checked all the boxes of what he would need in order to feel good about leaving CBS Sports Radio.
Amendolara admitted that he wanted to take the entire crew with him. It just was not going to work out.
“It’s hard to leave these guys and it’s hard to leave what we’ve built here. But it wasn’t an option. Because of the inner workings of radio, that wasn’t an option. They are too valuable here, and they’re going to be wonderful and supportive and talented for Maggie & Perloff, who are taking over the morning show starting on Monday.”
Sports Radio News
Phillies Star Trea Turner Thanks 94WIP’s Marks & Reese For Inspiring Turnaround
“Obviously, the whole thing happened and the rest is kind of history. Started playing a lot better and it was thanks to you guys and the crowd.”
WIP is the radio home of the Philadelphia Phillies. This season, it is like the station has been an integral part of the team. That was clear again on Wednesday when Trea Turner called in to thank afternoon hosts Jon Marks & Ike Reese.
Turner, who signed with the team this offseason, opened the year in a real slump. He was pressing as fans began to make it clear that he was not living up to his 11-year/$300 million contract.
Last month, Marks & Reese producer Jack Fritz posted a video on social media encouraging fans to give the shortstop a standing ovation in his next plate appearance. It worked. Fans responded and so did Turner.
“First off, I owe you guys a thank you,” Turner said Wednesday afternoon on 94WIP. “I’ve heard that you guys were responsible so I want to say thank you to you guys. But yeah, I think my wife saw a video on social media about it and she showed me before I went to the stadium that day. So she was kind of where I heard it first. Obviously, the whole thing happened and the rest is kind of history. Started playing a lot better and it was thanks to you guys and the crowd.”
Since the stunt, Turner has raised his batting average from .236 to .263. He has also hit 16 home runs in that span.
“Those first 100 games or so, I wasn’t kind of living up to the standard that I played at for a while and just wanted to get back to that,” he said. “And then the next 35, 40 games have been pretty special. I think it’s probably the best I’ve hit in my life, just from a power standpoint really.”
Last month, another Phillies star drew inspiration from Marks & Reese. Bryce Harper acknowledged that it was a caller named Chuck who inspired a home run against the Angels.
Sports Radio News
Mike Florio: Can Taylor Swift Fans Save Sunday Night Football Without Aaron Rodgers?
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof.”
This week’s Sunday Night Football matchup was supposed to feature Patrick Mahomes against Aaron Rodgers, but that’s not going to happen.
Viewership of the game will probably suffer a little bit without Rodgers, but NBC’s Mike Florio thinks Taylor Swift fans can give the game a nice bump.
In an appearance on Bernstein & Holmes on 670 The Score on Wednesday, Florio expressed doubt that football fans will one day get to see a game featuring the Mahomes and Rodgers considering all the previous potential matchups between the Chiefs and Packers one quarterback or the other was hurt and wouldn’t be able to play.
But with tight end Travis Kelce now reportedly dating Taylor Swift, Florio said there’s great potential that there will be added interest in hopes of potentially seeing Taylor in another suite cheering Kelce and the Chiefs on.
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof,” he said.
Florio added that he’s only been paying attention to and talking about Kelce and Swift since Travis saw a huge jump in jersey sales this week. Reports are that sales were up 400%.
Mike credited Rich Eisen for pointing out on Monday that while the league will undoubtedly stand to benefit further from the Swift effect, it wasn’t a good day for those who worked on announcing Usher as the halftime performer at the Super Bowl in February.
“The NFL had to be pissed that the day that they announced Usher was gonna be the Super Bowl halftime performer, Taylor Swift took all the oxygen out of the musical room as far as the NFL is concerned,” Florio said. He added that it’s possible Swift is trying to leverage herself into a spot on the stage in Las Vegas.
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.