Sportsradio 94WIP

Reviewing a radio station on Unilocal has the enjoyment and purpose equal to owning a business that cleans out people’s naval lint. But, two recent events compelled me to rant about what has become of WIP.
1. I saw recently that Catladi and Co. apparently will be back for at least another three years or possible five. Wow, that’s fantastic news if you want to be mindlessly entertained but not if you actually want any real sports analysis or if you want to learn/​figure out what you may have missed the night prior.
The show has devolved into lots of Stern-​ish type fart jokes, occasional T&A on the show that Cataldi behaves one step over a Cro-​Magnon around even though he’s old enough to be their grandfather, repeated stroking of Chip Kelly/​The Eagles, constant Wing Bowl/​self-​promotion crap, bashing/​ignoring the other sports in town from the three other professional ones down to all of the colleges while the combo of Keith Jones, Rhea Hughes and Al Morganti could best be described as Angelo’s crew of fools and most certainly tools.
Entertaining? You Bet
Funny? Sometimes
Smart? Nope
Objective? Nope
Mostly an uninformed group of dunces all there sucking on Angelo’s teat so that he stays around a few more years as their meal ticket? Ding!
2. The fact that the station continues to employ Howard Eskin.
I mean seriously, how many times can this guy lie and make up things that are either blatantly false or at best are murky half-​truths yet no one calls him on it, no one fires him for it or no one just says to him that his time has passed as being a relevant personality in the town of Philadelphia so shut the hell up.
Last year it was looking stupid when he said that the Phillies were «working on something big» regarding Jose Bautista and Domonic Brown yet naturally Ol’ Scoops Eskin was dead wrong.
Recently it’s gotten even better by suggesting that the Phillies are engaging in a massive cover up that is borderline illegal, certainly immoral and is unconscionably wrong. The Burger King seems to think that they Phillies are using David Montgomery’s cancer as a cover to push him out yet everyone in the media that has connections/​access to the team is all saying that this is 100% BS.
Not only that but if you do some Internet digging I think it was Bill Conlin (a million times the journalist that Eskin wishes he was) who wrote that the way the Phillies LLC is set up does not permit one owner to hold a majority stake just like whomever the managing partner is cannot (short of legal malfeasance) be pushed out, yet «The King» recklessly continues to push his own agenda against not only the rest of the media but the team who has already made a statement saying that indeed, «The King» is full of shit.
The issue overall with WIP is that the only guys on the station that have any realistic sports knowledge without the need to be unnecessarily bombastic are all buried doing Siberia shifts either late night or over night like Jody McDonald or Paul Jolovitz or Ricky Ricardo in favor of I guess what you might call more entertaining but also certainly far more stupid talent like Innes, Barkann or Gargano.
I’m not saying that 97.5 is any better because Lord knows that they’re not but WIP overall has gone down the toilet in favor of sizzle, speculation and stupidity versus having on air talent that simply doesn’t suck.
RIP a once decent radio station.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are coloring the driveway with chalk while my dad worked in the garage and listened to 610. Anytime I would drive anywhere with my dad, he had on 610. Partly the reason why I am the sports fan I am today is because of my dad, but the entertaining 610 WIP probably has a little to do with it too. There is nothing like 610. I’m even one of the few women that have called in (gasp!) to talk sports with the guys.
610 is one of the best things about Philadelphia sports. Always fun to hear my dad share what he’s heard on sports radio for the day.

Even though I work/​live in Dallas, being a native Philadelphian I can’t help but not tune into this station especially during football season. I have mixed emotions about the hosts, but they do offer the latest news on my Eagles, Phillies, and Sixers so I can’t help but listen.
Here are my thoughts on few of the hosts…
My knock on the Morning Show is they don’t break down Sunday’s Eagles games as much as I would like. Yes, they tend to talk alot about the Birds the morning after a game, but they don’t do a good job of breaking down each phase of the game to help fans truly understand what went right or what went wrong. They tend to make known the same things most people actually noticed while watching the game on TV themselves which really doesn’t tell me more than I already knew. Living in Dallas its easy to compare Dallas sports talk to Philly sports talk & I must say the Dallas radio personalities do a better job breaking down the Cowboys than the Philly hosts do with the Eagles. I wish that were not the case, but I gotta be honest.
Angelo Cataldi adds NOTHING in the way of interesting sports talk, however he’s a genius when it comes to pulling in listeners & ratings based on the fact 610, until recently, has been the only all-​sports station in town. He’s been able to successfully build loyal listeners on his style which can be a bit too negative at times. And after 20 years of listening to him, many folks are sucked into believing his style makes for the best sports talk around. Here’s another problem I have with Angelo… he’s NOT FUNNY. In my opinion the show is soooo much better when he’s on vacation.
AL Morganti & Rhea Hughes with the help of Keith Jones and Hugh Douglas do a great job. Believe it or not I enjoy Al’s non-​sports related commentary. Just when you forget he’s part of the show, he jumps out with strong opinions about other issues in city which I love.
Rhea is great!!! She holds her own, is as knowledgeable as any sports chick I’ve heard on the radio and is just as passionate as any Philly sports fan, male or female. I hardly listen to sports radio on the weekends except in the spring during Rhea’s Saturday show. She’s that good.
Joe Conklin, although a great impressionist, isn’t funny. I tend to think he’s probably much better on stage and amongst a live crowd which is more of his element. He does a great Iverson, Barkley & Merrill Hodge as well as others, but his segments which feature these voices are whack! But you wouldn’t know it by listening to Angelo cuz he laughs at everything Joe does.
Other hosts I enjoy are Anthony Gargano and Ike Reese. Anthony’s probably my WIP host and Ike continues to impress me with his knowledge of Philly sports. I mean, even though he’s an ex-​Eagle, I like the fact he follows the Sixers & Phillies and appears to be as interested in both teams as much as I am. Anthony’s host, Steve is pretty decent and I especially enjoy the ‘Whose That Guy’ segments. He does an excellent job with that as well as with his Saturday show with Ray Diddy. Garry Cobb is another host I enjoy. I just wish he was on more often & during hours when I listen. I give props to his website. Its very informative.
And lastly, lets not forget Howard Eskin who I love to hate!!! One of the most arrogant radio hosts around. I love the fact he’s in tune to the Eagles, but hate the fact he hardly ever faults Andy or Joe Banner for making bad decisions. Howard never admits he’s wrong and he never gives credit to others when they call him out on a bad comment & when it becomes obvious the caller is getting the best of him with a valid point, Howard hits the dump button. Other things I notice about him is he ALWAYS has to remind you that he’s been friends with a ‘fill in the name of a famous celebrity’ for years… so what Howard??? Also he lets it be known he HATES Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, and Terrell Owens without admitting that’s actually the case. Personally I think Howards still bitter Iverson sued him so he has voice his displeasure with him every chance he gets. Again, I only listen to him for his knowledge of the Eagles and his ability to get the ‘breaking news’ about the team, but thats about it.
All things considered I enjoy the station, but think they could do even better if they made a few changes.

I love WIP… while you can say its not what it used to be (and that would be true), its still one of the best sports-​talk stations in the country, for better or worse.
While its a bit over-​the-​top nowadays, its still a remarkable microcosm of the region’s psyche, sports-​wise or otherwise. I can’t really cotton to the morning show anymore, just too… much. But I’ve always liked Glen Macnow, and call me crazy, but I love Howard Eskin. Sure, he is a pompous jackass, but he knows his stuff, especially concerning baseball. And even when he doesn’t its still funny hearing him rip into some drunk from Port Richmond (no offense, good people of Port Richmond). He is a man of his word, I’ll say that much. People who say they hate him sure can say a lot about him (just like another infamous Howard on the radio), and thats because you always listen, love or hate. And you’ll miss him if you ever move away. But I agree… can the politics. WIP has always been «sports plus», but politics is something best left to other stations I’d rather not listen to.
Like I said, its not what it used to be… Steve and Mike in the afternoon in the ‘90s was the station at its peak. But short of screaming «Philly! Philly! Philly!» at you constantly, it defines the region like no other.

I I like listening to Anthony and Steve the best. Glen Macnow is pretty good too. They have a great format. Sometimes they get off topic and talk about things unrelated to sports like movies but that is what makes it so great. I enjoyed Glen’s search for the best Ribs and the best pizza. The best part is being able to listen online.

I love 610 because, while yes, Philadelphia as a whole is knowledgeable when it comes to sports, a majority of the people calling in are not… at all.
Maybe this will be considered sacrilege, but I thoroughly dislike Angelo. He was, at a time fantastic and a true staple of the Philadelphia sports world. Unfortunately I think his head has grown as big as Howard Eskin’s.
Speaking of that leather face… he is the worst thing to happen to radio since…_____ (sorry, I have a headache and I am empty on analogies). Eskin’s show is unlistenable to me, as it is pointless to hear someone talk about how right they are when they are so obviously not.

Having grown up in Philly, the WIP hosts feel as much a part of Philly sports as [insert wonderful franchise superstar we only wish we had.] It’s sort of a tradition to listen to WIP on your way, and on your way back from a game down at one of the South Philly stadiums. Sometimes you call in for kicks.
Of course, I’m never too impressed with the insight of those clowns. I’ll listen to the station in my car to make sure I know the most current issues in Philly sports, but the opinions these characters offer on the issues — ugh, better to stick to the internet. Howard Eskin is essential a sports shock jockey, not because he curses or say misogynistic things (like the other big Howard in radio) but because he thinks he knows everything (which he doesn’t) and he’s not afraid to tell people they’re wrong — even though they’re sometimes right. When Eskin starts to talk about politics (which he REALLY knows nothing about), change the channel immediately.