An observation on 93.whatever the Fan

[Saboteur]

This morning I found myself in the car in Orlando listening to their sports radio show. This is approx 7-8.

80% of the the chatter was cfb and hoops Moorhead getting fired (see note later), the new Miami OC, FSU, UF and UCF.

The UF 21 point comeback against Alabama hoops. How Moorhead was not a fit at. Mississippi State and should go back to recruiting "Philadelphia". Where the the U's new OC coached before SMU. How the U is not getting the best HS players from South Florida, etc.

Then the Magic got some love as did the Lightning.
A few minutes of radio replays from the NFL playoffs (good live calls).

I lived in central Ohio and Pittsburgh over the last decade so I have experience.

I imagined that the 93.7 talk this morning focused on the following: The Steelers and Duck. The Steelers and Mason. The Steelers and Colbert. The Steelers and Ben. The Steelers and Dupree. The Steelers and Tomlin. The Penguins and Crosby.
Greenfield's Mike McCarthy
And if they were worthy of mentioning.
Pitt sucks at everything.
Penn State is great at everything.
Duquesne doesn't exist.
Am I right or wrong?

It was refreshing to listen to multiple topics. The Magic are the only game in town and cfb is really big here.

I sure don't miss the Steelers infatuated media and the constant ragging on Pitt. Sometimes you have to leave a place to appreciate how good it was. Other times you have to leave a place to realize how much it sucked.
93.7 sucks. They are lazy and simply don't know sports beyond what the average Sunday NFL fan knows.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

No. Focused on the Pens obviously, the playoff games and the Pitt/Wake game. And AB's new rap song.

 

[MajorMajors]

I’m sure you’re right, but someone would have to listen to find out...

I did hear a few minutes late in the morning and the discussion was strictly about NFL QBs and who might end up a Steeler...

Go Pitt.

 

[ratking17]

I was traveling in Baltimore not too long ago and the sports guy on one of their channels was actually nice and respectful to the callers, even if the caller was some whack job. Total contrast to the Pittsburgh market

 

[UptownPrivileges]

Does Pittsburgh have anyone that nationally other people would listen to?

 

[Mikefln]

Does Pittsburgh have anyone that nationally other people would listen to?

No

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Filaponi has a regular show on CBS I think.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Anytime we get somebody good like Gregg Gianotti the local goofs like Ron Cook get jealous of them.

 

[DruidTM]

I had to make a trip back to Pgh to work on my parents estate...this was about a year ago I guess?

Listening to radio in rental car driving from airport it was the most myopic discussion ever ... Stillers this Stillers that ... and almost ALL of it was just bad bullshit bar discussion because at this point AB had “dissed” Ben or vice versa.... in other words ... gossipy crap. This went on for the entirety of my drive from the Airport to Monroeville... and there was traffic too.

 

[Pizzaboy2]

I want more Wvu discussions on the fan! Only time we get any publicity on there is when they have Huggy on before the Pitt game.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

I want more Wvu discussions on the fan! Only time we get any publicity on there is when they have Huggy on before the Pitt game.

Does the local Morgantown station talk about Pitt when they are not playing? There is no reason to talk about WV.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

To be honest, it is pretty damn hard comparing a market like Orlando with a true Pro market like Pittsburgh.

 

[Saboteur]

To be honest, it is pretty damn hard comparing a market like Orlando with a true Pro market like Pittsburgh.

I just did and it was easy. Not hard at all.
But since there is no NBA team in Pittsburgh, it might help if someone in the media understood that a basketball does not have laces.

 

[Saboteur]

I had to make a trip back to Pgh to work on my parents estate...this was about a year ago I guess?

Listening to radio in rental car driving from airport it was the most myopic discussion ever ... Stillers this Stillers that ... and almost ALL of it was just bad bullshit bar discussion because at this point AB had “dissed” Ben or vice versa.... in other words ... gossipy crap. This went on for the entirety of my drive from the Airport to Monroeville... and there was traffic too.

But, but, but...it's a pro sports town.

 

[pierre93]

Does the local Morgantown station talk about Pitt when they are not playing? There is no reason to talk about WV.

Thx end of discussion

 

[HailtoPitt]

I can't stress enough how much better the sports talk shows are in other cities. It's like night and day.

 

[PittFamily2]

I can't stress enough how much better the sports talk shows are in other cities. It's like night and day.

Even cities in the US.

 

[PittFamily2]

Anytime we get somebody good like Gregg Gianotti the local goofs like Ron Cook get jealous of them.

They will protect their market and jobs because that's what people who aren't very good at what they do, do!

Not one of those dopes would survive on a real sports radio talk show.

Most of the time they "wing" the show. No prep! No story!

 

[JoseLind13]

The fanatical local following of the Steelers is a level higher than anything I have seen in other pro sports markets, other than maybe the Red Wings and Yankees/NYC teams. Florida pro sports really don't draw nearly the same passionate following. Local terrestrial radio is all about quantity of listeners, not quality of the content (nor IQ of the listeners). Discussing the Steelers or being a loudmouth, controversial blow-hard seem to be the easiest path to capturing the most listeners in the market, so that is what dominates the airtime.

As much as we would like Pitt to get equal, in-depth, and insightful coverage, it simply isn't the same ratings grab. However, I will say that Dunlap and some others on the Fan offer decent knowledgeable insights when given the opportunity and are quite favorable to Pitt, and the Pitt coaches' shows are good. If you are choosing to listen to guys like Cook or Poni in your free time, then that pain is your own fault.

 

[pittdan77]

I can't stress enough how much better the sports talk shows are in other cities. It's like night and day.

It's not even close. It's all tabloid crap in PGH.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

This morning I found myself in the car in Orlando listening to their sports radio show. This is approx 7-8.

80% of the the chatter was cfb and hoops Moorhead getting fired (see note later), the new Miami OC, FSU, UF and UCF.

The UF 21 point comeback against Alabama hoops. How Moorhead was not a fit at. Mississippi State and should go back to recruiting "Philadelphia". Where the the U's new OC coached before SMU. How the U is not getting the best HS players from South Florida, etc.

Then the Magic got some love as did the Lightning.
A few minutes of radio replays from the NFL playoffs (good live calls).

I lived in central Ohio and Pittsburgh over the last decade so I have experience.

I imagined that the 93.7 talk this morning focused on the following: The Steelers and Duck. The Steelers and Mason. The Steelers and Colbert. The Steelers and Ben. The Steelers and Dupree. The Steelers and Tomlin. The Penguins and Crosby.
Greenfield's Mike McCarthy
And if they were worthy of mentioning.
Pitt sucks at everything.
Penn State is great at everything.
Duquesne doesn't exist.
Am I right or wrong?

It was refreshing to listen to multiple topics. The Magic are the only game in town and cfb is really big here.

I sure don't miss the Steelers infatuated media and the constant ragging on Pitt. Sometimes you have to leave a place to appreciate how good it was. Other times you have to leave a place to realize how much it sucked.
93.7 sucks. They are lazy and simply don't know sports beyond what the average Sunday NFL fan knows.

Local talk radio doesnt talk Pitt at all, good or bad other than the weekly 10 minute radio interview that Narduzzi and Stallings do on The Fan morning show.

 

[wbrpanther]

Does the local Morgantown station talk about Pitt when they are not playing? There is no reason to talk about WV.

Morgantown has radio?

 

[happjack]

I just did and it was easy. Not hard at all.
But since there is no NBA team in Pittsburgh, it might help if someone in the media understood that a basketball does not have laces.

A station in a market like Orlando can get away with a wide range of topics because almost everyone who lives there is from someplace else. They have one pro team who stinks and there's only so much you can talk about during the endless NBA regular season, that allows them to fill time with other topics.

I live in the Detroit area and the sports talk radio is mostly Lions and Michigan football, the Red Wings now in a distant third with the Pistons and college hoops bringing up the rear. Thanks to Sirius and podcasts I only have to listen to it when I'm in someone else's car!

 

[tetonpanther]

Dunlap aka Pgh dad aka the B team flat out sucks. Paul Alexander weekend is just beyond awful . The super genius is the best just don't expect to talk pitt at all.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Local talk radio doesnt talk Pitt at all, good or bad other than the weekly 10 minute radio interview that Narduzzi and Stallings do on The Fan morning show.

Everytime they decide to do a Pitt segment and take callers on that topic, no one calls in. They even say "now's your time" and no Pitt callers call in. So yeah, you can blame them if you want, but when this happens, they bury Pitt into just the short news brief segments because they assume people don't care. And let's face it, it is about ratings.

So ignoring, not calling in, you all make it easy for the Fan to give a crap about Pitt. I know some of you mouth breathers listen to Madden and call in, he genuinely does not like college sports yet you give him the time of the day and he craps all over you.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Dunlap aka Pgh dad aka the B team flat out sucks. Paul Alexander weekend is just beyond awful . The super genius is the best just don't expect to talk pitt at all.

Dunlap is the most fair towards Pitt, and can actually discuss things regarding Pitt. Alexander is a Nitter who is way past his prime. I have no clue why anyone would listen to or call Mark Madden. If I wanted to hear some fat blowhard’s opinion on sports, then I’d go to the local watering hole.

 

[JD1976]

Filaponi has a regular show on CBS I think.

Like him or not, Fillaponi is the only local broadcaster who had “National” talent.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Like him or not, Fillaponi is the only local broadcaster who had “National” talent.

I said that above. I do think the Fan has improved immensely since they got rid of the absolutely annoying Vinnie Riccuchi. My god he was awful.

I can tell you this, if you think it is bad here, ever hear the jerks up in Boston? My god, those people there are the biggest jerkoff homers ever.

So don't think this stuff is unique here. Most of you hate locals because Pitt doesn't get much time. And....again, I explained above one reason, but Narduzzi has not been friendly with the local media like Wanny was, and Capel is pretty good and accessible.

 

[Burgh15]

Like him or not, Fillaponi is the only local broadcaster who had “National” talent.

Poni is pretty entertaining to listen to. You figure he has to carry Mueller right now, so the shows even better when he's on his own.

 

[Saboteur]

The fanatical local following of the Steelers is a level higher than anything I have seen in other pro sports markets, other than maybe the Red Wings and Yankees/NYC teams. Florida pro sports really don't draw nearly the same passionate following. Local terrestrial radio is all about quantity of listeners, not quality of the content (nor IQ of the listeners). Discussing the Steelers or being a loudmouth, controversial blow-hard seem to be the easiest path to capturing the most listeners in the market, so that is what dominates the airtime.

As much as we would like Pitt to get equal, in-depth, and insightful coverage, it simply isn't the same ratings grab. However, I will say that Dunlap and some others on the Fan offer decent knowledgeable insights when given the opportunity and are quite favorable to Pitt, and the Pitt coaches' shows are good. If you are choosing to listen to guys like Cook or Poni in your free time, then that pain is your own fault.

The Steelers are to displaced Pittsburghers what potatoes and to dismother are to placed Celts.

 

[Saboteur]

The fanatical local following of the Steelers is a level higher than anything I have seen in other pro sports markets, other than maybe the Red Wings and Yankees/NYC teams. Florida pro sports really don't draw nearly the same passionate following. Local terrestrial radio is all about quantity of listeners, not quality of the content (nor IQ of the listeners). Discussing the Steelers or being a loudmouth, controversial blow-hard seem to be the easiest path to capturing the most listeners in the market, so that is what dominates the airtime.

As much as we would like Pitt to get equal, in-depth, and insightful coverage, it simply isn't the same ratings grab. However, I will say that Dunlap and some others on the Fan offer decent knowledgeable insights when given the opportunity and are quite favorable to Pitt, and the Pitt coaches' shows are good. If you are choosing to listen to guys like Cook or Poni in your free time, then that pain is your own fault.

I should add that I didn't find many in the PGH media to be knowledgeable football people. Apart from locker room talk and obvious injury problems, they only stated the obvious. Then they beat it to death.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

The Steelers are to displaced Pittsburghers what potatoes and to dismother are to placed Celts.

OK. Line of the year so far. LOL.......will be hard to top.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

They will protect their market and jobs because that's what people who aren't very good at what they do, do!

Not one of those dopes would survive on a real sports radio talk show.

Most of the time they "wing" the show. No prep! No story!

Yes, I noticed this too. Sports talk in Pittsburgh is a brief opening monologue and then just take calls and respond accordingly. Good talk shows provide content and do t rely on callers.

Think about any successful radio show, sports or not. The host or hosts can carry a show, great guests and actual content. 90% of callers can’t communicate a coherent thought and you will create a show around that? Nonsense.

listen to a nationally syndicated show. Sports, politics, pop culture, whatever. No show that is good would rely so heavily on the general public.

 

[DT_PITT]

Everytime they decide to do a Pitt segment and take callers on that topic, no one calls in. They even say "now's your time" and no Pitt callers call in. So yeah, you can blame them if you want, but when this happens, they bury Pitt into just the short news brief segments because they assume people don't care. And let's face it, it is about ratings.

So ignoring, not calling in, you all make it easy for the Fan to give a crap about Pitt. I know some of you mouth breathers listen to Madden and call in, he genuinely does not like college sports yet you give him the time of the day and he craps all over you.

This is true, time and time again, I'm sorry to say.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

This is true, time and time again, I'm sorry to say.

But why would anyone who wants to hear Pitt talk be willing to sit there for hours on end listening to the general level of pablum these guys spew just on the off chance that at some point in time they may actually say something about Pitt?

They don't get callers about Pitt because no one who wants to talk about Pitt wants to sit through the rest of the crap to talk to people who don't know anything about Pitt sports anyway. As I said around a decade ago, I could have had a better, more insightful conversation about Pitt sports with my son when he was about 12 years old than you could have with just about anyone regularly on the radio in Pittsburgh. And we could probably say the same about your son, except even more so.

 

[DT_PITT]

But why would anyone who wants to hear Pitt talk be willing to sit there for hours on end listening to the general level of pablum these guys spew just on the off chance that at some point in time they may actually say something about Pitt?

They don't get callers about Pitt because no one who wants to talk about Pitt wants to sit through the rest of the crap to talk to people who don't know anything about Pitt sports anyway. As I said around a decade ago, I could have had a better, more insightful conversation about Pitt sports with my son when he was about 12 years old than you could have with just about anyone regularly on the radio in Pittsburgh. And we could probably say the same about your son, except even more so.

Sometimes that's the case, but not always.

I remember in 2016 when Pitt beat Syracuse in the ACC tourney, on the (then) Starkey and Mueller show (right after the game), they asked for callers to call in and talk about the game and Pitt Basketball and the upcoming NCAA tournament. They got not a single caller, I kid you not.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Sometimes that's the case, but not always.

I remember in 2016 when Pitt beat Syracuse in the ACC tourney, on the (then) Starkey and Mueller show (right after the game), they asked for callers to call in and talk about the game and Pitt Basketball and the upcoming NCAA tournament. They got not a single caller, I kid you not.

If a Pitt fan is listening to show and wants to hear Pitt talk, then they need to make a call and get the ball rolling. Just sitting back and waiting isn’t going to help the situation.

 

[DT_PITT]

If a Pitt fan is listening to show and wants to hear Pitt talk, then they need to make a call and get the ball rolling. Just sitting back and waiting isn’t going to help the situation.

I guess I'm just not one to call in to radio talk shows. I've only ever done it once in my life when @Chris Peak was hosting a Fan show the morning of the Elite 8 game against Villanova and I called from the hotel in Boston. I just did it then because I thought it would be cool for him to have a caller from Boston. I couldn't even actually hear the show.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

I guess I'm just not one to call in to radio talk shows. I've only ever done it once in my life when @Chris Peak was hosting a Fan show the morning of the Elite 8 game against Villanova and I called from the hotel in Boston. I just did it then because I thought it would be cool for him to have a caller from Boston. I couldn't even actually hear the show.

I’ve called into shows driving home from work, and the Nightly Call-In with Pompeani before because I felt the same way. I rarely even pay attention to those shows anymore, so it doesn’t even cross my mind. I happened to tune into the Nightly Call-In the other night when they opened it up to Pitt calls. I actually tried calling, but they did not answer.

 

[Jakey_John]

I used to call Madden a lot but now he doesn’t allow for discussion. He just loud talks and it’s all the same nonsense.