Sports Talk: A Journey inside the World of Sports Talk Radio FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Alan Eisenstock's journey through the world of sports talk radio began in 1973 when, bored with Don Drysdale's Dodger Talk radio show, Eisenstock turned the dial and discovered Superfan. Ed "Superfan" Beiler screamed his way into Eisenstock's life, piping through his radio as he defended the common fan -- the fan who can't afford a box seat and doesn't want to overpay for a beer and a hot dog. Superfan wasn't a fair-weather fan, he was Everyfan. And with that, sports talk was born: opinionated, loud, irreverent, and in-your-face.
On a visit to Boston's Eddie Andelman -- whom Eisenstock credits as the "guy who started sports talk radio as we know it today" (a balance of rants, guests, and callers) -- we see how Andelman "prepares" for his show. It begins the night before as he, like so many other men, falls asleep at the end of the day while watching sports on TV. We meet radio personality JT the Brick, who actually got his start as a caller. JT's passion spilled over the airwaves as he called in again and again, and soon he was paying for airtime to get his career off the ground. Mike and the Mad Dog receive the most attention from Eisenstock. He splits up the team and is amazed by Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's ability to recall every detail of a game from memory and learns how Mike Francesa begins every day by watching SportsCenter, simply because: "That's required."
Sports Talk offers a vicarious thrill. Eisenstock not only brings us into the lives of his heroes, but he also makes them our heroes. We see that beneath the heated opinions and sometimes cantankerous personalities, there is a calm that ties all the hosts together. And it makes us want to buy them a beer and talk sports. (Ryan Isaac)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Their voices explode over the airwabes—with names like Mike and the Mad Dog, the Stinkin' Genuis, Hacksaw, and JT the Brick. They broadcast in drive time and downtime, from rush hour to the dead of night. And yet, millions of fans tune in around the clock to hear their favorite larger-than-life radio personalities rant, rave, critique, predict, and mix it up with callers—the dedicated fans of sports talk radio.
Never before has this cloistered world opened its doors to a no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes, full-access look at itself. Noted journalist (and fan) Alan Eisenstock embarks on a journey through the American sports radio landscape and gives readers a front-row seat—from breakfast at the kitchen table of Eddie Andelman, Boston's godfather of sports radio, to the WFAN commissary with Mike and the Mad Dog in New York; from the plush home game room of Chicago's hot dog-vendor-turned-#1 DJ Mike North to the empty 3 am studio parking garage with nationally syndicated JT the Brick. Eisenstock goes into the studios, homes, and lives of these and many other of America's hottest and most-listened-to sports talk hosts.
Filled with hilarious and entertaining tales of what makes these hosts tick—as well as the unbelievable stories of how they got where they are today—Sports Talk paints a picture the fans never see. Eisenstock shows us the blood, sweat, and tears of program directors with their reputations on the line; hosts searching for career security; and station managers who are always eyeing the bottom line. And, of course, there are stories of the rabid, obsessed, and off-the-wall fans. Whether you're a sports fan or a sports talk junkie, you'll be hooked from the first page.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
"Fan" is the operative word in these breezy, inside-the-booth sketches of the reigning personalities in sports radio's huge electronic community. The premise is a sharp elbow to the ribs of Howard Stern and the radio shock-jock industry: compulsive, mostly male listeners put sports talk in first place among moneymaking radio formats (WFAN in New York City is the largest ad-billing station in the entire country). A professional sitcom writer and self-confessed addict of sports radio, Eisenstock here indulges his impulse toward new journalism, never resisting the strong pull of his own attachment to his subjects. With ardor and the occasional grain of salt, he gestures at but never quite reaches the "heart and soul" of the form established by pioneers like Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, with his XTRA Sports show on the "Mighty Six-Ninety" in San Diego, the "Stinkin' Genius" and "The Brick." The result is a smoothly written road trip diary to six cities by a guy-culture anthropologist who interviews other guys at a virtual frat party; it yields lots of anecdotes and interesting insider chat, but remains a fan's shapeless, sometimes entertaining tribute. "Mike and the Mad Dog" and a half-dozen other hosts are interesting characters and the fact that sports radio is the forum for connecting to a larger world for millions of men is real meat for sociologists and business writers but Eisenstock's loyalties to the ritual bonds afforded by the medium might have been better served by a long article in a sports magazine. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
An unabashed fan of sports talk radio programs, Eisenstock (coauthor, with Chad Brown, of Inside the Meat Grinder) spent most of last year interviewing some of the major talkers who have made the format so successful in recent years. The profiled hosts of popular shows in major cities or in syndication include Mike Francesca and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, and "JT the Brick." Eisenstock also contacted a couple of frequent callers, asking them what motivates them to spend so much time on hold for a chance to vent an opinion and risk being belittled by guys known more for their rants than for civilized discourse. Huge numbers of listeners find the fast-paced pontificating entertaining, but the book seldom captures the appeal that keeps so many sports-minded fans tuned in. Austin Murphy's "Calls of the Wild" in the September 16, 1996, Sports Illustrated distilled the attraction much better in far fewer words. An optional purchase for public libraries with large sports collections. Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
It's clear from Eisenstock's (Inside the Meat Grinder, 1999, etc.) meetings with sports-talk radio personalities that the fans are the real nutcases, for these gents are uniformly ingenious and interesting, if a little excitable, perhaps a bit shrill and shameless, too. Radio is a theater of the mind, so you have to work the magic with words, and the men Eisenstock interviews here-Hacksaw Hamilton, John Renshaw, Papa Joe Chevalier, Mike North, and others-have the kind of timing and instincts that comedians and poets die for. Smack, as sports trash talk is called, mostly comes from the caller side of the show; the hosts can be irreverent or convoluted, they can even pull the occasional rage-rant-scream, but the best host is, as one producer noted, "engaging, smart, has a good sense of himself, some knowledge, and can speak off-the-cuff. Frankly, sometimes it helps if they are a little nutty." The author meets such old pros as Boston's wonderfully decent Eddie Andelman; Chicago's Mike North, with his street guy's twang and perfect comic pitch; New York's Mad Dog, of Mike and the Mad Dog: "thorough, detailed, and febrile." When there are two men working together, Eisenstock tries to understand the chemistry; with solo artists, he looks for the defining bit: a Southern comfort voice, an edginess, a class identification (a good many come from hard-enough-knocks backgrounds). He talks with producers, operations managers, and other behind-the-scenes elements, and he provides enough biographical material for readers to be able to put a face to the voice. Spliced into the book are chapters devoted to Arnie Spanier-The Stinkin' Genius-an up-and-coming showman who sounds "like a bookmaker garglingwith glass." And they are all sports fans, with the fan's ability to talk sports nonstop, in minute, passionate detail, for a frightening amount of time. What does it all mean? Eisenstock: "Do you think sports talk radio is a fad?" Sports fan and sports-talk junkie: "No, unfortunately, I think it's here forever."
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