The Devolution of Sports Radio

So there I was, sitting trapped in my car - again - in merciless Toronto rush-hour traffic. All I wanted to do to take my mind off the real world was hear some insightful, informed, provocative sports talk radio.


And in Toronto, that typically means tuning into The Fan 590 during the drive home show with legendary host Bob McCowan. So I tuned in, as I normally do. But he was on a jag about golf, and I just ain't no golf fan. Frustrated, I remembered that Toronto now has two dedicated all-sports talk radio channels. The second is the recently launched TSN 1050. It's being marketed with the tagline: "The Evolution of Sports Radio." Now, I'd heard some bits and pieces of 1050's drive home show hosted by James Cybulski (the show is called "Cybulski and Company". The "company" part is comprised of ex-TV host Gareth Wheeler, who also produces the show) off and on over the summer and just felt "meh" about it. And I should mention that every time I had tuned into 1050, for whatever length of time it was, inevitably the hosts were talking equal amounts of sports and film. And not sports-related movie trivia or some such thing. Nope. Just films the guys liked or actors in films. But I didn't think much of it, guessing they were trying to find some sort of groove and had fallen back on their outside interests in film. They're both pros, so it'll get better.


Well, it seems the 4p.m. drive slot on 1050 in Toronto has gone even further down the path of the cinephile. 


Now let me make clear one thing, I think Cybulski and Wheeler could be great on-air hosts. But what I heard blew my mind. While McCowan was busy interviewing and speaking about some major golf happening, James and Gareth were pontificating on the merits of some obscure film that had nothing to do with sports. And they wouldn't let it go. Seriously, the conversation went on for like 10 minutes. Anyone wanting to hear some sporting news was not getting it from these guys. Again, no disrespect to their broadcasting abilities, but the dudes were just waaaaaay off base with content. 


That was day one of the week. Monday. I decided to test my theory: that Cybulski and Co. were sorely lacking in sports topics and were using a safety net of pop culture discussion to get by and fill time when they had no real guests or sports news to report. And on it went. Tuesday - movies. Wednesday - TV stuff. Thursday - sports movies (OK, this one gets back to the realm of sports... but still!!) and Friday... well, I missed Friday because I left work early.


All told, I'm still a Fan 590, um, fan. 


Word to the wise to the TSN 1050 drive slot folks - start lining up more sports personalities and guests. Drop the pop culture conversations by about 50% and evolve into an actual sports radio show. Because as it stands, in my opinion, you guys are dropping the proverbial ball. 

TSN Montreal, TSN Winnipeg

Fan 590

New Columnist

Television Newspaper

Stubborn Fool and Stubbornfool.com are proud to announce a brand new feature. And with it comes a brand new contributor to the site. On at least a monthly basis – and more likely whenever we get pissed off – Stubborn Fool will feature a media column. The column will focus on the goings on in the radio, television and newspaper industries and will shine an opinionated light, in particular, on the Montreal and Toronto industries and in general on the national and North American markets. But here is the big news:

Newspaper Television

Joining Stubborn Fool is a blogger and veteran journalist who goes by the fake handle of Joe Bunga. Joe Bunga brings 15 years of print and online media experience to this forum. Together with my 15 years in the broadcast industry as an announcer and writer, we will impose our well-considered (and sometimes not so), critical and oft-times nonsensical opinions on you.
What's worse than bloggers and commentators with no experience? Bloggers and commentators who work in the groove and maintain industry connections.
Yes, we will be different from the rest. We will be critical and take a no-holds-barred approach. We will swoon over our favourites and shit on those who deserve it.
This is an addition and not a change to the format of the site. Mike Boone's radio and TV column is long-gone and has been replaced in part by Fagstein.com. What we will try to do is fill some of the great void that exists, with a little more knowledge than some commentators, and with a little less journalistic integrity. Keep watching this space for subjects that will make your head spin, your brain melt and, depending on your perspective, either cause you to have an aneurism or get your rocks off. We don't anticipate much middle ground.

Working From Home

I am working from home this afternoon. Or, as I like to call it No Pants Monday. There are several benefits to working from home. 1 - I'm the only idiot here. 2 - No pants. 3 - The coffee is cheaper. 4 - I'm not actually working.
I will have to log back in shortly and finish my reports. And since my car is at the garage getting fixed I will have to take public transportation to the office tomorrow. The bus and metro system in Montreal has improved over the years. But not for me. It will take me an extra twenty minutes to travel by metro than my usual jaunt by car. A thought just occurred to me, I should carpool tomorrow. Always considering the environment when it suits me best, I will see if any of my colleagues in the area want to give me a ride to work. I searched for "no pants Monday" on the intergoogle and found this picture which I took from the cheezburger network.

Big Bang and Skinny Leg Theory

Mayweather Verbal Knock Out

It may have been a legal punch but it was still a sucker punch. Floyd Mayweather was a great boxer. Now he does anything to win. Ahh... remember the good old days when only the promoters were corrupt and there was honour between boxers? Mayweather doesn't seem to like when people call him out. He had a few choice words for Larry Merchant whose response was priceless. A verbal KO. Merchant, a long time sports reporter and announcer on HBO Boxing has been known for his arguments and disagreements with his colleagues. Mayweather boasts a record of 42 wins, 26 by KO, including his last bout versus Victor Ortiz. HBO will be re-airing the fight again on September 19th and On Demand until October 2nd.