A PTU Salute to WFAN

The idea that there was ever a time without sports radio is crazy to most of us. For as long as any of us at PTU can remember, 660 on the AM dial has been nothing but middle aged men yakking about New York sports. Any extended trip in a car with your father or a stop in a pizzeria for a slice was accompanied by a WFAN host arguing with a caller. You had Steve Somers and his creepy uncle vibe late afternoons with Russ Salzberg (who would later take his sweaters to UPN/My9 News), Bill "you had no idea I was black until I worked on MSG" Daughtry in the evenings, Mike and the Mad Dog all the damn afternoon along with John Minko and 20/20 sports updates and Don Imus before the world hated him and his cowboy hat in the morning. World spanning NBC sports anchor Len Berman was an original host, as was HBO boxing guy Jim Lampley and Greg Gumbel. Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier did the Knicks games (one a national announcer now and the other the coolest man in the world), and of course the Fan has been the home of the Mets for decades now (Let's go Mets! F.A.N.) It all seems commonplace now but in the late 80s it was revolutionary. Today, it's a formula that's been replicated all over the country. Two assholes sit in a studio for 4 hours taking calls like this:


Host: Vinnie in Bayside on the line, how ya doin Vinnie?

Vinnie: How ya doin, Mike? First time, long time. I wanna talk about the Mets.

It's really simple but that kind of exchange didn't exist until July 1st, 1987. Now you have nationally syndicated shows, and every city has at least one station dedicated to talking about their sports teams. Sports fans are almost all obsessive, and we don't go a day without talking about some type of sport for at least a couple minutes, be it on e-mail, text, social media or even sometimes in person. Blogs like this wouldn't exist without people's insatiable appetites for all things sports (ok this blog would probably still exist) but it's hard to fathom that there was ever a period in this country during which people thought there wouldn't be a market for that kind of stuff. For better or worse (probably for better), WFAN blazed the trail for the round the clock sports culture. A lot of the voices have changed but it's still the same basic format and Vinnie is still mad at the Mets. I'm going to get a slice of pizza this weekend and listen to the bickering.

Smokin' Joe, A Class Act

Muhammad Ali's greatness is something that people have written and spoken about for what seems forever, and rightfully so. He's arguably the greatest athlete of any modern sport. Like all great athletes, he needed his rivals to bring out the best in him and provide him with epic battles.

Watching the Knicks last night, I was reminded that today marks 40 years since the "Fight of the Century". 15 brutal rounds against two undefeated champs. People remember the fight for a multitude of reasons. I'd like to remember it for the example set by Smokin' Joe. Joe was the champ and wanted to legitimize his claim to the title. He could only do that by beating Ali. Rather than duck or hide, Frazier helped Ali stay afloat financially and did everything in his hands to make sure he got the fight.

Joe has gone on record as saying, "I didn't want the reputation of trying to duck or shun anybody." He certainly proved it by taking on the greatest fighter in the world and doing everything in his power to make sure the fight got off before a Supreme Court decision that would decide Ali's future. He proved it further by taking on an awesome George Foreman. After losing, he kept it real with saying, "I lost that fight fair and square...It ain't the first time I've been whooped."

Joe is an example of the chivalry that once existed in boxing and what a champ should be. Forty years ago today, he showed the world what a perfect left hook really looks like, and had his day as champ. Smokin' Joe, PTU salutes you.