Tomorrow, so does my annual Drunk Blog. It's not pretty. By Thursday, I will be a frazzled, gin-tongued belch, lost within the vomit-laced screams of former college mates - ancient beings, some of whom are Redsock and/or Trump zombies. I will debate them, scrutinize them - infiltrating them like the Antifa kids who disguised themselves as Nazis and attacked the Capital. Beware: It might not be coherent.
Meanwhile, let us now praise great men people - specifically, Suzyn Waldman, who has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. (Breaking News: There is a Radio Hall of Fame.) Suzyn goes in with - I dunno - Giovanni Marconi? Walter Winchell? Fibber McGee? Molly? (The character, not the drug.)
Make no mistake: Suzyn deserves this honor. She is a trailblazer, a Yankee reporter/announcer/icon for 36 years - back to the days of Claudell Washington and Ron Kittle. In that time, she has sold a million AMCO mufflers, a billion Celino & Barnes lawsuits, and a trillion Little Debbie Snack Cakes. Her clubhouse reports always explain what went wrong in today's game, without cruelty. She has served as a de facto mom to countless Yankee rooks, as they stared into a hot mic for their first times and explained their feelings with the ball in the air. Bravo!
The industry's recognition of Suzyn should be a source of Yankee pride, a scarce commodity over the last 20 years.
But something is wrong. For starters, Suzyn's Class of '22 includes Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, formerly of WFAN and currently of Sirius XM.
I don't mean to blame Russo for what radio has become. But he represents a modern problem for mass communication: That the loudest voice gets the platform to influence the most people. I have nothing against The Mad Dog, but he was never known for doing homework. He practices the art of the rant, which involves touching buttons, yelling through mistakes - and never being accountable for the bullshit you spouted. That's the modern standard for radio news: You don't need to know anything. You just need to freeze the dial and sell the crap. In the battle for America's airwaves, in many markets, Alex Jones has won over Edward R. Murrow. That's a tragedy. I won't hang it all on Chris Russo, but his success led to countless knockoffs.
(By the way, I know what you're thinking: If The Mad Dog is in, what about Mike? Well, Francesa was inducted in 2018,)
Which brings me to the nut of this - my own unpolished rant.
What about The Master?
Somehow, the lords of radio have managed to overlook John Sterling. Do you believe it?
Michael Savage is in. The Great Gildersleeve is in. Doctor Demento is in.
John Sterling is not.
Congrats to Suzyn. But this is seriously fucked up.
Thuuuuuugh Radio Hall of Fame is full of shit.
Say it ain't so!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's no crying in baseball but,
There is no joy in Mudville.
ReplyDeleteYou know who else isn't in? Bob Prince, the Gunner, the inspiration for Myron Cope's shtick with the Stillers. Cope is in. Prince is in the National Sportscasters Hall of Fame, Ford Frick Award winner so he's kind of a pseudo Hall of Fame guy. But!...no Radio Hall of Fame. Must be bullshit.
Big news hot off the Twitter....
ReplyDeleteJon Heyman
@JonHeyman
·
1m
Michael King UCL said to look pretty good for a pitcher so it’s looking like surgery is only need to repair fracture. 2023 said to be in play with hope he can even be ready for spring training.
Needs a longer warble...smh...
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!!! Let's start a write in campaign to petition the Radio Hall on behalf of The Master!
ReplyDeleteI'll sign, Ken.
ReplyDeleteSuzyn has special distinction as the first MLB female announcer, in addition to being damn good and repeatedly subsuming her observations to the senior member of the Yankees radio team. The Master also has special distinction--I mean, he's the Master. The Warbler. The silly home run caller. The IIH, IIF, IICer. And he's covered more than one sport in his long career.
Surely, he deserves the recognition, too.
ESPN's rundown of the big possible trades does not include the Yankees. The Padres and Dodgers are discussed as new homes for Soto. Us? Bupkus.
Can Bupkus hit?
ReplyDeleteCan Bupkus pitch?
Who do we have to give up to get Bupkus?
Pretty funny, AA! And nice post, Duque. Completely agree.
ReplyDeleteAA,
ReplyDelete"Who do we have to give up to get Bupkus?"
Jose Nada and Heinrich Schnied.
Here's the roster URL https://www.radiohalloffame.com/inductees-type
ReplyDeleteInductees include
Charley Steiner
Mel Allen
Don Dunphy
Jack Buck
and Ernie Harwell
But no John Sterling and no Phil Rizzuto!
They do include
Art Bell (The greatest 2AM driving through the desert broadcasts of all time) but not Joe Frank. (The greatest long drive listen of all time)
There' some really worthy names on their roster but again...
No John Sterling and even worse, no Jim Brockmire!
Sit tight, I heard now that Rush is dead we will now have a John Sterling Wing of the Radio Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteSo John has been on the radio since 1957 when he started in Wellsville NY. Is there anyone still on the radio with a longer tenure? There cannot possibly be. He has to be the longest serving radio announcer today. Everyone else is dead.
"He has to be the longest serving radio announcer today."
ReplyDeleteHe's right! Even the "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System" guy has only been around since 1963.
Very impressive.
Now more emergently branded The Emergency Alert System.
ReplyDelete. . . . and always remember that Nixon wanted to have the ability to switch on all TVs in the US remotely so he could address the American people in the time of crisis.
His advisors told him that it wasn't a possibility.
Such a dreamer . . . . so far ahead of his time.
and HEY - how about them Yankees?!
I thought Dick Bupkus played football?
ReplyDeleteI think that was Dick Buttkiss.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a gay porno star.
ReplyDeleteOnly if he had a 'stach
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBornto is now "In Color" I feel like running out and buying a new 19" Sylvania.
ReplyDeleteActually, as I understand it, Bupkus is hitting better than Joey Gallo this season.
ReplyDeleteHe's Kryptonian, Doug.
ReplyDeleteBetter make that a 19" Sylvania console
Russo's much better than you give him credit for. Yes, his brash style has been poorly imitated and caricatured by subsequent generations, but he's knowledgeable and entertaining. Much more sympathetic than his former partner. Perhaps he ushered in the era of the sports shouter/ranter, but he was first. We don't blame Chuck Berry for Kid Rock, do we?
ReplyDeleteBupkis:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4pjhpIxFo
ranger,
ReplyDeleteNice! Thanks.
Wait’ll we get to the widescreen plasma TV version.
ReplyDeleteSuzyn Waldman is being enshrined for exactly two things: (a) being a woman and (b) sheer longevity, courtesy of the loyalty of the Steinbrenner family. Let's be blunt: she is not particularly intelligent or perceptive, as a quick contrast with the likes of Jessica Mendoza or Hannah Keyser will readily demonstrate. Waldman is a triumph of moxie and brash, relentless self-assertion and ass-kissing over basic competence. To compare her favorably to Chris Russo is analytical homerism at its worst: they're both empty-headed egos of the kind that proliferate in a culture that prizes style over substance.
ReplyDeleteSuzyn is in the Hall alongside Orson Welles, Bob Uecker, and The Shadow. She stands tall in that company, having created her own beat: the emotions of the Yankee players.
ReplyDeleteI watched Suzyn’s HOF interview with, I guess, Russo and he asked… who do you favor, Yankees or Houston and she said without hesitation, the Astros. That’s intelligent, perceptive, obvious to many of us, but unspoken and very brave.
ReplyDeleteI’d do her.
John Tesh
ReplyDeleteJohn. Fucking. Tesh.
He's in the Radio Hall of Fame.
But not John Sterling.
That's criminal.