I can admit it.
I’m a moron. Nitwit. Genius.
Got that, chief?
Yes, I was a devoted listener of Howard Eskin. The man who ruled over Philly sports talk for a quarter century yesterday announced yesterday he was giving up his key 3-7 afternoon anchor slot on 610 WIP.
Eskin isn’t leaving the station, he got a contract renewal and will do Eagles pregame shows and other work, but he will no longer reign over the afternoon airwaves.
Actually, there are a lot of people who would make the argument that the man whose fans referred to him as “King” had already been dethroned by former WIP talker Mike Missanelli, who now spouts opinions on rival 97.5 the Fanatic.
I never cared for the way Eskin belittled his listeners. I guess that was part of the schtick. And I got more than a little tired of the way he aligned himself so cozily with the Eagles and Coach Andy Reid. But there’s no questioning the fact that Eskin worked his beat like nobody’s business.
The guy attracted news like a magnet. He was one of the few radio/TV guys who actually broke stories.
There’s a lot of scuttlebutt concerning WIP right now. One theory is that, hurt by the presence of The Fanatic on the FM dial, they will counter with one of their own, converting legendary rock station 94 WYSP to a sports format. WIP officials are not talking about that one.
Which is unusual, since talk is what they do. And no one did with quite the flair that Eskin did.
For 25 years, he was a constant in Philly sports talk radio.
That’s a long run in any business.
Even this “genius” can figure that one out.
Here’s our story on Eskin’s decision to leave the anchor chair.
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