Big Lead Sports Bar

5/28/2008

1250 WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK

For curiosity reasons, I tuned into Mark Madden's old time slot today at 3 PM on ESPN Radio 1250's website to see what was happening. The show is hosted today by Ken Laird, and featured a brief statement from 1250 GM Mike Thompson. From the 1250 website:

1250 ESPN has decided to part ways with on-air talk show host Mark Madden. The move was a business decision and will allow 1250 ESPN to move in a new direction.
1250 ESPN will continue with its mission to serve the sports fan. We will continue to provide you, the listener, with credible, informative and entertaining radio. It is our responsibility to find an on-air host who will continue to drive ratings and provide a high level of entertainment.
If you would like to talk to 1250 ESPN's GM Mike Thompson personally, you can call him at 412-244-4549 or e-mail him at Michael.f.thompson@espnradio.disney.com. Thank you for your continued listening.
Thompson was really encouraging feedback on the move, to the point that he gave his cell phone number out on the air UPDATED: [917-733-9938]. I hope he's got a good cell phone plan, because his number's going to be ringing off the hook.

13 comments:

HotDog_Zanzabar said...

I heard that liar Mike Thompson go on for what would amount to the last 7 minutes I listen to ESPN Radio.

My word, take a deep breath and look at the atrocity that the sports media in Pittsburgh has become. Smizik, Benz, Cook, Crow, Laird, Bendel (I'm a Pitt fan and I write that), Steigerwald, Collier...I could go on for days.

This is a city in desperate need of something different than formulaic drivel that the above provide. Some original concepts and thoughts would be nice. Instead, the only original thinker in the city gets fired for taking a pot shot at a murderer.

Billy Bearcat said...

Raul and company... any chance we can see an interview with Mr. Madden I think it would be a long shot but that would really be something. He has to be dying to have is voice heard. With an ego that big he must be looking for a venue to slam the WWL in Sports.

Anonymous said...

Great idea, William. A Double-M exlusive would be huge, Mondesi.

Make it happen.

Paul Roberts said...

Good riddance jerkoff. I am so glad that loud mouth is off the air. I hope he never gets on the air again in Pittsburgh. let him be a headache in another city. He's a complete jerk. His act is old and worn out.

Paul Roberts said...

Good riddance jerkoff. I am so glad that loud mouth is off the air. I hope he never gets on the air again in Pittsburgh. let him be a headache in another city. He's a complete jerk. His act is old and worn out.

Yinz Daddy said...

What was the GM thinking giving out his cell phone?? I just sent him a first-person perspective photo of me taking a shit. Not because I'm particularly pissed at the guy, I just think that's the kind of thing you deserve for announcing your cell phone number like that during a broadcast.

Yinz Daddy said...

Oh, and GO PENS. Hell of a game!

godohoky said...

Big Fan! Big Fan!

Yes I was an avid listener of Mark Madden, the only good sports guy in Pittsburgh. His show was the most entertaining and informative source of Pittsburgh sports i have found. He had the best guests of anyone on the radio, no other sports writer had as close a relationship with Penguins players as he. All those people that hate him don't know what sports talk radio is. Every city has their Mark Madden the guy who yells at callers and hangs up on them, calls out other sportswriters, and says ridiculous things like the Kennedy thing. There is a reason Savran didn't last, because he wasn't entertaining. Above all else Madden made us laugh. He brought us sports news in an informative, honest, and entertaining way. I for one will never listen ESPN 1250 again.

I agree with William I gotta hear a double M interview.

ryanm2215 said...

Ok, we all know the story here, why does "1250 GM Mike Thompson" treat all his listeners and customers like naive chilren and lie to our faces? How about something like,
"ESPN owns us now and we no longer have control over personel decisions?"
or
"Did you ever notice how much ESPN likes the redsox? Of course they're going to be sensitive about anything negative being said about one of their celebrated kennedy's."
or
"Mark may have made us the money we need to make payroll every month, but don't you know it, we're management so we're going to take credit for all of the ratings and blame mark for all of the bad publicity, and since we're responsible for his success anyway we'll get the same numbers with any of our staffers we decide to put on the air, as long as we tell whoever it is to do their best mike tirico impression. He's national, right? That means he's good. Tirico is amazing. Say it with me now: Mike tirico is the future of our industry. All salesman, no personality, therefore, no controversy. Company man all the way."
I dislike mark's firing more than being disrespected so, but not by much.

ryanm2215 said...

oh, and we're not gonna hear an interview. espn probably gave him his severance on the condition that he not discuss the matter further, especially in any public forum. So, if he give's his side of the story, they can sue him for however many thousands of dollars his settlement was, and they'd win.

Anonymous said...

Just spoke with Mike Thompson at his desk and he was real down to earth and told me flat out that Madden would not be back in any capacity at 1250 ESPN radio.

I applaud the decision.

walket6678 said...

I've been a Mark Madden listener for a good bit of almost 8 years now and although I didn't agree with everything he said at times I still found him entertaining and down to earth. I also listened to him because in my opinion the rest of Pittsburgh radio sucks. When I listen to the music channels it seems they play the same old tired music over and over again. Other AM station radio talk shows are just not an option. The crazy thing is that I had a weird feeling that this was coming for some reason. I do know that ESPN radio's ratings are going to plummit. I for one will finally be moving to satellite radio. I've been holding off for a long time because I thought it was ridiculous to pay for radio but this is the final straw. I hope Mark gets another job either in radio or on a satellite channel because I think that his listeners will follow.

BurgherBoy said...

Stan Savran, a classy individual and a PROFESSIONAL, is back on the radio today replacing MM on ESPN...thank God!....all the white trash that "followed" Madden can now turn off the dial and follow your leader to satellite.....or wherever...just go away for now....you all bring society down anyways.