AS WFAN’s Russ “The Sweater” Salzberg said in the June 7 Post, “Some people like chocolate, some people like vanilla.”
Well, using Salzberg’s menu, we’d like to declare our taste for “One-on-One Sports'” Jay Mariotti over his morning time-slot rivals, Salzberg and Steve “The Shmoozer” Somers.
We like Mariotti because — amazingly — on a sports show he talks, as Somers would say, S-P-O-R-T-S.
On any topic, Mariotti gives an informed, straightforward opinion. And the only agenda is you, the listener.
What a concept!
In New York, the 40-year-old Mariotti — also a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times — can be heard on 620 AM from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
He’s a better listen than Salzberg and Somers, who are on from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WFAN.
“You put Jay Mariotti after [WFAN’s] Don Imus and I guarantee you his ratings would be higher than those two guys,” said Mark Gentzkow, vice president of programming and broadcasting for One-on-One.
Salzberg and Somers are the beneficiaries of the best New York sandwich this side of the Carnegie Deli. With Imus in the Morning before them (5:30 to 10) and Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo (1-6 p.m.) after, WFAN’s 10 a.m.-to-1 p.m. duo surely will score higher numbers than 620’s when the next ratings book comes out in December.
But Mariotti — who’s been in his current day and time slot for four months — owns the better show.
Its one drawback is obvious in this market. It is not New York-centric. But it is sports-centric.
Mariotti on ESPN’s Chris Berman: “He is a cartoon character, not a journalist.”
Mariotti on the troubles of 19-year-old Maverick first-round pick Leon Smiths: “[Dallas coach Don Nelson] is absolutely the wrong guy for this situation.”
Mariotti on Mariotti: “I am fearlessly independent in a business of politics. I pride myself on it.”
His show is issue-oriented, drawing from Mariotti’s newspaper experience, which gives him a keen eye for a story.
For example, two weeks ago, on the day Mike and the Mad Dog celebrated themselves on their 10th anniversary show, Mariotti made an issue of the 1997 Knicks’ sex-entertainment case — which allegedly took place at a South Carolina club whose owner has ties to organized crime.
The story, originating from a Charleston (S.C.) newspaper, came across the wires during Mariotti’s program and before the Mike and the Mad Dog anniversary gala.
While Francesa and Russo never engaged any of their guests — who included Jeff Van Gundy, Dave Checketts and David Stern — about the subject that Thursday, Mariotti recognized the seriousness of such a situation.
He said that a player could be put in the position of having to help a bookmaker to avoid the player’s wife being informed of his extramarital sex-capades.
Mariotti cut through layers of the story, which is the way New York sports fans — allegedly the most sophisticated anywhere — would seem to want it.
No, Mariotti is not a better listen than Francesa/Russo — at least not yet. But he does bring something that Francesa doesn’t.
“I could tell you right now who some guys on the FAN are tied into and I’m sure it hurts their credibility,” Mariotti said. “I don’t have any attachments.”
Nicknamed Rand McNally, Mariotti travels more than a healthy Patrick Ewing. That’s a difference between him and most other talk-show hosts.
“My problem with these guys is their taking information out of the newspaper, and so often what they try and do is run down the writer who wrote the story to give themselves credibility when [the radio host] is never out there reporting to begin with — you never see him,” said Mariotti, adding he always tries to give credit to the publications or internet sites he uses.
“It is a form of theft, when you think about it. Go and show your face, get to a locker room, cover a game, make it a part of your life. It’s not just a four-hour entertainment show.”
So his Leon Smith opinion came after Mariotti spent a day in Dallas doing a story for the Sun-Times on Smith, who is from Chicago. Mariotti was in L.A. later that week. He did shows from New York during baseball’s playoffs.
He talks New York when New York is the topic. In the past, he’s had Van Gundy and Checketts on.
But the show thrives off routinely pulling national guests. The sample the past two weeks included Iowa’s Steve Alford, the Browns’ Chris Palmer and the Titans’ Jeff Fisher.
Above all this, Mariotti is not demeaning. He is respectful to callers and guests.
He said in an interview that “anything goes” on his show, but he doesn’t mean the nastiness, name-calling and extreme lousy behavior that promotes more nastiness, name-calling and extreme lousy behavior — something Gentzkow dubbed the “Howard Stern factor.”
“It is not trash radio,” Gentzkow said.”
And with all due respect to Somers’ girlfriend, the Hocker, who we’re sure is lovely, we never have to hear about her.