Almost Eternal Life

Planet Mikey is the one.

The sports talk show on radio that I love the most.

I spent a massive amount of time listening to sports talk radio in 2015. This is a major departure for me.

I need music. I crave it.

The pattern is, as long as I am functional, I must listen to music during the commute. It lifts me up and helps me to forget those things I wish to forget - much like books do, much like movies do.

When I listen to music I am complete.

When I am not functional, when I am really down, I do not listen to music at all during the commute.

I drive to and from in complete silence.

It can be a dangerous thing to be alone in my mind in that mood, but it is what it is.

Last year I got into sports talk radio. Keith turned me on to some good stuff and I dig it.

Now I have opinions.

I think most sports talk guys are obsessed with sports to the point where they lose perspective. They beat topics to death; they go over and over them from ever angle and then return to the same angle over and over again. The initial discussion is usually interesting but quickly becomes so repetitive it becomes boring. And they argue over the smallest points that to my mind mean absolutely nothing.
 
Mike Adams is a naturally funny guy. Planet Mikey is his show (the name says it all) on 93.7, WEEI. His sense of humor is perfect for me and he wields it relentlessly; sometimes it is hard to keep up.

There is no doubt he is obsessed with sports but somehow he doesn't overwhelm you with this impression. He keeps things lively, he keeps them interesting and he makes you laugh. A lot.

He is also well informed about a lot of stuff especially the music from my era. I cannot believe the details he knows about obscure bands, which he references off the cuff.

The other station I listen to is 98.5, The Sports Hub.

The morning guys are Toucher & Rich, the mid day guys are Gresh & Zolak, the afternoon guys are Felger & Mazz.

Toucher & Rich are the funniest. They play of each other well and their take on the sports world is irreverent and amusing. I had to cut Toucher some slack, though. One day he was trying to prove he is not one dimensional, saying that he had recently read Gregg Allman's autobiography. Then he said "Wait, which one didn't die? Gregg or Duane?" Everyone agreed Gregg didn't die, so Toucher said "So that's the book I read."

I was not impressed.

Gresh & Zolak, and Felger & Mazz are obsessed with sports to the point of smotheration (I made that word up). The Zolak show can be mean spirited, and Felger is incredibly annoying.

All of these guys are incredibly knowledgeable about sports and they do have interesting discussions that open me up to points of view I would not normally consider.

This is good. I need to grow.

It just works better for me if there is some insanity and intelligence. These are two things I strive for in my own life.

I got the insanity thing down; not so sure about the intelligence (however I keep trying).

Anyway, Mike Adams is superb.

Check him out.

He will temporarily lighten your load, which will help you to live longer.

 

 









Toucher and Rich come in second. They are the morning team on 98.5, The Sports Hub. There is definitely a thread of humor that runs through the show. The way they react to things, the way they play off each other and to events in the sports world.

They make me laugh.

The mid day guys on 98.5 are Gresh and Zolak. I didn't even know who Zolak's partner is; I had to look it up. Zolak spent 7 years as a backup quarterback for THE PATS and 1 in Miami. He played in a total of 55 games.

Still, he is treated like a superstar. Everybody on the show kisses his ass, except to a certain extent, his partner. I guess in the name of dignity this Gresh guy has to appear independent.

The tone on that show is kind of mean spirited. Zolak is a no nonsense black or white type of guy; very judgemental. he can, however, be pretty funny too.

The late afternoon show on 98.5 features Felger and Mazz. Felger is intensely annoying, Mazz is OK.