Ann Arbor's Big Show on WTKA

Submitted by The Barwis Effect on

I'm listening to Ann Arbor's Big Show on Sports Talk 1050 WTKA right now.  Ben Holden is hosting the show again.  He's been hosting the show the last couple of Mondays.  Does anybody know what happened to the usual Monday host Jeff "Raddy" Radford?  No mention of either guy on WTKA's website.

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ben holden

evenyoubrutus

January 21st, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^

J Raddy wasn't very good at hosting a radio show, imhe. Nothing against him personally, he seemed like a good guy, I'm just not sure he was cut out to be on the air.

Joined: 11/04/2008

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Eric

January 22nd, 2013 at 12:47 PM ^

J Raddy's biggest problem is that he argues both sides of an argument. It makes the show terribly uninteresting and kind of defeats the purpose of having a "Call-in" show.   The whole afternoon staff is pretty terrible though. Not to mention the Beatniks on Thursdays with DeFran. The high school coach on there that acts like he's a super bowl winner is ridiculous. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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M-Wolverine

January 22nd, 2013 at 4:16 PM ^

Goes back to the old Sports Reporters on PASS with the guys from Chicago, but you make a funny point. Didn't the coach on there coach at Belleville? Not exactly a storied program or legendary coaching. Al Fracassa he was not. And I don't mind that he gives MSU some props because he had players go there, but him slobbering over Alabama while ignoring when they don't "do things the right way" is a bit hypocritical.

Joined: 10/04/2009

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allintime23

January 21st, 2013 at 6:02 PM ^

He was very unsure of himself and sometimes he rolled on to the show not sure of sport results from the night before. If you're asking your audience if a team won a game the night before you shouldn't be live on the radio.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 15225

M-Wolverine

January 22nd, 2013 at 9:52 AM ^

I don't get how you get paid to talk about sports and you don't know some of the most basic things. Look, I know they were part time, and didn't have the time or pay commitment that the morning guys do, but I think 90% of the people on here are more in touch with sports, and definitely more in touch with Michigan sports, than those guys. Basic rules, things that have happened, situations....whether it someone you agree with or not, they're usually pretty informed. You don't have to know every sport, but on a Michigan station you'd think you'd know what's going on with Michigan. You don't have to be "me" to spend 5 minutes a day on here checking the front page and posts to see what news is going on with Michigan and what the real facts are.  Heck, I think that's how Ira gets all his positions.  Do it right before you go on the air in case there's any breaking news, and BAM, you sound informed.

There's an internet bias, where all these mean people are saying bad things about me and trying to get me fired whhhaaaaaaa aspect to it. It's not the intellectual, honest, use your name up front bastion that sports talk radio is. When we all know that's a crock. Sports Talk is the lowest common denominator, that has probably formed the way most posting boards speak about things. It's not anymore upfront, because I have no idea if "JJ from Lincoln Park" is really JJ (what kind of identification is "JJ" anyway?), or from Lincoln Park (as Phil shows). I'm not sure how that's any less of a username than M-Wolverine. Like I have to use my home phone to call a radio station.  And at least around here, it seems to take a lot less to get banned than it does on the radio. Phl would be long gone around here.

Like I said, it all comes down to people saying someone sucks and should lose their job.  But they have no problem saying the same thing about coaches "because it's their job" and most never sit in a coach's office or even a press conference and have to face the guy they're saying should be canned.

Media as a whole is pretty low, but sports talk radio isn't even high up on that scale. So no high horses either, please.

Joined: 10/04/2009

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Leonhall

January 21st, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^

He did fine, sports talk radio in Ann Arbor where you get the same 4 callers everyday can't be the easiest job. Between JJ, Caller Linda, the guy who stutters so bad, and the other guy who calls up everyday to basically tell everyone how he "predicted" whatever just occurred in the sports world...that's pretty much your daily callers on the ride home...he wasn't great but a helluva lot better than Valenti.

Joined: 06/14/2012

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Darth Wolverine

January 21st, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^

That is one thing I hate about Michigan Insider. I hear the same people daily: Arial, JJ, Linda, Don, True Blue Tom, and of course, that fucking asshole, Phil. I am 100% positive there are daily callers I am missing, but can't think of them. I almost think WTKA pays these people to call daily.

Joined: 11/30/2009

MGoPoints: 2008

Doc Brown

January 21st, 2013 at 7:33 PM ^

refuting Phil from Saline shouldn't be that hard. He is the most delusional Beilein hater of all time. 

I love Linda from Grand Blanc. She used to call into 97.1 until Valenti and Foster were complete jagooffs to her. 

Joined: 11/20/2011

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Leonhall

January 21st, 2013 at 9:23 PM ^

I felt bad for him, he was one of the 4 consistent callers on the Big Show...it was painful at times, I give him credit to call up and speak the way he did. You have to admit, between JJ, who can talk for hours about all kinds of shit, Ariel, who doesn't say much, but takes forever to make his point, caller Linda who goes on for minutes upon minutes rotating between topics, players, years, coaches, teams, and speaks like they all belong together, and Phil who is never wrong and claims to make every doomful prediction after the fact, it didn't really matter who the DJ was, there was enough entertainment between the callers.

Joined: 06/14/2012

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M-Wolverine

January 22nd, 2013 at 9:41 AM ^

He's been up and down, and had really been losing it lately, but I didn't hear the final outburst.

Like the poster above, I gave him credit for being will to go on with his speech impediment, but felt bad that he was probably painting stutterers as idiots, because WHAT he said (not how he said it) usually wasn't very bright.

Joined: 10/04/2009

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elhead

January 22nd, 2013 at 12:02 AM ^

this is kind of fun.

I especially liked a couple of weeks ago when Sam said something about "whistling dixie" and Ira responded that he could never imagine Sam whistling dixie. There's a certain wit to the morning crew that you rarely get on the afternoon show.

Joined: 11/07/2009

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SalvatoreQuattro

January 22nd, 2013 at 7:57 AM ^

with the caller Doug from Dearborn was broadcasting aluminum. Doug had this rather distinctive way of talking that made him sound like he was sitting in a dark room watching porn and eating Cheetos. Karsch treated him accordingly.

Joined: 11/30/2010

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johnvand

January 22nd, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^

Fithian wasn't perfect but he's way better than anything else that station has had on since Fithian left. 

Rescue him from his nights & weekends hell in Detroit with Caputo.

Defran is a huge doucher.  He showed his true colors when he went on before the 2010 season talking about how he had it on good authority that the University would offer up firing RR to the NCAA in order to get out of practice gate sanctions, prompting Bruce Madej to call in (twice) and debunk the whole thing.  Defran quickly tucked his tail between his legs and tried joking around with Madej on the air to down play the whole thing.  Much like a child resorts to the "I was only joking" explanation.

MVictors did a good job chronicling the whole thing:

http://mvictors.com/?p=6785

http://mvictors.com/?p=6804

http://mvictors.com/?p=6840

Joined: 02/04/2010

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InterM

January 22nd, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^

I'm guessing there are more posts on this topic than listeners to TKA's afternoon show.  I can't even remember the last time I tuned in -- pre-Defran, that's for sure.

Joined: 01/16/2009

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