Sean and Terp on 96.1 in Grand Rapids
I have stopped listening to the Sean and Terp show on 96.1 in West Michigan and I think all Michigan fans should. Terp claims to be a Michigan fan but since he's about 15 years old he always follows the lead of his partner Sean who is an open Wolverine basher. I listened to him bash Michigan for any and everything for a while but I finally shut them off after they ridiculed the Michigan coaching staff when it was rumored they would run a 3-3-5. Despite not knowing any terminology and several knowledgeable callers and e-mailers saying the 3-3-5 was legit he stated matter of factly "Michigan is grasping at straws". Apparently after I stopped listening he went after Sam Mcguffie. His first beef was with Mcguffie for being "home sick". There was a lot more to it than that but Sean doesn't know that, he speaks without facts or knowledge. He also said Mcguffie was a flop on the field and that he wasn't out of line to rip him so intensely because Mcguffie was so highly ranked. Of course Mcguffie wasn't that highly ranked and Sean admitted that he knew very little about college football recruiting. I think Michigan fans should boycott the show and Michigan coaches should refuse interviews. Not only is the show terrible but Michigan and it's fans need to show them that if they treat the school like that then we'll put them out of business.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:15 PM ^
Thanks for sharing.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:16 PM ^
Sean just has an annoying voice. He typically yells, so Terp really can't say much usually.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^
Baligian spends most of the 3-hour show ranting and raving in his extremely annoying voice, then gives Terp about 5 seconds with which to make a point or add something. This is often why it seems that Terp doesn't offer much insight; Baligian doesn't even give him a chance to get a word in edgewise.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:17 PM ^
Can we just have a blanket ban on sports talk radio? Other than Sam on WTKA but I'm out here in GR so I only have these guys and HHHHUUUUGGGGEEEE who is really annoying.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:32 PM ^
I was about to post the same thing. +1 to you.
Also, once you get outside of Michigan, you'll never hear a word about Sparty ever again.
Sean and Terp are overly simplistic and not extremely bright. Sean once said that Iowa State would be the best fit for the BigTen. There is no way that Iowa State would add anything to the conference than another mouth to feed with revenue sharing.
Sam Webb is definitely the most educated and logical radio guy when it comes to UofM football.
I live in the Saginaw area and he's all we have for sports talk from 4-7. I give it a shot every now and then but usually I can't stand him for more than 30 seconds. He's actually a Michigan fan, which makes it all the more disappointing that he's so terrible.
I particularly love how he manages to agree with every single degenerate caller he gets, even when they contradict each other.
is the only radio I listen to.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^
I was doing a pretty good idea of boycotting before you made this post.
IE: not having a fucking clue about the show's existence.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^
How is a boycott going to work when the only afternoon sports talk alternative is Simonson? Sure Sean is a sparty, and Terp is a weak Michigan fan, but outside of U-M topics, they are insightful and interview knowledgeable analysts. And for what it's worth, Terp is the only sports radio host outside of 1050 that I have heard reference this site, so at least he's getting some good information.
Boycotts rarely seem to achieve their desired affect. West Michigan seems to be a melting pot of collegiate loyalties, and I just don't see ESPN feeling the affects of such a boycott.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
Eh, they're not too bad. Better than the alternative out here, that's for sure. The biggest thing with Sean and Terp is that you have to remember they are on in order to get people to call, email, and listen. "What WILL they say next?" Take most of what they say with a grain of salt, because it's just to rile you up.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:41 PM ^
Even the most level-headed hosts have to fish for calls and emails sometimes.
fishing =/= talking bullshit on topics you're naive of
Why should we have to deal with somoebody who only knows about hockey sounding off about stuff he knows nothing about? My conclusion was that I know way more than he does and I am smarter than him so I will shut him off.
They are pretty knowledgeable. I usually change the station when they delve into Michigan topics that could go sour, which these days seems to be most of them. I do enjoy their insight on the Lions and the semi-regular presence of Killer giving his $.02.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^
Sports Radio.
Host:"Ken from Romeo, you're on the air"
Ken:" Hello"
Host: "Yes, Ken you're on W-PUD"
Ken: "Oh, Hi am I on the air?"
Host: "...."
Ken: "They should fire Mike Babcock, now!"
Host: "...your reason"
Ken: "After listening to Barry Melrose I think he should coach this team, plus he has Detroit ties."
Ugggghhhh!!!!
Lighting a torch and banning a Sports Radio program is just what Radio Stations want. Just another reason to fuel an idiotic pissing contest. If youre a contributor or just plain reader of this blog youre already miles ahead of the garbage youre listening to. Shoot your Sports Radio!
Here is the conclusion that I came to. The topic that I truly care about is Michigan athletics and I know way more than they do and I know it before they do.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:38 AM ^
I am a Grand Rapids native and am still pissed about 96.1 switching to ESPN/sports radio. Radio X (the predecessor to the current 96.1 format) was the best radio station to hit Grand Rapids in years. They played a great combination of alt/indie rock without venturing too much into the mediocrity of the post-grunge scene (Creed, newer Foo Fighters, their derivatives, etc). Even better, they had a fairly long leash from their Charter Communications overlords and weren't restricted to playing a locked set list. Frankly, the whole Grand Rapids music scene (such as it was) deteriorated rapidly after the shift to ESPN Radio.
The rock stations in Grand Rapids are the worst I've ever heard, and I've lived in much smaller places in the Midwest. Finally, Radio X comes along and plays stuff I like, and more importantly, they didn't play stuff that made me wonder where humanity had gone wrong. For the second largest city in the state the music selection on the radio is an absolute embarrassment.
I agree, 96.1 was the best music radio station in West Michigan. I would rather have kept the good music than the bozos Sean and Terp.
... but ratings don't lie. Alt/indie rock doesn't even register in the round-off in the monthly book. Book means advertisers; advertisers pay the freight.
Sean was off the air in Detroit, and now is back on 7-9 am on WDFN before his GR gig (which I think he does remotely).
In the meantime WXYT went from AM to include FM on 97.1. It is now one of the (if not THE) most popular sports talk stations in the USofA.
At one point a few years back, WDFN owned Detroit sports radio.
Go figure.
Baligian remotes into the show from Detroit (WFDN studios) while Terp is in the ESPN 96.1 studio in GR. I imagine Terp handles all of the callers/emailers, though that's just speculation.
Terp has 95% of the knowledge on that show, and is the only reason i do listen to them........I have also heard him defend RR and Michigan several times. Unfortunately he is paired with that obnoxious "typical"sparty fan who has nothing to do in the fall but spend all their time ripping Michigans evey move.
It is all in the eye of the beholder. There is probably an MSU board somewhere that is complaining of fair and knowledgeable Sean being paired with a "typical" obnoxious UofM fan Terp.
April 26th, 2010 at 10:09 AM ^
But Sean is HUGE college football fan. Although he admits to being very pro-MSU, he is generally fair during his show on DFN. He was a big believer in RR when M hired him.
April 26th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
you folks out on the west coast have your own version of Valenti & Foster (97.1 The Ticket).
Can we just have a catch-all thread where people can dump their outrage about a media figure disliking Michigan? Every single time someone says one possibly untoward comment, we get a thread.
You're right, this complaint happens a lot. However, I've swallowed my tongue for a year but it's gone on too long. The other thing is that Balegian continually demonstrates that he doesn't know what he's talking about. If Herbstreet, Corso and other college football experts ripped us it would be another thing entirely since they're the experts.
I used to listen to 96.1 before I moved to Chicago, now its ESPN1000 for me and all their "OMZG the cubs suck!", "Fire Vinny!", "Fire Lovie!" talk. Anyways I digress.
I like Terp, am annoyed by Sean like the most of you. His voice is annoying and he doesnt seem to be very knowledgeable on the sports tip. Terp on the other hand I enjoyed listening to the majority of the time.
As a whole sports talk in GR sucks, especially at 10am when that flamer Colin comes on. I only like to listen Mike & Mike and SVP when I'm back in GR visiting the fam.