After I graduated from Cal I moved back to my hometown of Sacramento. I worked there for three years and then happily accepted a transfer to the Bay Area (I lived in Oakland). After a few years I was transferred back to Sac (willingly). I have always been comparing KNBR with KHTK (and now KCTC) in Sac.

I love the Bay, but Bay Area sportstalk has greatly diminished since my days working in the East Bay. But by far the worst travesty are these Murph and Mac clowns. How can they be allowed to have a show? Have you ever heard them talk about the NBA, even during the NBA season? How much do they talk about the Warriors? Everytime I listen (silly me) they are talking about:

- the Grateful Dead
- the Giants
- the Sharks
- UCLA
-a movie
-a TV show
- another 60s rock band
- Mike Singletary (not the 49ers)

And the worst part is, even on the topics they discuss, they only do so superficially. I am even convinced that "Pauly Mac" (jeez) is not a sports fan and is just faking it. Say what you want about the other KNBR hosts, but at least they are sports fans who watch most of the relevant sporting events!

I have never bought into the "sports fans from the Bay Area are weird/soft/not knowledgeable" thing that you hear outside of the Bay Area, but I am starting to buy into it. Murph and Mac could not continue to exist, much less thrive, in any other market. In Sac, on the drive in to work I can listen to Colin Cowherd on 1320 or the Rise Guys on 1140. Both of those shows are much better than Murph and Mac for any true sports fan.

calman91;346547 said:

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Murph is a special case -- a shameless UCLA honk with a fragile ego whose only purpose is to ramble on and on about the Bruins and trade smirky quips with that traffic guy. I'm convinced his side kick is only there as a punching bag, so poor is his knowledge and understanding of the local sports scene. This shouldn't be a surprise, though. This is definitely not a market for the serious sports fan.

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Dead on. Murph cannot handle having a real partner because he would be further exposed as a lightweight.

As far as Barbieri and Radnich, at least they are experienced pros that have a personality. Murph and Mac are just ridiculously bad.

Murph and Mac lost me a year or two ago when Murph introduced Mac to one of his favorite websites. You guessed it, BRO. Pauly's initial impression of BRO as expressed on air: "those guys are HARDCORE!!"

A very revealing 2 minute bit.

Can't believe they're still on the air.

AM: That's why I don't listen to those "boys'" morning show.

PM: Barbieri is horribly redundant, extremely anal, insecure with himself, and boring. Ralphie's quest for getting the calls "right" is saved by partner Tolbert and some good interviewees, whom RB doesn't have a clue what to ask. Without TT, RB is dogmeat, and he knows it.

"Old wingnuts" Radnich is just dusty and rude.

Murph and Mac=Valley Girls

calman91;346547 said:

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I agree Murph and Mac are a waste of time, but it's kind of hard to single them out when the other hosts on KNBR are equally dreadful.

Barbieri, for example, would be better suited to a political show on MSNBC along the lines of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. He can tell us all how stupid we are b/c we don't have an Ivy League education and offer us tips for how to think about everything from politics to culture and society to fashion. All the while he can drop names and 50 cent words and with each story make several references to himself. As for sports, well he can pretty much drop that subject since he knows nothing about it.

Radnich is worse, b/c he comes off like a stereotypical 70s jock (ie, really dumb) but is completely ignorant of the local sports scene. If you want anecdotes about local high school athletics circa 1968 and LBSU and UNLV lore of the early 70s, he's your man. Anything else, and you're outta luck.

Fitzgerald, Brooks and Tolbert are OK for sports talk, so long as it doesn't involve the Niners, Raiders, Giants or A's (forget altogether about Cal and Stanford, of which they know nothing and care less). It's not that they're over-the-hill know-nothings like Barbieri and Radnich, but their allegiances so obviously lie elsewhere (Chicago, Louisiana and Arizona/LA sports teams) that their commentary on local teams seems half-hearted and disingenuous.

Having said that, it's hard to argue with your critique of the morning idiots. Murph is a special case -- a shameless UCLA honk with a fragile ego whose only purpose is to ramble on and on about the Bruins and trade smirky quips with that traffic guy. I'm convinced his side kick is only there as a punching bag, so poor is his knowledge and understanding of the local sports scene. This shouldn't be a surprise, though. This is definitely not a market for the serious sports fan.

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I like your comments but VIOLENTLY DISAGREE about Barbieri being on a political talk show. NO WAY that he could carry his side of any intelligent political discussion. He gets away with what he does simply because his co-hosts are so lame and no one calls in to challenge him.

I used to listen regularly to these idiots and finally have given up now that my ipod has been adapted to play on my car stereo. Or if I want sports I try to catch syndicated shows like Jim Rome.
I do not know how these guys stay on the air. If any of the LA sports stations were to get into the SF market they would quickly corner the sports broadcast market.

Barbieri is the type of idiot who thinks he's cultured because he was in Naples once.

GB54;346565 said:

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Barbieri is the type of idiot who thinks he's cultured because he was in Naples once.

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Naples? You give him too much credit. Rome. Maaaaybe a side trip to Venice...on a gigantic tour bus, with a Czech tourguide faking an Italian accent, and a 30 minute stop in Pisa on the way.

i am trying to give 860 AM a try for sports talk b/c KNBR 680 is terrible across the board. I do like Damon Bruce on KNBR 1050.

All this radio talk makes me pine for the days of No Jive 95 KSAN and Tom Donahue.

Who's the big girl with the beard?

oskihasahearton;346586 said:

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Who's the big girl with the beard?

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That young lady be Big Daddy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Donahue

"Hey, brother Blueblood turn up the radio!"

"Yep, those were the days when, actually, listening to FM radio was really far out, man!"

Murp and Mac are Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and they're oxygen thieves.

I don't live in the Bay Area anymore but when i visit i listen to KNBR until i can't take it anymore.

Gary Radnich and Tony Brunoimmediately silence my radio.

Fitz and Brooks are terrible. I will never forget Fitz when he took over the Warriors play by play and in the process screwed his buddy whose name escapes me (Oakland Raiders play by play) That was enough for me but they are bad.

Ralph is a guy that you would want to punch if you were actually sitting there with him but he does profit because Tolbert is pretty good.

I'm one of the few that enjoyed the Murph and Mac show. One of few that are critical of Sabien and botched Head and they keep me entertained during the morning commutes. Can't completely hate him too, since he and Mike Silvers are great friends. Granted they aren't Frank and Mike!

All others though I can't stand, Gary constantly interrupting callers and trying to do his schlick, Fritz's arrogant and never critical of the warriors, and Ralph the mouth, totally boring and hope he gags on Amichi's pizzas which is always pushing and JP..what the F'k was he hired for? Damon Bruce loved him until he got banished to 1050.

OBear073akaSMFan;346620 said:

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Damon Bruce loved him until he got banished to 1050.

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It's none of my business, but I'm curious:

If you liked Damon Bruce when he was on 680, why did you stop liking him when he went to 1050? Do you have an allegiance to 680 regardless of the product on the airwaves? Such an allegiance by the Bay Area sports-talk listener would explain why KNBR can put whatever they want on the air and not suffer any repercussions.

OBear073akaSMFan;346620 said:

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I'm one of the few that enjoyed the Murph and Mac show. One of few that are critical of Sabien and botched Head and they keep me entertained during the morning commutes. Can't completely hate him too, since he and Mike Silvers are great friends. Granted they aren't Frank and Mike!
All others though I can't stand, Gary constantly interrupting callers and trying to do his schlick, Fritz's arrogant and never critical of the warriors, and Ralph the mouth, totally boring and hope he gags on Amichi's pizzas which is always pushing and JP..what the F'k was he hired for? Damon Bruce loved him until he got banished to 1050.

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By referring to Frank and Mike. You highlight how low radio in the Bay Area has fallen.

FremontBear;346604 said:

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Murp and Mac are Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and they're oxygen thieves.

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More like Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber

likwid1;346545 said:

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I have never bought into the "sports fans from the Bay Area are weird/soft/not knowledgeable" thing that you hear outside of the Bay Area, but I am starting to buy into it. Murph and Mac could not continue to exist, much less thrive, in any other market.

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What took you so long? :p

likwid1;346627 said:

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It's none of my business, but I'm curious:

If you liked Damon Bruce when he was on 680, why did you stop liking him when he went to 1050? Do you have an allegiance to 680 regardless of the product on the airwaves? Such an allegiance by the Bay Area sports-talk listener would explain why KNBR can put whatever they want on the air and not suffer any repercussions.

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i still like Damon when I can but not able to listen during 1-4 time slot. He is one person that tells it like it is..regarding Sabien & Botch and the warriors!

You're speaking to the choir likwid1.

Murph is a former golf writer for the Chron. It's about the only subject he's knowledgeable about and even then, it can be debated. The fact that he's a native of the Bay Area: Redwood HS in Marin, then fUcla, somehow gives him a pass to be a radio host. Mac....what more can be said, the guy is an oxygen thief on the sports airwaves; he brings very little to the show. The only good thing is hearing Krukow, Kuiper, Peter Gammons and the occasional Mike Silver.

I've since switched to listening to 860 in the late AM when Rick Tittle is on and attempt to tolerate JJ & the Mouth w/Roxy in the afternoon...only to hear Roxy put JJ in his place when fUcla, PacX or, college sports comes up. If the topics dry up, I'll flip over to Damon Bruce; he can be annoying but, he at least is enthusiastic, takes on the current topic and doesn't get too distracted by non-sports topics. Radnich is just awful, he doesn't talk sports at all and am completely mystified why people continue to listen. My boss enjoys listening and fits his demographic to a T: S.Bay native, mid-50's white male, Los Gatos HS grad, enjoys blues, R&B and easy rock, never met a Hawaiian shirt he didn't like.

Barbierri is a fool and his pompous arrogance is eclipsed only by his drinking problem. The only time that show is worth listening to, is when it's only Tolbert on the air or, Brent Jones fills in and can skewer Ralph on a variety of topics and not get browbeaten or, come out like a chump.

likwid1;346549 said:

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Dead on. Murph cannot handle having a real partner because he would be further exposed as a lightweight.

As far as Barbieri and Radnich, at least they are experienced pros that have a personality. Murph and Mac are just ridiculously bad.

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With nothing but uninformed opinion, Fitz and Brooks took a caller to task because the caller thought their opinion was wrong that DeLasalle could never have had their streak if they played in the WCAL. Brooks has no idea of what city DeLaSalle is in. The caller was cut off when he tried to give evidence to back up his point. They may be the best on KNBR but they still suck.

kelly09;346697 said:

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With nothing but uninformed opinion, Fitz and Brooks took a caller to task because the caller thought their opinion was wrong that DeLasalle could never have had their streak if they played in the WCAL. Brooks has no idea of what city DeLaSalle is in. The caller was cut off when he tried to give evidence to back up his point. They may be the best on KNBR but they still suck.

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I think Fitz went to Serra. He is an abashed homer. A string of callers had the audacity to call his show to criticize the Warriors front office and he tore them all new ones even though they were right. He ws really angry and mean-spirited.

Radnich is tolerable in limited amounts if you understand his schtick. Fitz is alright, Brooks is a no talent blowhard. I like Mr. T. Never wasted my time with murphette and paulie whatever his name is.

"Never fear, because your Big Daddy is here!"

There was never anyone better as an FM-DJ than Big Daddy. He invented the genre.

I agree with just about everyone about Murph the blowhard and Mac his lapdog. One scenario not yet mentioned is when Murph and Art Spander get together to talk not about golf or Wimbledon, but fUCLA. Murph has been acknowledged as the know-nothing that he is, but Spander (who has had quite a career and is very knowledgeabale regarding golf and tennis) may be an even worse fUCLA homer than Murph. It's truly barf time when these yahoos start belching the baby blue. There's absolutely no legitimate place for them on Bay Area radio.

GB54;346565 said:

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Barbieri is the type of idiot who thinks he's cultured because he was in Naples once.

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Naples, heck! Paison Ralphie is a shill for a pizzeria (Amici's) and ridding the imperfections of officiating from the Earth. He gushes, and he's ____. Callers who say the following are immediately censored:

Bob Newhouse, or
RB = DUI

Agree with all that KNBR blows and Tolbert is the only bright spot.

When Frank Dill retired, KNBR's morning show went from fabulous to suck overnight. And the thing is it has gotten steadily worse from that day on.

rocketsBLUEglare;346550 said:

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Murph and Mac lost me a year or two ago when Murph introduced Mac to one of his favorite websites. You guessed it, BRO. Pauly's initial impression of BRO as expressed on air: "those guys are HARDCORE!!"

A very revealing 2 minute bit.

Can't believe they're still on the air.

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worst sports show on any station in the US... tough to say considering how bad Radnich and Bruno are.. Is Murph that "Can O' Worms" dude??? The best show is Jason Smith and he starts way too late.. They should just play his show again on repeat in the morning.