Here’s some radio news for all of you morons, nitwits, and dopes out there.

Howard “The King” Eskin is celebrating 35 years in the radio business:

Hey good for Howard, for real. Everybody thinks Crossing Broad is “jealous” of The King, but that’s not true. We will give credit and respect to anybody who can carve out a sports career of 35 years. Same with Angelo Cataldi. Most people don’t last 10 years in the business, so there’s something to be said for longevity and finding your voice and carving out a niche in a tough and competitive market. It’s about creating a brand and building on it, year after year.

Unfortunately, some brands are bullshit, and that’s the case with Howard and Angelo. Howard, specifically, was a consistent news breaker back in the day, but he hasn’t been that for 10+ years. So when people say “Howard works harder than everybody else,” the truth in 2021 is that he actually doesn’t have anything else to do. He doesn’t even stay for the Sixers games. Before COVID, he’d show up, ask Brett Brown some question that he knew wouldn’t be answered, then he’d hang around the locker room area and talk to some fans before getting in his car and going home. He doesn’t actually watch the games; it’s just about keeping up appearances.

It amounts to grandstanding, right? You ask the GM or the coach a “hard question” that won’t get an answer, knowing that a portion of Philadelphia sports fans are too dumb to realize that it’s an acting job. He’s doing it for himself, not for you. He wants to be the guy who asks the “tough questions,” even though it very rarely results in anything of substance (but he maintains his reputation as a bulldog reporter). The rest of the scribes in the room generally bite their tongues and let Howard perform his act even though their eyes are rolling out of the back of their heads.


Anyway, congrats to Howard. Seriously. His brand is bullshit, but he’s very good at it, and so we begrudgingly acknowledge that and give the man credit. He is THE KING. If you’re scared of The King, get a dog.