We published a story earlier titled “Honestly, 97.5 the Fanatic has Been Better Since the Phone Lines Stopped Working.” Mikey Miss took umbrage with the fair and balanced column and then launched a cruise missile at Dan Sileo:

Mike: “That is a typical response from people who really want to think they’re better than sports talk radio. In this case, it’s hard to believe that Crossing Swords would think that. But the author of this is that Kevin Kinkead, and.. he mocks the callers that call. ‘Does anybody really want to hear from Bobby in the Northeast?’ Here’s the thing – first of all, those same people he calls ‘idiots’ for calling sports talk radio are the same idiots who keep Crossing Broad afloat…”

Objection, your honor! Crossing Broad readers are not idiots. Crossing Broad readers are among the most erudite in the Delaware Valley. This is well known.

Mike: “…so biting the hand that feeds you is never really a good idea. Now, I don’t sit here and criticize Crossing Swords for the fact that they’re always late to the party and they always publish repackaged crap, but you’re entitled to your opinion.”

Alright, that was a good one. Made me laugh. Everyone knows we’re a fun blog, not a Big J journalism website like The Athletic (now with ads).


Mike: “I should let these people know, it’s not the quality of the calls that count on sports talk radio. It’s the general engagement of the audience that counts. Nobody is going to cure cancer if they call sports talk radio. But they want to be engaged in this phenomenon that’s Philadelphia sports talk. If you’re gonna stand on some lofty perch, my God, Crossing Broad, you’re gonna cast aspersions downward, when you sit at that level? Please, let’s stop this.”

I think Mike is missing the point here. The article was a compliment! I was trying to say something nice. I think the Fanatic has been more enjoyable recently because I’m hearing more from the station’s educated hosts and less from the morons, nitwits, and dopes of the Delaware Valley. If that amounts to “punching down,” fine, but this is more of a general philosophical stance. If someone wants to partake in the Philadelphia sports talk ecosystem, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean they deserve a platform to blather on about nonsense. The reason no one wants to hear from Bobby in the Northeast is because Bobby doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about. Bobby isn’t knowledgeable on the subject matter.

It would be like Mike Missanelli calling up drywall hanging radio. Mike doesn’t add anything to drywall hanging radio because he doesn’t hang drywall and doesn’t have anything interesting to say about it. If he insists on talking about drywall, he can use the text board, or tweet the host, or leave a YouTube comment. When I tune into drywall hanging radio, I want to hear Bob Vila, not Mikey Miss.

Mike: “Now, the first thing that pops up is a tweet right? Who puts this tweet out, one of our pals, the guy’s name is Sileo, now let me just tell you this guy does stuff for that JAKIB Media, that fledgling whatever it is, at this point. He has a show that I don’t know who listens to it, but he says what?” 

Bill Colarulo: “Alright, so Dan Sileo responds and says ‘this guy’s infatuation with 97.5 the Fanatic is classic. Dude if you want a job with them, I have Scott Masteller’s cell. Anybody who listens to that station knows it’s garbage.”

Mike: “So let me just point out that Dan Sileo is a misogynist, racist, scumbag who has been fired from almost every radio station that he ever worked for. For being a misogynist, racist, scumbag. So there you go.”

Colarulo: “So we can just ignore that comment.”

Mike: “Yes. Totally ignore it. Alright. 610-632-0975”

Now we’re cooking with gas! I love the classic disrespect bit, when the radio host pretends he doesn’t know who or what something is. Mike says “that JAKIB Media” as if he is not currently suing JAKIB Media. Speaking of which, here’s the latest on the case, which is firmly in shitshow territory: