Loss of North still leaves a vacuum at the Score
By Ted Cox | Daily Herald Columnist Published: 1/15/2009
Picking up where I left off last week, Mike North has found a place to land some six months after leaving WSCR 670-AM. Yet the Score has not yet found a way to replace Mike North.

Because, although Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley have stepped up nicely as morning-drive hosts, the Dan Hampton and Laurence Holmes show from 10 a.m. to noon is testimony to how little the Score planned for North's possible departure when the station made him a cut-rate extension offer last year.

Hampton was a great player, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman who epitomized the Monsters of the Midway Bears of the 1980s as much as anybody. He retains the respect of Bears fans, and he knows his sport.

He's a lousy radio host, however, and his learning curve hasn't shown much improvement since he got the gig last fall.

Holmes is a fine reporter and a fine person, a pleasant guy to chat with, but that doesn't make him a radio host either. He certainly isn't a show "driver," a guy who knows how to generate topics and a dialogue with listeners, but in that he's not all that worse than Marc Silverman, his morning-midday counterpart at WMVP 1000-AM.

Yet there's no denying the show Tom Waddle and Silvie put on from 9 a.m. to noon on WMVP is a superior product to what the Score has from 10 to noon, thanks largely to Waddle, who makes whomever he works with sound better.

Waddle had several years of experience doing an evening show with David Kaplan at WGN 720-AM when WMVP made the decision that Steve Rosenbloom and, gad, Sean Salisbury (remember him?) weren't working and brought Waddle over and teamed him with Silvie. Silvie had years of experience as well doing an evening show with Carmen DeFalco and even working alongside Jay Mariotti.

Hampton, by contrast, was largely a Bears pre- and postgame host in this market, and Holmes was being promoted from the reporter ranks. Both were expected to learn on the job, and more than four months in, the time has come to say it ain't happening.

Hampton has a stuttering, staggering manner of speech, especially when he gets trapped off topic talking about something other than football. Holmes is earnest, sometimes overly so, but hardly smooth.

I compared them at first to "Da Bull and Da Bear," Norm Van Lier and Doug Buffone when they were briefly the Score's morning hosts years ago, and I think that comparison holds as both shows are hard listens. Yet "Da Bull and Da Bear" had a goofy, amateurish charm that eludes Hamp & Holmes. They're working too hard to sound barely decent to make their show at all playful.

Holmes is overeager, and I don't know if he thinks his listeners are simple or if he's just a simpleton himself, but he doesn't push to elevate the discussion. Thursday, he began by asking listeners what they had been watching, what had held their attention, the night before on TV.

Really? That's the best you can come up with to engage listeners?

Give credit to producer Matt Weber for posting on the Chicago Sports Fan Message Board seeking listener response in how to improve the show. But in the seven pages and 150 replies, I'm not sure there's anything to make Hamp & Holmes sound better, only a few jokes at their expense.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=264661

Cox gives this board a plug. He mentions Webber's "Give us advice" thread. Cox said all it produced was jokes about Larry and Hamp. He also said what we've been saying in the article. I give Cox credit. Finally a critic willing to be critical.

This paragraph about Larry expresses exactly what I've always said about him.

Holmes is overeager, and I don't know if he thinks his listeners are simple or if he's just a simpleton himself, but he doesn't push to elevate the discussion. Thursday, he began by asking listeners what they had been watching, what had held their attention, the night before on TV.

Correct, Mr. Cox. I used to say it's like Larry is a pre school teacher and the listeners are 4-year-olds. I've called Larry dumb. Cox was kinder in calling him a "simpleton".

Maybe Cox got his idea from this board? How many times has someone posted about Larry and how he tried to Bernsify his way through a broadcast?

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

Tell us how you really feel about the show, Ted... There was no question when Mike North left "The SCORE" and "Mully & Hanley" shifted to mornings that management gave Laurence Holmes the 10a-Noon show. While LoHo had various guest hosts sitting in such as Comcast SportsNet's Pat Boyle, FOX32's Patrick Elwood & NBC5's Jimmy Fallon-looking Rob Elgas before settling on Bears' Hall of Famer Dan Hampton last September, bosses of the CBS Radio-owned sports talker & White Sox flagship NEVER gave other guys such as Brian "The Whipping Boy" Paruch, Matt Abbatacola, Zach Zaidman & Jason Goff a legitimate chance to earn this time slot. They could've easily given Mike Murphy the full 4 hour shift before Terry Boers & Dan Bernstein between 10a-2p if the other guys weren't good enough. I simply think that "SCORE" management seemed hell bent on simply giving LoHo the midday slot without any competition, and their decision seems to have backfired.

Tell us how you really feel about the show, Ted... There was no question when Mike North left "The SCORE" and "Mully & Hanley" shifted to mornings that management gave Laurence Holmes the 10a-Noon show. While LoHo had various guest hosts sitting in such as Comcast SportsNet's Pat Boyle, FOX32's Patrick Elwood & NBC5's Jimmy Fallon-looking Rob Elgas before settling on Bears' Hall of Famer Dan Hampton last September, bosses of the CBS Radio-owned sports talker & White Sox flagship NEVER gave other guys such as Brian "The Whipping Boy" Paruch, Matt Abbatacola, Zach Zaidman & Jason Goff a legitimate chance to earn this time slot. They could've easily given Mike Murphy the full 4 hour shift before Terry Boers & Dan Bernstein between 10a-2p if the other guys weren't good enough. I simply think that "SCORE" management seemed hell bent on simply giving LoHo the midday slot without any competition, and their decision seems to have backfired.

Cox tore a part Hampton, Larry and Silvy in this article. Said Waddle was the only guy worth listening to in this time slot.

See, Webber. You're the only guy that got praised in the article. Why? Cuz you posted here. Larry has to be pissed. His producer was praised for coming here in an article that ripped him a part.

So it was basically the Daily Herald destroying Larry and plugging a message board that does the same.

Wow, I'll bet Larry's crying in his corn flakes right now as he's reading the Cox article.

I think Cox is exactly correct, though. Many of us have said, "Hey, guys, tell me what you watched last night. I texted my buddies when the Hawks scored that goal, did you?" doesn't exactly make for compelling radio.

Hey, let me know if Larry or Hamp comment on the article. I doubt they will but if they do I'll bet it will go like this.

Larry - Hamp, buddy, we got some press today. Wasn't good but our names were spelled correctly.

Hamp - Well, little buddy, Ditka taught me never to listen to the critics. That's why we won the Super Bowl. I don...don...don't know what he was talking about. I...I...I don't stu..stu...stutter and stumble when I speak.

Larry - I know. What the heck was he talking about? I'm anything but a simpleton. I'm a deep thinking guy that knows how to engage listeners. I can advance a discussion. I'm not over eager. Anyway, let's move on. Today's topic: What did you guys eat for breakfast? I'm really, really, interested in learning what you guys ate today. I think it will be soooooo interesting.

Well we know Larry had an Egg McMuffin and hash browns from McDONALDS. He's LOVIN' IT !!!!!

Quite a few backhanded compliments for 'Silvie' in that article too.

Laurence and Silvy are all right in my book....

bashing Hamp and Holmes...c'mon, can't we focus on a show that has a chance? This is like shooting fish in a barrel...Webby, you're doing an excellent job. Too the hosts are not up to par.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

I would think Larry would be most hurt about being called a "simpleton". He fancies himself a "Bernstein-like" intellect. We've said that about him but he doesn't think much of us. Maybe he'll listen if it's in the newspaper. Probably not. He's in love with himself too much to think any critisism of him is valid.

Cox wondered out loud, "I don't know if he thinks his listeners are simple or if he's just a simpleton himself."

He treats his listeners like retards. Yes. But that's because he is, as Cox suggested, a simpleton. That's why we get simple observations and Larry acting like he discovered a cure for cancer.

Larry can't think of anything interesting to discuss or advance a discussion. He has to patronize his listeners. Patronizing his listeners makes him feel smart. That's why he talks down to everybody like he's a teacher and we're his retarded students. When all Larry really ever says is "The sun will come up tomorrow".

I'm not saying a radio host has to say profound things at all times. It's not possible. Every once in a while would be a start for Larry. It's sports. Sometimes you have to state the obvious. Not everything can be ground breaking. But it's Larry not realizing he's stating the obvious all the time that is grating. It's just insults the intelligence of the audience.

Those who stated that this is not a piece about North are correct.

What bothers me is that sports radio management at the Score seem to think that it would be cheaper and easier to just hire sports scribes (both current and former) and former athletes as the ones to host a sports talk show. Evidently, they feel the "name recognition" is enough to drive a sports talk show. Evidently (yes, I used the word again) they feel that the average sports talk radio listener isn't intelligent enough to have a more thought provoking type of show.

Hampton was bad even on Bears pre and post game shows on WGN. He stuttered way to much and his analysis left plenty to be desired. He was a fine football player, but that does not a good sports show host make.

Laurence Holmes has not shown me anything as a host either. His choice of topics and general attitude toward callers-primarily those who disagree with im-is very condesending. In fact, one of the problems with many of the on-air talents in Chicago seems to be their "mightier than thou" attitude. Another problem seems to be their desire to be more of a "pal" to those they cover than doing the job of asking the tough question.

There are plenty of people who know how to do sports broadcasting but are never given a shot. The thought by some stations seems to be that you latch onto the beat reporters or other sports writers and you are set. The #3 market is not a place to learn on the job.

Actually, North did them a big favor, first by breaking up the Monsters and Heavy Fuel (which shortly lead to departures by McNeil & Jiggetts,) and then in this last-go-round. You'd otherwise be looking at the lawnchairs of the Titanic, shifting timeslots around.

But that doesn't mean that they've been developing talent over the years. Bernstein and Greenberg are the only certifiable 'goods' I'd list. Hood I haven't heard in a long time and Grobber already had his 'chops,' coming in.

I mildly disagree with Cox's assertion that Holmes was a fine reporter. Umm, no. Look to the works of Bernsie and Greeny, first, Ted.

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

I don't listen to The Score anymore, ever (and rarely ESPN 1000). Reading the Cox article, however, only reinforced what I said back in July-August (as did SHARK) that the Score seemed so hell bent on giving the midday slot to Larry without giving anyone else a chance. Mitch Rosen and CBS Radio ought to be proud of themselves for that.

I thought Cox was unfair to Silvy, as it seemed that that Waddle can't come close to holding his own without having a driver host.

I would rather listen to Mike North than L Holmes. I dont know how Mulligan and Hanley sound, but at least with North, you could laugh at his pompous ego. That's what made this board so fun... everyone making fun of that.

Why don't you listen anymore Martin? Too Busy? Come on man, you were one of the main reasons I signed up on this board....

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The Larry Holmes Fan Club seems to be hiding...like their president.

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No more L word.

Still won't forgive him for not telling you the 4 stories he broke at Bears Camp 04 huh?

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Last week even Boars made a quick, off handed remark about Hamp. billyk

Last week even Boars made a quick, off handed remark about Hamp. billyk