In the "Ratings" thread that Mac started, he mentioned that it sucks not to have sports media writers in either paper. Well, if I wrote a sports media column, this would be one of my articles. I hope Mac and everyone else enjoys reading it:

Warning to Mac: Don’t become the next Mike North. I like the Danny Mac Show, but it’s not as good as Mac, Jurko, and Harry was. It’s not Spiegel’s fault – I like Spiegel…with other partners. The problem is that Mac’s and Spiegel’s other shared interest becomes too involved with the show. As any regular listener would guess, I’m talking about their love of classic rock.

Anytime I hear them veer in that direction (and in the past month, it would take all my fingers and most of my toes to count the number of times) I punch the button to ESPN 1000. Once I do so, my ears are exposed to the Eric and Kathy of sports radio (which isn’t a good thing), but that’s a column for another day.

I can understand why Mac and Spiegs are friends and probably have good conversations at “MackeyLand”, but their friendship doesn’t usually translate into appointment radio. If I were an advisor to Dan McNeil a year and a half ago, I would have suggested looking to Jason Goff or Matt Abbatacola as a radio partner. Most Boers and Bernstein listeners are rooting for these guys to get a big break, and if McNeil could develop on-air chemistry with Harry Teinowitz, he shouldn’t have a problem developing it with Goff and/or Abbatacola …(It should be noted that Jason Goff does occasionally fill in for Matt Spiegel on The Danny Mac Show).

To bring this article full-circle, I want to remind you that Mike North was once the most well-known, highest paid sports radio host in the Chicago market. What changed?...Many would say that North “forgot where he came from,” and “lost focus on sports,” and “felt he didn’t need a partner.”

Mac, as a listener of yours for the past several years, I’m begging…Please don’t become the next Mike North.

Cuz, you do have some valid points.

-The "Mike North forgot where he came from" is commonly used, but a better concept would be "Mike North forgot what his job was" and that was to a a radio guy. The Radio Guy became a side gig to his business dealings, sponsorships, etc which I know are needed to keep the show going, but he made zero effort to do a better show, which inlcuded letting others do anything, unless he thought of it. In the ned "MIKE NORTH SHOWS' Suck.....Show's with "________ & Mike North" produced by _______ might have been a good show, but I think that ship has sailed and North is too dumb to realize it as well.

-Mac and Spiegs have a good realtionship and it has got better and better.

-The complaint of not talking sports enough is valid if you think so, but I personally like the Sports and Guy Stuff angle, which I think they can develop much much more. If I listen to the Score all day in my car, no doubt I am gettign my fill of Sports info. Tell me about a new steak, a new gadget, I am OK with that and I think most are.

-Appt Radio. Another often used and correct term overall. Never been a fan of "Pick 3" and kind of surprised Mac has not upped the stakes, or the level, of such a type of contest. I think I talk more point spread with him, then he does on the show. I think a small handicapping segment would be a good thing and if had the time, personality, sponsor and good research he would talk to you in a second about it.

Cuz= Cousin?
Cuz = Just Cuz?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I don't think he's changed much, if at all, since his HFC days.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I don't listen to him much, but its more about the time of the show vs it being bad. Sure I will turn it off when his partner breaks out a song or says giggle too much, but its totally listenable 95 percent of the time. He will never reach the depths of north.....ever.....not possible. All that man does is incoherently rant and blow him self and then blow himself again. No one can ever ever be that bad. It is simply not possible.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Mac certainly has his own unique personality and some people like it, some don't. In terms of the shows focus on non-sports topics like movies, music, etc, this is a very small part of the show. They talk about these things maybe 5 minutes per hour, not the entire segments that North and Fred would spend on bullshit not related to sports. I think there is very little chance this show turns into a North nightmare.

Radio is a game of choices. There are no perfect shows. As you said, when you PTFB'd to MVP, you didn't particularly like what you heard either. As for the choice of partners, yes, we all think that Goff will make a great full-time host one day, but it's debateable whether Mac would be a good fit for him. I think Mac works well with a variety of professional hosts (sorry, OPV) including Speigel.

For me, if I'm listening to a show that doesn't make me mad every once in awhile (M&H), it's really not interesting enough to keep listening.

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I think some people don't like this show as much as MJH, so they assume Mac changed. Mac can't be the exact same guy that he was on MJH. I know that sounds icky, but working with Speigs is entirely different than working with JH.

I loved MJH, and I still think that was a better show than the DMS. I like Spiegel too, so I don't blame him. I just think we all got used to MJH, and anything different is noticeable. Not to say DMS can't pass it up, but I think people just miss what MJH had going, which was awesome.

I don't think any show with Harry can be better. Now Mac, Jurko, Hood? That was a thing.

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"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

I really believe that Jurko was the key.

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This is right on the money. Spiegel IS the problem. Evidence of this is the fact that Macs show is always better when Spiegel is off. I wish he was off more...like 5 days each week.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

i really think this is it. spiegel just doesn't fit mac's style. i like them individually but together they just don't flow.

I think Mac is more similar to Chet Coppock (I don't know if he's mocking Chet or becoming Chet at this point) or Chris Berman (bombastic, repeats the same "catchphrases" over and over -- but that's also Coppocky) than Mike North.

I think he started out mocking Chet but in a respectful way. He did it so much it become part of who he is. That's not a bad thing. Chet is far more polished than most of these clowns.

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Freedom is our Strength.

Can't believe WSCR can't give Chet a weekend gig. Maybe team him up with Goff.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Chet is exactly where he currently belongs... off the air.

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When would Goff have a chance to speak? That would be worse than Jason with Mac and Bob Vandington. Chet loves the sound of his own voice. But for all the fun people poke at Chet, he runs a professional radio show. Mac learned a lot from him and you can hear the professionalism in the production of Mac's show when compared to others. Chet actually prepares as if it were a real job. He doesn't roll in hungover after a long night at Jilly's five minutes before the shift with a copy of the Times and the Tribune and just start popping off.

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Freedom is our Strength.

I think you're right...

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@audioidkid

Didn't Coppock pretty much piss on his own career by writing that last book?

You should start your own meatball radio station so you can listen to North, Fred, and Chet to your heart's desire.

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Agree - I think he kept Mac in check too...and I think OPV fills a similiar role when he is on the show.

Many forget, but it took MJH a long time to develop. I don't think they worked until Harry became designated as the show punching bag when Mac told him that no one respected him on air. That was at least 1.5 years into the show.

Have people forgotten that North specifically stated when his morning show began that it would be a general topics show with a little bit of sports talk. That is a BIG leap from where Mac is.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

So you think a Harry type stooge is needed for him to succeed or that Harry was an important part?

I think I said something similiar a few years ago and you disagreed.

Harry was forced onto Mac when the show began and Harry was not going to sit there quietly. He had to play some roll. When he was playing the role of legitimate sports talker the show was bad. So no, I don't think he was important, but he certainly could have screwed things up.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Don't they have a Harry type stooge already with Spiegel?

How is this evidence of anything? It's just your opinion, not a stat.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

yep. MJS would be fine with me

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you couldn't fit them in the same booth.