Tuesday, July 23, 2013

"The Dogs Bark, But the Caravan Moves On"

You stay classy, Andy Polli!
Thirteen years with Andy Pollin from 4-7 p.m. on Sportstalk 980 here in DC.

It will end next Wednesday.

If you have enough juice in radio as a host to call your own shots, you probably should be retired and on a beach somewhere. As such, you play to the whistle, or in our line of work - talk until they kick you out.

Andy knows this. I know this. It was still a great run.

“Thirteen years, three ownership groups, six program directors, two buildings, five engineers, a flooded control room,” Czaban remembered. “We have been through so much together, and I’ve enjoyed absolutely every minute of it, not just you but all of our rotating guests who have come in as the third wheel sports reporter….You are the most professional radio person I’ve ever been with….And it’s been a great run. I know that you have plenty left in you, and you have more things you’re going to do in the market.

“Your knowledge of Redskins history and games and people and players is irreplaceable. It’s the deepest mental archive in the market. And more importantly, you have presided in front of this microphone [during] all of the little mini dramas involving the teams, coaches, athletes, players in this city, and that’s what sports radio is about. It’s there to chronicle the nonsense that goes on….That is going to be impossible to replace.”

It's what I said on the air Tuesday, and I meant every word of it. Eventually we were going to wander our separate ways, I just expected to confront that decision at the end of the football season when both of our contracts were up for renewal. The station wanted a jump on the new venture with Cooley on board, and so away we go.

Andy and I would bicker like an old married couple on air, I know. But it never got disrespectful because we are both pros. We have such different interests and passions, yet we are both very much alike, in ways only those who joined us in the studio as our rotating guest would know from the incredible and hilarious discussions that never made air. (Thank god!)

I think Cooley is going to be very good. Just don't quote me on how long he'll last, because with all ex-jocks, the concept of "every day" is completely foreign to them. But the fun thing is, I won't hesistate to bust Cooley's balls on air by saying "aren't you sick of this yet, Chris?"

As for Galdi I am very happy he is on board to "run the boat" so to speak. He's a tireless grinder, with tons of untapped talent ready to burst through. It's like I work for HIM now! Ha! I couldn't be more proud.

And hell yes, plenty of wrestling talk with Al's incomparable "Off the Top Rope" segment! I love it.

Al will depart the morning show on Yahoo! with me and Scott, because he now has a real job and a life. Everyone is happy for him. Hopefully we can get a "walk on" from time to time.

The mourning process now begins for every listener we have accumulated and kept for 13 years in afternoon drive. I don't want to minimize that by saying in an annoyingly chipper way: "Oh, you're going to LOVE the new show!"

Because you aren't. You are going to hate it.

Then curse it. Then give it another try. And hopefully over the proving ground of day after day, you will love it. But we plan to earn it from everybody.

Al Galdi bangs out another flawless update. He'll capably run "The Drive" with me and Cooley.

28 comments:

  1. Hey Czabe, gonna really miss Al Galdi on the morning show. You, him, Scott and Solly made a great team.

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  2. Shit man, good for Galdi, bad news for the national listeners and Andy, I guess we just won't get any more wedding updates which is unacceptable, God knows Solly isn't getting married anytime soon.

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  3. Hey Czabe,

    Here's a video you can show at the B&B Open on Friday: Man Records Final Fight with Soon-to-Be-Ex-Wife

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  4. Czabe, PLEASE find a way to bring Galdi in for the Lock it Up segment during football season. Autumn weekends won't feel complete without Al's picks ATS on the front end of the weekend!

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    1. Agree 100% Boiler...we need our "Galdilocks!"

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  5. What! I've loved you guys every afternoon for 10 years. This is so sad. Suck it 980. I'm out

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  6. I've been listening to you and Andy in the afternoons since I moved to DC in 2002. It's the best sports radio show I've ever listened to. You and Andy have great chemistry and it always just seemed so natural, unlike many other shows that come off as scripted. I'll give the new show a try, but I am sad to see this happen.

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  7. Congrats to Galdi, Sucks for Andy, and hope you get a new 980 contract after the football season...what are the prospects?

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  8. I will miss the show. The Andy/Czabe dyamic has great balance and chemistry and I really like having the well-informed input of local reporters. I will hate the new show simply because it is not the old show. Plus I can’t help but compare it to the Lavar and Dukes show which is simply heinous. But I will give it a chance and hopefully will come to like as much as the current show.

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  9. Any way Scott can move to the Afternoons and Galdi stays with the National show. He brings much more to the show. He will be missed during super friends and lock it ups during the football season.

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    1. Hate to disagree, but Scott is a huge part of the morning show and couldn't be replaced. It's a totally different show when he is gone. While Al is definitely good, his role is pretty limited in the current format. It's Czabe's show, but Scott is the show's conscience and does a great job of playing Czabe's straight man.

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  10. Bittersweet news, and I echo the sentiments of most commentors here.

    I wish Andy the best, and will miss Al as part of the morning show.

    But I am glad the rest of the morning show remains intact, and that Al will be on the air every day - as a "boat captain" now, and still on the air with you, to boot - on the local show in the afternoons.

    You've still got me for (a borderline unhealthy) 6 hours a day, Czabe...that's more time than I spend with my wife most weekdays!

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  11. At least Galdi leaving mornings is his choice this time. He'll be missed but has paid his dues and earned a shot at being the boat captain. It's good that he has Czabe to help him in the process. TMBADQ, but will there still be wedding updates on the morning show and will segments like Superfriends be modified or ended?

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  12. how in the world do Mike and Mike still have their own show.

    #clowns

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  13. Even though I'm not fan of the DC teams, The Sports Reporters was my favorite sports radio show. You guys had the perfect formula, IMO, and the chemistry between Andy and Czabe was great. I will still tune in for Czabe, but I can't imagine Chris Cooley coming close to filling Andy's shoes. Hopefully Andy and Czabe will be reunited down the road again someday.

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  14. Czabe,

    Very sorry to hear about this, but life goes on. I am sure Cooley will bring a new dimension to the show and. I look forward to hearing it! Like a few of the fans who posted. I have been a regular and avid fan of The Sports Reporters since the military moved me here in 2001. I believe it was one of the best radio programs I have ever heard, not just sports shows. The dynamic you and Andy have is perfect for radio; perfect foils for each of you. I will certainly miss Andy and Czabe on my commute home, but I won't miss nearly rear-ending countless vehicles on I-95 due to my heavy laughter! I am surprised by the network doing this however. I have to believe you guys had excellent ratings, just about everyone I know is a regular listener. Good luck to Andy and to you as well Steve I m sure the show will be outstanding!

    Captain John

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  15. Who is Chris Cooley? I will google the name. Changing winning formulas has a way of working out. I give you Coca Cola. Mayberry RFD. Two and a Half Men. Sonny and Cher.... Really, Cher could have been big if she kept Sonny.

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  16. So Snyder stopped messing around with the Redskins decided to mess around with the best sports radio guys in DC. Because reading between the lines this is what is happening. Upper management was tired of Andy harping on Snyder and the Skins and wants one of his boys in there to defend the administration. I am actually surprised this didn't happen earlier.

    Ugh...I have nothing but respect for Cooley but this is like tying to replace Wooden at UCLA. The reason you guys worked was because of your almost complete opposite viewpoints on everything. Czabe was more emotion and conspiratorial whereas Andy was definitely more of the real world viewpoint. And I don't think you will get that with Cooley nor will Cooley be able to bring the depth of sports knowledge that Andy on just about every sport beyond just the Redskins.

    I am sure I will still listen but I will be more willing to turn the dial. Change is an inevitable part of life and no one like change. Just a sad day for sports radio

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  17. Come on Man!!! " What'd we do? Lose a War?" Well I guess that's what happens in this business. I don't like it, but I'll live with it! You're shows are always the BEST, and thank GOD you guys will still be on the air! (I was beginning to worry about Galdi's health with all the hours he's been working for a very long time.) At least no one is actually leaving the station so things can change back again! It's been great listening and learning from all of you! And I'll continue listening as long as you guys are on the air.

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  18. I kind of think that Czabe got Andy fired. Andy Polley is 7 years Czabe's senior and still has more hair. Look at the picture...it has motive written all over it.

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  19. Crap, why do I feel like my dog just died?

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  20. Was Andy doing the website updates too? Without a daily taste, there are fewer reasons to keep coming back. Step it up Czaban!

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  21. It has been a great run, Andy and Czabe. Thanks for all the memories guys...Best of luck to you, Andy.

    You guys ROCK!

    Nestor

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  22. Czabe is right. I hate the new show so far.

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  23. Agreed JT. The new show is terrible. It feels like lavar and dukes, a dumbed down sports show. No witty banter. No intelligent conversations. All replaced with hijinks. All the smart guests that were on the Sports Reporters are now replaced with athletes that will not say anything insightful and just speak in generalities. Chris Cooley is just not that bright. What can he contribute to national stories and other sports? He only knows about football. This station was a great alternative to 106.7...now it's becoming just like that. My drive home just got a whole lot worse.

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    1. Chris Cooley should be on 106.7. He doesn't belong on 980. And czabe and galdi have to cater to this dunce. I hate how everything smart has to be cancelled ...

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