Rome's Third Hour

Nothing against Mike Tirico, but I'm glad ESPN Radio 1430 in Altoona will be carrying Jim Rome's third hour instead. Tirico, while not as entertaining or humorous as some other possible choices, will do fine hosting the time slot successor to The Dan Patrick Show. His rolodex of potential guests will rival Patrick's and be more football and golf heavy as opposed to the NBA. Not that it matters. We won't hear it locally...and that's fine by me.

Love him (Rudel, Eckenrode, Dambach) or hate him (Franco), Jim Rome is original, funny, entertaining, and extremely knowledgeable about sports. His rant on O.J.'s latest run-in with the authorities was side-splitting stuff. He had me laughing out loud for five minutes straight while I was driving to a certain convenience store for my 52-ounce mid-day fountain drink (I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper addict). I know some don't like his in-your-face style and his kick-'em-while-they're-down tendencies. That's his schtick and I never get the sense he's being really mean-spirited about it. He's kind of like the Chad Johnson of sports talk radio.

Rome is also very good at bringing home stories of social issues in sports (gambling and drug addictions, the Sheldon Kennedy story, autistic hoopster Jason McElwain, etc.). Then, there are the Clones...his legion of listeners who fuel the show with smack-filled e-mails and phone calls. Quite simply, Rome is the gold standard of sports talk. His third hour is back on our airwaves and I'm glad of it. After Rome, it will be Stephen A. Smith from 3-4 p.m., then Front & Center.