Ralph Barbieri was hit and miss in his late years on radio but was always worthy of a listen on the afternoon drive. With "The Razor" you knew he was good for at least one decent interview a week even if it meant having to deal with a torturous, massive ego. Fine, but Barbieri had teeth so we put up with it.
TODAY, it's torturous to listen to KNBR as misfits and miscreants have taken over the insane factory with heavy emphasis on the new format: TOILET HUMOR. It's been amped up with generous assistance from the pathetic, pedantic, juvenile PD, Jeremiah Crowe and his band of rolling amateurs like Greg Papa, John Lund, and Brian Murphy. They are not the only ones but head of the mass mutants.
Papa, for one, has become a joke. His penis-wonk supreme, John Lund is another utter jerk-off infatuated with telling cock jokes and thinking so low of listeners that not telling Johnson quips will ruin his complete low life. This mother of all phonies and Papa have poo-pooed sports as a topic thinking toilet humor is much easier and it is if you practice lazy radio which is the bulk of Papa and Lund. All with the apparent OK of crap-en fuego Crowe who has all the authenticity of a San Leandro bed and breakfast.
Lund is an utter bore. Papa should know better but his massive e]go and huge overhead has reached the outer stem of his half brain. Lund's giggle is slightly more onerous then a drive through downtown Beirut.
Spot on. So sad what KNBR has become . . . maybe someday we'll have an actual sports radio station in the Bay Area again.
ReplyDeleteOh brother. The station is just fine.
DeleteAnd I'm in the demographic.
Totally agree!!
ReplyDeleteI actually don't mind Papa and Lund. My issue is with "TKB". What an absolute disgrace. So many problems that it is hard to know where to begin. How many shows have this 3-man train wreck actually had together? Tom was out again yesterday. He must be furious. Rod Brooks talks so damn much they should have just named it the Rod Brooks show.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on both points.
DeleteI agree re: the toilet humor on P & L. I wish they would drop it. But these guys DO spend the majority of time talking sports in-depth, and they know their stuff. I'll still take their show over the ramblings on 95.7.
ReplyDeleteIt's what's been said on this blog for many years. The state of Bay Area radio, especially the AM sports station, sucks. Listeners, pay attention. You're better off with white noise.
ReplyDeleteWow Rich, wow! LOL... I don't know if Lund and Papa are THAT bad. Now granted, I don't listen to their full 4 hr show, but I've checked their show here and there, and it's not all that bad. It's still amazing how they kind of have continued where they left off back in 2016 when they were both on 95.7 before Lund left for KNBR. They have that chemistry, and it sounds like Papa wanted to work with Lund again, at least from an article I read last month regarding an interview Papa did on his move to KNBR.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm happy Greg Papa is calling Niner games on the radio, at the same time, you kind of can't help but think about the way he left his show on 95.7 without telling Bonta. Bonta was pissed and I couldn't blame him at the time. Right now, it looks like everything has worked out; Greg Papa is working with John Lund again, they have a bigger audience in the KNBR audience, and Bonta is creating a good thing with Guru and Steinmetz on 95.7, but part of you is like, dang Greg Papa. LOL.
But yes, as far as Papa and Lund goes, the show is not all that bad, even though yeah, they still do the sex jokes. When they do talk sports, the show is pretty good.
Nowthat there has been a shuffling of “talent” on KNBR, I find the only listenable show to be Papa and Lund. Yes, they do get juvenile, but generally they are OK and their interviews are good. Tolbert is acting butt hurt and that show is unlistenable. Too bad, Krueger used to provide good information. Murphy is an utter jackass. Everything is about him. Hogs the mike, not that Paulie has anything to say, but I feel sorry for Bonnie Jill. I mute any commercials that Murphy is doing.
ReplyDeleteP & L are that bad everyone. I listened the first show and fell asleep. Can't attempt to try again. They don't hold an audience and they have no connection to callers. Both are simply unlikeable. Gary loved taking calls and that was the most entertaining part of his show with Larry. And Gary and Larry were very well matched. You wanted to listen to them. Not at all with the present two. And it won't get better.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about the old KNBR is they had adult PD's like Tony Salvadore and Bob Agnew, who knew radio and didn't pander to an audience the lowest common denominator. They hired guys like Ralph and Gary. They never would have considered a third rate out-of towner like Lund to be on the air. Papa, in his first stint doing a show for KNBR around 1998, wasn't bad at all. But he's regressed ever since. The fact there is an inexperienced and talent challenged PD in charge speaks volumes why KNBR's lineup is what it is.
Crowe, like Mike Anthony, Jason Wittmayer, and a long list of cumulus failures before him, is out of his depth in radio and should be stocking shelves at Trader Joe's. Gee, another great big thanks to cum-u-less.
As a Niner fan, it's hard to stomach Greg Papa's continued references to all things Oakland Raiders. Obviously, he's very good technically, but geez how much of that interior line blocking detail do we want to listen to? Still not over the Niners dumping Ted Robinson...so much classier and so much more appropriate for the Niners.
ReplyDeleteWell, Greg Papa is more associated with the Raiders since he called games for them for so many years and is still famiilar with their history.
DeleteI do see what you mean though. I remember when Greg Papa took the Niners radio play-by-play job, he was talking about how he had to watch videos of old Niner games to essentially get more familiar with Niners history. LOL. Almost kind of shows you how ingrained with the Raiders he really was.
Yeah, the Ted Robinson thing was weird. It almost feels like Greg Papa bullied his way into working for the Niners. Last year, he took Dave Feldman's job and did Niners TV pre-and-postgame on NBC Sports Bay Area. Not sure if Feldman will get his job back now that Greg Papa will be calling the games on the radio. Then of course, he took Ted Robinson's job. Yes, he was offered both jobs and he wanted to work for the Niners years ago, but it's interesting how everything worked out with Greg Papa coming over to the Niners. It was a slam dunk move for the Niners and it made sense, but at the same time, you have to wonder how much he pushed his way into working for the Niners once the Raiders let him go.
Regarding Ted Robinson, as I've mentioned in the past, I think his best work was doing Giants games years ago. It was kind of different when he originally got the Niners radio play-by-play guy job back in 2009 replacing Joe Starkey, but he grew into the role and became a fixture, especially during the Harbaugh years. Getting Greg Papa was an upgrade for sure, but at the same time, you may be right in that Robinson might fit the Niners culture better, while Greg Papa despite him being with the Niners now, will always in some ways, be a Raiders guy.
There is no way that Papa is an upgrade over Robinson, as
Deleteboth an announcer and a person. Bonta Hill is a good person as well, and Papa stiffing him is so Greg-like.
Does anyone wonder why there was not more of an uproar
when Fitz stole Papa's job with the Warriors? Because
Fitz was better? HELL NO!! It was because Papa was a jackass. When I first heard the "DICK, Dick, Dick.. chant
at Oracle Park, I thought Papa had walked in.
Y'all bitched about Gary & Larry not talking sports for 3 hours,
ReplyDeletemake up you fucking mind. Now you have Papa & Lund with sports (for most of the show) and some sophomoric humor and your still not happy. WTF - If it's that bad don't listen.
Tom Tolbert should jump ship & go to 95.7. He could have Barbieri join him once a week or at least for a regular segment. People would tune in to that, no question. He could also call Warriors games as well if he went to The Game. Maybe less $$$ but I feel that’s not the most important consideration at this point of his career.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Papa and Lund despite having little hope initially. They know their stuff. Fantastic takes on the Niners and Giants. Really in-depth knowledge. While I lamented the firing of Ted Robinson, I now see the error of my ways. Papa is a gem.
ReplyDeleteSo basically you didn't like Papa because he was with the Raiders, but now it's different, right? Btw, some people care about other teams besides the Giants and 49ers.
DeleteRich - I know that you have touched on it, but can you do an in-depth analysis on the TKB show? How does something like that happen and how does it continue to go on? How is Rod Brooks allowed to take over Tolbert's show? Is it a diversity play? I am assuming that J.Crowe is a millennial that those of us who work with them in tech know that they prioritize diversity over quality. Could this be at play here?
ReplyDeleteDoes he do the annoying TOUCHDOWN NIIIIIINNNNNNNERRRRRZZZZZZ call? (I hated that Raiders TD call. Fortunately, the Raiders have sucked in recent years--so we didn't have to hear it as much)
ReplyDeleteWas always annoyed how Papa stole that Touchdown Raiderzzzz call from Bill King.
DeleteWell, radio content reflects the demographic to a degree. Let's face it, maturity isn't what it used to be. That being said, I think P&L have pretty good insight, and they can be fun when they don't go overboard with the dick jokes.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else think Lund's laugh sounds exactly like Tom Hulce in "Amadeus"?
I just don't understand this criticism (Go Giants!). I think all of the shows are great (Go Giants!). All the hosts are just soknowledgeable (Go Giants!) and entertaining (Go Giants!). This all just seems really unfair (Go Giants!). Well, that's all I wanted to say (Go Giants!).
ReplyDeleteright on Rich - this show is an ridiculous - I listened a few times setting off to run errands and couldn't even make it to the bottom of the street...ugh ! Ted R had his issues but MUCH better p-b-p than Pappa -- who is going to do 9ers radio or are they doing a "dual cast" radio + TV ??
ReplyDeleteRather sad that Pappa, who is an accomplished and respected sports broadcaster, has to resort to sophomoric sexuality talk on his show and Lund submissively complies. Sadly, Kreuger, who really brings a whole lot to the soprts party, has gotten lost in the new format. Brooks talks too much and Tolbert just seems to be going along for the ride now? Unlike many listeners, I kinda like Brian Murphy. I however, can't listen to that show because of Paulie Mac. Can't stomach his incessant psycho babbling, his constant irrelevant quipping, and constant interruptions. Take him and his uber boring soundboard and escort him to the door. He can go to a music show somewhere.
ReplyDeletePete Franklin. One moment stands out. When Al Davis interviewed Bill Belichick, Pete couldn't wait to poo-poo any such hiring because he "knew" Belichick and thought did a horrible job in Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteAl must have listened...And now you know...the rest-of-the-story...