February 26, 2021 • 32 mins
A wingman and colleague, Jason Smith joins the melee. A versatile media vet, Jason rehashes the glory days and opens up about the many stages in his career.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:23):
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(00:44):
that it does. We are in the air everywhere yet again.
This is the Friday podcast. We are back at it
in a conversation podcast. Because four hours a night on
the overnight obviously not enough. We do this eight days
a week. While podcast for you on Saturday and Sunday.
Tell a friend, Get the word out, Spread the word
(01:06):
not only on the i Heart platform, but all over
where do you get podcast? And this a conversation podcast.
We are going into the rolodecks of stars at Fox
sports radio and someone that you might not know. A
lot of people don't realize this. This This is somebody actually
worked with at two different places in my radio journey.
(01:27):
Here you know him, you love him. As half of
the night show, it's the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmony because of the Fairness Doctor. We had harmon on
last week, so we must bring in the number one
Jets and mets apologists. I know in all the land,
the great Jason Smith hanging out with us here on
(01:48):
the fifth hour, and Gascon's here. He'll chime in from
time to time. Just I'm I gotta warn you on that, Jason,
I have gonna warn you that Guestcon might chime in
with an annoying question at some point. So we're I'm
kind of I'm kind of used to when he does that,
you know, when he does the updates on on the
show during the weekend on my show, and I'm like, okay, hey,
what's trending, And they'll just say to me, is it Burke? Okay, Okay,
(02:11):
that's not Sean Burke. Is it Floris Lukewitch? No, No,
don't no, it's not it's not. It's bed to be fair.
Though I've thrown Jason off once at least what I
mentioned is it Sema hyak, and it threw him off,
just completely off the reservation. So I get those in
from time to time. Yeah, so I feel your same, buddy,
(02:31):
I know what's going on here. Well, this is Jason
gascon aside. We'll just try to over Gascon's what's known
as an acquired taste. But nobody's acquired the taste. That's
the problem. So that that's the issue. But I'm gonna
make it all about us, you know. I want to
make it all about us, Jason, because in the early
days of Fox Sports Radio, Uh, we did shows together
and we actually worked together at Extra Sports eleven fifty
(02:54):
back back in the day. We're at that station at
the same time before Fox Sports Radio existed. But I
have fond memories of doing the show with you on
the weekends. But most of them, Jason, revolve around food.
Most of them around revolve around food, not necessarily doing
the show, but the eating habits that we had in
(03:15):
those days. What do you remember about the early days
and we were hanging out and I think it was
like a Saturday night. I think we were doing something. Uh,
I forget exactly when, but it was in the evening time,
nighttime hours, and we did a lot of shows together
back in those days. Oh he did, Buddy. I remember
when we first started at even you were on the
Ben and Dave Show, and I would fill limit with
(03:35):
Lee Klein and I would come on after you guys,
and I would come out, and then you would always
have something really funny and snarky to say about Lee,
and I would go, oh, I hope these guys get
along well, Okay, I know, I think must. Everything's all right.
And then we hooked up again at Fox, and yeah,
it was like Saturday and Sunday night late night like
into the like into the into the next morning. And
(03:56):
the food we had, like we would go to the
gas station and get like I like, I look at okay,
our shows like four hours long. I think one show
was five hours long, and I would have like three things,
a Hostess cupcakes and like two Diet cokes and a
Diet dr pepper and oh, let me get some cheese
and crackers too. Like we had the entire uh area
covered like in front of him. We would do the
(04:17):
show from like right next to the keyboards and the
computers and I think the computers are still the same
from when we started back in the early two thousands,
and we would have it would be so it would
be like a smartest board of gas station food that
we would have. And I remember the Hostess cupcakes the
most because they must have had like six of those
every night you did the show together. Yeah, and I
remember the gummy sharks. That was always because they didn't
(04:38):
always have the gummy sharks, so when they had the
gummy sharks, so that was very big. And then you know,
this is back in my big eating days, Jason, and
I'm i double fisting. I got Eminem's in one hand,
I got gummy bears in the other. I got the
Cheetos over here, I got the frieds over there. Uh
you know, the Freedo bandidos over there hanging out in
the back. It was awesome, I mean it was it
was great. And now look at us, Jason, all these
(05:00):
years later, we're still there. I know you left for
a while, but you're back. And uh, my diet's changed
a little bit. Are you still eating the crazy diet? No,
not as much. Man. It was weird that I got
to a point where I said, I just can't keep
eating like this. I can't. I can't. I just can't
do it. And now since I stopped drinking diet soda,
like I've really cut that like now and maybe have
(05:21):
one every couple of days, we're gonna have a caffeine headache.
And I noticed how much less I need to eat.
I'm like, wow, they're really right that caffeine is a
diet stimulant, because an appetite stimulant, because yeah, I drink
diet coke for years. It was I would drink like,
you know, three a day, you know, is what I
would have. I would keep drinking and keep drinking. And
if days I went out to watch a game or something,
oh my god, I just don't a waitress, you hat
(05:42):
diet coke, keeping coming, keeping coming, did one every ten
or fifteen minutes. I did one, And then when I
stopped and I said, I just can't. It's, you know,
I get to the point where I gotta, I gotta
start doing something else. And I realized I'm full after
so much less, Like oh my god, I've eaten a
piece and a half a pizza and I'm usually it's
like four pieces, And I go, oh man, I'm kind
(06:03):
of fulled down. And it's amazing what happened when when
when I cut that back. So yeah, I'm with you, buddy.
I mean, it's it's been. It's been something just realizing
when you change, how how easy it is to go
back to just, you know, eating what regular people eat
instead of overnight show. I know, Oh my god, I
I would eat. I I would just gorge back back
(06:26):
in the day. And I love soda too. I was
a huge, huge soda ga. I actually lost a fair
amount of way to originally when when I gained some
of it back, but by stopping drinking soda. I was
a dr pepper guy. Love cherry coke um. And I'm
the guy that would go in back when seven eleven
had those like triple big golf things or whatever, the
double big golfs. I'd go in there, I'd fill it up,
(06:49):
I drink half of it, and then I'd fill it
up again, and then I would check out of seven eleven.
That would be that would be my move. This guy
here is trying to get away with not paying for
I didn't even need a slurpy man. I just need
an extra dr pepper. Whenever I was I was good
to go in that and now look at me now,
(07:10):
I don't even eat most days. Now now I'm like
getting to this inter minute fasting thing, which is which
is my new my new mischigas here. And if you
would have told young me, Jason, you knew me in
those days, that I would go like two days a
week without eating, I would have said, you're insane. I
would rather die than do that. But look at look
at me now getting old Jason. I guess it is
(07:32):
not the lesson there, but my goodness, you know, I
remember once I forget what we were talking. We talked
about this. I were so impressed by it. But we
were doing something and we were talking about a topic
I forget. You know, you would you would talk, you
would said what you were going to say. And then
I started talking, and you know, I think I talked
for maybe like not even a minute, like I want
(07:53):
to say something like that, And in that minute, you
finished an entire diet Dr Pepper, like you know, talking
and then I started talking, you opened up the diet
Dr Pepper and then you stopped and you I was like,
oh my god, funny, that's the man that usually if
(08:14):
my print sold, it's fast by I start cheering and
it's like, oh, I gotta stop, I gotta stop, and
went right through it. It It was seconds and you were
done with an entire diet. Dr Pepper. Well, as you know, Jason,
it's not easy to become a total fat so you
really have to work for it. You have to have skills.
You've got to have skills to get to that level
and look like the Michelin man. So I did have
(08:35):
that go Now you mentioned Lee Klient. I've known Lee
for years. As you reference, we used to bust Lee's
balls all the time. I've had Lee on the podcast
a couple of times since we were doing this the
last year and a half or whatever we've been doing
the podcast. But um, what are I love Lee kind stories?
Because Lee has he is known as the original Prince
of darkness. I know Jonas Knocks our friend Jonas has
(08:56):
that nickname now as well. But but Lee can turn
the most positive story about like rainbow, sunshine and lollipops
into a horror story like he has. He has a
gift in that department. But what are some of the
things you that stand out from your day is working
with our our buddy Lee. Oh I remember the first
(09:16):
day I worked with Lee. The first day I filled
and I was so nervous. Right, so, I hadn't really
done sports talk radio before. It was my first chance
I was getting you know, I find out from I
forget who our producer was the time, um, but they said, hey, listen,
you know you want to get in. The show starts
at eight. Why don't you get around six thirty year
So I'm like, all right, great, I did like six
fifteen making sure, and I'm sitting there for fifteen minutes.
(09:39):
I'm nervous and Lee comes walking in and he said
something the producer and Lee walked over. He goes, are
you Jason? I said yeah. He goes, I'm like, the
first thing I want to let you know is we're
royally blank tonight, just so you know, right off the back.
And he walked out of the room that the first
thing he didn't tell me we're royally blank tonight and
walked out of the room. But I don't I don't
know what could possibly be happening, What what can be happening? Something?
(10:02):
So be nine like, oh we may go on at
like eight fift you know it's coming on like after
a game and I'm like, what do we royally blank,
like they're gonna come and take the station's license away,
and they know they're gonna, you know, are the police coming.
I don't understand. But that was my first experience with
Lee Klein, And I'll tell you what he is like
a real life Cramer. Like there's times like after I
(10:25):
got to know him, he would come to my house
at like ten o'clock in the morning, like I'm in
the rogue because I worked late at night, knocks on
the door, Hey, what's going on? Hey, come on, we're
taking a ride. What do you mean what do you
need to take it a ride? We're talking about taking
it right? You just take a ride with me. And
I'm like okay. It would be the most random place
like task to go pick up these Clipper tickets at
the station. And then I got to go to this
(10:46):
appearance that I have to make. They go, what what
are you doing with you? So you're gonna come on here?
I'm like okay. Like every day was like we had
Cramer days. I'm like, Okay, whatever Kramer wants to do,
we're gonna do today. Yeah, it was, it was and Lee, Uh,
there's several famous Lee stories. The one that is my favorite,
I don't know, it's my face. It's in the top
five was when the it was on the weekend at
(11:07):
eleven fifty and the they were fixing the phones, the
phone the call in lines were down and Lee had
to host like a three hour show on a Saturday.
It was a Saturday morning, and you know, it's kind
of a light time. I think it was during the summer.
You know, it's not too much going on these in
the days before social media isn't as much content out there.
And so Lee he's like, I'm not doing the show
(11:31):
without calls, you know, I'm not doing the jolly starts
freaking at and uh and so that the only lines
that the only inbound lines that we're working were the
hot line numbers, which is the you know, as you know,
Jason being a radius, the holy grail. You're not supposed
to give out the hot line number, the warm line.
They come that's the biggest, So hand to God, Jason Lee.
(11:52):
Lee does his opening a little monologue and then proceeds
to He says, well, only for today, I have a
special number to call in on. He then gives out
the warm line on the air, for people to call
in to his show. It was hilarious. Oh my god,
did that It was awesome? It was awesome. Now, before
(12:12):
I go too much further, since we've been at Fox
Sports Radio since the early days, and you left and
then came back, but you did shows. And this is
something a name that a lot of people who are
listening now might not know. But if you've been with
Fox Sports Radio since the early days, you know this guy,
Sarge the comedian, Sarge the comedian. And have have you
(12:36):
kept in contact with him? Is he still around? As
he still? I know? Last I heard he was like
doing boat comedian comic acts or something like that. I
I lost contact with him, but he hosted a show
on on Fox Sports Radio in the in the evening time,
and I remember, yes sir, it was yes sir, No, sir.
Was he had some catchphrase that you had to say
(12:57):
when you called it and no one would say it,
and he would get very annoyed. Yeah, you know, you
had to say sir, yes sir to get on the air.
And anytime someone would get on there, they say, hey,
you're on the air, and I get great, Hey, I
think the cowboys. You gotta say sir, yes sir. And
then there's people who just couldn't say it. They would
say yes sir, no, no, sir, yes sir, sirr. I
all right, sorry, I want to talk about the Cowboys. No,
(13:18):
you have to say sir, yes sir. It gives you
permission to speak. And sometimes it was really funny because
I think some people just did it on purpose, like
I'm just not gonna say it. I'm gonna say yes, sir,
I'm gonna say no sir, I'm gonna say aye aye sir.
I'm gonna say all these things just because I want
to see how far this goes. Yeah, I was on
with him at night and uh, we were on for
a while and then when and he yeah, he did
(13:40):
wind up going to do I think that's what he's doing.
I haven't talked to him in years and years and years, um,
but I think that's what he's doing. I was doing
doing comedy on ships, which is I think what he
did before he came to Fox, like he would be
the comedian on on a ship, and and that's you know,
he'd performed like every night and and go on and
and that's kind of what he does. I think that's
still what he does. Well, if that's what takes. If
(14:01):
that's what he does, though right now you'd have to
say he's not doing that because of what's going on
in the last year right there, there's not Cruises aren't
really happening right now because of the I can't believe
anybody's going on cruises right now. I thought you were
going to bring up somebody from a long time For
you to bring up Page, that's well, that's my person, Bob.
You know, Bob, when you talk about wild and crazy man,
(14:24):
Bob thought that the listener and I, you know, I
got along with Bob and we had to fall out
at the end. Apparently he trashed me on Twitter and
then he apologized for it. But uh yeah, Bob was
like the guy who replaced Howard cosell at on his
radio show in New York and all this scene is
a Detroit guy, but he spent time in and uh
oh yeah, he was a carrier. He thought people listened
from the beginning of the show to the end of
(14:45):
the show and didn't turn down. And then he also
the other thing that blew me. He didn't want to
take calls from cell phones because he saw the quality.
Can you imagine doing your shows. We're gonna take calls,
but no cell phones can call in. No one would
do who's gotta landline? No one's gonna land There would
be a show with no phone calls. Why had someone's
(15:06):
calling in this one guy? Woman's eighty five, she's calling
from the landline. You think about the chiefs? Uh? Now,
the original Fox Sports radio lineup, they had Jeanie's Alaska,
Kevin Fraser, Bob Paige was part of it. Uh. Was
(15:26):
it Bob Golic I think was doing the overnight show
originally or not Bob Golick? Was it Bob Goli? It
might have been. Bob Golick and Carrara did nights yea,
and Dan Cilio did overnight. Oh, that's right. Cilio was
doing the overnight and then there was oh and Chris
Myers and Steve Lyons were on during the day like
(15:47):
it was like Alasko and Kevin Fraser like that was
the That was the afternoon run on five. Then it
was Bob Paige doing afternoons, and then it went into
Golick and Herrera and then uh, Dan Elio that's how
it went. Yeah, okay, yeah, and then then Lampley did
a show for a while, but Bruno was the big
morning guy they had and then uh and they and
(16:09):
they went to the network actually went dark when Rome
was on, Jim Rome was on because they was a
Premier property, so they didn't have at that time, they
didn't have any show in that in that window in
the early days of Fox. Now you did TV for
a while, just your big TV guy there. And actually
when you started in radio, you were I think you
were a Channel seven, right, you were working at Channel
seven in l A before I think before you went
(16:30):
to eleven fifty, right, if I remember correctly. Yeah, Yeah,
I was producing sports. I was producing the six o'clock
Sports past. At the eleven o'clock Sports cast, it was
Bill Weir, who now is you know huge, you know,
moving on in CNN and at different places, and um
Rock Kukazaki, who's still there. I just had roped on
my show two nights ago to talk about the Tiger
(16:51):
Woods story because he was actually, you want a great
story at Rob Tukasaki Channel seven, it's been the bane
guy there for like twenty years. Um when they're average
was going on for Tiger Woods, Like Rob wasn't on
the air, and he wasn't on the air because he
was at the funeral for for his his his great
aunt I think it died. He was in the service.
He walks out of the service and he's bum hit
(17:13):
with all these texts that hey, Tiger Woods in a
serious and he's on the air outside of the funeral
and you could see he's wearing a suit and there's
like flowers everywhere, and he's got his camera up. He's
holding his camera up. He said, oh my god, my
arms are so tired from holding this camera. He's got
the air talking about this and he just walked out
of the funeral and you're on the air. You gotta
talk about this, and you know that was their coverage.
You wind up going all day. That's what Rob's Rob's
(17:35):
a great I love Rob. Rob's one. And Bill. Remember
Bill Weir When we were doing the Ben and Dave
Show back in the day, we had Bill on and
he even at that time, he's like he didn't really
want to be the sports guy. He always wanted to
get into the news. And I know he's been at
CNN and other places and done pretty well from somebody,
but even back then, I think he was kind of
like he was already looking to get away from the
(17:55):
sports stuff. He had other aspirations other than being the
sports guy. Uh yeah, he wanted he like he came
into KBC. I think you know remember Bill telling me that,
like they promised them certain things and they didn't deliver
on it, Like you're supposed to get a show. Uh,
Like I think he was supposed to get that show
that Oh whos to Byron Allen remember when it was.
(18:16):
It was he'd be in a taxi camp and he'd
frid it around and celebrities would get in and they
do an interview that they would leave when somebody else
would get in. Like that was supposed to be his show.
And then for some reason to ABC like didn't want
him to do it. He got he got mad. He
was like, well that's why I came there to be
he was doing stuff like that, Like that was supposed
to be his show originally the cabs going out, people
coming in it was. And then Jerry Seinfeldt now turning
(18:38):
into a whole big thing where he started doing it.
Then he does comedians getting coffee with it. So yeah,
it turned out to be a great idea. Twenty years
ago there you go. He's ahead of his time. Yeah,
and then you worked at you worked in the NFL
network for a while. You did that, and then now
do you like TV better than radio? Jason? Are you
more of a radio guy? Well, I'll tell you it's
in the beginning for TV was great because it was
(19:00):
is like, you know, because I first started doing TV,
like I did some bits on ESPN, like I was
on Romans Burning, and I would be a panelist. I
actually guest hosted a few times, which was awesome. And
the one thing I noticed was that I'm like, okay,
well here we needed we need we need a big
take on this. I'm like, okay, well what Yeah, it's
got to be like ninety seconds, So can you do
I'm like, can I do ninety sentence on a big tent? Really?
(19:22):
You know what I do do a radio? Right? We
spent twelve minutes at a time on big stories and
we just keep going and go you need ninety seconds? Yeah? Sure,
I could give you ninety seconds. So for a while
it was so different, and it was fun because you're
boiling down everything you're talking about and you're really getting
it into you know, a certain amount of time, like boy,
this is fun. It was. It was an easier uh
(19:44):
segue to do it because it was going from you know,
creating all this content, you're creating a little bit you know,
doing the same things but creating less content. And I
was like, wow, it was great and it was grateful
a while, and doing NFL Network was great for a while,
and then towards the end that was like, boy, I
really missed being able to talk a lot. Yeah, it was.
It was something I'm like, boy, I really miss like
this story right here. I'd love to talk about this
and this and this. So I kind of came full
(20:06):
circle where radio was, you know, hey, this is it
was awful with what I wanted that I wanted to
try TV for a while and I did it. Then
I realized how much I missed radio and came back
to it, so you know, it was it was kind
of a yin and yang. But I'm glad I'm getting
to do all of it now. And uh, but radio
clearly is hey, I'd like being able to have some
time to go through a topic or have some fun
and tell a joke and tell a story where there's
(20:27):
no real time to do that on TV. So this
is actually a much better. I think it feels like
a much better for that. Uh for me, Well, you know,
as you like to say, you know, you're the overnight
gas bag and I'm a gas bag. We're all gas bags. You.
Gaston is Gaston, but we're a gas bags kind of
pic for us to do stuff. Well, gascon his gag
On Actually that's his official nickname, and he's I think
(20:48):
he's falling asleep. Are you okay, gag Yeah. I just
feel so young compared to you guys talking, So it's
actually a great. Uh, well you don't look young. You
might feel young, which you don't look you. Yeah, it's that,
that's true. Jason. I gotta ask you, since you guys
have talked about this so much, do you feel that
the format radio wise is easier even though you have
to abide by a clock when you know you're talking
(21:10):
about measurements and audiences and all that other bs. Do
you feel like it's still easier than it is for
television or do you think it's the other way around. Um,
I think it's I think it's easier from the perspective
of as long as you're in it every day, and uh,
that's that's something that hey, if you know the constant
prep that we do every day in being involved in stories,
(21:33):
when something comes up, that's, okay, here's the latest thing
involving Russell Wilson. We know all that, I know all
the background to it. It's something that I gotta learn new,
like sometimes you have to do for TV because hey,
here's this and we're gonna do this story tomorrow. Okay,
so now I have to kind of, you know, brush
up on it if it's something that I'm not quite
familiar with. But the stuff for radio is like, okay,
already have the background for it, I know, and now
I can look forward to, hey, what can I do
(21:54):
that's a little bit different or that people haven't heard yet,
And and that makes it a little bit easier because
that comfort level of just getting insane. I'm sure to
get to talk because the one thing I like to
do and I'm pretty good at of talking, so you know,
it's it's it's very very comfortable to do that. And
then you get to the point where with TV it's like, okay,
ninety seconds and this, I got it. Then you're like,
(22:15):
oh man, but I want to say this, this, and this.
I only have ninety seconds. I don't know that I
can do can I stay all for you that I
gotta leave one of those things out. I don't want
to leave one of those things out. So you know,
it kind of comes back around to that that you know,
wherever you're more comfortable and wherever you've you've done longer
and you feel like you're more comfortable prepping and getting in,
that's gonna wind up being the easiest thing. Yeah, because
(22:36):
you've had this knacks, you were your your form and
new style is unique in the sense that you can
integrate a lot of pop culture. Was that was that organic?
Where is that something you felt like through the course
of your career. I need to include this when I
talk sports just because it's more relatable and it separates
me from the rest of the guys that are strictly
all about sports every single second of every single segment. Now,
(23:00):
that's just kind of who I am. I've always been
a big pop culture. I always been big TV, movies, music,
you know, So it's just it's just part of who
I am, you know. Um, In fact, when I go out,
like if I go to party, you know, we could
go to parties. Hopefully we go to parties again. You know,
I'll go to parties and the conversations I want to
you know, have with people are, oh, are you watching
you know, Raised by Wolves? You know, are you watching
(23:20):
the boys all? And I'd rather talk about that. And
then when when people come up and say, hey, man,
so what do you think of the Lakes? Is gonna
make them make a trade and they're gonna go get
Blake Griffin, the big gonna and I'll talk about that.
It's fine, But it's like, you know, I do that
all all the time during the week, you know, so
when I get to stretch my legs, it outside something else.
That's kind of what I really like to talk about.
You know. I would love to be able, But one
thing I really would love to do in my careers
(23:42):
able a blog about TV and movies. You know, That's
one thing I'd love to do at some point. So
it's kind of just always been who I am, and
it's you know, that's kind of what I've always wanted
to do and say, Okay, this is who I am,
and let me bring that to the show and let
me tell you about my life a bit through what's
going on in the world of sports, it's kind of
always the way I've been. Is there something else that
you're working towards them in terms of a a second career,
(24:06):
if you will, besides the radio platform and what you're
doing a fox that you're you're looking at. Um, Well,
I actually, uh, I wrote a book few years ago.
I got published, um and it did as normal first
books and they didn't do very well, but that happens.
I remember when I when I got to publish, my
publisher said to me, now, listen, you're not gonna make
any money on this. I'm like, oh, okay, great, thanks
(24:26):
for thanks for bursting my balloon there right right. I'm
not gonna make anyoney. So you're not just don't make
money on your first book. I'm like, okay, that's fine.
You know, you get it published and you can write
another one. Like all right, great. So I wrote my
first book, which is great, which I love doing. I
love writing. And I wrote my second book. It's a novel,
and right now it's with uh my agents, and hopefully
something can happen there. We'll see. Um. If not, I'll
(24:49):
try to do things like you know, entering it in
contest that that happened online, you know, a couple of
times a year and everything. So that's kind of what
I like to do. I'm not saying I want to
go do something else, but like if I could, you know,
because I done, you know, I've done, I've done TV.
I'd love to do TV, you know again, you know
I did TV up until just a couple of years ago.
Then I started writing. So it's kind of like whatever
(25:09):
I'm into at the moment, like outside of doing radio
and right now it's been more writing that has been
anything else. Yeah, And the thing too about TV, I
only need TV for like a year at NBC. But
the thing that's so much different than radio is like
there's so many different producers and saying radio you got
a producer, but it's not. Every segment is you know,
formulated and by the by the second, it's it's a
(25:32):
much there's so many different moving parts to television than
than radio. It's a it's a big different. As far
as the book thing though, Jason, now, are you a
non fiction or a fiction guy? I'm a big fiction guy,
not nonfiction. It's really got to be a great book
for me to read. Nonfiction. I'm just not that's just
not what I normally read okay, all right, yeah, I
(25:53):
got you. And now, so you didn't make money on
the on the first book? How many books does want
to have to sell the actually make money? Like, what
how's the business work selling books? Like? Is there is
there a threshold that if you sell a certain number
you can make X amount of dollars? How's how's the
business work? Well, supposedly is that if you sell five
thousand books, that's a big that's a big deal, right,
(26:16):
Like five thousands a big deal and like anything more
than that, like I'll get you on a best seller list.
I'm like, wow, really go yeah, but five thousand books
is tough because there's so many different publishers and there's
so many ways to get books out, and you know,
are are you counting people buying it on the kindle?
You got to count people, you know, buying it in
the store, you know, having enough enough hard copies of it.
(26:36):
So you think about it, said, okay, you know five thousands,
And I've heard stories that that's what people do sometimes
that have the money to say, well, I'll just buy
these five thousand books myself, and uh, you know, then
suddenly it's a hit and that will allow me to
be an author that whoa an author you know that
sold a lot of books and and maybe you've been
starting the second one now you know, I don't have
enough money to buy five. I'm to go through the
(27:00):
internet and do it. So what they told me was that,
you know, you know, you write your first book and
and that's the way they're gonna get it published. And
then you start to make contacts and people know that, oh,
you've written a book before, Okay, I'll read your next one.
And that's kind of what it is. It's kind of
like getting your foot in the door that if you've
written a book and it's been published, you can get
your next one read by people. So it's kind of
(27:21):
like a big you know, steps there. So that's kind
of where I am right now with my second book, um,
which is actually it's a political thriller, uh and um.
So I finished it about, I want to say, about
a year and a half ago, and you know, trying
to get it out, trying to get it to people,
you know, it's it's kind of a thing. It's really difficult.
And so I've been lucky enough to get it through
my agency to get to them to their um written representation,
(27:43):
so I'm waiting to hear back UM. So I got
my fingers crossed on that. But that's kind of that's
kind of how it goes is that you write the
first one. That's what mean you're gonna get to write
a second one. It means you get people and more
people to read your second one, which means you don't
can yourself up to more publishers, more agents, more and
more people who are willing to look at things, and
maybe this works and you know, you just need one
personal love with your concept and you can you know,
(28:03):
and it can wind up getting published. But the key
is finding that right person. Yeah, and I was talking
to somebody and I actually been talking to this person
for a while about writing a book. And the lead
time with the big publishing companies, it's insane the lead
time they need on these on these books. But I
love that that story that you told because it's like
the It's what goes on on on Instagram or Twitter
where people buy bots, they buy fake followers so they
(28:25):
have more cloud, or in the case of books, you
buy all the books. That way you get more cloud,
and then you can you can get the easier time
with the second book. It's an interesting, interesting deal. Now
we only have a limited amount of time left, Jason,
but I cannot talk to you without bringing up the
Mets and the Jets. And uh now, uh we used
(28:46):
to bust each other's balls. You would goofund me about
the Dodgers, and I would goofn you about the Mets
or the Jets, and you goofund me about the Clippers.
But Robert Salah, Uh Now, he's inevitably gonna fail as
coach of the Jets. I think all Jets coaches fail.
So are you going to replace him some point? Jason?
Are you? Are you Willie? Or should they bring back
sexy rexy Rex Ryan to coach the Jets one more time? No, listen,
(29:08):
I am gonna do like I've done my whole life.
I am completely behind this head coach until I'm not
until I say, you know what, that's great, But moving on,
I'm sorry about that. You know. It's like, uh, it's
like if if you had a paid guest on your
show Beget it was a player on your team to
savor team. Like let's say you had Cody Bellinger on
your show every week, right, it was great. Cody Bellinger
(29:30):
was fun. He would talk, he would be awesome, great,
day great, And then Cody Bellinger gets traded. You would say, Okay,
hey is gonna come on the show? Who am I getting? Nice?
And Mack Mussey, who's it gonna be? Hey? I love you,
but now you're gone. Right, That's how I feel about Robertson.
I will love and love and love and see's great,
but it's not. I'll be the first guy to say
I am turning the page. I mean, I've turned the
page on Sam. I'd love Sam Donald, turned the page
(29:50):
on Sam Donald. Couldn't wait to turn the page on
Sam Donald. That's kind of how it's been because the
Jets has been that for a following door all the
way around, year after year after year. So it's kind
of to be expected it now. But it's okay because
we're gonna get Russell Wilson and both those it's gonna
be great. Its completely reasonable, yes, And then after that
they can they can bring back how Old's Ken O'Brien.
(30:11):
They can bring him back and he can play quarterback
after that, like you can be maybe he'll be the
third string quarterback. And then and then you got the
mess now, Jason, you know the Dodgers rule the roost
in the nationally. Jason, I know you're all excited because
of Francisco Indoor and all that. You're all gag off
for Lindoor, but you can finish it runner up if
you want. But the Padres are pretty good too, So
(30:32):
good luck for the Mets. And you finally got an
owner that's willing to spend money. Jason, with the Mets,
this guy's got this hunch, fun guy, and then he
gets screwed over with the game stop stuff. So you
can't win as a Mets fan. Jason, I know the
Mets can't have nice things, like we had nice things
for a good ninety days, man, and everything was great.
And here Steve Coney's the richest owner in baseball. He's
(30:53):
got money a shoebox in his office that he can
pay out to God, Oh it was great. He's on Twitter,
he's with the fan and say we're going to spend
we make the door trade things. A great Dennistary Porter
story breaks that we miss out on George Speener and
then we miss out on Trevor Bauer, who just used
the Mets for leverage. The entire time. He was never
gonna go to the Mets. He was just using them
(31:14):
as leverage what he could out of the Dodgers and
dal Steve Cohen and the game stops thing. And I go, oh, man,
you know we did. We had ninety days of the
fast Lane, man, and things are great. But I will
say this now, buddy, and I'll say this to you, Yeah,
I will see you in the NLCS. We will settle
this in October in the NLCS, all right, and we
will make a gigantic wager on that if the Dodgers
(31:37):
and Mets were to play in the NLCS, guaranteed, because
the Boys in Blue are not gonna lose to the Metropolitans.
It's not gonna happen, Jason. It's the era of Dodger baseball.
They are the Atlanta Braves of the nice. But unlike
the Braves, they're gonna win multiple World Series. Well, they
should have already won in seen because they were that
was the astros cheated. We don't need to get into that. Hey, Jess,
(31:58):
I gotta go, but thank you many. You're the greatest.
Jason Smith the Jason Smith Show, and you you know him,
you love him the whole thing. Thank you, Jason, appreciate
your time. Be sure to catch live editions of The
Ben Miller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific,
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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more hours a day dred minutes a week was enough,
(00:23):
think again. He's the last remnants of the old republic,
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something special. Fifth Hour with Ben Maller starts right now
(00:44):
that it does. We are in the air everywhere yet again.
This is the Friday podcast. We are back at it
in a conversation podcast. Because four hours a night on
the overnight obviously not enough. We do this eight days
a week. While podcast for you on Saturday and Sunday.
Tell a friend, Get the word out, Spread the word
(01:06):
not only on the i Heart platform, but all over
where do you get podcast? And this a conversation podcast.
We are going into the rolodecks of stars at Fox
sports radio and someone that you might not know. A
lot of people don't realize this. This This is somebody actually
worked with at two different places in my radio journey.
(01:27):
Here you know him, you love him. As half of
the night show, it's the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmony because of the Fairness Doctor. We had harmon on
last week, so we must bring in the number one
Jets and mets apologists. I know in all the land,
the great Jason Smith hanging out with us here on
(01:48):
the fifth hour, and Gascon's here. He'll chime in from
time to time. Just I'm I gotta warn you on that, Jason,
I have gonna warn you that Guestcon might chime in
with an annoying question at some point. So we're I'm
kind of I'm kind of used to when he does that,
you know, when he does the updates on on the
show during the weekend on my show, and I'm like, okay, hey,
what's trending, And they'll just say to me, is it Burke? Okay, Okay,
(02:11):
that's not Sean Burke. Is it Floris Lukewitch? No, No,
don't no, it's not it's not. It's bed to be fair.
Though I've thrown Jason off once at least what I
mentioned is it Sema hyak, and it threw him off,
just completely off the reservation. So I get those in
from time to time. Yeah, so I feel your same, buddy,
(02:31):
I know what's going on here. Well, this is Jason
gascon aside. We'll just try to over Gascon's what's known
as an acquired taste. But nobody's acquired the taste. That's
the problem. So that that's the issue. But I'm gonna
make it all about us, you know. I want to
make it all about us, Jason, because in the early
days of Fox Sports Radio, Uh, we did shows together
and we actually worked together at Extra Sports eleven fifty
(02:54):
back back in the day. We're at that station at
the same time before Fox Sports Radio existed. But I
have fond memories of doing the show with you on
the weekends. But most of them, Jason, revolve around food.
Most of them around revolve around food, not necessarily doing
the show, but the eating habits that we had in
(03:15):
those days. What do you remember about the early days
and we were hanging out and I think it was
like a Saturday night. I think we were doing something. Uh,
I forget exactly when, but it was in the evening time,
nighttime hours, and we did a lot of shows together
back in those days. Oh he did, Buddy. I remember
when we first started at even you were on the
Ben and Dave Show, and I would fill limit with
(03:35):
Lee Klein and I would come on after you guys,
and I would come out, and then you would always
have something really funny and snarky to say about Lee,
and I would go, oh, I hope these guys get
along well, Okay, I know, I think must. Everything's all right.
And then we hooked up again at Fox, and yeah,
it was like Saturday and Sunday night late night like
into the like into the into the next morning. And
(03:56):
the food we had, like we would go to the
gas station and get like I like, I look at okay,
our shows like four hours long. I think one show
was five hours long, and I would have like three things,
a Hostess cupcakes and like two Diet cokes and a
Diet dr pepper and oh, let me get some cheese
and crackers too. Like we had the entire uh area
covered like in front of him. We would do the
(04:17):
show from like right next to the keyboards and the
computers and I think the computers are still the same
from when we started back in the early two thousands,
and we would have it would be so it would
be like a smartest board of gas station food that
we would have. And I remember the Hostess cupcakes the
most because they must have had like six of those
every night you did the show together. Yeah, and I
remember the gummy sharks. That was always because they didn't
(04:38):
always have the gummy sharks, so when they had the
gummy sharks, so that was very big. And then you know,
this is back in my big eating days, Jason, and
I'm i double fisting. I got Eminem's in one hand,
I got gummy bears in the other. I got the
Cheetos over here, I got the frieds over there. Uh
you know, the Freedo bandidos over there hanging out in
the back. It was awesome, I mean it was it
was great. And now look at us, Jason, all these
(05:00):
years later, we're still there. I know you left for
a while, but you're back. And uh, my diet's changed
a little bit. Are you still eating the crazy diet? No,
not as much. Man. It was weird that I got
to a point where I said, I just can't keep
eating like this. I can't. I can't. I just can't
do it. And now since I stopped drinking diet soda,
like I've really cut that like now and maybe have
(05:21):
one every couple of days, we're gonna have a caffeine headache.
And I noticed how much less I need to eat.
I'm like, wow, they're really right that caffeine is a
diet stimulant, because an appetite stimulant, because yeah, I drink
diet coke for years. It was I would drink like,
you know, three a day, you know, is what I
would have. I would keep drinking and keep drinking. And
if days I went out to watch a game or something,
oh my god, I just don't a waitress, you hat
(05:42):
diet coke, keeping coming, keeping coming, did one every ten
or fifteen minutes. I did one, And then when I
stopped and I said, I just can't. It's, you know,
I get to the point where I gotta, I gotta
start doing something else. And I realized I'm full after
so much less, Like oh my god, I've eaten a
piece and a half a pizza and I'm usually it's
like four pieces, And I go, oh man, I'm kind
(06:03):
of fulled down. And it's amazing what happened when when
when I cut that back. So yeah, I'm with you, buddy.
I mean, it's it's been. It's been something just realizing
when you change, how how easy it is to go
back to just, you know, eating what regular people eat
instead of overnight show. I know, Oh my god, I
I would eat. I I would just gorge back back
(06:26):
in the day. And I love soda too. I was
a huge, huge soda ga. I actually lost a fair
amount of way to originally when when I gained some
of it back, but by stopping drinking soda. I was
a dr pepper guy. Love cherry coke um. And I'm
the guy that would go in back when seven eleven
had those like triple big golf things or whatever, the
double big golfs. I'd go in there, I'd fill it up,
(06:49):
I drink half of it, and then I'd fill it
up again, and then I would check out of seven eleven.
That would be that would be my move. This guy
here is trying to get away with not paying for
I didn't even need a slurpy man. I just need
an extra dr pepper. Whenever I was I was good
to go in that and now look at me now,
(07:10):
I don't even eat most days. Now now I'm like
getting to this inter minute fasting thing, which is which
is my new my new mischigas here. And if you
would have told young me, Jason, you knew me in
those days, that I would go like two days a
week without eating, I would have said, you're insane. I
would rather die than do that. But look at look
at me now getting old Jason. I guess it is
(07:32):
not the lesson there, but my goodness, you know, I
remember once I forget what we were talking. We talked
about this. I were so impressed by it. But we
were doing something and we were talking about a topic
I forget. You know, you would you would talk, you
would said what you were going to say. And then
I started talking, and you know, I think I talked
for maybe like not even a minute, like I want
(07:53):
to say something like that, And in that minute, you
finished an entire diet Dr Pepper, like you know, talking
and then I started talking, you opened up the diet
Dr Pepper and then you stopped and you I was like,
oh my god, funny, that's the man that usually if
(08:14):
my print sold, it's fast by I start cheering and
it's like, oh, I gotta stop, I gotta stop, and
went right through it. It It was seconds and you were
done with an entire diet. Dr Pepper. Well, as you know, Jason,
it's not easy to become a total fat so you
really have to work for it. You have to have skills.
You've got to have skills to get to that level
and look like the Michelin man. So I did have
(08:35):
that go Now you mentioned Lee Klient. I've known Lee
for years. As you reference, we used to bust Lee's
balls all the time. I've had Lee on the podcast
a couple of times since we were doing this the
last year and a half or whatever we've been doing
the podcast. But um, what are I love Lee kind stories?
Because Lee has he is known as the original Prince
of darkness. I know Jonas Knocks our friend Jonas has
(08:56):
that nickname now as well. But but Lee can turn
the most positive story about like rainbow, sunshine and lollipops
into a horror story like he has. He has a
gift in that department. But what are some of the
things you that stand out from your day is working
with our our buddy Lee. Oh I remember the first
(09:16):
day I worked with Lee. The first day I filled
and I was so nervous. Right, so, I hadn't really
done sports talk radio before. It was my first chance
I was getting you know, I find out from I
forget who our producer was the time, um, but they said, hey, listen,
you know you want to get in. The show starts
at eight. Why don't you get around six thirty year
So I'm like, all right, great, I did like six
fifteen making sure, and I'm sitting there for fifteen minutes.
(09:39):
I'm nervous and Lee comes walking in and he said
something the producer and Lee walked over. He goes, are
you Jason? I said yeah. He goes, I'm like, the
first thing I want to let you know is we're
royally blank tonight, just so you know, right off the back.
And he walked out of the room that the first
thing he didn't tell me we're royally blank tonight and
walked out of the room. But I don't I don't
know what could possibly be happening, What what can be happening? Something?
(10:02):
So be nine like, oh we may go on at
like eight fift you know it's coming on like after
a game and I'm like, what do we royally blank,
like they're gonna come and take the station's license away,
and they know they're gonna, you know, are the police coming.
I don't understand. But that was my first experience with
Lee Klein, And I'll tell you what he is like
a real life Cramer. Like there's times like after I
(10:25):
got to know him, he would come to my house
at like ten o'clock in the morning, like I'm in
the rogue because I worked late at night, knocks on
the door, Hey, what's going on? Hey, come on, we're
taking a ride. What do you mean what do you
need to take it a ride? We're talking about taking
it right? You just take a ride with me. And
I'm like okay. It would be the most random place
like task to go pick up these Clipper tickets at
the station. And then I got to go to this
(10:46):
appearance that I have to make. They go, what what
are you doing with you? So you're gonna come on here?
I'm like okay. Like every day was like we had
Cramer days. I'm like, Okay, whatever Kramer wants to do,
we're gonna do today. Yeah, it was, it was and Lee, Uh,
there's several famous Lee stories. The one that is my favorite,
I don't know, it's my face. It's in the top
five was when the it was on the weekend at
(11:07):
eleven fifty and the they were fixing the phones, the
phone the call in lines were down and Lee had
to host like a three hour show on a Saturday.
It was a Saturday morning, and you know, it's kind
of a light time. I think it was during the summer.
You know, it's not too much going on these in
the days before social media isn't as much content out there.
And so Lee he's like, I'm not doing the show
(11:31):
without calls, you know, I'm not doing the jolly starts
freaking at and uh and so that the only lines
that the only inbound lines that we're working were the
hot line numbers, which is the you know, as you know,
Jason being a radius, the holy grail. You're not supposed
to give out the hot line number, the warm line.
They come that's the biggest, So hand to God, Jason Lee.
(11:52):
Lee does his opening a little monologue and then proceeds
to He says, well, only for today, I have a
special number to call in on. He then gives out
the warm line on the air, for people to call
in to his show. It was hilarious. Oh my god,
did that It was awesome? It was awesome. Now, before
(12:12):
I go too much further, since we've been at Fox
Sports Radio since the early days, and you left and
then came back, but you did shows. And this is
something a name that a lot of people who are
listening now might not know. But if you've been with
Fox Sports Radio since the early days, you know this guy,
Sarge the comedian, Sarge the comedian. And have have you
(12:36):
kept in contact with him? Is he still around? As
he still? I know? Last I heard he was like
doing boat comedian comic acts or something like that. I
I lost contact with him, but he hosted a show
on on Fox Sports Radio in the in the evening time,
and I remember, yes sir, it was yes sir, No, sir.
Was he had some catchphrase that you had to say
(12:57):
when you called it and no one would say it,
and he would get very annoyed. Yeah, you know, you
had to say sir, yes sir to get on the air.
And anytime someone would get on there, they say, hey,
you're on the air, and I get great, Hey, I
think the cowboys. You gotta say sir, yes sir. And
then there's people who just couldn't say it. They would
say yes sir, no, no, sir, yes sir, sirr. I
all right, sorry, I want to talk about the Cowboys. No,
(13:18):
you have to say sir, yes sir. It gives you
permission to speak. And sometimes it was really funny because
I think some people just did it on purpose, like
I'm just not gonna say it. I'm gonna say yes, sir,
I'm gonna say no sir, I'm gonna say aye aye sir.
I'm gonna say all these things just because I want
to see how far this goes. Yeah, I was on
with him at night and uh, we were on for
a while and then when and he yeah, he did
(13:40):
wind up going to do I think that's what he's doing.
I haven't talked to him in years and years and years, um,
but I think that's what he's doing. I was doing
doing comedy on ships, which is I think what he
did before he came to Fox, like he would be
the comedian on on a ship, and and that's you know,
he'd performed like every night and and go on and
and that's kind of what he does. I think that's
still what he does. Well, if that's what takes. If
(14:01):
that's what he does, though right now you'd have to
say he's not doing that because of what's going on
in the last year right there, there's not Cruises aren't
really happening right now because of the I can't believe
anybody's going on cruises right now. I thought you were
going to bring up somebody from a long time For
you to bring up Page, that's well, that's my person, Bob.
You know, Bob, when you talk about wild and crazy man,
(14:24):
Bob thought that the listener and I, you know, I
got along with Bob and we had to fall out
at the end. Apparently he trashed me on Twitter and
then he apologized for it. But uh yeah, Bob was
like the guy who replaced Howard cosell at on his
radio show in New York and all this scene is
a Detroit guy, but he spent time in and uh
oh yeah, he was a carrier. He thought people listened
from the beginning of the show to the end of
(14:45):
the show and didn't turn down. And then he also
the other thing that blew me. He didn't want to
take calls from cell phones because he saw the quality.
Can you imagine doing your shows. We're gonna take calls,
but no cell phones can call in. No one would
do who's gotta landline? No one's gonna land There would
be a show with no phone calls. Why had someone's
(15:06):
calling in this one guy? Woman's eighty five, she's calling
from the landline. You think about the chiefs? Uh? Now,
the original Fox Sports radio lineup, they had Jeanie's Alaska,
Kevin Fraser, Bob Paige was part of it. Uh. Was
(15:26):
it Bob Golic I think was doing the overnight show
originally or not Bob Golick? Was it Bob Goli? It
might have been. Bob Golick and Carrara did nights yea,
and Dan Cilio did overnight. Oh, that's right. Cilio was
doing the overnight and then there was oh and Chris
Myers and Steve Lyons were on during the day like
(15:47):
it was like Alasko and Kevin Fraser like that was
the That was the afternoon run on five. Then it
was Bob Paige doing afternoons, and then it went into
Golick and Herrera and then uh, Dan Elio that's how
it went. Yeah, okay, yeah, and then then Lampley did
a show for a while, but Bruno was the big
morning guy they had and then uh and they and
(16:09):
they went to the network actually went dark when Rome
was on, Jim Rome was on because they was a
Premier property, so they didn't have at that time, they
didn't have any show in that in that window in
the early days of Fox. Now you did TV for
a while, just your big TV guy there. And actually
when you started in radio, you were I think you
were a Channel seven, right, you were working at Channel
seven in l A before I think before you went
(16:30):
to eleven fifty, right, if I remember correctly. Yeah, Yeah,
I was producing sports. I was producing the six o'clock
Sports past. At the eleven o'clock Sports cast, it was
Bill Weir, who now is you know huge, you know,
moving on in CNN and at different places, and um
Rock Kukazaki, who's still there. I just had roped on
my show two nights ago to talk about the Tiger
(16:51):
Woods story because he was actually, you want a great
story at Rob Tukasaki Channel seven, it's been the bane
guy there for like twenty years. Um when they're average
was going on for Tiger Woods, Like Rob wasn't on
the air, and he wasn't on the air because he
was at the funeral for for his his his great
aunt I think it died. He was in the service.
He walks out of the service and he's bum hit
(17:13):
with all these texts that hey, Tiger Woods in a
serious and he's on the air outside of the funeral
and you could see he's wearing a suit and there's
like flowers everywhere, and he's got his camera up. He's
holding his camera up. He said, oh my god, my
arms are so tired from holding this camera. He's got
the air talking about this and he just walked out
of the funeral and you're on the air. You gotta
talk about this, and you know that was their coverage.
You wind up going all day. That's what Rob's Rob's
(17:35):
a great I love Rob. Rob's one. And Bill. Remember
Bill Weir When we were doing the Ben and Dave
Show back in the day, we had Bill on and
he even at that time, he's like he didn't really
want to be the sports guy. He always wanted to
get into the news. And I know he's been at
CNN and other places and done pretty well from somebody,
but even back then, I think he was kind of
like he was already looking to get away from the
(17:55):
sports stuff. He had other aspirations other than being the
sports guy. Uh yeah, he wanted he like he came
into KBC. I think you know remember Bill telling me that,
like they promised them certain things and they didn't deliver
on it, Like you're supposed to get a show. Uh,
Like I think he was supposed to get that show
that Oh whos to Byron Allen remember when it was.
(18:16):
It was he'd be in a taxi camp and he'd
frid it around and celebrities would get in and they
do an interview that they would leave when somebody else
would get in. Like that was supposed to be his show.
And then for some reason to ABC like didn't want
him to do it. He got he got mad. He
was like, well that's why I came there to be
he was doing stuff like that, Like that was supposed
to be his show originally the cabs going out, people
coming in it was. And then Jerry Seinfeldt now turning
(18:38):
into a whole big thing where he started doing it.
Then he does comedians getting coffee with it. So yeah,
it turned out to be a great idea. Twenty years
ago there you go. He's ahead of his time. Yeah,
and then you worked at you worked in the NFL
network for a while. You did that, and then now
do you like TV better than radio? Jason? Are you
more of a radio guy? Well, I'll tell you it's
in the beginning for TV was great because it was
(19:00):
is like, you know, because I first started doing TV,
like I did some bits on ESPN, like I was
on Romans Burning, and I would be a panelist. I
actually guest hosted a few times, which was awesome. And
the one thing I noticed was that I'm like, okay,
well here we needed we need we need a big
take on this. I'm like, okay, well what Yeah, it's
got to be like ninety seconds, So can you do
I'm like, can I do ninety sentence on a big tent? Really?
(19:22):
You know what I do do a radio? Right? We
spent twelve minutes at a time on big stories and
we just keep going and go you need ninety seconds? Yeah? Sure,
I could give you ninety seconds. So for a while
it was so different, and it was fun because you're
boiling down everything you're talking about and you're really getting
it into you know, a certain amount of time, like boy,
this is fun. It was. It was an easier uh
(19:44):
segue to do it because it was going from you know,
creating all this content, you're creating a little bit you know,
doing the same things but creating less content. And I
was like, wow, it was great and it was grateful
a while, and doing NFL Network was great for a while,
and then towards the end that was like, boy, I
really missed being able to talk a lot. Yeah, it was.
It was something I'm like, boy, I really miss like
this story right here. I'd love to talk about this
and this and this. So I kind of came full
(20:06):
circle where radio was, you know, hey, this is it
was awful with what I wanted that I wanted to
try TV for a while and I did it. Then
I realized how much I missed radio and came back
to it, so you know, it was it was kind
of a yin and yang. But I'm glad I'm getting
to do all of it now. And uh, but radio
clearly is hey, I'd like being able to have some
time to go through a topic or have some fun
and tell a joke and tell a story where there's
(20:27):
no real time to do that on TV. So this
is actually a much better. I think it feels like
a much better for that. Uh for me, Well, you know,
as you like to say, you know, you're the overnight
gas bag and I'm a gas bag. We're all gas bags. You.
Gaston is Gaston, but we're a gas bags kind of
pic for us to do stuff. Well, gascon his gag
On Actually that's his official nickname, and he's I think
(20:48):
he's falling asleep. Are you okay, gag Yeah. I just
feel so young compared to you guys talking, So it's
actually a great. Uh, well you don't look young. You
might feel young, which you don't look you. Yeah, it's that,
that's true. Jason. I gotta ask you, since you guys
have talked about this so much, do you feel that
the format radio wise is easier even though you have
to abide by a clock when you know you're talking
(21:10):
about measurements and audiences and all that other bs. Do
you feel like it's still easier than it is for
television or do you think it's the other way around. Um,
I think it's I think it's easier from the perspective
of as long as you're in it every day, and uh,
that's that's something that hey, if you know the constant
prep that we do every day in being involved in stories,
(21:33):
when something comes up, that's, okay, here's the latest thing
involving Russell Wilson. We know all that, I know all
the background to it. It's something that I gotta learn new,
like sometimes you have to do for TV because hey,
here's this and we're gonna do this story tomorrow. Okay,
so now I have to kind of, you know, brush
up on it if it's something that I'm not quite
familiar with. But the stuff for radio is like, okay,
already have the background for it, I know, and now
I can look forward to, hey, what can I do
(21:54):
that's a little bit different or that people haven't heard yet,
And and that makes it a little bit easier because
that comfort level of just getting insane. I'm sure to
get to talk because the one thing I like to
do and I'm pretty good at of talking, so you know,
it's it's it's very very comfortable to do that. And
then you get to the point where with TV it's like, okay,
ninety seconds and this, I got it. Then you're like,
(22:15):
oh man, but I want to say this, this, and this.
I only have ninety seconds. I don't know that I
can do can I stay all for you that I
gotta leave one of those things out. I don't want
to leave one of those things out. So you know,
it kind of comes back around to that that you know,
wherever you're more comfortable and wherever you've you've done longer
and you feel like you're more comfortable prepping and getting in,
that's gonna wind up being the easiest thing. Yeah, because
(22:36):
you've had this knacks, you were your your form and
new style is unique in the sense that you can
integrate a lot of pop culture. Was that was that organic?
Where is that something you felt like through the course
of your career. I need to include this when I
talk sports just because it's more relatable and it separates
me from the rest of the guys that are strictly
all about sports every single second of every single segment. Now,
(23:00):
that's just kind of who I am. I've always been
a big pop culture. I always been big TV, movies, music,
you know, So it's just it's just part of who
I am, you know. Um, In fact, when I go out,
like if I go to party, you know, we could
go to parties. Hopefully we go to parties again. You know,
I'll go to parties and the conversations I want to
you know, have with people are, oh, are you watching
you know, Raised by Wolves? You know, are you watching
(23:20):
the boys all? And I'd rather talk about that. And
then when when people come up and say, hey, man,
so what do you think of the Lakes? Is gonna
make them make a trade and they're gonna go get
Blake Griffin, the big gonna and I'll talk about that.
It's fine, But it's like, you know, I do that
all all the time during the week, you know, so
when I get to stretch my legs, it outside something else.
That's kind of what I really like to talk about.
You know. I would love to be able, But one
thing I really would love to do in my careers
(23:42):
able a blog about TV and movies. You know, That's
one thing I'd love to do at some point. So
it's kind of just always been who I am, and
it's you know, that's kind of what I've always wanted
to do and say, Okay, this is who I am,
and let me bring that to the show and let
me tell you about my life a bit through what's
going on in the world of sports, it's kind of
always the way I've been. Is there something else that
you're working towards them in terms of a a second career,
(24:06):
if you will, besides the radio platform and what you're
doing a fox that you're you're looking at. Um, Well,
I actually, uh, I wrote a book few years ago.
I got published, um and it did as normal first
books and they didn't do very well, but that happens.
I remember when I when I got to publish, my
publisher said to me, now, listen, you're not gonna make
any money on this. I'm like, oh, okay, great, thanks
(24:26):
for thanks for bursting my balloon there right right. I'm
not gonna make anyoney. So you're not just don't make
money on your first book. I'm like, okay, that's fine.
You know, you get it published and you can write
another one. Like all right, great. So I wrote my
first book, which is great, which I love doing. I
love writing. And I wrote my second book. It's a novel,
and right now it's with uh my agents, and hopefully
something can happen there. We'll see. Um. If not, I'll
(24:49):
try to do things like you know, entering it in
contest that that happened online, you know, a couple of
times a year and everything. So that's kind of what
I like to do. I'm not saying I want to
go do something else, but like if I could, you know,
because I done, you know, I've done, I've done TV.
I'd love to do TV, you know again, you know
I did TV up until just a couple of years ago.
Then I started writing. So it's kind of like whatever
(25:09):
I'm into at the moment, like outside of doing radio
and right now it's been more writing that has been
anything else. Yeah, And the thing too about TV, I
only need TV for like a year at NBC. But
the thing that's so much different than radio is like
there's so many different producers and saying radio you got
a producer, but it's not. Every segment is you know,
formulated and by the by the second, it's it's a
(25:32):
much there's so many different moving parts to television than
than radio. It's a it's a big different. As far
as the book thing though, Jason, now, are you a
non fiction or a fiction guy? I'm a big fiction guy,
not nonfiction. It's really got to be a great book
for me to read. Nonfiction. I'm just not that's just
not what I normally read okay, all right, yeah, I
(25:53):
got you. And now, so you didn't make money on
the on the first book? How many books does want
to have to sell the actually make money? Like, what
how's the business work selling books? Like? Is there is
there a threshold that if you sell a certain number
you can make X amount of dollars? How's how's the
business work? Well, supposedly is that if you sell five
thousand books, that's a big that's a big deal, right,
(26:16):
Like five thousands a big deal and like anything more
than that, like I'll get you on a best seller list.
I'm like, wow, really go yeah, but five thousand books
is tough because there's so many different publishers and there's
so many ways to get books out, and you know,
are are you counting people buying it on the kindle?
You got to count people, you know, buying it in
the store, you know, having enough enough hard copies of it.
(26:36):
So you think about it, said, okay, you know five thousands,
And I've heard stories that that's what people do sometimes
that have the money to say, well, I'll just buy
these five thousand books myself, and uh, you know, then
suddenly it's a hit and that will allow me to
be an author that whoa an author you know that
sold a lot of books and and maybe you've been
starting the second one now you know, I don't have
enough money to buy five. I'm to go through the
(27:00):
internet and do it. So what they told me was that,
you know, you know, you write your first book and
and that's the way they're gonna get it published. And
then you start to make contacts and people know that, oh,
you've written a book before, Okay, I'll read your next one.
And that's kind of what it is. It's kind of
like getting your foot in the door that if you've
written a book and it's been published, you can get
your next one read by people. So it's kind of
(27:21):
like a big you know, steps there. So that's kind
of where I am right now with my second book, um,
which is actually it's a political thriller, uh and um.
So I finished it about, I want to say, about
a year and a half ago, and you know, trying
to get it out, trying to get it to people,
you know, it's it's kind of a thing. It's really difficult.
And so I've been lucky enough to get it through
my agency to get to them to their um written representation,
(27:43):
so I'm waiting to hear back UM. So I got
my fingers crossed on that. But that's kind of that's
kind of how it goes is that you write the
first one. That's what mean you're gonna get to write
a second one. It means you get people and more
people to read your second one, which means you don't
can yourself up to more publishers, more agents, more and
more people who are willing to look at things, and
maybe this works and you know, you just need one
personal love with your concept and you can you know,
(28:03):
and it can wind up getting published. But the key
is finding that right person. Yeah, and I was talking
to somebody and I actually been talking to this person
for a while about writing a book. And the lead
time with the big publishing companies, it's insane the lead
time they need on these on these books. But I
love that that story that you told because it's like
the It's what goes on on on Instagram or Twitter
where people buy bots, they buy fake followers so they
(28:25):
have more cloud, or in the case of books, you
buy all the books. That way you get more cloud,
and then you can you can get the easier time
with the second book. It's an interesting, interesting deal. Now
we only have a limited amount of time left, Jason,
but I cannot talk to you without bringing up the
Mets and the Jets. And uh now, uh we used
(28:46):
to bust each other's balls. You would goofund me about
the Dodgers, and I would goofn you about the Mets
or the Jets, and you goofund me about the Clippers.
But Robert Salah, Uh Now, he's inevitably gonna fail as
coach of the Jets. I think all Jets coaches fail.
So are you going to replace him some point? Jason?
Are you? Are you Willie? Or should they bring back
sexy rexy Rex Ryan to coach the Jets one more time? No, listen,
(29:08):
I am gonna do like I've done my whole life.
I am completely behind this head coach until I'm not
until I say, you know what, that's great, But moving on,
I'm sorry about that. You know. It's like, uh, it's
like if if you had a paid guest on your
show Beget it was a player on your team to
savor team. Like let's say you had Cody Bellinger on
your show every week, right, it was great. Cody Bellinger
(29:30):
was fun. He would talk, he would be awesome, great,
day great, And then Cody Bellinger gets traded. You would say, Okay,
hey is gonna come on the show? Who am I getting? Nice?
And Mack Mussey, who's it gonna be? Hey? I love you,
but now you're gone. Right, That's how I feel about Robertson.
I will love and love and love and see's great,
but it's not. I'll be the first guy to say
I am turning the page. I mean, I've turned the
page on Sam. I'd love Sam Donald, turned the page
(29:50):
on Sam Donald. Couldn't wait to turn the page on
Sam Donald. That's kind of how it's been because the
Jets has been that for a following door all the
way around, year after year after year. So it's kind
of to be expected it now. But it's okay because
we're gonna get Russell Wilson and both those it's gonna
be great. Its completely reasonable, yes, And then after that
they can they can bring back how Old's Ken O'Brien.
(30:11):
They can bring him back and he can play quarterback
after that, like you can be maybe he'll be the
third string quarterback. And then and then you got the
mess now, Jason, you know the Dodgers rule the roost
in the nationally. Jason, I know you're all excited because
of Francisco Indoor and all that. You're all gag off
for Lindoor, but you can finish it runner up if
you want. But the Padres are pretty good too, So
(30:32):
good luck for the Mets. And you finally got an
owner that's willing to spend money. Jason, with the Mets,
this guy's got this hunch, fun guy, and then he
gets screwed over with the game stop stuff. So you
can't win as a Mets fan. Jason, I know the
Mets can't have nice things, like we had nice things
for a good ninety days, man, and everything was great.
And here Steve Coney's the richest owner in baseball. He's
(30:53):
got money a shoebox in his office that he can
pay out to God, Oh it was great. He's on Twitter,
he's with the fan and say we're going to spend
we make the door trade things. A great Dennistary Porter
story breaks that we miss out on George Speener and
then we miss out on Trevor Bauer, who just used
the Mets for leverage. The entire time. He was never
gonna go to the Mets. He was just using them
(31:14):
as leverage what he could out of the Dodgers and
dal Steve Cohen and the game stops thing. And I go, oh, man,
you know we did. We had ninety days of the
fast Lane, man, and things are great. But I will
say this now, buddy, and I'll say this to you, Yeah,
I will see you in the NLCS. We will settle
this in October in the NLCS, all right, and we
will make a gigantic wager on that if the Dodgers
(31:37):
and Mets were to play in the NLCS, guaranteed, because
the Boys in Blue are not gonna lose to the Metropolitans.
It's not gonna happen, Jason. It's the era of Dodger baseball.
They are the Atlanta Braves of the nice. But unlike
the Braves, they're gonna win multiple World Series. Well, they
should have already won in seen because they were that
was the astros cheated. We don't need to get into that. Hey, Jess,
(31:58):
I gotta go, but thank you many. You're the greatest.
Jason Smith the Jason Smith Show, and you you know him,
you love him the whole thing. Thank you, Jason, appreciate
your time. Be sure to catch live editions of The
Ben Miller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific,
Host
Ben Maller
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