Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two a m. Eastern eleven p m. Pacific.
If you thought four hours a day, minutes a week
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(00:21):
pill poppers in the penthouse the clearing House of Hot
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(00:44):
the radio show we'se We do this now eight days
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(01:05):
I Heart podcast network and wherever wherever you get your podcast,
and so for that, for that, we thank you, We
thank you very much. And yet again joined by David
Gascon who's right over there. He's making his way in
here slicing and dicing as we dip our toes into
(01:26):
the Major League Baseball postseason. But yeah, you got a
familiar face, so at least for a few back in
the UH in the happy confines of of our podcasting. Yes, yes,
I've determined that the fifth hour parts is now one
day of the podcast. We have dedicated to hanging out
with people, right, hanging out with people, and we don't
(01:48):
do that on the overnight show because of the time
and all that we do it. And so it's just
an excuse for me to talk to some of my
favorite people in radio that I have loved over the years,
and and and so with that as the backdrop, this
is an interview podcast. And if you are a connoisseur
of sports talk radio, if you are a fan and
(02:11):
you go back a certain number of years, you are
going to be very happy. Now you already know who's
on today because you've seen the description of the podcast
before you downloaded it. But one of my favorite all
time sports radio see. If if you were to say,
and I don't do Mount Rushmore, that's Gascon. I don't know, hi,
Mount Rushmore. But at the very top you've got guys
like Tony Bruno, Hack Saw Hamilton's and this guy, the
(02:36):
great Peter Brown. Now I first heard Peter Brown on
the weekends. He was doing a show with Tony Bruno
and Chuck Wilson, and it was one of the great
radio shows in sports talk of all times, a weekend show,
and I loved it so much. And I was just
starting out my career at that time, and I was
(02:57):
a big fan. I thought they did amazing in radio,
and it was. It was really good, and so Peter Brown.
If you don't know Peters, Peter had a very long
career in places like Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, worked in a
number of cities around the country and did national radio.
He was at One on One, which became Sporting News
(03:19):
Radio based out of Chicago. He did that for a
while and he's been out of the business for a
few years, so we haven't been able to catch up
with Peter. But he was very provocative as a host,
keep very strong opinions. I loved his style, his approach,
and all that he knew his onions. He knew his onions.
(03:39):
He didn't fake it till he made it. That that line,
fake it till you make it. He didn't do that
at all, and he would attack the sacred cows of
sports and all that it was. It was really enjoyable
to listen to him, and our paths actually briefly crossed.
I met Peter for the first time. I've been a
fan of his for a long time. But Fox Sports
Radio brought Peter Brown out and he had a try
(04:01):
out for one of the day parts. And I told
the boss at the time, I said, you gotta hire
this guy. This guy is better than anybody we have.
And of course they didn't listen to me. Uh and
Peter never never got the gig. But I'm excited, so
let's let's give it up now. A long time sports
radio legend, one of the fore fathers of syndicated sports
talk radio, the great Peter Brown, joining us on the
(04:25):
fifth Hour with Ben Maller and David Gascon and Peter,
why don't we start with this? What have you been
up to? My man? I'm a real good, tremendous glass artist.
Now I've always been good at it, you know, and
then I always did it when I was working in radio,
but now I do it full time, you know. Unfortunately,
do the pandemic it's you know, created no art shows.
(04:46):
But I go around the country to art show and
art show and art show and tell yes, well, it
seems like a good transition when you've had a good
career in sports radio. I think that's what most people
are going to be doing, right when they leave the business,
you start making art, I would hope so for goodness sake,
So because it gives you some sort of you know,
nobody argues you see when when they buy something. That's
the difference. Yeah. Well, and really sports talk radios art
(05:09):
as well, Peter. And when you did it, that's true,
and that's what it was. You know, it was a
creative outlet. You know. Look when you do this, yeah,
I know the nonsense about you work all day long
and you're looking up stuff, but let's be real, you
work in the four hours that you're actually on the air.
So the other time I had to do something. So
that gave me a creative outlet, and then I got
really good at that um and that decided to become
(05:32):
full time because look, I don't want to move all
around the country. I'm I'm too old for that. Crep.
Well you you did though you lived in didn't you
live in like Cleveland, and yeah, when I was young,
and when I was when I was you know, without
two kids. I mean when when we decided to part
company at Yahoo Boys Sporting, I think it was Yahoo.
(05:53):
When I left, they were in Houston, and they wanted
me to move to Houston. They wanted all their people
in Houston. And I was still living in Chicago and
I had two kids that we're you know, we're in
high school, and I you know, I don't want to
move one more time. Besides, with all the crap I
have accumulated over the years, it would take years for
me to move. I'd be too old to walk by
(06:13):
the time I got a rithing boxed up. So you know,
enough already, I I educated the public for thirty years.
Enough now it's your turn, well under staying. But now
you're a hoarder, Peter, do you wanna? Is there a confessional?
You know, in a in a kind of scary way.
You know What's funny though, when I do watch Hoarders
is kind of the time I do clean the house
because it does make you feel like God, I don't
(06:35):
want to be like that. I really don't. Yeah, now
for those and I was telling some people were gonna
have you on. I was a huge fan Peter of you.
I thought you were were you are you are, then
you are the closest thing to Peter Brown. I mean,
I gotta be honest. And for people that don't know,
let me just let me just reiterate here that you
are getting one of the premier talk shows in the
(06:55):
country in Ben Mueller, because you are genuine. And that's
my argument about every anything, is that most of these guys,
whether it's Jim Wrong or all these other Putson's, they're
all fake. They're not that well off the air, and
they don't give you their true feelings. They make it up.
You don't make it up. What you say is what
you believe. And that was something that I always did,
and I always thought that's why you and I had
(07:16):
a connection. So I'm glad in a way that you
were continuing on the legacy because they ain't too many
of us left. I got news for you. Yeah, no,
I I used to listen you did that. I first
heard you You're on ESPN with Bruno and Chuck Wilson,
and that was that was an amazing show. And I
guess I'm dating myself, but that was like the first
really main syndicated sports So you guys were on the weekends, right,
(07:39):
you would did a really love the first I mean
it was the ESPN's first show. I mean they brought in,
you know, they had Tony and they head Chuck, and
they brought in thousands of guys and they just couldn't
get any chemistry going. And then I came in to
do a week just to sort of try it out,
and I kept coming back and then eventually they gave
me a job like to like three weeks. Because the
three of us had tremend this chemistry and the show.
(08:01):
We each brought something different to the table. I mean,
Tony was the joke store, Chuck was the you know,
paper killer because he would be you know, everything had
to be historically accurate. And then I gave the opinions
and that's why it works so well. And I think that,
you know, again, that show, I don't think we'll ever
be reproduced in my opinion, and I don't you know, look,
I've done a million shows, You've done a million shows.
(08:22):
That was the finest show ever produced and put together
by some of the finest people. Yeah, and you guys
had great guests on and yeah, you know, not that
people necessarily tune in for the guests, but you you
guys were going back and forth and it didn't seem
you know the thing for me, when I listen to
a radio show sometimes it just drags, you know, there's
no move to it. And you guys, it never was
like that. And I tried to do that with my
(08:45):
stuff on the overnight. I try to make it go
as quickly as again, because you know you do and
you know it again, it has to be entertaining, it
has to it has to be accurate, it has to
be entertaining, and you have to be enghosted it. And
but we did seven hours Saturday and Sunday, and I mean,
I know, Tony would would drive up from Philadelphia. I
would fly Saturday morning from Chicago. And then at that
(09:06):
point I was doing seven days a week because I
was doing local afternoons in Chicago. So I mean, you know,
for us to do seven hours and to make it
go like that and to make it good on that
kind of tiredness, it's because that's who we were, I mean,
and that's the key. It's being genuine. I mean, the
grades of radio. Every one of them, whether it's Howard Stirn,
whether it's you know, it doesn't matter. What's even a
(09:29):
Rushla who I'm not a big fan of. At least
it's I'm honest, and it's genuine. It's not an act.
And that's the most important thing. Yeah. And now you
said you're doing our Obviously you're not doing our. You
you do, you make enough money feed where you're like,
I don't need to do this anymore. I mean, I
mean I made it. Look at why I was. I
was working here radio during the stupid time, a radio
(09:50):
when you made stupid money when you know some of
the figures that I made for working weekends should be illegal. Um.
You know, I have some good investments. I it's a
really decent years gambling, which is always good. I still givable.
So I mean that money comes in, um, and you know,
like any other bom, I live off my wife most
(10:10):
of the time. That's a good move. I want you
to know, Peter, it's the great move the radio business.
I am. I can work at Burger King and probably
make about as much money as I'm that's Onnay, that's
it totally. It's a totally different business. And you know
that injured into it too. I mean, yeah, because I
have continued on somewhere, absolutely, but I didn't like the
direction it's going. I surely don't like the direction that's
(10:31):
going now. I mean, for goodness sakes, I wouldn't last
five minutes um on the radio with the way I'm on,
you know what I mean. And I think that's a
terrible way that this business has become. I mean, the
fact that you've been able to survive, I think it
is a credit to you because it's a it's a
miracle these days. Yeah, I want to talk about that because, yeah,
you guys have so much more freedom. And I got
(10:52):
in and I felt like when I first started, I
could say what I really want to say. I still
say what I want to say, but I'm on overnight,
so my bosses are sleeping when I'm talking, so I
don't already. Yeah, I couldn't handle another meeting of can
I see a second? I no, no, because it would
be everything. Yeah, that's the worst part, right when you're
doing a show and you're you get done with the
show and then you get that message, that email or
(11:13):
the text like hey can you come in and I
gotta talk to you about something. It's like it was
never to ask for a contract EXTENTI eight million dollars.
That never happened. That why yeah? And the other thing
you mentioned, the gambling, that was one thing I was.
I love listen to you, but I could tell and
I'm a gambler a little bit to him. I'm not
as prolific as you, but I when I bet on
a game and I things don't go right, you could
(11:33):
tell when you were doing a rant, uh where your
money was on the game, right? Actually, yeah, I mean
I made I made Grant Mutzburger with the team because
you can always tell when Brant had it, you know,
like you all of a sudden, his voice would go down.
Another buck eye touched you, like do you know who
we had? And then that's fine, But it was it was, look,
we gambling. People were talking about gambling persona long grato
(11:57):
when I started. I mean two things that I did
that where I got yelled at on a regular basis
gambling and fantasy football. And now there are the two
biggest things on radio. I mean, I'm it's hysterical to
me when I see that, Like the NFL Brought to
you by Fan duel. I mean it freaks me out
when I see that. No, yeah, man, the wouldn't even
put the point spread for a while. They wouldn't talk
about I mean points were what's that? I mean when
(12:18):
I would say, gee, that's a really really important touchdown
because if they get back door, I mean I would
get yelled at, how dare you change the thing? That's great?
And you still you're still gambling, You're still winning, You're
still making some money on that. Yes, I have some
moments that's funny though. I mean in all, in my
long bedding career, which now spans forty years, probably more
than that forty five years. Um, when I was a kid,
(12:41):
I used to bring the gambling parlay tickets to school
in kindergarten and you know, get in trouble that way.
But um, you know, I still to this day do
not do well the first two weeks of the season
and the last two weeks of the season. I do
really well in the middle because I have something to
go by, So like I'm right in my hate like
startings week, I'm really now I'm in a group, so
(13:02):
I'm okay. I'm actually the same way like the first part,
especially this year, because there's nothing, nothing at all with
no training, you know, no practice games, none of that stuff.
So he had nothing. And uh, although I didn't do
that great last week either picking the games, but you
know I had a good week or because they're like, okay,
so now I know what Tom Brady can do. I
know what you know Kansas State can do. I know
(13:24):
because i've seen them play. Well, I haven't seen them play.
You know, I'm going on who's the more experienced team,
who's the most the team that jels the most. Also,
to the lines sort of even out. Not only does
the lines, Maaker sort of get into a groove as well,
So at least I can understand what he's doing and
what he's going through in making his decisions. And I'm
(13:45):
a favorite player, so I need to see teams in
the group. I can't take these twenty nine points and
now at the three point game with three minutes left. See,
I'm the other way. I genuinely lean to the dogs.
I like betting at the underdogs, and so that you know,
that makes it even there's so many terror teams in
the NFL and in the quarterbacks at brutal and you're
out here bet on underdogs and you're depending on the
(14:06):
fourth quarterback door cover and these guys can't complete a
three yard out. You know, it is terrible. No, absolutely
made it in from a favorite standpoint too. You have
to figure out, okay, which coaches, let's say, in college
per se, which coaches want to help the alumni. You know,
he was Burier Um Tom Osborne. They were great at that.
(14:27):
I mean they knew if they were up thirty in
the line, with thirty five, they were gold to that
last touch and that was going kneeling down at the
five yard line with three minutes left because they knew
that their salaries were based on the alumni. If you
made the alumni happy, then you made everybody happy. Well
you know, I mean Will must champer us week kicking
a field goal down seven points with three minutes left.
I mean, come on, you know wh I know what
(14:48):
we was doing, only I had Tennessee. So I'm not
a little happy with the game Cocks right now. No understand,
it's completely reasonable not to be happy. But I want
to go back here to you when you're doing the radio,
what was the biggest beef that you had with a
coach through a player? Was there one that stands out
that you just got into it, and that was that
was the defining moment of you battling with an athlete
or a coach. I mean I battled with maybe I
(15:10):
like I in fairness and and I guess I have
to apologize that doad Blue Sweede because he's had some success.
But there was a time there, you know, when they
didn't have the right defensive coordinator and you know, they
would win and then somehow they would lose to like
Georgia Tech ten nine or something some ridiculous thing. You know,
Georgia does that a lot too, Like they win all
their games in the East and then they lose to
like Arkansas, like for no reason. And I would constantly
(15:33):
bad mouth Cossons for not doing the right thing by
not going out and blowing out teams. Or you know,
I got to do a fight with uh mac Brown
because he was playing when he when he was in
Texas and I wanted to talk about the Oklahoma game,
which was the next week, and he just didn't want
to talk about it. I'm like, it's next week, you know,
like you can't not talk about it. Go. And then
(15:54):
there are guys who just never want to come on
with me that that we know that that's a guaranteed
you know, success rates when you know that they're coaches
that won't do anything with you. Well, Peter, I love.
I was follow up on that because I don't do
interviews really on the overnight because the time and all that.
But when I've had it, had guys on in the past,
when when athletes are coaching, I don't want to talk
about that, you know, I'm, uh, what's the point of
(16:15):
doing an interview. You don't decide what you're gonna talk about.
That's not how this works, right theater exactly? That would
and I would say, well, I want to talk about it.
I don't care what you don't want to talk about.
I want to talk about it, you know. And some
of the great questions, you know a lot of them
aren't even you know, actually related to their sports because
they really like that. Like I remember having Reggie Bush
on the night that Kim Kim Kardashian's wedding and I
(16:39):
just answered if he was gonna go and he said no,
he said, my mother's going. I said, what did you
get her? Like? Things like that, like and because that's
the nowadays, I don't know if you just don't get
the same kind of interviews, you don't get the same
kind of insight that you used to get because you know, look,
in reality, the guys who asked the questions don't really
want to know the answers. If Peter, have you had
any dust steps with media personalities that you can you
(17:01):
can talk about now? Oh yeah, yeah, I mean don't
have more local although I know that when when um
I was still at the FTN, but I also was
working in Chicago and Eric Kramer was the quarterback of
the Pears, and nobody got that Eric Kramer more than
I did. I mean, I just butchered this guy. So
here we go. We go to the super Bowl. It's
(17:22):
in Tampa, and it's just I think it's just me
and Tony Chuck didn't go. We're sitting at the table
and the producers knew none of this that like Eric Eric,
Eric wanted to kill me. I mean, like really seriously
literally kill me. And I know I was either turning
away and all of a sudden the segment starts and
who's sitting across with me, Eric Kramer, and he really
(17:44):
wanted to jump over the table, like Tony had to
stop him from going after me. That's pretty that's pretty soft.
Now have you done anything like nationally though, like you
you've taken shots at media personalities nationally that you've no
I deal. I used because you don't see anybody, you
know when you're national. You don't we see anybody you
know that you would see them at the Final Four,
or you would see them at at you know, like
(18:06):
the Super Bowl or World Series, let's say, but you
don't see them on a regular basis as opposed to
when you do when you see a local guy. I mean,
you know, I mean I I mean because again, I
always thought one of the big issues was if you
were gonna say something about a guy on the radio
and then you saw him in person, you damn well
better ask him when he's in prison. And that was
(18:26):
the thing with Brian Urlacker. We were in Lawrence for
the Rams and Paget Super Bowl, and I always said
about her Lacker that the reason why he was such
a great linebacker and made so many tackles is too
full one. He had two fat guys in front of
him and Ted Washington, okay, who funnels everything his way,
and he had no responsibility the only responsibility he had
(18:47):
was to make tackles, and I couldn't not say it
to his face. So we argued about we did that
in New Orleans, and we argued about that, you know,
I mean within interest of each other. I mean that
you know that that's dangerous stuff that her like HER's
big dude, do you think you could survive in today's
cancel culture with social I'm not even close. I mean not,
he's like close because scale the funny part about the
(19:08):
whole issue with Maria Taylor, okay, and Dan McNeil is
now I didn't say it as crashy it as perversely
as Dan did. Okay, but thanks to my non twitle
for Twitter followers, I said it about a half hour
earlier that I didn't think her outfit was necessarily appropriate
for a sideline reporter. I thought it was more appropriate
(19:32):
for a dance club. And I still believe that, And
not that I don't think, you know, she's talented or untalented.
I just didn't think her choice was good, same as
I wouldn't think if if some dude or a speedo
or a similar dance out for the guy on the sidelines,
I wouldn't think that was appropriate, But I wouldn't have
the opportunity to talk about that. I wouldn't even get
within three seconds of saying that. You know. The odds
(19:53):
thing Peter about that is I on Twitter, it's such
a weird ecosystem. You could you have. We have more
freedom on radio then we do on Twitter. It's it's
it's it's gotta be the written word, right versus the
spoken word. The power of that, and people just get
worked into a lather over everything on Twitter. It's insane.
Well there's those are more rack jobs on Twitter too,
(20:14):
you gotta remember. I mean, look, if you're assuming that
that the Twitter people are callers, Okay, that's the caller
that you know, like doesn't have any idea what you're
talking about currently and just kind of says or Brady,
I think he sucks, you know what I mean? Like
that's eventssentially the Twitter of guy. Yeah, exactly. And but
then you know, I mean, like I said, people just
read that stuff over and over, and then you've also
(20:35):
got you know, there's a lot of there's not as
many people on Twitter as people think. No, and if
the Cancel culture group, I mean, look, you want to
feel important, go ahead, you know, they cancel somebody or
you want to feel big, you know, tell them on
Twitter and then retweet it to all your friends and
then it takes out a life of its own. And
that's not the way that's Look, that's not the way
free speech works. Okay. You know, I know everybody says, all, well,
(20:57):
free speech and and it's against the government and all that. No, No,
free speech is a free circling, you know, circulation of ideas.
That's what free speech means. And for guys on the radio,
guys like you and me, we have to have that freedom.
If you don't have that freedom, then you know what
you're you're a and that genuine and B you're basically
sitting there worrying about everything you say. And I can't
(21:18):
work like that. Yeah, that's the way it is. All
it takes is one person, as you know, to hear
something I'm offended, oh my, and you got to apologize
and the whole thing. And they circled the way. And
it's not my game. Close to that is when when
I remember when the Pacers played the Knicks at Madisons
where Garden, it was Game seven, you know, and of
course I always felt like the league needed a team
(21:40):
to be there, and they certainly didn't want San Antonio
and Indiana in a strike short and season to be
in the NBA Finals. The times out Game seven, the
Knicks shoot like forty five free throws in the pager
shoot like pen Okay. So I came up the next
day and said, and it wasn't me. Actually was Larry Bird,
the coach of the Pacers, who said he thought that
there was something funny going on, okay, And I reiterated
(22:01):
that and said, see this proves my point that the
NBA screws with free throws in order to determine a winner.
Well that I'm supposed to go to San Antonio for
the NBA Finals to do my show, and I get
one of those can I see you a second? And
my generalmanager tells me that David Stearns office has called
and are filing a ten million dollar libel suit against me.
(22:23):
I'm like, first of all, go ahead, I don't have
ten million dollars. If he wants to ten bucks, I
got my pocket. He's welcome to it. But I had
to go to San Antonio and I had to I apologize.
But I was like, maybe the first of those non
apology of teeth. Yeah, you know, I shouldn't have said that,
but you know, kind of one of those things. So
you get when you find this out, are you are
(22:43):
you freaking out? You're laughing? You're like, I was, well
for a number of reasons. One, I was totally thinking
out because you know, a typical radio broadcasting fashion, you know,
my my broadcasting partner that people I work for and
left me like a hot potato. It's on You're not
on us, you know. I mean, I knew they had
my back, and so I called my agent right away.
(23:05):
And what turns out that my agent and David Stern
are really good friends. That turned out it wasn't so
bad in the long run, that he was just pissed
and that you know, if I just apologize, that would
have been good enough. So what I think that my
graduate of the final so I guess he still was
okay with it. Well that's good though. But the the NBA,
going back to when did this start the early eighties,
(23:26):
you media that everything the Bulls or the Knicks or
you know, because again those of the two major cities
and you never saw Indiana or Sacramento, you know, those
teams would always lose somehow, and you know, and again
it was part part truth and part over exaggeration. But
I mean it seems Tony that did Bulls and the
Pistons and the Knicks and the Celtics and the Lakers,
(23:48):
all the big markets, all the top ten TV markets
always seemed to be in the finals. You know, I
means the same people don't think that that. You know,
the corner of the draft card envelope was folded so
that David Bushire could get Patrick Ewing. You know, I mean,
how did that always happen? How did how did a
new franchise like Charlotte, where the India really really wanted
to put a franchise with rapid basketball fans, yet along
(24:11):
Jill Morning and Larry Johnson in the same draft. Yeah, yeah,
well maybe it's got a sitting roote for you and
you couldn't ignore it. Well. The other thing two, I
feel like they have changed. I talked about this is
the Laker game with Miami game one of the finals,
uh the other night, and and and so what they
do is like the Lakers were down by thirteen early
in the game, they weren't playing well, the Heat were
playing very well, and all of a sudden for that
(24:34):
from the four minute mark of the first quarter till halftime,
every fifty fifty call, every close call. They it was
a parade to the foul line for the Lakers until
they got their legs under him, and then you know,
the game was by that point, it was over because
the heat. I hope they'll probably had the core incident.
But how many core incidents? Can you laugh? You know, yeah,
(24:55):
it could be a coincidence, you know what I mean, yes,
and you know probably just happened. Explain explaining to me,
how is it that every NBA except the last night,
of course, but the first game one of the pills.
How did every game where you have a thirty point
at twenty point come down to a two point game
in the last two minutes? Fascinating? How that it's it's
(25:15):
almost I wish you could bet that I did a millionaire. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Uh,
you bet on the NBA. You stay away from it
because no, I don't like the NBA, and I really
really don't like baseball. I had to because remember it
was the first thing back after the pandemic. And nothing
upsets me more. Again, nothing upsets me more than than
like late two hundred fifty dollars on Garrett Cole, and
(25:38):
then some guys who were basically one nothing game, and
then some guy who's gonna be telling insurance next year.
I have toured fills in this clown. We can't get
a strike. Now, I'm furious, you know what I mean.
If these guys pitched nine innings, I would like baseball better. Yeah.
I remember one year, Peter, I had this brilliant idea.
I always I bet underdogs, but then I was like,
you know, this was black when Pedro and Randy Johnson
(25:59):
were domind be baseball. So I had this theory and
I always, as I remembered it, in April, these guys
always seem to get off to like six seven and
those starts, you know, in the first they so I
figured I'll just bet on them, right, you know, I'll
lay the juice in this big, big number minus three
hundred whatever, and I'd lay it and they lose the
(26:19):
case and I would get bird. I lost so much
money that I did the entire month of April. Something
was like in the late nineties, early two thousands, and
I got I got destroyed because I didn't think I
did like I didn't think this year that I thought
for sure, and I didn't do it. But like the
Dodgers are so good, they like never lose, so like
my thought was, I just met them every day, all
sixty games and see what happens at the end. I
(26:41):
never did it, but I probably would have won one
money because they never lost. But they just you know,
I mean, like they never lose. Like, but I don't
want some guy who like I've never heard of before,
who like just got out of Albuquerque, who's now pitching
the seventh inning in a to one game because some
guy thought he had too a pitch count. Like, if
I'm gonna bet walker viewer for three hours, I want
(27:02):
to make sure that he's in there long enough to
look like he has an impact on the game. Yeah, well,
the other thing you did, you met the first five innings,
so you bet the first five, and but I can't
take I meant your first five. I'm usually asleep for
the first five, like I football like a game also too,
I don't like the fact that in baseball, when you
bet a team, you don't have to watch like the
(27:23):
your your half, Like you could just see how many
how many runsday scores. Yeah, well, nothing that can happen
when you're up except that. Now I assume you're this
you actually watch these games. But I've known guys the game,
but they don't even watch the games. They just put
the bet, they go. I have trouble sometimes because look,
I'm not a young man anymore. You know, my blood
pasture can't take this kind of crap again. Look like
(27:44):
South Carolina kicking a field goal with three minutes west
in a in a seven point game, like I can't.
I can't watch that. I'll kill I'll break TVs. I
can't do that. I love it. I'm gonna go back
to the radio stuff. You did local, you you were successful. Local,
you did in national in Chicago it's sporting news and
one on one and everything else they call that and network.
So what what did you like more? Did you like
(28:05):
the national stuff for the local stuff more? Well, I
would only like the national stuff more. I mean, I mean,
because look, you had a million different topics. I mean,
because that's to be honest about this, and people don't
know this. You know this, and I know this, but
most people don't. This is a really hard job. I mean,
just you know, you look first of all you and I,
by the way, I like the last of the real
(28:26):
heroes of this profession. Because we do it alone. You
get too many single shows. I mean, the only show
that that I did that was a team, so to speak,
was Chuck and Tony and I. And that's because it
was seven hours and because it wasn't a giggle fest
like every local show is today, where I'm gonna tell
a joke, then you're gonna tell a joke, then I'm
(28:46):
gonna try to one up your jokes. Like That's not
how I run a radio show. So you have to
come up with a topic all the time. It national,
it's a lot easier because you can talk about the Patriots,
and you can talk about the Cowboys, and you can
talk I mean, you weren't sort of relying on something
happening in your area. And as as was once stole
to me by the great Howard Epskin is in Philadelphia,
(29:09):
is that we earned our money from February to June. Okay,
when football training camp starts. You know, my little kids
could do it from September to me. Hey, we're talking
about football today. I mean, how hard is that? I
want to day you from during those dog days of February.
I got a Tuesday, um, and you got to generate calls.
I got newsball. You're working properm you know, let's not
(29:31):
just sit down and open the phone line. Well, and
how would let me ask, how would you, the great
Peter Brown, if we went a hundred and thirty four
days here during the Apocalypse without any sports? There were
no as you know, there were no games for a
hundred and and we had to do the show every night,
and it was that is I always remember during All
(29:52):
Star Week, Peter, wouldn't everyone take off the All Star
weekend Baseball right ety Monday and somehow after the All
Star Game, because like I would, I would. We usually
did the show from the All Star gument. That's another
thing too, when you're national, you go to events like that.
We went to like five or sixth straight All Star Games.
We went to the Super Bowl every year, you know
what I mean, So like big events we were at.
(30:12):
So it made it a little bit easier. If you know,
if your local and your team is not in it,
do you really care? I mean you're gonna watch on
a Sunday, but you're not really going to care that
much on Friday who win, you know. I mean you
can't do like three hours on who's gonna win the
Super bowlers nobody cares no the hundred thirty four days
or whatever that this year. I my hat's off to
anybody who you know a who did it alone, because
(30:32):
with another person it's just you're just joking around and
killing time. Anyway. I mean, look, teams killed time. Let's
be honest about this. I mean, if you have two
at two million booth, the two man radio deal, you're
just killing times. You're like, oh, it's one o'clock. Then
at flatherclock. If you're doing it alone, then you're relying
on phone calls, and you're relying on the games, and
you're relying on you know, somebody biting somebody or something,
(30:53):
you know. I mean that's when you're really working. Without that,
you're flying solo. Tell I mean you're out there on
your own and at that would not have been easy.
I will tell you that. And Peter, I mean, besides
the authenticity you mentioned that earlier, what else what else
do you feel is is lacking right now? Either in
local or national sports talk radio, we maybe gives the crap.
(31:15):
Who's any good? I mean That's what makes you so
good is that I know every day, okay, that you
go in saying I want this to be a good show.
I wanted to be a good listen, I wanted to
be popular. I wanted to be entertaining. And you make
it in your head, well, I'd better do this to
make an arytating or jee. It's not entertaining in the
first fifteen minutes. I'd better. I better bust my ass
(31:36):
and do better. Most of these guys could kill us.
They are there to pick up a paycheck, and they're
there to get from one o'clock to four o'clock and
from Monday to Friday. And that was it. I mean,
that's all they care about. And and and look, let's
be honest. Other than yourself and a couple of other guys,
most people doing it have never done it before. Okay,
(31:57):
they didn't work in their station, they didn't work in Idaho,
they didn't work and you know in su say Marie,
they were interns or were producers, and then all of
a sudden they went and said, okay, fine, we're doing
a show now. Because you make three dollars, you're gonna
do a show. Well, what talent do you have doing
It's like me playing in the Super Bowl. I've never
(32:18):
played football before, so why should I play in the
super Bowl? Yeah? Any and I'm sure you had this.
And not to name any names, but some of these
athletes come in and do this, and it's just that
they don't put any work and do it. They just
wanted because I played the game and I can tell
you still and it's just horrible. It's horrid. Radio mode.
The original guy, the original guys were the newspaper guys.
(32:39):
They were the first infringement on radio talent. Okay, because
let's be honest, they decided that the station was decided,
and networks decided, let's see, newspaper guys already get paid,
so they have to put them half. And gee, guess what,
they also have benefits, so I don't have to give
the benefits. And these guys were more interested in doing
(33:00):
their column. Then they weren't doing a radio The radio
show took the place of doing work on the column
and they weren't about to do that. And then the
athletes came in because they were rea cheaper. So I mean,
it became a money issue, not a quality issue. And
radio right now is not a quality issue. It is
a money issue. And if if you make what they
think you should make, which is usually pittance, guess what
(33:21):
you're hired. If you they don't ask you to have
any talent. The ball players don't have any talented I mean,
like Coastell said, it's a jockocracy. I mean, we're so
ecstatic at Tony Romo because we found an athlete that
really has a clue as to what he's doing. Peter,
what's your what's your favorite time slot, whether it's morning, afternoon,
or night time. I like that, dude. I'm not really
an early early morning person, so like, and I did
(33:43):
it when I was in the Orleans. I did it
for a while and I just never got used to
it ever, Like I could never like I would nap
and then my whole day will be stroyed. So that
was out. I like doing mid days may days. You know,
there was a time when it was me against corn
Isser and Rome and that was kind of fun because
he read Battle for Affiliates and it was kind of
a good battle. And the afternoon to the best because
(34:04):
you're getting people on their way home from work and
you know they're they're thinking about and it told the chance.
If you're a guy in a car, you know you're
gonna get that honey, how was your day conversation? So
this is a way to get what you want to
talk about out. So you knew you were gonna call
on your way home because you usually start to traffic
get it anyway, So without a doubt, I mean, afternoon
drive was my favorite, without a question. Now, Peter, when
(34:26):
you were starting, I know you were, I didn't know
you worked in New Orleance. How many cities did you
work in on your way up the ladder? And radio
really always the real four as you kept Chicago. But
I only got Chicago because I was doing ESPN at
the time and I would happen to be living here. Um,
I worked in New Orleans when I graduated from to
Lane University, so I was already in New Orleans and
(34:48):
then I worked like when I was a junior in college.
They were starting a station in New Orleans and I
they I went in said, look, I can do a
sports show, and they gave me the sport show that
to me back in the old days, to show how
old I am and how long ago it was. That's
when you had commercials on carts. Okay, if people look
in the archives of life, go back and look at
(35:10):
eight track, and you'll see that's how commercials are run. Okay,
that's how long ago it was. And then I went.
I was there. I was in the Williams for two years,
and I graduated and the Eagles were in town to
play the Saints, and the late Tom Brookshire and Tim
Bibi was righting the station at w i P and
Philadelphia came in and heard the show. So I met
(35:32):
with them, you know, a couple of days later after
the show, you know, after the Monday night game, and
I went to work in Philadelphia one so I was
like being my pants. I'm hearing in the fifth market
of the country, one years old and I'm doing mid days,
like you know, that was a little tough for me
at the beginning. Um, and then I then I left
there and I went to Cleveland because I was already
(35:53):
the afternoon drive show there. So I went to Cleveland
for a couple of years, and then from Cleveland I
went to ESPN. So the while I was DFPN, I
went you know, both Chicago and FPN, and I never
did really oh well, I did Milwaukee for a little
bit because it was only an hour from my house,
so it was easy to do that. Yeah, and I started.
You know, it's funny because I I started. I was
(36:15):
like nineteen twenty when I started kind of doing stuff
on the side, you know, interning, working my way up,
and then I got I got a midday show in
l A when I was twenty two years old. So
I was like, yeah, and you know that, does that
shows you that you have talent? You know what I mean?
That's not a fluke, that's because you have talent and
somebody and back in those days, they really cared about
(36:35):
such things, cared about your talent and knew you had talent,
you know what I mean. And then you don't see
that anymore. Yeah, that is that is well. Hey, the
good news Peter here is that all these shows, most
of them are coming from people's houses. So if you
really wanted to get back in the business and make
no money, you could do it from your house. So
they'd set you up and you know, and I would
do that. I'd like to be honestly, I don't need
(36:55):
the money, okay, So for me, I'm actually the perfect
candidate right now. All of these people because I'd be
willing to do it, okay, and I don't need the money,
you know, I mean's not gonna feed my family anymore
like it was when I was younger, you know. I
mean those days you'd battle for contracts. You know, you'd
be like, no, five do and that's not enough more
I need to you know now, I don't even care,
(37:17):
just like enough to not insult me and we'll go
home and we'll I'll do it. I have no problem
with that whatsoever. Well, I'm not gonna go search it,
you know what i mean. It's kind of like a
double edged sword. I'm kind of lazy, you know what
I mean. I'm kind of a lazy bester. So I
mean I'm kind of like, I'm not gonna go search
you down. I was somewhere to ask. I certainly would
do it, and I want you to know, Peter, what
I was so excited when I found out you came
out to Fox Sports Radio. You did some shows at
(37:39):
Fox Sports Radio, and I I went in and told
those idiots, I said, you gotta hire this guy. This
guy's great. I was ready to go. I was totally
ready to go. I mean, I don't know what to
be honest, I have no idea what happened, but that
was a strange time. They remember, No, you were amazing,
and of course I'm a I'm a fan, but compared
to compared to the other people that they had brought in,
and I was like, why didn't what are you doing?
(38:01):
You know it's not this is not brain surgery. You're
just hire the guy. But I don't know what. It
was a strange dealing. It was run by a strange
guy who was no longer with us UM and it
was it was yeah, it was a whole bizarre situation.
And then then I was going to go back there.
And then they brought in two guys and they lasted
like a week, I think because they were annoying and
I knew they were annoying. And then they try to
(38:22):
put me with another guy who I refused to work
with because I knew he wasn't gonna last long, and
he didn't, so he was kind of very odd. But
but certainly, I mean, I think Fox Sports Radio, for
all the look for all the people that have been
doing this, I think they do a really good job.
I really do. I mean, I think they've been able
to balance entertainment with you know, tortows that are decent
(38:43):
and they got some you know, look, they've got some
people that are pretty good, and I think that's important.
You've gotta have people that are good. It's about quality.
If you're not any good, it's not gonna matter. Yeah,
that is true. Well listen, we're gonna let you go.
I thank you for doing this. I'd love to have
you on again. You're great. You should somebody should hire you.
I think Fox Sports Radio should high. I'm gonna tell
them to hire you, but you should. I agree, you're
(39:04):
You're a big marketing now for me, you need to
be the guy. You need to go in there. I was.
It's like you're making so little money that I'll thread
whatever I make with you. If you can get it done,
there you go, we'll make it out. And Peter, if
there's some guys listening, like I got an email from
a guy. Wait, what happened to Peter Brown? And why?
So you're on Twitter? Right, we can give out your Twitter? Yeah,
(39:25):
how f y R? That's y R. So that's a
tribute to your sporting news radio days. Right back in
the arc again. Like I told you, I'm lazy you
know my my email okay is e FDNPD. You know why,
I'm just too lazy to change it. It says work
at the ESPNI like a hundred years, but I'm too
lazy to change it. I respect that, Peter listen, have
(39:45):
a great time thing and you know, and that's why
yours and Fox Sports the good news is will be
there forever so I don't have to worry from your
lips to God's ears. Hey, thank you, Peter, Stop stop.
I need to you know again. You are the man.
I mean, you know. Look, there are a few people
I throw around compliments like manhole covers. Okay, trust me, people,
if you don't realize that del Mar is the real deal,
(40:07):
you're making a huge mistake. Huge because you're getting genuine you.
What he says, something, he feels it. It's not just
a made up act. Trust me. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Ben Miller Show weekdays at two
am Eastern eleven pm Pacific