Hayseed fired from PRIMETIME!!!!!!!

Why did he leave? This market misses Czaban very much, it has ever since he left. I'm more convinced than ever that he made the Czaban/Penner show, as Penner and Mac kinda sucked. I think Mac is much better by himself than he was with Penner, and that has to come down as a reflection on Penner I guess. Too bad cause I was a big fan. Hopefully Penner Round 3 will coincide with a reunion with Czaban. One can dream right?

 

i avoid fnz mostly during both time slots mentioned and make it a point to listen to cowherd (espn) in the middle of the day.

 

Short Version of Long Story: Mike Kellogg (old WFNZ GM; He's a Sporting News Radion in Boston last I heard) broke Czaban & Penner after about 1 1/2 years so Czaban could host the morning show. They actually had a few TV ads for the show (on one of my many VHS tapes, I might have it somewhere). It was him, TC (who later moved on to the Morning Sports Page) and some other guy (I think his wife was a local pool pro maybe). Anyhow, the show never took off and after 6 weeks, Czaban got fired and then Gary Williams (who was doing the Golf Show on the weekends back then) replaced him.

Czaban years ago had posted on his website the exchange that took place the day he got canned (its not there anymor). Supposedly, he got fired for (amongst other things) being a major Duke vs. Carolina fan. I think on the air, Czaban took a few hidden stabs on the air at Packman's show, which obviously pissed the former off (though I think at the Super Bowl a few years ago, they finally burried the hatchet on their feud).

If you heard WFNZ back in the beginning (1997-2001), Czaban & Penner was clearly the better show while Primetime had the higher ratings. Station magnagement, figuring out they could only have 1 800 lb. gorilla at the station, choose Packman and got rid of Czaban. Primetime had the sizzle (Whiner Line), but Czaban & Penner had the steak (deeper talk about issues in the Sports World). Too bad station ownership (Infinity/CBS) never put any more money into the station and boost its signal up; WFNZ really could've been the WFAN of the Carolinas. At some point with a bigger stick, they could've had the Panthers or Bobcats/Hornets radio contract eventually. With a better signal, they could've reached a bigger area and perhaps could've kept Czaban & Penner and Packman.

 

Yeah I've been listening to 610 since it went on the air, a few months before Gerry V even got on the air. I moved to Raleigh though before Czaban/Penner were split up. It was by far the best local sports show I've ever heard, and second only to Jim Rome in my opinion (I realize Rome isn't for everyone.)

Anyone but me remember Packman and Penner? I called their suck ass show the first day, god it was horrible. Worse than Adam Gold even, although they got better. The professor is right though, people down here don't know how good they have it. Packer sucks, but at least they won't spend 2 hours on a topic you have no interest in (unless it's Dook/UNC hoops).

 

I remember the old days. My wife got her first radio job with FNZ...Matt Pinto was there and I think Gerry V was as well. If memory serves me...he went to WBT shortly after she started. Pinto was a douche.

I heard that Czaban's ego was bigger than Collin's. Packer's wasn't exactly small itself, but he got along better with management. Since Czaban's show hadn't taken off and he was "difficult" to work with they picked him to get rid of. I've heard several variations of the story from people that were there at the time...but that's about what it came down to.

 

she did what with pintos?

 

I'm right there with you. I was a pretty big Penner fan, but never got into his last show. Maybe it was just a style conflict with Mac?

In any case, I listened less and less every month, til I went weeks without bothering.

 

Colin is trying too hard to be a controversial dick anymore. I liked him better when he was a little more toned down.

Of course, I liked Tony K. and "old guy radio", so WTF is my opinion worth?

 

In my opinion- There's Steve Czaban and then there's everyone else.

I listen to the replay on FSR 142 at noon. I like his show over any radio, sports or other.

He talks about shit I like- golf, football and basketball. Very little Nascar and baseball and no hockey. And he talks about random shit that I find interesting. Also, the show is not caller driven. He works well with Scott Linn, Al Galdy, and the ex member Jay Cotrell. I'd pay $20/mo for XM just to listen to that show.

After reading my post, I've come to the conclusion that I have a man crush.

 

You mean Captain Redundant?

He sucks. You can tune in for 5 minutes then come back 2 hours later and he is still harping on the same topic with the same lame jokes. God forbid he actually comes up with a good one-liner because he will use it 10 times an hour.

He pretends it is all an act, however I get the strong impression that he really thinks he is funny and he really is a pretentious asshole.

Also, there is nothing worse than a host that hangs up on callers that have a strong, conflicting argument. He is the king of the hang up.