Jim Moore: Insider’s view of Seattle sports radio shakeup

Past week 710 ESPN Seattle shook up its athletics talk clearly show lineup for the 2nd time in 10 months with the dismissals of Danny O’Neil and Paul Gallant, who co-hosted the station’s morning clearly show “Danny and Gallant.”

I guess that was a cost-chopping and likely-in-a-unique-direction transfer, mixed with the hope that the return of Mike Salk will spark 710’s sagging rankings.

Salk co-hosted 710’s primary early morning present, “Brock and Salk,” with Brock Huard when the station launched the athletics chat format in 2009. Salk left for his hometown of Boston to co-host a sports talk present there and arrived back again to Seattle in 2014 when he was hired as 710 ESPN Seattle’s application director.

Considering the fact that that time he has co-hosted a weekly podcast with Huard and remained the method director until eventually 3 months ago, when Kyle Brown took over people responsibilities as Salk took some time off to get ready for his return to the airwaves this month.

Comprehensive disclosure just before I go any further more: I was a host at 710 ESPN Seattle for 10 decades in advance of I got fired by Salk previous November. I employed to joke with him that he would fire me sometime, and to be genuine, I was not really joking, I rather a lot figured it would materialize soon after my former head manager, Dave Pridemore, was fired through the summer of 2020.

Pridemore was just one of my largest supporters, and Salk was not. He hardly ever assumed a lot of me as a host, and which is great. If I didn’t realize it now as a columnist, it was reinforced as a athletics speak demonstrate host — you simply cannot you should every person. Some application directors and listeners might assume you are wonderful although others think you are the absolute worst.

When he returned from his tough stint in Boston, I went into his office environment and instructed him I felt terrible for him and whilst fishing for terms, I explained that it possibly wouldn’t have long gone effectively for me in Boston, possibly.

“Let’s encounter it, Jim, you’d suck any where but Seattle,” Salk said.

I wasn’t sure how to react to that. It sounded like anything you’d say at the rear of someone’s back, not to his deal with, and in a weird way I sort of respected him for it.

All I could appear up with was:

“That’s not pretty great, Mike.”

And he said: “But it’s real, is not it?

On the day I was fired I would like I experienced informed him that I lasted 10 yrs in my hometown, and he only produced it one particular in his, but I didn’t.

From that day forward we experienced a chilly romantic relationship and I realized I’d be on shaky ground if layoffs had been deemed. When it occurred, I wasn’t totally amazed as the oldest male on a 3-human being display. With promoting income down drastically throughout the pandemic, it produced feeling to go with a two-man or woman present and reduce a person of the salaries.

If you have been fired or laid off, you know how it goes most of the time. You go by all of individuals emotional phases in advance of you come out the other side and believe: “Hey, it turns out it was a blessing in disguise.”

Which is definitely been the circumstance for me. My spouse and I have not fully figured out the economic ramifications, notably with twins who will be likely to university future yr, but I have seriously appreciated expending time with my young children and likely to all of their basketball and baseball game titles, which was not doable when I had a task.

It took me back to the working day I was fired when I listened to the news about O’Neil and Gallant. I employed to operate with O’Neil on an afternoon present called “Danny, Dave and Moore,” so this is an admittedly biased view: I feel 710 really should have figured out a way to retain him since he’s a fantastic host who delivers a great mix of insight and humor.

Gallant was up from the odds from the extremely get started when he arrived from Houston two decades back. New guy in city seeking to get up to velocity with the new groups and trying to create rapport with O’Neil through a flat display given that Danny was executing the exhibit remotely from Manhattan.

Here’s the worst portion: A few months ago all the hosts were being advised that Salk would return to the lineup in August or September. So for the duration of the summer time most of the hosts were being justifiably concerned about their work status, pondering if they’d be dusted when Salk arrived back again.

They figured properly that anyone would have to go, and it turned out to be two somebodies. Firings materialize all the time in sports activities radio, but these had been various. The hosts were being set on discover that they had been effectively playing for their employment although Salk was in the on-deck circle.

I would have fairly not known what was heading on behind the scenes than to be on pins and needles as Gallant described it in a social media movie. Just notify me I’m fired without having putting me in demanding limbo for three months.

The other part which is exciting and inaccurate, in my impression: Due to the fact Salk technically gave up his plan director job title 3 months in the past, it is thought that he experienced no say in the final decision to hearth O’Neil and Gallant. I never purchase that for a moment. Brown’s and Salk’s manager, Cathy Cangiano, deferred to Salk all the time when I was there, and I’m guessing he experienced a good deal of enter with the conclusion to pink slip O’Neil and Gallant.

Considering the fact that he’s changing them with the debut of “The Mike Salk Show” on Tuesday, it wouldn’t look extremely excellent if he were being even perceived as the the very least little bit responsible for the firings.

I’m not a admirer of his know-it-all jackhammer design, but Salk is deemed to be a superior host who presents potent opinions. No matter if you like him or not, he has a large next that’s particular to strengthen the rankings. Then once more, as one skeptic mentioned on Twitter, the rankings are certain to go up in the tumble when the Seahawks’ season starts off, no matter who’s web hosting the shows.

For the longest time 710 ESPN Seattle held a rankings edge above KJR, the other sports activities converse station in Seattle. Not so considerably any longer. Salk’s return is created to aid in that regard.

Morale is stated to be at an all-time low at 710, but at minimum all the uncertainty has been changed by a sure factor — if the station sinks or swims, Mike Salk will get the credit score or the blame.

Jim Moore has coated Washington’s sporting activities scene from each angle for multiple news stores. You can obtain him on Twitter @cougsgo.