WFAN 6:00 am - 10:00 am weekdays

I’ve been catching these guys daily since they started.  At first I was a bit worried about the match-up.  Typical formula, take an ex-jock in Boomer Esiason and team him with any radio know-it-all, Craig Carton, in this case.  Would this be different than any of the Chris Carlin + ex-Met, ex-Jet shows that were tried out during the post-Imus phase?  So far so good.   

The show is entertaining.  Many times I listen to Fan because I left the radio on or want to catch a sports score.  I have to say these guys stand out, and I truly look forward to their show.  At first I questioned the idea of taking two outsiders to the Fan rather than going with homegrown talent.  Turns out their fresh viewpoints are exactly what I like about them.  I’m glad they don’t know all the callers personally. 

Best example of this was the other day when “Jim”, a frequent caller to other shows called in.  Jim has a deep voice, so low that his calls sound like the tone might have been artificially adjusted.  He also conducts himself like he is the host, and the regular hosts are the callers.  Sort of the Rupert Pupkin of the radio world.  If I ever hear him hosting a show for real, he should open with “A lot of you are probably wondering why Steve Somers couldn’t make it this evening. Well, he’s tied up — and I’m the one who tied him.”  Anyway, Jim calls in and begins to go off onto a tangent.  Carton interrupts him, questions why his voice is so low like he was calling from another radio show, and cuts him off.  Priceless.

Boomer doesn’t have to waste our time trying to establish his credibility.  He can walk into any room and say “Hi, I’m Boomer Esiason” and people would get up to shake his hand.  Sure, nobody remembers the details of his career, but no matter because he’s the real deal.  I really like when Boomer will squash some of the callers, and even his partner with the almighty “Have you ever been in a professional locker room?”  Too much crap flows around dial about sports psychology and motivation, often coming from ex-high school athletes and little league coaches.  Boomer sets them straight.  Even better, Boomer is funny.  Today’s show at the Borgata Casino,  Carton is talking about a “horse trough urinal”  and Boomer interrupts with “I know you enjoyed that because you like to sneak a peak”.  Truly laugh out loud humor.  Not that Boomer comes off as being pompous either.  He jokes with stars and nobodies without switching personalities and not just spitting out tired cliches.  He comes across as giving his honest opinion.

Chris Carton worried me in the beginning.  Despite a broadcasting career spanning 16 years, he was unknown to me.  Carton came off as a “Chris Russo Lite” at first, seemingly taking positions opposite of Boomer for the sake of argument.  But he does grow on you, particularly when he is being himself and not doing any sort of shtick.  He also is good at analyzing the day’s news.  Being first up in the morning, (no, we didn’t forget about you Carlin or Malusis), he’s not simply repeating the latest “Mike & the Mad Dog” opinion.

Overall I enjoy their show far more than I did Imus.  If I wanted pure comedy I’d subscribe to Howard Stern.  These guys give me sports news, star guests, and occasional current events coverage.  Being entertaining for 4 hours is no easy trick, but they manage to do it every day.  Boomer and Carton have their own on-air chemistry that so far is working. 

 Audio clips, pictures, and a biography of Boomer and Carton can be found at http://www.wfan.com/