Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports
Jim Boeheim’s Friend Fired Radio Host for Being Too Negative About Syracuse Sports
1. Last week, following a home game, newly retired Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim went on a bizarre rant about people who show up to games and people who call sports-talk radio shows.
“The fans here, they’re not the ones calling the radio show,” Boeheim told reporters. “Not one fan that was here tonight calls any radio show. The people that call the radio shows do not come to games. They don’t have season tickets. The only way they come is if someone gives them a ticket.
“Do I want to do better? Yeah, I want to do better. But the people that show up tell you whether you have support or not. Not who calls on the radio.”
I have no idea what Boeheim’s point was in that diatribe, but I couldn’t help but think of what the 78-year-old said when I read this story Monday morning about ESPN Radio Syracuse firing one of its hosts Sunday because he was too negative about Syracuse sports.
The Orange have missed the NCAA tournament the past two years, and the football team is never good, so I’m not sure how a radio host is supposed to be positive, but the CEO of the radio station wants a cheerleader on the air and now longtime host Brent Axe is out of a job.
The president and CEO of Galaxy Media Partners, Ed Levine, didn’t even try to sugarcoat Axe’s firing. He came right out and admitted his bush league reason for letting Axe go.
“I had a problem with the content of the show,” Levine told Syracuse.com. “I’m an SU fan. I’m sorry, but I bleed Orange. I’m not going to apologize for that, and I think a fair reading of the Orange is appropriate. I understand [Galaxy has] a business relationship [with Syracuse], that Coach Boeheim and I are personal friends, and he’s an investor in my company.
“I understand and acknowledge all of that. We’ve called it pretty fair, and I would argue we’ve been tough on SU when the on-field or off-field events warrant it. I just think over the past six months it took a different tone and became overly dark and negative. I don’t think that’s what Syracuse fans want to hear.”
So, Levine is friends with Boeheim, AND Boeheim is an investor in Levine’s company, and Levine fired Axe, who had been with the station since 2014, for being negative a week after Boeheim spewed some nonsense about sports-talk radio. Hmmmm. Very interesting.
Levine owns the station, so he’s allowed to fire a host for being too negative. And in a bizarre way, he deserves credit for being honest about the reason. But the entire situation smells very fishy. Especially after Levine said the following.
“Brent is a full-time employee of Syracuse.com,” Levine said. “I believe Syracuse.com has an agenda in regards to Syracuse University. I don’t know what that agenda is, but that agenda was manifesting itself on our airwaves. We have no agenda. We’re in business with Syracuse University, but we call it straight down the line. What I said to Brent was I wish he covered Syracuse University with the same affection that he covered the Buffalo Bills.”
Now this quote was just flat-out dumb. Levine accuses Syrcause.com of having an agenda, but has no idea what the agenda is, so that’s disingenuous.
Then he claimed his station doesn’t have an agenda, right after explaining that he fired a host for being negative. So that’s disingenuous and a lie.
2. Here are your men’s NCAA tournament announcer teams for the opening round.
THURSDAY:
Jim Nantz–Bill Raftery–Grant Hill
(9) Maryland vs. (8) West Virginia
(16) SE Missouri St./Texas A&M-CC vs. (1) Alabama
(9) Auburn vs. (8) Iowa
(16) N. Kentucky vs. (1) Houston
Kevin Harlan–Dan Bonner–Stan Van Gundy
(12) Oral Roberts vs. (5) Duke
(13) Louisiana vs. (4) Tennessee
(13) Furman vs. (4) Virginia
(12) College of Charleston vs. (5) San Diego State
Brad Nessler–Brendan Haywood
(10) Utah St. vs. (7) Missouri
(15) Princeton vs. (2) Arizona
(10) Boise St. vs. (7) Northwestern
(15) UNC Asheville vs. (2) UCLA
Brian Anderson–Jim Jackson
(16) Howard vs. (1) Kansas
(9) Illinois vs. (8) Arkansas
(15) Colgate vs. (2) Texas
(10) Penn St. vs. (7) Texas A&M
FRIDAY:
Andrew Catalon–Steve Lappas
(10) USC vs. (7) Michigan St.
(15) Vermont vs. (2) Marquette
(16) Texas Southern/Fairleigh Dickinson vs. (1) Purdue
(9) Florida Atlantic vs. (8) Memphis
Ian Eagle–Jim Spanarkel
(14) Kennesaw St. vs. (3) Xavier
(11) Mississippi St./Pitt vs. (6) Iowa State
(11) Providence vs. (6) Kentucky
(14) Montana St. vs. (3) Kansas State
Lisa Byington–Steve Smith–Avery Johnson
(14) UC Santa Barbara vs. (3) Baylor
(11) NC State vs. (6) Creighton
(14) Grand Canyon vs. (3) Gonzaga
(11) Arizona State/Nevada vs. (6) TCU
Spero Dedes–Deb Antonelli
(12) VCU vs. (5) Saint Mary’s
(13) Iona vs. (4) UConn
(12) Drake vs. (5) Miami
(13) Kent St. vs. (4) Indiana
3. If you are a sports fan, you’ve said "that’s the worse call I've ever seen” at least a million times in your life. But after watching this, we should all be able to agree that there's never been and never will be a worse call.
4. The Ja Morant strip club controversy is leading to some amazing tweets.
I did a literal LOL when I read the line "out of respect for Ja" in this tweet.
I also did a LOL at Stephen A. Smith saying he doesn't like the smell of strip clubs.
5. Legit question: Is it worth getting hit in the face with a basketball for a signed Steph Curry jersey? I say yes.
6. This week's SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast is an all–”Traina Thoughts” edition with our weekly contributor, Sal Licata, from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York.
On this episode, we discuss the rumors that have started already about Tom Brady returning to the NFL and argue about whether Brady would actually unretire for a second time and come back to play. We also talk about the backlash that was heaped upon Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim after the duo dismissed hockey talk on an episode of First Take, Ja Morant going on Instagram Live with a gun while at a strip club and the Chris Rock Netflix special.
Sal also pulls back the curtain and gives the inside scoop on going viral recently for a clip of his losing it on a caller who blamed Sal for the Mets’ losing the NL East last year to the Braves.
You can listen to the SI Media with Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch the SI Media with Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino was left out of the Oscars' In Memoriam segment Sunday night, so we will pay tribute to the greatest garlic slicer here.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
