Murray in the Morning
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the former Sporting News Radio program. For the show hosted by Ken Murray, see KQMS (AM)KQMS (AM)KQMS is an American News/Talk radio station based in Redding, California. The station is now owned by Mapleton Communications of Los Angeles, which also owns its five sister stations in Redding and four stations in Chico, California...
.
Murray in the Morning was a radio program that aired on Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
from 2002 to August 12, 2005. Hosted by Bruce Murray
Bruce Murray (sportscaster)
Bruce Murray is an American sports radio personality and is currently the host of a daily radio show on Mad Dog Radio on Sirius XM. Bruce can also be seen Tuesday and Thursday hosting "Daily News Live" on SNY in New York....
, T. J. Shanoff, Tanyette Colon (later replaced by Elizabeth Hess
Elizabeth Hess
Elizabeth Hess is a Canadian actress best known for playing mother Janet Darling on the long-running American sitcom Clarissa Explains It All. She has also appeared on an episode of Law & Order...
), and Kevin Fleming (who left the show shortly into the second year), it was known for its comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
features, eccentric "borts", and extremely informal discussion of sports. After an ignomious contract dispute, the SNR morning block was revamped with limited success. MITM was replaced by The Opposites, a short lived "Odd Couple" pairing of Scott Wetzel and Matt Spiegel, and a more recent pairing of Spiegel and Bill Lekas aptly titled, "The Morning Show," then a short-lived move of Dave Smith's show to morning drive, and now only replays of the overnight show air in the time slot.
The program also aired on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
.
Format
MITM brought a morning zooMorning zoo
Morning zoo is a format of morning radio show common to English-language radio broadcasting. The name is derived from the "wackiness and zaniness" of the activities, bits, and overall personality of the show and its hosts...
format to sports talk radio, but with a more sophisticated wit and certainly a more talented group. Bruce Murray filled the role of "sports guy," with Kevin Fleming and T.J. Shanoff as the comedians, while Tanyette Colon was the proverbial sports babe. The show was created with the intention of recreating a conversation friends might have at a bar after a night on the town. Topics ranged from sports, to pop culture, to music, to women, to interviews with celebrity guests, and back to sports again. Throughout the show, comedic bits, weekly segments, and listener phone calls gave the show a variety unmatched on sports radio then or today.
Line-up Changes
The show went through two major line-up changes as Tanyette Colon and Kevin Fleming both left the show for varied reasons. Colon became pregnant, took a leave of absence and later moved to New York when a new sports radio gig opened up there. After several women auditioned, the role of sports babe was given to Elizabeth Hess. Fleming, who never quite gelled with the format, left the show to pursue other opportunities, but a source close to the show stated that Fleming and Shannoff invariably stepped on each other's timing as two comedians battling for the "next funny spot." While Shanoff worked in the famed Second City comedy troupe, Fleming was from the lesser known improv group, Comedy Sports. Without the connections, nor the talent of Shanoff, management decided to let Fleming go, and did not seek a replacement. Elizabeth Hess stayed on the show until its cancellation in 2005.Blackout
The show's hot talk content prompted at least one station, WNSA in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, to ban the program from its airwaves, even on days when WNSA could not air a local show (in which case taped programming would air instead). WNSA's target audience was self-described as "PG-rated" and this program's content, which would likely be considered "PG-13," was deemed inappropriate.
End of the Show
While MITM was a profitable and well known entity for the network, SNR management approached Murray telling him to move the show to 6 am to make room for Tony Bruno, a well known sports host of LA. Murray balked at the time change, while Shanoff, Hess, and Producer Rob stood behind Murray in solidarity. With contracts nearing renegotiation, Sporting News Radio management decided to cancel the show to the outrage of MITM's loyal fanbase.Comedic bits
The show featured bits such as ... Minutia Minute,A-Murray-can Idol,
Black History Minute,
Crime Contest,
Guess My Gig,
Idiot of the Year,
Play It Against Sam,
Music News with Production Dave,
Q's ShowBiz News, and
Turkey Olympics.
Book Club
It also featured "Bill Lekas Book Club"; each week, Lekas endorsed a specific bookBook
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
or other example of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and read an excerpt from it. Featured items included:
- Moby-DickMoby-DickMoby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
, by Herman MelvilleHerman MelvilleHerman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd.... - The System, by Roy Valentine
- A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, by I. A. Ibraham
- The Zombie Survival GuideThe Zombie Survival GuideThe Zombie Survival Guide, written by American author Max Brooks and published in 2003, is a survival manual dealing with the fictional potentiality of a zombie attack. It contains detailed plans for the average citizen to survive zombie uprisings of varying intensity and reach, and describes...
, by Max BrooksMax BrooksMaximillian Michael "Max" Brooks is an American author and screenwriter, with a particular interest in zombies. Brooks is also a television and voice-over actor.- Early life and education :... - Guide to Picking Up Girls, by Gabe Fischbarg
- Predicting the Penis, by Anne Louis and Joyce Bandler
- The Self Destruction Handbook, by Adam Wasson and Jessica Stamen
- What it TakesWhat it Takes"What It Takes" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child. It was released in 1990 as the third single from Aerosmith's critically and commercially successful 1989 album Pump. In the video The Making of Pump, A&R man John Kalodner...
, by Amy Henry - The list of ingredientIngredientAn ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture . For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain a secret ingredient that is purported to make them better than competing products...
s on a can of Campbell's Chunky SoupCampbell Soup CompanyCampbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
Dead This Year...
Another bit called "Dead This Year, Dead Career, or Allegedly Queer" was a game played with callers. The caller was given the names of three celebritiesCelebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, usually athletes. The object of the game was to categorize each celebrity as having died, having a career that is commonly viewed as depressed, or being the subject of rumors about the celebrity's sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
. If the caller correctly sorted all three names, he or she won a prize.
See You in Hell!
The bit "See You in HellHell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
!" gave listeners the chance to complain about a public figure each Friday. The following example is from the official site of Murray in the Morning:
- "Hey Murray in the Morning... I'm really sick of George SteinbrennerGeorge SteinbrennerGeorge Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
spending so much money on free agents... blah, blah, blah... George, I hope the YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
never win another World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
and I'll see you in Hell!"
Each complaint had to end with the words "... and I'll see you in Hell!".