I don’t know why I listen to the Sports Animal as much as I do.
At first I was going to compare it to a heroin addiction, but then I remembered that heroin addicts seem to enjoy heroin, and I don’t really enjoy listening the Sports Animal.
Sure, it’s on FM, and it can be entertaining at times, but for the most part, I can’t stand it. One reason in particular is that they have some terrible hosts. Meet them (and vote for the worst one) after the jump.
Bob Barry Jr.
You would think that being a sports talk host (and sports anchor) would require an above average knowledge of sports. BBJ shoots that idea down pretty fast. Outside of his three favorite pro sports teams and OU women’s basketball, Bob Barry Jr. doesn’t know too much about the sporting world. How did he get his job then? Well, when you google his name, a link to his dad comes up first.
Al Eschbach
If all you care about when it comes to sports talk is semi-biased propaganda reporting about the University of Oklahoma, then Al Eschbach is probably your favorite host on The Sports Animal. He also wears a swim suit when he plays basketball. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with him as a sports talk host, but I just wanted to point it out…again.
Craig Humphreys
Because he’s loaded with cash and loves sports, Craig Humphreys was very influential in the rapid rise and popularity of sports talk dominance on the Oklahoma airwaves. Unfortunately, due to that money and influence, he became a sports talk host, too.
Mark Rodgers
Originally, Mark Rodgers wasn’t going to make this list. We actually kind of like his show, plus he did a Q & A with us. Then he went all crazy and decided to ask for listener input for his Top 15 high school football teams of all time. Since that fateful day, every call to his show has been about either 1992 Ada team or ‘74 Wetumka or the 2007 Who-really-cares.
Jim Traber
The best thing about Jim Traber is that he created Cardboard Jim Traber. The second best thing about Jim Traber is the Jim Traber Drinking Game. There isn’t really a third best thing about Jim Traber.
Worst Sports Animal Host:
- Craig Humphreys (32.0%, 349 Votes)
- Al Eschbach (25.0%, 266 Votes)
- Jim Traber (21.0%, 231 Votes)
- Bob Barry Jr. (16.0%, 176 Votes)
- Mark Rodgers (5.0%, 55 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,077
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O.k. I know he’s not a host on the Animal per se but I can’t stand “the steel man”! I can’t even listen to the morning animals anymore because he annoys me that much. I listen to the ref in the mornings now because I got tired of listening to “steely’s” narcissistic I hate the world because I wasn’t loved as a child rants.
Any votes for not-Craig Humphreys should be ruled invalid.
Seeing the lead by Jr. makes me feel like I’m not as crazy as I once thought I was. All this guy talks about are “my Celtics” and “my Redsox”. He is the leading voice for all those douche bags who’ve bought Redsox hats in the last 5 years and said they’re life long Boston fans.
Honestly, if Al Eshbach walked into any radio station (Kansas City had a weak moment) in the country and applied for a job, what do you think his chances would be to actually get on the air? As his meager amount of votes show, there seems to be a notion that Al is above criticism, that he is a “sports expert”.
If you have listened carefully over the years you will notice that when taking callers questions or playing “Stump the Chump”, he either deflects questions, appears to be eating or drinking instead of actually listening to his callers or has said on innumerable occasions “I will definately check into that and get back to you”.
Al is a joke, but the fact that we listen to him is the bigger joke.
Wow, so hard … they all pretty much suck.
Seriously how could you not have Mike Steely on there.
I’ve got to also throw my vote for Steely. Uncle this…
Craig! Golf SUX! The only thing more boring that watching it, is hearing someone talk about it on the radio for hours.
I was torn though. I really can’t stand BBJ either.
They’re all bad in their own way, but Humphreys is the only one that forces me to change the station at the first sound of his voice.
Vanpoozen I couldn’t agree with you more about bbj. Everytime I see a douche bag wearing a red sux hat I want to walk up to them and ask them if they can name more than 4 players. I bet if you put a truth serum in bbj he watches between 0 & 4 games a year.
I can’t believe you didn’t give us a chance to vote for Mike Steely. I hate that guy with all that I am.
Truly the worst of the worst IS mike steely..followed by BBJ.
Bob Barry Jr is the best sportscaster in OKC, if there’s some one better, i don’t know, you tell me
Craig gets the nod only because he wants to talk about golf shots that were in tournaments before many listeners were even born. Who freaking cares about a shot from 30 years ago?
As a group, I would list the Morning Animals. Anytime a group of grown men sing in unison every chance that they get, there is a problem. I seriously couldn’t listen when Iron Man was in theaters. And something about Curtis makes me want to put him in the chicken wing. Finally, Pork needs to take a hike. There is a big difference between being fat and being tough.
Al Eschbach doesn’t know what a scrotum is, despite looking at one every morning when he combs whats left of his hair. Definitely the worst of a steaming pile of crap all from The Sports Enema.
BTW pick a frequency and STICK WITH IT!
The 1992 Ada team was by FAR the best high school football team to ever take the field in Oklahoma high school football history. GO COUGARS!!!!!
Traber and Al are the reason I quit listening to the Sports Animal…I have JOX 930 on when I’m listening to the radio…much better and they mostly stick to sports. Loved Jack Mildren and Ron Thulin together..what a loss when Jack died.
I actually like BBJ because he is a nice person, but Traber is just a douchebag supreme and the rest are just guys who couldn’t get a job in a real market.
Some of them have actually had enough ego to try and go to a better market, but Eschbach went to KC and was fired within six months and same for Traber in Phoenix.
Hopefully with an NBA team OKC now becomes a real market and we get some real hosts. We’ve had some guys who get a lot of airtime with EPSN now with Gottlieb and Bill Simonson, so maybe they’ll come back and replace some of these ass clowns.
By the way, Hump is by far the worst and he obviously bought his job with his families millions. He couldn’t even give Robert Allen any competition and that is pretty bad.
Traber is STILL on the air??? Ever since I switched over to JOX 930, I could care less about listening to that clown.
But hey, he DID hit .225 in the big leagues!
Traber is awesome…if you don’t believe me, just ask him.
What, no “all of the above”?
I just love the attitude by every single one of them about how if it isn’t football, basketball, baseball, hockey or golf it’s not a real sport.
Seriously, is the BBJ and Steeley fued ever going to result in a deathmatch? Should be pretty even now that they are in the same weight class.
Mack is right…hockey and golf should be removed from that list.
traber is the worst. the only thing he did in the major leagues is break babe ruths record of eating 32 hot dogs between games of a double header.
Ah, The Sports Stammer-imal.
It’s Humphries by a galaxy and if you picked someone else, then you don’t listen that often. Aside from the typical ‘golf’ gripes, which don’t bother me that much, it’s absolute unprofessionalism. Cramming the mic in his grill, you can hear every last tic of his annoying mouth movements. “But uh….uh…yeah butbutbut um…….” “youyouyou” STAMMER-fest, incoherent mumbling, mush mouth. Have you ever heard him a read an advertisement? HORRID.
Traber is off-putting and arrogant but he’s entertaining.
It IS the entertainment business after all. Try listening to the Traber ‘time slot’ when he’s not on there. Brutal.
Eschabach, eh, it’s (mostly unfunny) schtick. He’s a hack, he probably knows it. He can be entertaining though.
BBJ at the least has a nice demeanour on the radio. He’s boring and not-so knowledgable across a spectrum of topics but he’s inoffensive to the ears, mostly. That said, I can’t stand to listen to him, so I don’t.
I like Mark Rodgers.
I think Mike Steely should be on this list. Not because he’s not reasonably good but because he’s a condescending jerk. Really, him and Curtis Fitzpatrick share the same trait. A couple of jock sniffers looking down their nose at people constantly on the radio. It’s a shame because I actually think he’s pretty good on the radio. Fitzpatrick, I never liked him, these two remind me of the guys who in high school who who were sub-jocks. The lowest of the low. Not that they don’t share the same unhipness with a swath of other folk but they believe they are better than almost everyone, but the jocks of course. Who are GODS in their eyes.
Outside of Traber’s show I haven’t listened to much of the rest in about 5 years, Rodgers occasionally and Al when he’s on with Traber, so maybe these guys have changed their tune and I’m being unfair. I would tend to bet they haven’t changed their stripes.
Traber- the worst. Arrogant and a bully. Was worse when he had his right wing neo-nazi program. Who can forget his big mouth promising to confront Bobby Knight if he had a chance? And when he got the chance? What bullies always do, they pee themsevles and sing “Lollipop, Lollipop” in the key of queer c. Steely and the 7th grade locker room boys are a close second. Al isnt on the list because he’s not a sports talk show host at all.
A chance to say something about the single biggest stain on the airwaves - Craig Humphreys. he knows golf, great give him 30 minutes on Monday at 5:00am to rehash the weekend and be done with it. But the issue is every other sport…. He recites headlines as opinions, he says things that make no sense, he comments on players as if they are single handedly costing him $$$… There is a reason they took him off of high school football broadcasts … no knowledge, random opinions and still thinks if someone comes from Oklahoma and plays for OU is the greatest football player ever..
and I can’t f&^%ing stand the fact he corrects everyone. He makes more mistakes than anyone and when he is corrected by someone or another host he acts like all put out.. whew .. I feel better… Shane Suiters will now illustrate my thoughts in a comic..
Why don’t we just turn this into the “Mt. Rushmore of sports radio douchebags in OKC” I only get five or six rushmore’s a week anyway, there’s always room for more, right morning animals?
1. Hump
1a. Steeley (in my mind all the morning guys go in this group, i know you read this lump, and you seem nice, but you only make fart sounds and constantly play sound clips that are funny the first time you hear them. Can’t stand skeletor fitzpatrick, or bacon or whatever the hell kind of swine he is)
3. Rosie O’Rodgers (just because he seems so arrogant to callers)
4. Bilbo Baggins-Eschbach
I think they are all bad because they try to put themselves above the game. Eschbach is a nerd whose restaurant in Norman failed, Traber is a fat loud mouth, Dean Blevins is a dumb ex jock and Mark Rodgers …
Personally I agree that Thulin and Mildren were much better to listen to because Thulin knew sports and Mildren was not a dumb jock.
The worst part about this question is the guy that is being voted the worst Sports animal host, is one of the nicest guys in the business.
I guess the bigger question is why this site and the Oklahoman act like there is only one sports talk radio station out there?
How about checking out Jox (930), the Ref (1400), the Score (1640), 1340 and TriplePlay (on three stations). There are some others that people listen to.
I believe I summed up my feelings on the worst of the worst, Craig Humphreys, awhile back when you drive-by snarked him in a Dave Morris post. “Between the voice, the fetish for my least favorite ’sport,’ and the ultra-bland goody-goody-ness, I can’t really stand more than a few minutes at a time. Especially when his own bosses put him up against Tirico & Van Pelt on 930. It’s no contest,” I was quoted at the time.
Anyway, Humphreys is among the contingent–ie, everyone but Esch–who won’t shut up about jeezus any chance they get. From Steely’s “I liked George Carlin, except when he made fun of JC” to Traber’s “Terrell Owens is really changed, I wonder if he’s been saved” and on and on. We get it, you guys think you’re on the train bound for gloryland and you’re really, really proud of it. Enough. Eschbach actually gains points when you look at it that way.
It’s gotta be Traber.
That fool still thinks I’m a good president.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
That is sure an impressive picture of Al the athlete. It looks like he is calling for the famous “Jesus One Way” screen.
So Bill, who cheats on his wife? Just curious…
Steely’s discuss of “people” can be funny but if I actually listened to him everyday, it’d get old…I like Pork when he’s not part of the morning show. I think he does good with Pat Jones when he gets the chance. Fitzpatrick is not good at all IMO. When he has to try and carry the show when Steely is “sick” it not even an option to listen to. Ugh.
BBJ and his Boston fetish is way past old…I don’t mind him overall but c’mon.
I like Hump overall but when it’s the golf show or becomes the golf show, I’m changing the dial for sure…
I like Rodgers most of the time but he can be a bitch to the callers at time in a sneaky way…Hard to describe.
I actually really enjoy Traber’s show and when he’s gone that time slot really stinks. Al CAN be good when he’s not acting like a 13 year old boy, making stupid kiddy jokes, eating on the air or scratching his beard on air. He’s got great tales about Sooner recruiting, old coaches, old players, etc. but that side of him rarely comes out. It’s a shame.
I like Tramel on-air even with his speech issues. He may sound stupid at times with his opinion but he’s a guy who’ll think of things “out of the box” and fight against Al and Jim.
I like the Sports Animal. Could it be better? Sure, but I think it’s great for local info. as well as national stuff too. Lots of good insight if you ask me. I also like Doug and wish he was still here.
RIP Jack Mildren
Does the Sports Animal even take callers these days? I switched long ago to The Ref and haven’t regretted it once. Toby, TJ and yeah even Laker-lovin’ Myron are so much better to listen to than anything the Animal has to offer - too bad Tramel and Murdock left The Ref for Citadel’s greener pastures…..
Steely would be my vote if he were listed - but since he’s not, my vote goes to the ultimate - it was cool years ago when he came on with that yell and only had 2 hours in the afternoon - not anymore
Your pal,
blend
Let’s see how far some of you go back..
“But Trabe! How can you call Davis Love III a choker?!?”
“Your not listening, big fella…..”
just reading all this sports animal hubbub is making me want to give it up to myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSFIsD7EsZg&feature=related
This is a tough choice. Aside from Traber, who’s never held a real job in his life, they’re all ex-waterboys who would give their eyeteeth to sniff Adrian Peterson’s jockstrap. Of course, Traber would love to do that, too. I think he still has some Cal Ripken jockstraps hidden at home. I don’t know what’s worse, Eschbach’s limp references to lesbianism or Steely’s “renaissance man” pretentiousness. They should all be hung by their facial hair. Mark Rodgers is the only one worth listening to.
I heard there’s a Youtube video where you can actually watch Traber’s colon explode. Can somebody send me the link?
mike steeley is the most annoying person, on the radio or not, in the world.
“uhh, liberal pansies, uhh, on touuueeerrrr, uhh, and uhh, liberal pansies”
annoying pos.
I miss John Brooks.
Traber is the biggest whimp on the air. He’s a complete joke. It really sucks that the NBA is coming in town and we have the likes of Jim Traber on the air. Traber is all talk, well, he’s all yell and no bite. What a pansy.
Traber is an arrogant jerk.
BBJ is a good guy, and does a pretty decent job.
Al is a HACK, worse actually. Whoever put the youtube link above titled Traber Sucks is an ou homer. Traber and Gottlieb were right. Al had his head up N.H.’s ass and sold those two out on air for kiss up points.
Rogers is better than average most of the time but he’s scared of Traber.
Humphries is a decent guy, but he’s a homer in line with Al. I give him points during the “recent” cheating scandal because he showed he actually cared about the University rather than just football and was mad at Stoops. Hence the difference between him and Al.
Dean is a total piece of crap. I almost feel sorry for that guy.
All the guys on in the morning are just (lucky) happy to have jobs at all. There’s no sports in their shtick.
Emily Jones made the Animal worth listening to.
Carey Murdock is a hack in line with Al and Hump on the topic of OU.
They fired one of the worst human beings ever to live in James Hale but Carey stepped right in to fill the OU will never lose another game ever because they get all five star recruits void.
In my opinion, The Sports Animal took a serious hit when the Daniel kid passed away. Can’t remember his last name. Not a voice for radio, but a knowledgable personality and pleasant on-air character. RIP.
Anyone who tolerates the nickname “The Hump Man” in public should duck his head in shame.
Oh, and I think technically you are referring to the ‘91 Ada team (captured title in 1991, graduated in 1992). Carry on.
Too bad James Hale is not on the list (I know he is not officially on the SA). Talk about Al and his propaganda reporting about the University of Oklahoma…….James “Felon” Hale blows him away!!!!
Personally, I was a little dismayed that Traber was not in the top 2 or better yet, that there wasn’t a 3-way tie between the Hump Man (seriously,do you really want a moniker such as “The Hump Man” and all that it implies??), the Nasal Lilliputian, and the ‘Ultimate’. Listening to Traber is the equivilant to audio waterboarding. If I EVER have to listen to that man go on and on about sitting around in his goddamn underwear with Ripkin Jr. drinking a few beers, well…I think the resulting picture is well-painted.
Oh, and that righteous Jesus crap & “being saved” rhetoric coming out of Trabe & Steely, which has become insidiously prevalent, has a home on KLOVE so take that crap over there boys.
I guess I don’t understand the fact that anyone on this board can say they hate someone. Those are strong words that I don’t believe should be used on message forums or in this world. Maybe saying someone isn’t your favorite host might be more appropriate.
So many deserve it and only one vote. Gotta go with Eschbach, in a word useless. Traboring is very, very close. That ego is huge. Might wanna quit thumping that Bible and read it. Murdock has a face for radio and a voice for the internet. Hey Fitzpatrick, is my jock dry yet? Get it, practice is starting. Tell Steely these socks in my locker need to be washed.
My favorite Hump Man moments: Hump Man’s golf “interviews.” He’ll set them up like they’re exclusive interviews, then you realize he is just playing a tape recording, sometimes for fifteen minutes. Fascinating.