Howard Eskin was out of line

By Mike Petty
Collegian Staff
April 25, 2007

The battle lines were drawn. In one corner, an old, overweight and angry Phillies manager screaming in his down-home southern drawl. In the other, the much smaller, egotistical talk show host continuing to fuel the flames of the argument. Uncle Cholly vs. the King of Bling turned out to be nothing more than a shouting match, but it left a stain on Philadelphia sports nonetheless in an already depressing year. The post-game altercation between Charlie Manuel and Howard Eskin was a situation of bad judgment on both sides, but in this writer’s opinion, an inevitable occurrence.

At no point will anyone accuse Manuel of being a great manager or a scholar of the game. He has admitted to not understanding the double switch and at times makes extremely questionable decisions. Manuel is probably in the bottom five of Major League Baseball managers, but the heart of this altercation did not lie with his managerial ability.

610 WIP radio, during its afternoon drive time, features Eskin. He does his show by himself, and instead of talking about Philadelphia sports and having a legitimate debate, his show does the opposite. Eskin considers himself the voice of Philadelphia sports, and if that is the case, then this city should be embarrassed. His show clearly favors the Eagles and doesn’t hide it. When he talks about the Flyers, he criticizes the coaching staff and ownership, and he has made a living trashing Sixers GM Billy King and former star Allen Iverson. Ed Wade, former GM of the Phillies, used to be a favorite whipping boy for Eskin, and now Manuel has inherited that role. Through all of that, Andy Reid walks on water and can do no wrong. Since Eskin has become popular, Reid has won just as many championships as any of the previous targets of his banter.

For anyone who does not agree, turn on the radio to 610 AM. Eskin is well known for hanging up on callers who don’t agree with his viewpoint, and throughout the course of the show, he is heard on air criticizing and berating members of his staff that don’t do things perfectly. That would be more of an issue if Eskin himself was perfect. Let’s look at exact quotes from the Howard Eskin show. “March 16, 2004, a day that will live in Eagles history, T.O. Day! I gotta get my 81 jersey, I gotta have it now!” Now that doesn’t seem any different from the overall Philly reaction, but read on. Eskin said this later in that broadcast. “We’re gonna have to go to the Super Bowl two years in a row, and the second year is gonna be in Detroit. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t think they’re gonna go to the Super Bowl? They’re gonna go 15-1. To me it’s a no brainer, right? How are they gonna lose a game?” How’d that work out, Howard?

The day the 2006 Eagles schedule was released, Eskin announced to his listeners that he was starting a fund drive to raise money for a donation. That donation would not go to charity, would not go to people in need but to the Eagles player who purposely injured Terrell Owens first and could be used to pay the NFL fine. Why Eskin was not reprimanded for this effort is beyond this writer. Eskin has made a career out of treating callers like garbage and thinking he is a bigger name than he really is. He gladly paraded around the national circuit after the Manuel incident, calling out coaches and players and calling Phillies reserve Jayson Werth a “marginal at best player” on national television.

This goes back to the original point. Eskin for years has ripped on players, coaches and management of all Philadelphia sports teams, except the Eagles. In his mind, he has been untouchable because he can press the dump button on his callers, but finally someone has stood up to him.

Sportstalk 950 AM is becoming increasingly popular because now there is competition to the former monopoly of sports radio that was 610 WIP. Jody Mac in the Afternoon’s ratings continues to increase in this area, as people are tired of the Eskin parade. Eskin couldn’t just hang up on Manuel and then berate him freely; he had to look him in the eye. Most likely this experience won’t change anything about him but while he may not be a popular manager, for one night, Manuel was a spokesman for this city and deserves a world of credit for doing what thousands have wanted to do after dealing with Eskin.

pettym1@lasalle.edu