Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Show

94 WIP promotes Rob Ellis to coveted 5 a.m. timeslot
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“Rowdy” Rob Ellis, really cutting it loose in his 94 WIP station photograph.

Philadelphia, PA – Citing the need for an experienced radio veteran to kick off its morning coverage, 94 WIP program director Spike Eskin announced Tuesday that Rob Ellis would be promoted from his bi-monthly 3 a.m. radio show to a twice weekly 5 a.m. position.

Ellis will be on the air each Monday and Friday from 5 to 5:30 a.m. With breaks, Ellis will be on air for a grand total of 9 minutes.

Upon hearing of his “promotion,” Ellis was said to have sighed deeply and then looked lovingly at a replica rifle mounted on the station’s wall.

“We really feel this is a great spot for Rob. He’s shown he can handle some adversity this year, and we think this will be a great lead in for Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Show,” Eskin said. “You can get into some salient sports talk in 9 minutes, believe me.”

Eskin said it will be Ellis’s duty to gain ground in the “Insomniac and cocaine addict” demographic so dominated by 97.5 the Fanatic.

It’s been a trying few months for Ellis, as he lost his mid afternoon drive position with Anthony Gargano to Josh Innes and Tony Bruno. He was demoted to the 6 to 10 p.m. position, and then to a 3 a.m. slot twice a month.

His station parking spot was also given to the sandwich truck Josh Innes frequents on a daily basis.

“Rob’s a professional. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of a product he can put out there twice a week for us. He knows what he’s doing,” Eskin said.

After agreeing to the deal, Ellis was told he will also be responsible for three live reads a show, which will reduce his on-air sports talk time to three minutes a show.

Wing Bowl 23 favorites and long shots
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The very subtle Wing Bowl 23 logo.

The most morbidly obese eating challenge in Philadelphia is nearly upon us, as Wing Bowl 23 is set to kick off at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday, Jan. 30. Originally developed by 94 WIP Morning Show’s Angelo Cataldi as a way to fight the stereotype of Philadelphia being a city filled with only gluttonous, boorish, drunken blue collar slobs, the Wing Bowl opens its doors each year for thousands of gluttonous, boorish, drunken blue collar slobs to get shit faced at 4 a.m.

If there’s anything this city likes more than drinking and watching fat guys eat as many chicken wings as they can in 30 minutes, it’s gambling on fat guys eating as many chicken wings as they can in 30 minutes. The CT has released a list of odds on the favorites in the competition, as well as a few long shots who just may take home first place in the competition.

As it has been in the past, first place for the Wing Bowl is an all expense paid trip to Jefferson Hospital for an emergency stent procedure.

The Favorites:

• Bill Simmons (aka El Wingador) – 2:1 to win – A former Wing Bowl champion, Simmons has agreed to come out of retirement for one last shot at glory. Simmons ran afoul of the law several years ago for a drug possession charge, but has assured Wing Bowl representatives he will only be selling cocaine prior to and after the competition. He will, though, be high on cocaine the entire day, but that’s just common sense.

• George “The Dumpster” Hammerstein – 6:1 to win – Hammerstein was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which shows his dedication. May miss the competition, unfortunately, if he can’t have his foot amputation surgery rescheduled.

• You – 10:1 – Come on man, what are you a pussy? Just jump down there and run through the crowd. If you can get by the security and get up on the podium, I’m sure Angelo would let you join, he would like have to! Don’t be a loser, just try it! Holy shit, he’s doing it Sully, he’s doing it! Oh god his wife is going to be so pissed.

The Long Shots:

• Mick Foley (aka Mankind, aka Dude Love, aka Cactus Jack) – 30:1 – Former professional wrestler Mick Foley signed up for the competition several weeks ago (no, it’s really true). The Hardcore legend is rumored to have a bottomless stomach, but has shown an unwillingness to show up to events if his barbed wire wrapped baseball bat is not allowed through security. Will have to focus on eating wings and resist urges to smash folding chairs across other competitors’ backs if he wishes to have success.

• Ryan Howard – 40:1 to win – Current Philadelphia Phillies first baseman signed on for the competition in lieu of preparing for spring training. When asked why he thought he had a chance to win, Howard proclaimed “Philadelphia fans have been calling me a fat piece of crap all year, so I’ll fit right in here.”

• A sense of dignity for anyone involved in this shit show – 1,000:1 – Don’t waste your time.

Angelo Cataldi celebrates 25 years in Philadelphia
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Rhea Hughes and Al Morganti pretending to enjoy Angelo Cataldi’s company.

Angelo Cataldi, host of the massively popular 94 WIP-FM Morning Show, celebrated his 25th anniversary in Philadelphia sports radio today. The popular radio host celebrated this morning alongside his longtime co-hosts Al Morganti and Rhea Hughes, as they took a look back on his nearly three decades of service to the station and his journey to become the top Philadelphia sports radio host of all time.

Lets celebrate Cataldi’s anniversary by taking a look back at some of his career highlights from the past 25 years:

– Angelo Cataldi originally applied for a position with the 610 WIP cafeteria staff, but the station GM misread the portion of his resume where he listed cooking “Radio Toast” under past experience and hired him as on-air staff.

– His longstanding feud with afternoon host Howard Eskin was squashed in 2010 when the two were found smooching in a back booth at Ponzio’s diner.

– Calls Morganti each morning to coordinate outfits.

– Was originally planning to cheer Donovan McNabb when selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1999 draft, but reportedly changed his mind when McNabb stole his parking spot before the draft and insulted his pre-owned 1992 Dodge Neon.

– Originally pitched an annual event called the “Wing Bowel,” which would have seen competitors eat 100 chicken wings and then time how long they could hold off from going to the restroom.

– “The Angelo Cataldi Show” on Comcast Sportsnet had its highest ratings ever when 27 people tuned in to watch the episode where Bill Barber put Cataldi in a headlock.

– Co-host Keith Jones once found Cataldi eating a DiNics roast pork sandwich on a mens room toilet when he should have been conducting a live read for Steven Singer.

– Pretends he won’t turn on Chip Kelly the moment the coach fails to win a Super Bowl.