Anthony Gargano

Philly sports talk prep sheets for Monday’s Eagles discussion

The Coggin Toboggan has received information from its sources at both sports talk station about tomorrow’s popular sports talk shows. We have received some very rough prep sheets about what each show will be discussing tomorrow.

Obviously these could change, so if not all of the items are touched on during the shows you’ll know why.

94 WIP

Morning Show

6 to 8 a.m. Chip Kelly needs to be fired. Horrible coach, one of the worst of all time.
Interview with Kelly at 8:10 a.m.
Chip Kelly is a great guy, one of the best and shouldn’t be fired.
9 a.m. cavalcade of young interns for Angelo Cataldi to creepily stare at.
9:59 to 10 a.m. Roundup of Flyers and 76ers news.

(more…)

Jon Marks researching karate classes after another Anthony Gargano bullying incident

Jon Marks, whom someone once said they were going to “put in a body bag.”

Philadelphia, PA – With tears welling up in his eyes, Jon Marks retreated to the safety of the 97.5 Fanatic break room this morning during a commercial and quietly googled local karate schools after Anthony Gargano once again called him a “stupid meatball” on air.

“I was just saying I didn’t think the Eagles were better off with Sam Bradford as quarterback, and he called me a meatball again,” Marks said, his bottom lip quivering. “I’ve got to learn karate, take a class or something. And not a class at the Y, at a good school this time.”

Since Gargano’s arrival at the station this past April, Marks has seen an increase in bullying incidents at the hands of the older, more seasoned radio veteran. Gargano has also gained the trust of and friendship of Fanatic employees Joe Decamara and Harry Mayes, who have also made life difficult for Marks.

The two Gargano underlings, dressed in skeleton costumes, reportedly beat up Marks during last year’s Halloween party.

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The Josh Innes, Spike Eskin, and Hollis Thomas show! (An assessment)

Josh Innes doing his best Spike Eskin impersonation.

Have you ever wanted to listen to a sports talk radio show with three hosts, where one speaks for about 90% of the on-air time, the second gamely tries to play along with whatever antics are planned for day, and the third over laughs at EVERY SINGLE JOKE said during the four-hour program?

Well ladies and gentlemen, the newly (re-re-RE) formatted 94 WIP mid-day show is for you!

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Editor’s Note: Call me Mr. Positivity

Yay sports!

A reader of the site told me today he’s noticed the Coggin Toboggan is nothing more than a hotbed of negativity, snark and depressing article after depressing article making fun of the Philadelphia sports scene.

Personally, I just don’t see it. Does he have a point? I don’t think so, but in order to be fair and to serve all of our readership, I figured I would dedicate an entire article to all the positive aspects of Philadelphia sports we as fans should not take for granted.

Sure, all of our teams right now are middling at best and this summer will be a wasteland of hard to watch baseball, manned by one of the most incompetent GMs in all of sports, but there ARE things we can enjoy in our sports scene. Why don’t we take a look, shall we?

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Jon Marks: I can’t wait to work with Anthony Gargano and for him to be fired

Philadelphia, PA – Jon Marks of 97.5 the Fanatic commented this afternoon on the news that former 94.1 WIP host Anthony Gargano would be joining him in a new morning show leading into Mike Missanelli in the afternoons.

Marks said it would be an absolute pleasure to work with Gargano and for him to be unceremoniously fired after 6 months when rating improvements are not instantaneous.

“Working with the Cuz will be a great moment in my career, and I especially look forward to seeing him receiving his walking papers in just a few months,” Marks said, a smile on his face. “What a day that will be when the station manager marches us into his office, notices that we haven’t been able to improve ratings in a very short amount of time, and for him to blame everything on Gargano and send him packing.”

News broke this afternoon and social media was abuzz. Sports fan on Twitter and Facebook both expressed their desire to hear Gargano again, albeit it on another station, and were absolutely giddy in anticipation of when he would be let go of his contract.

“I missed the Cuz on the radio, it’s a far better town with him in it,” said Johnny Loubatz, an avid sports talk fan. “And I will absolutely shit my pants in a few months when he is no longer allowed on Fanatic premises.”

As of press time, Gargano was stockpiling cardboard boxes for when he has to clean out his desk.

Anthony Gargano co-hosts the afternoon drive with Mike Missanelli, fired from 97.5 FM

Oh well, fired again. Maybe Breakfast on Broad will be better?

Philadelphia, PA – In a surprise turn of events, Anthony Gargano, former sports talk radio host on 94.1 WIP for many years before his release in late 2014, co-hosted the afternoon drive with Mike Missanelli on 97.5 FM yesterday.

“We are here to change the face of Philadelphia sports talk radio! We are looking forward to entertaining Philadelphia fans for years to come!” Missanelli said. “And now I’m receiving word that Anthony has been fired. Anthony, please leave the studio right now.”

Gargano was then handed a shredded copy of his new contract and told to vacate the premises immediately.

“Hey, he gave it a good shot, but Gargano just didn’t cut it on 97.5 the Fanatic,” said Matt Nahigian, program direct for the station. “We felt we got a good enough overview of him as a potential host from his four hours of programming with us. Now get the hell out of here.”

Gargano, a self-proclaimed lover of meats, was escorted by security from the station’s premises before his belongings were strewn about One Bala Plaza. One of the guards punted a copy of Gargano’s book, “NFL Unplugged: The Brutal, Brilliant world of Professional Football” into a nearby creek before the fired host could pick it up off the ground.

The day was not completely lost, however, as Rob Ellis, former 94.1 WIP host and a former co-host with Gargano, offered him an internship on his new morning television show, Breakfast on Broad.

Ellis warned Gargano the position it would most likely only last a month or two.

“Oh, I fully expect the show to be cancelled by then,” a confident Ellis said.

94 WIP promotes Rob Ellis to coveted 5 a.m. timeslot

“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.

Tony Bruno fired from 94 WIP due to declining ratings

Bruno (left) is out of the picture at 94 WIP. (Photo credit: Philly.com)

Philadelphia, PA – One day after the debut show of Josh Innes and Tony Bruno in the afternoon, company management representatives from 94 WIP have announced a change in direction when it comes to the afternoon drive slot.

Tony Bruno has been let go of his contract and will no longer appear alongside Josh Innes from 1 to 6 p.m. each afternoon. The duo performed one show together, setting their sites on ratings leaders Mike Missanelli of 97.5 the Fanatic, but unfortunately came up short.

Company representatives expressed frustration at the lack of a ratings gain from the two hosts.

“Quite simply, we thought we’d be farther ahead in the game than we are right now, so we felt it was time to make a change,” said Spike Eskin, the program director for 94 WIP. “We felt that we gave Tony and Josh an ample amount of time to really close that gap, but we just didn’t see the results.”

Eskin continued and announced an exciting new direction for the longtime sports radio station.

“We’ve hired a new host, a fresh talent, who we think is going to bring some unique ideas to our format,” Eskin said.

94 WIP has hitched its wagon to the rising star of Anthony Gargano, a lover of incredible meats.

Eskin then announced Anthony Gargano, a sports radio talk show host, has been hired to replace Bruno. Gargano will sit in with Innes immediately.

“Anthony Gargano will bring a reverberant voice to WIP. We’re very excited to see where this new talent will bring us,” Eskin said.

Gargano, a relative unknown to the Philadelphia sports talk scene, cited a love for the city and a love of incredible meats as his two main assets as a radio host.

The duo will begin their show today from 1 to 6 p.m.

UPDATE:

As of press time, 94 WIP has let Josh Innes out of his contract and announced Rob Ellis will team with Gargano for the afternoon drive slot.