Furball

Ben Maller starts right now that it does. We are in the air everywhere as we bloviate here on the fifth hours, you know, and then four hours not enough on the overnight. We do this now eight days a week. This is our Friday podcast and it's a conversation podcast, so we'll get right to it. We will not delete Daly. And before we welcome in who we're talking to, we say at David Gascon, who's back again another weekend with Gascon.

This is an amazing acomplishment after I thought we were gonna get rid of you after that terrible job producing a couple of weeks ago. But you're back again, which is great because I heard you had a trickle down effect with the new producers that were filling in for me. It was it was great, and uh now I'm back again. It's because you and are our guest here in a few moments, have have accused me of being technically incompetent. So I'm gonna try my best to railroad another podcast

since you and you alone are on the Marquis Ben Mountain. Well, I don't want to say you're technically incompetent. I will just say that you were hired by the company to produce Quasi produced the show, and you then proceeded to not know how to screen phone calls for four hours in the overnight, and when the one time you did put calls on the air, it was a clusterf So that's all I'm saying. Other than that, I mean just

I'm going by what I experienced. Guests. Well, we're in the day and age of disinformation, so I will correct you. Because I didn't know how to not answer the phones correctly, I just elected not to answer the phones for three and a half hours. Us. Well, that's not what I'm hearing. I'm hearing that you looked at the phone system and said, what is this the space shuttle and you couldn't figure it out, and so that was it. But enough about you.

This is a very important person and we like hanging out with people talking about and mostly the people that I've experienced on the podcast that I for most are like radio guys. I love radio guys. I love hearing radio stories. I love people that work in this business and do a great job. And we get to talk to one of our colleagues. You already know this if you download the podcast. The man affectionately known as fur Ball a Cincinnati radio legend in icon and he's been

at Fox Sports Radio for many years. Now. You hear him on the weekends with Brian no on Sunday mornings, and we give it up now to any Furman who is on the fifth. You know, I learned something Ben today. I learned that his name is not David Davis. Thank you. I'm gonna have more people hear me on this podcast then they do. On Sunday morning at the WEE, I was at three am Pacific time, no no listen, and

I used to do a shift around that time. You know how many people are stumbling drunk walking around that are listening to a huge audience that yeah, it's a massive audience. I appreciate you having on, I really do because it gives me something to do. I look forward to this all day long. I even showered, and during this pandemic, I don't do that often. Andy, we're not in the same room here, Eddie were I understand. I

understand that. But but I understand now to various internet reports that you can catch COVID nineteen over the phone. That's what I've been reading, not that I'm saying. I believe that you can find anything you want on the Internet or certain news channels. They'll tell you whatever whatever you want there. So, and I first met you, Andy, you came out. You and Mike North were doing the morning show at Fox for for several years there, and I love that show. You guys had a great I

loved it too. It was it was fun, it was great. You know, you guys were going back and forth. North would say something ridiculous, you'd you'd throw it back in his face, and it was wonderful. You know. It was very difficult to argue with him when he's bullheaded. I love him the death, I love him like a brother, but I'll never forget the one argument we had there was one person I forgot it was, but there were many people in sports that get d uise or whatever

it may be. And I told him that alcoholism is a disease, and he argued with me from top to bottom that alcohol who's not. I said, Michael, you could look it up in any journal, the medical journals. It's a disease. Alcoholism is a disease. And he told me that he used to drink and drink and drink and drink, and he could stop anytime he wanted to. So I said, well, you didn't have the disease. He was just a drinker. But I mean, I mean, I was winning, I was Fitz.

After that show, I'd have to shower. Really, he would get me into such a froth I would sweat. But it was wonderful because it was human, it was real. It wasn't scripted. It was from the heart that he went one way, I went the other, and that was the way it was. Yeah. You know, I want to talk about you, though, Andy, because I I've heard stories. Everyone's got an Andy Furman story that you know he did this, he did that. I gotta get some answers.

I know you you're from obviously he sound. You don't hide the fact that you're from New York, right, So what I can't help it. Yeah, it's hard to disguise that. And so you you worked at a religious college at one point as uh in the was it the PR department? Is that right? He worked? I worked at several I wear the St. Francis College of Brooklyn Division one school. I shed in all office with the brother Ronald. He was the best. On the afternoons, he'd open up the

bar and away we went. So that was a good time at St. Francis. And that I went to All Roberts University and that was the first Hebrew to ever work at that school. Wait, wait, wait that at the time you wait, wait, you worked at Oral Roberts University as a Jewish guy for two years at Old Roberts University. Uh, the Great Oral. I mean I met him several times and I didn't know. And when I got there they told me a couple of things I didn't know during

the interview process when they flew me out. But on Tuesdays and Fridays, between the hours of eleven and noon Central time, that was the school shut down completely. Electricity shut down, the electric typewriter was off. Everything was off, shutdown. You had to go to chapel services. And I went the first time, and I'm saying, what in the heck is speaking in tongues? I had no idea what speaking in tongues was? But I went and after a couple

of times, Oral called me to his office. If you don't feel comfortable going to these things, you don't have to go, which was great on his part. He was good, May he rested peace. He was always good to me. He really was. Oh that's cool, that's good. When you took the job. Though, what did your family say when they say when you said I'm going to Oral roberts that is that Oklahoma is Tulsa, Oklahoma. And I think my family basically was more concerned with me going to

the state of Oklahoma than ORL. Robertson University, because you know, really we didn't know much about Old Roberts said, I didn't know. I mean I knew they were a great basketball school, that Anthony roberts was courted something like of any points once in an n I T game, So they were a basketball power. And when I got there, there were sort of like on the tail land they still were not at a conference, so that was good.

Now they're in some sort of a cockamani conference. I mean you really they had much about all Robertson anymore now, but they were really good. And really we hosted the Midwest Regionals and basketball because at the time the Maybe Center, which hosted about ten four ten five attendants, was one of the bigger arenas in the Midwest. Now it tails

in comparison to some of the arenas where they play. Now, wow, there's another there's another Andy Furman story that I heard that I want to verify that you gave the Associated Press at one point the score that wasn't an actual score that they actually reported in the newspapers. This correct that that's been many times, not just once, really not just one. So how does this this is back in the days where you had to like call in the scores. Is that When I lived in Oklahoma, here's the thing

on Friday night was high school football was huge. I mean, I never lived in a place that had such big high school football either. Now I live in northern Kentucky. Cincinnati, Ohio's real big high school football. But living in New York City, high school football is like secondary. No one follows that, no one cares. There's once in a while a player comes out that's not bad. John Brockington went to Ohio State. They've had players from time to time

out of New York City, but very few. So I got to Oklahoma and on Friday nights it was like a religion, this high school football. And I'd go and watch some of these games. And at the time, you could they just call in the scores. Now, I'm sure when they call in scores, they're verified, they're on computer. You know, there's no way you could pull in a

fast one. We would go to parties on Friday night in Tulsa, get a little liquored up called the TV stations, and we'd see on the running scores on the bottom of the screen these schools that we just made up many know, you know, Uh, North Holden beat South Tulsa seventy five to twelve, you know, or something like that, and we see them on the bottom of the screen, and we all give a high five to one another.

You know, In the next morning, we just you know, I forgot all about it because the buzz warold you were the original fake news Andy, you were the yeah yeah, yeah, you were ahead of your time. Andy, Well, yeah, you know, I'm a trend center, a trend center exactly. All right. So now I was waiting for gas Gonda chim in there. But he's he's so aghast by this, he's so taken aback by this. Now right, he's sitting at resumes. He's looking for a job. Can you hire me? He can

clean your lawn or whatever. You know, if you got some rubber cool boy, really well, he would be a great pool boy. I think he's done that before. I think that's how I got some of his other jobs. That's I got some of my girlfriends too. You know, it's it's easy to do when you're west of the four or five. Anyways. You know, it's funny because the two things you throw in my face are probably the

two least interesting things. No, okay, because some of them got me in trouble and some of them got me fired. But that's all right, you know, really, Andy, I'm it's it's a slow build up to a crescendo. You can't start right away with the good sty you gotta this is not bad. So you're building up, you know it, You're building up to an amazing crescendo. Okay, take it easy, I mean, because another want this to cost me my job that that Sunday morning gig. Come on. Yeah, I

wanted to keep it for a while. I understand. Speaking of building up for ball, how did you how did you actually get into sports talk radio anyway? Like? What was the what was the origin and the genesis of all this? You know that that is a pretty good question. That's why you are pretty good journalist, gascon. Really question on your resume. Put this on the tape, really, but it was pretty good. I mean, I don't know if you wrote it out prior to but it's pretty good.

You know, it's funny. I got a job. I was a sales guy at the local TVs. I was forced director at Channel five, the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, and the general manage when he hired me, said, if you don't like it after about six months, come to my office and we'll figure something out. Well, I did it for six months. I didn't know anything about TV, and I went to a so off. I said, this is crazy, being a sports director of local affiliate. It's like an

animal leading. It's young. You work six seven, eight hours a day for two and a half minutes. It's crazy, and the next day it starts all over again. I said, I don't want to do this anymore. He says, what do you want to do? I said, I think I'm a good salesman. I could sell so at the time, the local LETBC affiliate in Cincinnati carried the Cincinnati Reds games over the year. And uh, and I sold Reds baseball.

But how do you sell Reds baseball? You get a telephone book and you look in the telephone book and stop calling clients. But what I did, instead of starting from A to Z, I started from Z. Because I think everybody starts from me when they got a phone book. So I started from Z. So I started running letters and calling people. Part Procter and Gamble is based in Cincinnati. I sent a note to the brand manager of a

product called top Job. Top job as a female oriented product that cleans ovens and stoves, you know, And we had the weekly sales meeting and I told them, you know, well, what do you got going? I saw the top Job. They looked at me and they laughed at me. That will never happen. It's female Baseball's male never have so all right. While about a week later, the brand manager calls me up. Go to her off as a young girl would have picture a Paul O'Neil on our desk.

I figured, I'm in. She says, so I love it. We'll have the top job of the game on the game. No big, it's great. How much does it cost to a sponsor this deal? I couldn't get it out of my mouth. It was a hundred and sixty thou dollars for the deal. She said, yes, I want crazy. I hugged there, came back to the station, and a couple of days later, the general manager of ww Radio calls me up and I said to my wife, I said, I'm going to get a job at w W Radio.

How do you know? So? Why would the general manager want to take me out to lunch? We went out for lunch before the the major d candy waiter came. I said to the guy, and may rest in peace. J David Martin. Use his name, I said, Mr Martin. I said the answers, yes, I want to work for you, and he almost choked. I said what do you mean? I said, we Why are you taking me out to lunch? General manager takes a guy out to lunch. He's gonna fire him. I hire him. I don't work for you yet,

so he hired me. It was a great situation. I sold Redge Baseball on the radio, which is a lot easier than TV. Did some promotions for the radio station, and there's a great station and still is of a hundred AM, tremendous station, high heart media station as well, and he put He created a show on Sunday, want to Call Sunday wanting sports Talk, which morphed into sports Talk during the Week, which I co hosted for a while with the great Chris Collinsworth. That's pretty m wild well.

And the famous story with you is the race you were at the track right in Cincinnati. You were the I ended up here. I worked for a company based out of Buffalo called Delaware North, and they owned a lot of racing facilities, and they shipped me from city to city, and I was like a vagabond. They went all over the place. But I used the same promotions

in every city and it always worked. I was an upstate in New York and I had Beasley Reset the New York Football Giants race a trotter at Monacello Raceway. When I came to Latonia Racecourse in Florence, Kentucky, I had Chris Collinsworth race a horse and it was great. People loved it. It was a big deal and made the press and you know stuff like that. People like that fun. So how did you how did you convince Collinsworth to raise a horse? Like, well, what's the pitch

on that? Like, you shame him into it, you know, you start sending material out to the media and you challenge him, you back him against the wall that he can't say no. And he knew that. So that remember they remember a couple of years ago, somebody, I don't think you were part of that. Somebody Johnson? Yeah you were. You were part of that, were you? Yeah? Yeah? Oh I didn't realize that it works every time. You know, after a while it gets old. But you know what,

the kids love it. Chad Johnson was great because he actually beat the horse, although he had a head start, but he beat the horse. But he hung around and he had people sunning autographs. He he's just he's wonderful. Chats the best. Heal this was good, but Chad was the best. Now you could conceivably like drug the horse so the horse doesn't run. Your make the horse feel bloated, so the horse can't drug Johnson. That's who he did. He was great. He really was fun. You know. You know,

people ask me what do I do? Are you pr guy who promoted you know Ben? You would notice I'm what is called the tumbler. A tumbler is a guy in Yidish that just creates a lot of mess, a lot of a lot of action. You know that I'm a tumbler. You're as well. Well, you know what the late Morny Glickman called me that Mortylan used to love.

Morty Glickman. He called the New York Football Giant games on w n W Radio, New York City eleven thirty a m. And I met um Marty Glickman through a mutual friend, and you know, he was calling the Jet games two at the end of his career. And I met him a couple of times through a third party, and he said to me, you have the sugunar right, Because in New York City, when I was working in Saint Francis College and doing stuff and sending stuff out to the media, you know, it got around that I

was a little unorthodox. So to speak fun but I'm the author of that. So he called me. May he rest in peace. Two Because Morty Glickman was great, Uh, he called me the sugun. That's well, yeah, and you got if you're a promoter, though, you've got to be part of every kackamani idea that you could possibly come with. Did you somebody said that you worked for the Dolphins at one point, the Miami Dolphins. I heard, was that true? What I did was I worked for the fourth Little Strikers.

I was the pr guy for them, and were owned by the late Joe and Liz Robbie. Liz on the Strikers and Joe on the Dolphins. So when the Strikers weren't playing, I helped out with the Dolphins. But basically, my my my main thing was with the Strikers, and they were great because we had Georgie Best. George Best was the greatest thing. Every time we landed in the city, there was seven thousand women at the airport waiting for him. Sure you didn't mind that, Andy, No, not at all.

George was great. I mean it was just you know, it's just it was an electric it really was with him and every city we went to so, what are some of the others any promotion? You had a couple of NFL guys, race horses. What are some of the other crazy stuff that we don't know about that you did best? Well, you know, this was a bad one, but you know, since I love you guys, I'm gonna be honest and open it. It happened way back in believe it or not, back when I worked at Manaslla Raceway.

You know, my job was to get people in the race track. Before I worked at a race track, I couldn't tell you the front of a horse from the back end of a horse, really. But I went to monts Seller and the guy says, look, you don't have to know a thing about racing, just get people in here. Get him in here, all right. So during the summer we started getting and crowds because I was going around the various service clubs, you know, alliance clubs, whatever, rotary clubs.

They ask him to come to the racetrack and they did so during the summer. You know, Manacello was right near the Pennsylvania border, and in Pennsylvania they don't have what they call in New York off track wagering. In New York City. In New York State and New York City, you don't have to go to the racetrack to play a bed. You got to a little parlor which is off track and you place a bed, which hurts the attendance at the race track. But in the state of

Pennsylvania there was no off track wagering. So we did a lot of promoting in Pennsylvania, all right. So I would subscribe to the Pennsylvania papers, the Scranton Time, Scranton Tribune, and there was a series about the Ku Klux Klan in the Scranton papers, and I'm saying, why would this be there every day in the front page. And to this day I remember the guy was like the ringleader, the the master guy, I guess in Pennsylvania. His name

was Mr Lenz. Albert Lance was the guy. I wrote him a letter and I said, please come to the race track, the Mantacella Raceway. Leave your sheets at home, we'll have I'm not at the races, and you know you have dining or whatever it might be, but under racist and come to the mansella raceway for not at the races KKK. And I I sent that out, made copies to like every media person around New York City, New York State, Pennsylvania and racing. You have to be licensed.

You get a licensed from the New York State Racing a wagering board. When they got wind of this letter with the KKK, they revoked my license. And I loved my job, but it was made like every the state of the country. I mean, now I lost the job. But after I lost the job, I was getting phone close from like circuses to be a pr guy Moneleague Baseball. It was crazy, I mean, just unbelievable I was getting but I never really I'm not an advocate of the KKK,

believe me. And in Mantosella, you haven't understand. It's to three thousand population Hamlet and upstate New York and maybe like Jews and five hundred African Americans. So it wasn't the greatest place in the world to in fight the KKK. Anyway, And you know what I did this day at any gonn know why I was fired? Was I fired because I invited them? Was that fired? Of course they didn't show. Can you imagine if you did something like that? Now, oh my god, oh man, I'm a friend to talk

about it. Then what are you kidding me? There's another one? What I did when I when I lost that job, I got a phone call. This how I ended up with Delaware North Companies and Buffalo. They flew me out to Buffalo and they said, of you the guy that invited the KKK the Manticello. I said, yes, I was said what we were we even the fired we would have killed you. And I looked at looked at the background at his company. I mean, there was the old emprize situation and you could, you know, put two and

two together and figure But that was all about. So they hired me and my first job was a Buffalo raceway in Buffalo, New York and Hamburg, New York. And uh, I said, you know, maybe what I need to do is have like ethnic nights. All right, so not bad? So I said, we're gonna have what would I call a Polish night? What is Polish night? While we're gonna serve Polish sausages, We're gonna have the the drivers of the harness horses go around the track the wrong way.

I want to go around and start the wrong way for Polish Night. And how do you promote the game? How do you promote polish night. Well, every track has like a Marquis on the Highway, so on the Marquee he usually says post time tonight seven pm. But the being by the bang, I went to the truck's maintenance guy and I said, do me a favor. Where it says post time tonight seven pm, right, polish night tonight. And when you spell polish, put the p on their backwards,

just put it back. What do you mean, Just do me a favorite. So he did that on the highway. I run back to the office and I called the Buffalo Evening News and I said, some schmucks spell polish wrong on the Marquee. Sure enough the Buffer Evening News, I'd how you did the promotion went around the track the wrong way. We gave out salamis to the winning drivers. It was great. Again. I don't think you could do that today. I really don't. I don't love a sense

of humor, you know. And maybe for me even talking about it now, this may come back and haunt me. What do you think, do you think, Edie? I love it? Man. I wish you know you you had so many great express Who is your who is your influence? Though you sound like Bill Veck. He uh made him several times. And I lived in the Lord of Thee the White Sox who trained right now, right near there, and I met him several times. And you know, it's funny thing

with him. Not only did I write him, I got several letters front him still with my folder and my file whatever you may want to call my scrapbook. But anytime you ever called him. And I don't know how many people would want to call Bill Beck, but I did. He took the phone up. He had no secretary. You know, you just call the White Sox office as I want to talk to Mr Veck Hell, hold on, hello, Bill Beck here, and he called and he answered the phone. He was unbelievable. But I guess one of my bigger

influences was the late Alan Jerome Finkelson. Alan Fickleson was the PR man of Pampanau Park and Papana, Florida. And uh he was like my my godfather, my my teacher, and he really was. And uh, I always I always admired those guys like the Bill Vex of the world, the earthing Ruds of the world. You know, you could look him up to. He was a pr guy of the Brooklyn, just way back in the fifties. But you know, I read about these guys. These are the guys that

read about, you know, my contemporaries. My friends would read novels about William mas Enbiga Mantel, and I'm reading about Irving Rudd and Bill Vick. That's what I did. Well, who are the you know, who are the guys? Now there's nobody really doing what you did and what you've done right right, You can't do it now. People are too sensitive. You just can't. I'd love to do stuff like that. Now you just can't do it. You got

a jail, will get shot, furball. But like all of this, or at least you're like some of your best stories. In fact that you told me something like this I think last year. But like, what inspired you to write letters to people? Because I know you've told me you you've written the several head coaches in the National football

you know coaching. I think what started with the leather running was basically when I was like working for a newspaper in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Eagle, which I still write once in a while, a nautical the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. If you go on the website, you'll see some of the alcos I recently written to. But honestly, what I do is I get the clippings that I write my columns and send them out to coach. And that's how I got the job at Old Roberts because you know,

I had a column called Scholastic round Up. It was like a little roundup column, like little one liners that would be like Ben Mallard of ex High School is now playing freshman basketball at San Jose State. So I get the paper, I ripped it out mail to the coach of San Jose State. And that's what I did, mail and to the sports information guys, and I get

on at least mailing list. So they had a player at or Roberts the name of author Stretched Graham from Brooklyn, and every time me and he did something, I put a little bit on my column and mail it out

to the athletics the sports information guy. And I guess this guy thought it was like, you know, the New York Times getting something from the New York Times from me, and they want they wanted to expand their their influences pr wise, and he thought that I had contacts in the New York media, which I did because I lived there and uh, and he hired me. And that's that's what. That's the way it was. Did you get any kind of negative push back from someone that you wrote a

letter to. I get negative pushback from my wife because she says with him, running letters shows how old you are and makes you look old. And I know you won't because I'm really adapted on the computer. I could do my emails, I could do my attachments and that links it all that crap. I could do that. But the point is this. Everybody does it, but no one sends out letters. So that's why I'm different. You get a stack of mail every day at home. What is it?

Usually junk mail or bills, and then you see something like this lether from me. You're curious. You're gonna open it up. And a lot of times you send out an email, it gets in the trash band. It really does. That's why I have made a habit every time I had a guest on radio, I'd always send him a thank you note. That's what I did. A matter of fact, when I lived in Brooklyn of New York City, I'd always send a little notes to dig a felt. So

I still talked to today. He lives not far from me in South ben Indiana, and dig is wonderful him. He was coaching Fordham and I got to know him, and he had a couple of Brooklyn players. I'd send him and he was one of the few coaches that you send him a note. Kenny Charles played for him for for Fordham, and Kenny Charles is a Brooklyn kid. I write about Hinton, can dig it flipping in two days? Lady, send me a thank you note. Bobby Knight the same way. When I came to Cincinnati on w l W Radio,

Bobby Knight did a half hour show with me. He really did. And uh, you know, Bobby Knight to me, didn't do many of those shows at any except his own coaches show. But he had ground rules to me. He said, look, we'll do a half hour, no commercials, no phone calls, boom. That was it. And then it was great. It really was. Ill give you an example about a year or so ago, during Christmas Week, I

had Bill Belichick on Fox. I was filling in during the week on a Wednesday night show, and Bill Belichick said, he going why because I sent him letters all that time? Said him, notes. I made a relationship. But coach Belichick, that's awesome. So you you talked about check used to give you change the letters. Do you have talked to him on the phone, and I've talked to him on

the radio. I had him on phone. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, but uh, his mom just died about a week or so ago, and I sent them a text because I got his cell And the other day he texted me back. He thanked me so lunch, you know, for my my little text for Belichick sends. He sends text messages. Who knew. I thought he was a technophobe. I thought that's this whole stick right, And maybe if someone did it for him. I don't know, but maybe the text. How many letters

do you think you've sent out over the years? Ay, oh god, oh man. You know what if I had, if I had like a dime fery letter I sent back, I wouldn't have to work anymore. Well, you would have a dime if you didn't send the letters, though, you would have a letter you could. You know, here's the thing. Most of the time, say of the time, when I write letters, I'm mailing him out from business. Didn't cost me anything. I don't have an office anymore. That's the problem.

So now I'm paying for the stamps. That's that's a major problem. It really is. I want you I should do. This is what I should do. I should collect all my mail once a week in to box, send it out the Fox in Sherman Oaks and let them running through the media machine for me. So be one one big postage bill. But I could send out five letters

in the box. I remember my one of my first days working on on Ben show that carried over into you guys, and Jonas was producing at that time for you guys, and there was just stacks of letters that Jonas had and Eddie at the time was filling in for Eddie had in his mailbox and I couldn't believe it. I said, what the funk is all this mail doing here? And Jonah, wait a minute, we don't need that kind of a language here on this kind of a family related podcast. Just back up a little bit. Not my bad.

He's from He's from Brooklyn. They don't talk like that from Brooklyn. A little bit different of a dialogue there, yes, yes, so anyway, but you know, Eddie Garcia, you used to get a Fendi get upset every time I saw a hockey story that I thought it would be of interest to him, and maybe in the New York Times the New York Post, which I get, I sent it to him. It was probably too currents on him. He's not on the list anymore. He's off my mailing list. Now. I want you to know. D I in the mail room

since this COVID thing started. It's a little food gazy up there. It's it's messed up. So I went into I go to the mail room every couple of weeks. Actually I haven't been in a while. I gotta go to this weekend and check the mail. But I go in there looking for stuff for me, and there your mail is all over the place. I mean, there's more Andy Furman mail than there is for anybody like you.

Think of the people who work at foxbuts like Cowherd and Clay and these big you know, big people whatever who think you know, they're important, And there's more mail from you than any for any of those people. It's crazy. You dominate the mail room, Andy Ferman. That's the way it should be. Really. You know, people think that podcasts dominate and they talk about ratings on radio There's nothing better in life than personal relationships. And the only way

you can make a personal relationship is through the mail. Really, you know, the obviously phone as well. Mail is a great personal relationship technique. And people don't do it because they think it's a podcast. They think it's a YouTube situation, you know what it is. That's one way. It's one way, and it's also forces the secondary person to have to tune in and find you. Whereas mail, I'm reaching out to you and people don't understand I'm reaching out to you.

And how great does somebody feel? You know? I sometimes get on Twitter, uh every now in the game out often every now I listened. I have a listener from Minnesota about two weeks ago. You know, he gave me his address. Could you send me a note? Because he knows I write letters. I did. I reached out that I won this guy over. You don't think that guy is gonna show ten other people. Hey, Andy Firman. I listen to him on Sunday on Fox. He sent me a letter, you know, that's what it is. One letter

is worth perhaps ten listeners. And who's the guy that you said? Is it? Who's the guy that you sent a letter to that you didn't think was going to write back, that did right back. Is it Belichick? Who's the guy that you said, this guy is not gonna write back, and then he did. You know, I never thought I hear from Belichick. And it's funny because I was sending out resumes just for the hell of it to see, you know whatever. And I asked him if I could use him for a reference, and you already

wrote me back. He said, you could use me for a reference, but don't have them right, you know, don't have me right to them. Have them right to me, and I'll take care of you. That's what he said. Now, when you first connected with the Belichick? Was he where was he in his career? Was he with Cleveland? Was he with the Patriots? Was he? Well, I'll tell you the story with Cleveland. That's that's how we first met.

It was unbelievable, really, this is what happened. I was running to him in Cleveland, and I was like the anti Bengal fan in Cincinnati, which it is not difficult to do if you follow the Bengals. Really, they'll give you ada watching him play. But that he was coaching the Cleveland Browns and for some reason he called me, or you had to call me because of no email back in the day, I don't think he called me. He said, I need a tape of a of a Cincinnati Bengal game, right and he gave me his FedEx

number to send the tape to him overnight. I said, how in the hell am I going to get a tape of a Bengal game. So I went to Channel nineteen, the Fox affiliate in Cincinnati, and I told him, I said, I need a tape of a Bengal game. I don't know how I sold them on that, but I got the tape and I got his fed X number. I sent it overnight mail to him and after that and it was it was beautiful. It was amazed. Can you think about that now, guys asking for tapes Like I know,

it's amazing how things have changed. And I've seen the change, and we all seen the change. I mean, guys asking for tapes with a FedEx number. And now immediately after the game, these coaches are on the plane with their iPads watching the game. Again. It's it's amazing, it really is. So you tell me this is a great story, Eddie. So Bill Belichick is coaching the Browns and he needed scouting on the Bengals and contacted a media guy in

Cincinnati to send him a game tape that's unbelievable. And I did, and I did, And what we're talking about that talking like me. He rest in peace. We had a love hate relationship. I loved him and he hated me. But at the end we kind of made a kissed and made up because I used to play with him and he used to have the rabbit ears. He really did, which is great for a talk radio host. And we had a helicopter pilot who gave the traffic every day for the name with John Phillips. I love John Phillips.

In the morning, the afternoon he getting the helicopter get the traffic. So I went on. I said to John, we're gonna do this to play with Sandwich a little bit. I said that I was going to be in the helicopter taping practice and sending it out to the opponents. And he called the station. This was like on a Wednesday or Thursday, probably on Thursday maybe was whatever it

was way back in the day. The next morning, at nine o'clock in the morning, he was up in the general manager's face, saying Andy Firman was in the helicopter taking pictures of my practice. They threatened on the radio, is going to send them out my opponents. So I got called in the river. This is amazing, really, So I got called to the office. I had no idea Sam was in there, and say, coach, I don't. He wouldn't talk to me. His face is burning red steam

coming out of his ears. And the general manager, David Martin says to me, what's the story. I said, first of all, I'm afraid to go in the helicopter. Secondly, I'm not gonna go on with John Phillis the guys like a cowboy. He's crazy, he really is. And thirdly, I never did it. And Sam went crazy at the theater of their mind. They don't his works in radio, the theater of the mind. It was wonderful, it really was. That's outstanding. I just I can't I love this. Everyone

loves the Sam wie ran. You know, even Cleveland knock it off. And you know what, he was a good guy. And uh, if you go on Google and you google my name with Sam wise when he passed on, I wrote an upbed piece in the Cincinnati inquire at which they ran. And I had no idea until that time that someone gave me this from the Cincinnati Bengals. He hated me so much he had a play named after me. He named the play. I got a place. She gave it. I gave it to the Inquirer, but they didn't run

the play, but I ran the name. What was the play? What was the play? What was the play? You know? I couldn't read it. I had no I don't know was it was. It had to be a passing play, I would think. No, I don't know, But the play was named after me, and so it was. It was just like what called F Furman And you could figure what that stood for it all right? So is this when like Boomers Siasin was the quarterback, So it's possible,

team the whole, the whole crewise, So it's possible. In his n v P season, Boomer Sisen at the line of scrimmage that was calling the play out and it was F. Furman was Now I had to play on the sheet of paper from the Bengals, and even with the place to cover and the whole thing, I got that and I gave it to the inquirer. I thought they would take a picture of it when I wrote the OpEd piece, but they didn't run that. But I have the OpEd piece, so I think you can write.

Just google sam wise op ed. Since then, the inquirer, Andy, I want I want to see I want to see the play, Andy, I gotta I gotta see a copy. You know, I'll find it. I'll take a picture and I'll scan it to you. That's what I'll do. Did the play ever? Was it ever productive? Did it ever go for a touchdown? How they never want anything? Come on, you haven't got to be productive? He could doesn't want anything, you know, because Zach Taylor now he's three seventeen and one.

You don't think I could be three seventeen and one of the coach in the NFL. You could be three seventeen and only think about it. The only good thing about three seventeen and one for Zach Taylor is that he could have hopefully passed Dave Schuili's ridiculous record. And I love Dave Schula. I really liked it when he

coached here in Cincinnati. He's now back at Dartman's like coaching the quarterbacks, So hopefully he could have raised Dave Schuila's ugly record in Cincinnati, so Zach Taylor, I hope he doesn't get fired. I hope he stays here another eight years. Are you buying the hype? I guess you're not on Joe burrow Man, this guy. You know, I feel for the guy. You know, if you look at the eyes, if you'll see he's playing Indianapolis this Sunday, look in his eyes. It's a situation. Now we call

here in Cincinnati being bangalized. He's become bangalized right now. It's like when the deer and the eye look, you know, when it gets really why like silver dollars. That's basically what he has right now. And he's lost more games now in Cincinnati that he probably has. It's an entire high school and college career. Really, it's amazing. The back of this jersey last Sunday was so green you thought that he was playing for the Jets because he was

full of grastinate. He was hit seventeen times and stacked five times. I feel for the guy. And here's the thing. Every once in a while, I wish I was still on local radio, because the locals right now are brought and paid for. I want crazy. I was on Monday night. Some local guy in Cincinnati had me on. I said, here's the deal, because he's what do you think of the Bengals, Joe? But I'll tell you what I think. I said, They're losing twenty seven nothing. On Sunday was

the twenty seven nothing with eight minutes to go. Why in the hell is Joe Borrow and Joe Mix is still in the ball game. The only reason they're in there is to get hurt. I mean, they're not gonna win. They lost seven to three. Why were they still in at that time? That I never understood And no one in the media challenge that Taylor did that? Did that hide him at all? Why do you have these guys in there? No, listen, I agree with you. I mean, but when you were doing you would spice it up

the local guys. And I experienced this, you know, And I'll do a rant on the overnight about the Astros and I'll get the local radio hack and Houston who you know the fanboy. Oh, you can't criticize, you know, the Astros and all this stuff. And I've I've experienced this in several cities around the country. The local radio guy, it's all upset, But to me, I love how you did it, Andy, and there's there's very few. You're like one of the last of the Mohicans. The local radio

guy now is a fanboy. That's pretty much what the local radio and literally the local radio guy. If that station carries the games, they have that contractual agreement. And you don't want to upset the Apple car because it's revenue. There's no doubt about that. But here's the thing people lasting all the time. What's the difference between local and national doing local and national rate? I think national radio to me is easier. Why there's more of a broad

spectrum of topics you could talk about local. If I'm in Cincinnati, we never talked that n HL or n b A. We don't have a team, no one cares about it. So basically, locally you're based on NBA, NFL and the Cincinnati Ridge. That's basically a little college, University of Cincinnati or Xavier University, and basically that's it. So you have a smaller, uh piece of the pie to talk about. So you have to be harder, you have to go different layers, and you can you can make

a difference. You could get the city after a coach. You know, if I'm if I'm on there now, I say, look, he's three seventeen and one. The honeymoon for that tail is over. And if you lose his five more games this year, you start the petition. You have the fans meet me outside from the stadium with picket sign saying let's get him fired. You could do it at locally,

you can't do it nationally. It's no different than Hugh Jackson a few years ago right in Cleveland, where he goes winless and and obviously still maintains a job for a short period of time. Andy is there because you've you've obviously worked as a sports information director, You've worked locally, you've worked national radio. Is there anything that you haven't done that you wanted to do or want to do eventually? Well, I wanted to run for president, but that would have

been a good third party guy this year. Ye could have been done. You know, you know what, honestly, what I wanted to do, and I wrote this in my high school graduation book, I always wanted to work for the New York Knicks. That was my goal. I really really, That's what I wanted to don't want to be the PR guy for the New York Knick. About this my idol. When I grew up, I watched the Willis Reason that Dick Barnett's and Dave Dave to Bush, all those guys playing.

But the one guy always had my eye on was Frank blouse Child. No knows who he is, but Frank blouse Child was the guy was sitting next to Red Holsman. He was the PR guy in traveling secretary of the New York Knicks. That was the job I wanted. That's pretty damn good. What about the race track? And what about the ponies that if you is there anything that ever inspired you to work there? Like on the track, at the track even on the p a there you know? Well,

first of all, I could never do. I could never call a race is now Mike ba Taglia did that. He's the best in new business. He was there for us at Latona Race Course. But I will say this, in all the years I worked in racing, and I worked the Greyhound tracks and uh in New Hampshire, I've been all of I don't think I've made maybe more

than twenty dollars total in total bets. It never excited me to wager, but I always try to create the racing, be honest race, throwab a racing or greyhound racing into a sport and make it legit, you know, and try to get statistics involved in that so maybe you could get on the sports pages and also to a very good human interest stories in the world of sports. For example, in one I worked in uh In Lakes Region Greyhound

Park in Belmont, New Hampshire. Belmont, New Hampshire, you could take a bed on Highway six and never get hit by a car and sleep there. That that's how many people were there. And they wanted me to bring people to this racetrack, which I did. You know. We had a good time. But that was the summer of the

baseball strike, if you remember one. And we had a guy who had a kennel of dogs and he loved the New York Yankees, and he had all his kennel dog greyhounds named after the Yankees, really Randolf, and it said to all of them. So when he had these guys, these dogs racing, we got the tape of the race,

and again this is before computers. I had to go to the local bus station in Belmont, New Hampshire, and put the tape on a bus to lend Berman at Sea BSTV Channel two in New York to get him on a Sunday night TV show and he ran it. That's what I did in New Hampshire. Yeah, that's pretty damn impressive and stupid, really, but I did it firt of all. So if if the Knicks called you up and said, hey, we want you to move back to New York, I'd walk. I would walk there, believe me.

I mean honestly, what I'm doing right now. And I know this is like a dreamland. I know, but it could very well happen because I got free time of mine, and I'm working with a man in Louisville, Kentucky. He's an attorney. His name is Bruce Miller, J Period Bruce Miller. J. Bruce Miller is a die hard, die hard NBA fan. He uh, he represented many NBA players over the years, and he almost had the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Louisville,

but they ended up in Memphis. So I'm working with him trying to get investors to get an NBA team in Louisville. I think it could happen. Louisville a tremendous basketball city. They have a great arena, uh in Louisville, and I think they could support the NBA there more than that. And this is at the top of my head. I'm thinking this. A lot of these NBA owners took a bath this year. They lost a lot of money.

And I won't be surprised if many of these owners would would even go out and try to sell their franchise. So I think Louisville has a chance if we can get someone to corny up the money. And what I do all day long? You talk about letter writing, Oh my goodness, I mean I I write letters to everybody and anybody. And uh, about a year or so ago, I wrote a letter to Larry King. And why did I write to him? To stow fold number one? I knew he went to a pot of Dodgers. At one

time I watched the Dodging games. He always sits right behind home plate number two. He went to my high school. He went to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. So I got his address. I got this book of addresses. I wrote to his address in Beverly Hills and a couple of days later he called me up. He started singing me to fight song for Lafayette High School, and he

said he was interested. But then, you know, God, you know, I hate to say his his son died and he got a divorce, and I kind of left and be because I just don't think he's ready for that right now. But we've got other people. And I wrote to uh Easter Ray. You know, I was watching the NBA games that she was doing promos on on the TV, So I wrote, I write to everybody and anybody that I think would be interested. I wrote to Charles Barklay wrote to uh Kenny the Jets Smith, you know your name it?

What's the what's You have a circle of people with money that would be interested in buying an NBA team, So what's the pitch though? Like when you're hey, I've got I need you to write a check for millions of dollars to buy No I did. I didn't tell my background, and I'm legit, you know, like most of these. I write to Bernard King, I said, Bernard, I watched you play high school basketball at Fort Hambleton High School in Brooklyn. I was a manager of my high school

basketball team, and I said, Lafayette High School. I watched you play. I said, uh, watched you with the Knicks. I said, I'm working with J. Bruce Miller, an attorney in Louisville. I said, we'd love to have you join our group. I said, here's my cell phone number. I could hook you with Mr Miller and maybe you could fill you in on what we're doing and who love to have you join us. That's all. What could you say? You know, hopefully someone will, and I think they might.

I think there's a there's a lot of people out there with money who love basketball and have an ego. That's what it takes. You have to have money, love the game at basketball, and have a bit of an ego. And is basketball your number one love or I love it? I love college in the NBA, but I love the NBA better. Interesting, So growing up in New York, obviously it's one thing. But did you transfer your allegiance to any team locally and you know an NBA TC. I

love the Knicks. I live and die with the Knicks. I love Red Holsman. I loved him when he coached the Knicks. I went to Summit Camp. I met Red Holsman. They I just loved him. I love him to death. What about for baseball though, I mean, obviously Yankees are mats, and then now you go to Cincinnati with them, you know, I tell you, And this sounds terrible, it really does. I like the Reds, but I think that the longer I follow sports and got involved the sports, I think,

the less interest to have in baseball. I think a lot of people feel the same way. Baseball back when I was a kid, was a national sport. Baseball now is it local sport. It's a localized sport. I mean I watched the sportscast now in Cincinnati at eleven o'clock. They don't even give the playoff scores. They don't give any highlights, any tape because if your team is not in it, no one cares. But the NFL they plays

ding NFL highlights in Boise, Idaho. It's a national sport for many reasons, the gambling aspect, the fantasy football aspect. But still I think baseball right now has become a localized sport. Unless your city is involved in the playoffs, no one cares. How does it feel any that you you've lived in Cincinnati all these years, you're from New York and the Knicks have become the Bengals, right. I mean, if you were saying that, you know who's the Bengals

of the NBA, It's the Knicks, right. They've been horrible for well. I've open Tom Tibodot could turn them around. I'm hoping it could turn them around. Really now, I'm hearing some rumblings that Russell Westbrook may become a Knick and I'd love to see that. I would love to see him on the Knicks. So we'll see what happens. I don't know if I think Tibodogat could. If anybody could turn them around, it's him, you know. And it's certainly sad because I hear all these fans and all

these sports blaming owners. You know, in Cincinnati, it's Mike Brown. He's the He's the devil, He's the evil guy, the evil impick. What did he do? Mike Brown doesn't tackle, Mike Brown doesn't rush the quarterback. He has nothing to do with. They spent a lot of money this year. The Benge spent like a hundred and sixty million dollars on players. Maybe they spent it on the wrong players. Maybe he should have beefed up the offensive line just at the defensive side of the ball. You know, you've

got a franchise quarterback. Protect the guy, protect him, And they didn't do that. So Andy, I want to circle back to the letter writing, have you had success with any of the younger generation, the millennials of the gen Z or these younger coaches? Do they right back or do they ignore you? Well, I'm trying to think who who they might be. I mean, there's a lot of older guys that ignore me too. I wish Saw Campbell might be a younger guy and I will stay because

I knew him at the University of Toledo. He's kind of a younger guy. I don't. I don't. I think Matt Campbell maybe early thirties and maybe late twenties. I don't know how well that Campbell is. I think like like Sean McVeigh with the Rams or Yeah, I don't. I don't like a lot of pro coaches. I really don't. Uh, Pete Carroll every once in a while and they'll scribble a note back. You know. You know who writes me

back all the time is Hardbor Harbor from Michigan. He's the best he's great, hell away who rub me back in two three days? Handwritten notes all the time, I said, a lot of these letters a kid. I got a couple of letters Stiffer made off for up from Kentucky, you know, and I said at the time, when I was in high school, I said I wanted to attend the University of Kentucky was a basketball and he wrote

me back. I got to find that letter somewhere in my basement, I guess, he said, young man, when you come down here and look me up in my office. He signed the eight offer up the baron. Wow, that's pretty cool. And andy have you do you frame any of your letters the return of that that's egotistical free from what so someone could see it. I know, I know you can see it's it's almost like a baseball card where you put it in a seal and you make sure that it's in good condition if you ever

want to. I got it somewhere to fight the yellow and now it's probably turned that. I don't know if you're touched by fall apart, well, you read it once, what else you gonna do with it? Like I read books. After I read the book, I throw him away I'm gonna keep the book, Ane, and any any politician, any presidents, or anybody politician type people that you've written to over the years that we would know of. You know, it's funny. I usually do write the president because uh, I used

to write the President. Well, I tell you what the Queen of England. She's written me back several times. What the Queen of e I'm sure it's one of the staff members. But I got from Buckingham Palace. I got letters from Buckingham Palace and what it was. At one point in time, I wanted because my grandfather was from England. He really was from Golden's Green, right outside of London. And I mentioned that to the Queen and I said that I'm on radio in the States and I wouldn't

mind working for the BBC. And I thought that really my accent, which I didn't have thought I had, but my New York Brooklyn twang, I thought that would go big in the BBC in London. It really would. I wouldn't know anything about the the soccer matches much, I mean the English Premier League maybe, but I think that would go the big. But she wrote me back and she said that she couldn't help me whatever, like you got to contact the station themselves. But she wrote me back,

she really did. But you know when I used to work for the race tracks, but I used to do is send others out to the presidents or or the queen and and invite them to opening not at the races, And that always used to get some good pr. I remember I once wrote to George Burns and I said that I'd give you a boxes to cars if you come out to opening night and you know, zero stats. Send it out to the press and they bite on that, and they always wrote about that. That's pretty cool. We

gotta wrap this up, Andy, I love you man. Sunday mornings right, promote your show. Andy. People can hear you on Fox Sports Radio Sunday mornings six am Eastern Time, three am Pacific Time, Sirius XM, Channel eighty three, the iHeart Radio app. Also thirteen sixty am in Cincinnati, AM in Dayton, UH twelve sixty am and in Indianapolis seven ninety a m. In Louisville. Look at that. Mr he knew. Alright, alright, I got it. We're on a lot of stations, all right, Andy.

We love you man. Thank you for your time and we'll do this again. Thanks, but they're okay. Honestly, that was great. It was wonderful. It was life changing. I love it. Yeah, it's going to change my life. I hope no one is. Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Miller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific