The "Sidiot" pushes himself off the air before he is pushed
It took longer than we thought, but Sid Rosenberg is gone from WFAN. First, he was finally pushed off Imus's show as the wacky sports guy in May because of a crack he made about Kylie Minogue's breast cancer.
It was one of several "jokes" that had either gotten him in hot water or booted off the air for a while. Imus always took him back because he had a soft spot for the big lug and besides, he was edgy and spontaneously outrageous, something Imus's show had stopped being about 20 years ago.
But Imus flagship WFAN didn't get rid of Sid. It allowed him to keep his regular midday sports-talk gig. And so it went until today, when Sid's co-host Joe Benigno announced his partner had resigned for "personal reasons."
No word on what those might be, or is that code for "quit or be canned."
As odious as his on-air persona is, let's hope he's not back to his addicted ways, for him and his family's sake. Rosenberg's been treated for various addictions since 1997, so he could have relapsed in any number of ways. Or maybe enough was enough.
Sick or not, a change in venue was long overdue. WFAN failed to realize that just because you can say something doesn't mean you should. That goes for breast-cancer jokes. And apologizing doesn't cut it either. Sid could have been a jackass off-mike, but once he made that his shtick, he lost his usefulness as a broadcaster.
Don't bet on Sid (he's also a recovering gambling addict). Just wish him good luck. He'll need it.
2 comments:
Thankfully, he's gone from WFAN. I've been a big fan of Joe Benigno since he did the overnight shift. Rosenberg was at best a distraction and at worst a bad influence for Benigno on their mid-day show.
Now that Benigno will go solo, he'll nothing but sports - and his funny and insightful commentary.
PS - I think Rosenberg was pushed out after the profanity-lacked "comedy" exchange with Boston sports guys Bob Lobel and Mike Barnicle on Friday.
Chances are that Sid's current problems and resignation are the result of a relapse of his substance problems.
As for leaving the Imus show, that entire situation was total bull by Imus and management. They wanted Sid to be outrageous and then fire him for it. What he said is nothing compared to the racist and anti-Semetic comments McGuirk gets away with and calls them humor. Sid should not have gone back on Imus after rehab. It was too much for him to do.
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