Bob McCown
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Robert Alan "Bob" McCown (born in
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
) is an American-Canadian radio personality. He is best known as the long-time host of the Canadian
sports talk show Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
''
Prime Time Sports ''Prime Time Sports'' was a sports radio talk show produced from the studios of CJCL, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'', in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show was hosted by Bob McCown until June 21, 2019 when McCown left the show. After his departure, ...
'' from its inception on October 2, 1989 to June 21, 2019. He now currently hosts The Bob McCown podcast on his
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channel, which is also broadcast on
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station
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weekdays from 6-7 p.m.


Career

McCown made his broadcast debut in 1975 as host of a nightly sports talk show on Foster Hewitt's CKFH, where he had been working in its sales department since being hired the previous year. He would add to his resume in 1977, assuming adjunct employment as the
public address announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...
at Toronto Blue Jays' home games during their inaugural season. In 1981, Telemedia purchased CKFH, rebranded it as CJCL, and switched to an adult contemporary format. McCown left that same year for
Global TV The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after CT ...
in Toronto where in November 1981 he would launch and anchor ''Sportsline'', before moving on later in the decade to host
TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...
's ''The Business of Sports''. As the 1980s progressed, as it became ever more popular, CJCL began devoting more time to sports talk programming. This culminated in the launch of ''Prime Time Sports'', for which McCown was brought back to host, in 1988 Although the pilot episode aired on October 2, 1989, it was actually taped a year earlier in a bar in
Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
, and focused on Ben Johnson's positive test for steroids at that year's
Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
. CJCL completed its format change on September 4, 1993 when it rebranded as "The Fan 1430" and became Canada's first all-sports radio station. McCown was subsequently given his own morning program, ''The Bob McCown Show,'' while
Dan Shulman Daniel Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN. Shulman serves as a play-by-play announcer for select Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet and during 2018 and 2020 he hosted the baseball-the ...
took over as anchor of PTS. 1995 turned out to be one of the most tumultuous in McCown's career as he was fired only to be re-hired a month later to once again host PTS after Shulman left to become the Blue Jays' play-by-play announcer on TSN. McCown promptly took a 3-week vacation after hosting just one show upon his return on a Friday afternoon. For the rest of the decade, he would host PTS at times during winter from his Las Vegas home while simultaneously smoking and spending commercial breaks on his couch. Rogers Media purchased The Fan in 2002, and, two years later, began simulcasting PTS on Rogers Sportsnet, thereby allowing McCown to also become a fixture on television for the first time in his career. In 2007, McCown received a Sports Radio Award for "Air Talent Of The Year" at the Rick Scott & Associates Sports Radio Conference and published his first book, "McCown's Law: The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments," with co-author David Naylor. McCown launched fadoo.com in March 2009 with the goal to "provide a platform for dialogue and comment among people of power and influence in the sports world. And then, let everyone in on the conversation." The website lasted just over a year before being removed in early June 2010. "It just didn't make business sense, anymore," a source close the operation wrote in an e-mail message. It appeared McCown lost interest in the fadoo.ca site months ago with no posts, updates, or otherwise. In February 2012, he founded the similarly name
Fadoo Productions Inc.
a "multi-platform media company" focusing on "documentary and series production". It has produced several shows and series for television including "On The Edge," "Making History" and "Touch 'em all Joe". In June 2013, McCown purchased Stoney Ridge Estate Winery, one of the oldest and most decorated wineries in the Niagara region. He also acquired a minority (15%) interest that year in
Mike Weir Michael Richard Weir, (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He plays golf left-handed ...
Wines in
Beamsville Beamsville ( 2021 Urban area estimated population 13,323) is a community that is part of the town of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagara Peninsula. It co ...
,
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, before buying full control in 2017. Mike Weir Wines was placed in receivership, owing $6.5 million ($2.2 to Weir and $4.3 to the
Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
), in February 2019. McCown has also been known for his 30-year standing bet with former
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
president and CEO
Paul Godfrey Paul Victor Godfrey, CM, OOnt (born January 1939) is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the ''Toronto Sun'' and head of the Toronto Blue ...
regarding an NFL team in Toronto. It was on a beach in the year of 1977 that the two men debated long hours about the subject. Godfrey to this day asserts that there will one day be an NFL team in Toronto, while McCown guarantees that there will not. Once a year or every so often, the debate is brought up again. McCown's last PTS show was broadcast on June 21, 2019. Prior to the broadcast, it was speculated that he would be retiring; however, on the day before its broadcast, he tweeted "Okay - I am leaving Prime Time Sports and Rogers. But nobody can shut me up when I still have things to say. Stay tuned. “I’ll be back!”.
The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
reports that it is currently unknown if he chose to leave or was forced out, but McCown had just signed a multi-year contract extension in December 2017. On July 10, 2020, McCown began a series of sports talk podcasts on his YouTube channel that would later be branded as "The Bob McCown Show" featuring himself, his featured co-host John Shannon, and a guest or two from the sports industry to discuss sports topics of the day, similar to his former show ''Prime Time Sports''. From March 2021, his podcasts were briefly broadcast on radio station Sauga 960 AM in
Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
weekdays from 6-7 p.m., but has since been moved to
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
's station
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since September 13, 2021. In October 2022, McCown became a brand ambassador for online sportsbook BetRivers.


Broadcast style

Among his on-air trademarks on the show include his
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
greetings to guest callers and his
audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
such as "Greetings. Salutations.", his constant use of rich vocabulary to describe things (referring to sportswriters as "ink-stained wretches"), his dry
wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. Form ...
(which includes using such quips as "Who gives a flying fadoo?!", "Kicking ass, taking names", "Raising a Spockian eyebrow", "giddyup" and "Bite me!", referencing the fictional hockey players Claude and Orest Themalfachuk, and likening someone who is impatient to "
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, tapping his foot"), and a pair of
sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...
he wears during the television simulcasts of ''Prime Time Sports''. McCown is often indifferent about the fact that his radio show is simulcast on television, often saying during his introductions "also simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet for those of you who do not own radios" or "simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet in lieu of other programming". He has on many occasions maintained his stance against fighting in hockey (especially staged fights), hits to the head, and a strong aversion to the sport of soccer, much like his Los Angeles counterpart,
Jim Rome James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, ''The Jim Rome Show'', is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' o ...
. However, when he has been pressed by his ''Prime Time Sports'' co-hosts
Stephen Brunt Stephen Brunt (born March 20, 1959) is a Canadian sports journalist, well known as a former columnist for '' Sportsnet.ca'', '' Sportsnet'', and former co-host on podcasts for Sportsnet. Journalist Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Brunt started at ''T ...
and/or John Shannon McCown has said that
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of the
English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
is the soccer team he supports.


Personal life

McCown is known for his nickname, The Bobcat. It was given to him by
Bill Watters William Wayne Watters (born June 29, 1943) is a Canadian sports media personality and former Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. College career Watters was a fullback and linebacker with the Toronto Varsity Blues football team ...
in the 1980s who had originally called him
Mercury Bobcat Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercury ...
, after the popular 1970s subcompact car. McCown has maintained his residence between both
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
during the mid 1990s, though he has settled in Toronto over the past few years. Though born in the United States (his father Robert served in the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
and stationed in Columbus, Ohio), he also grew up in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
as a child, playing house league in the
Dorset Park Dorset Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the western part of the district of Scarborough. The neighbourhood is bordered by Highway 401 to the north, Midland Avenue to the east, Lawrence Avenue to the south, an ...
neighbourhood and went to
Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute (Winston Churchill CI, WCCI, Churchill) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Dorset Park neighbourhood of Scarborough, it is owned and operated by the Toronto District School B ...
with former
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
reporter
Dave Perkins Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
.


References


Further reading

* *http://www.sportsnet.ca/more/interview-bob-mccown-love-money-birth-fan/


External links


The Bob McCown Podcast YouTube channel

Prime Time Sports' Rogers Sportsnet page
* (Bob McCown Twitter page) * (McCown podcast Twitter page) {{DEFAULTSORT:McCown, Bob Canadian people of American descent Canadian sports talk radio hosts Canadian television sportscasters Living people Major League Baseball public address announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters People from Columbus, Ohio People from Las Vegas People from Scarborough, Toronto People from Toronto Toronto Blue Jays announcers Year of birth missing (living people)