Posted in Media
15 comments
10/5 2010

Bleacher Report Writer Calls Radio Host An Idiot. Debate Ensues. Internet High Fives

Posted by Dan Levy.

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Read this, then click the play button above. Thank me later.

Hello, internet friends. Allow me to provide a little early holiday cheer. First, I’ll blockquote the lede from Bob Cunningham’s Bleacher Report on 610WIP radio personality Angelo Cataldi (it’s Donovan McNabb related):

Angelo Cataldi is an idiot. A jackass, if you will. In a media market filled largely with writers who think “Concrete Charlie” is the guy who did their driveways last Summer, Cataldi continuously finds ways to stand out as the worst in the bunch.

Oh yes, internet friends. That’s someone from Bleacher Report calling a sports talk radio host in Philadelphia an idiot and a jackass, in his lede. This is about to get good, eh?

After saying Cataldi knows nothing about sports — ON BLEACHER REPORT — and calling him a clown and an imbecile, he tries to tear Cataldi down for blaming McNabb for many of the teams previous woes. Then there’s this, which is journalism at its finest:

If it was me in McNabb’s shoes, I would have pounded Cataldi and the like into the ground years ago, but he’s a much classier person than I am, I suppose.

I love you, Bleacher Report.

Interesting to note that Rhea Hughes who basically runs the 610 morning show is a fan of B/R and specifically Cunningham’s work. I reached out to her earlier today because I heard (from Nick) that Cunningham was on the show today, talking with Cataldi, Hugh Douglass and Al Morganti about his post, and his opinion of Cataldi.

Hilarity ensues. Courtesty of CBS Radio and 610WIP, The link at the top is audio of them ripping this Bleacher Report dude a new one.

“He got pantsed.”

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Posted on October 5, 2010 at 3:02PM

 

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  1. ThunderingBlurb
    10/5 2010

    WOW.

    The part at the end where the host basically asks him to come down and fight… WOW.

    That was Epic, Dan. I used a cap letter because it wasn’t epic. It was EPIC.

    And folks, that’s why you always have to watch what you say and how you say it. Plenty of big time media don’t even get that concept.

    Props for the B/R guy for 1) calling and 2) not backing down. even if he was spectacularly wrong, at least he stood his ground. Sort of. Until the end. Kind of.

  2. HKL
    10/5 2010

    Keep in mind that guys who have been paid to talk about Philadelphia sports for years are going to be able to recall more specific individual things to try to make someone look bad.

    Bob’s main point was that, from where he stood, Cataldi was not anywhere near justified in being so anti-McNabb. And he has a good point. McNabb is one of the five best quarterbacks of the decade.

    That’s the main point. Don’t let a bunch of Cataldi’s colleagues ganging up on the guy let it seem like he was way off-base or something.

  3. Disguy
    10/5 2010

    The guy makes a solvent point (How can you judge anyone via a few small stories?) but why stoop to calling Cataldi an “idiot” and a “jackass”? Lazy, horrible writing, and that’s what we’ve all come to expect from Bleacher Report, the biggest stain on the sports blogging world.

  4. Scott
    10/5 2010

    Typical Cataldi, can’t fight his own battles. Needs Al, Rhea, and Hugh to fight them for him. What a coward.

    BTW I haven’t listened to Cataldi in years. But he sounds really out of it. I think age is catching up with him.

  5. J.P.
    10/5 2010

    HKL top 5 QB? Top 5 that played for the Eagles in the past decade, but definitely not top 5 in the NFL

  6. Schmedley
    10/5 2010

    Angelo Cataldi has every right to criticize Donovan McNabb. Freedom of speech. My problem with him is that he does national interviews and gives the impression that he speaks for all Eagles fans, when in fact, most Eagles fans don’t even like the guy. The McNabb draft-day booing was a black-eye to Eagles fans everywhere, and most people think that it was a spontaneous event, when in reality it was a radio station publicity stunt orchestrated by a guy who grew up in Rhode Island rooting for the Giants. The guy is NOT an Eagles fan. He is a profiteer, trying to stir up the negativity in fans to generate ratings. I agree with Bob Cunningham’s assessment that Cataldi is an idiot and a jackass. Freedom of speech.

  7. Bassett
    10/5 2010

    My grievances with Bleacher Report are legion, but I do appreciate the delicious irony, but I guess I’m of the mind that we’re “feeding the trolls” when we even bother to mention their site. Still, every once and a while we need to address it to reinforce with general fans why it’s a terrible site, yet you can find clogging google news all the time …

  8. will.H
    10/5 2010

    angelo is bitter he couldn’t mask his hate for Donovan any longer. He hated that guy from day one and spent 11 worthless years trying to justify the ‘dirty 30.’ He got one thing right, he’s the leader of dirtbags. I won’t even listen to his show.. he’s 2nd rate anymore. Until he comes to his senses, he’ll always be 2nd rate. I even caught a clip of his argument with the guy on the radio. Angelo cried “when did Donovan ever take the blame!” Well, I wish i had access to the clips because he gave the same rhetorical statement after every game. Sure it was frustrating.. but Angelo needs to get a grip on the times. He embarrasses me, fans of philly and every radio talk show host. He has a small/retarded following of goons who think Donovan is nothing but a “woorrrmburnaa!” He makes Philly look stupid. Every time a member of the national media bashes the city, they’re talking about Angelo. What a sad story. I thought this bum was raised better. Where’s he from anyway?

  9. will.H
    10/5 2010

    and his fake little accent is as disingenuous as it gets. Act like a man and quit playing to your little pony listeners. If you act real for one show.. just one show.. maybe you’ll be held in some regard among the fans of this town. I just want to talk to him, find out why he hates Donovan so much. Never won the superbowl? Didn’t like the way he smiled? woah! Well guess what, you never got a nationally syndicated show.. I guess that puts him in the same boat as Donovan.

    We’re going to hate you until you make it big Angelo. You taught us the way.

    booooooooo

  10. Barb
    10/5 2010

    I would like to point out that “Angie” (i found that very amusing when Bob called him that!) liked to pioint out that Bob is just a kid yet Cataldi was the only one ACTING like a kid.. He challenged a man a third of his age to a fight during a live broadcast because he knew Bob was correct in calling him an “idiot” and a “jackass” and because he couldn’t come up with anything better or more mature! For being only 20 years old it sounds to me like this Bob is a bright young man who will go further in life then “Angie” could ever hope to… He kept calling McNabb a “phony” yet the only phony i heard speaking was “Angie”. Sounds like Bob was raised by some great parents who taught him how to act like a real man unlike “Angie” who is nothing but a childish phony!

  11. nfceast
    10/5 2010

    So, let me get this straight…Cataldi invites the writer who called him a disgrace into his back yard, where he along with 3 of his friends control everything and the best he can do in the end is challenge him to a fight?! Seriously? Well, I hope that Bob Cunningham has the decency to send “Angie” a thank you note for proving his point for him!!!
    And I’ve gotta point out that the examples given by Cataldi and his co-horts were really just examples of McNabb towing the company line. No athlete in the NFL gives their honest or open opinion. Well, no athlete other than T.O., occasionally Randy Moss or Clinton Portis. How’d that turn out for them? And ANYONE who expects a QB to have continued success throwing the ball as often as McNabb was asked to do it is a fool. As I recall, even Elway looked terrible in his first three Super Bowls. Looked pretty good when he got some help from a ground game, though.
    Oh, and will Cataldi actually follow through if Cunningham accepts his challenge? Or can we add COWARD to his list of flaws?

  12. Dan Levy
    10/5 2010

    Well, it took a while, but we finally got a reply from Bob’s mom. Seriously, Barb, could you have made it any more obvious that you’re the kid’s mom? Did you want to talk about his grades in English class when he was growing up? Did he always brush his teeth?

    And to everyone saying “oh my gosh, Cataldi wants to fight this guy” did you take the two minutes to read his ridiculously awful article? Bob said “If it was me in McNabb’s shoes, I would have pounded Cataldi and the like into the ground years ago, but he’s a much classier person than I am, I suppose.”

    During the conversation, Bob — an aspiring lawyer — said that he wrote “if I were McNabb” but that’s not what he wrote. “If it was me in McNabb’s shoes” technically means that if Bob were the quarterback, not if Bob were making decisions for McNabb. So, in reading that, Bob actually wrote “I would have pounded Cataldi into the ground” and not” McNabb should have pounded Cataldi into the ground.” Very different, semantically.

    Cataldi is a side show, and a lot of his rant was playing to his audience, but the whole fight thing was in response to a guy writing that, which is just terrible writing and ridiculously inflammatory.

  13. Barb
    10/5 2010

    WOW… how long did it actually take you to figure that out? (I hope you know sarcasm when you hear it..)And my comment doesn’t change the fact that I was right, “Angie” was the only one acting like a child during that broadcast.. He is nothing more than a crybaby who probably still has his mommy reminding him to brush his dentures.. Oh and for the record Bob’s english grades were great and yes he always brushed his teeth!

  14. Pete
    10/5 2010

    I hate Angelo and the Morning show, but IMO Angelo definitely came out on top of this debate.

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