Nice job by the Globe's Geoff Edgers yesterday on the
"Planet Mikey" profile of 'EEI nighttime host Mike Adams, who's lived an interesting life. I like the idea of Mike Adams, a free spirit and genuinely colorful character on a station in dire need of both.
I also found very telling this quote by Charlie Kravetz, his old boss at NECN where Adams hosted a sports show from 1992-1998.
‘‘I told Mike, for years, ‘If you had even a modicum of discipline you
could be a national figure,’.’’ remembers Kravetz. ‘‘If you’ve read
anything about Letterman, you know he’s obsessive; everything is
planned. Mike would walk in front of the camera at one minute to 11 and
kind of wing it for an hour. A lot of it was absolutely hilarious, some
sophomoric, but at the end of the day, it lacked the kind of structure
that would take him to the next level.’’
And that pretty much sums up how I feel about Adams on WEEI. He can be very amusing and fun to listen to. But he sometimes seems to lack the focus or intensity necessary to maintain that level of performance, which is when he lapses into lazy or sloppy patter, like calling Barry Bonds a ‘
‘miserable puke of a human being.’’ Sure, that's a pretty accurate description, but one befitting a 10-year-old boy on a schoolyard playground. Bottom line: I agree with Kravetz. If he tightened up his act a bit, Adams could be top notch. Now, he is too spotty.
Speaking of Adams, his WEEI predecessor Teddy Sarandis
is tossing his hat into the political ring, according to today's Herald -- although I'm not sure the Governor's Council is a launching pad to electoral stardom. The Herald diplomatically noted that Teddy is using
"a lull in his broadcasting career" to enter the political arena, and anyone who ever listened to the show is likely familiar with Teddy's world view. Who knows? If he's elected maybe Sarandis can make attendance at BC basketball games a prerequisite for voting rights in the state.