TOP 10 TV & MOVIE GANGSTERS ~ WRITTEN BY: CRAIG SHELTON ~ 6-26-2013

TOP 10 TV & MOVIE GANGSTERS
WRITTEN BY: CRAIG SHELTON
6-26-2013

After the recent death of James Gandolfini, the actor who most famously portrayed Tony Soprano on the HBO series "The Sopranos" I began to think about television and movie gangster productions. So let the debate begin.

#1. TONY MONTANA ~ "SCARFACE"

#2. TONY SOPRANO ~ "THE SOPRANOS"

#3. SANTANA ~ "AMERICAN ME"

#4. FRANK LUCAS ~ "AMERICAN GANGSTER"

#5. NICKY BARNES ~ "MR. UNTOUCHABLE"

#6. JIMMY CONWAY ~ "GOODFELLAS"

#7. MARLOW ~ "THE WIRE"

#8. JULES WINNFIELD ~ "PULP FICTION"

#9. FRANK WHITE ~ "KING OF NEW YORK"

#10. DOE BOY ~ "BOYZ IN THE HOOD"

Sorry to you Sopranos and The Wire fans, but NO Omar, and NO

Vito. Look folks, its one thing to get gang raped in the penitentiary like the Edward James Olmos character Santana did in AMERICAN ME, but it's an entirely different thing to go out and seek back end BADDA BING! 

That ain't gangsta baby! #GangstaCardRescinded 

I know there are some that will dispute the Nicky Barnes ranking, arguing a documentary should not be included, to which I disagree obviously. Films like American Gangsta, Goodfellas, and American Me, all are based on true stories. In fact, the Nicky Barnes character was prominently featured in the American Gangster film with Cuba Gooding Jr. being cast as Nicky Barnes. For those who have yet to view "Mr. Untouchable" the Nicky Barnes story, I provided a link below:

Charter HMW member and contributer Mike Ganis aka Mike In D.A. read my rankings and responded with the following comments:

Craig,

Some gangsters you might have overlooked and who deserve some consideration for the Top 10:

Michael Corleone belongs on the list from the Godfather

Trilogy. He belongs not because he is as bad as the others, but because he is cold-hearted. He doesn't have violent outbursts like Joe Pesci or is not a wacko like Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs", but because he's calculating and ruthless. He's like you. He won't kill you after you insulted him. He would wait for the right moment. 

Mike

Here are others Mike suggested I consider:

Tommy De Vito (Pesci) -Goodfellas

Keyser Soze from "The Usual Suspects"

DeNiro and Pesci in "Casino"

Ving Rhames (Marcellus Wallace) in "Pulp Fiction"

DeNiro (Capone) in "The Untouchables".

Michael Madson (Vic Vega aka "Mr. Blonde") in "Reservoir Dogs"

Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day Lewis) in "Gangs of New York"

You decide and leave me your thought here on the blog, or Facebook/Twitter.

TWITTER: @CraigSheltonHMW 

FACEBOOK: Hmw Shelton

ESPN 97.5 John Clay Wolfe's Sad Attempt at Humor ~ 6-23-2013 ~ JERMAINE EVERY

Jermaine Every

John Clay Wolfe's Sad Attempt at Humor

6.23.2013

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of getting back on my work truck and going back to do some outside sales. Being the sports radio addict I am, I naturally per-programmed the stations to nothing but sports stations. 

While listening to ESPN 97.5 The Ticket, I heard John Clay Wolfe on The Real Deal and his sad attempt at humor using race-related jokes. Full disclosure: I caught the tail-end of his black "joke"/talk and heard full version of his Jewish name "joke"/talk. 

The black "joke"/talk apparently centered around "If it wasn't Game 5, wouldn't have that many black folk there" and a chicken reference. From what I could gather, he was discussing being at an establishment primarily frequented by others, not blacks, and their choice of food. 

Returning from a commercial break, a guy named Levi called. Levi was asked "Levi, are you Jewish? Most men named Levi are of the Hebrew religion." He responded by saying no, he's not, but agreed with Wolfe's assumption. Wolfe went on to say "But, a good Orthodox Jew would've traded it in before 214,000 miles on an '04 Grand Prix GT!" 

Seriously? When will these idiots get it? Sophomoric humor is a weak enough attempt at getting a cheap laugh. When done with proper timing and audience, it can be funny. The use of racial stereotypes is about tone, character, the person delivering the "joke", the person's upbringing, profession, and education all factor in. 

For example: Dave Chapelle pushed the envelope on racial jokes back when he had his show in early 2000's and throughout his career. He's a black comedian with a Philipino wife and bi-racial kids. He grew up in DC as the son of two college professors. I have a good friend who's also a comedian. Coolest white guy I've hung out with. He grew up, along with his brothers, often times the only white kids in their various Alief neighborhoods. These guys' racial jokes have background and substance. More often than not, also have political undertones. 

When a white guy who has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from SMU goes on his nationally syndicated radio show and not once, but repeatedly makes racially insensitive remarks trying to get a laugh, what are we to believe about this person? In light of what we've learned about Paula Deen this past week, was this the smartest thing to do? Again, I DID NOT hear the entirety of the show's beginning or whole segment prior to me returning to my truck, but what I heard caught me off guard enough to write this post. His co-host was turned off enough to give a few nervous laughs and ask him to stop (although in a half-hearted manner). 

I've listened to parts of The Real Deal before. Some of their humor borderlines on offensive at times. Like when they started discussing Wolfe's sex life with a pregnant wife because they wanted him to tell a story about him taking advantage of a female employee. Not too bad, but borderline for sure. That bit itself was kinda funny. Not sure if his wife would find it funny. 

In closing, I feel like this wasn't as bad as what some other's have done. All in all, it was still semi-offensive. Using racially-insensitive humor to get laughs is still weak on behalf of any professional radio personality. It's especially weak when you keep trying to force it down everyone's throat. The show itself and their brand of humor is not bad at all. Just stay away from the cheap attempts everyone. Thanks. Signed, A Sports Addict who'd prefer good humor and car info over cheap humor. 

Jermaine Every

JOHN GRANATO AND LANCE ZIERLEIN REUNION PODCAST (UNCUT) - LM

LM

JOHN GRANATO AND LANCE ZIERLEIN REUNION PODCAST

6.19.2013

When I first heard that this was going down, I wondered if it was going to be a "love fest".  It was however nice to see the guys together and candid.  

Initially it looked as if John Granato was a little reserved but as they got going, John loosen up and let it rip.  

What I realized last night, Lance Zierlein really takes it hard with the new crop of Sports Radio 610 boasting ratings.  I say that because Lance goes out of his way to tell you their numbers (old days) at 610 were just as good.  

I've also noticed John Granato going out of his way to uplift David Gow.  I had to keep telling myself, these guys (John and Lance) are competitors now at different stations and they are not going to rip their employers.

It was a classic show one of the best John and Lance Shows for the ages because it was real and honest.  The funniest part is watching them get ate up by mosquitoes.

I have a lot to say about the content in the podcast but I want to thoroughly listen to it a couple more times before commenting.  There are a lot of questions I feel that were not answered but I still feel the boys delivered.

Below is the raw uncut video/audio of John and Lance, have fun and Chance, hide that beer bottle.  





Check this out on Chirbit

or  Click Here

LM 

IS TED JOHNSON THREATENING LANCE ZIERLEIN? - LM

LM

TED JOHNSON FIGHTING FOR JOSH INNES

6.12.2013

When the cats are away the Mice will play.

I have been out of town and Craig Shelton is wondering the world.  

Tuesday night, I decided to tune in to Fred and Ted (Sports Radio 610) just to hear the local vibe.

Ted Johnson and let me get this right (former New England Patriot Three Time Super Bowl Winner) went off on other stations slamming Sports Radio 610.

In his mini rant he basically said he didn't like other stations making fun of Sports Radio 610 and if they do they better represent it when they see "Fred and Ted".  Ok, now that I have gotten the "threats" out of the way, the audio will paint a better picture.

I can totally get down with Ted's Point of View if his station was not the ones poking the bear but he let a nugget out I've obviously missed.  He said he's not astute to media and think everyone are friends when Fred had to tell him, it's not like that.  With that said, Fred tried to get "gutta" close to the end and OK.

Ted Johnson acting like he's a  "G" don't surprise me and to be honest I like it.  At least someone at Sports Radio 610 has the stones to speak about Lance Zierlein "owning" J&R Show, who they were obviously talking about.

I admit, Ted qualified himself by saying he's ignorant of media relationships (thinking media look out for media) but to think other stations are shooting at Sports Radio 610 without cause is completely ignorant.   Josh Innes and to a lesser degree Nick Wright  have been taking shots at other stations for the longest.  

I don't expect Ted to know this but Fred has been in Houston long enough and he  know what the business is and he could have told Ted, "In all fairness, our station poke at other stations regularly".  

Ted, go on CSN with the "other station's host" and be upset while the other two personalities at your station let you fight their battles.  Who the hell is he, Revenge of the Nerds, Ogre?

Below is the Audio, I tried to capture it all,  For what is worth, Ted didn't need to go there, too inexperienced.  I think Ted needs to be more concerned with perfecting his "on air" persona not "media battles".

CLICK PLAY

Check this out on Chirbit

or CLICK THE LINK TED JOHNSON ON LANCE ZIERLEIN

OUT

LM

LANCE ZIERLEIN "DROPS MIC, EXITS STAGE" - LM

LANCE ZIERLEIN "DROPS MIC"

Written by: LM.

Friday, May 31, 2013 Lance Zierlein and Chris Solis delivered a Sports Talk Show for the ages.  Worst Hour Radio may well go down as one of the best segments in Houston radio.

Greg Koch, Craig Shelton, Malik Thomas, Lance Zierlein

One of the reasons I like Josh Innes style is because he breaks the "Unwritten Radio Rules" and charge up other stations and hosts.  For the longest, I wondered why Houston personalities would allow Josh to get away with it.  I'm from the school of thought, some one hits you, you hit them back harder especially on your home turf.  Yes, there have been a few twitter scuffles and promo attacks but never anything direct as I heard Friday.  All of the calls were funny but Pay Pal Al (Craig Shelton) and Malik's racist calls was the perfect set up to the L&Z Show.

The L&Z Show (J&R Show Parody) hit on just about every element of J&R Show.

• Non Sports Topics
• Josh's voice
• Rich Lordisms (Geez, Oh Man, You Can't Say that, Over the Balance of the hour, Hump day edition, Along the way)
• On Air Arguments (staged)
• Metrosexuality
• Staged Program Director Calls
• Whole segment without any sports
• Josh Innes saved Houston
• Sports Radio 610 Number 1
• Josh Innes quitting and being fired
• Josh only one in market with balls
• Asking about Rich Lord's daughter
• Everyone Hates Josh but like me on my plethora of social media accounts
• Rich Rides In the MS 150
• Sexy Traffic

And the one most may have not caught, they even hit the Flash Report.  I have always wondered why 790 was the only station who didn't provide a flash report but now I know why, they think it's corny.

It's hard to believe Lance Zierlein and Adam Clanton captured most of the J&R Show in one segment.  I know it was a parody but they illustrated what the J&R Show has become.  Believe it or not, Lance and Adam could have really hit a Grand Slam if they would have included

• A Million Josh Innes personal stories
• Penis Talk
• Attraction to men
• Jilly
• Jim the "Producer"
• Sex Talk
• Snorting Blow off a urinal
• Incorporated Scott Innes (Josh's Dad)
• Asking Rich (Texans sideline reporter) to define the 3.4 Defense
• Rich Lordism "Holy Mackerel"
• Josh Innes "Dolt"

Then there is the timing, the 4 to 5 Oclock on a Friday.  Lance could have went with any other hour and some can argue 5 to 6 would have got even more bang for the buck because that's when most people are in their vehicles in traffic but he went 4p.  The brilliance of this is to know exactly what's happening at 610 during that time.  Everyone know on Fridays, John McClain is in studio with J&R and most know Josh Innes is not really a part of that portion of the show.  I could be wrong but I believe Lance new Josh would be listening live.

WRAP IT UP

I told Lance, Sports Radio 610 will answer and really they have no choice but to answer.  You cannot get verbally destroyed like that and allow it to go unanswered. If 610 do answer, this summer could be very interesting.  

As far as twitter, Twitter was running like a Sunday Football game.  It was a constant flow of tweets and my system throttled out twice.

In all fairness I have said I like Josh Innes combative style in terms of going after other hosts but some where along the way, it became the "JOSH SHOW".    The show has become all about Josh Innes life and the shit is tired.

It was fun and it shouldn't be taken any other way but fun.  With that said, Sports Radio 610 can fire back and they are not short of targets to aim at however I wonder if they have the personalities to pull it off.

All in all, The Worst Hour of Radio started off dry but made more sense once you listen to the show in it's entirety.   In other words, listening to the individual  calls are OK but once you go back and listen to the podcast and truly get the intent of the message it's effing hilarious.

SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Friday, Matt Thomas addressed comments I made about 790 not having Lance's back (excluding Greg and Clanton).  He felt I was incorrect and I can take that but later during "crosstalk" on the Adam Clanton's Experience he reiterated the point.  Adam made the comment that 790 is not a "reactionary" station.  I disagree and the whole premise of Worst Talk Radio in my opinion was nothing more than a reaction of Josh Innes constantly taking shots at Charlie Pallilo.

REACTIONARY CROSSOVER TALK

OUT

LM