Philly File | No Joshing, He's Good

If nothing else, he has been a breath of fresh air in a city void of voices willing to break the mold of ripping ass or kissing ass on select individuals, teams or organizations as decided by the whims of a provincial think tank consumed more with dirty helmets, blowhard BS and other assorted old-school nonsense instead of actual performance on the field or court or rink.

Coming clean can leave the dirtiest and filthiest of stains.

But sometimes a person just has to get it out. All of it. Whatever IT is.

With that, here is my IT: I’ve come to appreciate Josh Innes. No, seriously. He’s grown on me. The whining and look-at-me douchey-ness that dominated most of his first year in Philadelphia on WIP has faded even as the young sports talk show host continues to clamor mostly about himself and all his flaws to a burgeoning audience. Somehow, with time and a new time slot, he has emerged as a voice – even, gulp, of reason – in the city and beyond, one strong enough to knock a provincial favorite in the most provincial of towns off the most provincial of radio mountaintops, the coveted afternoon drive time in Mike Missanelli’s home.

Innes, brilliantly, has tapped into the biggest of sports markets – the geeks. They’re out there en masse and he is reaching them, and while doing so he has allowed his schtick to expand from ramblings about “would ya” with Caitlin Jenner to intelligent, insightful discussions about, get this, sports – Philly sports and beyond.

If nothing else, he has been a breath of fresh air in a city void of voices willing to break the mold of ripping ass or kissing ass on select individuals, teams or organizations as decided by the whims of a provincial think tank consumed more with dirty helmets, blowhard BS and other assorted old-school nonsense instead of actual performance on the field or court or rink.

Frankly, his union with Tony Bruno was ill-conceived despite the success they had in knocking the Fanatic’s Mikey Miss from his perch. Bruno, like Innes, is a headliner, or someone who needs to be heard, not drowned out by anyone, least of all his partner. Innes is a tornado of talk, spewing snarkiness, geekiness and common sense in a rapid torrent that can overwhelm even the most talented of those who might sit next to him, or call into his show.

Bruno needs a sidekick, or two, like when his producer was “efforting” guests for his nationally syndicated “Into the Night” show.

Anyone working with Innes will be a sidekick … with one caveat, and it appeared today with former Fanatic host Nick Kayal getting his trial run. If a partner can match the energy, quirkiness and quick wit of Innes, then maybe, just maybe, they could co-exist, if not excel as a tandem. For one day, that was the case with those two. Every other pairing during this “replace Tony” period paled in comparison.

Regardless, Innes has proven himself to me. He knows sports better than the average Philadelphia fan, and way better than the Philadelphia super fan.

Mikey Miss? I like him, always have and think he made a brilliant decision for himself (and listeners) by switching his focus from a writing career to one on radio. He’s just as entertaining and just as good as Innes in his own, different, “I’m cooler than you” way – which, for me, makes the battle on the airwaves way better than anything we’ve seen from our sports teams in the last eight or nine months.

- Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
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