The Dan Patrick Show

The Dan Patrick Show
Genre	Sports talk
Created by	Dan Patrick
Starring	Dan Patrick Paul "Paulie" Pabst Patrick "Seton" O'Connor Todd "Fritzy" Fritz Andrew "McLovin" Perloff
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Paul Pabst & Todd Fritz
Location(s)	Bristol, Connecticut (1999-2007) Milford, Connecticut (2007-present)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Production company(s)	ESPN Radio (1999-2007) Content Factory (2007-2009) DirecTV Sports Group (2009-present)
Distributor	Premiere Radio Networks (2007-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	Radio: ESPN Radio (1999-2007) Syndication (2007-present) Fox Sports Radio (2009-present) Television: Audience Network (2009-present) Fox Sports Net/Comcast SportsNet/Root Sports (2010-present)
Original run	September 13, 1999 (1999-09-13) – present

The Dan Patrick Show is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by DirecTV Sports Group and is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. The three-hour program broadcasts live every day beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific time on Fox Sports Radio. Since August 3, 2009, the show has also been televised on DirecTV's Audience Network (formerly the 101 Network). Airing the Live show at 9 a.m. Eastern, with a repeat starting at 12 p.m. Eastern every weekday. As of October 25, 2010, the show began simulcasting on Fox Sports Net, Comcast Sports Net, and Root Sports affiliates as well.^[1][2]

The current version of the program debuted October 1, 2007, and was syndicated on a station-by-station basis prior to being added to the FSR lineup on January 20, 2009.

The previous version of the show aired from 1999 to 2007 on ESPN Radio weekdays at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific.

Guests

"The DP Show", as it's commonly called, showcases guests as varied from professional surfers to NFL megastars, league commissioners to Hollywood stars. The overwhelming majority of guests, however, are involved with sports, whether current or former athletes, coaches, commissioners or agents. Less often, guests who are not affiliated with sports will come on the show, although it is common for Patrick to ask at least one sports related question. Guests typically appear when the sport they are involved with is in-season, but may also come on before the release of a movie or music album or when the guest's name is mentioned in much recent news, such as an off-season trade or violation of the law. Few guests appear year-round and some may only appear once a year. Patrick has consistently stated he welcomes anyone to come on the show who feels Patrick has misrepresented or misquoted them.

The show has attracted high-profile guests to his show after heated or controversial events, including Mike Davis after announcing his resignation as head coach at Indiana, NBA commissioner David Stern after he announced the league's new dress code, Mike Sherman after being fired from the Green Bay Packers and Michael Vick upon his reinstatement to the NFL. Non-sports celebrities often appear on the show, and in the past have included Jay Z, Drew Carey and Usher. The current incarnation of The Dan Patrick Show has seen such guests as soccer star David Beckham, US Senator John McCain, actors Denzel Washington, George Clooney, and Matt Damon, NFL quarterbacks Brett Favre and Drew Brees, and Olympic swimmers Dara Torres and Michael Phelps.

Current regular guests include former professional athletes (and current broadcasters) Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, John Smoltz, David Feherty, Tim McCarver and Michael Strahan; Sports Illustrated writers Peter King, Austin Murphy, Tom Verducci, Chris Mannix; sportscasters Rich Eisen, Joe Buck, and Gus Johnson; models Brooklyn Decker and Marisa Miller; and various co-hosts Patrick appears on television, such as his NBC co-hosts from Football Night in America, Bob Costas, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison; and Jeremy Roenick, whom appeared alongside Patrick during NBC's presentation of the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals.

Some guests could also be described as colleagues or friends of Patrick. These often make for some of the show's funniest or most revealing moments. Patrick has stated a close professional relationship or friendship with several in the sports and media world, including: Charles Barkley, who has talked about range of issues with Patrick on air, including gambling addiction and racial issues, as well as funnier stories when the two have golfed together, and whom may be inquire when the two are getting together next; Adam Sandler, whom Patrick will invite on the show to talk about sports or movies, in addition to offering Patrick movie roles in films Sandler helps produce; Bob Costas, whom Patrick considers a mentor and has credited him with "being the best in the business" and sometimes jokingly becomes irritated when talking about Sports Emmy Award Costas has won, even with Patrick nominated in the same category for; and Reggie Miller, whom Patrick will try to arrange a dinner or visit to one of Miller's homes in Southern California when Patrick may be on a West Coast tour.

Patrick is known for his wry, irreverent interviews, often asking humorous hypothetical questions and occasionally making bets with his guests. For example, in January 2006, Patrick made a bet with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, where if Warner got the Cardinals to the Super Bowl by 2008, then Patrick would personally campaign for Warner to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Warner took Arizona to the Super Bowl in the 2008 NFL season). Another bet Patrick made was with the rap star Nelly, where Nelly said the St. Louis Rams would win the Super Bowl in 2007, while Patrick had the field. If Patrick won, he would get to name a song on Nelly's next album, and, if Nelly won, Patrick would have to appear in one of Nelly's music videos. St. Louis did not make the playoffs in 2007.

ESPN Radio

The show was broadcast on ESPN Radio from 1999 to 2007; broadcasts originated in Bristol, Connecticut during most of the year and from New York, New York during the NBA season. The show debuted on September 13, 1999 and was heard weekdays from 1 p.m. ET to 4 p.m. ET. It was often viewed as the signature program on ESPN Radio at the time, primarily because of Patrick's high profile at ESPN/ABC and his ability to attract well-known and popular guests.

The show often broadcast live at the Super Bowl site during the week before the big game and during ESPN The Weekend at Orlando, Florida.

Supporting cast

The ESPN Radio SportsCenter anchor was long-time ESPN Radio personality Dan Davis. From 1999 to 2004 the show was co-hosted by former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble. During this time, ESPN NFL analyst Sean Salisbury was a regular third-man-in on the show, though he was never given the title of co-host. Dibble left the show and went on to co-host The Best Damn Sports Show Period on FSN and weekends on Fox Sports Radio.

The show's producers were Ray Necci and Phil "The Showkiller" Ceppaglia. The latter earned the nickname while working for ESPN Radio's Tony Kornheiser Show. After inadvertently giving Kornheiser the wrong name of a caller, Kornheiser was prompted to say that he was killing his show and the nickname stuck. Ceppaglia was also often made fun of by Patrick about the time he inadvertently hung up on former president Bill Clinton while working on Patrick's show.

During the 2 p.m. ET hour, Patrick was reunited with long-time SportsCenter co-anchor Keith Olbermann, marking the latter's return to ESPN since his abrupt departure from the company in 1997. Olbermann appeared in 2004 and 2005 every Friday, then appeared daily starting in late 2005. Patrick would also preview what was coming up on the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, while Olbermann previewed what was coming up on his MSNBC show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann. This hour was dubbed "The Big Show," the nickname previously given by the duo for their SportsCenter broadcasts.

Departure

On July 9, 2007, Patrick announced that he was leaving ESPN and its radio properties on amicable terms. The last live edition of the Dan Patrick Show aired on August 17 of that year. However, earlier on July 12, the Chicago Sun-Times had reported that Patrick would continue in radio and launch a new nationally syndicated program via Chicago-based Content Factory.^[3] From the date of that announcement, Patrick did not appear as host of that timeslot, which was referred to by guest hosts as simply "ESPN Radio." ESPN announced Patrick would remain off-air from ESPN Radio until August 13 for his week-long farewell. He actually returned on August 15, and finished his final three broadcasts as his "Farewell for Now Tour" shows. During his final shows, clips from memorable interviews were played during the bumper music before each segment, and Dan encouraged listeners to visit his website (www.danpatrick.com) in order to keep up with him in the future. He signed off from his final show by thanking everyone involved with it as well as those who supported him throughout his TV work at ESPN. His concluding remarks were simply, "With that said, thank you. Goodbye... for now."^[4]

Guests who appeared on his final show included Bob Costas, MLB outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice, former quarterback Joe Montana, and actor Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy.

Premiere Radio and Fox Sports Radio

The Dan Patrick Show returned to the air on October 1, 2007; the show was produced by the Content Factory, while national sales and syndication is handled by Premiere Radio Networks. The program initially began on outlets owned by Clear Channel, but has since expanded to many more stations across the United States, both live and tape-delayed depending on the market. Eventually the show was added to national radio when Fox Sports Radio used it to replace long running "Out Of Bounds" with Craig Shemon & James Washington on January 20, 2009. The show can also be heard live on XM 142, a Fox Sports Radio simulcast. It used to be heard on a delayed basis on Sirius XM Sports Nation, which broadcasts on both XM and Sirius. The show was removed the first week of January 2010, removing it from the Sirius platform entirely. The show simulcasts online at danpatrick.com, and live on the Fox Sports Radio site. The show began simulcasting live on DirecTV's Audience Network (formerly The 101 Network) in August 2009. The show's web site is hosted by Sports Illustrated, for which Patrick serves as a senior writer. In October 2009, the rights to the Dan Patrick Show were purchased from The Content Factory by DirecTV's sports division, DirecTV Sports Group. DirecTV Sports Group now produces the show. Premiere Radio continues its role as distributor. The Dan Patrick Show is also shown on Fox Sports Net, Comcast Sports Net, Root Sports, and MSG Plus.

The show is based in Milford, Connecticut. Space above the Subway restaurant at River Street and New Haven Avenue in downtown Milford was converted into an elaborate clubhouse-style studio by DIY Network as part of their "Man Caves" series hosted by former NFLer Tony Siragusa and DIY's Jason Cameron. The studio features several monitors, sports memorabilia, a basketball hoop, a pinball machine, a foosball table, a bar with 3 kegs and a golf simulator. The show had previously been produced in the attic of Patrick's home.

Patrick often relates anecdotes of his ESPN career, in both positive and negative lights. He often refers to his former employer as "The Mother Ship" (and less frequently, "ESPeon"), and expresses disappointment with their practice of preventing their talent from appearing as guests on his show, and frustration when an ESPN employee has agreed to come on the show only to later cancel.^[5] In the case of Erin Andrews appearing on the show, she later sent him a message and Patrick then stated on air that she had been told by ESPN she would no longer be available as a guest to the show.^[6] In response, Patrick has used the phrase, "if you're afraid, buy a dog," and on the rare occasion an ESPN employee does appear on the show, will say, "you don't own a dog." Michael Wilbon, co-host of Pardon the Interruption is the only regular guest of the show from ESPN, appearing a handful of times per year. Mike Golic is the only other former colleague to appear on the show since Patrick's departure from ESPN, appearing on set in South Beach before the Super Bowl in 2010. Whenever college basketball analyst Jay Bilas appears, it is while he is doing television commentary for CBS during March Madness. Other guests who have developed a relationship with Patrick over the years and served alongside Patrick while when both were at ESPN include baseball analyst Peter Gammons, whom Patrick affectionately refers to as "The Dalai Lama" for his tremendous insight of the game. Patrick will often mockingly speak to ESPN management directly while on air, in large part after discovering thoughts or news he has been able to divulge from guests appearing on his show are later found on ESPN programs or website, without giving credit or mentioning "The Dan Patrick Show" as their source. Patrick has stated on his show many times he is less forgiving when his former employer fails to give credit to guests who appear on his show regularly who might be in direct competition with ESPN, such as ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio, who might be the first to report on a story and later appear on "The Dan Patrick Show" but may be lesser-known than Patrick.

He also has remarked on their history of stealing news that is broken on his show, and having their own reporters "confirm" such news rather than directly attributing it to Patrick's show (this has caused him to coin the phrase, "We don't break news, we sprain news"). Despite mocking ESPN, he often speaks fondly of his former co-workers, both those appearing on and off the air.

The Danettes

Patrick is joined on the air by the "Danettes": executive producer Paul Pabst ("Paulie"), director of operations Patrick "Seton" O'Connor, talent coordinator /"guest wrangler" Todd Fritz ("Fritzy"), and official show blogger/Sports Illustrated writer Andrew Perloff ("McLovin", nicknamed after being referred to as the Superbad character's father). As he did during his ESPN tenure, Patrick regularly chats with his crew about sports, and discussion will often break off into other topics such as current events, entertainment, and their personal lives. In between segments, a Danette shares his thoughts with DirecTV viewers from a confessional booth called "The Box". Beginning February 16, 2010, the Danettes also began hosting their own online wrap-up show, dubbed "The Box Score", formerly available to subscribers of the show's website, but is now available to everyone that goes to the said website.

New listeners/viewers often assume that the four Danettes are stock characters out of central casting: a fast-talking, overly sensitive Jewish guy from Brooklyn (Fritzy), a Chicagoan who gets by on charm more than intellect (Paulie), a working-class Irish guy who has too many tattoos and drinks and smokes weed too much (Seton), and a smart but nerdy Ivy League educated guy with limited social skills (McLovin). In fact, none of the Danettes are actors playing parts; they are all real people who work on the show in the actual roles attributed to them, and their personalities and foibles are real as well. Patrick has acknowledged on the show that he was influenced by Howard Stern when incorporating the members of his staff into the on-air aspects of the show.

The term "fifth Danette" has been used with several frequently occurring individuals including Kacey (host of the box score), two-a-days (an intern that screens calls and fills in for an absent Danette), Chrissy Teigen, Chris in Syracuse (caller known for his daily input), and Rich Eisen. No one has officially been given the title, although speculation has implied that Dan has been thinking about adding a Danette.

The term "Danette" was given to the crew by former NBA player Reggie Miller.

Routines and segments

Height/weight gong

Callers often start their calls by announcing their height and weight, which are then followed by the sound effect of a boxing ring gong (bell). At one point during Rob Dibble's tenure as co-host, he was going through a workout to lose weight and build muscle, and would frequently report his height and current weight. After a while his updates would be followed by the bell sound. Eventually, callers would do likewise just to get the gong, and this continued even after Dibble's departure from the show. Ceppaglia would sometimes comment with "beefy!" or "fat!" for callers judged particularly out-of-proportion. In 2008, Dan himself was gonged when he compared his 6'3" height to David Letterman's 6'2" following an appearance on Letterman's show. When a caller reports his/her height and weight but Paulie forgets to ring the bell, it is typically met with scorn from Patrick.

"What Did We Learn Today?"

At the end of every show, Patrick and the Danettes crew will take a couple of minutes to discuss what they learned on the broadcast, usually derived from the interviews or news stories of the day. Patrick may attempt to make a final selection from the suggestions that are given out but usually asks Fritzy to determine what Patrick has learned for the day.

Online poll

Much of the show's discussions among the staff and callers deal with that day's online poll question, usually dealing with a hot topic. Occasionally the poll will reflect the show's tendency to veer off into non-sports-related topics. The poll will sometimes change in the middle of the show if the crew feels the original one is weak or a better one is conceived, or if the poll becomes lopsided and Patrick feels a new poll should be offered. At times, Patrick may talk about how off-topic the show has gotten and invite a member from the show's "Locker Room", a chat room made available on the show's website, to create the poll.

Got It Done Award/Best and Worst of the Weekend

On Mondays the staff and callers will give their suggestions for a "Got It Done Award," given to an individual or team that had a particularly noteworthy performance in recent days. They will also give one suggestion each for the "Best and Worst" performances of the past weekend.

Sound bite intros

At the opening of the show, and at the top of each new hour, the show runs a series of brief clips from past episodes, often of interviewed guests or Patrick himself. Some of them are taken out of context to suggest something else is being discussed, such as Patrick being praised or mocked.

Bumper Music

At the end of each commercial break, Seton chooses from a set list of tunes to welcome the audience back to the show. Patrick can oftentimes be heard humming along to the music just before he begins speaking once again to the audience.

Impressions

Patrick and his crew often do quick impressions of particular sports figures, with the most frequent including Shaquille O'Neal and his low voice and halting speech pattern, Keith Olbermann and his deep booming voice, Mike Krzyzewski's nasal-prone critiques, Katharine Hepburn and various lines from On Golden Pond, John Madden and his mixed speech rate game expressions and observations, Chris Berman making various grunting sounds or fictional last names for athletes, Bill Clinton's Southern twang, Mike Tyson's "I'm gonna eat your children!", the SportsCenter voiceover person saying "Next!" or "Brought to you by.." and Lou Holtz saying a favorite line of Patrick's: "They put their pants on same way we do!"

Members of the Danettes have their own renditions to offer, including Pabst's impression of Stone Phillips, O'Connor's version of Brett Favre and Bill Walton, and Fritz's diatribes of fellow Brooklynite, Adam Sandler.

"Passion Bucket"

UCLA Bruins football coach Rick Neuheisel stated during an interview on the show that "when you’re at UCLA, you have to have your passion bucket full when you play the (USC) Trojans." Patrick took an immediate liking to the phrase and would occasionally attempt to convince his guests to use it when appearing on other outlets. Bob Costas, NFL Network host Rich Eisen, Fox Sports baseball announcer Tim McCarver, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Minnesota Timberwolves center Kevin Love are among those that have done so. Cornell men's basketball player Ryan Wittman dropped "passion bucket" during a NCAA men's basketball tournament 2010 Sweet Sixteen press conference.

Arcade Fire

On Fridays, the show usually leads into the final segment of the final hour with the opening of "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire, a favorite song of Patrick's.

"A Well-Listened-To Radio Show"

A reporter at a college football press conference once cited Patrick's show as a "well-listened-to" national sports radio show, rather than by name, and Patrick has since taken to self-deprecatingly referring to his own show as such.

Dodge balls

For any variety of reasons—a loss in a bet, missing an entertaining game on television that aired over the weekend or previous evening, harping about a fact that was later proven to be false,members of the show don a football helmet,and face a barrage of dodge balls.

"Against the Grain"

Since the 2010 NFL season, Andrew "McLovin" Perloff began hosting a weekly segment called "Against the Grain," in which he offers a series of short observations about the league that may not reflect popular opinion. In between, a clip from the chorus of the Bad Religion song of the same name is played by Seton. The song is also played in the background throughout the segment. Occasionally the phrase is used outside the show in another broadcast and McLovin invariably takes pride for the quasi-trend. In the 2011 NFL season, Against the Grain became sponsored by Red Hook.

"Occupy Gameday"

In September, 2011, Patrick discovered that there are members of Dan Nation that are bringing signs referencing Patrick to College Gameday, ESPN's college football pregame show. Although it's not an official segment of The Dan Patrick Show, Dan and Dan Nation mention Occupy Gameday (a parody of the Occupy movement) often throughout the radio show and Dan "doesn't encourage it, but celebrates this". ESPN has strengthened security to not allow any signs on Gameday referencing Patrick or the radio show, but fans still bring signs on Gameday. There is a current Facebook page for Occupy Gameday created by members of Dan Nation and as of November 11, 2011, Occupy Gameday is still ongoing each Saturday and some signs are currently hanging in the Mancave.

Interview clips

Patrick has had a number of infamous interviews from which sound bites would be replayed, some containing interesting examples of malapropisms:

• Anna Benson, wife of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, told Patrick, "I have huge breasteses!"
• Olympic skater-turned-professional boxer Tonya Harding told Patrick in 2004, "I refuse to make a skeptical of my boxing career."
• An irritated Harding said to Patrick before passing the phone to her promoter, "Hold on a second, Paul wants to talk to you."
• NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas opened an interview saying "Hello, loser," referring to how he would annually defeat Patrick for the Sports Emmy for "Best In-Studio Host."
• Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski in a press conference with a nasally voice saying, "I love Duke."
• Former NBA free agent guard Steve Francis saying "nice" at the end of an interview instead of a traditional farewell phrase.
• Patrick saying, "I'm pathetic."
• Olbermann saying, "Oh, Alex!" referring to MLB third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
• Olbermann and Patrick bickering, "My show, my show, my show!" in the vein of the "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha" line from the Brady Bunch.
• Patrick using the phrase "Saving the democracy" to refer to Olbermann's work on his political analysis show Countdown.
• Partial clip of Carl Lewis botching the national anthem.
• Boxer Tommy Morrison ending his interview by saying, "I'm going to praise God all the way to the bank."
• Free agent receiver Terrell Owens saying, " I love me some me."
• Then-Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal during the 2006 NBA Finals saying, "Dan Patrick, shut the hell up."
• Former NBA guard Reggie Miller saying during an NBA broadcast, "With a full steam of head."
• MLB journeyman Matt Stairs, describing his "ass getting hammered by guys" during a celebration following a home run, and how "there's no better feeling than having that done".
• Gary Miller creating an inadvertent blooper reel while preparing for a SportsCenter soccer breakdown during the 1994 World Cup. Miller butchered "FIFA" (the name of soccer's governing body), "Rigobert Bahanag Song" and "Gianluca Pagliuca". As referenced often by Patrick and his crew, the clip begins with Miller saying "Soccer breakdown in 3, 2, 1".

External links

• Dan Patrick Online Dan's official web site
• DP Show Direct Official Site for On-demand Video of the Dan Patrick Show and the Box Score

References

1. ^ The Dan Patrick Show Syndicated to More Than 85 Million Homes! - Fox Sports Net Will Distribute the Popular Sports Talk TV Series Beginning October 25 DirecTV Press Release October 4, 2010
2. ^ Duncan, Travis (October 25, 2010). "The Dan Patrick Show goes national". http://www.digitalsportsdaily.com/sports-business/tv/4348-the-dan-patrick-show-goes-national.html. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
3. ^ Feder, Robert (July 12, 2007). "This means war - Gloves are off in fight between old television rivals at NBC5, CBS2". Chicago Sun-Times: p. 55. 
4. ^ Dan Patrick Will Return for Farewell Week at ESPN Radio - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog
5. ^ http://deadspin.com/5463431/mike-golics-appearance-on-dan-patricks-radio-show-will-not-get-him-sent-to-bristol-stockade
6. ^ Spaen, Brian (November 25, 2010). "Dan Patrick vs. ESPN: Why 'The Mothership' is ruining his show". http://bleacherreport.com/articles/527037-dan-patrick-vs-the-mothership-why-espn-is-ruining-his-show. Retrieved December 5, 2010.