Sunday, October 15, 2000
Five Questions with: Andy Furman
Andy Furman, WLW's main sports talker, got into radio by chance. He came to the Tristate in October of 1981 as the public relations man for Latonia Race Course.
His thing as PR was outlandish promotion. That's one of the reasons WLW hired him in 1987. Furman was coming off a stint with Channel 5, but WLW hired him for sales and promotion.
The station also put him on the air on Sunday mornings, with Tom Dinkel and Andy MacWilliams.
The Sunday morning show, which still airs, led to a gig as Cris Collinsworth's sidekick on SportsTalk. Collinsworth would do 6 to 8 p.m. solo, then Furman would come in and shake things up from 8 to 9 p.m.
When Collinsworth left to devote more time to his television career, Furman was given the premier sports show in town.
Furman answered five questions from The Enquirer's John Fay:
1. How sick are you of talking about the Bengals?
You've got to be creative to avoid it. The way they're playing they don't deserve the 50,000 watts. We do Bengals from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and then from 6 to 9 on Monday nights. That's enough. I had (gymnastics coach) Mary Lee Tracy on. During the Olympics, I had Oscar Robertson. Otherwise, it's the same old thing.
2. Tell the story about the Klu Klux Klan Night?
It was August of 1980. I was the PR director for Monticello Raceway in New York. The Scanton (Pa.) Tribune ran a series of articles on the Klan. I wrote the grand wizard — his name was Albert Lentz — to come over with his people. I got fired for it. I never figured out if I got fired because I invited them, or because they didn't show up.
3. Who would be your dream guest?
Tiger Woods. The Williams sisters. I've tried to get both. But it's tough. Anyone living or dead? Babe Ruth. Joe DiMaggio. Probably DiMaggio. We got Wilt Chamberlain once. That was big.
4. How much of your show in journalism, how much entertainment?
Probably 70 percent entertainment, 30 percent journalism. We don't break stories but we do hardcore, serious topics. The key is having a knack for knowing what people are talking about around the water cooler. You can look on the front page of the sports page, but that's not always it. Right now, the playoffs are going on. People watch them but they really don't want to talk about them. We go to 38 states, but we talk about Tristate sports.
5. You've had your feuds — Bib Huggins, Rob Dibble, Marty Brennaman — anyone still hold a grudge?
Dibble does. Which is surprising because he's in the media. I was doing my job. He didn't have to go crazy. If he doesn't want to talk to me about it, fine, but be a gentleman. I think feuds are almost normal in this business because your dealing with large egos.
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Five Questions with: Andy Furman