Big Time Rush

I was planning on getting through these explanations of the ESPN Radio Hosts Power Rankings a little quicker, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up the pace from here on out.  Next up is the Doug Gottlieb Show which, I have to admit, was a bit of a  surprise coming in at No. 2.  I mean, he's not even in the picture on the ESPN Radio homepage; but, the points don't lie (except that I just made the whole thing up), so here we are.

The Doug Gottlieb Show

Interestingness: 8

Reasonability: 8

Engagingness: 9

Hangability: 4

Humor: 4

Total: 33

Besides looking like one of the characters of Nickelodeon's "Big Time Rush", and Chad Kearby from Poplar Bluff, MO, he seems like a pretty nice guy.  I also like that his show is just his name, not unlike Bill Cosby or Dick Van Dyke.

Doug Gottlieb

Logan, from "Big Time Rush"

Chad Kearby, from Poplar Bluff, MO

Interestingness: 8

Though not quite as interesting as The Herd, Doug really does do a good job of taking an interesting perspective on topics.  He also has an ability to use personal stories in a way that is interesting, which is something I normally get tired of pretty fast.  I should have some example of his ability to be interesting, but I honestly haven't been listening to a whole lot of Sports Talk Radio lately, as interesting as the WNBA and the French Tour are.

Reasonability: 8

Even though I never have, and probably never will meet the guy, he seems to be that friend who has the ability to talk you out of doing stupid stuff.  Like if we were all hanging out at a a ballgame, and one of you got the idiot-fool idea to run out on the field and dodge security, he'd be the one to say, "Look dude, you don't really want to do that.  We already think you're a crazy guy, so you don't have to prove it to us by spending the night in jail.  And by the way, none of us have money to bail you out."  That kind of obvious levelheadedness is how he approaches sports talk radio.

Engagingness: 9

I don't really know what to say about this category, other than some people are just really good at talking about anything in a way that holds people's attention.  Some guys think they have that ability, and manage to ruin every rehearsal dinner their wives take them to.  But guys like Gottlieb really can make anything fascinating, and that's why he's a successful radio host.

Hangability: 4

Again, though I've never met him, he seems like he would be great to road trip with, or to get stuck in line with at the DMV.  I also feel like he would humor me when I tell long, anticlimactic, jokes and/or stories, which I do pretty regularly.  I'd also guess that he ends up at a lot of weddings of people that he only kind of knows, because as far as they're concerned, he's one of their best friends. All this hangability translates into believability on the radio, and contributes even further to his high score.

Humor: 4

Everyone on ESPN Radio is pretty hilarious.  Doug's humor is a little more subtle, which I love.  He also manages to keep from laughing at  his own jokes all the time (am I right?), which I also appreciate.  It's not very often that I actually laugh audibly when I'm by myself, but it's not uncommon for me to "laugh out loud" on my way home from work.  It's true that I'm not barreled over out of control, but the calmness and consistency of his humor easily renders a high score.

And that's how The Doug Gottlieb Show came in second.  After finishing this post, I realized how much I really do enjoy the show.  It's everything that sports talk radio should be, really.  I guess it's true that the numbers really don't lie.

One last thing, I'll probably take a one-post break from the ESPNRHPR's to offer my review of Christopher Nolan's newest release, "Inception"