Jim Rome

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Jim Rome
Born
James Phillip Rome

(1964-10-14) October 14, 1964 (age 59)
ET Monday-Friday
StyleSports radio
CountryUnited States
WebsiteThe Jim Rome Show

James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, The Jim Rome Show, is syndicated by Infinity Sports Network.

Broadcasting from a

Fox Sports Net). The Jim Rome Show is tied for the #21 most listened to talk radio show in the United States [3] and Rome is the #29 most influential talk radio personality[4] according to Talkers Magazine
.

From April 2012 to March 2015, Rome had a television sports talk show on CBS Sports Network named Rome. During the same time period he had a monthly TV sports/entertainment talk show on Showtime named Jim Rome on Showtime.

Personal life

Born in

disputed – discuss] He lives in Irvine, California, with his wife, Janet, and their two sons, Jake and Logan.[6][8]

Broadcasting career

Rome started his radio

San Diego, where he started what is now known as The Jim Rome Show, or "The Jungle," with a loop of the instrumental intro of Iggy Pop's song "Lust for Life" and the instrumental intro of Guns N' Roses' song "Welcome to the Jungle
" as the show's signature music.

The show's production moved to a studio in downtown Los Angeles in spring 1994, though the broadcast was still originated by XTRA San Diego. At the same time as the studio move, the show start time shifted to 9am Pacific/12pm Eastern, where it remains as of 2022. The program was

SiriusXM satellite channel, and its cable TV channel. As of February 2024 the television version of the program is no longer carried on CBS Sports, and is transitioning to the X/Twitter
livestream platform.

Over time, the show's production facility moved to the Premiere Radio building in

Costa Mesa
. Due to past incidents of the studio being invaded by callers, the exact addresses of the former and current Orange County studios are not publicized. To provide continuity across the show's eras in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, it is consistently referred to as originating from "Southern California." In 2005, the TV versions of the show were criticized for obscuring the studio's location by using the "Southern California" terminology and footage of the downtown Los Angeles skyline despite originating almost 40 miles away in the Costa Mesa area.

The radio show is heard on more than 200 stations across the United States and Canada and has an audience of approximately 2.5 million.

sound bites
and music from the show.

In early 2003, Rome was interviewing friend Mark Shapiro, executive producer of programming and production at ESPN, on his radio program. Unexpectedly, the two began to discuss a possible return of Rome to ESPN, and within a few months, Rome was officially rehired to host Rome Is Burning. Rome openly attributes that interview as the impetus to his return to television.

Controversy and incidents

Rome gained notoriety in 1994 for an incident on his ESPN2 television show, Talk2, when his guest was NFL quarterback Jim Everett. Rome had often referred to Everett on radio as "Chris" (after Chris Evert, the female tennis player), suggesting that Everett was less than a man whenever he shied away from getting hit. Everett appeared as a guest on the television show, where he warned Rome about repeating the insult. Rome continued to address Everett as "Chris" and Everett overturned the table between them and shoved Rome to the floor while still on the air. Their confrontation resulted in no legal action, although Rome publicly apologized to Everett. Rome considers that event one of his early career mistakes.[10]

In 1997, hockey legend

International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers, which would allow Howe to claim having played professional hockey in six decades. Rome challenged the 69-year-old ex-hockey star, offering a bounty of $3,000 to any player on the team playing against the Vipers to take Howe out of the game permanently by saying, "Putting this old fool back to reality." Rome clarified that the statements were a joke.[11]

In 2012, Rome was involved in a controversy with NBA Commissioner

New Orleans Hornets, and he asked, "Was the fix in for the lottery?" Stern replied with two answers: "Number one, no; and a statement, shame on you for asking." He then proceeded to ask Rome the loaded question example of "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" and accused Rome of "making a career out of cheap thrills". This led to a heated exchange between Rome and Stern, ending when Stern said he had "to go call someone important like Stephen A. Smith."[12]

On January 1, 2015, Rome sent out a tweet that stated, "Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?" After a backlash, he later deleted the tweet and issued an apology. The incident also inspired the hashtag "#MarchOnRome".[13]

Celebrity appearances

Rome made cameo appearances in the movies Space Jam,

HBO sitcom Arliss. Rome was parodied in the South Park episode "Sarcastaball", and the Jim Everett altercation was spoofed in the episode "The F Word
".

On May 3, 2004, Rome hosted the memorial service for Pat Tillman.[15] On January 28, 2006, Rome was elected to the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[16]

The Oliver Stone film Any Given Sunday features John C. McGinley playing the brash sportscaster "Jack Rose," a character based on Jim Rome.[17]

Horse racing

Front
JR emblem to come...
Back
Racing colors of Jim Rome's Jungle Racing, LLC

After poking fun at horse racing for some years, saying "it's not a sport, it's a bet," Rome seemed to take more interest in horse racing after interviewing Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux many times on his radio talk show. Rome thereafter took up a stronger interest in buying Thoroughbreds. He first became a part owner in Wing Forward, who, in his North American debut, made a dramatic last-to-first comeback to win the race. Rome mentioned it as "one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had." In 2008, Jim and his wife Janet purchased a stake in a two-year-old colt, giving them a potential shot at the Triple Crown stakes races in 2009. Listeners suggested names for the horse, who was eventually named Gallatin's Run.[18]

By 2012, Rome owned part or all of 14 horses in connection with multiple partnerships including his own stable, Jungle Racing, LLC.

broodmare.[22]

Rome's next significant race horse was Shared Belief, a gelding by Candy Ride, named the Eclipse Award winner in the two-year-old male division for 2013.[23] As a three-year-old, he continued winning, and closed out the 2014 year with a record of eight wins in nine races (Five of six races in 2014 alone) and over $2 million in earnings, again with Mike Smith as his regular rider.[24] As a four-year-old, the horse defeated 2014 Kentucky Derby winner and horse of the year California Chrome in both horses' first race of the season, then Shared Belief went on to a decisive win in the Santa Anita Handicap.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Jim Rome June, 19, 2018 Radio Show Clip". August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Yahr, Emily (January 11, 2012). "Jim Rome leaves ESPN for gig at CBS, Showtime". washingtonpost.com.
  3. ^ "Top Talk Radio Audiences". Talkers Magazine. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  4. ^ "2008 Heavy 100". Talkers Magazine. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  5. ^ McAlevey, Peter (November 23, 1997), "King of 'The Jungle'; Jim Rome Turned Sports Talk Radio Into a Howard Stern-ish Free-for-All. Not Everyone Is Glad He Did.", Los Angeles Times, retrieved October 20, 2010
  6. ^ a b Jim Rome Official Website Biography Archived July 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b AskMen.com Biography Archived June 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Stewart, Larry (July 18, 1997). "Jim Rome Finally Finds His Biggest Fan". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Freeman, John (April 23, 1993). "He's Huuuge! Fans fall for Rome, big time". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  10. Beaver County Times
    . Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  11. ^ "A bounty on Howe? No way". Record-Journal. September 28, 1997. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  12. ^ "David Stern, Jim Rome battle on radio". ESPN.com. June 13, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  13. Washington Post
    . Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  14. ^ 2:04 of "What's My Age Again?" music video
  15. ^ "Internet Movie Database (IMDB)". IMDb.
  16. ^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame - Rome, Jim". Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  17. ^ "Any Given Sunday Movie Review, DVD Release - Filmcritic.com". Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  18. ^ Angst, Frank. Rome touts Thoroughbred ownership on The Jungle, Thoroughbred Times, October 1, 2007
  19. ^ Genaro, Teresa (January 6, 2012). "Jim Rome: out of The Jungle and onto the (horse) farm". Forbes. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Genaro, Teresa (November 4, 2012). "With Breeders' Cup Win, Jim Rome Joins Racing's Elite". Forbes. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  21. ^ Equibase.com. "Equibase - Profiles". www.equibase.com.
  22. ^ Genaro, Teresa. "Jim Rome's Mizdirection: From Breeders' Cup Victory To $2.7 Million Sale". forbes.com.
  23. ^ "2013 Eclipse Awards: Shared Belief - Daily Racing Form". www.drf.com.
  24. ^ a b Equibase.com. "Equibase - Profiles". www.equibase.com.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jim_Rome&oldid=1219480928"