Kids & Sports Radio

Our Rating: 13 and overWith segments like “Carl’s Stone Cold Lock of the Century Of the Week,” featuring fictional character Carl Brutananadilewski of Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the Scott Van Pelt Show obviously at least tries to maintain some appeal to the younger generation. Of course, Aqua Teen Hunger Force may be an animated show, but it is by no means a targeted at young children, rather featured on the Adult Swim programming lineup, often enjoyed by older teens. Fellow character Meatwad has also joined the game forecasting fun for both NFL and NCAA games, while ATHF’s Master Shake and Frylock can all maintain a presence in the booth (and can be seen on TV simulcasts on ESPN2).As far as sports related opinion goes, Scott Van Pelt is a fairly safe bet and a tame personality. A wry sense of humor might go over some younger listeners head, but as far as inappropriateness is concerned, there have been little to no issues. A former broadcaster for the Golf Channel, where Van Pelt hosted a number of their more prominent programs after getting his start at a D.C. network affiliate, Van Pelt generally maintains a high level of professionalism one might expect to find in a clubhouse. No ranting, raving and shouting, rather smart jokes alongside accurate and timely information adults will appreciate. Read more »

Our Rating: Ages 16 and overWith all due respect, host Dave Zirin is a fine sportswriter and radio host, not to mention a very intelligent individual. However, with youth in mind, Zirin perhaps can be too political at times. Not to say his stances aren’t justified on important political issues, Zirin isn’t an extremist by any means, but his measures for righting what he perceives to be wrong can indeed be extreme. And in many cases, these calls to action have little to no sports relation. If you’re looking for purely a sports radio show, this is not your best bet. Then again, it could be argued that with the merging culture of sports and entertainment, few, if any shows, are purely sports at this point. Furthermore, as kids enter high school, it could help their development to be exposed to global politics and social injustices, so that they can form educated opinions and to foster their own self-identity and belief system. Whether you view Zirin’s line of thinking and political stances as justified and something your kids might benefit from is ultimately a matter of personal parental choice. Read more »

Our Rating: 11 and overThough perhaps not suitable for younger children, Mike and Mike in the Morning offer both entertaining and insightful radio commentary on ESPN Radio each and every morning. Of course, the two are very opinionated, though historically have been unlikely to step into unsavory grounds in terms of far-reaching opinion. With regular segments such as “Just Shut Up,” directing at athlete greed, immorality and ill thought out foot-in-mouth moments, the show actually reinforces a solid upbringing, even if the segment’s title does conjure images of teenage angst.The shows hosts, you guessed it, are both named mike. Mike Greenberg, a Northwestern journalism school alum, does not have any significant sports background, rather coming up through the anchor path into sports broadcasting, manning the desk as one of the original sportscasters for ESPNews. His partner in crime, Mike Golic, played defensive tackle at Notre Dame before going on to play in the NFL from 1986 to 1993. With backgrounds as different as the similarity in their names, not to mention the big guy/little guy dichotomy, the banter between the two is not only entertaining and insightful, but offers a wide perspective of sports, both on and off the field. Read more »