Troy Stradford Sid Rosenberg WMEN-640 radio feud: Troy Stradford fired as host

Push came to shove between sports talk hosts at WMEN (640-AM) this week, and former Dolphin Troy Stradford is out of his late-morning radio show.

Stradford said he was yanked off the air Thursday after complaining to his listeners about Sid Rosenberg taking up the entire first hour of his 10 a.m.-noon slot. Stradford was later informed of his termination via e-mail.

The run-overs into Stradford’s show have been common since the controversial Rosenberg joined WMEN in August, and Stradford said, “My emotions just got the best of me [Thursday]. You push a dog in a corner, he’s going to fight back at some point.”

Stradford said he had been told that Rosenberg would be given leeway to push the boundaries of his show in quest of ratings in the competitive South Florida sports-talk market.

 “They liken it to when Howard Stern was on regular ratio and had the green light; if Howard had something good going he’d go over. … I was never a fan of it,” said Stradford, who questioned on the air whether Rosenberg’s ratings justified the run-overs.

“I alluded to the fact that [in] the last ratings book that Sid had not really delivered the bump that was expected. If he had produced like everyone thought he would have I would have had no problem with it.”

Steve Lapa, general manager for WMEN, could not be reached for comment.

Stradford, 49, who had his show on WMEN for about four years, said he hopes to land with another station in the market. The 1987 AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year is a regular on the Dolphins multi-media show The Finsiders and broadcasts high school football games for Comcast Xfinity.

 

Copyright © 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel