Jim Rome (b. October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, the programming subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. Broadcasting from a studio in Los Angeles, he hosts "The Jim Rome Show" weekdays from 9 AM to 12 noon Pacific Time. He also hosts the television show "Jim Rome Is Burning" (formerly "Rome Is Burning") which airs on ESPN. His past hosting jobs included "Talk2" (ESPN2), then "The Last Word" (Fox Sports Net). All these shows deal with the sports world in general.

Rome achieved notoriety for an incident on his ESPN2 show in 1994 when he repeatedly called NFL quarterback Jim Everett "Chris" (after Chris Evert, the tennis player). After a warning, Everett physically attacked Rome while still on the air.

His current radio show takes calls from listeners and features interviews of notable people from the sports world. His television show primarily features interviews with athletes and other people associated with sports, but his main influence both started and remains with sports talk radio.

A graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987, Rome started his radio career at KTMS, located in Santa Barbara, CA. He eventually moved to XTRA Sports 690 in San Diego, CA, where he started what is now known as the Jim Rome Show, or "The Jungle" (after "Welcome to the Jungle", the Guns N' Roses hit that opens some segments of the program). Syndication started in 1996 and the show now can be heard on over 180 radio stations nationwide.

The Jim Rome Show is unique in many ways, but the most notable are his use of Smack, The Clones that listen to the show, and The Huge Call of the Day. A large portion of the language used on the show is known as "smack," or a harsh, different way of saying the usual sports rant, known as a "take." Because of this, it is usually difficult for new listeners to enjoy the show quickly, as there is a learning curve before one can fully understand what is being said.

The "Clones" are what Rome calls the listeners of the show. Their devotion to Rome along with their use of "Smack" makes them different from normal people, but all the same as each other. Also, callers often only reiterate Rome's exact take on an issue. During the day, Rome saves the recordings of the best calls in the rack (with the term "Rack him" after a call being the cue that he enjoyed the callers take). At the end of the show the Huge Call (the Best Call of the Day) is replayed with much fanfare.

Jim Rome is also known for his many Tour Stops. The Tour Stop is a limited access (because of the ticket required) show, often with sports related guests and surprises. Multiple times around the year, Rome will reward a syndication city that has been providing him with great takes with a Tour Stop. These events are often held in stadiums or other large venues. The tickets are normally free. Clones are known to travel to a Tour Stop from across the country instead of waiting for one in their town.

Every year, Rome holds a Smack Off, where the greatest callers from the previous year (often winners of the Call of the Day) are brought back for a the full day of Smack talk, and the winner of the Smack Off is crowned for an entire year.

Smack-Off History

1995 -- The winner of the inaugural Smack-Off is JT the Brick, who parlays his Smack-Off victory into his own sports-talk radio show.

1996 -- Jeffrey E. DiTolla ("Esquire") is the winner of the second Smack-Off.

1997 -- Doc Mike DiTolla wins his first Smack-Off, marking back-to-back victories for the Brothers DiTolla.

1998 -- In one of the more classic Smack-Offs, Steve Carbone wins with his famous "I am not a clone!" call. Many of Steve's detractors like to claim that the fix was in on this Smack-Off, because at the time Carbone was the call-screener (known as "Phoneslap") for the Jim Rome Show (having previously been the successful caller "Stevie from LMU"). Carbone went on to host his own sports-talk radio show, before being dismissed for making some very inappropriate comments on a website.

1999 -- Sean the Cablinasian in Houston wins his first Smack-Off.

2000 -- Doc Mike DiTolla becomes the first caller to win two Smack-Offs. This, combined with a string of other top finishes over the years, makes him arguably the best caller ever.

2001 -- One of the original callers to the Jungle, Silk in Huntington Beach wins the Smack-Off after being the unfair target of criticism from many callers throughout the year.

2002 -- One of the most polarizing callers, Jeff in Richmond, wins the Smack-Off, to the outrage of many "Clones" and the joy of few.

2003 -- Sean the Cablinasian (now in Chicago) becomes the second caller to win two Smack-Offs.

2004 -- "Iafrate" Ken Chasen in Los Angeles, who had finished second in several previous Smack-Offs, wins his first, his call capped off by a parody of the song "Michael's Dad" by John Niems, in which Iafrate sings about Brian Albers (nicknamed "Whitey") who was Jim Rome's show engineer and board operator.

The 2005 Smack-Off is on May 6.

External links

• Jim Rome's official web site