New Yorkers Rip Spike Eskin, Who’s Coming Home to WIP
Plus, might we really get eight inches of snow?!
Spike Eskin (right) with dad Howard Eskin and Philly music great Amos Lee (photo courtesy SSM Photography)
Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!
New Yorkers Rip Spike Eskin, Who’s Coming Home to WIP
Two years after Spike Eskin (son of the much-reviled Howard Eskin) defected to New York, we hear that he’s coming back. And that’s good news for us. The general consensus, at least here in Philly, is that Spike Eskin is “a really nice guy.”
Eskin is leaving his job as program director at sports talk station WFAN in New York to come to 94.1 WIP, where he used to work. That’s the radio station that used to play rock and then became all-sports-all-the-time. Eskin will be joining former Eagles player Ike Reese for the afternoon drive.
It sounds like New York isn’t exactly heartbroken over losing Eskin. In the wake of his announced departure, the New York Post ran a whole story about how man fans hated him. Some choice quotes from the Post article:
“Greatest news I’ve heard in a while. It is a disgrace what he has done to this station.”
“He was terrible. Thank God!”
“His work at destroying WFAN is complete!“
But from what we hear, Eskin actually did a good job at WFAN. So it sounds like New Yorkers are just being New Yorkers. Sort of the same way that Philly fans are just Philly fans.
Welcome back, Spike.
For more on Spike and his relationship with his dear old dad, check out the amusingly-titled profile “Jesus. What If Howard Eskin Was Your Dad?”
Antisemitism Watch
One of Philadelphia’s Holocaust memorials has been vandalized twice in a matter of days. First, somebody defaced the memorial near 16th and Arch with a swastika. Now, somebody threw trash all over it. Police have surveillance video of the suspect in the swastika incident.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has dropped its investigation into antisemitism at Penn. No, Penn isn’t off the hook. Officials dropped the investigation because somebody is already suing Penn, making the same allegations. “The relief sought is the same as would be obtained if OCR were to find a violation regarding the allegation(s),” a department spokesperson said in a statement.
Penn may now be outside the scrutiny of the Department of Education’s investigation. But Temple University just got wrapped up in it. Officials are now investigating allegations of antisemitism and discrimination at the Broad Street institution.
About That Big Boat On the Delaware
If you’ve ever spent any time near the waterfront in South Philadelphia, you’ve no doubt noticed the huge boat that’s docked near the Ikea. That boat is the SS United States, and it’s been mired in controversy for a long, long time. The conservancy group for the boat is in the middle of a trial with the landlords. The SS United States could soon be evicted from its spot, which would result in the loss of a weird Philadelphia landmark.
Local Talent
Our Super Bowl dreams may be dashed (heck, we would’ve taken even a divisional round game!), but one local ballet dancer might bring us home a very different kind of trophy.
Kate Cerny (photo courtesy Philadelphia Ballet)
Philadelphia Ballet student Katie Cerny is headed to the Prix de Lausanne at the end of the month. And just what is the Prix de Lausanne, you ask? It’s only a competition featuring the 80 best ballet students in the entire world. Just ten American women were chosen.
Cerny is actually from North Carolina and only came to Philadelphia last year. So her status as a Philadelphian is tenuous at best. But given what just happened with the Eagles, we’ll take what we can get!
Break a leg, Katie. (I’m assuming that’s OK to say to ballet dancers, right?)
By the Numbers
8: Maximum inches of snow currently in the forecast for Friday. (Well, it depends on what forecast you look at. 6 ABC is going with 2 – 4 inches. Fox 29 is going with up to 8 inches. Higher numbers are more fun.) My kids want to know if they are going to have a two-snow-day week, keeping in mind they were off Monday for MLK Day, too. I’m saying no. But I was also wrong about Tuesday. So there’s hope.
9: Philly-area puppies headed to the big Puppy Bowl in February. My money is on “Small Ed”:
2: Summer months during which PECO couldn’t shut off your electricity if a new bill becomes law. There are already protections against shut-offs during winter, so people don’t lose their heat. And advocates are pointing out that not being able to run an air conditioner or fan in the hottest months can be dangerous.
And from the All’s-Quiet Sports Desk …
While you’re still licking your Eagles wounds — and while we wait for the final word on whether Jason Kelce is retiring or not — try this on for size: The Athletic has a heartwarming, stomach-turning story about the Kelce brothers in college (with plenty of incriminating photos).
Many may peg Travis as the more outgoing Kelce brother, but Jason's tales date back to the University of Cincinnati too.
"He goes and gets a Gatorade bottle and fills it up with Jameson."@Williams_Justin on the best stories as Jason debates retirement:https://t.co/npjH5rnuCK pic.twitter.com/PyoXgBnCLY
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 17, 2024
And Fox News reporter Laura Okmin has finally revealed what Jason yells before joining the pile on every Brotherly Shove:
My favorite quote of the season was one I couldn’t say on TV. Explaining the toll the tush push takes on you, @JasonKelce told me upon push, he yells, “FU@K MY LIFE!” (Jalen Hurts confirmed) Here’s to a man who also screams – and lives –
“I LOVE my life” just as passionately. pic.twitter.com/yd0g2az9bB— Laura Okmin (@LauraOkmin) January 16, 2024
Finally, Wyomissing, PA’s second most famous former resident correctly sussed out Jason’s standard Mickey D’s order:
Why the internet was invented: pic.twitter.com/lFHss0dqKG
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) January 17, 2024
The only game on the local ticket tonight is Monmouth visiting the hot-streak Drexel Dragons in City Six action, with tip-off at 7 p.m. Ah — the Flyers also play.
All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.
