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SHOWTIME By: Kelly Long Talk of the Town John Gambadoro (Gambo) and Mark Asher (Ash) have experience, chemistry, completely diverse backgrounds, and the most successful sports radio show in the Valley. |
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There’s no doubt that John and Mark are the deans of sports talk radio in the Valley. Gambo (John Gambadoro) and Ash (Mark Asher) have been entertaining and informing their listeners, oftentimes very loudly, and doing an incredibly successful show together for over nine years now, which means they’ve been around longer than any current coach, owner, GM, cheerleader or player in the Valley. And it’s not just longevity that sets this dynamic duo apart; they rule the ratings from 1-6 each afternoon, and the show has gotten stronger, better and even more popular since they moved it to KTAR AM 620, which is the radio home of the Suns, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and ASU football and basketball. Like most successful duos, Gambo and Ash had very little in common growing up and basically fell into this partnership. In fact, as any listener to the show knows, Gambo grew up in New York, and getting into the radio business was about as likely as him becoming a Red Sox fan. "I started in the newspaper business while I was still in high school and got published for the first time when I was in 10th grade. When I was 22, I got hired by Newsday in New York the same day I got hired by the New York Police Department. I had to make a choice, so with writing being my passion, I went with the Newsday job. Only problem looking back is that, had I taken the NYPD job, I would be retiring next year," Gambo told POST. Asher is a Valley native, having grown up listening to the likes of Al McCoy, now his colleague on KTAR. He graduated from NAU in 1996, and knew radio would be his career, but little did he know he’d eventually have his dream job. "At first, I was just asked to fill in until the end of the year. I was the station reporter at the time and really had no big aspirations of hosting a show. We started in November of 1999 and after two months of us together, the station decided that we were what they were looking for. They signed me to a contract and the rest is history," Ash said. While it is no doubt an unlikely pairing because of their personalities and backgrounds, the fact they are different makes for more compelling radio. Gambo doesn’t hide his allegiances to NY teams he loved growing up, while Mark was raised cheering for Phoenix teams. Both are paid well to give their opinion. It’s what their bosses and listeners want. Although, with the size of their audience, it can potentially ruffle some feathers or bruise some egos. "We put a lot of time and effort into making each show unique," Gambo said. "We make the effort to go to games and work the phones. Athletes, coaches and owners are sports fans, and when they want news or just want to be entertained while they are driving around, they tune in to our show. A lot of the athletes will call us over in the clubhouse or locker room after a game and want to chat about what we had talked about earlier, and a bunch of them even will call us during the show to tell us something related to the topic at hand." But not all the conversations and confrontations in person with athletes are pleasant, Gambo assured POST. "I had Matt Williams confront me once in the clubhouse because he didn’t like what I was saying about him. I’ve had some people take issue with things I have said, like Claude Lemieux, Dirk Koetter, Jason Kidd, Rob Evans, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, David Boston and I’m sure there are a few others. But my job isn’t to kiss these guys’ asses. And I certainly don’t care to be buddy-buddy with these guys. If I don’t like the Cardinals drafting Levi Brown, the Diamondbacks bringing back Randy Johnson, or the job Wayne Gretzky is doing, I’m going to say it." Don’t worry, they can handle a little heat. It lets them know they’re doing their job right. And along with a very occasional altercation comes something a lot more common and likely — fans of theirs wanting to talk or argue about sports, no matter where they run into Gambo and Ash. "We get that a lot, but that is cool with us. It’s sports! Who doesn’t want to talk sports all day? Now, if you approach me on topics in politics, I might have to ignore you," Asher said. His partner concurred. "That’s the fun thing about this job. The only time it’s a problem is at the Ahwatukee YMCA, when I am on my third or fourth mile on the treadmill and out of breath and someone wants to talk. Other than that, I enjoy talking sports with everyone, from the 14-year-old who knows what the Suns need to do to win a championship, to the 70-year-old man who wants to tell me what baseball was like when he was growing up," Gambo said. Their personal lives have changed drastically over the years. Both are married, and have kids, including Ash’s young son Jackson who was born last August. A five-hour stint on the air sounds fun, but try it yourself sometime, and you’ll understand how grueling it can be. That’s why having a strong following to guarantee phone calls and great guests is so important. Prep work is equally important too. "On average I spend between 10 pm and 1 am getting ready for the next day’s show plus an hour or two the next morning, Gambo told us. "From researching stories, to calling coaches, general managers and players — to do the show right, you need to be prepared. I watch every Suns, Diamondbacks, Cardinals and ASU football game. Every one. I attend a lot of the games so that the players know me and are comfortable coming on the air — it makes for a better interview." You can’t fake chemistry, and there’s no doubt Gambo and Ash have developed it over the years. Their pairing was unlikely, but they’re a sports institution in the Valley with no plans on going anywhere. We think. "We have had some other opportunities," Ash said, "but were never really interested. We love it here, and love doing local radio. John would probably go to New York, but he would have to really beg me to go with him!" What about it, John? "I can never say never. There was a time I thought I would end up back in New York. But this is my home now. I have three daughters, and while two of them were born in New York, they have all grown up here. We are involved with our community and our schools. Our girls are playing soccer, softball, lacrosse, taking music lessons. They love it here and so do Patti and I. We have been very blessed with our lives. So while you never know what the future holds in store, we certainly expect to remain here and continue raising our family in Arizona." That is good news for Phoenix sports fans who have grown accustomed to making a brash New Yorker and a local boy living out his dream job a big part of their afternoon routine. |
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