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10 Questions with ... Tim "Monty" Montemayor
November 15, 2005
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POSITION:Talk Show HostSTATION:Sports 1140 KHTKMARKET:SacramentoCOMPANY:Infinity BroadcastingBORN:ChicagoRAISED:Chicago
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I began my career as Producer and Host in Chicago before moving to LA to do the same, I worked at places like WSCR in Chicago and Sporting News Radio on the national level. I have hosted talk shows in Chicago and LA on a big station like KLAC in LA and a small one like WKRS in little Waukegan, IL. Currently I am doing 9P-Midnight on the best stick in the land, Sports 1140 KHTK in Sacramento. My real break in the business came with Jim Rome at FOX Sports Net when I was hired to be a Producer on "The Last Word With Jim Rome." Jim was a HUGE influence on my career; he taught me almost nothing about being on the air, but everything about respect and professionalism. He showed me that when you work hard, and you have desire, you can do almost anything. Just being around him and seeing the way he did what he did was a very important thing for my development.
1. How did you get started in radio- why radio?
I wanted so badly to be Larry Lujack; man, I wanted to have that power of making the average Joe forget about anything but what I was talking about, and so I started banging down doors at any place that had a door, and begging for a job. I got one at WKRS in Waukegan, where I spent 5 years doing everything from pulling AP wire stories for the news people to hosting talk shows. It really was where I learned the most about how radio works.
2. What are you passionate about?
Being alive. I love my life. I enjoy so much waking up everyday. I have a great wife who supports me in this business and that is gigantic. She agreed to leave behind a very nice living in Chicago so I could come to Sacramento and make $200 a week hosting the local pre-game for the Raiders. She packed the U-Haul, and we drove to Sacramento, where she got a job the second day we were in town. She is excellent, and I owe her a lot.
3. You came to town from L.A. and Chicago, and all three towns treat sports differently. Describe how you perceive each city as a sports town, and what have you learned about Sacramento fans in the few years you've been there?
Chicago is the best, not even a contest. I hate the Sox with a passion and it pains me to see them win the World Series, but as a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, that will drive me to back my Cubs even more. In LA, everyone will back whomever is winning because they are too busy tanning and getting ready for the Oscars, or going to the beach, or checking out the prime chicks on Sunset (there is no Sunset Strip in Sacramento); in Sacramento, the fans are so wrapped up in being loud, they forget you have to support your team through the ups and downs of a long NBA season. When you are in a one horse town like Sacto, you live and die with that one team, so passion and emotion run high no matter what. The one thing I have learned about Sacramento fans is just because you are loud does not make you great! Oh, they are loud and they are rarely great! What happened to backing your team? Maybe there will be a day during the NBA season where Rick Adelman will not get fired by a caller on my show. It is possible, but not likely!
4. If you hadn't gone into radio, what would you be doing today?
I would be Alan Shore or Denny Crane! I love the law, I love to make an argument, and I am good at it. I would be the best trial lawyer in the world. "Denny Crane!"
5. What in sports today angers you the most? What's the best thing in sports today?
I really do not like that everything in sports has turned into a racial argument. I despise race in sports and the constant need to segregate the black athlete from the rest. Oh, and the BCS sucks too!
I do love the match ups: USC cheating to beat Notre Dame, " target="_blank">Raiders and Chargers, Kings and Lakers...it is the common thread, the tie that binds. People come together to watch sports no matter what. When the world is falling apart and wars and hurricanes are crushing our spirit, there is always Reggie Bush pushing his QB into the end zone to win the game, or T.O. cracking McNabb...I have the talent to be able to make people forget about life and think about sports for a while.
6. It's easy to rattle off the best players in the NBA, but who are the most underrated and why?
One guy I like a lot is Primoz Brezec in Charlotte, a good player that nobody ever talks about- he created a lot of space for Okafor last season and I think he can help a young PG like Felton. I also like Darius Songaila in Chicago, he can shoot the J and rebound like a mother, but he is quiet and unassuming so he will never get run. Maurice Evans in Detroit will have a break out season because he figured out how to handle the ball. But the single most underrated player today is Jermaine O'Neal in Indiana, this guy is never talked about when the best big men are brought up. He is strong, he too can shoot it, and he loves to be physical. Came to the Pacers and became a stud when the Blazers gave up on him!
7. Who's your favorite pro athlete as a player? As an interview subject?
I love Rasheed Wallace- a loud mouth who can back it up. I saw him in the Western Finals against the Lakers back in the day when my Blazers choked it away and he was just raining 3's on the Staples Center, and never made apologies for sucking... he blamed it on the coach. Love that! Danny Clark from the Raiders is a close second.
As an all time interview: I am a sucker for legends, so talking to Bo Jackson is the best, I met him at FOX and had him on my radio show one time. A true legend like that is always fun. Former Oakland A Dave Stewart is excellent as well.
But my favorite current athlete to talk to is Stuart Schweigert from the Raiders. Shoots from the hip, says what is on his mind and is rarely PC... a nice change.
8. What do you do for fun?
Work out. I love to lift and crunch and all that. I have lost about 200 pounds in the last couple of years by being smart about what I eat and working out almost everyday. I also like to look at my ratings, when you have a good book you need to savor it, and I had a big book!
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...2 slices of 9 grain toast with sugar free strawberry jam and butter spray for breakfast and The Way, The Truth and The Life all day long!
10. What's the best advice you ever got? The worst?
Best: The late Nick Farella told me once that I have talent and a dream, chase the dream. I did and this is where it got me!
Worst: No question: When I was a producer a PD told me to lie to my host and just shake your head yes to everything they say. It never works; producers have to be willing to stand up for what they believe in. My guy John Dickinson works hard and is not afraid to tell me when I suck, and we scrap now and then, but I respect him for doing that instead of the obligatory "great show" garbage! We are a great team, and a lot of that is because he is brutally honest.
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