Famous Last Words: Rome Picks Radio

Jim Rome, who has dominated sports talk radio for more than a decade and more recently became a force in television, has decided to concentrate on radio.

“What it came down to is, after more than a decade, I still love doing the radio show,” Rome told The Times Thursday. He’ll make an official announcement today.

Rome said he will honor his contract with Fox and continue doing his nightly show, “The Last Word With Jim Rome,” for Fox Sports Net until the end of the year.

“I’m not shutting the door on television,” Rome said. “I anticipate I’ll still have a television presence one day a week. I just have no idea what that presence will be. I’m leaving my options open.”

His decision to concentrate on radio hardly comes as a surprise.

His nationally syndicated show is heard in 185 markets in the U.S.--including KXTA (1150) in Los Angeles and delayed on XTRA (690) in San Diego--and 11 in Canada.

But Rome, who started building his empire by doing traffic reports for a Santa Barbara radio station while a student at UC Santa Barbara, also has achieved considerable success in television. “The Last Word,” which Rome began doing in 1999, has provided Fox Sports Net with a show that gets critical acclaim and national attention.

But now, he said, it’s time to cut back.

Rome, 37, has been saying for more than a year that he would eventually have to choose between radio and television.

In television, “The Last Word” has to compete with similar shows such as ESPN’s “Unscripted With Chris Connelly,” formerly “Up Close,” and “Pardon the Interruption,” a new show.

In sports talk radio, Rome rules. He is the most listened-to host in the nation, with more than 2.5 million listeners weekly.

Another reason Rome chose radio over television is because the Premiere Radio Network, which syndicates his show, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Rome and Premiere are now equity partners not only in his show, but in Internet rights, merchandise and tour stops involving Rome.

“All I can say is, it’s a sweet deal,” Rome said.

Rome said a major factor in deciding to cut back was a desire to spend more time with his wife Janet and 10-month-old son Jake.

“My priority now is my family--my wife and my child,” he said. “The radio show and everything else could go away and I could have nothing, and they’d still support me.

“The way things are now, I work 14-15 hours every weekday. We never go out during the week.

“I get home from the TV show around 5:30, spend some time with Janet and the baby, then by 7:30 I’m up in my office working until midnight. I’m up at 5 the next morning getting ready for the radio show.”

But don’t expect Rome to become a slacker.

“I’ll never lose my edge,” he said. “I’ve always thought my greatest strength is that I love to work. I have an enormous capacity for work.

“I’ve seen other guys lose their edge and they’ve lost everything they have. I will not lose my edge.

“I think what has made the difference for me is that I’ve also outworked the next guy.”

What also has made his radio show successful is its uniqueness and variety.

Some listeners may like Rome’s glossary, much of which has worked its way into mainstream conversation. “Smack,” “have a take,” “clones,” “pie hole” and “props” are a few examples.

Others might like the calls from Rome’s “clones.” He calls his hard-core fans clones because they try to imitate him.

Some like his humor.

And still others may like his interviews. Rome is acknowledged as one of the best interviewers in sports broadcasting--always prepared and able to draw out the person he is interviewing.

Soon after Rome got his feet wet in broadcasting by doing traffic reports, he got his own sports talk show in Santa Barbara.

He got his first big break in 1990, when he was invited to interview for a position as weekend update anchor at XTRA.

It wasn’t long before Rome had his own show at XTRA, and people began to notice.

XTRA is also where Rome met Janet. She was a vice president for Noble Broadcasting, which owned the station. XTRA, now a Clear Channel station, still carries Rome’s show, but on a delayed basis. His show is heard live in Los Angeles, 9 a.m. to noon, on KXTA, another Clear Channel station.

Rome broke into television in 1994 as host of “Talk2,” then a new show on a new cable channel, ESPN2. It was on this show Rome had his most infamous moment.

When quarterback Jim Everett was a guest on the show, Rome kept calling him “Chris,” after Chris Evert. Rome was implying Everett was soft.

Everett asked him to stop, and Rome called him “Chris” one more time. Everett then lunged at Rome, knocking over a table.

The public sided with Everett. The general opinion was that Rome was a wise guy who had it coming.

It was a major bump in the road, but Rome has survived.

After Rome began doing “The Last Word” in 1999 and became a star in two mediums, he was named to the Sporting News’ list of 100 most powerful people in sports, coming in at No. 78, which was 14 spots ahead of Michael Jordan.

He was No. 73 in 2000 and climbed to No. 36 last year, when he was named media person of the year by Sports Illustrated.

Off the air, the picture hasn’t always been quite as pretty. At times Rome has been described as aloof, egotistical and difficult to deal with. But some of his critics also say he has mellowed with age.