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Chet Chats Again Reprising Coppock enjoys flamboyant flashback for a day By Mark Potash -- Chicago Sun-Times (Quick Hits guest writer) Article published in the Chicago Sun-Times on July 5, 2006 He's the Comeback Kid, the Blast from the Past, the irrepressible, one-of-a-kind, how ya doin' everybody host-with-the-most, the Human Rolodex, jack of all trades, the Ron Popeil of Chicago sports radio, the master of the one-minute question, the king of the glad-handers -- the dapper, the flamboyant, the outspoken, the one and only... Chet Coppock. "Chicago radio needs a guy to hate. Who better than Chet Coppock?" the man himself said Tuesday. "I don't know if it's classic WWE villain. But my show has been based around a Peck's Bad Boy defiance. "I think the Wallace deal is terrible. As much as I like Ben, you're going to be playing four on five offensively. He's a miserable free-throw shooter. And big, thick bodies like that, they don't go gradually. They go in one day." Who asked about Ben Wallace? Doesn't matter. It's Coppock's dime, it's his dance floor. A Chicago sports icon, former Ch. 5 sports anchor and host of the popular Coppock on Sports from 1984 to '94, Coppock manned the 9 a.m.-noon shift on ESPN Radio 1000 (WMVP-AM) for Sean Salisbury and Steve Rosenbloom on Tuesday, and it was like settling into a pair of old shoes that hadn't been worn for a while. Just give it time. Chet hasn't lost his fastball. "It would be a lie to tell you I don't want one more chance in the batter's box, doing a Monday-to-Friday type gig," he said. And he's willing to adapt to do it. Just two minutes and 45 seconds into his show -- at about the same time he'd be warming up for his introduction of Brendan Suhr in the old days, he took a call from a listener. "You're going to hear a different Chet Coppock," he said. "To me, the business has become very entertainment driven. People want to interact. I think sometimes you're better off generating topicality and sparking a conversation by opening the phone lines and letting the audience play straight man for you." Coppock's return to WMVP comes with a dose of humility. Dan McNeil, a Coppock protege who produced COS, is the current King of Chicago Sports Radio, a title held by Coppock in his heyday. A 10-year rift between the two only recently ended. "I wish people would understand something -- I'm proud of Dan McNeil," Coppock said. "It's a great [misconception] that we hate each other. We've become good friends. It's a shame we had a 10-year falling out. I think the world of the guy. I'm thrilled for his success." |
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