Hank Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Hank Goldberg aka Eggs Goldberg is an American
sports radio
and television personality based in Miami, Florida
.
for the Miami Dolphins
football games for 610 WIOD AM, and hosted his own afternoon drive show on the station. In 1992, following weeks of Hurricane Andrew
aftermath that dominated all the local market stations, Goldberg opted to interview guests Dolphins coach Don Shula
to talk football and novelist/screenwriter Elmore Leonard
when WIOD's program director insisted he talk only about Hurricane Andrew, three weeks after the storm. His reasoning was to allow listeners that were tired of the morbid aftermath talk looking to move on or for a distraction on different subjects. He was then immediately fired by the station and replaced by former Miami Dolphin Jim Mandich
. Goldberg then moved to 560 WQAM, which had recently changed over to an all-sports format.
Goldberg was formerly the host of an afternoon-drive show on 560 WQAM radio in Miami, which aired from 4pm to 7pm weekdays. He would be moved around on the WQAM programming schedule over the years with an extended period hosting a show from 2pm to 6pm weekdays, having long-time Miami radio host Neil Rogers
as a lead-in. Goldberg would also serve as the morning-drive host (6am to 10am) for a short time after Howard Stern
left terrestrial radio and was therefore no longer on WQAM. Goldberg left WQAM on Dec 31, 2007 when his contract expired.
During the football
season, and before certain major horse racing
events, he also appears nationally on ESPN
television and radio. During these segments, he analyzes the odds
for football games and horse races and makes predictions based on them. For football, these predictions on always made on the Sportscenter that immediately precedes the ESPN show Sunday NFL Countdown. The Sportscenter anchors converse with Goldberg by referring to him as "Hammerin' Hank". They give a brief lead in to a game where Goldberg then takes over and provides brief analysis of the game from a bettor's standpoint. A graphic then soon appears with Goldberg's prediction as to which NFL team will win the game, and with an indicator (generally a checkmark V) as to which team will cover the spread
. Pro football is the biggest betting sport in the United States, with total wagers now running more than $1 billion a week. The average bettor, despite all the touts and information, loses season after season. The late Bob Martin, manager of Las Vegas’s first casino sportsbook, is quoted as having stated that the number of bettors who win betting pro football is so small that “it is virtually the same as if no one won.”
Criticism levied against ESPN from several sources cites ESPN's official position is that of a news organization, and as a news organization they are not supposed to engage in activities such as promoting any form of prognosticating for NFL games which promote the often illegal activity of gambling.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
and television personality based in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
Biography
Goldberg was the color commentatorColor commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
football games for 610 WIOD AM, and hosted his own afternoon drive show on the station. In 1992, following weeks of Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
aftermath that dominated all the local market stations, Goldberg opted to interview guests Dolphins coach Don Shula
Don Shula
Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....
to talk football and novelist/screenwriter Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
when WIOD's program director insisted he talk only about Hurricane Andrew, three weeks after the storm. His reasoning was to allow listeners that were tired of the morbid aftermath talk looking to move on or for a distraction on different subjects. He was then immediately fired by the station and replaced by former Miami Dolphin Jim Mandich
Jim Mandich
James Michael "Mad Dog" Mandich was a professional American football tight end with the Miami Dolphins. Mandich was an All-American at the University of Michigan. In 2004 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. As color commentator for the Miami Dolphins , he was teamed with Jimmy...
. Goldberg then moved to 560 WQAM, which had recently changed over to an all-sports format.
Goldberg was formerly the host of an afternoon-drive show on 560 WQAM radio in Miami, which aired from 4pm to 7pm weekdays. He would be moved around on the WQAM programming schedule over the years with an extended period hosting a show from 2pm to 6pm weekdays, having long-time Miami radio host Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers was an American talk radio personality. Until his retirement on June 22, 2009, "The Neil Rogers Show" aired weekdays from 10am-2pm on 560 WQAM. It was consistently the top rated show in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale media market and had been since his Miami debut in 1976...
as a lead-in. Goldberg would also serve as the morning-drive host (6am to 10am) for a short time after Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
left terrestrial radio and was therefore no longer on WQAM. Goldberg left WQAM on Dec 31, 2007 when his contract expired.
During the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
season, and before certain major horse racing
Thoroughbred Racing on ESPN
ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of Thoroughbred racing currently consists of NTRA Racing to the Kentucky Derby, The Breeders' Cup on ESPN. In addition, ESPN on ABC broadcasts a portion of the Breeders Cup. Among its regulars on its horse racing telecasts are hosts Joe Tessitore and Kenny Mayne, along...
events, he also appears nationally on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
television and radio. During these segments, he analyzes the odds
Odds
The odds in favor of an event or a proposition are expressed as the ratio of a pair of integers, which is the ratio of the probability that an event will happen to the probability that it will not happen...
for football games and horse races and makes predictions based on them. For football, these predictions on always made on the Sportscenter that immediately precedes the ESPN show Sunday NFL Countdown. The Sportscenter anchors converse with Goldberg by referring to him as "Hammerin' Hank". They give a brief lead in to a game where Goldberg then takes over and provides brief analysis of the game from a bettor's standpoint. A graphic then soon appears with Goldberg's prediction as to which NFL team will win the game, and with an indicator (generally a checkmark V) as to which team will cover the spread
Spread betting
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event, where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting. A spread is a range of outcomes and the bet is whether the outcome...
. Pro football is the biggest betting sport in the United States, with total wagers now running more than $1 billion a week. The average bettor, despite all the touts and information, loses season after season. The late Bob Martin, manager of Las Vegas’s first casino sportsbook, is quoted as having stated that the number of bettors who win betting pro football is so small that “it is virtually the same as if no one won.”
Criticism levied against ESPN from several sources cites ESPN's official position is that of a news organization, and as a news organization they are not supposed to engage in activities such as promoting any form of prognosticating for NFL games which promote the often illegal activity of gambling.