The Sport Buffet
Encyclopedia
The Sport Buffet is a sports talk radio show originating out of Orlando, Florida. It began in 2007 as a Saturday morning show on Orlando's ESPN. Throughout its duration, it has been hosted by Matt West. Matt's style is very Socratic. He commonly states, "Let's look at this from a global perspective." While seemingly knowledgeable about many sports, he is best when he is trying to relate some sports activity to every day life. He doesn't talk a lot about his personal life, but he speaks glowingly about his wife. He also has a son and two daughters. His eating prowess has been the subject of many segments over many months of the show.
, it was produced by Jared Lawrence, who has come back and visited when the show was regionally syndicated. Later, it was produced by Ryan Bonifant, who was also a regular contributor. During this period, there was a heavy emphasis on Orlando Sports. Jason Lucas, an official employee of the Orlando Predators
of the now defunct Arena Football League came on several times. Further, there was a heavy emphasis on the Orlando Magic
, as Pat Williams (NBA)
, Dwight Howard
, and JJ Reddick all came on the show.
, Pensacola's Sports leader WTKE, Clemson's Sports Leader WCCP-FM
, The Space Coast's ESPN WINT, and inexplicably Live 101.9 WBGE
. Upon this initial expansion, Ballpark Frank produced the show and spoke when asked a direct question. After he left the show, a "Producer for the Day" who spoke sparingly, took over producing duties. While the moniker might suggest differently, he was on several times, and the host and co-hosts have made jokes about this. After that brief period, a female producer who only spoke over the "loud speaker" during the Sampler Platter. She seems to be the voice on the show's intro also. A female identified as "Suzannah, captain of the Non-Men" has recently been identified as the producer.
Steve "DIVA" Chapman and David "Tex" Poston both served as co-host with regularity. The two of them have rarely been on together, but when they were, some of the most memorable moments of the show have occurred. Each co-host has a nemesis. Tex's nemesis is "Dimarco" and the DIVA's nemesis is "Bishop Felipe". Each nemesis had a turn co-hosting the show. In addition to these nemeses, Steve Atwater, Mac Rogers, Marc Ryan
, and Bret Brilliante have co-hosted once or twice.
The DIVA came within a 9-iron of being a professional golfer. He was a semi-pro level basketball player. He commonly laughs at Matt's jokes, even when they aren't funny. He also has invited at least 5-6 callers and emailers to join them in the studio. Tex commonly uses the bathroom during the show and, apparently, always wears Cologne. He gives out pictures of himself for winning a contest. He claims to have dated an underwear model and be an ambidextrous tennis player.
The show solicits calls and emails. With the exception of several calls during football season, the show gets a large amount of email and not as many phone calls. Whenever a new station is added, Matt signifies this by calling Coach Atwater. Coach Atwater has never appeared except on these initial shows.
WHOO Era
When the show originated on WHOOWHOO
WHOO is the callsign for ESPN Radio 1080 the Team, an AM sports radio station in Orlando, Florida, United States. It broadcasts at a medium-wave frequency of 1080 kHz. It is owned by Genesis Communications...
, it was produced by Jared Lawrence, who has come back and visited when the show was regionally syndicated. Later, it was produced by Ryan Bonifant, who was also a regular contributor. During this period, there was a heavy emphasis on Orlando Sports. Jason Lucas, an official employee of the Orlando Predators
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...
of the now defunct Arena Football League came on several times. Further, there was a heavy emphasis on the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
, as Pat Williams (NBA)
Pat Williams (NBA)
Pat Williams is a senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, a motivational speaker and former minor league baseball player. Williams--born May 3, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--was raised in Wilmington, Delaware.-Baseball career:...
, Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...
, and JJ Reddick all came on the show.
Regionally Syndicated Era
In June 2008, the show expanded to include additional stations. Some of those stations have been St. Augustine's ESPN WAOCWAOC
WAOC is a radio station broadcasting a Sports radio format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, USA, the station serves the Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned by Phillips Broadcasting, LLC and features programing from ESPN Radio, The Sport Buffet and Motor Racing...
, Pensacola's Sports leader WTKE, Clemson's Sports Leader WCCP-FM
WCCP-FM
WCCP-FM is a Sports Talk radio station operating out of Clemson, South Carolina, under the name "The Drive 104.9". The station is licensed by the FCC to broadcast at 104.9 FM with an ERP of 4600 Watts....
, The Space Coast's ESPN WINT, and inexplicably Live 101.9 WBGE
WBGE
WBGE is a country music formatted radio station in the Tallahassee, Florida, market owned by Flint Media. While the biggest nearby market is in Florida, the station is actually the biggest station in all of Bainbridge, Georgia....
. Upon this initial expansion, Ballpark Frank produced the show and spoke when asked a direct question. After he left the show, a "Producer for the Day" who spoke sparingly, took over producing duties. While the moniker might suggest differently, he was on several times, and the host and co-hosts have made jokes about this. After that brief period, a female producer who only spoke over the "loud speaker" during the Sampler Platter. She seems to be the voice on the show's intro also. A female identified as "Suzannah, captain of the Non-Men" has recently been identified as the producer.
Other Voices on the Air
Currently, the co-host is the Iceman. The ICEMAN is a recent addition to the show. He is bombastic and likes to make up multi-syllabic words. His love for all teams Boston has been made known on several occasions.Steve "DIVA" Chapman and David "Tex" Poston both served as co-host with regularity. The two of them have rarely been on together, but when they were, some of the most memorable moments of the show have occurred. Each co-host has a nemesis. Tex's nemesis is "Dimarco" and the DIVA's nemesis is "Bishop Felipe". Each nemesis had a turn co-hosting the show. In addition to these nemeses, Steve Atwater, Mac Rogers, Marc Ryan
Marc Ryan
Marc Ryan is a New Zealand racing cyclist.At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ryan won the bronze medal as part of the New Zealand team in team pursuit, together with Sam Bewley, Hayden Roulston, and Jesse Sergent....
, and Bret Brilliante have co-hosted once or twice.
The DIVA came within a 9-iron of being a professional golfer. He was a semi-pro level basketball player. He commonly laughs at Matt's jokes, even when they aren't funny. He also has invited at least 5-6 callers and emailers to join them in the studio. Tex commonly uses the bathroom during the show and, apparently, always wears Cologne. He gives out pictures of himself for winning a contest. He claims to have dated an underwear model and be an ambidextrous tennis player.
The show solicits calls and emails. With the exception of several calls during football season, the show gets a large amount of email and not as many phone calls. Whenever a new station is added, Matt signifies this by calling Coach Atwater. Coach Atwater has never appeared except on these initial shows.
Segments
- Every week, Matt does a Sampler Platter, which is where he does a fast-paced briefing on a variety of sports topics, in the first segment.
- Until February 2009, Tex did a segment called the Wisdom of Tex, where he would give his take on 3-4 issues. When he served as a co-host, this segment was often skipped.
- Until April 2009, Tex also had a mid-month hit list, which once a month, he asked several boneheads "What Were You Thinking?"
- Through the Summer of 2008, there was a music contest, where the listeners got to choose a "theme song" for the DIVA. It is believed that this contest is where Steve became known as the DIVA.
- During Football season, Steve Chapman conducts a segment called "The DIVA's Fantasy of the Week" where he gives Fantasy Football advice.
"Experts" who come on frequently
- Steve Atwater-Scout and Farm League Coach
- Chuck Waltz-Golf Expert
- Mac Rogers-NHL Expert
- Josh Allen-MLB Expert, Baseball Historian
- Lou DiPietro-NFL draft
- Bradley Warren-College Football
- Justin Barney-NBA, College Basketball
- Greg Batten-Outdoors, pop culture
- Gregg Kielma-NASCAR, NHRA
- James Raia-Tour de France
- Jason Lucas-Arena Football (defunct)
- Billy Osborn-NASCAR, other car (former)
- The Goober Brothers-NHL Expert (former)
- Jorge Caravia-NFL draft expert (former)
External links
- http://www.TheSportBuffet.com - The show's official website
- http://www.twitter.com/SportBuffet - The show's official twitter page