Goodbye to a Radio Superstar
March 24, 2025
Joe Weachter, the secret weapon of my show and others at WIP over the past 38 years, walked out the studio door for the last time on March 20, leaving behind a legacy that may have been quieter than the rest of ours, but was no less impactful.
For more than three decades, Joe was the producer who picked out the best sound bites, screened the craziest callers and was the maestro of all the bells and whistles that made our show distinctive and spontaneous.
He whispered many of the best lines into our headsets, grumpily debated the issues of the day with us before every show and was the steadying force behind everything we accomplished.
Joe was at WIP before I got there in 1988, and he was still there after I left in 2023. His hiring at WIP preceded the move to the sports format, and he worked on almost every daypart during his career. We found out only a few days ago that he was the longest-tenured employee of sports radio in America.
Unfortunately, the changing world of radio these days – with the intrusion of podcasts, the Internet and many other new competitors for advertising – nudged the best producer I ever worked with into an early retirement as he approaches 60.
Thanks to the generosity of Joe DeCamera and the other fine people working at the new WIP Morning Show these days – including our last holdover, the amazing Rhea Hughes – Joe got a sendoff on his final show worthy of a superstar.
There were stories, laughs and even a few tears in those four memorable hours. Al Morganti, Keith Jones and I came back for a visit, along with so many callers whose world Joe Weachter touched during his long career.
What I will remember Joe most for was his commitment to WIP. He despised our bullying program director, Tom Bigby, in the early days, but he never considered leaving. He weathered my battles with depression and egomania, pushing back with an aggression that grounded me at the most difficult times.
He never made the big money that the on-air performers got, but he refused more lucrative offers elsewhere because he loved working at WIP more than any of us.
I said on the air last week that Joe is responsible for my career because he saved me often by hitting the dump button after I had bellowed an inappropriate word or said something that crossed the line in the cancel culture of the past decade or so.
Joe never wanted to appear on microphone during my time at WIP – though he spoke openly on his last day – but he enjoyed his career in radio as much as, and probably more than, any of us.
“I loved every minute,” he said.
Thank you, Joe.
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I am no fan of college sports, but I do follow specific people who intrigue me. At the top of the list is Jay Wright, the best college coach – at any level, in any sport – I ever encountered.
Jay has made a smooth transition from a two-time NCAA champion at Villanova to the CBS studio, where he can be seen offering insights and charm now during the March Madness tournament. He is really good in that role.
But I still can’t help wondering every time I see him how he could walk away from something he was legendary at in favor of a trivial job that so many other lesser sports figures could do.
Whenever I see him on that studio set, I think of Bill Cowher, one of the greatest NFL coaches ever, wasting his time, and ours, with dull insights and forced laughs at CBS for the last 18 years. In case you haven’t noticed, Cowher stinks as a broadcaster. Always has, always will.
Wright is far superior in that role, but still he belongs on the sideline, teaching young men how to excel at basketball and life. I know he left partly because of NIL and partly because he had passed his milestone 60th birthday.
Villanova needs a new coach because Jay’s replacement, Kyle Neptune, was awful at the job.
I know there’s no going back for Jay Wright.
I believe he will never coach again.
And I still think that’s a shame.
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My own father couldn’t understand this about me, but I don’t root extra hard for Italian sports figures. In fact, you can include Rick Pitino and John Calipari among the Italians whom I actually root against.
Despite CBS’s shameless fawning during the matchup of the two Hall of Fame college coaches on Saturday, I choose to pick my heroes based on character, not ethnicity. That’s why a Hall of Fame coach, to me, is Jay Wright or John Chaney, not those two seriously flawed sideline vagabonds.
I may have been the only one who actually wanted Chaney to get his hands on Calipari during their infamous feud decades ago. Calipari was a weasel then, and I’m pretty sure he’s still a weasel now.
During a break in his coaching career, Calipari actually showed up one morning in our WIP studio unannounced, his visit orchestrated by his new (and temporary) boss, Sixers coach Larry Brown.
The goal of the meeting was to show to Philadelphia that Calipari was a good guy as well as a good coach. Brown set up Calipari for a bunch of self-deprecating remarks, all of which landed with a thud to me.
Hey, what can I say? I didn’t feel anything when Pitino lost to Calipari on Saturday, nor do I care that Calipari is in the Sweet Sixteen with his fourth different team.
Both coaches come across as major phonies to me.
Sorry. I can’t stand either guy.
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Please don’t ask me for my prediction about the Phillies 2025 season because you don’t want to hear what I have to say.
Only if you insist will I predict that the Phils will win 90-plus games and make the playoffs again. Then they will fail there because of manager Rob Thomson and his mindless obsession with analytics.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. That should be the Phillies’ motto in 2025.
Although no one in the soft Philadelphia media agrees with this, Thomson blew last season when, ahead 1-0, he removed Zack Wheeler after seven innings of a one-hitter in the opening playoff game against the Mets because his ace had thrown 110 pitches.
Yes, I know. I have brought that mistake up constantly in the past few months. There’s a good reason for that. When your window of opportunity is closing and your robot manager squanders one of your best chances over a pitch count, it’s a big deal.
The Dodgers will win the World Series this season.
And all of the Phillies pitchers will be well-rested again in October.
Until Thomson goes, the Phillies will hold no parades.
That’s my prediction.
Now aren’t you sorry you asked?
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I started this blog post with a classy retirement, and I will end it with one here.
To my great relief, Brandon Graham walked away from a brilliant 15-year career with the Eagles last week, going out on top after the championship season that ended last month.
On the field, Graham was not just a terrific pass rusher, he was especially great when the team needed him most. The Eagles would have lost Super Bowl 52 if Graham didn’t strip the ball from Tom Brady at the most opportune time. I really believe that.
And the way he came back from a torn bicep – which he reinjured during the Super Bowl – to play one more game was a final measure of his commitment and his heart.
I had the honor of talking to Graham every week during the season for several years when I was a host at WIP, and he was one of the most honest and genuine sports figures I ever met.
Brandon Graham is the embodiment of a Philadelphia sports hero. He is the shining star against which every future sports hero will be measured in our sports city.
Thank you, Brandon.