Mac, Jurko, and Harry

Mac, Jurko, and Harry was the afternoon drive-time show hosted by Dan McNeil, John Jurkovic and Harry Teinowitz. The show debuted on ESPN’s WMVP AM-1000 in Chicago in May 2001, replacing The Huge Show, featuring Bill Simonson and Lou Cannellis. Mac, Jurko, and Harry was regarded as the station’s flagship program. The trio was consistently one of the most popular radio shows among male listeners.

Despite their achievements, the show had not been without controversy. In 2002, the station suspended McNeil and Teinowitz over an off-air shoving incident (they then followed it up weeks later with an on-air spat).

On June 9, 2006, another on-air incident resulted in station management suspending the duo for two weeks. The fracas started following another episode of McNeil harassing Teinowitz for his silver spoon upbringing. The final hour and twenty minutes of the show was cancelled, with Marc Silverman and Carmen DeFalco taking over.

According to the Chicago Tribune, on June 27, 2007, WMVP suspended McNeil for three days after he called Comcast Sports Net Executive Producer Lissa Druss Christman a "bitch" on-air when she declined to answer questions about CSN's production of the June 25, 2007 Chicago Cubs game.

Over its five-year history Mac, Jurko and Harry had six producers. Adam Delevitt (2001-2006), Jeff Dickerson (2001-2002), Artie Kennedy (2001-2002), Ben Finfer (2002-present), Scot Bertram (2002-2003, 2006-2007), and Danny Zederman (2007-2009).

The show competed directly with Boers and Bernstein, their afternoon counterparts on rival WSCR. The show start time moved up an hour to 2 p.m., following the Mike Tirico Show, to compete directly with Boers and Bernstein as announced on August 30, 2007. The final hour starting at 6 p.m. is a recap of the day's show with highlighted segments and interviews and precedes The Show.

On January 16th, 2009, it was announced that Dan McNeil's contract option for 2010 would not be picked up. The Mac, Jurko, and Harry show was renamed "The Afternoon Saloon" and Mac was replaced with Carmen DeFalco.

Mac, Jurko, and Harry won the 2006-2007 Golden Icon Award (presented by Travolta Family Entertainment) for Best Radio Personalities.

Show Content
The show includes several weekly segments and recurring guests. From time to time, the show is broadcast at remote locations in Chicago and the neighboring suburbs.

Segments

 * Who Do You Love?
 * predictions about upcoming football games; notably in terms of which way one would bet


 * Critics At Extra Large
 * critique of print, radio, and television coverage of sports


 * Jurko vs. Harry
 * sports trivia contest where a listener is paired with Jurko or Harry to help them while McNeil reads the questions


 * Future Mail
 * "B" Stories
 * Almanac
 * Web Polls Across America
 * ''a critical and often humorous examination of what other ESPN radio stations are offering as the "question of the day" on their website.


 * Last Time / Only Time / First Time
 * sometimes offered as a phone in contest, it is a single question trivia game in which the question deals with either the first time, last time, or only time a particular event in sports occurred


 * Featured Artist Friday
 * Most Fridays see the trio select a particular musical artist or group whose music is used exclusively as the show enters or leaves commercials. On rare occasions, this will be contrasted with "Dog Food Friday", in which the trio pick music which they frown upon.


 * Who Are You
 * ''listeners phone in and try to guess the identity of a mystery guest who will answer questions to help listeners guess their identity


 * Future Headlines
 * the trio read fictional sports (and often comical) headlines that they believe might be seen in the future


 * Which car deserves the two iron more?

Common Themes

 * Mac and Jurko commonly tease Harry and his family because of their affluent lifestyle, especially making Harry's daughter out to be a brat.
 * Mac regularly takes shots at WSCR 670 The Score, particularly their direct competitor, Boers and Bernstein. He was formerly employed by that station.

Frequent Guests and Contributors

 * Monday/Sunday Night John (Frank Caliendo)
 * John Clayton
 * Gary Danielson
 * Jeff Dickerson
 * Bruce Levine
 * Mark Buehrle
 * Jerry Angelo
 * Ron Rivera
 * Ron Turner
 * Kerry Wood
 * Derrek Lee
 * A.J. Pierzynski
 * Dan Plesac
 * Oak Park Vandy