Elliot Segal, of DC-101’s “Elliot in the Morning” roughhouse of rush hour mischief, is far and away the region’s most sensible and spirited media personality when it comes to things puck. He’s Canadian, for starters (from what province I do not know). He’s also a Caps’ season ticket holder. (I don’t know how he keeps the evening hours he does and arrives in studio solidly before 6:00 the next morning so amped up.)
He gleefully talks puck on air 12 months a year.
Regulars on his program include Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis and goaltender Olaf Kolzig.
I confess to being only an intermittent listener to his program ‚Äî the death of FM rock radio is one of the sadder aspects of my adult life, and not the subject of this blog ‚Äî but I was en route to the gym in the a.m. darkness today and tuned in to his show’s start, and being at last night’s game, he was in ecstasy over the 2 points taken from the Panthers. He’s cultivated a sizable following of puckheads: each one almost always arrives on the air with him chanting “C-A-P-S Caps!Caps!Caps!,” which Elliot started years back, likely within minutes of going on the air here. Two of the first three callers he took this morning began their conversations with him in precisely this fashion.
Something else I noticed about him this morning, which I’ll file under Great Minds Think Alike: rather ongoing on-air allusions to my Queen:
Elliot is doing his part to spread the gospel of our great game, that’s for sure. Last spring, deep in the NHL playoffs, I attended an evening game-watch bash he hosted at the Canadian Embassy in town. He arrived in a vintage Edmonton Oilers sweater and MC-ed with all the passion of the purest puckhead.
He’s a rare gem in this region, clearly. While FM radio’s future may be in doubt, the advent of stand-alone hockey programs on satellite strikes me as his natural and eventual home. I’d be a faithful listener to that.
4 Comments
Pucks beat me to it. Elliot is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the media and hockey in this town. Long time listeners may remember his hockey promotions such as “Zed heads” and “Simon’s Soldiers” to name a few.
When he worked in NY, he did a lot with the Rangers and even several with Commissioner Betman as well.
Because of him, DC101 has many ticket giveaways and promotions with the Caps and sometimes even broadcasts from a game. There have even been a couple games carried on the DC101 airwaves.
That he has more interviews than our “Sports Radio Station” ‚Äî reason alone to like him.
Visit them on the web at http://www.eitmonline.com
Elliot is a Montreal native, who transplanted to the states as a youth due to his brother having an illness and being treated here in the states. He grew up in Texas
I am NOT a fan of Elliot’s morning show, however, I love the fact that he promotes hockey (and Caps hockey) all the time. It’s unfortunate that his moronic following doesn’t lead to increased attendance at the games.
“Smell My Face!” Elliot is the man! Best morning show by far, for far more reasons than hockey coverage too! Most critics dismiss Elliot as a shock-jock, but he’s far more talented than that. They don’t know what his loyal listeners know, which is that he’s more than capable of intelligent and thought-provoking discourse and even compassionate at times. He does much work with charities such as the “Olie & Elliot’s Great Saves” program, “Bras Across RFK”, “Zed Heads”, and the Center For Missing & Exploited Children, among many others. He also has weekly interviews with Donna Brant and semi-regulars with John Walsh, both of America’s Most Wanted. And once after visiting a children’s hospital for his son and learning that one of the kids parents had stolen the video game system from the gameroom, Elliot arranged for several new & used units to be donated by local vendors and listeners. He’s the best thing on FM radio, period.
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