A news story popped up a couple minutes ago that Jim Lerch had been let go at WHEN Radio. Having no idea who Jim Lerch is, I almost didn't even bother checking. Lo and behold, I just wasn't aware that Jim Lerch is the mild-mannered alter-ego of The Manchild. He of the Bud & The Manchild radio program. Scratch that, he formerly of the Bud & The Manchild radio program.
And among the 1,850 positions lost was that held by Jim Lerch, the sports director of Sports Radio 620-WHEN. His departure means the end of "The Bud & The Manchild Show," a sports-talk show that ran every weekday between 3-6 p.m.
Lerch filled the role of "The Manchild." His partner had been The Post-Standard's sports columnist, Bud Poliquin.
The show, which dealt largely with the local sports scene - including Syracuse University athletics, the Syracuse Chiefs and Syracuse Crunch - was in its sixth year. Having begun in the spring of 2003, its last episode was aired on Jan. 16.
Lerch didn't just fill the role of Manchild, he embodied it. Just like you can't imagine anyone other than Christopher Reeves as Superman, no one else could pull of The Manchild the way Jim could. Whether it was his wanton disregard for the safety of others on Route 81 or his penchant for hanging out at your neighborhood Gymboree for no discernible reason, he was truly that...a Manchild.
I hadn't heard much from him since his vlog ceased a couple months back. With tens and tens of video views, I can't imagine why he would have stopped, but what's done is done. I do wish 'Child well, no one likes to hear about jobs lost and I'm sure there are plenty of Syracuse fans bummed (right?).
The big question now is, with all of this newfound free time, what kind of wacky hi-jinks is Bud gonna get himself into???
(By the way, try doing a Yahoo! search for WHEN's website. If you can spare ten minutes, that is. Might be part of the problem, folks...)