Ben Maller
Ben Maller | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 29 Irvine, CA |
| Career | |
| Show | "Ben Maller Show" |
| Station | Fox Sports Radio |
| Time slot | Weekend Nights |
| Show | "Blitz Package" |
| Station | Fox Soorts Radio |
| Time slot | Sunday's 1pm-6pm ET |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country |  United States |
| Previous show | The Third Shift |
| Website | http://benmaller.com |
Benjamin "Big Ben" Maller is an American sports radio host, for Fox Sports Radio where he hosts a program on weekend nights, and previously The Third Shift. Maller is also one the original sports bloggers, with his popular website BenMaller.com, Ben has broken numerous stories over the years. Pokey, pokey, pokey!
| Genre | Talk, sports |
|---|---|
| Running time | 1-6 AM (Eastern), 10 PM-3 AM (Pacific, 1-7 AM on Saturdays |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | KLAC |
| Syndicates | Fox Sports Radio |
| Starring | Ben Maller |
| Created by | Ben Maller |
| Produced by | Frank Pollack, Warren the Commish |
| Executive producer(s) | Miranda Moreno |
| Original release | August 2009 |
| Opening theme | "It's All About the Benjamins" by P. Diddy feat. Biggie Smalls |
| Website | BenMaller.com |
Early life
Maller grew up in Irvine, California [1] and attended Irvine High School.[2] The young Irvine student began to fall behind in school and consequently was placed in S.E.L.F. (Secondary Education Learning Facility, now known as Creekside High School), the city's alternative education program.[2] Nonetheless the S.E.L.F. enrolled student managed to play high school football for the town's University High School while enrolled at S.E.L.F.[2] Aside from playing football, the S.E.L.F. high school student also had an interest in sports journalism and broadcasting.[2] After finishing high school Maller enrolled in Saddleback College in the nearby city of Mission Viejo.[3] The Saddleback student continued his interest in sports broadcasting doing Gaucho men's basketball and football games on KSBR before landing a job as an AM sports radio journalist.
Maller also gained attention in 1992 for his invention of Clip Nuggets, a popular brand of fridge magnets that make noise. The media attention that he drew from his invention has since died down.
Broadcasting career
Some of his career highlights include being a reporter for XTRA Sports 690am in San Diego in the mid-1990s and co-hosting the Ben & Dave Show on XTRA Sports 1150 in LA (late-1990s) and the host of Dodger Talk in 1996 thru 2000. Maller joined Fox Sports Radio for the launch of the network in August 2001 as an update anchor/ weekend morning co-host.
Maller was the first local Los Angeles sports radio host to interview Mike Piazza after his trade from the Dodgers on May 15, 1998. [4]
Big Ben read the starting lineup of the visiting Padres at Dodger Stadium before a Dodgers game with San Diego on June 24, 1999, when PA announcer Mike Carlucci was stuck in traffic.[5]
Ben has been on the air at FSR during every Super Bowl since 2001. (except 2009) [6]
Worked on the Dodgers pre/postgame shows during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Co-Hosted “Dodger Talk” with Ross Porter. [7]
Maller has appeared in over 30 episodes of the "Sports List" on Fox Sports Net. [8]
Ben's radio audience has picked his favorite NFL team since 2007. The record hasn’t been great, but they do better the following year. 2007 Titans (10-6), 2008 Jets (9-7), 2009 Chiefs (4-12) and 2010 Cowboys (6-10). [9]
Maller hosted UCLA Bruins post-game football talk show after they blew a a ten point fourth quarter lead against Miami, FL on December 5, 1998 losing 49-45 as Edgerrin James ran for 299 yards and UCLA missed out on the BCS title game. [10]
In 2003, Ben signed a contract to be the "sports gossip guy," for FoxSports.com, providing daily sports rumors and notes. Maller was credited with helping FoxSports.com overtake ESPN.com in unique visitors for the first time in February 2007, according to Nielsen Net Ratings. [11]
In 2006, Maller became the host of The Third Shift on weeknights to replace Jorge Sedano, who left to do a show for WAXY, a local FSR affiliate in Florida.
On Saturday September 22, 2006, Ben, with Julio Flores, moved his Ben vs The Coin segment online, debuting with week 3 of the NFL on his MySpace page. Nearly two weeks later, with help from his brother, he also started offering the segment as a podcast, and on October 5 it became available through iTunes.
Maller has hosted shows with Terry Bradshaw, Jim Lampley, Tony Bruno, Jim Mora, Chris Myers, Dale Brown, James Washington, Tommy Lasorda, Ross Porter, Kevin Kennedy and many other sports stars.
On January 20, 2009, Maller and the rest of the Third Shift staff was fired as part of Clear Channel Communications' layoff of 1850 employees. He was re-hired on August 11, 2009. Maller claims to be the first person to report his firing as it was happening on Twitter. [12]
Maller became the first Southern California broadcaster to host a show on Boston's WEEI, Boston's No.1 rated sports radio station, when he filled in for Mike Adams on "Planet Mikey," in June 2009. [13]
On July 13, 2009, Maller announced that he was hired to be the U.S. correspondent for Radio Sport in New Zealand.
On August 11, 2009, Maller announced that he was returning to Fox Sports Radio after six months and 26 days off the air. Ben's show re-debuted on the weekends during the times of 1-6 AM ET on Saturdays and 2-6 AM ET Sundays. Regular show features include Trivia After Dark, Sports Jeopardy, Insta-advice Line, Coach-Player-Entertainer and Cowboy's Corner.
In May 2010, Ben led a march at Staples Center with fellow Clippers fan Clipper Darrell in an unsuccessful attempt to woo free agent Lebron James to the Los Angeles Clippers, as James took "[his] talents down to South Beach."
In December 2010, Maller announced to his fans that the Brooksider Bar & Grill in Kansas City, MO had named its chicken fingers after him. The "Big Ben Maller Chicken Fingers" are on the menu for $7.49. Then a few weeks later Big Ben reported the debut of the "Malzone," (a philly cheesesteak style Calzone) at Vito's Pizzeria in Syracuse, NY [14][15]
References
- ^ Maller, Ben (2002-03-08). "Friday Thoughts, Opinions and Notes". BenMaller.com. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Dauber, Bill (1993-05-06). "Site offers place to be themselves - EDUCATION: Irvine athletes find S.E.L.F. provides an alternative setting where they can make up credits and set goals". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) Cite error: The named reference "S.E.L.F." was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ Maller, Ben. "BenMaller.com: About Ben Maller". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-fun-facts/
- ^ http://www.e-gear.com/article/espncom-lost-its-long-held-lead-sports-web-traffic-wars-fox-sports-50035/1
- ^ http://twitter.com/benmaller/status/1134769164
- ^ http://audio.weei.com/a/22405587/big-ben-maller.htm
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/americas-best-new-food-creation/
- ^ http://benmaller.com/2011/01/ben-maller-chicken-fingers-a-kc-treat/