Dan Sileo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dan Sileo (born March 1, 1966 in Stamford, Connecticut) is a sports radio wannabe shock jock and a meathead. Before his current career, he was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and briefly with the Dallas Cowboys. The latter two teams saw him participate only in preseason games. He played just one year for the Buccaneers, the strike shortened season of 1987.

Sileo transferred many times during his college career starting at Maryland, then Cincinnati and finally to University of Miami Hurricanes. He teamed with Bill Hawkins, Danny Stubbs, and Jerome Brown to form the defensive line. He was All-American honorable mention.

Sileo ran out of his five-year eligibility for NCAA play after the 1986 season. On September 6, 1987, two days after the NCAA deemed him ineligible, Sileo claimed he was a free agent (since he was not in the 1986 NFL Draft) and signed with the Buccaneers. The NFL declared the contract invalid and put him in the 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft. Although Sileo initially sued the NFL and the Bucs to honor his original contract [1], he eventually submitted to the Supplemental Draft, where the Bucs selected him in the third round. Sileo spent his entire NFL career as a backup and special teams player and as a general chump. The only regular season games he played in were during the 1987 season. He was a bust.

Sileo is an admitted former anabolic steroid user, and this is a highly probable reason his production never lived up to expectations at the NFL level. Drug testing in the NFL has since become highly aggressive and effective. He eventually played for the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football in 1992, and the Las Vegas Sting of the Arena Football League in 1994 to wrap up his pro football career.

[edit] Radio career

Sileo's radio career includes working in San Francisco on KNBR 680 and The Ticket 1050. He then moved back to Tampa and hosted a morning sports talk show on WDAE. In 2001, he moved to Fox Sports Radio, where he hosted a short-lived 4am-8am program.

In September 2002, Sileo moved back to Florida, and debuted on 740 The Team in Orlando. His program, The Dan Sileo Show began airing from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. eastern, with an emphasis on hot topic issues such as race, drugs, and other sports scandals, as well as a typical morning wrap-up of the previous day's events. Callers make up a significant part of the show. He frequently references his collegiate football past with the University of Miami and NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, readily admitting mistakes he made during both school and his career, and is particularly tough on current players whom he believes are going down the same path he did. In 2004, his program on WQTM began syndication on 620 WDAE in Tampa, where his unabashed support for the New York Yankees has been poorly received by area Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans (both MLB teams play in the same division). For a short time in 2004, the program was syndicated on WINZ 940 AM in Miami. On weekends, Sileo also has worked as an analyst on Westwood One radio.

Sileo's program began syndication on WNLS in Tallahassee in October 2007.

Sileo continues to support the Yankees, and in a rare moment drew on-air fire from fellow 620 WDAE host Steve Duemig (9/2007). Callers that attempted to expand their criticism of Sileo were cut off by Duemig, who did not want to turn the program into a "bash session."

In December 2007, 740 the Team began a format change. Sileo announced on-air that he had signed a new contract extension with Clear Channel to continue his show, but it would move down the dial to NewsRadio 540 WFLA. In mid-December 2007, the transition began and the show was simulcast on 540. Meanwhile, longtime Sileo (and the previous morning show Clarke & Davis) producer Simon (David Luke) was fired from WQTM. In January 2008, WQTM switched to a Spanish-language format, and The Dan Sileo Show settled into its new permanent home at NewsRadio 540 WFLA.

In March 2008, Sileo was terminated by AM 930 "The Fox."

[edit] References

• www.sileoradio.com
• 740 The Team
• Sileo late career [2]