WMVP-AM 1000’s afternoon soap opera, better known as the “Mac, Jurko&Harry” show, was missing something Monday.
There was no Mac.
And there was no Harry.
John Jurkovic did the show with evening hosts Marc Silverman and Carmen DeFalco.
Mac and Harry, played by Dan McNeil and Harry Teinowitz, were relegated to the penalty box after their latest on-air spat prematurely ended their Friday show and caused consternation among station officials.
WMVP program director Jeff Schwartz said the matter would be handled “in-house,” but he acknowledged that McNeil and Teinowitz would remain off the air for an undetermined length of time.
The two plan to meet Tuesday to try to patch up their differences. If the face-to-face session goes well, sports radio’s odd couple might return to their microphones before the end of the week.
Teinowitz tried to make light of the situation Monday, saying: “Don’t worry, Mac and I are fine. We’re headed to Barbados for one of these all-inclusive deals. We just want to get away from it all for a while.”
McNeil declined to comment, but on Sunday he posted some of his thoughts on a chicagosportsfan.com message board. “What happened Friday was the result of more than five years of differing opinions on how to be a professional, something I failed to do when certain buttons were pushed,” he wrote. “I apologize to all of our listeners who had to endure that churlishness and may have missed us for the final hour and 20 minutes.”
Although the latest incident occurred Friday, it stems from years of conflict. It’s the same conflict–usually light-hearted, often humorous–that has helped “Mac, Jurko&Harry” become the city’s top-rated sports show.
McNeil, the cynical, blue-collar former sportswriter, and Jurkovic, the former NFL defensive lineman (who had the day off Friday), like to ride Teinowitz and joke that he had a pampered upbringing.
So McNeil figured he had gold when he heard Teinowitz had called a producer early Friday afternoon and asked him to send down an intern to park his car. Teinowitz got caught in Blues Festival-related traffic and didn’t want to be late for the show’s 2 p.m. production meeting.
Some background: Mac, Jurko and Harry fine each other $20 for studio infractions, such as a ringing cell phone, with the money going to charity. McNeil will sometimes ask a producer to try to bust Teinowitz by calling his cell phone, but one time Teinowitz asked a producer to call McNeil’s cell and was rebuffed.
Midway through their Friday show, McNeil mentioned how Teinowitz had asked for help getting his car parked, saying he sought “special treatment.”
Teinowitz replied there was a “double standard” at the show, and the argument escalated, starting with a couple of graphic, off-color exchanges.
Finally McNeil said: “When we return, one of us will be here.”
The off-air scene was described as ugly, with McNeil and Teinowitz exchanging insults but no punches.
The station ran commercials for about 10 minutes, during which Schwartz decided to end the show. At around 5:40, Silverman and DeFalco took over, with Silverman saying McNeil and Teinowitz “are starting their weekend early.”
In his chicagosportsfan.com post, McNeil wrote: “There is no double standard, no need for me to check my ego at the door. What needs to happen is for our management team to stand up and directly establish ground rules and definitions of roles. I am optimistic they can do that … I have learned to live with on-air idiocy, but there are things that occur behind the curtain [that] none of us, not just me, will accept.”
McNeil and Teinowitz have feuded before. In 2002 they were suspended after a shoving match delayed their show.
“It was an exciting time for the band,” McNeil later joked.
But station officials are no longer amused. McNeil and Teinowitz spent part of Monday explaining their actions to human-resources staffers. Another on-air incident could send the show into oblivion.
There’s no evidence to support it, but some will wonder if the conflict was staged to garner attention or drive ratings.
“I wish it was,” Schwartz said sarcastically.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
