Triv Wigs Out

When the OMWMobile car radio dropped in on Clear Channel Cleveland talker WTAM/1100 this afternoon, we heard the Gang of Triv doing his afternoon show...without afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno present.

So, we figured it was yet another Triv Vacation. After all, the guy has long since passed the late Johnny Carson in the amount of vacation time he gets, so it wasn't a surprise to hear only co-host Kim Mahalik and producers Paul Rado and Marty Allen doing the show without him. And then... we heard them toss to the station's "SkyChief Traffic and Weather Together"...with...Mike Trivisonno.

Yep, apparently Triv had become so ticked by dealing with various callers weighing in on the Cleveland Indians' playoff situation - and what would happen if teams tied up at the end of the year - that he decided to go visit Pat Butler in the station's traffic center, and eventually, take over for him.

It was actually pretty funny, believe it or not. And aside from OMW wincing at Triv messing with the station's core service elements - by making up extravagant fake traffic problems, like the Shoreway under water or I-271 disappearing - we suppose people would immediately discount such items coming out of Triv's mouth. The problem, of course, is that those who NEED those service elements have to sort through his attempts at humor, and it undermines the station's credibility as an information source.

But what really made OMW gasp was a remark aimed at former WTAM "SkyChief" airborne traffic reporter Rick Abell, now cruising the skies in the WOIO "19 Action News" chopper in drive times. Triv joked that he was going on so long that he would be doing "a 27 minute traffic report", then commented that it would turn him into Rick Abell. For her part, Mahalik added that "you mean a long, rambling traffic report with commentary" (or something very similar to that wording). Triv tossed back: "Yeah, that's why he's no longer here".

Ouch.

It's almost enough to make OMW set the TiVo for the "19 Action News" morning show tomorrow, to hear if Rick has any reply to Triv...