CBS Sports Network is an underrated bastion of great sports programs from the Jim Rome Show to We Need to Talk to CBS Sports HQ Spotlight, but no program shines more than the show whose host’s name is a homonym for shine. Time to Schein hosted by Adam Schein is the ultimate in incisive and opinionated sports programming.
First off, I love the open to the show – a colorful burst of animation showing Schein in an arcade playing different games with a smile as wide as his eyes. This is a perfect way to describe his approach to sports. Schein is just having a grand time exploring different plots on the sports landscape.
This vociferous dude has no limits or boundaries. Schein is a real sports fan who clearly knows how lucky he is to be making a living talking about his passion. Schein is just different. He doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter, garden variety sports commentator model.
When at the start of the show, Schein says, “Buckle up buttercup, we’re ready to shine,” you are about to be bombarded with an explosive barrage of sports opinion and commentary.
Schein is a television anathema. He does not look the part of the traditional macho, square-jawed TV sports guy, nor is he a new wave commentator sporting Crocs, a ponytail and beach attire.
His bellowing voice is more ring announcer than studio host. You are not going to see him on the cover of GQ, and his eyeglasses are more suited to a library than a locker room, but Adam Schein might just be the coolest cat on TV. Call it Nerdish Vogue.
Schein is more substance than style and more depth than drip. This guy brings heart, soul, love, anger, outrage and emotion to every production. He is fearless, accurate and pure adrenaline on TV. Schein does not mince words.
On the January 16 episode of Time to Schein, he unleashed a tenacious tongue lashing against the Philadelphia Eagles after their loss to Tampa Bay. Schein used words like collapse, atrocious, disinterested, trainwreck, putrid, losers and fraudulent. “Fly Eagles fly?” he asked. “More like, die Eagles, die.”
Schein humorously apologized to viewers for showing a graphic of the Eagles’ recent defensive statistics. He is dedicated and diligent in his preparation, but the truth is, Schein doesn’t care. He doesn’t care what players or teams think of his commentary. He doesn’t care if people resent the words he uses, and he doesn’t care what you think about what he thinks. He is going to give you real talk.
Schein is not out to overtly offend people just to make headlines. He does what he does with intelligence and flair. You are going to get the straight dope from a guy who is anything but a dope. He will also make you laugh. In his further analysis of the Eagles’ late season collapse, he said they gave up 400 yards to Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor, which is illegal in most states.
He also called Eagles defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, “the bearded face of failure in the NFL.” Funny stuff from a truly glib guy. Schein is not merely a Ricklesesque insulter. When the switch flipped to talking about the Buffalo Bills, he was just as articulate in a positive way stating, “Josh Allen is a mythical creature. He is a combination of John Elway meets Paul Bunyan meets Greg Maddux meets Nolan Ryan meets Santa Claus meets Superman.”
Honestly, you just don’t see this type of language and delivery very often in today’s sports television. Schein, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, and FS1’s Emmanuel Acho lead the pack in effective use of vocabulary.
If you check out Time to Schein, watch Schein’s hands as he speaks. Nobody has had more hand movements since Pete Maravich’s last no look pass or Anna Kendrick’s rendition of Cups in Pitch Perfect.
Schein’s enthusiasm busts through the screen, and it’s legit. Watching him is like sitting in on a therapy session. We basically get to observe a man getting all of the sports angst off his chest. This dude must have no stress because he represses nothing. In this light, Adam Schein is the Sultan of Sports Self-awareness.
And Schein loves veering from conventional wisdom. While most commentators have stated that ex-Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would be better off going to a contending team, Schein said that he feels Belichick and the Atlanta Falcons are a perfect match. He went so far as to say that Belichick could win a championship in Atlanta.
Certainly, Schein is all about telling you what he thinks about a given topic, but he always includes factual tidbits with his opinions. When talking about the Dallas Cowboys, he said that Mike McCarthy is now the first NFL head coach ever to win 12 games in three straight seasons without making it to a conference title game.
Time to Schein is not the only venue for this talent, and while no one would mistake him for the Godfather of Soul, he might just be the hardest working man in sportscasting.
Schein does an expert job as host of CBS Sports Network’s NFL Monday QB with ex-NFL signal callers Steve Beuerlein, Trent Green and Boomer Esiason, and That Other Pregame Show where he lays back and sets up a bevy of analysts including Kyle Long, Amy Trask, Brock Vereen, Jonathan Jones, Jeff Ratcliffe and Katie Mox.
Schein, a New York native and Syracuse grad, is also a columnist for NFL.com and hosts Schein on Sports every weekday on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio.
In fact, Schein’s was the first voice ever heard on SIRIUS NFL Radio upon its debut in August of 2004. He remains one of the foundational personalities for the satellite radio juggernaut.
In describing his work, Schein once told me, “If you are going to be opinionated, you better know what you’re talking about. This is not a shtick. My big game is the next day’s show. I subscribe to the POKE theory, which stands for Passion, Opinion, Knowledge and Entertainment. I want to take listeners on a ride where we all will be entertained and learn something.” Schein knows a juicy story when he sees one and pounces on it with intensity, power, and vigor. So, if you are up for that ride, climb aboard. But be advised, with Adam Schein as your tour guide, the road might get rocky, so as he would say, buckle up buttercup.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
