Radio Wars - Bruno and Innes versus Missanelli

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As Philly sports fans settle down to a lackluster offering of Sixers, Flyers and Phillies games, the hottest competition right now involving Philly sports isn't in a stadium - it's on the radio.

This week, popular host Tony Bruno returned to where his sports radio career began at SportsRadio WIP, and along with polarizing co-host Josh Innes have taken over the station's afternoon 1:00-6:00 p.m. spot. Together, the pair hope to challenge current afternoon ratings leader Mike Missanelli over at 97.5 The Fanatic. Missanelli used to be a host on WIP before getting fired in 2006 after punching producer Brian Robbins during a live remote.

Who doesn't love this stuff! Crossing Broad has been covering the battle for radio supremacy, dubbing it "Radio Wars," and I have to admit I've been completely fascinated by all the drama and backstabbing these shifting hosts have brought to light.

So, let the trash talking begin!

On his show Tuesday, Missanelli fired the first shot, calling the duo of Bruno and Innes a "clown show."

Bruno responded by calling Missanelli's comments a cheap shot and thanked him for the free publicity, while Inness created a new hashtag for the conflict:

Innes also went after Missanelli over the punching incident:

"To me, the more clownish thing to do is to cold-cock your producer at a remote. That's more of a clownish thing to do than get on the air and laugh a little bit. Or have aspiring white rappers call your radio show and try to do rap songs about your stupid show."

Over at WIP, a shifting afternoon schedule has become the norm over the past four years. It all started back in September 2011, when longtime afternoon host Howard Eskin and former Eagles star Ike Reese were replaced with Fan favorite Anthony Gargano and long-time radio voice Glen Macnow.

Fast-forward to December 2013, when WIP swapped out Macnow and replaced him with Rob Ellis, who said at the time he was thrilled to work Gargano, who he considered "the voice of Philadelphia sports." While Macnow took the high-road at the time, earlier in the month he walked out during the middle of a live broadcast, telling listeners he was taking a hiatus.

Then in December 2014, after little more than a year together, Gargano and Ellis were split up after what was rumored to be a lowball contract offer to Gargano, who had been with the station for 15 years. According to Molly Eichel, Gargano also wasn't happy with the direction WIP was going in. There were rumors that he would move over to The Fanatic, but so far Gargano has been silent, save for some brief Chris Christie bashing on his Twitter account.

This left Ellis in limbo for nearly a month, before WIP made the announcement at Wing Bowl that Bruno and Innes would be taking over the afternoon spot. Unfortunately for Ellis, he apparently didn't find out about the move until he read about it on Crossing Broad.

So will WIP stick with Bruno and Innes for longer than a year? Can they cut into Missenali's large ratings lead? Will Innes alienate and annoy his new afternoon listeners? At least the moves offers Philly sports fans some level of drama while they wait for the Eagles to return.

--Rob Tornoe