Wip

It's a list to make Philly sandwich lovers drool. Or is it a half-dozen lists rolled up into one chewer-friendly guide? WIP midday cohost Glen Macnow has finished his Hot Specialty Sandwich Safari - his sixth annual great-food hunt - and declared the top six that will face a panel of slobbering celebrity judges next Thursday. The public is invited to attend the event - and try free samples, starting about 11 a.m. - at the Fieldhouse, 11th and Filbert Streets, next to Reading Terminal Market.

A management shake-up is in the air at sports-talk station WIP-AM (610). Drew Hilles, who last month was appointed to oversee WIP and the four other local CBS/Infinity stations, is expected to announce today that Tim Sabean, program director at sister station WYSP-FM (94.1), will also work for WIP. Sabean's title and responsibilities were not known as of yesterday. Several station insiders said a staff meeting had been called for this morning, reportedly to announce the change and to address the role of WIP program director Tom Bigby.

At this point in time, it's almost beside the point to refer to WIP-FM (94.1) as a mere "radio station. " Sure, that's what it is, technically speaking. But a quarter-century after it first got involved with sports-related programming (while it was still on the AM dial), the outlet has established itself as something more than just another over-the-air outlet. Instead, it can be argued that WIP has become so embedded in the culture of the Delaware Valley that it has taken on the status of a public utility.

Chris Therien is in as the Flyers' color analyst on radio broadcasts. Brian Propp is out. Therien, a defenseman who played 11 seasons in two stints with the Flyers, has served as a hockey analyst on Comcast SportsNet's Post Game Live. He also was a part-timer on WIP-AM (610) and has done work for TSN and the NHL Network. "I'm thrilled to be part of the Flyers' family again," said Therien, after being hired by the team to join play-by-play announcer Tim Saunders for all games broadcast on WIP. "I want to make the fan know what the players are thinking and what the coach is saying in different situations.

Although the official word came Friday, employees at WIP (610/AM) were told Thursday afternoon that the radio station was on the block. Owned by the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corp., which purchased it from Metromedia earlier this year, WIP is being sold along with another Metropolitan property: WASH-FM in Washington, D.C. "A great deal of interest has been expressed in these two stations in recent months," said Carl C. Brazell Jr., Metropolitan's president. "We feel this is the optimum time to sell them and expect them to go at a premium price.

WIP (610/AM) went on the air today with a revised lineup that includes the latest addition to the station, Bill Campbell, formerly with WCAU (1210/AM). Ken Garland holds down the 5:30 a.m.-10 a.m. shift, followed by Bill Webber from 10 a.m. to noon. (Webber's time has been cut by two hours). From noon to 4 p.m. it's Steve Martorano, who used to man the 2 p.m.-to-5 p.m. shift. He's followed by "Pat Croce's Sports Medicine" from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Howard Eskin is still bending ears from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with his "Sports Talk" show, followed by "The Bill Campbell Show" from 6 to 8. Also, the "Matt Guokas Show" has changed times.

An offer he couldn't refuse is taking Chuck Cooperstein from WIP-AM back to Dallas. Cooperstein, WIP's host from 10 a.m. to noon for 16 months, will host the afternoon drive time at a new all-sports Dallas station. Cooperstein did his last show on WIP yesterday. At the Dallas station, Cooperstein also hopes to do some play-by-play, plus a Cowboys pregame show. Cooperstein, 34, hosted a nightly sports show in Dallas before switching to WIP. Skip Bayless, a former Dallas columnist who frequently is a guest on ESPN, will host the morning show on the Dallas station.

Ed Snider, the Comcast-Spectacor chairman who last year said, "obviously, we want no relationship with WIP," today has a new five-year marriage with his least favorite radio station. The Flyers and the CBS-owned station yesterday announced an agreement that will make 610-AM the NHL team's radio home through the 2002-03 season. If you think something isn't right with this picture, join the club. Snider, whose Comcast-Spectacor firm owns the Flyers, 76ers, Phantoms, CoreStates Center, CoreStates Spectrum and SportsNet cable outlet, and WIP have not been pals in recent years.

"The Daily News PM Edition" will end its three-year run on WIP radio (610-AM) with this evening's show. The show, featuring sports writers and columnists from the Daily News, was on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. "We've had three years of fun doing the show," said Daily News executive sports editor Mike Rathet. "But WIP is going in a direction that makes it difficult for us to remain partners. It was particularly difficult for us to agree on a schedule that worked for both the Daily News and WIP. I thought we parted amicably.

I've got some unsolicited advice for the owners of WIP-AM, Philadelphia's all-sports radio station: Bring back Bill Campbell. Bring back Tom Brookshier. Bring back some sanity. For months the jeerleaders who man WIP's microphones and their knuckle- headed callers have engaged in round-the-clock trashing of the Eagles, with special venom reserved for their coach Rich Kotite and their owner Norman Braman. I've never met either Kotite or Braman but I've had it up to here with relentless attacks on them.

Now the D.A. has weighed in on new video of a flamenco-dancing Andrew Bynum . The center, who blamed bad knees for not playing a single minute this season for the 76ers, is seen doing some fancy footwork with a couple of colorfully clad women in Spain. Have you seen the video? sports talker Angelo Cataldi asked District Attorney Seth Williams on 94 WIP's morning show. "I have, and I have to let you know it will be entered as Commonwealth Exhibit 1 in the fraud charges against him and the consumer protection charges against the Philadelphia 76ers," Williams replied.

The Phillies will play two exhibition games this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. Friday's game begins at 7:05 p.m. Ashburn Alley opens at 4:35 p.m. and gates open at 5:35. Friday's game will be on The Comcast Network. Saturday's game is 1:05 p.m., with Ashburn Alley opening at 10:35 a.m. and gates opening at 11:05 a.m. Saturday's game will be on PHL17. Both games will be on WPHT (1210-AM) and WIP (94.1-FM). Tickets are available for both games, at www.phillies.com or by calling 215-463-1000.

For the uninitiated, the curious and the quite confused (you know who you are . . . or maybe not), here's a rundown of the basics about Wing Bowl, disguised as a Q&A. What is Wing Bowl? It's an annual chicken-wing eating contest dreamt up by WIP morning-show cohost Al Morganti in 1993 so Eagles fans would have a reason to get excited the weekend of the Super Bowl. On radio, you'll hear the voluble voice of co-conspirator Angelo Cataldi as the master of ceremonies, with saner views from Rhea Hughes.

FIVE-TIME Wing Bowl champ Bill "El Wingador" Simmons will not be part of this year's 21st annual celebration of gluttony and strippers Feb. 1, says 94 WIP morning host, Angelo Cataldi. Simmons is awaiting trial on a charge of cocaine distribution following his arrest last June in Gloucester County. "We all owe a debt to Bill for what he has done for our event," Cataldi said Tuesday. "But I think for his benefit that his role be downplayed while he's working things out with the courts," continued Cataldi, who wrote a letter on behalf of Simmons for his bail hearing.

WHEN WAS the exact moment you knew the Birds season was done? Was it Michael Vick's Week 10 concussion, or LeSean McCoy's in Week 11? Was it back in October, when coach Andy Reid canned Juan Castillo? Or December, when making the playoffs became statistically impossible? For lots of fans, it was mid-November. That's when we turned on our computers/tablets/smartphones and watched a 22-year-old Drexel student walk around FDR Park singing, "We Are Never Ever Gonna Win With Andy" to the tune of Taylor Swift's hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Eagles fans are polarized over the surprise hiring of Chip Kelly as the successor to fired head coach Andy Reid. "Love it! Love it! It's a great surprise," said "Phil from South Jersey" on 97.5 The Fanatic. "This is disaster," said "Rich on a cell" on 94 WIP. " ... To get a college coach is pathetic. " Hosts on both stations were quickly wondering if the hire means quarterback Michael Vick would be back, given the University of Oregan coach's love of a fast-paced attack.

Local sports-talk radio is shifting gears - and getting ready to roll out a new set of wheels. At 6 p.m. Friday, WPEN-FM (97.5) became the only home for the Fanatic, as a Christian broadcaster took over the 950 AM spot. As of Jan. 2, WIP's full local lineup will be heard only at 94.1 FM, as owner CBS launches a new national sports radio network, airing in Philadelphia on 610 AM, the original home of WIP. Not that WIP is pulling out of AM entirely. "We can and will preempt national content for local programming," said WIP program director Jeff Sottolano.

IT WAS THE winter of our discontent. Let history show our beloved Eagles had reached a 14-year low. Our equally beloved Phillies were 4 months away from taking the field at Citizens Bank Park and, worse still, we had just learned that our most beloved player, Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz, had been suspended for the first 25 games of the season because of substance abuse. Our not quite so beloved Sixers were not reaching anywhere near their full potential, because their newly acquired savior, Andrew Bynum (for whom we paid a king's ransom)

The quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference men's and women's soccer tournaments were rescheduled because of the threat of bad weather from Hurricane Sandy. The women's quarterfinals, originally scheduled for Monday, will be played at noon Sunday at the higher seed. No. 2 Philadelphia University will host No. 7 Chestnut Hill, No. 6 Holy Family will travel to No. 3 Caldwell, No. 8 Felician will play at No. 1 Wilmington, and No. 5 Nyack will visit No. 4 Georgian Court.