Mike Valenti is a radio commentator based in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He hosts ''The Mike Valenti Show with Rico'' (Formerly ''The Valenti and Foster Show'' and ''Sports Inferno'') weekday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on

WXYT-FM WXYT-FM (97.1 MHz "97-1 The Ticket") is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, serving Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located in th ...

97.1. His co-host for 13 years was Terry Foster, who retired in April 2017.

Career

Valenti entered radio as a producer of ''Mad Dog & Company'' and also co-hosted the ''Spartan Tailgate Show'' at

WVFN WVFN ( 730 AM, "The Game") is a radio station licensed to East Lansing, Michigan, broadcasting a sports format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 730 kHz and is under the ownership of Townsquare Media. 730 AM is a Mexican and Canadian clear-chan ...

730 AM in Lansing, Michigan. In 2002, Valenti was hired as producer of ''SportsPage'' with Jack and Tom on 92.7

WQTX WQTX (92.1 FM, "Stacks 92.1) is a radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format to the Lansing, Michigan radio market. Licensed to St. Johns, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1972, and has been through a number of dif ...

. In early 2004, Valenti would then be hired as co-host of ''The Sports Inferno'' alongside Terry Foster, mid-days on 1270 WXYT in Detroit. In March 2009 Valenti caused controversy after reading a couple jokes about Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, who was lost at sea and is presumed dead. Valenti while on air, read a couple distasteful "ticket texts" poking fun at Smith's disappearance. With 97.1 being the team's flagship station, he apologized on air the next day. In December 2013 Valenti received severe burns to his face while dining at a steakhouse in Birmingham, Michigan. Valenti appeared on The Ford Lions Report on Sunday Mornings during the NFL regular season, during pro football fantasy team reports, and the Lions pre game show. The Lions didn't renew their contract with 97.1 The Ticket for 2016 opting for a 5-year contract with WJR. Valenti's agent Mort Meisner reported the Lions wanted Valenti fired in order to renew with 97.1 The Ticket. "It's absolutely true, 100 percent of it," Mike Valenti said about allegations the Lions left 97.1 The Ticket because they didn't like his criticism of the team. Valenti was re-signed by 97.1 The Ticket to a multi-year deal in April 2016.

Retirement of Terry Foster

Longtime broadcaster Terry Foster announced his retirement from the ''Valenti & Foster'' show on April 20, 2017 after over 13 years together. Foster cited the two strokes suffered in 2016 for the sudden retirement.

The Rant

On Monday, September 25, 2006, following a Michigan State University football loss against Notre Dame—a game in which his alma mater blew a sixteen-point fourth-quarter lead—Valenti went off on a twelve-minute on-air tirade ripping into the

Spartans Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

for their poor showing. Highlights of the rant featured Valenti saying the Spartans "handed he gameaway like a nice three-button coat at the Salvation Army," that they "choked on applesauce," and his plea to then-head coach John L. Smith to recognize that "timeouts are not like cell phone minutes—they don't carry over!" Valenti also included scathing criticism of offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin's decision to have

Drew Stanton Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

"run the option in Hurricane Katrina," and a desire for defensive coordinator Chris Smeland to be replaced by H. R. Pufnstuf with Teddy Ruxpin as his assistant. The meltdown was covered in an article in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' where it was deemed "the single finest rant ever heard on sports talk radio."

Always Aggravated with Mike Valenti Podcast

In November 2018 Valenti and Valenti Show Producer Mike Sullivan announced that they will be debuting the ''Always Aggravated with Mike Valenti'' Podcast on Radio.com, iTunes and other podcast providers. The debut episode was released on November 14, 2018, and is released weekly on Wednesday mornings. In August 2019, Valenti introduced another football and gambling focused podcast called ''Cash the Ticket.''

The "Stoney and Wojo Invitational"

July 18, 2018, Valenti welcomed other 97.1 The Ticket radio personalities Mike "Stoney" Stone and Bob "Wojo" Wojnowski to do a 64-team bracket style tournament for Valenti Show radio bits and songs. The tournament was held again in 2019, but canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to most of the station’s hosts working from home because of COVID-19. The tournament returned in 2022. * 2018 Champion - "Let the Bitch Walk" - Terry Foster * 2019 Champion - "Old Guy Bit" - Mike and Sully * 2022 Champion - "Dan, That's a Big Ask" - Lomas Brown

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenti, Mike 2006 in American football American sports radio personalities Living people Year of birth missing (living people)