THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Mariners' radio waves anything but smooth in Seattle

I’m borrowing a famous regional phrase. 

My. 

Oh. 

My. 

We’re doing a different kind of column today, mostly so you can catch up on a squabble within the Seattle and Northwest sports media. 

If you’ve watched any Mariners games on ROOT or MLB.TV, you’re already involved here. 

The guy who started all the fuss was Marc James, midday host of a show on 93.3 KJR-FM. 

James, who has used different names in other markets, hit our part of the country in February and already risks a wave of unpopularity. 

But that’s exactly what he wants, trading on the notion that a few people will love him, but a vast majority will not. 

Unpopularity will get your name out there, and in this era of social media, that’s golden.

James spent a good chunk of Tuesday’s show making fun of Mariner color analyst Ryan Rowland-Smith’s Australian accent. 

James also teed up Luke Arkins, who writes “Mariner Consigliere” on Substack — and who had been a guest on that same show. 

Here’s the aftermath, courtesy of Tim Booth at the Seattle Times: 

“On X (formerly Twitter) Arkins made note of the comments James made about Rowland-Smith, calling them ‘offensive, unprofessional and unacceptable,’ while also noting he wouldn’t be a guest on the show in the future. 

“James responded to Arkins’ comment, calling him the ‘worst guest’ he’s ever had and threatening to keep him off other shows in the future.” 

NOT SURE exactly how James could pull that off. 

We’ll just take it as hot air, but it WAS out there in public. 

FYI, Rowland-Smith and Arkins are both really good guys, and exceptionally knowledgeable about the game they cover. 

Rowland-Smith, who is nicknamed “Hyphen” by players and others around the Mariners organization, is a former major league pitcher. 

His immediate reaction to being ripped was simple. 

Referring to James, Rowland-Smith posted: “Who? I’ve honestly never head of this dude.” 

That wasn’t the end of it, though. 

Not even close. 

Rowland-Smith found references to James on Deadspin, discovering that he’d been suspended for inappropriate conduct with a woman in Boston, and fired in Atlanta. 

Hyphen added on X: “You gotta do better than that, mate (except that he drew the word ‘mate’ out to about 15 letters as a nod to his accent).”    

Apologies, I had to get that in print, because James reminds me of so many radio mouthpieces who try to make names for themselves by insulting people they don’t even know, then firing up a “dispute” by uncovering a listener who agrees with them. 

James, who on his radio show Thursday apologized to Rowland-Smith, probably doesn’t care what anyone connected to the Mariners feels about him. 

He’s going for an audience that is pretty much angry at everything. 

OH, AND he wants to reach the type of good ol’ boys who have been laughing because Brett Favre sent those naked pictures of himself to an employee of the Jets. 

Favre denies everything, of course, just as he denies all guilt in the missing money scandal down in Mississippi. 

Brett is going with deny, deny, deny. 

Never mind that the lady in question has the photos, and prosecutors in Mississippi have his incriminating emails. 

Favre is hoping his popularity as a Hall of Famer (and “Son of the South”) will get him off the hook. 

Back in Seattle, Marc James eventually will get himself in big trouble. 

Guys like him always do, flying too close to the sun until they get fried. 

In the affair that got him fired in Boston, James claimed that the offending texts sent to a woman who absolutely did not want them were, uh, punched into his phone by someone else — some stranger who magically turned up in possession of his phone.  

Sure. 

Let’s wrap up this sorry tale with a quote from Mariners play-by-play announcer Aaron Goldsmith. 

“Two class acts,” Goldy said of Arkins and Rowland-Smith. 

“Lucky to have them.” 

Email: [email protected] 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”