Update, 6/28: Rosenberg was on WFAN earlier today and discussed, among many other things, the DUI case. Click here for the arrest report.
Original post, 4/13:
Popular Miami sports radio host Sid Rosenberg was fired earlier this week after being arrested on DUI charges. After news of his arrest broke on the Pulp last, details of the arrest came out and showed this was no ordinary drunk-driving stop -- according to police, Rosenberg was lying in the road, crying and trying to make himself vomit. An ugly scene indeed.
But it's an unusual situation for another reason -- not many accused drunk drivers have written books about their addictions. Rosenberg has spoken about his struggles with addiction on the air and in interviews for years, and the topic takes up a significant portion of his 2010 book, You're Wrong and You're Ugly.
If it happened the way police said it did, Rosenberg could have killed himself or somebody else on the roads. But the Pulp has published some mightily embarrassing things about him over the past week, and You're Wrong and You're Ugly helps paint a picture that's a little more complete.
It's got chapters with titles like "Maybe Getting Loaded Before That Press Conference Wasn't a Good Idea" and, mixed in with stuff about how he was almost in Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld and why Mike Golic is stupid, there are a lot of very personal insights into the balls-to-the-wall attitude that's sent him to multiple stints in rehab and lost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in sports betting.
Although he hasn't commented on the most recent incident, he tweeted "I WILL be back." (He also called a Twitter hater a "fucking dolt," but that's business as usual.)
Below are six selections from the book that give Rosenberg's take on his addictions -- to booze, to coke, to gambling -- and might actually help people who are going through this stuff. They're not the only discussions of addiction in the book, and it's available online if you want to read more.
The headings and brackets below are mine; all the rest of the words are his. I've added additional paragraph breaks because the book has massive chunks of text, and your eyes would hurt if I didn't.
1. Bipolar disorder and "full-speed ahead"
Can I be happy? No, I can't. I've gone to enough shrinks and therapists to figure this out. How could I possibly be happy? I have a gorgeous, beautiful, and doting wife. I've got two great children. I've made more than a million dollars. I had the best job in the world at WFAN, and I've had two great jobs since. I have great parents, family, and friends. [...]
They say in the meetings that when things are going really badly, that seems a good time to go and blow your brains out.
The scary part is that when things are going really, really well, it's also a great time to go out and blow your brains out.
That's kind of been me. I've been diagnosed bipolar, and I've had my share of ups and downs. I've never been able to find that middle ground. I've never done anything in moderation, including my job. My job is an 18-hour-a-day job. I never did drugs in moderation, I never gambled in moderation, I never drank in moderation. I have never done my show in moderation, either. With me, everything is full-speed ahead.
2. Working drunk
Throughout my life I've always been a recreational drug user -- a binge guy and a weekend warrior. Contrary to what some people think, I never once showed up for work--Imus or FAN or anywhere else -- drunk or on drugs. Ever.
Part of the reason I got into trouble with [Don] Imus was that I would call in at 5:00 or 6:00 am and say, "Hey, I'm really fucked up. I don't think I can come in today." Usually the recommendation was, "Just get here. Throw on a pair of sunglasses, take a shower, and just get to work." I just couldn't do it. I was so anxious and nervous because I knew I was fucked up. [...]
My MO was that once I went to rehab, it wasn't going to happen in front of my wife again. I wasn't going to do it in Florida. I wasn't going to come home after being out all night. If I was away for the Super Bowl for eight days or for the Pro Bowl or something like that, that's usually when I got into trouble. When I was away from home and in settings where there were parties, I couldn't help myself.
3. Drink of choice: all of them
I prefer vodka, but I'd drink anything. I'd drink scotch, I'd drink rum, I'll drink gin, I'll drink whatever the fuck you have, but vodka is my beverage of choice. And it makes me laugh; they go, "What kind of vodka do you want?" I'm like, "Are you kidding me?" They'd go, "You want Skyy Vodka, you want Absolut Vodka, you want Stolichnaya, you want Grey Goose?" Just give me the fucking vodka. I don't care if you give me Gordon's. Give me fucking vodka. I don't give a fuck.
4. His first trip to college
My stay at the University of Miami lasted only three months because all I did every single day was do coke and eat Cap'n Crunch. I never went to class. I went to Miami premed, got there in August and came home in November. I had lost almost 30 pounds.
5. On being told how successful he could have been
I hear the same thing in Miami. Hank Goldberg retires, this guy's leaving, that guy's leaving, you stay straight Sid, and in three years you'll be the biggest star in the history of Miami sports talk radio. I've heard it a million times from huge people in the business. But then I've derailed myself a couple million times.
6. Trying to help
When you go into rooms for meetings, a lot of these people are down on their luck. They've lost their wives, their kids, their homes, they have nothing. And they know who you are, and they know you've had a modicum of success.
I like talking to people. I think I'm a nice person; if I can help somebody I certainly will try. [...] On the air, it's a big joke. Off the air and in that situation I certainly try to tell them what I've been through and what could be in store for them if they don't get help. [...] But I never tell them what to do. I've fallen off the fucking thing a million times, a million. I'm nobody's example.
