I always found MacDonald’s Weekend Update to be the funniest of all of the version’s SNL has put out over the years and he still seems about as funny as ever in the following interview.

The show debuts at 10:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Norm MacDonald joined KILT in Houston with Marc Vandermeer and John Lopez to discuss the excitement surrounding the show, the show’s premise, the need to stay up to date with the most recent sports topics, people who walk down the street and call him Turd Ferguson and who else will help him make sure the show is funny.

Gauging his excitement for “Sports Show with Norm MacDonald” on Comedy Central:

“I’m thrilled. I love sports. I’ve done politics shows before, but I don’t know anything about politics.”

On putting a little “Weekend Update” spin on it like he did back on Saturday Night Live:

“Yeah. We’re just going to try to pump as many jokes as we can into the half hour. And then we’re going to have guests come on, like either athletes or celebrities, to talk about sports. There’s a lot of guys that have funny opinions on sports.”

How he’ll have to keep up with current events to keep it original and funny:

“Definitely. We’ve got to be ready. That’s what’s fun about it. LeBron’s mom, we’ll have to figure out a joke for her. I guess we could say she took her talents to South Beach, but that would be too simple I suppose.”

Is there anything funny about the NFL lockout?:

“It’s bad. It’s not good for the show, either. … I’m the real victim.”

Does it bother him when people come up to him and want to hear him do some of his old impressions from SNL?:

“I can’t really do impressions. People think I can, but it’s because they put you in a mask of the guy and it’s pretty easy. I wrote that Celebrity Jeopardy just so I could do Burt Reynolds, but one time I did a joke where Burt Reynolds decided to change his name and call himself Turd Ferguson. A lot of times, I’ll just be walking down the street and they’ll just go ‘Hey Turd!’ And I’ll be like ‘Thank you.’”

Who else is a part of the staff for the show?:

“It’s all dependent upon the writing. I got a couple of guys that did Weekend Update with me, a couple of guys from the great David Letterman Show. Mostly it’s just the four of us pounding it out every day, watching sports.”

Listen to Norm MacDonald on KILT in Houston here

A no-holds-barred, less-censored O’Brien is a great thing!  It means a return to the Conan everyone fell in love with when he was on the “Late Show”, not what we saw on “The Tonight Show” when he had to tweak his routine to appeal to the more conservative, mainstream audience of the show he inherited.  As to how successful this stint will be, remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain.  Conan belongs on late night TV and he will be here for quite some time.

Conan O’Brien joined WQXI in Atlanta to talk about what is going to be new about ‘Conan’ on TBS, the notion that TBS is going to give him a lot of leeway, and whether there was a time while he was going through the drama with NBC that he thought was surreal.

What is going to be new about ‘Conan’ on TBS:

“Absolutely nothing.  We are going to do the same old crap.  There is nothing like over-hyping the same old thing.  So tune in…  I think what is going to be different, first of all, I think there is going to be a different spirit, a little bit, slightly because of what I have been through in the last year and so I have a little bit of a let’s-go-for-it-what-have-I-got-to-lose attitude, and also TBS, these guys are saying, ‘Look, we want you to do whatever you want to do and no holds barred.’  I think they are going to mean it for at least three shows.  Then they are going to step in.”

On the notion that TBS is going to give him a lot of leeway:

“Yes, the one thing I think is indicative of what is happening so far is the promotion that I have done for this new show.  They literally said to me, ‘What do you want to do for an ad?’ and I said, what I would like to do is pack a 1969 Dodge Dart with popcorn, fireworks, explosives, and drive it off a cliff.  And they said, ‘What cliff? And where?’  Like do it and we did it and we shot it and they have been showing it in movie theaters and television, and that is a new experience for me, where I say, I come up with a crazy idea and people say ‘Let’s do it!  What have we got to lose?’  That is just making the promos with these guys.”

On the success of his comedy tour after the drama with NBC and how the majority of the people had his back:

“Yeah it was really nice, and again, I was always careful to make it clear that, look I’ve had my problem, but I’m fine.  I’m good and life is good and there are people that have real problems out there so I don’t want to complain and let’s turn this into something positive and that is what the tour was all about, was, I can do this thing that I wouldn’t have ever been able to do otherwise which was go from town to town and make a complete fool of myself.”

Whether there was a time during the ‘Late Night’ show that a skit was written and he thought it would “bomb” but became a hit:

“Oh god, more than half the things you try.  Comedy is not a science.  Comedy is just trying things and seeing what happens.  It’s just like finding a stud in the wall, you know, and you are just like, ‘Uh maybe?  Uh, I don’t know.’  We knew that Triumph, who would ever think that a rubber puppet that is insulting people, and a woman’s Russian accent would hit as big as it did?  That was a huge surprise.  The thing with the lips that we did on the show, the clutch car goes over the years.  There is no reason in the year 2000 that should work.  It was two idiots holding flashlights in front of their faces and predicting stupid things about the future that actually is the past.  I would say most of the things that have been successful for us have been complete accidents.”

Whether there was a time while he was going through the drama with NBC that he thought it was surreal:

“Yes, it wasn’t just while it was happening.  I mean, for, I still find it surreal now.  Here it is months later and I still occasionally turn to my wife and say, ‘Did that really just happen?  What was that?’  I mean it is a little like being in a car accident.  When you are in it you react quickly, you get your family, you get to the side of the road, you call 911, you do all these things out of shear adrenaline and energy and then later on, three weeks later, you flip out, and I think that’s what this was to a certain degree.”

Conan O’Brien on 790 the Zone in Atlanta with Mike Bell

Well, he’s back. Kilborn’s new 30 minute show, The Kilborn File, which will be similar in format to your typical late night comedy show, premieres later this month on FOX. Interestingly enough, it airs during dinner between 6:30 and 7:00. Smart move. Hard to compete late night, whereas you just have to beat Jeopardy and Seinfeld re-runs early in the evening before primetime gets underway.

Anyway, Kilborn joined WXYT in Detrot to talk about his magical run at ESPN, what people can expect from The Kilborn File beginning later in June, what he thinks of ESPN these days, what he thinks LeBron should and will do this summer, and jokingly, whether or not he would have any interest in coaching the hoops program (his favorite sport) at Montana State, his alma mater.

On his time at ESPN:

“I had a great time at ESPN. I’m a big sports fan, specifically pro basketball. but I’m also a big comedy fan, so I was working in Salinas, California – local market 110, because the markets are numbered – a beautiful place up near Pebble Beach. And I wanted to go down to do comedy down in L.A. but I got the opportunity to do Sports Center. So I made sure to write lots of jokes, but I had a blast there. I was there three years and it was a great time.”

On what The Kilborn File is going to be like:

“It’s a half hour show. So I used to do late night, and I walked away and my buddies call me the architect of early retirement. It was kind of a joke, I just walked away and didn’t explain it because I don’t think people would understand. But you know, there’s a little bit of silliness to the entertainment industry, there’s a little bit of dysfunction to late night – I think we saw that with the Conan and the Jay thing. So I really enjoyed my time off, but I always thought if the right opportunity came along I would do it again. And what we’re doing is with late night as crowded as it is, I wanted to carve out my own niche in a different area, dinner time. So we’re on at 6:30 in LA and New York, 7:30 here in Detroit, trying to be the first comedy show of that kind in that dinnertime time period, you know?”

On if he agrees that ESPN has lost some of its touch in recent years as they continue to do more and more hype and promotion rather than just showing sports games and highlights:

“Yeah, I used to watch it so I could get my highlights and not have to watch the 2 1/2 hour game. But now I can get highlights anywhere on the internet. You know, I can go to NBA.com and watch highlights. But I don’t know, it changes, I think when I was there, they let me do comedy, and then I think they wanted to kind of pull back a little bit after I left. But it’s still a huge money maker for ABC and Disney. ESPN does well worldwide.”

On what he thinks LeBron James should decide to do with his future this summer:

“I think he should leave. He’s done his part. I do know they might be going after Izzo as the coach. If he went to Chicago and teamed up with Derrick Rose…you’ve got to go somewhere where there’s talent. I remember K.G. [Kevin Garnett], I’m from Minnesota and he was with the ‘Wolves for a long time, they could never win a championship, they got to the Western Conference Finals once. That was the year I think when the Pistons won. But he got fortunate where he got to play with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. So if LeBron does go to the Knicks, they don’t have the talent, so it may even be worse than Cleveland. Cleveland, I cannot believe they had the best record in the East the past two years. I can’t believe they didn’t get to the Finals.”

On if he has any plans to try coach hoops at his alma mater, Montana State:

“I got to tell you, my dad told me when I was in high school – I was a very slow, white ball player and I still am – he said you’re not going to make it. Because kids dream about these things. Mike Montgomery recruited me to go to Montana but I went to Montana State. Mike Montgomery is now at Cal, used to be at Stanford and the coach of the Warriors. He said he was the 12th man at some Division II school; he said he dreamed about playing in the NBA. You just kind of dream. My dad told me in high school you’ll never make it in the NBA. So I never thought about going into coaching, I thought about going into broadcasting, like with Chick Hearn doing play-by-play, the voice of the Lakers, voice of the team. Because coaching to me is so depressing when you lose. If you’re a broadcaster, you can just ‘ahh, the team didn’t win.’ You go out and have a cocktail, you’re okay. But I just think it seems too stressful to be a coach.”

Listen here to Kilborn on the Morning Show on WXYT in Detroit

Christopher Mintz-Plasse joined Dan Patrick to talk about living with his parents, what he thinks about the Celtics this season, and whether he really had to have his parents on the set of ‘Super Bad’ for the sex scene.

Whether he still lives with his parents:

“Oh yeah, one-hundred percent.”

When he thinks living with his parents becomes uncool:

“Three years ago…  I am saving money by being here.”

Whether living at home helps him with the ladies:

“No, of course not.”

In the course of the day how often he goes unrecognized as McLovin:

“In the course of a day?  Let’s see.  If I go out, then I  get recognized anywhere.  That is what happens.”

What he thinks about the Celtics this season:

“Oh man we have been looking not too well the last couple of months.  But I have faith.  What is that really corny phrase?  ‘I bleed green.’  Is that what they say in Boston?  I bleed green I guess.  I have faith in them.  I think that they can do it in the playoffs.”

Whether he has ever had on-set romances:

“Not.  No, Net yet.  There was no really love interest in this movie or a guy for me to hang out with.  The only girl was eleven years old so I stayed away from that.”

Whether he really had to have his parents on the set of ‘Super Bad’ for the sex scene:

“Yes, three years ago.  I haven’t heard that question for a while.  Yes they had to be there.  It was illegal for me to have a fake sex scene if my parents weren’t there so she had to watch her son do the dirty deed.”

Whether he messed up the sex scene a little bit so that he can do multiple takes of the scene:

“No, that is the thing about sex scenes.  People think they are awesome but they are very uncomfortable because you don’t really know the girl that well and there is fourteen dudes kind of standing around with lights and cameras just watching you.  It’s very awkward.”

Whether people take cell phone pictures of him and if he is ever nervous about what they are taking pictures of:

“Yeah I am not really a club guy.  I am not a Hollywood scene guy.  I don’t go out and have drugs popping out my shoes or something like that, but it does make me uncomfortable when people shove cell phones in my face taking pictures and not asking.  It is kind of invasion of personal space.  But that is what you do when you are in a movie that is what you get.”

Christopher Mintz-Plasse on the Dan Patrick Show

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi joined WIP in Philadelphia with Angelo Cataldi to talk about what it is like to all of a sudden be famous, whether getting punched in the face is a bad thing to be known for, whether she has a romance-thing going on with “The Situation”, and whether they are going to be doing a 2^nd season of Jersey Shore.

What it is like to all of the sudden be famous:

“I always knew that I was a big deal so I was waiting for everyone else to know it. So it is awesome. I love it.”

How she managed to get selected to be on Jersey Shore:

“Look at me. Duh! It is not a big deal. Just look at me… You know what I actually went drunk to my audition so it didn’t make me nervous so I think that is why I got on.”

On her wanting to leave right at the beginning of the show:

“Yeah it is embarrassing. Like I told myself, well I didn’t see myself but I knew that I screwed up and I was really embarrassed. I stuck it out and thank god that I did because if I left there wouldn’t be a show.”

Whether getting punched in the face is a bad thing to be known for:

“Honestly I haven’t really thought about it. Obviously it was like a bad situation that happened but if you are going to be recognized for anything at least I get punched in my face and still look good. I just got a steel, frickin’ jaw and I don’t care what anybody says but I still look good. Just shut up.”

What happened to the guy that punched her:

“I don’t know. People tell me that he lost his job and all of this stuff. Honestly I don’t care. He tried to apologize like through a magazine. It wasn’t directed towards me and it doesn’t really mean anything to me. Honestly I don’t even care. For all I care he could jump off a cliff.”

On her make-out session with “The Situation” during the last episode:

“Well you don’t need to know what happened but I told him to tie my top because it felt loose. Obviously, I had a couple of drinks in me and he just let it go. Whatever.”

Whether she has a romance-thing going on with “The Situation”:

“No. Well he is like my best friend. He is like one of those guys that you can hook up with him and it won’t be awkward the next day… Everybody has one of those friends that if you hook up it won’t be weird the next day. It wont be weird like when you know you go to an office party and you hook up with somebody and you see each other the next day and you don’t know what to say to each other. You know it is not like that. We are normal.”

Whether they are going to be doing a 2^nd season of Jersey Shore:

“It is being talked about right now and I am definitely down for doing a second season.”

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi on WIP in Philly with Angelo Cataldi

Dice has had some bumps in the road in his claim to fame.  After a live comedy appearance on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, he received a lifetime ban due to his “offensive” jokes and profane language. That was a huge hole to get out of for anyone trying to be mainstream in the 80′s and 90′s. MTV was king for the TV nation. The controversy continued the following year when Clay’s booking as the guest host on the final show of the season of “Saturday Night Live” caused cast member Nora Dunn to boycott the show in protest of his remarks about women. Dunn never returned to the cast, but Clay’s gig was pretty much up as well. He disappeared for several years, returning in the mid-1990s trying to become a TV sitcom star. He tried several times to get back into the TV and Movie world but it just never worked out. He crapped out (my try for humor, get it Dice and crapped out, never mind). He will always be known for his dirty nursery rhymes and his great stand up routine, but Dice will have a hard time getting back to where he was, if he ever can get there again.

Andrew Dice Clay joined KJR in Seattle talking about marriage, divorce, life ,and himself.  (Editor’s note:  How the mighty have fallen. He once played in Madison Square Garden.  Now he’s playing at the Swinomish Casino in Anacortes, WA.  I remember guys bringing the videotape of his appearance on Rodney Dangerfield’s Young Comedians Special on HBO to every high school party.)

Dice called in late and the conversation started about fighting with his significant other and that’s why he was late on the call:      

Dice:  I had to end the fight before I called you, you know how that is. Ian: No, I have only been married 16 years, I have no idea what the hell you are talking about.  Dice:  Oh so you are numb? I went through exactly that, I cant believe you survived that, you should get a T-Shirt, I survived Marriage.                                                                                                                                   

Asked if after 16 years if he is now on to the next marriage:

“I am not married anymore, lets get that straight.  I have nothing against marriage if you need somebody to constantly mentally batter.  Because that’s how it winds up, either you’re doing it or she’s doing it. You know what i mean.”

Asked what he thinks of guys paying for ladies apartments for the extracurricular marriage fun time:

“How about they pay for their own apartment and  you just come over for the good stuff if you know what I mean.  If a chick really digs you, she would do it with you in a wooden shack.  That’s just how it is with these slobs today.  Years ago if you took out a girl and she would do something with you on a first date, you would turn around and I say I don’t want to go with her no more and I would look and you say “why”; because she did it with me on the first date. I would say, so whats the problem?

Asked what can people expect from his shows at this point in the career:

“I am not one to brag about myself , but I am just the greatest stand up in the world.  Every night is basically a different show.  It’s whatever I am feeling. Most comics come on and do everything A-Z, the same way every time. Of course there are certain bits I like to do for the crowd because it how they got to know me type of thing, like the mother goose stuff. But why they love the show and why they laugh that hard, its almost like a one man show , its a monologue, its whatever I am feeling that day.”

Listen to Andrew Dice Clay with Ian Furness on 950 KJR in Seattle

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, better known as McLovin from the Seth Rogan flick Superbad.

McLovin joined The Junkies on WJFK in Washington D.C. to talk about who the hell knows what, but it turned into a pretty damn awkwardly funny interview provoked by the Junkies.

On getting the role for Superbad, which gave him this 15 minutes of fame and an acting career (for the time being):

“I didn’t have any head shots because I wasn’t acting at the time. So I just took one with my cell phone and sent it in and they liked it, and I went into the audition and they casted me.”

On Paul Rudd being cast in seemingly every other movie:

“People love him. He’s a cutie pie.”

I might have gone with lame, melo-dramatic actor in some admittedly fairly funny movies but nobody asked I suppose.

On what it’s like with the ladies these days:

“I just filmed a movie in London and had a girlfriend there for two months. It’s just easier when you can travel around the world and not just deal with the same 20 girls that live down the street from you.”

After being egged by the Junkies about taking his game to the next level and going after some celebrities, like say, Lindsay Lohan:

“I don’t want to deal with that. It’s not the drama, it’s I don’t want to deal with my bodily fluids after and I don’t even know what’s going to happen to myself after that.”

Oh man. McLovin, you’re killing me. Please, stop talking.

And anyway, she’s taken, though you and Samantha Ronson do look eerily alike.

On the best thing he’s bought for himself – this mind you, is right after he says he’s not a millionaire, but is ‘getting there’:

“A drum set.”

McLovin – not coming to an episode of Cribs any day soon.

Listen here to McLovin’ with the Junkies on WJFK in D.C.

When did they meet?

Cheech: “We met in Vancouver Canada in ’69.”

Chong:”68, ’69, ’69. I remember that number was very dear to me.”

Cheech: “Vancouver was like the San Francisco of Canada. Everybody was there.”

How much of the movie ‘Up In Smoke’ was written vs. improvised on the fly?

Cheech: “About 50/50. We wrote a lot of it. A lot of it was transferring some of our stage bits and record bits to the screen, but a lot of it was improved right as we did it.”

Chong: “We’re improv actors. We work off each other and the situation.”

On why they decided to do a reunion comedy tour?

Cheech: “Unemployment.”

Chong: ‘Unemployment and having the chance of having 150 hours of community service wiped out.’

Listen here to Cheech and Chong on ESPN Radio Pittsburgh (begins at 19:25 mark)

Ok, off my soapbox.  Anyway, one of the benefits of sports radio having their main demo being 25-54 year old males is they get a lot of interesting guests in the world of entertainment that are trying to reach that audience.  Periodically here at SRI, we’ll post some of those interviews.  Check out the interviews below with comedians Joan Rivers, Jimmy Fallon, and Dave Attell along with filmmaker Spike Lee and actor/bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.

Listen here to Lou Ferrigno aka The Incredible Hulk on WKNR in Cleveland

Listen here to Spike Lee on WQXI in Atlanta on Monday

Listen here to Jimmy Fallon on WJFK in D.C. last Thursday

Listen here to Dave Attell on KHTK in Sacramento

Listen here to Joan Rivers on WJFK in D.C. last Thursday

On the pressure of filling in for the immensely popular Conan:

“I think the nerves have kicked out and more the nausea has kicked in. I just kind of feel sick to my stomach. I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ve never done this before, so I’m just hoping I learn as time goes on.”

So how has he done so far? Let’s take a look after the fold and you can judge for yourself:

Listen here to Fallon on WJFK with the Junkies from last Thursday

And when he doesn’t have his talented house band The Roots helping him out?