Artie Lange, after more than six years with The Howard Stern Showm, said on air late last week that he intends to leave the Sirius program in January.

In an interview with the New York Post, Lange said the pre-dawn hours of the Stern gig, brutal stand-up comedy touring schedule, a recurring role on FX's "Rescue Me" and recent guest shot on HBO's "Entourage" has taken its tole on him.

"I just feel burned out," he told The Post.

Lange's weight - now over 300 pounds - and his admitted long-term struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, are also concerns.

"Nothing is set in stone, but it's something I'm seriously thinking about," the 39-year-old comic actor said on the radio program. "The schedule is destroying me. I love the show, and I love the people. I'm just really concerned about my health. I have to find a happy balance...none of this is going to be worth it if I drop dead at a Best Western in Milwaukee."

Stern discussed possible replacements for Artie, with names like Greg Fitzsimmons and Dave Attel. There was even a discussion about bringing back Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling.

[The New York Post]

Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast an all day-long Howard Stern special featuring the most memorable Beatles-related interviews, cover songs and bits from the past 25 years of The Howard Stern Show.

The special airs Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day) starting at 6am ET on Howard 100 (ch 100) - or for folks on the left-coast, at 6am PT on Howard 101 (ch 101) - with encore broadcasts throughout the day on both channels.

Monday’s broadcast will present uncensored versions of some of the most entertaining moments in Howard Stern show history involving Sir Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Sean and Julian Lennon, Pete Best and Billy Preston. Howard Stern along with Robin Quivers, Fred Norris, Gary Dell'Abate, Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling, and Vinnie Favale will reflect on these bits throughout the day.

The special will feature cover songs performed live and in-studio by Jon Bon Jovi, Enuff Z Nuff, The Fab Faux and Stone Temple Pilots, plus Howard singing “Blackbird” (classic!) and “Fool on the Hill,” Fred singing “Imagine I’m John Lennon,” and Scott the Engineer singing “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

 

Howard Stern on his show today discussed the suspension of Opie and Anthony by XM Satellite Radio. Citing a recent article in the New York Post about the O&A suspension, Stern responded directly to Gregg (Opie) Hughes request for a truce with their longtime nemesis.

 

"What do you say Howard, are you with us or are you against us?" Hughes was quoted as saying in the article. (Full audio available here.)

"I'm not spending a minute thinking about you," Stern said in response on his show. "I'm not with you, and I'm not against you. Your biggest 'nemesis' is you. You're fighting with you."

Howard further distanced himself from the situation. 

"Listen guys, I've got nothing against you, do you're show, have a blast," Stern continued. "But don't call on me to help you. I don't condone what you said about Condoleezza Rice."

The question remains whether Stern's show itself will fall victim to this newfound scrutiny of what is said over the airwaves - even if on unregulated airwaves. It's painfully obvious that the reason why XM is being so careful with how Washington perceives satellite radio (especially the "shocking" content on satellite radio) is due to the pending Sirius-XM merger.

Stern himself was the topic of discussion at the Congressional hearings over the Sirius-XM merger, particularly when it came to the topic of decency. As the Wall Street Journal points out, the satellite radio companies have signaled a willingness to work with the FCC on the issue of decency as part of a merger.

Mel Karmazin even offered a block-and-rebate style tiered pricing plan, allowing consumers to receive a discount on blocked explicit channels. But with Stern likely being seen as "Public Enemy #1" by the decency police, you can bet that he too will do his best not to ruffle any features in the weeks to come.