The American Association Of The Mentally Retarded has bestowed its annual sports-talk radio award on WFAN's Sid Rosenberg and Joe Benigno for "work exemplary of a couple of unequivocal retards."

The government funded organization, a vital resource for the nation's mentally challenged and their families, said this year's choice "was never easier."

"These two guys make most of our clients look like Einsteins and Godels," said Jim Smith, Executive Director. "Our 'profoundly retarded' actually look profound compared to these knuckleheads."

The distinction is unique, said AAOTMR spokeswomen Constance Gold, "because we are scouting the dumbest, most intolerable sports radio personalities in the country, and most of them, to begin with, are incredibly dumb and intolerable."

"But Sid and Joe stuck out. They really, truly merit the appellation 'idiots.'"

Rosenberg and Benigno are in a good position, Gold said, to be the first repeat recipients of the prestigous honor.