TC and Jake did a pretty good job today. Especially when you consider it was their first time to be put in such a prominent position. And for the fact that Rhynes pretty much let them take over the show. Much like he does with Corby. I'm beginning to agree with some of the commenters here that Rhynes might be bored or a bit lazy on the job. Like I said, they did a fairly good job. But it grew stale after awhile. TC began to sound more and more like Gen X Davey Lang as the show went on. Meaning that he has a deeper than superficial body of sports knowledge, but he takes the long way home to get any thought out. I think it's evident that he's a smart guy, so he doesn't need to attempt to use formalized language on air in order to let us know he's smart. He's not very good at it, and so it clutters the message. That and he tries too hard to schtick it up as much as possible. If anyone remembers Gen X's tickers they'll get what I'm saying. I was surprised that TC, not Jake, took more of the lead during the broadcast. Jake on the whole was serviceable, but not very memorable. Overall I give their performance a solid B.
What do you say?
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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter: @Plainsman1310
It was pretty painful. Those two clearly need some more time in the oven. The whole show they were fishtailing and swinging from ditch to ditch, between trying too hard and just losing all momentum.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a good chance to note that whatever you think of The Snake, there is a definitely a craft to what he does (and the youngsters have not gone far down that road yet).
I want to like the lads, but I have to give Jake and TC a "D."
-Anon B
Anon D, I think what you say kinda goes along with that Little Weak Jeremy-anonymous convo-thread that Plainsman posted up a while back. Well I mean it goes along with what the anonymous was saying.
ReplyDeleteWay better than Corby.
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear the show but if Corby wasn't there the production was an immediate upgrade.
ReplyDeleteAnti-Corby comments are permitted, but would prefer that y'all stick to the thread. East Texas and Anon B got us off to a good start, let's go with it.
ReplyDeleteI was streaming at work and had my mind on other issues so wasn't really paying attention. Somewhere around 4:30 or 5 mark TC and Jake made a reference to something. Mike caught my ear by telling them something to the effect "you weren't here then, you can't talk about that". And it didn't sound like he was joking.
ReplyDeleteAnyone hear what I am referencing and what it was in regards to?
I'm not sure what you're referencing, ETP1, but I made the same observation (I was live texting with my P1 buddy) that Jake doesn't have enough skins on the wall to talk about "The Laddie" or to call Ty, "Ty Walker Chicken."
ReplyDeleteThe Sweet Bird of Youth is a double-edged sword. (How's that for a mixed metaphor?)
To their credit, it's got to be difficult to be a huge P1, then suddenly have a shot at being a part of the station. I'd like to think, given the same opportunity, I'd just go with the flow and not act like a squealing fanboy, but.... would I?
-Anon B
Scattershooting notes:
ReplyDelete- I was also surprised that Jake-Z took more of a passive approach. I've heard him fill in for E-News and CQH during drydock with Rhads, and I thought he did a phenomenal job on those days - well prepared, confident, and funny. I think having to prep for an entire 4-hour show as opposed to three fast-paced segments might have been a bit too much.
- Jake-Z took a solid nut-kicking from the get-go with Donny hassling him over his facebook picture. For some reason, I thought he was better equipped to hold his own in situations like that, but he resorted to the "so what, I'm banging a hot chick" defense that only reinforced his unfortunate Chris-Chris "super-gay" image. In his defense, having the WTDS crew take turns teeing off on your jewels from the moment you turn on your mike would throw even the best off of their game.
- Thought it was weird how TC and Jake chimed in at the very end during the ranch report ... a bit of a "trying too hard" moment.
- Rhynes seemed heavily medicated and was content to let the young pups drag him along. As Danny put it, Mike floated off onto space a few times.
- TC's segment with Mike on the DFW area put me right to sleep, I'm afraid. Can't recall Jake saying much, if at all.
- A touch of 'big-league-itis' was pointed out by another commenter, and I thought it was strange as well. It was especially evident when TC resumed board duty on Monday, doing ill-advised things like fading the microphone of Ty Walker (who's rebuttal had to be dumped) and taking shots at Sean Bass's personal life (again, darn near dumped). The "sweet bird" of youth could perhaps stand to remember its pecking order from time to time.
Bear in mind that I've only heard a handful of IJB podcasts, a few top-10's and the one show they did late Saturday night, so I can't really say whether this performance was par for the course. I suspect it wasn't - the added dynamic of an under-the-weather Rhynes, tighter segment deadlines, Grubes and Danny over a bad remote connection and the inability to cuss probably took a lot out of the chemistry TC and Jake have formed through IJB. Still, I'd grade this performance lower than their previous on-air appearance. If this experiment were to be repeated, I think it would be better if (1) they were given individual segments to focus on, (2) someone other than medicated-Rhynes joined them, somebody caustic like Dan, Corby or Danny, and (3) Jake-Z paced the segments instead of TC.
As usual, I hope this critja-cism is taken constructively as I know Ticket folks read these comments from time-to-time. Apologies for my blow-hardiness as well.
what's y'alls take on it?
The subject of T.C.'s on-air contribution has caused me major schpilkes, given the way I want this site to portray itself. (Confessors are free to portray themselves any way they please.)
ReplyDeleteConclusion: I'm not going to write on this, except under the most extreme provocation, unless The Ticket assigns him another hosting gig.
Jeez, Plainsman, you can't offer up such a bone, only to take it away. Good Sir, pray tell us your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteNo joke. Out with your STD on TC, Plainsman.
ReplyDeleteDo it, Plainsman...
ReplyDelete*CHUG!* *CHUG!* *CHUG!*
Aww, jeez, guys.
ReplyDeleteI have been instructed on the history of T.C., how he was a hard-working intern for BaD, which is apparently a tough gig (I'm stunned, who would have thought that sweeties like Bob/Dan would treat interns shabbily?), got great reviews with that. Really went the extra yard to do a good job. I wasn't too familiar with that background, but I accept that it's true and I think it's great that The Ticket rewards that kind of hard work and loyalty with some on-air recognition.
And the lad is in his early twenties, I believe.
On the one hand, I want to be the source for Responsible Ticket Journalism.
On the other hand, I don't want to hold a really young, inexperienced, hard-working chap trying to make it in a tough industry to the same standards to which I would hold, for example, Corby.
On the third hand, I want listenable radio.
Compromise: I'm not going to comment unless The Ticket continues to feature him.
=====
Awhile back, when I became T.C.-conscious, I had a brief article titled "This Is a Serious Question," and that question was: "Should I be paying attention to TC (or is it T.C.) Fleming?" It excited numerous comments, but I was still uncertain whether I needed to be listening carefully to his contributions.
I'm still not sure.
When I am, and if the answer is that I do have to treat him as a regular Ticket contributor, I'll comment.
In the meantime, apologies for what does, I concede (or . . . confess) looks like a tease.
Best of luck, T.C.
In between the lines...you've said much, Plainsman.
ReplyDeleteSay Plainsman are you still tweeting? If so, what's your handle?
ReplyDeleteStill tweeting, although lately mostly just linking to articles, at @Plainsman1310. Thanks for asking.
ReplyDeleteAnon-Before-Last: Yeah, I know. I figure young guys trying to make it in a savage business need a break, and there's no point in going into detail unless The Ticket proposes to feature the lad on a regular basis. I'm sincere in wishing him the best. The Ticket is show biz, and it's rough out there.
Plainsman, I'm not sure I understand your stance on either TC or any other up and comer on the station. Your blog's aim is to discuss--and I assume that means to critique--the station's talent, content, and relevance in relation to the greater community. Yes? To quote Deion Sanders: "At what level?" Your position on expressing your thoughts about TC only makes sense if your goal is either to not offend in general, or to not offend Ticket staff that you believe are readers of your blog, in particular. While I don't wish to call you disingenuous, I do think that you might be slipping on a slippery slope with respect to your consistency and thus credibility as a blogger upon a very specific topic. TC, after all is a Ticket employee; he's worked there in several capacities (both on and off air); he's been an on air feature as host, co-host, teriary player. In short, he's no rube. Think of it this way: TC's the Dutch Holland of The Ticket. Yes he's young and raw and who know's what he'll do and where he will go. But he still has to do his best to win the game. And his "starts" need to be both analyzed and commented on. Do you see, Plainsman? While I think your attitude is in some way honorable; I also think it's a cop out.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, there is much truth in what you say, with one exception: I truly don't care what the intra-Ticket guys think about the site or me or whether they check in. I don't know them and almost certainly never will, and if the site were harsher than it is I doubt it would affect intra-Ticket readership.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you're right that I'm pulling my punches here. I guess I'm just kind of a softie on the subject of young guys who are struggling to make it. T.C.'s mild personality probably has something to do with it as well. See, I think he is still kind of a "rube," as you put it, and I'm going to hold off until there's more to write about. I'm not saying I'll never have a look at T.C. -- just that I like to see the JV get some recognition and it doesn't seem fair to hold them to the same standards as experienced hosts unless that's the way they're presented. Thus far, T.C. hasn't been.
Another guest-hosting gig, things could change, fast.
I appreciate the criticism. It was fair and fairly expressed.
Minor weekend note - RWIII (Roy White, producer of the Soul Patch and occasionally the Scrubs) has gone on to greener pastures. In his stead today was the Killer.
ReplyDeleteNot so minor. To whose greener pastures did he decamp?
ReplyDeleteESPN - he's the producer for Elf and Josh.
ReplyDelete(sorry for the delay)