Sunday, March 25, 2012

OPEN THREAD: Imagining the Unimaginable

Lamest.  Open Thread. Ever.

Confessors, I am out starting now and until at least next weekend.  I will have to leave this site in your very good hands.   Not even sure I'll have time to monitor comments, so continue your current practice of civil discourse.  (The tone of recent back-and-forths has been very high.)

This LOTE is prompted by the last ratings book I reported on a few weeks ago.  I was extremely surprised at the relative strength of ESPN compared to The Fan.  I would have expected the latter to be much stronger than the former, but not so.

So here's your starter topic:

If The Ticket vanished tomorrow (given its technical backwardness, not so far-fetched), and its hosts did not migrate to other sports-talk stations in DFW, and you decided that you still wanted to listen to sports-talk on the radio, which of the two remaining sports talkers would you turn to, and why?  You can compare stations generally, or you can go show-by-show, host-by-host. 

Open Thread policy remains the same:   You are free to ignore the offered topic completely if something more interesting comes along, or we need to get reaction on some showgram drama having taken place that day.

Sorry for the absences. Be back in a week at the earliest.  Carry on.

28 comments:

  1. Good topic. I'd have to go with ESPN. Between Ben and Skin, Coop and I guess Nate Newton, and Grandpa Urine and Co., you get solid DFW sports talk. The Fan is mostly bad radio. From the East Coast fake local team fan hosts to the repugnant Richie Whitt, the station is awful. I'll give Elf and Josh a little props. Now that he's the voice of the Mets, is Josh even still with the station? But I can only take so much of Elf. Greggo has his moments, but for the most part he's sort of become the cartoon character that Gordo and The Ticket crew make him out to be.

    If The Little One did, God forbid, go away, I'd probably only check in at ESPN for updates now and then. Or when something big is going down in the world of sports. Other than that, my days of sports/guy talk radio would be pretty much over.

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  2. If your asking who is 2nd and third best, does it really matter? The "jackass" demographic is a hell of a lot more loyal than any program director ever thought possible. Considering there would be a major void to fill if 1310 stopped broadcasting, I would wait to see who stepped in to fill it. Whether it be a new venture, or reinvention of an existing frequency, who knows. Right now, no one else has a good mix of questions like, "Kardashian or Klum? What happened to the Rangers last night? Ghey-not Ghey?, How is Cowboys free agency going? Did you see the fetish German cannibal on Conan? Can the Mavs get Williams AND Howard in the off-season? How much to touch tips with Norm once a week for a year...with a mouth full of anchovies?"

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  3. IMO the only listenable shows between the two stations are:

    1. Ben and Skin - I used to be out on them but I think they've improved quite a bit. I prefer them to Elf (horrible) and Norm (I like him every once in a while but his topics usually don't carry my interest for long).

    2. Richie and Greggo - I think they've improved quite a bit as well. Richie, despite being douchey, actually keeps the show pretty entertaining. Greggo is good sometimes, bad others. The ESPN afternoon offering just doesn't appeal to me.

    3. Cowherd - I can't believe I'm even saying this because if you'd asked me a year ago I would've said his was the worst show out of any of the three stations. I'm not sure why but I've gotten over that and I think he keeps it pretty interesting now.

    Both morning shows are absolutely horrible. I despise both of them and can't even use them for commercial filler.

    So to answer the question: I guess if I had to pick a station it would be a toss up since the listenable portions of each are about the same. I'd probably go with The Fan in hopes that they realize Elf isn't working and replace it with something of value.

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  4. I'd listen to the show archives on theunticket.com

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  5. Ticket engineering incompetence knows no bounds.

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  6. @Shaggy - I think there are two levels of ticket engineering, and supposedly this was a corporate issue. Guys like Killer, Tony, Wing, Eric, Smiling Pete, etc are also ticket engineers, but not part of corporate (and not responsible for the instances of sheer incompetence as of late).

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  7. Is steaming broke for anyone else?

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  8. I'm not sure who'd I'd listen to, but I would definitely stop down for some Gavin Dawson. He's on the Fan from 7-10pm, and I'd be very happy if the Ticket somehow picked him up.

    Otherwise I would have to answer like Anon and say my sports/guy talk would probably be over as well.

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  9. Id rather listen to mix 102.9 over those 2 stations. I try and try to give those other stations some listen, but they just cant hold my attention. Rage is terrible, GalCo. is so meh and tiresome, the middays all blow and the mornings, I cant stand the terrorist from KC and chopper style. So i guess if The Ticket goes away and none of the hosts were to go to those station, sports talk would be outta my life

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  10. Gavin Dawson is one of the worst,and irresponsible broadcasters in the market. He was crossways with Derek Holland recently regarding comments he made about Holland's fiance.

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  11. I followed that battle for a minute, and Gavin had this odd claim that he was the highest rated host in his timeslot for his age demo (seemed like a very narrow definition at the time). I've gone back through his tweets looking for it, but it appears to be missing.

    He appears to have been silenced by management for his dutch battle though, judging from his later tweets.

    ...

    I spent this stream-less morning listening to the Rant...once that ran out, I'd probably go back to doing what I did before listening to the ticket: I listened to Mickey Spagnola's "Talkin' Cowboys" radio show. No joke.

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  12. 105.3The Fan. Lots of X-Ticket hosts have migrated there, not sure if josh lewin is still hosting with elf or if he's off to the big apple already, but he is a plus as well. Plus, I actually enjoy the richie and greggo experience from time to time.

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  13. In the mornings I would have to listen to Kidd Kraddick. As gay as that may sound, he is better than the crap that ESPN and the Fan puts out there.

    For Middays I would listen to Ben and Skin. Elf seems like a really nice guy and all and I hate saying this, but his show is absolutely terrible. I have tried and tried giving it a listen, but I just can't do it. It's the worst show in the market, IMO. And I have listened to it recently without him having Josh there.

    Afternoons I would listen to RAGE. I think it's the best show not on the Ticket. I still really enjoy listening to Greggo. I could do without Richie, but he isn't so bad that I can't listen to the show. I wish they would replace him with Big Dick Hunter. Him and Greggo are greatness together.

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  14. So I'm hoping it's a very elaborate April Fools joke, but Grubes just announced he's leaving on April 6th.

    Apply within.
    http://www.dfwradio.com/Jobs.aspx

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  15. Wow. Bombshell. I can't believe Grubes is leaving. And no Ty porn birthdays. Things are a changin' over at The Little One. It really is going to be a different listening experience without Grubes. I remember when Expo left. This is reminiscent of that time. Except that was pre Twitter and host tribute bands. Grubes has in effect become a host. A bad day for all Ticketheads and Ticketchicks. Good luck to you Sweet Grubes. I wish you all the best.

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  16. http://www.allaccess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=25273

    East Texas P1

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  17. Well, this just makes me ill. It just goes to show that all good things must come to an end. There will never be another Shoopy. He was the show within the show. And his Tweets brought all of us a bit closer to the station. They made us feel a bit more a part of the inner circle. I know he says he'll keep Tweeting Ranger games, and I look forward to said Tweets. But let's face it, it won't be the same. He won't have the daily interfacing with the hosts and other radio/tv people. Sooner, rather than later, he'll completely move on; and then what remained of the good old days will be totally gone. I recall when Expo left. The same thing happened. Though the circumstances are a bit different with Grubes. Expo never endeared himself to either the station or the masses like Shoopy has. But let's not forget that Expo was the genesis of the drop artist. Without him there is no Shoopy.

    It's a sad day for The Ticket and its listeners. As Sherlock Holmes says, Shoopy, you are Singular. We appreciate ya, pal. Know that you'll be missed.

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  18. I remember when Psycho Dave left and Rhyner saying how the shelf life of a board op is about 5 years before total burnout. I guess Big Strong is the exception to the rule. I kinda thought Grubes, like Big Strong, would be a Ticket lifer. I envisioned him taking over for Danny when either Danny was moved into a full time host position or had moved on (which I think either is likely in the next year or two). Like the last Anon said "all good things must come to an end." This is really going to change the dynamic of not only the HL and BaD, but also the station. This sucks, and there's no way to get around it. I wonder what made him decide to make this move? A come to Jesus meeting with his parents? Some sort of epiphany? Why UNT and not SMU, where he was going when he dropped out? What is he going to get his degree in? Hopefully the 5 'O whatever time segment they're giving him will offer some explanation. Heck, I know he kindly drops by here from time to time, maybe he'll drop a line in these comboxes? Whatever the case is, I think it's safe to say that all of us listeners are going to miss the s out of you. Nothing but the best, Michael Gruber.

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  19. Totally my decision. Parents supported it once I told them what I wanted to do, but they had no say in it.

    Being a career board-op, despite my awesomeness and how much I STILL love the job, without a degree doesn't tend to set up for many opportunities to move up. I've got another 40ish years left to work (I'm 26), so getting my degree now seemed like the perfect window of opportunity.

    The only reason I went to SMU in the first place was to be closer to the station. I've been with the little Ticket since before my senior year of high school, so needless to say I wasn't much of a student when I was there. I've always loved Denton and a lot of my friends and family have gone to UNT, so I know it's potentially a MUCH better fit than SMU ever was.

    Despite my excitement to go back to school and try to figure out what the hell I wanna do with the rest of my life, I am heartbroken at leaving the little Ticket. I truly have had the best job ever. But the station will be just fine. It was #1 before I got there, while I was (am) there (here), and will continue to be #1 when I'm gone.

    Thank you all for the love, especially you, Mr. Plainsman.

    Stay hard.

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  20. The FAN has a pretty interesting fill-in/weekend show. One guy sounds like Corby and the other sounds like Kermit, but they're dead on with their sports talk and interesting topics. They remind me of Ben and Skin's retarded twins., but well worth a listen every Sunday. They also keep claiming TC as a by-product of the show. The Fan should probably move these guys in, but nobody really knows who they are yet so they can't just shove them in there. Other than that, probably go with Ben and Skin and Richie and Greggo.

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  21. Thanks for dropping by, and for the explanation, Grubes. Best of luck to you and thanks for all the good times. We'll miss you. Keep on rocking and rolling, Tweeting Ranger games, and being an all around devil.

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  22. And now we just get word that Ty Walker Chicken's porn birthday bit has, ah, run its course buddy. Truth be told, it had run its course. No offense to Ty. He did do it justice, though.

    STAY HARD GRUBES!!!!!!!

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  23. I wonder if Grubes's leaving the station will have any negative bearing on the Unticket site? Wasn't his relationship with ap and dywpp an important aspect of that site's greatness? Or am I off base here?

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  24. Big Strong sticks around because he has no other marketable skills.

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  25. I can't speak for DP, but I don't think Grubes's leaving will affect the UnTicket's operation too much (aside from the soul-crushing depression we're all suffering from, of course).

    Grubes, we're behind you 110% pal; let us know if you ever need anything - some audio to giggle to while you're studying, some help with your math assignment, or a place to crash if you're visiting my fair burgh. It's the least we can do for all the belly laughs you've provided for us.

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  26. Naw, you stick around Big Strong because you're a bad mother at what you do.

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  27. NPR or I'd subscribe to Satellite radio. Anything else is unlistenable.

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