Tuesday, May 1, 2012

OPEN THREAD: Draft

A number of Confessors have been groaning about The Ticket's NFL draft coverage.  Mainly, that there's too much of it.

I have about as much interest in the draft as I do in women's curling, but I tuned into as much coverage as I could.  I found it very listenable, and even enjoyable.

It takes some talent to make compelling a subject one's audience knows next to nothing about, but by his enthusiasm and expertise and presentational skills Bob Sturm manages it.  David Moore -- terrific.  And personally, I have no problem whatsoever with Norm's draft obsession.

But this year, Norm sounded tired and ragged although his enthusiasm for the task burned as brightly as ever.  I didn't mind his rough sound, but I worried that perhaps the travel and long hours are starting to take their toll.

Commenters have already noted Mike R's nonperformance.  Craig didn't have much to say, but I always get a kick out of what little he does say.  I thought Corby's College Football Blowhard might have had a little more to offer, but he wasn't bad -- tough to compete with Bob and Norm.  The question is, why have anyone but Norm, Bob, and guys like David Moore and perhaps other station draft wonks on the air at all?

In any case, I kind of got sucked into the coverage -- again, evidence of skilled broadcasters taking an arcane and complex subject and making good radio out of it.

But I know not a lot of you don't agree, and now it's your turn.

22 comments:

  1. Craig and Corby were fine. Each contributed what they could when the could. Bob, Donnie, David Moore, and obviously, Norm, were excellent. Especially David and Bob. Personally, I enjoy the singular draft coverage that The Ticket provides. And it truly is singular. No station in the U.S. covers the draft like The Little One. Though I do have to wonder how much longer this will or even can go on. With Twitter and all of the other instant forms of communication, I'm not so sure how necessary it is for Norm to be at the draft--to have to put up with him (which by all accounts is not easy and requires a lot of tongue biting on others' parts), to pay for his expenses, the staffing, and logistics. Especially when this all can be done in studio. It really does come off as a Norm vanity project that the station goes along with. Maybe that's not the case, but it sure seems like it. And perhaps that's why Mike behaved (and has behaved in the past) like an idiot. (As a side, I agree with other commenters' disgust with Mike's antics.)

    I also noticed that Norm cannot get over Goose's not devoting his life to the draft. It's a bit over the top.

    Wondering aloud: Would Norm pay for his own expenses, board ops, tech guys, and their expenses if Cumulus decided to pull the funding for draft coverage? Moreover, would such a move by Cumulus impel Norm, in one of his famous rants to management, to quit? He's awfully darn passionate about the draft...

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  2. I don't know how anybody could have a negative opinion on it. Hardly anybody listens to the station or radio in general for that matter after 7PM. You lose an hour of The Hardline on Thursday and Friday and you lose one weekend day of programming towards draft coverage.

    It would be different if it was during a full normal day of Ticket broadcasting, but if the draft is one during the Top 10 or Dan Patrick, then who really cares?

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  3. The enthusiasm which accompanies draft coverage has always mystified me. Self-proclaimed "experts" talk about players that few of us have heard of, and repeat some variation of "this kid really has great upside" for a few hours.

    They act as if the draft is a science, when the truth is it's clearly a crapshoot. For all the hours they put into learning about each player, the fact is that most fail to have a solid career in the league, and (this is the really funny part) plenty of great players never even get drafted, or get drafted very low (Romo, Brady, and Montana are the best NFL examples, but it's a long list. For my money, Mike Piazza is the best example in sports.)

    Of course, if the draft "experts" admit that it's all a crapshoot, then nobody will employ them, and they'll have to get a job where they produce, you know, actual results that matter.

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  4. We need a new thread for Musers Campout speculation. They've already provided a couple of clues--there are feral hogs and the property contains "several" lakes for fishing.

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  5. My scattershooting draft notes (yeah, I listened to it all)...

    - Norm would implode, then explode if the draft were taken away from him. It's his yearly social event (that, and the super bowl) and he's already commissioned his own friends in NYC to pay their own way and help out.

    - Someone cleverly tweeted that Norm would be a lot less shocked on-air if he simply followed a few prominent NFL reporters, GMs and teams on twitter [paraphrased; Bob retweeted the comment]. He needs to embrace twitter if he wants his draft coverage to stay current.

    - I'm an unabashed shill for David Newbury, but the ticket really dropped the ball by not having him around to discuss names with Norm and Bob. If they're truly there to cover the draft without laughing, that is.

    - Saturday's draft coverage was punch-drunk happiness, and it was really made enjoyable thanks to Donny (always a great foil for Norm), SeaBass, David Moore and Brandon George. I really enjoyed the Regina joke series, but perhaps that's just me.

    - Craig and Corby knew their roles (yuk-monkeys, essentially) and played them perfectly. Bob was, well, Bob, and did a great job I thought. I didn't even realize that Rhynes was supposed to be an on-air presence.

    - I wholeheartedly agree with James in that the draft is a crapshoot.

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  6. ap:

    Great point about Newbury. He absolutely should have been a part of the team. I wonder why he wasn't? Unless there was a good reason (i.e., scheduling conflict or the likes), someone dropped the ball.

    Side note: Can someone up there please, for the love of God, get rid of the Joe Morgan Beat Down? Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?!? It is pure radio anthrax.

    Musers Camp out: Sans the Musers, the other hosts are arriving sometime during the afternoon, staying one night, and leaving the next day. Why bother, then? I mean, isn't listening to the forced close quarters interaction for an extended period of time a major reason why we listen to the thing? Now they are going to force feed it. Now they are going to purposely drink too much or pretend to do so. To paraphrase Norm: "I'm soowrry" but yet again The Ticket/Cumulus is screwing something up that was once great. It's becoming an alarming trend. And I'll bet the hosts (especially Gordon. Dan, and Rhyner---the three serial complainers) have their hands in this format change. How dare they be inconvenienced any more than they already are.

    I don't know about any of you, but I for one am starting like The Little One less and less. And that sucks.

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  7. I'm pretty sure the campout is through Saturday. It would've been perfect weather conditions for mid April.

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  8. @T4: They're breaking camp Friday morning and will broadcast on Friday from the studio. I agree with whichever anonymous said it's too short and that the serial complainers are probably responsible.

    Other Anon (Seriously, is it too hard to invent a name? You don't have to tie it to a real email address. Jeez.) that said "I don't know how anybody could have a negative opinion on it": It's not the actual draft coverage that I hate, it's all the draft talk before and after the fact that beats me down. It's like fantasy football talk - it's intensely interesting to the people involved in the conversation but it makes me want to bite through my own jugular. I don't give a crap about guys that I've never heard of and who more often than not will end up working at a Jiffy Lube in a year.

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  9. From what was said yesterday, it's a one night outing.

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  10. My bad. I thought I heard the Musers were broadcasting from there on Thursday morning and leaving to stay the night tonight. Knowing that, I assumed the rest would come out tomorrow. I probably misheard.

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  11. Their website says Wednesday - Friday. I would assume that's leaving Saturday morning. It also says The Hardline will be broadcasting from there at 3 on Wednesday. Doesn't sound like they're there as of now (6:30). All shows will be broadcasting there on Thursday. Who knows...no one wants to be there so maybe they won't get there until Thursday.

    ps. They just said that they'll be talking to the Musers, who are out there. I guess the website is slightly wrong.

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  12. In line with what many are saying...I flip on The Hardline today, and lo and behold...The Animals talk. To use an old Valley Girl saying from the 80s: "Gag me with a spoon!" Like Reggie said from the last thread, and I paraphrase, "a show for them and by them, with little care about the listener." The Animals. Are you bleepin' kidding me? ARE YOU BLEEPIN' KIDDING ME????? That was the last straw for me. I mean, the guys was talking about a freakin' 60s garage band done good as if they were The Who. Or as if he was talking foreign policy. Ridiculous. Just stop talking sports all together. The fact is, they've become what they used to make fun of. They ARE The Ron and Don Show. I'm taking an extended vacation from listening to The Hardline. Funny, the guy who helps to found the station and what used to be my favorite show, is the very guy who is driving me away. I'm sure he'd find this amusing or even pleasing. Keep it up Rhynes, you'll soon enough find yourself no longer in the position to crap on everyone and tell them they love it.

    I have to admit, I'm not interested in the camp out.

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  13. During Junior Coast To Coast, Junes said they're "deep in the East Texas woods on the high desert", so that should narrow it down.

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  14. Most of these commenters are a bunch of f'ing wet blankets. The Little Ticket is freaking awesome.

    The Woodford Reserve Campout is awesome. Junes is hosting a mock coast-to-coast show and listeners are calling in, and its pure gold. How many radio stations in the world have the chemistry to ship their entire broadcast team into the woods for a few days to live and work together? NONE.

    The Draft talk is awesome.

    The Hardline is awesome.

    The Ticket is awesome. You wet blankets are listening to history daily yet y'all still find stuff to bitch about and complain about. I guess that is kinda the point of this site, but people get over yourselves and enjoy it. What we have here is the BEST collection of on-air talent ever assembled in Dallas radio history. Bitch and complain all you want about the Draft, the Campout, Mike, tampons, whatever, but realize that you wet blankets are listening to historic gold er day.

    Good luck with your bottom. Go in there and drink 60 shots of beer. Courage.

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  15. I know that was angry. I have been drinking. The Rangers lost two in a row.

    But seriously, appreciate what we have here.

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  16. I agree with Mitch. I understand there's a lot of criticism because this is a station we all care about deeply...but a lot of the stuff said here is a little over the top. How many comments/commenters in the past couple of posts have declared the beginning of the end for The Ticket?

    I hate to use this phrase but if you're not happy with the product being delivered, the other stations are right over there. I'm sure you'll be back. As Mitch said, appreciate what we have. Sure, Mike is a little lazy. Gordo can be over the top. Dan complains a lot. But it's still the greatest radio station in America. Nothing is perfect.

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  17. Well, normalguyguide, that's the rub, P1s are starting to say "buh-bye." They're not going over the The Fail or Grandpa Urine, they're opting for satellite or the iPod. While I appreciate the uncritical enthusiasm of Mitch, and your less inebriated "take," I think you two (among others) fail to see the ever evolving choices that are out there. The "we're local" angle means less and less with each passing year. After all, hasn't that been the goal of postmodern thought? (And aren't we supposedly living in post this and that and the other times?) Now please allow me to alight back down to earth: there is no either/or dichotomy. The choices no longer are between local X, Y, and Z. Sadly for many of us, The Ticket, and especially The Hardline, doesn't seem to grasp this reality.

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  18. Reggie, for every listener to that tunes out of the Ticket a new college aged listener tunes in. The ratings have been steady. The station's largest listening area is in Denton. The Ticket doesn't end until all of the hosts say it ends, and even then it could go on past their tenure.

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  19. The Draft Coverage in the later rounds on the Ticket is MUCH BETTER than ESPN or NFL Network, because Norm actually announces the picks when they happen instead of rehashing what happened 2 days ago.

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  20. Anon (6:21 am): I'm not sure where you are getting your data from, but with all due respect, I think you greatly overestimate the the role of Denton and UNT students vis-a-vis demos, taste, and trends. It seems to me that you're most likely projecting your own experience on to the larger issue.

    Now while nowhere in my comment did I say anything about the demise of The Ticket (as you imply), contrary to what you might believe, the station doesn't end when the hosts decide to end it. It ends when the parent company decides it's time or when said company is bought out and the new owner decides. If you think that fantastic and profitable stations have not been shut down, well, I'm not sure what to tell you. Because it happens. Radio is one of the most mismanaged, boneheaded, businesses out there. Besides, while The Ticket is a money maker, I'm not so sure that it generates the kind of money that many think it does.

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  21. A friend in radio said The Ticket makes $20-$30 million in profit for Cumulus. It's not going anywhere for quite a while.

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  22. iknowwhatispeakofMay 5, 2012 at 2:19 AM

    Umm, normalguideguy, you might not want to believe everything your friend says if he or she is in fact saying these things.

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