Sunday, August 5, 2012

More George DiGianni Talk

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If you follow the comments, you will know that in response to the prior post a Confessor called attention to George DiGianni's apparently rather shabby treatment of an elderly guest on his Train Station Fitness Show yesterday morning.   Check it out HERE. I was surprised at the commentary about George this called forth, so I thought I'd make it a topic.  One of the comments reports that a bird told him that this thread has received some attention from Ticket luminaries.


Yes, this is probably the most ink George DiGianni has had under any name. I'd be surprised if it doesn't drive his listenership up by a dozen or so souls for the next week or so, as this site's massive audience tunes in to see what all the fuss is about.

I have been listening to The Train Station Fitness show for quite awhile. The foregoing comments are accurate. I am not knowledgable about fitness matters, but I am skeptical of much of the supplement-based, anti-med-establishment advice the show offers, as well as the rather extreme dietary proscriptions. And yep, George can be a bully.


Let me throw out some positive things:

(1) He keeps his show on-topic. And when I say that I mean not only does he try to guide his guests to emphasize the announced theme for the show, but he also does not over-promote his own services. He mentions them, but the Train Station Fitness Show is not an infomercial. By its own lights, it is substantive and informative.

(2) He has helped Bob Sturm become less doughy many, many times (including presently, I think), and I believe that other Ticket hosts, including (if I recall correctly) Craig Rosengarden and George Dunham, have used his services to good, if perhaps temporary effect.  (My unhappy thoughts on Bob's promos may be found HERE.) 

Mark Followill is something of a disciple and was George's guest a couple of weeks ago. He's kept up with most of George's advice (although George berated him for eating bananas during distance running events! -- too much sugar) since first consulting him. I'm sure that if you had the discipline to do what George says, you'd look and feel better. But man, he's tough on both diet and exercise.  I suppose that's what it takes.

(3) I once heard a guest on his show who I thought could benefit a friend of mine. I forgot the name and dropped George an email. He responded promptly and politely with her name and contact information.

(4) He played along perfectly with a Hardline prank on Michael Gruber, calling him to berate him for the stitched-together Train Station promos Grubes would put together.

So George is certainly a piece of work, a highly-disciplined and tightly-wound piece of work. He may be wrong on the science and medicine, but certainly if you don't mind shopping at -- well hell, I have no idea where you would buy the narrow range of unprocessed foods of which he approves -- and burst training, and, yes, some "supplements" now and then, and -- ewww -- a good thorough "cleansing," you would probably look and feel better. You'd be miserable, unless you were Mark Followill, but you'd look and feel better.   Despite his anti-med-establishment stance, you can't deny that less sugar, and more and proper exercise, will do you good.

And, as a couple of Confessors have noted, it's pretty interesting local-sourced radio first thing on the weekend.

George, since you've taken it in the shorts here, let me at least steer people to your websites:

http://georgedejohn.org/

http://21daybodymakeover.com/

We should at least tune in next week to see if he addresses the granny incident.  And to see if Bob Sturm finally gets cleansed.

32 comments:

  1. The fact that 'he has helped Bob Sturm become less doughy many, many times' might tell you that his products/services are short-term solutions that are probably marginally better than just starving yourself. I put his 'clense' slightly above BodyShaper or VigorFit on the BS level.

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  2. I've listened to his show probably two dozen times in all, and while I'm not a fan, I do (usually) respect the way he treats his guests. He doesn't lob softballs. If he feels that a guest isn't being totally honest with him, he'll call them out. That's refreshing compared to other health and nutrition shows I've heard like The People's Pharmacy, where it comes across more like an infomercial for the guest.

    The problem I have with the Train Station (and George's 21-day makeover specifically) is the shaky science it's often built upon. Some of the guests' remedies border on the homeopathic, and George buys into a lot of things that his guests say that sound plausible and fit his worldview, but that I don't know can be supported by any research.

    About the 21-day makeover: The truth about detox diets is that there's no scientific evidence out there to support that they actually do anything towards detoxification. What are the toxins being removed? Where are they stored? Why would this particular diet and these supplements do the liver and kidney's jobs better than they do? Where is the proof that these mystery toxins are actually leaving the body? The improvement that people see from detox diets is based on the change in their behavior; instead of hitting up Raising Cane's for lunch, you eat some raw vegetables and drink a protein shake. Of course you'll lose weight and feel better. Couple that with some exercise and keep it up ad infinitum and you'll lose weight, keep it off and live longer.

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  3. Why did Dan have his shirt off during crosstalk with Norm?

    Some of us were eating lunch.

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  4. This is off-topic, but am I the only one who thinks the "Glory Hole" joke has been stretched way too thin?

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  5. This morning, Gordo replayed a "best of" montage of DiGianni's exchanges with his guest. George doesn't come off looking so good.

    @birq
    Well put. If you look at any detox/cleansing program, the dietary restrictions are imperative to its effectiveness. And perhaps there's the rub: It's the, in most cases a 180, sudden and sustained, positive, dietary changes that produce early, dramatic results. And not the supposed cleansing. As well, when you, pardon my French, shit your brains out for a week, you lose a ton of water weight; the sort of weight that more readily comes off and produces immediately perceived results. Short term results, though.

    @James
    Agreed.

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  6. Another off topic topic...

    Was driving home from work tonight (about 20 minutes ago) and flipped on The FAN. While it wasn't the best I've heard, it wasn't awful. Yes, they played some interview from training camp where the interviewer asked a Corby question "which guy on the team would you like to punch," but again, it wasn't awful. Original? No. But neither is a lot of what comes out over The Ticket, either. There's so much Howard Stern pioneered stuff, it's not even funny. At least Mike R has acknowledge it in the past. Back to my point. My point is, is that even though it wasn't top shelf radio, it was local night time radio. And it was neat to listen to. I wish The Ticket would go back to doing that like the old days. If it weren't for weeknight and weekend night local programming, Bob might not be the Bob we've come to know and love (OK, Bob would be Bob, but maybe he wouldn't have found the balance between being the sports geek he is and the "getting" what the station does). Gordon cut his chops in the same fashion (yes, Virginia, Gordo hosted his own show prior to The Rant). Ditto several others. I think it would be a great avenue to develop talent. That way when the inevitable occurs--e.g., Mike R retirement, Norm retirement/being forced out, or a key host leaving--replacements could step in who understand and know how to present The Ticket brand. What say you?

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  7. 11:57 Anon: Nice comment. I think there are three points in there:

    (1) I don't go back far enough to remember some of what you're referring to. But your comments parallel what I've written in the past about The Fan: It has its moments. I don't tune in regularly and sometimes when I do it's not good, but I've heard good segments and I've heard some that were better than good. In general, the Richie-Greggo-Sybil combo just doesn't have the chops to sustain interest over the long haul. It's hard to build a fan base when every seventh word is "Greggo."

    (2) I'm guessing you're going to get some disagreement on any parallels between The Fan's infancy and The Ticket's.

    (3) This site has always shown enthusiasm in the past for home-grown off-hours programming as a showcase for JV talent. I am completely with you in wanting more of that and less Joe Morgan (none, actually) and Dan Patrick. (Actually . . . I haven't tuned in after The Top 10 for a long time -- is DP still on?) I'm sure it's cheaper to run syndicated stuff with just a board guy than to pay a host and producer -- although I would think the host is already on salary and would take a gig like that just for the gig.

    So yeah, I'm with you on that, too.

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  8. And why did Dan have his shirt off during crosstalk with Norm?

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  9. I listen to The Fan at night from time to time as well. The show Anonymous is talking about is the horrible named G Bag Nation. The main host is Gavin Dawson (think that's his last name), and his sidekick is none other than Chris Arnold. Gavin's alright, but I mostly tune in for Chris. Always had a soft spot for Mr. Gotcha Down Everybody Loves Lists. He has the inside goods on what's really going on behind closed doors in the local sports scene and doesn't mind sharing it with the listener. I also wish The Ticket would bring back local nighttime programming. By the time DPatrick airs, everything he talks about is already dated. And JMorgan. Are you kidding me. Worst radio show in America. Hands down.

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  10. During WTDS Monday a remark was made about Dan working on his tan. So I'm guessing that had something to do with him taking his shirt off during the crosstalk with Norm (a little show for the webcam viewers?)

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  11. George is a snake oil salesman. Nothing more, nothing less.

    Remember when Dan was a spokesman for Body Solutions and they got sued out of business for fraud? That was fun.

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  12. And... at 5:52 pm, 8/8/12, The Ticket goes off the air, yet again. Looks like all is not fixed on the technical side of things, just yet.

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  13. About 4:15 or 4:20, Greggo was going around awkwardly interviewing Cowboys Player Men by shoehorning in lines from classic rock songs. That's nothing at all like this:

    http://www.theunticket.com/classic-rock-guy/

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  14. Well, no one is ever going to accuse Greggo of originality now, are they. Look, lads and ladies, The FAN is grasping at straws: from the hiring of Gilbert to the hiring of every Ticket cast off (e.g., Jimmy Christopher, Chris Arnold, David Robinson, Greggo, and others) to the miming of Ticket bits to, well, you get the picture. Their plan is to recreate the early days of The Ticket in hopes of gaining a core group of loyal listeners that either miss those old days or who weren't around, feel as if they don't quite get all the inside stuff The Ticket throws down, and who want to be Day1 P1s too. The thing is, they're trying to recreate, i.e., force, it. As Rhyner says, it has to be organic; if not, the listener, or rather the savvy listener, the kind who becomes a lifelong listener, will see right through the forced farce. And that's where The FAN finds itself. Now that by all accounts and appearances The FAN seems to be on its last legs/in desperation mode, it's going scorched on where miming The Ticket goes. In the coming days, weeks, and months, look for even more blatant, bolder, "thievery." Because when you're desperate, you'll do whatever it takes. Even if it hasn't a chance in hell of working.

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  15. I don't know how long they've been doing it, but yesterday I heard RAGE ask a player for a liner.

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  16. I learned something today during the Sanjay Gupta segment, 60 seconds during an ad break that was deemed by many on this site during The Great Overreaction of 2012 as the downfall of The Ticket. If you have a brain freeze, rub your tongue on the roof of your mouth to make it go away.

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  17. Not the downfall, guy, but one of the many signs that the times they are a changing. And that it might not be for the best, in the long run. Next time, try to actually understand what you read (if you're capable of such a thing) before you attempt to be clever, Mr. Zinger.

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  18. All radio stations ask for liners. The Fan's "strategy" is actually much different than the early Ticket's. The Ticket does a million things that JUST DONT WORK around the rest of the country. Yet, they molded how the #5 market in the US percieves sports radio, because they were first and they were great. KTKCK will probably keep it up for a long while. But that doesn't mean there isn't a place at the table for anyone else.

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  19. Just heard RAGE quiz rookie players on Cowboy history.

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  20. Anonymous said...
    And... at 5:52 pm, 8/8/12, The Ticket goes off the air, yet again. Looks like all is not fixed on the technical side of things, just yet.

    August 8, 2012 5:53 PM

    Wbap and Klif went off the air at that time also

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  21. Been unavailable, sorry, may be away for a few days, will try to at least get another thread started.

    Thanks for the information, everyone.

    Various commenters have been predicting the demise of The Fan for a long time. I don't know. They've hung on for quite awhile -- I would have thought they would have tied a few more original knots with all the rope they've been given. How hard is it to think up new bits?

    And one thing we've learned: Some of us (me, too) do switch over and listen to The Fan from time to time. Odd that there aren't more comments on KESN 103.3, since it has more listeners. Maybe the P1 tends to flip over to the station where it hears some of the old team, and the ESPN listeners have never been big Ticket partisans.

    Bearing in mind this site's (somewhat arbitrary) civility requirements, can we hear from anyone who has migrated full-time, or nearly so, to The Fan?

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  22. I've stopped listening to The Ticket's nighttime programming. I now listen to The Fan's Gbag Nation every night. Having said that, The Fan isn't even 4 years old yet, so it's no wonder the plug hasn't been pulled -- no matter how much money has been poured in and no matter how abysmal the ratings. The latest ratings are in over at the radio-info site. They didn't even pull a 1 (earned a .8) last month. It keeps getting worse. So maybe there's something more to the merger or whatever it is that's going on between Cumulus and CBS than merely sharing FOX sports programming?

    I think no one talks about ESPN (except some Ben and Skin) is because of what Plainsman said: We get to check up on Ticket ex-pats.

    By the way, the captcha was unfortunately "Nignewt"

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  23. I switch over to Coop and Nate on ESPN whenever BaD has its TiVo, Isn't it cute AND interesting that the middle aged Donnie is learning to swim, game show, and Breaking Bad segments. They're very solid if you're into the sportsy side of things. I did hear something kinda interesting today as Coop and Nate were signing off for the weekend: Coop said he was going on vacation for a week and that JJT would be filling in. Nate immediately stopped him and said, no, Tim McMahon would be filling in, not JJT. Probably means nothing that Coop assumed JJT was and he isn't. But then again, it might mean something.

    And by the way, what's up with the captcha? It seems to have some sort of subversive racist agenda. My captcha was "ngerSL." Dunno about all that.

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  24. There is now a Ticket section on reddit:

    http://www.reddit.com/r/theticket/

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  25. Nignewt. L - O- effing - L

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  26. Rolled up on RAGE today just in time to hear the audio montage of their trip to Oxnard.

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  27. (1) Google Blogger misbehaving tonight, not able to put up a short new post I hae in mind.

    (2) I don't know if Georgie Di is a snake-oil salesman, but I must stress that his show is not just an extended ad for his stuff. He mentions his sites, but he does have real topics and he and his guests do discuss them. (He does allow his guests to plug their sites and services.)

    (3) Hey, that Reddit site has a lot of non-babyarm comments. Some newsy stuff, too. Food for thought (mine).

    (4) Sorry about the captchas. Early on in the site I didn't even require that level of security, and I got endless spam in the comments.

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  28. I don't listen to the show or have talked with George in a while but I went to high school with him. He was VERY much into fitness then. He read everything, worked out daily with intensity, and ate well. He didn't excel in school to be able to be a doctor or physical therapist, but he was still smart. Most important, I admit, he was cool and with the cool crowd, but NEVER ONCE have I seen him disrespect or bully anyone. He was one of the nice cool guys and would always help people. I can't think his heart has changed in 27 years. You may not agree with his science but I don't agree with liberals.....but I don't bash them on blogs. For the record I'm a chiropractor, work out 6 days a week religiously and like a lot of what he preaches.

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  29. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  30. I thank every one of you for your comments, regardless of the nature of their intent.
    Epicetus, the Greek philosopher, once wrote a profound message about the difference between seeing and knowing someone. He said, "Just as you might a statue or a monument. You saw me! But a man who meets a man is one who learns the other's mind, and lets him see his in turn. Learn my mind - show me yours; and then go and say that you met me."
    While we all judge every person every day, either to protect us from harm or to criticize others, it would be prudent to first know the person or thing we judge. This "knowing" can also come from others who have spent time with the person of criticism.
    The Ticket has a certain reputation for being edgy. While I may not fit in with the rest of the crew, nor do I ever march to the beat of another's drum, my main goal is, and has always been to help others. I am thankful for those who are able to cut through the rambling and recognize that this is my true intent.
    If, in my attempt to help listeners by repeating the "science" I learned from non-traditional, non-mainstream PhD's and MD's alike, I have misguided you, I apologize.
    However, if by chance I helped someone climb their way out of the depths of depression, gave motivation when it was scarce, guided anyone who was being bullied, or struggling with being overweight, if I helped even one person overcome whatever it was they were struggling with - then I am proud of myself and am validated for the show or information that person heard.
    You will rarely see me respond to these blogs and validate some of the comments. I will say, it has been a challenge finding my "voice" over the past fifteen years on air. I hope to have found that voice now, in 2014, with higher quality shows and more compassion for those who are not ready to leave their comfort zone or hear about controversial science.
    With everything that has been said, I must leave you with another quote. Buddha once said, "the teacher will come when the student is ready". If you are ready for change then your teacher will come to you. Maybe that teacher won't be me, but you will find those who affect your future and you theirs.
    I hope over the years some of you have seen my evolution, and know that I have listened to your complaints as well as your compliments.
    George DiGianni

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  31. George: Thank you for your comment. Welcome to My Ticket Confession. Please feel free to check in any time.

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