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Before I begin, a little background on myself may be in order. I
began listening to the Ticket as a 18 year-old just out of high school, back in
the days when Rocco “like the Beatles” Pendola was on mid-days, movie watching
was still a sport, and people were being Sturminated late-nights. I pretty much
listened all day while working different jobs that allowed the radio to be on.
But, in 2005 I moved up to MI and was stuck listening to the generic sports
talk offered up in Metro Detroit. While I managed to get through it, nothing
was ever the same.
But then along comes Twitter, and I begin to see posts about the
Hammer and how he was doing after being fired from the Ticket. Whoa! Not what I
was expecting. So, as I begin to search the Internet, I find out that you can
listen online to the Ticket via its website. This eventually led to smartphones
and apps. Now, I listen through iHeart Radio. Even when I am in my vehicle, I
plug my phone into a portable speaker to listen. All of that leads me to this
story, and I wonder if it has ever happened to anyone else out there:
As I was listening to the Hardline one evening in my car, Corby
and Danny were going back and forth on some subject. To this day, I cannot
remember what exactly they were talking about due to the shocking nature of
what came next.
I am getting ready to walk into Blockbuster to take back some
DVDs and I grab my phone to listen via the speaker on the smartphone. It is at
this moment, while I pass a female in the parking lot, that Danny blurts out something
about females and that certain “time of the month,” and a “used female
product.” I have never seen someone stop as fast as she did to stare me down
dead in my tracks. The Hardline in particular has taught me that when listening
to the Ticket in public, I am better off using my earphones. This is probably
one of the reasons why I don’t listen to the Hardline as much as I once did.
Has listening to the Ticket, either in public, home, or the
office, ever caused an embarrassing situation for you?
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Email: ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com
Twitter: @Plainsman1310
All the friggin' time.
ReplyDeleteI used to get home around six and fire up the laptop and listen at the kitchen bar while the wife was cooking supper. She is of a conservative Christian leaning and would hate all the "GOD" talk that the hosts (mainly Corby) would put out there. (Jesus loves to party but he died for your sins).
Other off-color jokes and rants were/are so off-putting that I could either not listen or put on ear buds.
A long-time friend whose husband was (he passed) a big P1 (Dean in Aubry) labeled the THL and the station as "male chauvinist pigs". Her brother said no one has used that term in 30 years. She stuck by her description.
So I am very careful of when I play THL out loud and in whose company I play it in. In an earlier life I could play THL at work in my ear buds and fellow employees would hear me laughing. Kinda weird but you know the feeling.
But honestly, find myself punching out to RaGE more and more. But with the signal strength fading and me driving out to BFE East Texas I don't get The Ticket signal much past Rockwall. So I have to listen to RaGE instead of GAC.
Two questions: Does the power down of the signal affect the ratings (i.e. they don't track people like me in the hinterlands) after 5:30'ish.
2. Mike Fisher (Cowboys insider) has something; probably a little more insightful that the Ranch Report or even Micky S?
Not so much in public, but I have had my kids in the car, then turned on the radio, forgetting that the last station I listened to was the Little One. A few of those times, Corby has said something I didn't want my kids to hear. In fact, just last night, I heard (with my 11-yr-old very sheltered daughter) Corby say the words "sex tape" before I frantically switched the station.
ReplyDeleteI've had a few friends come in town from major coastal cities (both coasts), and on more than one occasion I've got the "WHAT did they just say?" and "I'm sorry but that's so racist!" or "Why do you listen to this crap? It's so inside, I don't get it?"
ReplyDeleteEast Texas, don't ever tell Mike R. you think Fish has something. He can't stand him.
@ James, I've done the same when my kids are in the car (6 yo son, 13 yo daughter). It definitely leaves you a little red faced. Sometimes I try to fight through it, but am very anxious that any minute, something inappropriate is bound to drop.
ReplyDeleteI guarantee you just about every P1 can share this scenario about public embarrassment to a certain degree.
Mike Fisher is such a blowhard, and I never enjoyed Mickey much. I forget who did it before David Moore, but I don't think he was bad. Overall I could do without the frequency of ranch reports.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the blog. Just so everyone knows, I post comments on P2 in MI.
ReplyDeleteAs far as religion talk, that is the only automatic punch-out for me. But THL has gotten worse lately about doing and saying things like I talked about in the blog, so it does make me listen less.
As far as ratings, I have another opinion, but don't know the business/tech side enough to know if it is true. But, it seems to me that the easiest way to track listeners would be online listens/app listens. If that is the case, would the poor signal actually boost ratings in that it forces people to the apps/online, which measure listenership easier?
Fisher is more of a basketball guy anyway. Before Moore was Todd Archer. He did a good job. He was sort of a halfway point between Mickey's schilling for Jerry and David's being a Ticket guy. In the end Archer did what was best for him, that is, go to ESPN. He's a New England guy, and most of those guys feel more at home and want to be in those confines. The only guy around here that's thrived outside it is Coop.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big Touchdown Brothers fan, and I really like the new bit where they reenact moments of Ticket tenseness infamy, but I miss them RIPPING everyone.
I honestly can't remember the last time I DIDN'T listen to The Ticket alone or with headphones. Norm's relatively safe, and BaD mostly keep it between the lines, but with Gordo, Corby and the Enco, there's literally no predicting when something shockingly inappropriate is going to emanate from that place.
ReplyDeleteFish is interesting, but he seems like he could go completely wheels-off at any second. He looks coked-up and ready to go scorched-earth at the drop of a hat. That makes him fun to watch sometimes, but in general, he makes me too tense to watch/listen to.
I have never listened to the Ticket with my kids or wife in the car.
ReplyDelete@ausgang
ReplyDeleteI've had that happen to me a time or two. Though I did have a friend who was in town for a couple of weeks. By the time he left, he was basically a P1. He went from "I don't get this, and how do they get away with saying some of this stuff? It's blatantly racist. I don't care if they're kidding or not" to "Okay, I'm starting to get it," to "Oh man, did you hear Dan say ___ about ___ today ?!?!?!" All that within a couple of weeks. He lives in Baltimore and now listens everyday, all day via the miracle of the internet.
@Brad Gilbert have you tried to listen via Tune In radio? I find the 30 min DVR like function and the ability to record invaluable. I believe you have to you have the paid app and an iphone for this to work. Last I heard the Android version doesn't support custom URL's.
ReplyDeleteTuneIn doesn't carry the stream anymore.
ReplyDeleteTuneIn does work if you have the custom stream that is on the UnTicket. Otherwise I couldn't listen here in TN.
ReplyDeletePopped over to RaGE for a segment today and heard about their FANniversary party next week at...wait for it...the Irving Convention Center. Right where Ticketstock was held last year. Can they do ANYTHING original?
ReplyDeleteBeen listening to MaSS all morning. Getting better with each passing week. Scot expressed my apathy toward the Cowboys to a T. Yeah, Matt has boundary issues, but what else is new. But he, like the show, improves weekly. I"m sure this has to do with actually having a weekly show versus a once in a while show, but MaSS is light years beyond CDS.
ReplyDeleteMitchell Kerasaik Watch once again on hold. Did not hear him this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI like Bruce LeVine, like him just fine, but alas, he was having a dreadful time Saturday morning. I thought Tickermen wrote out their copy during their non-Ticker-delivering time. He was having a terrible time getting out the Kansas City murder-suicide story, and it wasn't only the first time he had to report it -- I heard three Tickers and each one was, I am sorry to report, a mess. (Example: Would occasionally call the KC coach "Romeo Cornell," but the main problem was just getting sentences out.) And it seemed to carry over into his non-KC reporting. He was getting scores wrong this morning, too.
Got no issue with Bruce, who usually does fine work, but it does make me wonder whether Tickers are prepared, or whether they're delivered extempore. If the latter, then we should show even greater appreciation for Rich, Ty, and the other Tickermen who spit out the facts and let KTCK get on with the show.
I can't speak for all ticker dudes, but for the most part I prepare mine. My strategy is that there is always room to improvise if need be. That's just me though, but as i've learned throughout my entire life, my way of doing things is probably not the way things are asked/supposed to be done.
ReplyDeleteJake and David are great today. Agree or disagree, they support their positions.
ReplyDeleteI love the Sturm/Phillips show and I'll be listening today, but Kemp/Newbury is giving them a run for their money.
And this is directed at no show or hosts in particular, but I do invite Confessors' attention to a very arresting feature of the Jake & David show: THEY GET TO THE POINT and the show absolutely flies.
Jake taking a bigger role today, and the improved balance also represents a step forward for this show.
It should be on for every game, not just late games. If network obligations means it can't be on Sundays where the Cowboys game is early, then it should be scheduled for Saturday, or even Friday night.
Nice job, gents.
Could not agree with you more, Plainsman. The way they cut to the chase and plainly state their opinions is refreshing. I love Bob, but he puts so many qualifiers and prefacing comments before anything he says, that at times his point (which is almost always golden) gets lost. The neat thing is that neither Jake nor David play the role of shock jock. There's no Touchdown Brothers, FAN, ESPN schtick going on here. No "JERRY JONES THE OWNER NEEDS TO FIRE JERRY JONES THE GM!!!!!" crap. Just solid, well-reasoned, HSOs mixed in with mostly solid, well-reasoned analysis. What a treat. And then, to have it followed up by Bob and Rich... only to follow that up with Norm and Donnie... we are a lucky market, ladies and gents.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of weird that the plainsman seems to listens to weekend programming more than the bread-and-butter weekday programming that most of the p1s love. I'd venture that most loyal listeners don't listen on the weekends at all.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's the only time he can really listen on a regular basis? Or maybe because with the weekend shows he's able to be a sort of Day1-P1 (because he's about as far from being one in the regular sense you possibly can be) and he can evaluate their growth and whatnot? Or maybe, and if this is it, it'd be pretty weird, he prefers the weekend shows?
ReplyDeleteShaggy, I will say that no matter what the reason is, it seems strange to me.
Oh S*** here we go again with another round of "The Plainsman: A Legit Listener? A Qualified Ticket Blogger?"
ReplyDeleteSTOP IT!!! It doesn't matter. It's HIS blog. YOU have the CHOICE to read and participate, or NOT.
I choose to. Not because of Plainsman's Ticket bona fides, or lack thereof, but because it's a good site with mostly good commenters. Who cares if the proprietor has a shallow knowledge of the station's history and doesn't seem to listen on a regular basis. I don't know about you people, but I can count on one hand how many times an actual Plainsman posting has sparked the need to comment in me. Of the comments I've made, I'd say 95% were comment-inspired. The upshot is, The Plainsman has build a nice little community of mostly solid thinking Ticketheads who, again for the most part, have a healthy respect for their fellow P1. He's given us a voice and an audience for that voice. An audience that includes all the hosts, JVers, board ops, Ticker guys, and even the Catman of the Americas. So give Plainsman a break. He's smart enough to know that we are MTC.
OK - lost a little respect for Mike and Corby today praising Bob Costas for "having the stones" to air his anti-gun rant on Sunday Night Football. I don't care whether or not Bob Costas is anti-gun, but IMO the forum he chose to air it was inappropriate. And he's taking a lot of heat for it nationally today.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't lose a listener, but they get a mention on MTC.
@Anon Ron
ReplyDeleteGagreed. Stones. To do what? To step up to a bully pulpit and make "ballsy" comments that he knows he's going to be praised to the heavens by his media and celebrity colleagues/friends for? Yeah, that takes some real stones. Junior and Gordo nailed it in their analyses. Look, Corby is quick and smart in some regards, but he's not very wise. There's a huge difference. Mike is not very smart on any level, period. He has good intuition at times. Like when he decided to start The Ticket and the way he went about it in his "organic" way. But look, we're talking about a guy who is in his sixties and seems to do nothing else but obsess about The Stones like a college kid from 1971 and play other peoples' songs. For Pete's sake, he actually talked about another Stones doc today. Even Corby chortled a bit when he brought it up.
I hope the Dark Cloud is back tomorrow. THL is not the same without him. And yes, I heard Corby chuckle a little when Rhyner brought up the Rolling Stones. It is to get at us that are tired of it. Kind of like he's gonna have the last word or something. That's why I think Corby was laughing, like "you're still poking at this thing with your stick?".
ReplyDeleteI think Danny might be on dry dock. Not sure though. The show lacks without him. Did anyone else notice "The Machine's" big time presence today? That guy does not let the game come to him. He jumped on at every turn during the day. At one point I was sure that Norm was going to tell him to keep his points to himself unless asked. I wonder if he said as much to him off air? Personally I find Machine to be a bit too much. I get it. He's trying to make a name and will do whatever it takes. Get it. Got it. Understand it. But let the game come to you bud. Maybe too much Cirque has made him think that everyone in the crew is a host. But that's not how it works in the Show.
ReplyDeleteDanny's on vacation. He's missing White Elephant Day this week as well.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think Machine was over zealous. It seems to me he's just trying to get his two cents in when appropriate. He seems to have well thought out sports points. And he seems very sports intensive. I for one appreciate it, because the sportsier on air guys are becoming rarer and rarer. You have Bob, Norm, and David Newbury and that's it. I think it would be refreshing if the station got back to being sports-guy talk, which it used to be, instead of the other way around, which it's become over the years.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't disagree more. The only reason the little one survived is because it went away from the all-sports format. More sports would alienate a large part of the audience.
ReplyDeleteIt never was all sports like an East Coast station. Shows how much you actually know. It's always had guy talk and bits. It's just that it used to have a bit more weight on the sports side of things. Now it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteWhy anyone would care about the relative appearance of weekend-show-related posts, or my listening habits, I don't know, since comments may be on any topic as atlanta rhythm section notes.
ReplyDeleteFor the record:
I listen lots, lots more during the week than on weekends. So why do I write about weekend broadcasting?
You may have noticed that THE TICKET HAS NOT CHANGED ANYTHING ABOUT ITS WEEKDAY BROADCASTING, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AN OCCASIONAL JV CHANGE, IN THE THREE-PLUS YEARS THIS BLOG HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE. (The site started well after the Hammer hammered off to oblivion.)
I, however, need to find things to write about if this site is to retain any interest for readers (although I'm delighted that people now visit just for the comments, suggesting perhaps I should just skip the posts and just refresh a title every few days and let the comments flow).
Weekend programming is much more dynamic, and generally has less history than the rest of KTCK's programming. It also features some JV guys who may be Ticket guys of the future. And the weekday P1 may not know as much about those shows, so in calling attention to them I feel like I'm performing a minor service for the Nation and maybe even for The Little One.
In other words, with over 500 posts under the bridge, this joint needs material. There's only so much you can say about Hardline attitude, BaD self-interruption, and Muser professionalism, and I've said a lot of it over and over. The weekend shows provide some new and interesting fodder for posts, and it's pretty clear that many P1s are devoted listeners during KTCK-originated programming at that time.
So that's why you see weekend-programming material on this site. I have no idea whether it represents more than 2/7 of aggregate posts.
I wonder if Corby would have gone on his Costas lickfest if they had been doing a remote at the gun shop like they did a couple of weeks ago - when he was talking about how great it was to buy guns.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Ron
ReplyDeleteThought the same thing. The problem with the Ticket and all of their live spots and remotes is that they "over sell" everything. I understand that they have to in the respect that they are paid to do it, but it just takes away from any credibility that they still might have. It makes them sound like sell-outs. Which, it seems as if many day-one P1's claim they already are anyway.
They have to sell the product, i.e., the remote, no matter what it is. It's part of their job.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Corby and Mike is that they don't seem to think about larger, more pressing, societal issues. Because of this, when they do, it can come off as shallow, unreflective, ill-informed, and even contradictory to stances they've previously taken.
Conversely, Gordon and Junior, no matter if you agree with them or not, actually think about issues larger than pop music, pop culture, and generic sports points. And so they don't come off as unreflective boobs.