. . . that commenting Confessors please bear in mind that not all readers (including yours truly) are not able to listen to all the shows all the time. So if you have a comment on a specific piece of broadcasting, or a piece of other Ticket-related information (i.e., ratings, signal, stuff like that), please give us the factual predicate for your comment so that it may be understood and evaluated -- unless, of course, it's clear from the context of prior comments or a post.
BAFFLING: "I thought Bob's comments on Tony Romo were right on the button yesterday."
SATISFYING: "I thought Bob's comments yesterday that Tony Romo brings a kind of Etruscan elegance to his hand gestures at the line of scrimmage before audible-ing a play that about 47% of his teammates on the field never really learned from the playbook was right on the button."
Same as you were told in that composition class you took all those years ago: When you sit down to write, put yourself in the shoes of your audience.
Many thanks in advance for your thoughtful preparation of comments, and apologies for this schoolmarmish post.
Will you be deleting the "baffling" posts? Or is this merely constructive criticism on your part?
ReplyDeleteNothing will be deleted on this account. Just trying to make a more satisfying and easygoing read for all Confessors.
ReplyDeleteI'm out of town. Thanks for your solid takes in the meantime.
If I may, can I temporarily hijack this new post (that will inevitably get lots of views) with a stream question?
ReplyDeleteWe know that the stream will work on a mobile phone with the IHeartRadio app, but I really have grown used to the Tivo-like qualities of the buffer in TuneIn. So, once the custom stream link came up a few months ago, I reverted back to TuneIn since it was removed from the TuneIn directory due to the IHR agreement (http://4713.live.streamtheworld.com/KTCKAM.mp3 if anyone doesn't have it yet).
But, this custom stream option doesn't appear to be available for other mobile platforms (neither Android nor Windows Phone 8). Sure, I can search for KTCK, but the app will tell me that this content is not allowed and switch to a "similar" station. The custom stream option is only in the iPhone app, apparently.
So, has anyone figured out a different mobile app on Android or WP8 to open an http stream with a live Tivo-like buffer?
is ooTunes available there? That's what I use now on iOS
ReplyDeleteThe next couple of weeks ought to be right up your alley, Plainsman. It's the staggered dry dock time of the year. You'll get all the Scot Harrison, Sirloins, and whoever else they run in you can handle.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy.
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect much reaction to my scolding post above, so let's start an OPEN THREAD ON DRYDOCK BROADCASTING right now.
There has been a death in my family (Mrs. Plainsman's side) and I'm going to be a little distant the next week or so, so I'm hopeful the Confessor can pick me up here.
I believe you're all aware that visits to this site spike noticeably during drydock. A Ticketarian posted here one year to say the reason was that the JV who are getting airtime are constantly checking in to take Confessors' temperature on what they were slinging.
So please -- be civil, provide context (see above), report the good and the less good. In other words, be good P1 citizens in this season of goodwill towards men.
And towards Jonaessa.
Sorry to hear about your loss, Plainsman.
ReplyDeleteI for one am hoping for more MaSS and not so much CdS. Also, (doing my best Norm imitation here) no offense to Donnie whatsoever, but I hope he isn't used like in dry docks past. Namely, as the fill-in host on nearly every show. It seems like the last couple of years' dry docks, Donnie was on for 5-7 hours per day--plus the Cowboys Post Game Show. It's too much. Much too much. I already feel like the station force feeds us Donnie, as it is. He's OK. He has some very annoying traits (e.g., the constant half laugh). And sometimes his ability to form and articulate an argument (especially to fully grasp what the other side is saying) is head scratching. But like I said, he's OK. But for some reason, he's perhaps the most ubiquitous personality up there. I wish that wasn't so.
I'm with you duck, I catch a bit of MaSS every Sunday. I like those boys. They said at the end of their show yesterday they're filling in for the Hardline on Friday. I'm guessing that's the beginning of dry dock for everyone? Haven't heard about other shows filling in but I imagine the days from Friday through the New Year are packed with the JV.
ReplyDeleteRight there with you, duckandcover. More MaSS. Less Donnie. Donnie's good in spurts. But he's easily overexposed. You're right, for some reason he becomes Johnny on the spot host whenever drydock rolls around. Don't know why that is. It seems like a great opportunity to see if a JVer has what it takes to take on that extra load and push his hosting ability.
ReplyDeleteDonnie's a good. But, yeah, by this point in time there's no need to work him to death like they have the past few dry docks. There are now plenty of other more than capable JV hosts to fill that bill. I hope we get as much Matt McClearin as possible over dry dock. That dude is pure radio gold. He'll say and cop to damn near anything. I would love IJB to have him on for a hard hitting, in depth conversation.
ReplyDeleteI wish BaD were on today so that I could hear their take on the Josh Brent sideline issue. Personally I think Norm was a bit too generous to the Cowboy front office. I doubt they took the bigger picture into consideration. The entire organization has been in a bunker, we are family mentality since last weekend's tragedy. Understandably so. But I don't think they considered all angles and the larger picture. Norm thinks they did.
One more thing. I know this site doesn't touch on actual sports stuff too often, but is anyone else as puzzled by the Ranger offseason as I am? I think it rests solely on Nolan Ryan and JD mistakenly thinking that players really want to come here, and that they somehow had the upper hand. Now that every single player they've targeted has gone to other teams. In many cases lesser teams with only a so so future, I wonder if they'll try a different approach next winter? I have a feeling that we Ranger fans are about to take a trip back to mediocrity town.
211, there's always room for the occasional HSO here, and I will sometimes post my own fairly uninformed thoughts on sportsy topics (I try to give fair warning).
ReplyDeleteI'll see you and raise you one:
(1) Agree with your general point re Ryan/Daniels, but I'll hazard some specificity:
Pitchers may see the Rangers as a team that employs Nolan's philosophy of working starters somewhat harder than other teams, at least by recent industry standards. And they may think this is not a place that is healthy for a long career on the mound.
And I don't have any proof of this, but I wonder if other teams trust Daniels. There was the "damaged goods" suspicion in the Chris Davis trade to the Orioles (although Orioles management entirely absolved the Rangers of any deception). It seems to me there was one other trade where this was an issue, but I'm not finding it. And he comes across as a bit . . . chilly; I wonder if perhaps he's not a favorite at the GM Club and rubs agents the wrong way, even though his money is as green as anyone's
And, as I have written in the past to considerable grumbling, Dallas is not a happenin' burg. For an athelete I would think it would compare unfavorably to Los Angeles, Toronto, and lots of others. (Counterexasmple: Sanchez resigns with Tigers.) As you say, 211, NR/JD may believe that players want to come here, but they don't really find this an attractive destination that may not have anything to do with the team's prospects.
There may also be suspicion that maybe Ron Washington hasn't had all that much to do with the team's success (I would disagree with that, by the way), and that he couldn't manage them out of their 2012 swoon even with the massive talent on the team. Perhaps high-powered stars are looking for a more dynamic, strategically-minded field general.
So yup, I think Rangers management faces some real challenges in attracting free agents for reasons other than financial.
(2) The Cowboys are getting justifiably flayed for having Josh Brent on the sidelines on Sunday.
But I've thought their whole "we're standing behind Josh" approach has been creepy almost from the outset. I'm not talking about how the event was handled with the team -- that appears to have been a model of how to deal with crises of this sort.
I'm talking about the numerous public statements of -- support, what else can you call it -- of this guy? Sure, it was an accident, but it was also an entirely predictable result of the club-life ethos of way too many athletes.
Personal injury or death caused by driving while intoxicated is treated as a criminal act for a reason -- it represents behavior so reckless that it is deemed equivalent to intentional violence.
You can "support" a guy by maybe, oh, not cutting him instantly, or providing some substance abuse counseling, or something like that. But rallying around the guy as though what he did was simply a random misfortune is just . . . well, the word that keeps coming to mind is creepy, so I'll keep using it.
And Jerry (and later Garrett) saying that he was on the sidelines because Reed's mom wanted the team to support him -- well, that's creepy too. Manage your franchise like a leader, Jerry. Letting your players lead you around by the nose is one thing, but letting their moms do it .
. . .
Creepy.
The Cowboys organization was not aware that he was on the sidelines. He was invited by players, and a guy on IR picked him up and took him to the game.
ReplyDeleteNot only what Shaggy said, but he was either instructed to leave or did on his own accord after it became known that his presence was causing quite an uproar. Whether the reason, he was gone at halftime.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shaggy and 1033. I was tending to my family matter and did not see the game, only heard the accounts. Appreciate the additional information, heard the Musers reviewing it this morning. But:
ReplyDelete(1) I'd say the chance of Jerry not knowing about that, and that the organization is fibbing about not knowing, is around 50-50. That didn't come up until he'd embarrassed himself by implying that Reed's moms had requested it. (If you listen to what he said, he didn't come right out and say that she'd asked that he be permitted to stand on the sideline -- but it's plainly what he hoped to convey.) The Cowboys management doesn't have any credibility (with me), so I see no reason to embrace that explanation over the more obvious one that the Cowboys control their sideline.
(2) Even if true, my point was that this embrace of alleged homicidal felon Brent was creepy almost from the Saturday it all came out. The expressions of outreach by Cowboys management were excessive and gratuitous from the get-go, and probably gave Brent and the players who allegedly let him tag along to the game the idea that, hey, everything's cool with the team.
Tis the Season, Plainsman, so let's try not to be so cynical. I can see where anyone would be hesitant to take Jerry at his word, but Garrett is another story.
ReplyDeleteI do think your second point is spot-on. It does send out, at the very least, a confusing message. From what I've heard today, he will no longer be on the sidelines, he will not travel with the team, and he will no longer be a matter of public discussion on the Cowboys' side of things.
Listening to THL's analysis of Josh Hamilton presser. Jeez Louise I'm glad that idiot is gone.
I heard a replay of the Esteemed Mr. Hamilton's press conference Saturday afternoon about 4 pm. (I think it was Ty and Jamie Newburg?)
ReplyDeleteAfter all the babysitting and ass kissing (dual non alcoholic ginger ale celebrations just to support him, etc.) the Rangers did, and then his mail it in, I thought to myself, what an arrogant prick.
Please grant me some latitude. I don't know the etiquette here. Each time I post, do I just repeatedly type my name? As opposed to creating an identity or somesuch? Holla back.
ReplyDeleteMLW: Just say what you need to say and after typing in the captcha letters and numbers choose name/url and type in your name. That's all there is to it, my man.
ReplyDelete@ Mr Les White...
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to sign in everytime, but most of the time, the "Choose an identity" will remember who you are. Not all of the time though.
Mr. White: I'm not entirely sure, but I believe that if you open a Blogger account (it's free, and you don't have to actually create a blog) and get to this site on a computer where you use Blogger, one of your choices when you've composed a comment will be your Blogger name. As veteran Confessor T4 said, it's not clear whether this works every time, but in my experience it is a way to avoid the captcha and having to type in your preferred name. And you can always punch in as Anonymous, but it is preferable to use a consistent name.
ReplyDeleteAlso: A big MTC welcome to Mr. Les White.
ReplyDeleteI understand, I think, why the Cowboys did what they did as far as supporting Brent. The hard truth here is that that TWO men made a very, very poor choice. One paid with his life, the other is making payment as we speak with the legal curtain falling on him soon.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I think happened: so many around the nation were praising the Cowboys for their support of Berry, which caused them to over-play their hand this past Sunday. They took a good thing too far, and lost some of the good will they built up.
If no one objects, I'd like to go in another direction:
ReplyDeleteOur Ticket 2013 Predictions.
(i) The end of CdS. Not because of the show's success or lack thereof, but rather to Cash's Mavs duties and Mike's ever inching toward the management side of things.
(ii) Scot Harrison's presence grows. He becomes a weeknight host, and eventually MaSS changes its name because it's now hosted by Matt and Jake.
(iii) In conjunction with (ii), the success of Intentional Grounding sparks a slew of weeknight shows. Harrison hosting one such show. Thus the programming schedule is all local until 11pm. THL ends at 7, the new show (IG-Fri, Harrison-MW, Newbury and SeaBass-TTH) runs till 9, then the Top Ten takes over until 11, which gives way to CBS national feed--due to the merger between Cumulus and CBS.
(iv) Danny leaves The Ticket. Yes, I said it. I don't like it. But I think it's going to happen. I think he's ready to move on to other things. Perhaps move to Boston or even Nashville (music). He's a musician, and that's what truly drives him and that's how he wants to make his mark in the world. And he knows he's not getting any younger (45, I believe). Time to make the move, now or never. His replacement: one Mike Bacsik. He's no longer deemed too hot to handle. And with his addition, Rhyner is reeled back in from constant, one might say teenager like, music talk and finds himself reinvigorated, just as he was in the halcyon days.
(v) See (iv), The Orphanage, RIP.
(vi) I believe that 2013 is the last year for one of our beloved shows: Dunham and Miller. I think the Joonz finally says "I'm done, let's tawk gahwfff." He's nearly quit a few times in the past, and I think he, like Danny (but for much different reasons) is ready to move on.
(vii) The FAN is still with us. So is RaGE. But only for a while. By July, CBS finally says "enough," and pulls the plug. Greggo finally, and permanently, moves to Colorado.
(viii) Ready for this one? MTC, as we know it, says "adios, amigos." Yup. Plainsman decides that no longer has the time to maintain the site. He hands over the reins to T4, and this thing keeps on rollin'.
duckandcover, you have aptly named yourself.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back later today with more on your provocative post.
Thanks for it.
Duckandccover's comment should be a post all its own. This way, given the proper title/heading, we can easily remember which post to refer back to as the year goes along and we want to check on our predictions, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If you would, please post up duckandcover's comment as a new thread.
ReplyDeleteThat "Enjoy King" or whatever the hell it is smokeless cigarette ad with Foreigner's "It Feels Like The First Time" is so bad, so dated sounding, it's f'n hilarious. All I can think of is Spencer's Gifts circa the 70s and early 80s. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteI echo Brad Gilbert and ausgang. Let's start a new thread with duck's comment. Until then, I'll hold off on my comments on duck's predictions, and my own predictions. Like Brad said, with 20 plus comments on this thread already, it'll get convoluted in fairly fast order.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Brad. I too feel duckandcover's comment needs to be upgraded to a blog post.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest one post prior to that: a list of the major changes at The Ticket since this time last year. I couldn't do it, and I don't mean to create work for anyone, but it might give some perspective.
Making a new thread for duck and cover's idiotic predictions would be a waste of time.
ReplyDelete@701
ReplyDeleteYou're the only idiot around here.
Don't know if you're around, Plainsman, but if you are please do us all a favor and delete the Anon troll's comments. What a pathetic moron. Doesn't it have something better to do in life? I guess not. What a sad, lonely silly creature.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the kind replies, fellas. I'm gonna just kinda keep an eye on things to see how MTC go, so as not to become tiresome.
ReplyDelete(And a shout out to atlanta rhythm section. I had a brief 3 month stay in Dekalb county, Ga. in the mid 70s during the ARS glory days. Witnessed the sun set from the side of Stone Mountain with my then 5 year old daughter)
Right back at ya, MLW. ARS was greatness. Don't worry about becoming tiresome. Just jump in. Believe me, we all have our favorite pet issues, etc... chances are, you'll tire of us before we, you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, brotha. How do a new thread get started? Only by The Plainsman?
ReplyDeleteAlso, is posting while drinking allowed?
@MLW
ReplyDeletePosting while drinking is encouraged, brutha!
Lester,
ReplyDelete(1) You may comment on any topic at any time and if Confessors are interested a new thread will magically appear. 90- and 180-degree departures from the topic at hand are frequent and welcome. It keeps the site fresh and lets me know what subjects Confessors are interested in.
(2) Drinking and commenting is OK but please -- confess responsibly.
This is really going to date me, but hearing about ARS takes me back to the days of pre-MTV cable and a nightly show called Video Concert Hall. ARS was on the regular playlist along with The Who, Tom Petty, The A's, and some other regional NYC bands.
ReplyDelete