Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The Presentation -- Is Change in the Air?


This article is not about Mike's kidney stone, other than incidentally.

And, as I am inclined to do sometimes, I am going to jump to a conclusion based on extremely, extremely skimpy evidence.  Maybe not a "conclusion" -- maybe more of a  .  .  .  musing.

I got to hear a fair amount of The Hardline on Monday.  I was in my car and I quite literally sat up straighter in my seat as the Presentation progressed.

I heard two excellent, hard-core sports conversations between Mike and Corby, one right after the other.  One was about the NBA playoffs.  I think the other was Ranger-based, but my recollection is dimmer on that one.  The conversation was continuous, no dead spots where Danny had to jump in, interesting to listen to, and hard

I thought:  All right.  I haven't heard sports talk like this on The 'Line in months if not years.  Not jokey, apparently knowledgeable, straightforward.  As you know, I don't know a lot about sports, but it sounded genuine to me.  Could Corby and Mike have learned all the names and prospects and playoff permutations earlier in the day?  Could they have been reading off of a sportsy website?  I suppose.  It didn't have that feel to me, and I wouldn't have cared if it were.  

The one thing I noticed was that while Mike sounded "good" with respect to his cadence and content, his voice had that whispery, older-gentleman timbre that ausgang (I believe it was) and I began to notice popping up several months ago.  Must have had a rehearsal the night before, I thought.

I thought the entire show, all that I heard, was sharp and focused.  I thought to myself this is what Confessors have been asking for.  I did ask myself if I was just hearing what I wanted to hear, or sensationalizing what I perceived to be a better-planned show just so I'd have something to write about.  

It's possible -- but I don't think so.  I think there was a real effort there to beef up the content and dial back the chaos.  

Then, at the end of the show, we learn about Mike's battle with the dread kidney stone.  The guy must have been miserable.

Nevertheless, I thought Tuesday's show (of which I heard much less) was equally on track.

Do I think this means that The Hardline is moving back to a more thoughtful, targeted, prepped presentation?  Man, I have no idea.  I'm just saying I noticed it -- or thought I did -- on Monday and Tuesday.

While we're at it, let's keep a collective excellent thought for the Founder of the Feast, Mike Rhyner.  Hope he is back soon and energized for the tilt with Ben & Skin.



Which brings us to today's show with Corby, Danny, and Jake.  I thought it was excellent.  I have bored you all with my repeated insistence that when Corby is called upon to helm a show or take an active role on a different show, he really shines, shows that he's capable of leadership, planning, and a much more mature form of entertainment.

Unlike a commenter to the last thread, I thought Danny was equally good.  I confess (of course) to being a strong Danny partisan, including The Orphanage (which, ironically, begins with an image of a trainwreck).  He's one of the smartest guys on the channel, and I thought he was sharp and funny as usual today.  Several laugh out loud moments from them both.  

Jake had a gawdawful EQ going on his voice -- I understand he was broadcasting from the producer's perch, perhaps he left Danny's levels intact -- but his contributions were also appropriate and entertaining.  So I had zero problem with today's show and while I hope Mike gets back soon and broadcasts for another twenty, I will repeat what I've said in the past when we were puzzling over whether Mike was going to re-up last time around.  Assuming Danny wants to hang around and assuming they pay him what he's worth, Mike's departure would not require gigantic adjustments to PM drive.

But let me get back to my main point:  I do wonder if the prospect of new competition, other changes in the local industry, or the sense in the room  that The Hardline has kinda been loafing through its months of drivetime domination, has suggested to our Hard heroes a new seriousness of purpose.

Yah -- that's quite a thing to wonder based on two partial hearings of The Hardline.  You have plenary dispensation to say that I'm hearing things, those shows were just more of the same.  But yes, I did think I heard something, a little something between the lines, on Monday and Tuesday, and I liked it.

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Twitter:  @Plainsman1310
Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com


16 comments:

  1. I thought this was interesting.

    I had gone to the Ticket website looking for an email address and decided to drop by the job postings. In amongst the begging for TicketChicks and technical and promotions guys was a posting for "Part-Time On Air Sports Update Anchors." I learned that "ideal candidates will have on-air experience, strong announcing skills, ability to write clear and concise copy for on air delivery, familiarity with broadcast equipment, the ability to work well in a fast paced, team environment. Availability at night and on weekends is a must." In addition, "responsibilities include gathering and editing audio in real time, staying abreast of the latest leading sports stories and breaking sports news, writing and delivering sports updates three times per hour."

    Oh, and you need to submit unedited clips.

    I hope this does not mean the end of the Great Mitchell Karasik Experiment. Guy is hitting his stride.

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  2. Corby is by no means a wallflower, but could it be that he is a little intimidated by Mike's presence and defers to him - even on days Mike seems to be putting his presentation on cruise control. Maybe he is a little more focused on the job at hand when Mike is not there.

    I am also a big Danny fan. For any faults that have been discussed on this blog, the presentation is still better with him than without him.

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  3. I believe what you had on Tuesday was a Mike R who was in palatable pain and who NEEDED to be fully engaged and take the reins in order to find a way to ignore the pain as best he could.

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  4. Plainsman - Who is the fetching lass in this post? And what is with posting these young ladies (see the April 25th blog post)? Don't get me wrong, not complaining here but just simply curious. Like RW's "HOT" and "NOT" on the Sportatorium. (I never clicked on the "not", anyway.)

    Also, does anyone have a pic of the new traffic chick, Tara? Does she go toe to toe with Barb and Alexis?

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  5. Search Tara Bailey ticket on Google. First result.

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  6. If that is THE Tara Bailey who is now doing traffico traffico, it would seem by her bio that she's either helping out until a replacement comes along or she's been demoted.

    So we're not even a week into Greggo's blog and it's already beginning to fade. He's already going into post up a little quote or 2 line thought mode. Oh well, too bad. I was looking forward to some HSOs. I guess unless it's vitriol aimed at those he blames his firing on, he doesn't have much to say. Go figure.

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  7. 157: That thought did indeed cross my mind -- but the tone was not only serious, it seemed well-informed and . . . prepared. But you may have something there.

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  8. Well, whatever uptick that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday went away today. Back to Lazy Town.

    I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it:

    Farrell on The Bench is growing on me. I find myself listening to it more often and for longer periods of time. There's something almost hypnotic about the show. Moreover, I must not be the only one. Last week Corby said that his ratings are starting to go up, markedly so. If you notice, while the drops are still being used, the venom towards Farrell is almost non existent.

    Okay, okay. The captcha is getting all racist again. I just had to type in "conquerors gooks", I'm not kidding. Wowzer.

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  9. I know you didn't make this an open thread, but I have to post a thought that is unrelated to this post (and also unrelated to the photo).
    I am having a hard time listening to Doocy for more than 2- minutes. I know he's funny, engaging, and has some great insights. But he has this way of talking that I am finding it hard to ignore.

    It's not a stutter, exactly, but it's a tendency of repeating certain words a 2nd time in the middle of a sentence. Example I just made up:

    "Beltre has to, to find a way to get hits when, when there are runners on base."

    He does this constantly, Pretty much every sentence. I'm finding him pretty much unlistenable these days.

    Not sure why he does it. He doesn't do it on TV. He's in a profession where speaking clearly and concisely is mandatory, so it's not as if he can't help himself. He only does it on the Ticket, and I'm starting to take in more of Mike & Mike because of it.

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  10. the b&S show will start monday at 2pm on the fan with a friend of the ticket joining the presentation

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  11. Who might this friend be?

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  12. If it's true that Ben and Skin are beginning this Monday on The FAN, could they have done a worse job of going about it? Then again, it's The FAN. OR. Maybe the approach this time around is one of subtlety. Instead of GW and RW and The FAN making bold claims about RaGE, perhaps this time they will actually try to grow the show organically. Then again, there's nothing about Monday on either B&S's Facebook page or Twitter feeds or on The FAN's website. If something is to take place this Monday, you'd think there would be some sort of mention, no matter how understated.

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  13. Dan's Beach TowelMay 10, 2013 at 1:12 PM

    She is Tara Artho on facebook. She's been a prod assistant for the last several years. You hear her voice of various commercials and she is a virgin.The photo on this post is NOT her

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  14. Plainsman, Dan made a passing comment that KT had turned in his resignation. Is it true? I dunno, but that could what the posting was in reference to.

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  15. It could be that when Doocy is on TV he is reading from a prompter - on radio he is winging it.

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  16. Google image "Tara Bailey Ticket" gives me this:
    http://www.elkharttruth.com/storyimage/EH/20121229/OPINION/712299991/EP/1/3/EP-712299991.jpg?q=100&maxw=800&maxh=500&tt

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