Sunday, December 15, 2013

Three Ads

Before I get to the three ads:

(1)  If anyone knows whether the Ticket Chicks will be broadcasting today and when , please let us know ASAP.  Norm and Donovan will presumably be doing the post-game into the evening, so unclear if they will be on this week.

(2)  PREGAME NOTE:  The station has been promoting the Cowboys Pre-Game Plus  that is sometimes broadcast before the official Sturm + Phillips pregame show.  Not sure who is doing it this year, but I recall it as very worthwhile last year.

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Ad One:  Reagor Dykes Auto Group

Unquestionably the worst-produced ads to have appeared on The Ticket since I started listening in 2004. Bart Reagor sounds like he is recording his lines in a cavernous bathroom at old Texas Stadium about 20 feet away from the mic, while the person he is supposedly having a conversation with -- the guy with the kid who plays baseball, and the female high school graduate who sounds like she's about nine with a room-temp IQ (one "Ashley") -- are more or less conventionally recorded.

But the main question is: what the hell is the Reagor Dykes Auto Group?  If you go to this website (www.rddirectauto.com), it appears to be a series of Toyota-Ford-Lincoln-Mitsubishi dealerships in West Texas.  What is unusually "direct" about that, I don't know, but whatever it is, it appears to be a subsidiary of the "auto group" itself, which on this website (http://www.reagordykesautogroup.com/) touts itself as being able to get you "any car you want," and lists the various locations and capabilities.  
In other words, it's a series of new-car dealerships and, astonishingly, you can also get used cars there, and, wonder of wonders, they offer leasing.  How they materialize cars that you "want" that they don't have on their lot is unexplained, but my car-buying experience has persuaded me that any dealer can get pretty much any car in the same way that the car leasing companies (D&M, AutoFlex) are able to.

By the way -- is Ashley, who gets the BMW for her graduation present, a good endorsement interview?  She may be headed for a career in quantum physics but sounds dumb as a stump and a member of a slice of society where everyone who graduates from high school gets a car. (She learned about this "great dealership" -- the name of which she has obviously forgotten or can't pronounce -- from her friends who got their cars there.)

Awful.



Ad Two:  The Blind Guy

Now there is a strange spot.   This guy comes on.  He sounds AA.  He says we can't see him because we're listening to him on the radio, and he says he can't see us because he's totally blind.  Well, maybe so, but he also can't see us because he's speaking to us on the radio and, additionally, because he recorded this thing a way long time ago.  He couldn't see us if he were Superman.   But let's put aside these logical issues and ask ourselves, as we did with RDAG, what the hell this ad is about.

There is one mention of the affliction that the guy is suffering from:  "924".

But that is not correct, as I discovered as I tried to find out what this is all about.  

It's not "924" -- it's "non-24."   Here:  (http://www.non-24.com/)  It is a circadian sleep disorder, which the AA guy mentions in the ad.    It barely mentions anything else, but gives a phone number -- not a website, no brand name of any medicine, just a phone number -- to call.    Why so coy, I have no idea.  Obviously, someone is flogging a drug, and the drug is manufactured by Vanda Pharmaceuticals.  This ad feels like a setup, something to pique our interest in this poor guy's condition, and we'll soon hear another set of ads that resolve this mystery.

Ad Three:  Danny and the North Texas Field Office of the Order of Gentlemen

First time I heard this ad I didn't immediately associate it with Danny because he nowhere identifies himself.  Second time I heard it I caught an inflection and thought -- whoa, this is Danny playing it straight for Gentleman Jack.

Is there another ad done by a Ticket personality where, somewhere along the line, the speaker doesn't identify himself?  The Texas Land & Cattle ads don't identify the speakers at the outset, but Corby-Mike-Danny each speak one another's names.  There are probably a bunch of ads done by hosts where the host doesn't identify himself, but I can't think of any right now.  

Danny could be a professional voice -- he's got a couple of pronunciations to standardize (the one I catch is "min" for "men"), but this JG ad showcases nicely how good he can sound in a not-deliberately-over-the-top type of ad (Texas Land/Cattle).  

[Someone is probably going to write me and say "that's not Danny," but I'm pretty sure it is -- and, of course, he's been flogging GJ in the Whiskey War ads with Corby, who's wielding Woodford Reserve.]

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com
@Plainsman1310


83 comments:

  1. You've been reading my mind, Pman. Have you noticed how the Bart Reagor "Awesome" has been made into a drop? I have a feeling that once their campaign runs its course, we'll get an in depth analysis on it by The Musers. Then again, this campaign has been going on for, I think, almost 2 and maybe a bit more, years. Phase one was a series of ads where Bart Reagor explained how he was a locally raised football playing honest family lovin' guy who went to Texas Tech and played football under Spike Dykes----forming a lasting relationship with him that eventually turned into a business partnership. In phase one, he flew solo and took on the persona of the "Guy's guy, no messin' around kinda guy, my kinda guy" who has the kids and lives in a world where it's always baseball season and drives a pickup. Bart had the humble voice "Yessir" thing working. Now, of course, he's kicking ass and conversin' with Ashley (or rather "Aiiishleeee") and exclaiming "boom!" and "awesome!" at the end of every utterance. Personally, I love these ads. They're the radio equivalent of the local "Crazy ___" who demands that you buy his product or he's going to amputate his left thumb on live television. But I am eager for a Gordo deconstruction.

    The blind spot is cryptic, difficult to understand, and quite frankly, has a sort of sinister tone to it. I for one have grown very weary of these types of ads on The Ticket. From Mr. Spondalytis (sp?) to you name the affliction. This is a relatively new thing. Ditto goes with Low T----and now the "hey we doctors need to make sure we're getting in on this action" counter Low T clinic campaign.

    That is Danny. I agree, he could do voice work. I also agree that he has some work to do with certain words. Because the voice you hear on the Texas Land and Cattle spots is Danny's voice. Only is his emphatic way of speaking is over the top, not the country aspect. Dave Lane did a series of ads for the Rangers without mentioning his name. I guess he would count

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  2. Feel like I should start a Cowboys thread, but it's kind of off-topic.

    How about this? I didn't get to listen to Brad and Babe. Joe and Troy were remarking on the bizarre playcalling during the second half. How were Brad and Babe during Green Bay's comeback from the start of the second half?

    But please, do comment on the ads.

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  3. Did anyone notice that last week the Bears scored on all 8 of their drives, not counting the last one where they ran out the clock? And this week, Green Bay scored touchdowns on their last 5, not counting the last one where they ran out the clock? This has to be the worst Cowboys defense (maybe the worst of any team) that I've ever seen. Granted if we had Jimmy with these players, they could play, but we have red jesus. It all comes down to the players because Jerry won't hire a decent coach. The Boys are doomed until, dare I say, Jerry dies. Pretty sad situation.

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  4. Brad and Babe made a few comments about the lack of running plays but didn't really dwell on it. Since his days with Dale Hanson and his comment about what Jerry says and what is the truth isn't always the same Brad has been very reluctant to say much bad during the broadcast. He suddenly did baseball for a couple of years after that and I think he learned his lesson.

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  5. Danny and Davey did a short-lived series of ads a while back for the Rangers portraying a couple of 20-something dudebros (and got sorely Corby-kicked in the nuts for it).

    All I remember was the corny, "Two thumbs WAAY up!" line.

    Any help here?

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  6. Y'all remember what Sea Bass said the other day about Bob Ortegal's head on a stake? Hansen is gone for a reason. I continue to root for failure until he either dies or gets a clue. Not sure which is going to happen first.

    Does anybody remember the really early RD car commercials? The ones with Spike on a phone. This production value is light years from those. I swear he was on the phone.

    I'll take the creepy and somewhat cryptic medical condition guys over the Galyen's chick screeching. Not to say that I like any of the heavily rotated commercials. I'd like to think somebody over in sales can find a few more to add to the list. Hell, I would settle for some local church reminding me of the fantastic bell choir over at my local mall.

    Give up hope for the Cowboys, embrace the chaos. Maximum craziness. Veering wildly towards 8-8.

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  7. Those Raeger-Dykes commercials remind me of a guy I used to work for that was total devoid of morality and developed all self esteem based on his ability to convince people to say "yes." The old ads had Spike Dykes calling in from a bathroom on the moon using a Motorola DynaTAC. The new RD commercials are a 3some with one being the highschool grad BMW girl and the always-baseball-season guy described above (LMAO), and another one where a guy has been wanting a red Jag forever and finally found it at RD's lot somwhere and can't believe there is a world where people sell cars on lots where you can lease them and he'll come back for the rest of his life. All Fake! In one of them, Bart or Dart Raeger, the owner, has the nerve, or lack of self-awareness to say, "I'm here in Dallas, actually Addison, ..." He doesn't even know where the EF he is, but he just rolls with the fake live spot because getting people to say yes is all that matters.

    I've programmed myself to hit mute the second a Progressive commercial starts.

    The new annoying ad is the Bud Light ad where you hear the guy contemplating, out loud, why he should buy another consecutive round of beers because his buddy wouldn't even give him a piece of gum last week.

    Who gets in to radio advertising these days (on the creative side) and how do they do it? Is it a fat, short don draper guy with something worse than an alcohol problem?

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  8. Shots:

    (1) Georgie!! Today about 6:05, George said words to this effect, in commenting on the pass-happy second half: "I don't want to hear Bob Sturm and Sean Bass telling me that they [Packers] had eleven in the box; you still run the ball!" Now this was a little unfair, as we don't know that Bob or Sean would defend the playcalling in the second half. So kind of a hypothetical shot.

    (2) A week or so ago I was tuned into BaD. Dan was promoting the "vote for the top Ticket moments" thing, and he said: "Vote for Musers tension. They don't like it when you talk about the tense moments on their show." (OWTTE.) Yow.

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  9. Shot 1

    It looked like on twitter that Sean and Bob were trying to be the smartest guys in room and spamming my feed with dissecting plays with screenshots and comments.

    Missed tackle here....missed assignment there....miss communication there.....EVERY PLAY HAS A CHANCE! Let's not play chalk board OC hero guys!

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  10. Bob and Dan point that out about the Musers all the time P-man. Apparently, the good ole Musers will see to it that any tension or fights on their show are deleted from the record but of course they like to have fun with everyone else's fights for years and years.

    Also, it's kind stupid of George to say he doesn't want to hear about what GB was doing. What would have happened if they stacked the line against the run and the Cowboys just tried to run the whole 2nd half? Cowboys would be blasted for trying to sit on their lead and being to conservative.

    Of course, they were having success running and I'm not sure if GB changed up their defense because of that (I'm assuming that's what happened and is what the Cowboys were attempting to take advantage of) but they probably should have at least tried to run it given their previous success. I guess my point and probably Bob's point is that it may not be as bad as it seemed at first glance given the reality of the situation -- something that you need to take into account when evaluating how ridiculous it was for them to abandon the run.

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  11. "I don't care if they put Jack in the Box, run the ball!" - Georgio

    Hillarious.

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  12. Is anyone else having problems downloading the podcasts to their Iphone? For some reason all of the new podcasts are dated 2000 and not automatically downloading. Not sure if the issue is on my end or a problem at the mothership.

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  13. Anon 11:19 AM may as well have signed in and posted as Sean Bass.

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  14. It seems quite a few Ticket folks (George & Corby come to mind) have made comments about Sean Bass's blowhardness lately. He's the perfect mix of homer and know-it-all that makes me immediately punch out.

    As far as annoying ads go, I'll add Del Frisco's and A#1 Air (they just sound like shysters). Although nothing will ever compare to the classic local political ads of the 90s and 00s with Judge Softie and Tincy Miller.

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  15. Right now I can't stand the new Subway Pastrami commercial. If someone messed with my sandwich, I wouldn't act like a 2nd grader. I'd bust someone's backside.

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  16. Well, everytime I have posted here in the past I have signed my name.

    My apologies if I come across as a homer and blowhard at times. Truth be told those are two pretty true statements.

    Whether or not you happen to like my work, I do greatly appreciate you tuning in. Really looking forward to returning from vacation on Wednesday. If you can stomach it, we are filling in 3-7 from the 19th-31st.

    Hope everyone here has a happy and safe holidays. Take care.

    Sean C. Bass

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  17. SeaBass - don't worry EVERY ticket host gets criticism from some faction of the passionate fans. The people criticizing you certainly don't outnumber that of anyone else.

    I don't listen on the weekends but I always enjoy your Tickers and when you Diamond Talk up BaD.

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  18. Sea Bass, I'm a P1 of yours, pal. Love Diamond Talk. I listen to TSJ when I can. Don't agree with some of your opinions, but I even when I do, I know you're only expressing what you really think is the case, and not just talking to fill up air time. My only word of advice is to not get too caught up in the metrics side of sports. I think we will all see within the next couple of years that far too much weight was given to them; that, like economic indicators, there is more fudging to conform to theory than viable, useful data in the long-term.

    Keep up the great work, please don't ever stop visiting MTC, and Stay Hard!

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  19. I'm also a SeaBass and Shake Joint P1. And I think anon above me is totally wrong about where we are today, sports. The advanced stats folks are winning and winning big. It is most definitely not going to go away.

    Sean, I take that to mean The Shake Joint is filling in from 3-7 from 12-19-12/31? If so, that's a plum gig. Happy for you boys and I will definitely be tuning in.

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  20. The PastaMEE? No PastraMEEE." ad is pretty bad.

    The girl on the Del Frisco's ad gets WAY TOO much positive feedback at work. She sounds like a 40yo smoker acting like a 10yo Disney bit-actor. When she gets such a huge kick out of herself by saying, "Crab CLAWS," it makes me sick. She acts like the owner's daughter. I still want to know who's responsible for most of these ads. I guess I should be happy the WheelsForWishes.org boy/girl has disappeared.

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  21. Count me among the Sean Bass fans as well, please. And yeah, I like The Shake Joint more and more the more I listen. Definitely a candidate for advancement when the time comes, and I'd put Cirque there as well.

    And I'm also pleased that Kevin, Sean, and one or two others comment here non-anonymously -- and rather graciously, I might add -- from time to time.

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  22. I turn the volume down on the "pastraMEE" ads too, although I confess I bought one of those sammiches the other day and it wasn't bad. Although the photos of the sammich on the teevee are technically incorrect, as they show a nice even layer of pickles under the meat, when everyone knows that at Subway the meat goes on first, then the extras.

    Another turn-down are the Central Market "are you really into . . ." commercials.

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  23. Shaggy, and in case you are listening, I mean no offense by this whatsoever, you sound like Al Gore back in 2000 pronouncing from lofty and self-righteous heights: "The science is incontrovertible and there is a consensus....We're all going to DIE in 10 years of x, y, and z and IT'S ALL OUR FAULT--and if you dissent from this opinion *opinion being the key term here* it's YOUR FAULT!" Well, any scientist who actually adheres to the scientific method and is principled will now tell you, that this isn't the case. There's a lot more work to be done, regardless of what side of the nowadays termed climate change (remember when it was global warming? Back in the 70s it was global cooling, by the way). The point is, we interpret data, we give it meaning; it isn't the other way round--that is, data does not give off its own meaning. Which means we bring our own presuppositions to our interpretations. This can and most always does, eventually, lead to skewed findings and trends that seem real but aren't. It happens in statistical-related programming on a daily basis. Now factor this into the all too human endeavor of sport. . . . . Shaggy, don't put all your eggs in the metrics basket. Metrics are a useful tool and have their place, as does most statistical data. But they do not tell the entire story, by a long shot. Moreover, they often don't tell the most important parts of the story.

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  24. Norm called Jerry Jones "Jerry James." His two segments dissecting plays had me switching over to ESPN. I respect Norm and have enjoyed much of his work ever since I was a kid in junior high listening to car radio with my dad. But it's like he's fishing for stuff to make him seem relevant in today's stats driven sports world. It's like he's trying to keep up with Bob, Sean, and Jake. It isn't appealing radio. He's no good at it. I think he's become a more compelling host when he's doing Twitter and other type of goof around segments. The only sports talk he's any good at now is when he gets emotional and demands for change and/or for others to say things as he wants them to say them.

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  25. Heard the new Ticketstock song twice now. Already spike through me head inducing. Ugh.

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  26. Best Ticketstock promo ever.

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  27. Thanks for bringing up the Del Frisco's chick - I actually called her over to our table on Spring Valley a few months ago to personally let her know how god awful those commercials were - she was not happy - but I'm not happy listening to her slap happy yuckfest

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  28. @2:26, you purposefully went out of your way to let someone know how much you despise something they're probably really proud of? Wow. It's a free country, but geez, you sound like a dick.

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  29. Heard the Ticketstock promo twice inside 90 seconds. I'm done with it already. Instant punchout till it's over.

    Anon: 11:24

    Do you actually listen to Norm? He has been talking stats and trends for oh......the last 20 years.

    I wish most of the Norm bashers would just admit you don't like him because he is old and reminds you of your father or grandfather.
    He could tell you the sun will rise in the east and be bright and you would tune him out because you don't like his presentation.

    This is why radios have tuning buttons on them. :)

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  30. Seems to me the Del Frisco's ads are just the next generation of the old Dee Lincoln ads, which were equally annoying. She sounded like a chain smoking hick on wheels, but she was actually quite the looker. The voice did not match at all.

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  31. I could be wrong, but I think the lady and gentleman in the Del Frisco's ads are the proprietors of the downtown Fort Worth and north Dallas locations, respectively.

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  32. ...aaaaand wouldn't you know it, the ad just aired again while I posted that last comment. Got the locations backwards (as well as the positions) - Gina Cook is the GM of Del Frisco's Dallas, and Greg Kalina manages the Fort Worth location. Sorry.

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  33. Say, Gopher, you might want to (1) read what I wrote before you comment; as I said I've been listening to Norm since I was in frickin' jr high, and that he seems to be reaching now in trying to make his points- not that he's doing anything different. And (2), please, if you wouldn't mind telling me, who's going to win the Super Bowl this season? Since you believe yourself to possess the ability to know others thoughts and motivations, I assume you have additional psychic powers, as well? I'm a bit short. Ya know, it being the holiday season and whatnot. I could use the extra dough down the road to pay off the Visa. Not usually the betting type, but hey, why not? With someone as ESP-endowed like yourself as my advocate, I can't lose!

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  34. Scatter shooting while contemplating "Crabclaws Yeah!"

    IMHO

    I remember thinking the Danny and Davey duo had a voice work career ahead of them. Danny certainly could. Maybe too much on his plate.

    I listen real time on a beat up AM dash speaker truck radio. I couldn't understand what the name of Bart Reagor was until here. I do however think that "Ashley" was fortunate enough to graduate from Southlake Carroll. ( My daughters first car, albeit 1980, was a battleship 73 Pontiac Grand Prix.)
    Sean Bass. Posts and signs his name.



    "Crab claws yeah!" Stayed with it. made me laugh. The other spots not so much. (related: the Kroger Gro Store pres. on the TV ads sounds so much like Dale Wamstad/who was once "Del Frisco"

    Thanks, for the latitude.
    Mr. Les Brown.

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  35. Anon: 8:20


    Sorry dude, I'm just another old effer like Norm. Doubt I could help you in any way. ;)

    They will come back from break one day and find him slumped over the board.

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  36. The reason I don't care for Norm is three-fold. 1) As far as I can remember, he made his name for digging up zany, under-the-radar statistics and using them to make picks. Things like, "This team has won by an average of 6.5pts on grass in November against left-handed QBs who are recently divorced. He used stats like that to spend a whole show making the case the Mavs should sign Eric Dampier to 24 figure contract. 2)When people call him on his BS, he gets very caustic and, rather than debating the topic at hand, he makes melodramatic personal attacks on the person. 3)He wastes printer paper and consumes too much vinegar in his diet.

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  37. I think norm is hendered these days by something that catches up to us all sooner or later: his age. Sounds obvious enough, but typically people around his age start to lose a lot of conversational understanding they may have had in their earlier days. Don't get me wrong, I think he still does a great job at preparing the common man/casual sports fan with interesting takes and perspectives, but one on one interaction with callers can be down right uncomfortable to listen to. Because of this I think the best course of action for norm would be to ditch most of the caller driven segments and have guys like mike and sean play a larger on air roll.

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  38. So I guess that is the reason he is the host of the post game show?

    Those Norm twist off's make damn good drops and segment killers don't they.

    Be honest, when was the last time you heard a caller to the post game show (any of them) come up with a good point pertaining to the game?

    Playing what if: Norm does retire. Do you trust Cumulus to replace him with local talent or will they try to bring in a national show to fill that slot. If we want to keep the Ticket live and local as it is now we do not ever want to let them get the camels nose in the tent. If you think Cat and Dan Bennet will fight TPTB at Cumulus when they want those changes you are sadly mistaken.

    If you want Norm gone, be careful what you ask for.

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  39. There is zero chance they would fill 10-12 with a national show.

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  40. blergoyen....

    Do you remember when KLIF was bought out by The Ticket's, at that time, parent company? Well, it was a bit before Norm migrated over to The Ticket and THL had him on as a special guest to talk Rangers. Norm gets on there and starts to gush over Chan Ho Park. Goes on and on about how Chan Ho's manager is the same as so and so's who is already on the team, and yada yada yada. Just carrying on about him. Remember that? He was throwing out all these obscure, meaningless stats. And look at how that turned out! Like you said, he does that sort of thing. He has no understanding of sample sizes and other basic statistical concepts, only that x is a stat and I think I'm clever in applying it to y. He does the same thing when he tries to play lawyer whenever a legal case and sports rears its head. The other thing that drives me batty are his campaigns to get the Rangers to sign certain players (e.g. CH Park). Specially the ones that for whatever reason he wants to be and thinks they will be the bestest buddies ever. RA Dickey comes to mind. Good Lord he pushed for that one. Prior to it, he'd go on and on about Dickey being a very good man, a very good man. Same thing with Lance Berkman, who was signed. He couldn't gush enough about LB. And I thought he was going to cry when Joe Nathan left. "Know how well you were appreciated around here, Joe." That was a good man, a very good man. Of course there's the "he's a friend of mine" gig of his. And I can't forget about the one someone already brought up, the "I am going to pretend I am x and in doing so I will have x talk about y in the way that I think x ought to" schtick. That's my all time fave. Love me some Norman Belinda Hitzges.

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  41. I get the feeling TSJ is on tap to take over, permanently, if and when a weekday show ever goes kaput. Unless TSJ is, like MaSS, given their own weekday show in a different market by Cumulus. Don't be surprised if it happens. Ditto CdS. Those Sirois bros are a lot more liquid than they once were. M appears to be a radio lifer and C is no longer tied to a job that requires him to be in a certain place.

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  42. @1101
    You are probably on to something with his increasing lack of conversational understanding. Maybe his age is driving his increasing inability to listen. He'll hear a certain word at the beginning of something someone is saying, base his response on that word before they are finished and swerve way off track.

    @Gopher
    Yes Norm and his interaction makes for great drops, but I feel it's a smaller and smaller part of the Ticket ecosphere and he's slowly become a net negative. I wouldn't worry about his slot being filled by a national show.

    @ 105
    YES, the main thing I remember about his case for Park was straining my eye-roll muscles. He loves to mix in some secret analysis of personal relationships that only he has uncovered. Your examples are better than mine. Apparently he was eating some pickled okra and reviewing a printed version of the CBA with Donnie Nelson, waiting for his free steak at Bob's when the Cowboys' head scout sat down at his table and told him they would take a defensive lineman in the first round this year.

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  43. Norm was a huge Brad Wilkerson fan too.

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  44. So, this article about the hosts of The Little One is kind of interesting. http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2014/january/20-years-of-the-ticket-radio?single=1

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  45. Just for the record, I am 35 and listen to Norm regularly via the online stream or Sports Day app. He is a good change of pace, and his interaction with Sirois (sp?) is great.

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  46. What's the current Vegas line on Lincoln Coleman ever appearing on BaD Radio?

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  47. @ James...good read. I didn't catch on to the Ticket until '97 so I didn't get to listen to a lot of what made them what they are today.

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  48. Thanks for the link, James. Good story, even if it's all rehashed and well-worn tales. Weird ending, though. It comes off as unfinished. And it doesn't really capture the feel of the relationship between the early listener and the station. I wish they'd have found some true D1P1s to interview. Someone like Sideshow Bob. The GW section was sad. He really was the number one personality for about 5 years. I thought in RW's "Hard Lie" piece, GW admitted that there never was a failed, or any such baseball career? Maybe I'm misremembering? From this article (and we have to take into consideration that it's been edited by both the writer and the editor, so who knows what GW actually said-context buddy, context), it seems like GW still hasn't totally taken ownership of his downfall. To say "it's my fault, I'm the one who screwed up, etc.," and yet add in those not so subtle "if only there wasn't a 24 hr Whataburger by the station when it was on Greenville Ave (which was during it's infancy)"; "if only I didn't snort the coke I was offered"; et cetera. That's no different than saying "yes it's my fault, I just trusted other people too much." It's blaming others. It's cheap. And if my first assertion is right (baseball), he still has an issue with telling the truth. Whatever the case is, the story of GW is so very sad. The fact that it is all his own fault makes it that much more sad. I truly hope he gets it together one day. I know he'll never be on air again, anywhere around here, much less at The Ticket. But maybe, just maybe, if he could really, honestly get it together and keep it together, maybe he could find a small market place, somewhere, and start anew. Something tells my gut that it's not going to happen. It would be awfully magnanimous of The Ticket, and specially Rhynes, if they did bring him in for the 20th anniversary. Because quite frankly, if not for him in the early days, I'm not sure The Ticket becomes what it has. I'm serious. Anyone who was around then can attest to this. He was that important. Again, GW was the main attraction.

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  49. You hit the nail right on the head 50sdoowopguy! BTW...how bout some Johnny Maestro, The Elegants, Bellmonts.....

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  50. 50sdoowopguy - + 1 on the ending of the story. I was looking on the screen for a tab to page 2 or something. Do you think the online edition just gave part of the story and the hard copy will have the rest?

    I don't see any way in hell that GW is part of the 20th anniversary

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  51. Well, drydock is upon us. I already miss The Musers. I think Doocey can be genuinely funny and Norm is Norm. But I do miss my Musers. When BaD pulls it into port, I'll miss them as well. Gotta say that there was a time when I absolutely hated it when THL went into drydock. Now it doesn't affect me even nearly like it once did. I'm looking forward to TSJ and/or whatever they put in its place. I haven't been a HL P1 for over a year now. There are days when the moment WTDS ends, I might flip on THL for a bit, if that. Sometimes I don't at all. When it is on, it's almost always turned down low and more background noise than the focus of my attention. Didn't used to be that way. Sorry, I don't find 60 and sexual Mike very interesting. Don't find the 40 something frat boy and his various kick ass trips interesting. Don't find the once insightful and keeping it old school Ticket vibe Danny turned shock jock interesting. Corby I get. It's what he is. He's been like that since his Chris Arnold days. It is who he is. Mike just depresses me. I don't know what's real with that guy anymore. Used to be my leader. Used to be the glue that held everything together for both THL and The Ticket as a whole. Now not so much. Now he's some dude who seems to be going through a very late midlife actually early old age crisis. He makes a fool of himself too much. He no longer has that super cool air about him that demands your respect. I hate that. Danny disappoints me too. Until he became the official 3rd HL host, which he is, he 'got it.' He was there from D1. He was addicted and wanted to be a part of it from D1. Just like me and everyone else I knew back then. And dang it, he did it! Danny lived out what so many of us dreamed of doing. He knew intimately what those early and mid years meant and kept that vibe's fire burning. Sometimes he still has it. Mostly not nowadays. I hate that. I hate that I no longer count the days until drydock is over for THL. But I am thankful that there are JV shows that I look forward to listening to.

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  52. Anyone know who's filling in for BaD during dry dock?

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  53. What's a 4 pointer?

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  54. Shaggy - dunno.

    Anon above - Jake once told a story of a points-for-sex ring that he and his buddies ran back in high school. You can prolly find the audio on The UnTicket if you really want the sordid details - in fact, I think we discussed it a little right here (there were Confessors who admitted to losing a little respect for Jake after hearing that tale).

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  55. Great job by TSJ today. Truth be told, at this point I'd rather listen to them than Sex and Music Talk Mike and Superlative Corby.

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  56. I figured Jake would use his temporarily heightened platform to denounce Martin Bashir for the weird fetish he wanted to perform on Sarah Palin, but I guess space was too superghey today and he ran out of time.

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  57. It occurred to me today while driving home from work that "The 'Shake' Joint" must stem from an amalgamation of "Sean" and "Jake" ("shake"). I can't believe it took me this long to arrive at that (though I cannot say I've given it a whole lot of thought, either.)

    I too think they did a very good job this afternoon, by the way.

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  58. TSJ yesterday was great. Those guys are just good to listen to and their content doesn't cause me to punch out like 60% of THL's topics. SB and Jake have good voices for radio which also helps quite a bit. I also like the fact that they don't tip toe around topics and basically waste 5 minutes to make a point.. (Sirois show and BADD). As a listener that gives huge tired head. There is good chemistry between the two and their show moves along at a good pace. Which is funny because Danny, who I like as well, stopped the flow several times during yesterday's show. Which is ironic because he's the one that keeps THL going and listenable.

    Hopefully someday their show will become a regular gig. Okay okay....I'll get off my knees now. Keep up the good work guys!

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  59. BTW...four pointer meaning. Guessing from the poster, probably a P1.


    http://www.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=Dan%27s+Beach+Towel

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  60. (1) A very happy birfday to Craig "Junior" "The Joonze" Miller.

    (2) Your Plainsman is tragically unhip. What is the song and who is the artist for the song parodied by the Ticketstock promo?

    (3) REMINDER: A commenter liking a show is not evidence that he or she is a host posting anonymously. Please spare us these accusations going forward unless you spot something in the post that gives it away. I liked what I heard of the Shake Joint, too, and deezy, I hadn't picked up on the Sean/Jake naming connection, either.

    (4) Will have an interesting gift post up in a day or so.

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  61. I am so burned out on norms dumb auction items - for his rich friends or corporate shill buddy's- how many p1's can really afford a trip to Brazil?

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  62. Plainsman

    In regards to (2), the artist/song is Ylvis - "The Fox" (What does the Fox Say).

    Trying for the third time to prove I'm not a robot. I think I got this one.

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  63. Mike in duncanville won the spend an evening with norm at the mavs game auction item! (He is the guy norm would always scowl "politely get your sports talk somewhere else"). Dude is a genius.

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  64. yes, Shake = Sean + Jake

    The other contender was The Shawn Kemp Show

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  65. The Bart Reagor stuff was AWESOME. Danny's done some outside VO work before; if memory serves, he did a spot for Baylor Medical in regards to the prostate gland.

    The "I'm having a stroke" guy ads have always tickled my curiosity. Does anyone who's suffering from a stroke have such a calm inner monologue, and who are these people that are just blankly staring at a stroke victim, writhing about on the ground? Do we need an ad for this?

    Loved TSJ, as usual, and Danny fit in unsurprisingly well. And as Dan Paul so succinctly put it, as he was being Twitter bombed, a 4 pointer is "tf-ing!" I enjoyed hearing an embarrassed Jake during all of the 4 pointer talk.

    More Shake Joint: Aside from the old timey strip club reference and the merging of the two hosts' names, a "shake joint" is also a marijuana cigarette comprised of the leftover pot sweepings commonly referred to as "shake."

    moment of silence for Dick Clark.

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  66. I see where Danny catches flak on here, but without Danny, I don't even listen to THL. I'll always like Mike, because he was real Hardline, but I too don't care about Hardline drydock anymore.

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  67. I think Danny is roundly praised here. The only criticisms I ever see, mostly, are that The Orphanage needs to either get its s together or just stoopy go away and the hope that he doesn't turn into host guy - - - the guy who has to be "on" all the time. Other than that, all I ever read is how cool Danny is and what a kick ass stay your 20s forever life he seems to lead and how he's the only thing worth a f about THL anymore.

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  68. Teebox is having technical problems today. It will cut out for short periods of time (measured in seconds), accompanied by a digital buzz before the radio goes silent. A commericial break suddenly appeared out of nowhere when Rick was in mid-sentence.

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  69. I don't know why anyone would waste their mornings on the crap that is Saturday Ticket programming when the great Ed Wallace is on KLIF giving you the skinny on why your paying what you are at the gas pump and why both pol parties are full of it. Gimme that over Goofus and Gallant gossiping about golfers who in their wildest dreams they wish they could be. Tee Box = Petty Pretenders. And no, that ain't no TP meets Chrissy Hynde tribute outfit. Though Mike "King of All Tribute Bands" Rhyner might be forming something like it any day now.

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  70. Looks like the Rangers have wasted an average of 18.5 million on Shin-Soo Choo for the next 7 years. He's definitely not worth that. His average is about .288 while he'll get you about 18 homers and drive in about 70. I would've rather seen them hold what they have or promote from within. Bad contract...just because he's the best available doesn't mean the Rangers have to go up and sign him. On the other side of the coin, I guess he'll be a decent lead off hitter, but for that money...

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  71. Hi, Ed! You can post here any time, buddy!

    I listen to the Orphanage (when they are on) but I don't listen to the fitness show and I don't listen to the Tee Box. Because they are just extended advertisements paid for by the hosts.

    Just like Ed Wallace.

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  72. T4--

    You just have to let go of those BA, HR, and RBI stats. They simply aren't all that relevant to putting together a contender. Choo has been a 4.5 WAR player for the last 4-5 years. In today's MLB economy, 1 win is worth ~$4.5 million. So, he actually is worth $18.5 million/yr. He could largely be a 5-6 WAR player in Texas, which would simply be a bonus.

    The deal will likely not be very attractive after 2018, but with no salary cap and a truckload of TV money coming, that simply shouldn't concern you or me.

    Plus, I hope this means that Nellie won't be returning. (Or at least that they won't give him a lot of money to come back).

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  73. Here's a nice writeup about dollars-per-win. It actually goes up as the AAV goes up.

    http://www.bsports.com/statsinsights/mlb/inefficiency-of-the-big-contract

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  74. Sorry 344. 1. I'm not Ed Wallace. 2. He doesn't pay for his airtime. In fact, he's been offered more airtime and syndication, but has refused both. So you've lost all credibility, period. Nothing worse than someone who has no idea as to what they're talking about, and yet says it with such authority. You must be a Corby starter kit, eh pal. Want to listen to two middle aged teenagers say "like" before every utterance, be my guest. Me, I'll stick with Wheels and then flip over for Ticket Sports Saturday later in the afternoon.

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  75. @3:44
    7:46 is spot on about Ed Wallace. He does not pay for his airtime. He's not selling anything. Ed has been courted for syndication for years now and won't bite. Personally he's become too libertarian on social issues for my tastes over the years, but his analysis of the oil industry and Wall Street and ICE (International Commodities Exchange) is freaking amazing. He makes a complicated, labyrinthine topics understandable. He does it with zero partisanship.

    Loved TSJ this week. I'm looking forward to the rest of their dry dock duty. Conversely, I'm not missing THL one red cent. Rhads and Moore were good on Friday. Rhads brought a little more than he usually does. He is a mic hog, for certain. Poor David could barely get a word in edgewise. The story about the chance meeting of Rhyner's daughter was a nice yarn. I have to find somewhere else to go for my mornings, as 5 hours of Norm is too bleeding much. I enjoy Norm to a point, I have a lot of respect for him, but I cannot take him for that period of time.

    All in all, with the JV as strong as it is these days, dry dock is no longer the total beating of a whip it once was.

    Addendum: Machine's voice sounds affected. No one sounds naturally that I don't give a rat's ass / laid back / to cool for school. That is a rehearsed and affected voice. An annoying one too boot. But. I do like Machine's HSOs.

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  76. There was a time that "I" scheduled my vacation to coincide with Hardline drydock.

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  77. I know it won't happen, but I hope THL comes back from drydock with some fire in its belly. Would like to see a reinstatement of The Two Minute Drill. Less music talk. None, zero, zilch Mike sex talk. More Danny. Less TMZ segments. More local-centric segments. A few, just a few more sports segments. More Mike taking the helm. Less Corby being forced to lead because of Mike's passivity. Finally, more, a lot more new Reagor-Dykes ads. I'll never tire of that schmuck.

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  78. The lack of cirque dry dock love is flat out disturbing. imo those dudes do some stuff that is just different than all the rest. Brothers deal I guess but they seem to come from outside of the box that the normal box comes shipped in.

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  79. 941, I've come to appreciate CdS more and more over the past year or two. They've found their groove. At least as much as they can, given their scant hours of airtime. They used to be ADHD personified. Letting their board op, Ticker man, and producer have the mic as much as they themselves. It was a cluster f*** to say the least. Add to it that their voices were almost indistinguishable from one another and they seemed to have Ben and Skin "We have to be funny at all times and will do so by constantly riffing on inside jokes that only we get" -itis. Thankfully they figured some things out and got much better. I think a lot of it has to do with them (I assume) conscious effort to stop finishing each others sentences and to bring out their own uniqueness instead of accentuating their sameness. Also, Machine and the rest of the gang are no longer co-hosting. The one thing CdS does better than any show on The Ticket is interviews. From day one they've been absolutely wonderful in that arena. Still are. They are prepared, concise both with their questions and followups, and have an ability to evoke the best out of their subject. Just outstanding work. In that regard I agree with you that they're different than the other shows. But in the main I think it's pretty standard Ticket fare. And why wouldn't it be? Better, why shouldn't be? The only show that's really different, and it goes out of its way to be as such, is Intentional Grounding. IMHO that show has run its course. It really has. Wilonsky has great pipes and Moore is super knowledgeable about the Cowboys. But the thing has no legs. Turn it into community programming. Cover everything DFW, and do it in an NPR way. Spend the first segment or two on the Cowboys if you must, then branch off.

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  80. Where's that new hot stuff article you promised Pman??????

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  81. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  82. So it's come to this, huh. Spam has now infiltrated MTC. Thanks, "locality."

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  83. I get a lot of these "love your blog" spam items. Blogger does a pretty good job weeding these out. This is the first one out of a couple dozen that has slipped through. Sorry I didn't get to it sooner.

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