BREAKING: Changes at ESPN

Per Anonymous at 7:06p on September 24:

Per Reddit, Mosely and Friedo out at ESPN.

Steve Dennis to replace Mosely on Afternoon Show.

Friedo-Dennis to be replaced by Jean-Jacques Taylor and an unnamed partner.

This is all I have on this, and if it turns out to be in error, apologies in advance.   My thanks to 706 Anonymous, unless it's wrong.

I liked Cowlishaw and Mosely, but I think Steve Dennis and Tim Cowlishaw will be worth a listen.

Interesting -- in the last thread, I was wondering if Dennis might find a home as a host somewheres.  I speculate that this has nothing to do with these changes.

UPDATE:  Looks like Anonymous had the goods.

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/other-sports/moresports/2016/09/23/matt-mosley-espn-1033

Article places Will Chambers with JJT.  Looks like JJT was reporting on his assignment via Facebook on Friday, so I'm a little behind the times here.

A Couple of Quick HIts to Get a New Thread Going -- UPDATED [2]

(1) My schedule has changed so I'm sometimes not in the car as much during drive, so my Hardline listening has diminished a bit.  When I tuned in this past week, I have to say, I enjoyed the show.  I thought the Danny rat story was overrated, but they did some car talk that got me laughing, and it seemed to me that I heard More Mike than I'd heard in recent months, which always makes for a better show.

(2) I sometimes punch over to ESPN, and heard something that I really liked on Monday afternoon:  a couple of hours of "Football Firing Line," which I guess has been going on for awhile.  It was Tim Cowlishaw and Matt Mosley, the usual Afternoon Show hosts, with Steve Dennis, Nate Newton, and another guy whose name I wrote down and now I can't find the slip.  The Internets say Ed Werder is on the panel, but it wasn't him, it was an AA with a four-letter first name, a middle initial, and a last name.  One of you guys can tell me who it was.  [UPDATE 2:  The other guy had a four letter last name:  Clarence E. Hill, Jr., of the Star-Telegram.]  Anyway, I thought it was a lot of fun with some trenchant Cowboys analysis thrown in for good measure.

What's the story on Steve Dennis, anyway?  He seems pretty spicy and zero-BS but it seems all he does is fill in around the Dallas sports media scene from time to time.  Would he make a good full-time host somewheres?

(3) Danny has a great radio voice, but in recent months it's gotten rough and a little breathy and sometimes cracks, as though perhaps he smokes and perhaps smokes a lot.  (I don't know if he smokes.)  Maybe he's been performing a lot.  (You can tell when Mike's not far past a Petty Theft performance -- his voice gets noticeably tired.)  Maybe he has to yell a lot at the Twilite Lounge.  Maybe he's using a different mic or he's getting EQ'd so the treble is turnt up.  His habits are none of MTC's business; I'm just saying his on-air sound has frayed some.

(4)  UPDATE:  Hey, how long has Matt McClearin been hosting the Cowboys post-game on ESPN?  (Since there's only been one other game, I would think that's probably the answer.)  Maybe the better question is, how long has Matt McClearin been working at KESN?   I punch over from Norm and Donovan once in awhile just to see what's airing on ESPN or The Fan, and he was running the show (it sounded like) with Steve Dennis and Tim McMahon, if I caught it correctly.  I thought it was pretty good.

I knew that he and Scot Harrison had lost their WJOX Birmingham show back in July but hadn't heard anything further.  Since Cumulus is operating KESN, maybe Jeff C welcomed him back.  (Scot's LinkedIn page says that he's "Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Taco Mama."  Matt's says that he's "Account Executive at New Home Guide," which sounds like something you do until Cat can find a spot for you.)

And Here Are the Finalists

My Ticket Confession and Your Plainsman grant Cumulus Media Inc., The Ticket 1310 AM and 96.7 FM, David Moore, and their respective successors and assigns, a perpetual, non-cancellable, worldwide, royalty-free right and license to use any of the following names for the segment nka "The Ranch Report."  Oh, all right, you can send me something from the prize closet.

I've stayed away from David Moore-based names, because I have a feeling he may be destined for bigger things that might require his premature retirement from the Report.

The Star Telegram.

My personal favorite because it combines the name of the facility with the idea of communication. This would probably require a deal with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but here's the thing -- you leverage that into the newspaper being a sponsor of the segment.  Big problem, though:  David Moore is affiliated with the rival Dallas Morning News, as is The Ticket itself.  Too bad.

The Range Report.

Cheap variation; leverages current name recognition.  Reflects the wider open spaces in rural Frisco, the kind of landscape where real cowboys ply their trade, and the Jones's ownership of a large percentage of of north Texas real estate.

The Post from Polaris or The Polaris Post.

The Star.  It's up north.  It's the north Star.  Polaris is the North Star.   Leverage with sponsorship by Polaris personal recreational vehicles.

The Ford Focus.

Highly descriptive and an accurate description of David's report from the Ford Center (the name of the stadium itself at The Star, which is the name of the complex).   And another leverage opportunity for Chris-Chris:  Get the DFW-area Ford dealers, or an individual dealer, to sponsor the segment.  Trademark infringement, using the name of a Ford model?  After all, it draws attention to the Ford-ness of the Ford Center, which is what Ford wants by paying to slap it's name on the thing to begin with  Get the crack Cumulus attorneys on it.  If it's too much of a legal problem, then:

The Ford Follies.

Star Tracks.

The DM Report

All right, it's a David Moore reference.  But the leverage opportunities for D&M Auto Leasing are too good to pass up.  Much like the Musers' "Tell them that D&M sent you."  Now if David's middle name is Nathan or Neal or something like that, you'd really have something.