Not Such a Dry Dock

Without exception, I have enjoyed all of the Drydock combinations I've been able to hear -- Jake and Sean, Danny and Davey, the Siroisie wherever they would pop up.  Probably forgetting some, and I didn't hear all of the Drydock shows.  (See repeated comment below for an uncomplimentary review of one particular combo.) 

There is a temptation to think -- whatever will we do when (pick one or more)

     --  One or more Musers retires from the show?

     --  Norm retires (OK, not so many thinking what they will do if)?

     --  Bob goes off to hockey/full-time Troy servicing/TV/another station?

     --  Dan does something?

     --  Mike retires?

     --  Corby does something?

     --  Danny disappears into the world of local music promotion, hospitality industry, better-paying broadcast job elsewhere?

But based on what I heard over the past week or so, I think there will be plenty of talent, plenty of laughs, plenty of bits, plenty of scheduled segments, to keep The Ticket on top in any of these events.

I've had occasion to listen to sports radio in a couple of different cities over the past couple of months.  Is it bad?  Maybe not, if it's the only thing you're used to, and the local guys
are engaging enough that you develop a kind of radio romance over time.  But if you're a casual tune-in for a few days -- yeah, it's bad.

But The Ticket -- it's a different bird.  It's a different sound entirely, warm and intimate, informal and fun.  It's a hackneyed sentiment at this point, but it bears repeating -- there's nothing like it.  Three Marconis should be evidence enough.

Let's enjoy it while we can.  Then we can enjoy it some more.

A very, very safe and happy New Year to all Confessors.

And a special New Year's holler to mo money, mo problems:

A Merry Non-Denominational Context-Dependent Christmas to All Confessors

My Ticket monitoring has returned to near-normal after a couple of months of difficulty in finding the time to get my ears listening.   Hope to have something fun to chew on soon.

In the meantime, have a safe and happy Christmas, all Confessors around the world.

I Heard It on the Handoff

Danny Balis:  "We're [the Orphanage, with Dave Lane] going to do something today that the Hardline hasn't done in probably fifteen years."

Mike Sirois:  "Prepare?"

Loved it.

So we're not the only ones.

(Oh, yeah, the actual answer was:  Take calls.)

On the Run with Dan and Mike

I caught a fair bit of the Dan McDowell-Mike Sirois midday presentation today in the car and thought it was pretty good.

I was going to write a compare-and-contrast thing about Dan and Bob, on the one hand, and Dan and Other People, on the other, but I'm in between commitments here and expected elsewhere soon.

Also, I'm uncertain what I think about that topic.

Maybe I'll come back to this later and jot down a few thoughts on the enigmatic chemical ingredient that is Dan McDowell.

Or maybe you guys can write it for me.

Dan and Mike, it's not important that you have hair; it's only important that I have hair.

Your Destination for White Elephant Commentary

Please check in.  Shaping up to be an entertaining day.  The prewritten gags are always jewels.

I find it of interest that the two most senior hosts -- Norm and Mike -- got to keep their regular slots.

Fix:  in.

There Is Nothing Like the Ticket

Or maybe there's nobody like Gordon Keith.

Or maybe there's nobody like Jason "Killer" Kellison.

But as I was marveling this morning at yet another one of Killer's Gordon-penned oral essays, this one on Christmas, the thought that came to me was that as brilliant as Gordon can be -- is -- and as perfect a foil as Killer has sacrificed his dignity and self-esteem to become, what's unreproduceable these bits is the combination of the two of them, and Junior's appreciative laughing-but-not-overlaughing, and Jeff Catlin keeping his hand lightly enough on the tiller to allow this kind of satire on some things that some listeners unquestionably believe are beyond kidding.

Gordon couldn't perform that essay himself.  It would never work.  The words wouldn't be funny coming out of his smart mouth.  Jer -- no.  Craig, George -- no.  Fernando -- certainly not.  Killer -- he ain't dumb, but his history of eager but not-entirely-smooth forays onto the air makes him the perfect interpreter of these bits, which I almost always find hilarious.  Of course, nobody thinks Killer is dumb.  I sure don't; Ticket management certainly doesn't.  But in Killer, Gordon has found the perfect actor, and it's impossible to imagine any other program on The Ticket or the Fan or ESPN where that bit could even have been offered. 

Which is why, among many other reasons, The Ticket is essential.  It is the only home for certain kinds of programming, the for the peculiar genius that bubbles up out of the chemistry between this once-in-a-lifetime -- or maybe once-in-a-generation -- set of humans.

Ken Berry, RIP.