Just a Quick Refresh

Got nothing much on my mind.

I've had a big change in my work which, alas, means a lot less Ticket listening.  I'm hoping that will change soon, but for now I've missed a lot of shows I used to listen to frequently.  Let's hope I can continue to make this site worthwhile.  For now, I'm not planning on ending it.

Yesterday, I was able to hear a lot of 12-3.  I was impressed.  I know this may be a minority position, but I thought the show sounded really good.  Dan seems to have gotten a lot more comfortable with the new arrangement, and I liked listening to both him and Jake.

A lot of you have not liked 3-7 for the same reasons you didn't like the Mike R Hardline -- too much Corby, too much annoying virtue-signalling political talk from him and Danny.   Before my schedule got in the way, I had the opposite impression.  I liked the new arrangement much better and I thought Corby and Danny both were more focused, more mature-sounding.  After some initial uncertainty, Bob stepped up and provided the balance that show had lacked for some time.  I have not been able to listen to much of that show since sports came to an end, but I can see how those improvements could wither with the lack of any sports to talk about.

Anyone out there actually liking the "new" Hardline?  I'm going to make a special effort to tune in here in the next few days.

By the way:  No excuse for not finding new names for these two shows.  Maybe we should give Cat a hand and suggest some.

Anonymous 415 Nails It (That Is, He Agrees with Me)

I was getting set to do an article on some early observations on 12-3 and 3-7, when ConfessorAnonymous 415 posted yesterday to the previous article (lightly edited by MTC):

So far I'm mostly liking the changes. I will admit that I'm partial to 3-7 over 12-3. For me to say that is incredible since I haven't been able to listen to 3-7 for over 5 minutes at a sitting for years now. 

I said mostly liking due to being less and less sold on Super BaD. I'm beginning to see chinks in Jake's armor. I'm beginning to see that while deserving and in a fundamental way ready for prime time, he's not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination. 

I also think Dan needs to dial it back a notch or four. To me it's obvious he's trying to make sure everyone (CTO) know that he still has his youthful fastball. At times it makes for uncomfortable radio. And this isn't Stern so this isn't a good thing. 

As to 3-7, the more Bob asserts himself and the scarcer Danny makes his presence known the better this thing gets. Danny's good for a segment and has nice add-ins throughout the show. Bob's getting more comfortable with each passing show and as a result is SOMEWHAT putting a matte finish on Corby's Corbyness. Good stuff. 

I think 12-3 is going to take a lot of time, experimenting, and even off-air discussions between Dan and Jake and/or Cat interventions to find its sweet spot.

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These observations mirror my own to a large degree.

Dan and Jake:  In general, I think this show is good, better than recent Bob and Dan.  I do think Jake has settled in very well -- it's Dan who seems to be thrashing about a bit.  He's clearly the boss of the show, which is fine.  But not having been the boss of the show for all those decades, he's having some trouble figuring out how he should be pitching his presentation.  "Dial it back a notch or four," says Anonymous, and that puts it pretty well.  He seems to be pressing.  It's not that he hogs the show -- that's neither fair nor entirely accurate -- it's that his role as the sarcastic gadfly hovering around the stentorian Bob doesn't sound quite right without Bob there to puncture.  He's a naturally intelligent guy -- he should just relax and broadcast instead of constantly setting up his next sarcastic observation, looking for angles for jokes, a process that (you guessed it) bogs down the show.  I have pretty much no complaints about Jake, except to say I'd like to hear a little more from him.

Corby and Bob:  After an uncertain couple of weeks, this show has taken off.  I listened quite a bit over the past few days, and I thought it was an enormous improvement over legacy Hardline.  Bob is so much more comfortable, so much so that he is really remaking the show.  Corby is proving to be a solid equal partner, and he has dialed back the Corbosity.  Danny has done a good job of picking his spots.  A very enjoyable listen.

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And, by the way:  Are you catching The Ticket's promos once again saying they're the number one sports talk station?  I don't have details, but I believe the latest book shows overall victory over The Fan.  But no one's making much noise about this; The Eagle beat 'em both in the demo, did it not?  (I'm not a ratings maven).

Corby's Laws

On balance, this site defends Corby Davidson.  I think he’s a unique radio talent and he entertains me.  I have probably laughed out loud at his utterances more than I have at those of other hosts.   I don’t look to him (or any Ticket show or host) for highly-informed commentary on current affairs, science, philosophy, or anything that really matters much to me, or that I know much about.    

I do understand less generous opinions about the man.   Critics are not wrong about lack of preparation, exaggeration and hyperbolic descriptions, celeb-sniffing, mic-hogging (but this is entirely a result of Mike R’s and Jeff C’s permissiveness), and excessive holding-forth on matters political.  Perhaps I’ve become inured to them.  In any event, I can’t remember the last time I punched out of The Hardline.   So on balance I’m a pretty strong Corby fan; while I’d insist on some fine-tuning if I were the Catman of the Western Hemisphere, I'm not one of those calling for the ‘Line’s ouster from PM drive.

But  .  .  .  (you knew it was coming):

Corby was on a major rant on the show last week that I’ll describe below, one of those that needed to be about 2/5 as long as it was, and much reduced in vehemence.  Nothing upsetting, not a life-and-death topic.  But as he went on, I formulated a set of rules for  listening to Corby’s extended oral essays, which I call:

Corby’s Three Laws of Inverse Certitude:

First Law:  The more certain Corby purports to be, the more likely he is to be wrong.

Second Law:  The more vehemently Corby expresses his insistence that there is no room for dispute or discussion, the greater the magnitude of his error is likely to be.

Third Law:  The likelihood of error in any rant ending with Corby saying “period, end of story” approaches 100%.

All right, so now I’m being hyperbolic, jes' having a li'l fun here.  Corby isn’t always wrong in his impromptu declamatory lectures.

But this one  .  .  . 

Corby was commenting on the Sports Illustrated story about what happened with Michael Vick’s fighting dogs.  It’s a great story.  The dogs – most, but not all, were pit bulls or near-pit bulls -- were evaluated, and all but three were deemed “re-educable.”   They’re in the process of being treated and placed.  The process is a long one, and the treatment intense.   The new owners themselves appear to be concentrated on the special needs of these dogs.  To date – no maulings.  Not all the dogs are out of the woods yet, but it is a very encouraging tale.

Corby’s conclusion:  Dogs, irrespective of breed, are never inherently problem animals.   Viciousness or aggression in dogs is always the result of bad owners.   Never the breed; always the owner.  He was that black-and-white about it and said it several different ways.  Period, end of story.

Now let me say two things here:  (1) I am not about to claim that the inclination of a dog’s owner, or the dog’s training, has no effect on its tendency toward viciousness.  (2) I am not about to claim that all or even most pit bulls are vicious.

I will point out, however, that studies unanimously show that the pit bull is involved in a hugely disproportionate percentage of bites and fatalities in the U.S.   An organization devoted to dog-bite awareness collected the statistics from 2005 to 2017.  Pit bulls, which account for about 6.5% of dogs, were responsible for 66% of all fatalities.   Another study for the period 1982 to 2012 reports that the molosser breeds (pit bulls, Rottweilers, mastiffs, and some less common breeds) were responsible for 79% of the attacks that result in bodily harm and 77% of those that result in maiming – well more than half accounted for by pit bulls in each case.   A 2000 study by the Centers for Disease Control examining a 20-year period reported very similar numbers.

These numbers alone do not prove inherent viciousness.   Certainly the size and strength of these dogs – and their tenacity and imperviousness to pain once they begin an attack – means their attacks are likely to be far more dangerous than those of a much smaller dog, which would tend to inflate reports of their predations and the seriousness of the attacks.

But these statistics call into serious question -- all but refute -- the assertion that pit bulls do not pose a problem that is not accounted for in all cases by abusive owners (Corby’s position).   They almost certainly do.   Pit bulls are not the only dogs reported to have attacked humans without provocation and with no history of vicious behavior, but the numbers are hard to explain away – surely “bad” or neglectful owners are not gigantically overrepresented among the owners of molosser breeds.  Even scholars who are friends of the pit bull say that the dog’s upbringing requires particular care in socialization.   Numerous courts of appeal have affirmed the inherent dangers associated with the breed.

And, frankly, think about it:   You’ve seen it yourself -- herding breeds will engage in herding behavior whether an owner trains them to herd or not.  A variety bred to kill will be more inclined to violence than one bred to race.   Corby's position is:  It's always nurture, it's never nature.   Oh?  Ever known a rotten kid with great parents? 

 

Let's not forget that Corby has done great work for the Good Puppy Dog for Dallas DogRRR for which he deserves our gratitude.  He may believe he’s helping the cause of the pit bull by absolving them of all inbred vices.   I know some great people who are friends of the “pitty,” and the breed has probably received some bad press it does not deserve.   But to claim that attacking pit bulls are always the result of bad owners is unhelpful.   When it comes to unprovoked, serious assaults on humans, molossers are a problem disproportionate to their numbers, and pit bulls lead the pack.

Period, end of article.

Look Deep Into Your Hearts

There comes a time in the life of every P1 and Confessor when he pauses, thinks:

that he must really be honest with himself,

no matter what he is saying to the outside world,

or in the comments he leaves on Reddit or My Ticket Confession,

or in the emails he sends to Jeff ("The New World Catman") Catlin,

or what he mutters under his breath when he's driving home from work;

and he asks himself:

Is The Hardline really as bad as I've been saying and thinking it is?

Corby and The Hardline get more grief from readers in these pages than do any other host/showgram.  Is it deserved?


I acknowledge the obvious:

The Hardline lads are very light on show preparation.  We can hear it, and we hear other Ticket notables acknowledge it on the air (Mike Sirois being a recent example).  Corby is a bit of a celeb-sniffer and has a strong attraction to the kickass lifestyle he is able to enjoy because of his local celebrity, and has a stylistic addiction to hyperbole.  Danny's cynicism can be wearing.    Each of them is at or near the bottom of apparent sports knowledge among all of the hosts.  (No?  The only evidence we have is what comes through the buds, sorry lads.)  The political leftism is just so unnecessary and trendy and contrary to the iconoclasm one would hope from a show called "The Hardline."

And the jewel in the crown of the show's issues:  Hall-of-Fame Mike too often becomes Checkout Mike.  This site has offered the thought many times that Mike, not Corby, is the author of the weaknesses of the Hardline.  He has -- yes, I think he still has, I don't think it's atrophied from disuse -- the authority to sharpen up that show, and to beat back the browbeating he takes way too often and at too-great length from Corby and Danny.  But he seems to have decided that, most of the time, it easier not to.

It's can be sad to hear, because I and many of you have observed that Corby is better, much better, away from the Hardline when he's had to step up his game, or when he's running a Hardline on his own.  When Mike is engaged or has a sportsy co-host during a Corby vacay, he can rise to the heights of the pre-Greggo-meltdown days.  Danny may be the wittiest off-the-cuff guy on the station.

So let me stake my position here:  I still love The Hardline. I almost never punch out.  I'm in for the sometimes genuinely hilarious stuff they get going.  Corby can be a very funny man -- I probably laugh out loud at him more than any other host on the station (Junior and Gordon in a tie for a close second).  Yes, I'd like much greater balance.  Yes, I'd like to feel like segments didn't get planned during the just-completed commercial break.  Yes, I'd like to hear Mike get up on his hind legs and sound like a real old grey wolf who has had enough.  But in the meantime, there's plenty to enjoy on The Hardline.  The ratings back me up -- still on top despite the repeated efforts of the competition to cull a compromised calf from the herd.  Corby is a frequent leader to those who correspond with Why Today Doesn't Suck.  It isn't just that there isn't any competitor worthy listening to -- on its merits, The Hardline is -- is still -- great radio.

I'm not going to tell anyone to stop listening if they loathe Corby, although that would seem to be a simple route to a better life if you really can't stand the guy.  You may be weary of this characterization, but I really think Corby is the Howard Cosell of The Ticket.  (Uh, do Confessors remember Howard Cosell?)  An annoying on-air presence, a weird voice, but a superior interviewer -- come on, guys, he's really good -- and somehow oddly compelling enough that you can't turn away. 

Now, you don't have to stop criticizing Corby or Mike or Danny or the show as a whole on this site (with the usual cautions regarding vulgarity, anger, and ad hominem attacks on co-Confessors).

But I do want you to search your soul and consider whether, on balance, The Hardline really, really lets you down with regularity.

Speaking only for myself (who else?), it does not.   It's about as good as it's ever been, if not better.

I'm with you, Pdunce.  And that Mino is dreamy!

Top Fake Laughs on The Ticket

[Not the STD.]

This is a bit of a misnomer, because not all of the laughs mentioned here are fake.  In composing this list, I tried to think of what various host's laughs sounded like, and I couldn't come up with some of them.  They may be secret chortlers, larfing under their breaths when bemusement overtakes them.  I ended up with a very short list.  From worst to first, and I will welcome corrections and nominations from the Confessor who may pay better attention than I do:

(4)  Corby Davidsion.  With the departure of T.C. Fleming, he will be at the bottom of any list, no matter how many other hosts or JV are included.  His shrieking, choking, breathless yowl at even the slightest funny leaves listeners bewildered at his comedy standards.

(3) Craig Miller.  This one isn't entirely fair.  Sometimes, Craig is left as the only voice left in the studio to support Gordon's bits where George is also an actor.  I have written in the past at the artfulness of his intelineated laughter to keep the bit going, which is why he is, among other reasons, the Fred Astaire of The Ticket.  Also, Craig tends to be somewhat on the acidic and judgmental side, so it is hard to imagine him laughing voluntarily at lame stuff.  He does it anyway, and he does it quite well, but not as well as:

(2) George Dunham.  His laughter is less prominent than Craig's, but because he's skeptical of much of Gordon's humor to begin with, when it appears it is warmer and more sincere.

(1) Donovan Lewis.  The hand's-down champ.   His guffawing always sounds genuine.  Makes me want to laugh along with him.

Honorable Mention:  Julie Dobbs.

The discerning Confessor will notice an absence of candidates from BaD Radio, except HM for Julie.  No particular reason for that.  In fact, I'm listening to more BaD than I have in many years.  It's just that when I think of their show and try to remember what a Bob/Dan/Jake's giggle sounds like, I draw a blank.

Well  .  .  . no, no, I think I'm wrong about that.  I'm having an aural memory of Dan sometimes cutting loose with what sounds like spontaneous hilarity.   I think I might rank him in pretty close to a tie with George, high on the sincerity scale.

Let's not turn this into a Corby Sux thread, OK?

OMAHGERD!  This site's been around almost ten years?  I can't believe no one ever told me about it!  It's the best and full of merry japes and jests!

Change is Good

As we approach the 25th Anniversary of The Ticket and this year's TicketStock, I've been thinking of what I should put in this space to commemorate it.

I couldn't think of anything.

I don't have a lot of interest in Top Ticket Moments for some reason, astounding and entertaining as many of them have been.

I've been listening to The Ticket since 2004, the year I arrived in Dallas -- 15 years.  The singular fact about The Ticket during that period -- and before -- is that it hasn't changed much.  With a few changes, some of which occurred very early on, it's been the same hosts in the same time period for all those years.  Amazing, and certainly a reason for its continued success.

But The Ticket has changed, sometimes in subtle, gradual ways.  I was hoping to come up with three, but I've settled on two:

(1)  The Ascendance of The Musers and Craig "Junior" Miller.   The shows have never been ranked, but in my early years of listening I would have said, if asked, that The Hardline was the quintessential Ticket show and certainly the one most closely identified with the station.

I think that has changed not because The Hardline has declined -- I don't think it has, contrary to the views of some Confessors -- but because The Musers have continued to grow and improve.  "The Musers" is now the most prominent and celebrated show on the station and I would say that even if the ratings didn't bear me out.

And I think the rise of The Musers is because of the rise of Junior Miller, the Fred Astaire of The Ticket.  When I began listening, George Dunham was "The Commander."  You don't hear that much any more.  Instead, Craig Miller is the Judge and Lord High Executioner for station controversies, and the creator of "tiers" to rank the relative prominence of persons appearing on the station.  He is the most prominent host on The Ticket, eclipsing Mike Rhyner and even his podnuh George Dunham.

(George -- love the guy, but there came a period some years back where his interest level clearly waned.  I don't know if it was because he was building a house or building a band, but there were some segments where he simply wasn't ready to broadcast, and you could hear Junior's irritation.  Not really a knock on George -- he's still great -- but not the station leader he once appeared to be.  (And his occasional unpreparedness seems to have abated in recent years.))

(2)  The Growing Prominence and Quality of the Junior Varsity.  I credit Jeff Catlin for hiring and showcasing down-tier talent.  Yes, there have been some flameouts, some misses, some jerks, and some who just flat failed to launch, but by and large the non-daily-host on-air people are very good and getting better and better.  There's not enough room in the broadcast day to give some of them the prominence they deserve.  Too bad you can't sell enough advertising off hours to give some of these guys (and Julie) their own shows other than on weekends.  (Or can you -- while leveraging the broadcast day on the Ticket Top Ten is genius, could you do better with a live Work-in-Progress from 7-10 nightly?) 

I hesitate to name names for fear of leaving out some top-quality folks, but in no particular order, there's Justin Montemayor, Mike Sirois (honorable mention -- Cash), Jake Kemp, Sean Bass, Ty Walker, Julie Dobbs, David Mino.   (I don't count Danny Balis as JV, but he's kind of equivalent to Jake on BaD, so you could list him here too.)  Dave Lane as a cameo JV.    Hey, I'm sure I'm leaving out some real good up-and-comers, so help me out here in the comments.

(3)  The Hardline?  I said I was going to do two, but of course the show with the most wrenching change during my listening history has been The Hardline, with the separation of Greg "The Hammer" Williams a decade or so back.  Of course that's a "change," but here I'm going to offer a view which I know will be at odds with those of some long-time listeners:  I think The Hardline is in some ways a better show now than it was when HeeHoo was on it.

Yes, it is true that Mike's interest has declined and he doesn't pay a whole lot of attention sometimes.

Yes, it is true that Mike allows Corby and Danny to browbeat him when he should be putting them firmly in their respective places.

Yes, it is true that Corby is a mic hog.

Yes, it is true that the lack of show prep can verge on disrespect of the P1.

But for all that, I listen.  And I laugh more at The Hardline than at any of the other shows.  I've said it before:  Corby Davidson is the Howard Cosell of The Ticket -- he'll irritate the living bejeebers out of you, but still you tune in and (usually) don't tune out.  And I and other Confessors have observed how good he can be when he's away from the nurturing biosphere of the who-cares Hardline.

I was tired of Hammer's ignorant redneck act before he got the heave-ho, and his various issues were plainly affecting his broadcasting long before he crashed and burned.   I'll punch out on Corby and Danny from time to time (Mike isn't present or flavorful enough to excite the punch-out finger much anymore, although he's still a mesmerizing broadcaster when he's engaged -- that is, when he's got a subject that really interests him, or with a co-host who engages him), but for me, The Hardline is great entertainment and better than it was 15 years ago.

*     *     *

I'm not going to make TicketStock this year, so send your photos of TicketChicks and other watchables to:

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

*     *     *

How has The Ticket changed for you?

Check Me on This

It has become a commonplace among Confessors -- and, from time to time Your Plainsman -- that Mike checks out more than he should.  There have been periods of time when The Hardline seems to have become The Corby Show, Featuring Danny.

Now mind you -- I am not a major Corby basher, and some time ago I likened Danny to bacon -- everything is better with a side of Danny.  As far as Corby is concerned:  Yeah, he's not as prepared as he should be, and he's Superlative Corby, and maybe he isn't hip to absolutely all of the facts a host might be expected to have when holding forth on one topic or another, he's a bit of a celebrity-sniffer, and he has a kickass life, but I must say that the man amuses me.  I'm OK with most of that -- I'd like to have a kickass life myself and sniff a celebrity now and then.  (Lately, the Siroisie are pretty much it for me.  They smelled great!)  I find myself laughing out loud at some of his remarks, which I don't do that often during my solitary listening to The Ticket, amusing as it often is.  I know this departs from the views of some Confessors, but there you go.

But lately, it seems to me that Mike is in one of his Engaged Mike Eras.  They emerge from time to time, and their duration cannot be predicted.  Seems to me that I'm hearing More Mike than I have for awhile now.  That's a good thing, makes for a better showgram stem to stern.  He's a legend for a reason, and that reason, I think, is that he is simply an engaging adult presence. a guy whose voice one likes to hear on the radio.  Not even a past-middle-age-trending-towards-older-guy adult presence, but more of a get-off-my-lawn guy who doesn't take that pose all that seriously, and who is seriously fond of his co-host and producer.  I like that attitude.

In the words of a keen formerly-inside observer of All Things Tickety:  Am I wrong, guys?

This probably invites the usual Corby-bashing, and that's OK, but let's keep it civil.  Keep the focus on The Founder, if you can.

I'd pay eight dollar d-dollar dar in 1950 dollars for the chance  to have a drink with The Old Grey One.

  

Glad I Caught the Line of Hardness Today PLUS BREAKING BREAKING: FAHY SEPARATION FROM TICKET NOT A BIT

I've been away from the waves for awhile, but I was in the Conestoga today during PM drive and caught two fantastic segments.

The first -- I have no idea what it started out to be, something about George Clooney being the father of a one-year-old in his fifties, but it finished up with speculation on the Mikes (Rhyner and Sirois) becoming fathers at their respective stages in life.  Haven't laughed so hard at The Ticket in months.  Bent over the steering wheel laughing at Corby's -- yes, Corby's -- remarks and baby-mother riffs.

The second was a segment on artists (like Harry Styles) who shift genres after success in one genre.  Not hilarious, but very solid.  One of those segs that had more information in the bag -- more, ahem, "preparation," if you will, but they ran out of time.  Hope they reprise this when I'm listening again.

The Hard Ones take it up the keest on this site once in awhile, but today reminded me of why I don't spend a lot of time investigating the competition.

*     *     *

BREAKING BREAKING ON 2018 06 09:   A usually reliable Deep-Cumulo-Source confirms that one of my personal favorites, John Fahy, has indeed been let go by The Ticket.  I do not have details but it was not, shall we say, for financial reasons.  Very sorry to see him go, he was a cool voice on The Little One.  Hope he lands somewhere cool.

I Give My Leader the Benefit of the Doubt + Bonus STD on Drops

And that leader, you may recall, is Jeff Catlin, Program Director of KTCK (The Ticket) and Operations Manager for it, KESN, KLIF, KPLX, KLIF FM, WBAP, and KSCS (that is, Cumulus Dallas).

I think he is a pretty smart chap and has made some pretty smart decisions about The Ticket.

So I can only assume he has some reason -- a market study, perhaps; micro-ratings analysis; maybe getting a feel from his email; could even be sponsor feedback -- for countenancing what seems -- isn't, but seems -- to be nonstop talk on a number of the shows about cable/Amazon/Netflix dramatic presentations.

A day or so ago, it was The Musers with "The Push."  Today, I look forward to one of my rare tune-ins to BaD, and I hear Bob say that they were not able to properly finish their discussion of "The Push" in the prior segment(s?), and so they were going to trash the sports talk they had planned on the run sheet so they could talk about it some more.  Then, on The Hardline, E-news is all about that subject, then, following a single segment about Cowboys stuff (Dez Bryant absolutely, 100%, take it to the bank, absolutely no way, will renegotiate his deal), Corby announced they were going to discuss another Netflix show in the next segment.

Maybe the Confessor is interested in these things and the New World Catman has made another wise choice.  Maybe lots of P1's watch them and enjoy our lads' extensive and frequent discussion about these shows.  And the discussion itself -- hey, for all I know they may be television analysts of the most sublime perspicacity.  But, speaking here only for myself, I'm interested in none of it, and, to the extent I am, I am certainly not interested in the cascade of spoilers these guys sling.  I heard Corby say that viewership for these shows is plummeting and he once again assured listeners with absolute certainty that in 5 years there would be no Netflix, no Showtime, no HBO, so one wonders why a disproportionate slab of showgram time up and down the broadcast day is devoted to these presentations.

Now -- I invoke Jeff here, but in fact, I don't think he has much to do with the programming of individual segments on these shows.  He's not telling them to devote segments to TV/cable/internet dramatic programming.  His role, if there is one, is pretty much a negative one -- stop doing this, don't do that, clean up your tweets, throw some cold water on the social commentary.

Anyway, that's my STD (Scorching Ticket Disquisition) for the day.

"Corby said this show was the greatest in the history of human communication."

*     *     *

Wait, there's more.

What's this about The Ticket being ordered to -- erase? archive? stop using? -- certain, or a certain number of, or a certain volume of, drops?  Heard it mentioned a couple of times this afternoon, most notably by Mike R observing that a station like The Ticket, which basically carries some of Cumulus's less popular offerings, should be forced to cut back on drops for any reason.

I didn't get the impression that this was a programming move -- Jeff saying, per my suggestion above, "use a lot fewer drops."  Don't think that's what's happened, although could be in error about that.  I believe that for some reason, a large batch of Ticket drops are no longer available for use; D Mino suggested to that effect.   Mike, and I think Corby, both suggested that this was some kind of an economic move.  But how is that possible?  Digital storage costs approximately nothing (or am I wrong here, guys?).   Someone out there knows more about this.  Please advise in the comments, or drop me a line.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

I Speak to You Today of Celeb-Sniffing, and of Corby's In Particular

This topic has been rattling around up there for awhile, and in light of the comments from the previous post about Coach Switzer's interviews with The Hardline, I thought I might unburden myself of a few thoughts.

I'm not a famous person.  (In one sense, I'm not a person at all.)  I doubt whether many of my readers are, except maybe that anonymous guy who was floridly and intemperately critical of one of my posts or comments, and who I referred to as a jamoke in my colorful rebuttal, and who subsequently asserted that if only I knew who he was, I'd know he wasn't a jamoke -- maybe he's famous.  (Ah, the private suffering of the anonymous jamoke.)

The Ticket hosts are kind of famous, but, thanks to maladroit marketing by Cumulus and its predecessors, not too.  Yes, there are the Marconis, but I doubt whether anyone in that room that night not associated with Cumulus after that third Marconi was announced could name a single one of the hosts. In general, they're not even regional celebrities.  Local, sure.

That's one of the reasons we like them, I think.  One of the reasons I do, anyway.  They're just guys sitting around talking with their voices being picked up by radio microphone devices.  In fact, they're not just guys -- doing what they do and making it sound like just guys sitting around talking with their voices being picked up by radio microphone devices -- and being entertaining in the bargain -- is a rare gift.

Corby always takes grief for the Barry Switzer interviews.  He overlaughs, he kisses ass.

I think that's OK.

First, Corby ALWAYS overlaughs at remarks that are moderately amusing throughout the Hardline showgram, and sometimes remarks that are not so amusing.  If you don't like Corby's overlaughing at only moderately-or-less amusing remarks, you can't listen to any of The Hardline (and some of you don't), but we're talking here about one particular segment.  To criticize the Switzer interviews, you have to factor out the overlaughing because it is not unique to that interview.

I'll get to the ass-kissing in a moment.

Like Barry Switzer or not, he's a fun listen.  If Corby and Mike didn't interrupt from time to time, the man would go on for the entire segment.  And I must tell you -- I don't like anything I know about Barry Switzer, which is not a lot, but I find the man very entertaining in these segments.  I caught most of the interview on the Top Ten tonight, and I thought it was terrific.  The phone story (which I assume has been told before, which Corby reprieved this time around), the Dak Prescott story -- very fun.

So that takes care of the overlaughing and the merits of the interview.

Let's get to the ass-kissing.

It is my opinion that Corby kisses no more, or, if any more, only a tiny bit more, celebrity or sports-star or presidential ass than any other host on The Ticket.

ALL of the hosts kiss the ass of celebrities who give of their time to appear on a show.  BaD builds entire bits around snaring the famous to appear on their show, and when they get snagged (obviously thinking of Guest Booking League here), they're welcomed with great warmth and familiarity.  The Musers -- same.  Norm -- holy poop.  Corby is not worse or less listenable in this regard than any other (except, maybe, when Dan annoys someone almost completely off the phone).

But -- and here's where I'll probably hear from the respectful Confessor -- I don't really consider it ass-kissing.  Say what you will about Lee Corso, and whether Dan was being a Big Jerk or not (I don't even remember what he was supposed to have done that was so awful), he was right that most of these guys come the shows for no pay because they're good guys, as Corso says, to "help out" the sportsy station.  (Sometimes, of course, they have something to hype, and sometimes they have a sponsored segment, like J Witten.)  What we may think is ass-kissing is, for the most part, common courtesy.  And it's common courtesy because our hosts are decent human beings, not themselves famous or on a par with the people they're interviewing.  They treat these busy and notable persons as they should, as having scheduled a part of their busy day, or interrupting their own private lives, to make themselves better known to us.

And besides, Confessors -- if by virtue of your position as a host on one of the most popular radio shows in the world you develop a personal relationship with a public figure you admire, would you reject that opportunity?  We're not looking to The Ticket to break big stories or dig up dirt on celebrities; we're looking for some anecdotes, some glimpse of the human behind the image.  Joshing around with the rich and famous -- The Ticket is pretty good at that, and Corby is an absolute freakin' master.  Shaq and Parcells come to mind.  Doesn't bother me a bit.

So I guess all I'm saying is that (1) I don't mind the celeb-sniffing on any of the shows, and (2) I don't find Corby any more cloyingly obvious in that regard than any other host.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

I know we have some Myrna Loy fans out there.

Dan, you can be a Big Jerk with me anytime.

 

Hardline News

First, thanks to Confessor DRW1961 for the link to the Corby story and interview:

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/other-sports/moresports/2017/10/04/tickets-corby-davidson-reluctant-hardliner-thrived-since-forced-joined-show

The response that will get the Confessor going:   "Our whole lives are prep. But I start thinking about the next day while driving home from work, trying to piece it all together. But the whole show is in my head before noon. I've got it all planned out."

Skepticism-inducing responses aside, I think it's a pretty good interview with Corby.  He comes across likable and menschy.

Second, thanks to Confessor 1106 (two posts back) for this account of the end of E-News yesterday:  

"Corby and Danny getting each other worked up on gun control issue. Corby says to Mike, "you are awfully quiet over there. What do you think about this?" Mike responds, 'I don't think this is what people listen to us for.' Corby and Danny were both a little taken aback and they went to break almost immediately after."

Considering the response we got to the last post, think how many more emails these guys must get on this subject.  Not to mention My Leader COTA.  Email can be an unreliable barometer of listener reaction, of course, but I'll bet they've heard on the subject of excessive political coverage -- if you can call it that -- for a long time.  If 1106's account is correct, it's refreshing, and bravo Mike. 

In these dreary days of partisanship and slaughter, we need something to smile about: