Justin Montemayor and David Newbury

are knocking it out of the park on the Cowboys pre-pre-before-ante-early pregame.  Some of the best Cowboys and general Niffle commentary I've heard in a long time.  Just the little segment on how the Cowboys use, or fail to use, Dez Bryant -- very insightful.

Other stations step up with their Cowboys game-day coverage, but I prefer The Ticket's.

Stay Cowboys-hungry, my friends.

That Amazing Draft Coverage

I think I write a little something about this every year, but it's still true:  The Ticket's draft coverage is just terrific.

It's not so much that it goes wire-to-wire, which is pretty amazing in and of itself.  It's the quality and entertainment value of the commentary.

Norm, who remains very knowledgeable, has more or less settled into the role of an amiable master of ceremonies.  Oh, he offers substantive commentary and seems to know the draft class extremely well, but as the years have gone by, Bob Sturm, David Moore, and David Newbury have taken over more of the heavy lifting as to What It All Means.  At least that's the impression I have from the slices of the coverage I'm able to grab over the multi-day extravaganza. 

I really enjoy listening to Bob and it's great to see his profile in Cool Metro continuing to grow with his Dallas News writing and other coverage.  The best moment I heard from the weekend, though, was from The Boomtown. I think it was Saturday afternoon.  Norm had thrown the show to David & David, who were giving their thoughts on the state of the Cowboys' draft.  They spoke carefully and very persuasively without being bombastic.  I loved Newbury's point that all the best drafting teams "know who they are," and that the Cowboys don't seem to.

I swung by Ben & Skin's coverage and just had to shake my head.  There's an argument to be made that Ezekiel Elliot was the best pick, but B&S's over-the-top jubilation and insistence that it was the most amazing best-ever pick just sounded ridiculous after almost every Texas-based analyst was at best confused, and at worst appalled, by what the Cowboys had wrought.  (Although SI gave Dallas's draft an A-.)  Like their year-end Cowboys coverage last year consisting of how tremendously excited they were about 2016 after 4-12, the homerism seemed pretty apparent.  I don't like to ascribe motives to people I don't know, but man.

Having said that, I do ask myself this question and invite the Confessor to set me straight:  If Elliot really is a can't-miss offensive force that can replicate what DeMarco Murray accomplished a couple years back and more, is it possible to argue that in addition to more reliable scoring, his presence will extend drives both through his own skills and occupying defenders who would otherwise by smothering Dez, and in that way keep our shaky defense off the field?  And thus, with this single pick, the Cowboys have not only increased their offensive potency, they may have reduced the other team's offensive possessions, elevating (if only constructively) the entire Cowboys defense.  Whereas Jaylen Ramsey would only have improved one facet of the defense.

I think it's a dubious theory -- addition to the defense by subtracting defensive draft picks.  But thought I'd toss it out there in fairness to Ben & Skin.

In deference to Confessors who view this site at their workplaces and don't want to see babes pop up on their screen when the site flashes on, today's ginger will appear at the end of this deathless prose.

"Which tent is Mike's?"

I try to cover Campound coverage to the extent possible, but my listening has been spotty the last few weeks and that may continue for a bit.  Please weigh in frequently and in detail reporting on the best of our lads out in the forest primeval.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail

@Plainsman1310

BREAKING / EXCLUSIVE: The New World Catman Confesses

Well  .  .  .  it's not a Ticket Confession, exactly.

Jeff "Cat" Catlin ("The Catman of the Americas," as Mike R calls him), Ticket Program Director, flew by the site the other day.  He doesn't do that frequently, he says, but perhaps it's like binge watching a TV series.  He takes some time and browses the site a time or two a year.  And, if the spirit moves him, he might drop me a line with some impressions, corrections, and occasionally a nugget.

He did that a couple of days ago.  I asked him if I could post his thoughts, and he was kind enough to agree.  Bear in mind that this is not a planned essay of the exquisite construction you have come to expect at My Ticket Confession -- it's just an email that he has graciously allowed this site to reproduce.  It appears between the asterisks without editing.  So don't look for a distinctive beginning, middle, and end.

I'll have a brief note after his remarks.

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First I think its nice and even charming and I LOVE p1s for having the attitude that The Ticket somehow operates outside the normal rules of a business. Wish it did, but it doesn’t.  We have to follow EEOC, Hippa Laws etc and all the rest. Long gone in radio and on the Ticket are the days where “one employee can get another employee blown out because they don’t like them”.  In radio wholesale format changes and blowouts went by the boards in 1996 when the telecommunications act was passed. But I digress.

Point being, employees are let go because of actual real performance issues. It has nothing to do with anything else. And certainly it’s not on a whim because, for example,  the Musers decide they didn’t like someone.

Side comment as it relates to Sean moving, TC on BaD,  etc. (See comment above about EEOC) the Hosts aren’t in management. They don’t hire or fire anyone. It sounds fun and all on the radio but its just not true. I hire these guys with corp approval. Now do I ask the shows for opinions? Of course I do. THEY Have to work in the studio with these guys every day. I don’t.  But the decisions I make, I make for the good of the station, the good of the show and how all the other pieces fit together and based on normal employee evals or interviews. Not everyone likes every decision and I can live with that. I don’t love every content segment every show does, but I respect the ability of the guys to make those choices, and I like to think they in turn show that same respect to me when I make a decision they disagree with, but still support.

And a word on the subjective "like vs dislike" —I get it, its radio, they are on air personalities….TC left here in the proper way. At least to me, he gave notice, he was trying to better himself in his career and all that…And he got blown out in Pensacola and I did what I thought any human being would do. He called me, and I extended a hand—I didn’t give him his old job back, I didn’t offer charity. I told him what I had available and how it would work and then he had to decide himself if wanted to start from the bottom now he’s here.  He did. I give anyone credit for that.  I also recognize that he HAS gotten better,  because he has.  And all of us in life have had situations that have helped us grow and change. Kudos to those that actually do. He got the ticker job because he was most ready for it right now and his tickers were consistently the best of the group that applied. (PS-some of the other guys that applied will be heard on weekends PT)

Sean moved to AM Drive because (see above again) It was best for the station, best for the show and best for all the other pieces. And he’s still planning on doing Dtalk next season.  He was happy and excited to do it..and no I didn’t really give him a choice. But he saw the writing on the wall when I asked him to start getting his head right with it. But he knew it was the best move as well. Everyone up here, to a man, is a team player. When it comes down to it, everyone wants to do whats best for The Ticket first.

Justin IS good at tickers and he’s growing. He is on the proper career path here and he will get more opportunities to grow. But at this time for this spot, TC was the choice.  (BTW BaD Radio nor Jake hard sold me on adding or not adding TC to the show. In fact they told me when I asked, that they were cool with any move I ended up making including keeping Sean 10a-3pm) J.

Newbury’s role at the station I think has actually increased with his presence on Cowboys Countdown to Kickoff.Jake is doing a fine job as BaD Radio Producer….and all of the guys, All of us,  LIKE Tom. For real. He still works here.

The Shake Joint has the highest ratings of any weekend show on the ticket and that is pretty consistently true and its usually a pretty significant margin.

*      *     *

I would ask that Confessors bear in mind that Cat's doing us a nice turn here and that criticism or disagreement be expressed in your inside voice and like your mother is at your elbow.

He mentioned that he likes the illustrations.

Thanks, Cat

My thanks to the Western Hemispherical Catman.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

OPEN THREAD: Create Ur Own Topix!

I know, it's always Open Thread around here, but thought we needed a little thread-freshener.

Here's my topic:  The David Newbury segment with David Moore (the latter on the phone) on yesterday's afternoon show (Newbury/T.C.) was the best ten minutes on the Cowboys I've heard this season.  The focus:  Tony Romo has been given too much power to run the offense, change plans, dance around until the play clock is a microsecond away from delay of game.   I can't remember the last time I heard a weak segment featuring either, and when they're both on, it's must-listen.

Will we hear The Boomtown (David & David) in a show this year?

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

The Night Before

Two nights before, actually.

I usually enjoy The Ticket's draft coverage even if I don't have a lot of interest in the draft.  I only got to listen to about two hours of it this time around, Thursday evening.  The time leading up to and just following the Cowboys' pick.

It was OK, certainly didn't punch out, but it seemed somehow  .  .  .  I dunno, undernourished.  In the past, The Ticket seemed to have made an investment in the draft, really talked it up, promoted the coverage heavily.  Not so much this year, just the guys in the studio, and Cumulus didn't even turn the air conditioning on for them.

There wasn't the same verve and, I daresay, the same preparation we have heard in years past.  Norm mispronounced names of at least two of the top batch of picks, and on one occasion he was corrected incorrectly by one of the other hosts.

Bob was good, as usual, but seemed kind of checked out, not really fully engaged.  I can't put my finger on it.  No criticism, I just got the feeling that maybe he wasn't all that interested in fighting with all the other voices.

As other commenters have observed, Corby was one guy too many.  Nothing to add on the football front. And he was doing something peculiar:  Every once in awhile he -- at least I think it was him -- would start mumbling quietly when someone else was trying to talk, like nonsense syllables or something under his breath, and Norm would simply stop and the air would go dead.  Some really weird moments.

Bright spot:  David Moore.

I miss Junior Miller's capsule bios of the players following their selection.  Little jewels of reportage and wit.

Draft coverage should be Norm, Bob, and one or the other David (Newbury or Moore).  Whether they're all in the same room or divided up between the draft venue, Valley Ranch, and Victory Park, you'd just have a cleaner, livelier, and more informative show.

Whither the Orphanage?

The demise of The Orphanage is regularly predicted by Confessors. I was never sure why, except that the show seemed to get under the skin of some listeners who show up here. It's been away the last two weeks. If there has been an explanation for its absence, I haven't heard it.

I only heard a bit of its replacement on Saturday. I believe it was Bruce LeVine and maybe Josh Bogorad? I didn't hear a name, but Bruce made reference to his partner, so I'm surmising. Nothing wrong with the show. Nothing distinctive, but an OK listen.

But it wasn't the Orphanage.

Some have tired of what they believe to be Danny's "act," the aging hipster music snob. Some feel that the ages have passed Dave Lane by. Some don't like the attitude, the nose-thumbing at show prep, the sometimes hung-over flavor to the whole thing.

I like all of these things, and I like The Orphanage. I would not like to see it leave the air.

But to everything there is a season, no? I am doubtful that either D or D is handsomely compensated for spending his Saturday morning on the air. Danny has gone into business which must require some of his professional attention, has musical irons in the fire, and he's still full-time on The Hardline (with, it seems, more absences than in the past).

No one has dropped me a line with any inside dope on the disposition of The Orphanage. Perhaps someone will. If it is the case that we have seen the last of it -- and, as Norm might say, with the greatest respect to Bruce LeVine and the other guy -- I hope the CTO will continue their policy of looking for some fresh voices among the JV. I'm not sure who it would be. For my money The Ticket has hit a home run with Cirque and The Shake Joint, and I also very much like any combination of Ty Walker, David Newbury, David Moore, Stewart Cedar, guys like that.

In the meantime, I'll remain hopeful that the Teebox will continue to hand off to Davey and Danny.

Early Newbury Thinkings

In the recent past and in the last thread, Confessors have sung the praises of David Newbury and wished for the day when we might hear him more permanently.

I join both sentiments.  He brings the kind of hard-core wonk sportsiness seen hitherto only in Bob, sometimes Norm.  Maybe another one or two over the years that aren't coming to mind.  

The following are not misgivings, just observations:

(1)  He's not a Tickety guy.  He plays nothing for yuks, which may be a breath of fresh air, but he conveys the feeling that he does not entirely approve of other participants doing so.   I'm unsure whether he would be an effective solo host, but I would think that any more Tickety co-host would have to be pretty strong and mature.  Recall that matters did not go smoothly with David and Matt McClearin.

I'm thinking David Moore, another guy I could stand to hear a lot more of. They could call the show "Welcome to the Boomtown," or, perhaps just "the Boomtown," to which they could "welcome" listeners at the outset.

Look it up.

(2) He's a Sturm-Sports-Bully starter kit -- again, quite possibly a good thing.  Sometimes falls into forest-for-the-trees syndrome, however.  Not keenly interested in alternative viewpoints.

Having said this, hoping The Ticket continues to find opportunities to showcase him.

 

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

 

Sunday Morning Quick HIts

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(1)  I was wrong in previous comment about freshman Tickerman Mitchell Kerasik (sp) no longer broadcasting.  He's doing Tickers this morning. 

 

(2)  I try always to listen to the Bob Sturm/Rich Phillips Cowboys pre-game.  Always strong, and I like the teaming of Bob and Rich.

 

This season they've been required to feature other Ticket hosts.  If anyone knows why the CTO believes this is necessary, please advise.  Are they concerned about Sturm monopolization of two hours of broadcasting?  Do they think there's not enough variety in the two-hour show?  They already have David Newbury, David Moore, Norm doing the numbers, and pre-recorded George doing some keys to the game (although I'm thinking that maybe they don't do that last one anymore; I may be thinking to past seasons). 

 

Why they make Mike R do stuff like this is a mystery.  He has almost nothing to say.  Junior had a good segment prepared.  But the best, so far, has been -- Dan McDowell, last week.  The best BaD broadcast I've heard in awhile, with some Dick Hicks spice in the bargain.

 

(3)  Those George/Gordon Raising Cain's ads are effective.  I've written in the past how utterly mediocre the Raising Cain's chicken product is, but the other day I was hungry and saw a Cain's up ahead so thought, hey, for George and Gordon, I'll give it a fifth try. 

 

As usual:  Friendly, fast, spotless, fresh/hot, and chicken utterly, 100% without flavor.  And, in this case, under-battered, although it scarcely matters.  What do they marinate it in for 24 hours?  Water?  And how they manage to develop a recipe for a batter that does not register on the tongue at all is a mystery of modern culinary science.  Tip:  salt.

 

(3)  I'm liking MaSS.   One way I judge showgrams is whether they get me interested in topics I know nothing about or otherwise have no interest in.  This morning, MaSS did just that with its "local beer" segment. 

 

We smack the CTO around a fair amount, but it must be said that it's made a good effort to come up with solid weekend programming.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I'd rather listen to MaSS than any other show on either of The Ticket's competitors, weekday, drive, or otherwise.   The Ticket conversational formula must be impossible to duplicate, since no one has been able to do it, yet the CTO seems to identify the right types to put on a show that fits in The Ticket sound and broadcast theory.  For that, they deserve some credit.

 

Those hits weren't as quick as I'd expected.

Take Me Out to Diamond Talk

This site is a big fan of The Tee Box with Rick Arnett and Craig Rosengarden on Saturday mornings (actually, a big fan at all times). 

But it was great to twist the knob on the Philco this morning on the way to work and hear Sean Bass and David Newbury holding forth on All Things Rangers.  These guys do a solid job during the year and today's presentation is really keeping my interest.  (I'm writing this during their Chuck Morgan interview, which has been real good.) 

David Newbury has taken some heat from Confessors over the months for various reasons:  Fracas with Matt McClearin, an unsmooth broadcast delivery.  I think he's fine.  I do like to hear broadcasters who sound like they're not afraid of a mic, but I think David fits in well with the overall sound of The Ticket.  Sounds like a guy to me, with the added benefit of being a guy who really does his homework.

Sean Bass brings his Tickerman skills to the show along with solid diamond knowledge.  He's a legacy voice for me on the station, never a stop-down.  He also seems to be a guy who has the respect of everyone on the station.  Can't put my finger on why I get the feeling that he's a well-liked figure among the hosts and JV, but it's just something that I feel through the speakers. 

Can't wait for the roar of the grass, the smell of the crowd.

Not Sean and David; Snow Monkeys in Snow

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

We Interrupt This Nosy and Apparently Endless Series on Mike's Employment . . .

.  .  .  for a nosy article on someone else's employment.

Namely, Casey Millen's.

At this point, Confessors are probably aware that Casey made some highly personal and highly critical remarks about Matt McClearin on the Tee Box that apparently took Craig Rosengarden by surprise, although having given Casey the rudder his options may have been somewhat limited.  You can hear it here: (LINK).

While we're on the subject of the UnTicket, I am reposting a comment left by AP which for some reason failed to appear in the comment section to the Open Thread on "Tell a Friend about The Ticket Month."  If you are interested in this topic, there are some good comments on it back there, two articles back.  Here's AP:

I reposted it at The Unticket for two reasons:

1) I wanted to know if I'm just being a prude, or if what I heard was really that bad. The answer appears to be a bit of the former and a lot of the latter.

2) McClearin deserves to hear what was said about him.

I'm not fan of McClearin's radio work for various reasons, but he certainly does not deserve a shot like that. I'm actually a bit disappointed that Craig didn't dump the comment. He was however on remote and may not have been familiar with McClearin or his situation (Matt is 30+, this is his second marriage, and he married his current wife 2-3 years ago when she was 18).

Weekends at the ticket basically serve as the farm system for cultivating new talent. For producer/board ops, there's Kevin Turner, Mike Marshall, Dave Wilson, and even Jason Killer Kellison on occasion. Ticker men in regular weekend rotation include Michael Krenek and Casey Millen. It's competitive environment in which one must bring their own twist to get noticed. If you've listened to the 'It's Just Banter' episode with Mike Sirois, you'll hear him talk about having to "up his ****" to get noticed - and his MadLib tickers went over well enough with other hosts and management that he was a "shoo-in" for Bacsik's seat.

The weekend ticker guys also try to bring their own twist to their work - both insert subtle jokes during their one-minute slots, and both also take opportunities to pop on air whenever possible. Millen's work is decidedly more shock-jock than Krenek's as of late though.

Krenek has recently gained acceptance with weekday hosts, garnering notice and 'praise' from Bob, Dan, Grubes and Tom during his fill-in work with BaD Radio last week. Millen is a reluctant favorite of the Teebox's, and the weekend edition of the SoulPatch uses him in limited on-air doses. I don't believe Millen has ever had a fill-in opportunity during the weekday.

Millen filled in as a host for a Teebox show a few months ago, and his work had a similar level of abrasion to the McClearin comment - borderline shocking, and not terribly funny 'jokes' delivered in rapid-fire succession (at least for my taste, and I'm pretty crass). Read into this what you will, but Mike Sirois was tapped to fill in the next time the Teebox was a host short, and Newbury + Jake also did a fill-in when both hosts couldn't make it. I haven't heard yesterday's Teebox offerings, but I'm told by a purported Millen fan that he was more muted this time around.

"Pretty sure I'm being fired next week" has been his twitter tagline for several months now.

Regarding McClearin, I'm fairly certain that his co-host regularly surfs this blog and was aware of what was said before the audio was reposted. While coming out of a break during Tuesday's SoulPatch, Matt introduced himself as "the intelligent one" ... Scot quickly replied with "and I'm the enthusiastic one." (Scot'll work in a subtle reference or two on you based on things he's read here).

One last note - some of the posts complimentary of Millen's work here and on the unticket seem to be written by Millen himself. The Plainsman is very gracious about letting the anonymii remain anonymous, so I can't make the claim with 100% certainty, at least not for this site.

Thanks, AP. 

My quick and not-deeply-considered takes:

(1) Casey has some on-air gifts, but he's the most nakedly ambitious of the Ticket JV.  Maybe not the most ambitious, but he is least successful in hiding it.  It's why I occasionally refer to him as The Perpetually Up-and-Coming Casey Millen.

(2) When he's playing it straight, he can be good when given some air time.  He's glib, he's intelligent, and he tries to find interesting things to say.  Too bad about that catastrophic-lack-of-judgment thing.

(3)  I have no information on whether or not he's been fired.  If he was on the Tee Box Saturday, sounds like he survived.  I don't like to see guys fired for one horrible moment, although there are some levels of horribleness beyond which one cannot survive.  This one is bordeline, but on balance I think I'd try to handle this internally if I were Cumulus HR.

(4)  Casey has posted here under his own name a couple of times, not offensively.  Always happy to hear from Ticket guys.

(5)  I have suspected Casey of posting anonymously on his own behalf, and I actually caught his significant other doing so with a suspiciously laudatory post about the lad.  I outed her somewhere along the line in these pages, but wouldn't be able to find it now.

(6)  I am in agreement with some of the commenters to the last Open Thread who offered thoughts on what the JV will do to try to get noticed.  Some are more skillful at insinuating themselves onto the air than others.  Casey tends to come across as very aggressive and  brassy, as though he can hardly wait for an opening or an invite, and when it comes he practically bursts with schtick.  It's not that the content is bad, it just has calculated written all over it.  I bend over backwards to try to be fair to the junior guys, who have a tough row to hoe for not a lot of financial reward, and Casey is not an untalented guy.  Just too obviously eager.  If he survives this, I wouldn't be against giving him another fill-in shot somewhere.

(7)  Having said this, the McClearin thing was pretty awful.  Nothing to add to what has already been said about that.

(8)  However  .  .  .  why?  Why would a political guy like Casey have been moved to issue such self-damaging observations?  Let's think about this for a couple of minutes.

Matt has posted very kindly here on occasion, which the Nation appreciates.  He seems to have supporters (generally, I'm one) and those who are less enthusiastic (AP).  I have to say, however, that I have always found him a little  .  .  .  discomfiting.  Just a little  .  .  .  curious somehow.  I don't want to overstate this, because, as I say, on the whole I think he's working out well on The Soul Patch.

The whole young-wife thing, when it got big play on the station when he went to her prom (I believe they were afianced at the time) and when they were married, struck me as really kind of  .  .  .  man, I can't even think of the word for it.  Kind of an eewwww moment.  I really want to keep out of the personal lives of the Ticket guys (Norm's recent marriage a happy exception), but this was all over The Ticket, so fair game.   Yeah, yeah, we guys all yuk it up about getting younger at that position, but I really had to wonder about all that teasing.  I asked myself why he let this happen; I asked myself what the future Mrs. McClearin thought about all of it.   I don't want to be uncharitable -- maybe he felt that this is what his bosses wanted to do, so he had to go along with it; maybe he thought any pub is good pub.  And it wasn't in unusually bad taste by The Ticket's notably flaccid standards, just more or less male joshing.  But it made me wonder about him a little.

Then there was the close encounter with the aliens.  I'll pass on commenting on this except to say that it was certainly consistent with the archetypes of these types of account.   Another emotionally-charged, unusual personal experience by a not-yet-prominent guy on the station that got a lot of airtime.  Hmmm.

Next:  On-air friction with David Newbury, with Newbury seeming to get the worst of the reaction to it.  Numerous Confessors noticed it and commented on it in these pages.  Result:  McClearin up, Newbury down, perhaps a little unfairly in the latter case.  (FWIW at this point, I thought Matt was a little manic on those weekend shows with Newbury.  He's calmed down on Soul Patch and it's better work.)

And now, Casey Millen rather angry with him.

Where am I going with this?  Nowhere in particular, except to say that Matt seems to have a talent for getting noticed, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  He's skillful at it -- taking all of the foregoing into account, has anyone out there formed a strongly negative impression about him, based solely on what you hear on the channel?  (And not about what you might know about him off-hours?)

Can't speak for The Nation -- I have not.  But some of his colleagues apparently have.   I don't keep track of seniority among the JV, but my working theory here is Matt has leapfrogged some of the JV, and it has caused some resentment. 

Rambling, sorry.  But we don't get the curtain pulled aside at The Ticket very often, and when it happens, Your Source for Responsible Ticket Journalism has to get something up fast.   There's some sizzlin' inside baseball going on here, and I'm hopeful some Ticket Inside Baseball Jeebus can fill us in.

In the meantime -- Casey and Matt, you guys take care.

*   *   *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Seven Very Quick Hits

(1)  In driving around listening to The Little One on Saturday, I was reminded once again of what a terrific play-by-play guy Rich Phillips is. 

I like Brad and Babe doing the Cowboys broadcast, but Brad makes about a half-dozen mistakes per game, mainly misidentifying players.  He's getting worse.  Last week they completely missed plays coming back from breaks on two different occasions -- not because the ads ran long, but because they were yammering on about something else.  I'd like to see the Cowboys appoint Rich to do those broadcsts and I think he and Babe would make a fine team.  Couldn't happen under the circumstances of the Cowboys' present affiliations, but I'd take Rich over any TV play-by-play guy.

(2)  Is C.J. Wilson suffering bad karma because of his poor relationship with The Ticket? 

(3)  Re the Hank Williams, Jr., "Fox & Friends" story:  F&F co-host Steve Doocy is Mike Doocy's first cousin.

(4)  Don't catch Diamond Talk too often, but I enjoyed the pre-post-game broadcast while Sean Bass and David Newbury were on the air waiting for the Rangers game to end, commenting on the game in real time (more-or-less -- the radio broadcast was way, way behind the TV feed).   I especially enjoyed Danny B's contributions.   I like his Hardline persona, but there's an argument that he's even better when he tones down some of the more extreme guy-cynicism and interacts sincerely with whoever's broadcasting.

Anyone know -- is it legal to "call" a game by watching it on TV and broadcasting a report of the game play?  Is that a forbidden use of "descriptions and accounts"?  I'd think it would be some kind of violation of the team's right to control, and exclusively to exploit, its product.  These guys weren't describing the game in that degree of detail, so maybe it's "fair use" if it isn't a regular practice, or doesn't go on too long.

(5) How many more months do we have to listen to those execreable Bud Light "Here We Go" ads?

(6) I have been surprised not to hear anything about the death of Peter Gent, former Cowboy (Lance Rentzel eventually replaced him due to injury).   But he is best known as the author of "North Dallas Forty," fairly controversial hereabouts in its day.  Have any shows mentioned it?

(7)  I have no new Greggo or Richie or RaGE news, opinions, or speculations.

BREAKING NEWS: Cirque to Replace Scrubs

I have it on impeccable authority (that is, I didn't hear this myself) that around noon Cash Sirois announced that Cirque du Sirois would be replacing the Scrubs, or what was left of them -- man, how dispiriting must it be to be the remains of something called "The Scrubs"? -- following the Orphanage on Saturday afternoons.

David Newbury has taken his lumps from Confessors over the past couple of weeks, but I have always thought that he does bring something to the station.  Whether he's cut out to be the star of a showgram remains unclear, but as a hard-core sports guy -- which species some believe is underrepresented at The Ticket -- his credentials would seem to be fairly well-established.  I'm hoping he gets a shot somewhere else on the Little One, perhaps with a strong co-host.

I haven't heard who will be taking Cirque's place on Sunday.  It makes sense to move the strong Cirque to Saturday, which I'm guessing is a more heavily-trafficked listen. 

Well, Confessor and crypto-insider Gypo Nolan had it right -- BIIIG changes on the way for the weekend.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Scrubs/Patch -- The Voyage Continues

Soul Patch sounds great to me today.  They've dropped the self-consciousness and reduced the on-air contributions from the production guys (except for segments devoted to them, like the very good "Bull Durham" segment).  I'm better able to distinguish between Scot and Matt.  A strong effort today

[NOTE:  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE PRODUCTION GUYS, KRENEK AND ALL THE REST, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.  ALL GREAT, ALL CAN HOLD OWN ON MIC.  HOWEVER, HARRISON WAS JUST INVOLVING THEM TOO MUCH LAST WEEK WHEN THE NEW TEAM NEEDED TO BE FINDING ITS OWN VOICE.  DON'T ANYONE BE GETTING YOUR FEELINGS HURT, NOW.]

I did not hear Scrubs last week or this, sorry.  Newbury is getting savaged by The Nation.  I have liked him in the past but must confess (of course) I haven't been by the channel for that show or Diamond Talk in awihle.   From recent comments:

I think I might know why the McClearin and Newbury pair were split up. Because Newbury is absolutely insufferably argumentative. My God, he won't let his partner get a word in edgewise. He's talking over him, interrupting him, telling him that he already knows his points before he finishes them and so dismisses them. It's amazing. And it's also annoying. Maybe Cat thought if he separated McClearin and Newbury things wouldn't be so contentious. If so, he was wrong. It's all on Newbury. He is a man who does not like to be disagreed with. Very uncomfortable radio, for sure.   -- Anonymous

It seems pretty clear to this listener that if Newbury does not respect his co-host, he's dismissive, smug, and a bit of an a-hole. Contrast his work with Sean or Ty where he has to defer to a guy with skins on the wall. Worse yet, when Newbury is working with someone he doesn't respect he tries to drive the bus. And that is a disaster. He's very knowledgable but he's a second banana (potentially a ver good one). But this is not a guy that gets you in and out of segments smoothly or generally can get thru a sentence without a few stumbles."  -- Another Anonymous

Newbury is definitely knowledgeable and has some insights that no one else on the station can offer. Well, since Bacsik's demise anyways. His opinions are generally good. But I do agree with the last two anons. He needs a talking to by the Ticket higher ups. -- Fozzie Bear

 Fozzie Bear sums up the consensus:  Newbury is a very solid sports guy, but lacks some broadcast/locution skills and, for lack of a better word, diplomacy.

Anyway, I'm really glad that The Nation is paying some heed to what The Little One is doing on weekends.  Some good stuff, some drama, and some exposure for the JV.

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OPEN THREAD: Weekend Wife Swap

How did the Newbury/Anderson and Harrison/McClearin pairings sound to you?

I missed the former and am now listening to the latter.  It sounds to me like I thought it would -- the guys sound quite a bit alike, and the sonic brew is further confused by Casey Millen's contributions (invited by Harrison), who sounds quite a bit like Matt. 

But the content is good, if a little forced.  Harrison is very self-conscious about the wife-swap experiment -- he has several times referred to The Soul Patch overall as "mediocre," and is reviewing the program as it goes along.  I think I might have just played it cool and gone ahead and done the show without all the self-consciousness.

Having said that, I'd be willing to listen to a few more episodes of this combintation, see what develops.

The Scrubs and Patch have generated a surprising amount of interest among Confessors lately.  Have at it, Nation.

A Respectful Inquiry

Apologies to the C-Nation for not paying better attention, but I can't remember which weekend show I heard this on. It may have been the Scrubs, but it may have been the Stewart Cedar Cvalcade of Sports, I just don't remember. It was a weekend show with two guys, that's as much as I can tell you.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention because they were talking puck.

Anyway, one of the guys says -- crap, I don't even have a good recollection of the quote -- but the gist of it was this: "Turco and Modano are now gone, and they were a bad influence on the younger players, and look how well the team is coming together now." And they said it in such a way that it was clear that they had known for a long time the departed Stars had been a doleful presence in the locker room, like it was a well-known circumstance to those who follow the Stars.

This is something I've wondered about for a long time, since my series on the Ranch Report awhile back. (You can look it up. I'm typing this outside whilst enjoying a martini and cigar and the less screen-skipping I have to do, the better. Sorry for not providing the link.) Why is it that we get so little inside information from The Ticket? These guys don't hang out in locker rooms, but I am certain that they get an enormous amount of team scuttlebutt from all the pro and even college teams.

Well, there's some evidence, right there. I don't recall anyone ever having said a word about this. Now, I don't get to hear BaD very often, and they're puck-centric so maybe BaD listeners knew all about this.

I do understand that no responsible host wants to traffic in unsubstantiated gossip. But surely there comes a point with respect to certain inside tidbits where the smoke turns into fire. It's not like these guys depend crucially on the goodwill of teams or even stars (see the recent C.J. Wilson contretemps) and need to soft-pedal some of the softer newsy items. In general, the hosts are pretty fearless in their views, and that's something we all value.

I just wonder why they're not a little more forthcoming with the stuff that they hear that they reasonably believe to be credible.

Or am I wrong that inside info comes their way?

Ticket Sports Saturday Quick Hit

Your Plainsman is working the entire holiday.

Why am I telling you this?

Because it means lots of time in the SRT listening to off-hours Ticket.

I caught Ticket Sports Saturday this afternoon.  It was David Newbury and some other guy.  I'm not sure I caught his name.  Was it Ken Daley?   I didn't catch the name and that may not be right.  But he was a pretty relaxed cat.

Ty and Sean are plenty good, but I thought these two guys were really outstanding.  Nice calm, knowledgeable talk about a range of local teams.  Nobody saying anything was the greatest or the worst, just sober, knowledgeable analysis.  Nobody yelling at me, nobody trying and failing to be clever.  It was just a pleasure to listen to.   I assume these guys were filling in for Ty and Sean (again, no complaints about them, just don't catch them very often). 

I continue to be impressed by The Ticket's local weekend programming.