A Fitting Farewell to Norm, and A Couple of Quick Hits

Mind-Loss Check -- CORRECTION

OK, Confessors.  I need to know if I'm losing my mind.  Let me know if any of you have heard this.

The Ticket is running a promo where Norm says something like:

"The Cowboys now have ten days to meticulously prepare for [short pause] Geno Smith."  Then Donovan laughs and says "Oh, yeah," something like that.  A reasonably funny observation, Norm sells it with a "wait for it" pause, and a sensible reaction from Donovan.

This morning on my jog listening to the Teebox, I heard the same promo, except it sounded like they'd edited it to substitute "the Giants" for "Geno Smith" -- no pause.  Just a declarative sentence.  But still followed by the same Donovan explosive chortle -- which now makes no sense.

But I am thinking I may have one or both of those promos wrong.

Please advise.

And if I've heard this correctly, why change the promo?  Because no one's heard of Geno Smith?

Have a fine holiday weekend.

CORRECTION:  I am in fact losing my mind, or my hearing.  I heard the promo again on "Work in Progress" this morning (another bad title -- why do the JV sometimes select self-critical titles?), and they did not edit out "Geno Smith" -- the entire phrase is "Geno Smith and the Giants."  Just heard "Giants" the time when I thought they'd edited it.

So never mind, and enjoy the redhead.

"I contact the Plainsman at ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com.  So can you!"

Well-Deserved

Some nice recognition for Donovan Lewis.  I'll get up the Morning News link when I find it.

"Going Beyond the Norm"

BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING: Not a Meh -- SEE UPDATES

Let me stress that none of my industry-rumble sources have told me anything definite, no names, no details on the announcement, but they are saying that what is likely to go down on The Norm Hitzges Show today is not going to be your typical "big station announcement" that turns out to be someone getting his headphones repaired or the first ever Guy's Night Out in Forney or something like that.

I have heard Greg "the Hammer" "Greggo" Williams mentioned, but NOT, repeat NOT, as a guy who is coming back to The Ticket.   But perhaps to suggest that this may be .  .  .  a co-host-related announcement.

Which we can all guess about and some of you already have.

Let's just say that formal Monday-through-Friday hosting changes don't happen very often, so if you're a Ticket history guy, today might be a day to tune in to Norm.

In the alternative, they may be announcing that George Dunham has finally learned how to pronounce Norm's name.

And, of course -- my C.I. may be blowing radioactive steam up my ass.

But I'll be tuning in.

With ass firmly held on to.

UPDATE:  Junior just reported that Norm would be making the announcement at noon "in conjunction with BaD Radio."  Now that's intriguing.

UPDATE:   Dare we say it?  "NaD."

UPDATE:  Yes, it's "NaD Radio"

Here's the official release:

August 28, 2015

For Immediate Release

Cumulus Media Dallas and The Ticket; Sportsradio 1310 and 96.7 FM announced today that a new show will debut on the station beginning Monday, August 31, 2015 at 10am.

Texas Radio Hall of Famer and long-time Ticket sports talk host Norm Hitzges will be joined by another long time Ticket personality Donovan Lewis, as the two team up as co-hosts of the new show airing weekdays from 10am-12n.

Hitzges and Lewis already have quite a bit of experience working together as the duo has hosted The Ticket’s Cowboys Postgame Show for the past seven seasons. They will continue to co host that program again during this season.

Lewis has been at The Ticket since 2006, the majority of that time as sidekick on the BaD Radio Show with Bob Sturm and Donovan Lewis. He has been with this group of radio stations under various ownership groups since 1993.

Hitzges just celebrated his 40^th anniversary of continuous on air broadcasting in the Dallas Ft Worth market, all in the sports talk format. He has been at The Ticket since 2000.

Sportsradio 1310 & 96.7 FM The Ticket is Dallas Ft Worth’s first all sports radio station, having debuted on air January 24, 1994. It is the current market leader in the format among all male listeners aged 25-54.

 

LISTENING TOO HARD: There's a Problem with Norm's Crest Cars Copy

I've heard this ad, the one that focuses on Crest Cars' service organization, a dozen times like we all have.  Each time, I pause and think there's something odd there, can't quite put my finger on it, but it's just an ad, it's there and gone, who cares.

But this morning when I heard it, I stopped in mid-stroke.

(I was shaving.)

I hope I hear it again before I post this so I can get the words exactly right, but here's the gist of it, emphasis mine:

"If you think you're getting the best service for your Mercedes, Infiniti, or Cadillac, you've never been to Crest."

We know that the copywriter meant to imply the conclusion:

" .  .  .  because if If you had ever been to to Crest, you would think that Crest [and not whatever lame service place you're going to now] provided the best service."

But when I heard it this morning, it jumped out at me as more naturally implying the following:

".  .  .   because if you had ever been to Crest, you would never think you were getting the best service for your Mercedes, Infiniti, or Cadillac [i.e., because it sucks]."

Mind you, I am agnostic on the excellence (or not) of Crest service.  I'm sure it's great, or else surely Norm would not be endorsing it.

I know.  Don't call him Shirley Norm.

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Speaking of endorsements:

A commenter to the "It's Just Lunch" post of a few days back noted that IJL was being sued in a class action for fraud, and the judge has ruled that the suit can proceed as a class action.  I won't go into details but it's an interesting claim plaintiffs are making -- essentially, that ILJ falsely represents the "custom selection" feature of the service.  In fact, I think there's more than one of them.  Check it out:

ILJ Class Action Lawsuit 1

This looks like a brand new one with more serious allegations of fraud:

ILJ Class Action Lawsuit 2

And while I may be projecting my knowledge of these suits onto Gordon, it seemed to me when I heard him reading that copy today, that he had lost interest, that his presentation had taken on the "do you like good food?" level of enthusiasm.

But, as I say, I may have been projecting.

AMENDMENT:   Just heard Norm's Crest ad.  Think I wrote down the material phrase correctly.  It's:  "if you think you're getting the best service in town, you haven't been to" Crest.  Point stands.

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.

Speculation Upon Speculation

So sometime Confessor Provocateur Gypo Nolan (a character from an old movie called "The Informer") threw up a comment last night that stated only "Hold on to your butts."  The last time he did that, Bob and Dan were flirting with The Fan.

When asked for clues, he responded only:  "Norm, Mike, Corby, Jake, Mino, Dan, and Bob .  .  ."

Which looks huge but is so huge that it really isn't much of a clue.  And how likely is it that Cumulus is really going to bust up its still-number-one schedule in any significant way?    And his last clue re Bob and Dan related to the Cuban Missile Crisis, so I don't think highly of Gypo's clues.

There was a time when I thought I knew who Gypo was but when I asked that individual directly, he denied it.  So now I think it's someone else.

We know Lew Dickey was in town last week.

We know T.C. Fleming is off to ESPN Pensacola to be on the morning show there.  (A big congratulations, we'll try to cover that soon.)

We know Norm is working on a new contract.

My few radio-related guys who sometimes know Ticket stuff haven't heard any Ticket stuff.

So all I can ask is that you stay tuned and keep the thread lively and civil.

In the meantime, I'll keep my ear to the ground  .  .  .

.  .  .  and check email frequently.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Late Summer Pleasures

Ah, I love The Ticket this time of year.  My flower garden is tossing out its last hopeful blooms, and the Cowboys are wilting.

And The Ticket throws out some great Sunday broadcasting.

I heard a fair amount of That Shake Joint Thang this morning, and it was very sports heavy.  Very solid sports talk by Jake and Sean.  Both of those chaps, to my ear at least, do their homework -- including studying Bob's blog, which they graciously acknowledge -- and the result is a pre-pregame program that is very worthwhile.  It's fresh (despite the partial debt to Bob) and does not step overmuch on the Bob-and-Rich pregame.

Then there's Bob and Rich, joined for part of the show by another Ticket host.  I really enjoy the Bob/Rich interaction.  I know not everyone who visits this site shares my high opinion of Rich as a sometime host, but I really like his contributions and the way he and Bob deal with one another.

Today's guest was, as Bob and sometimes I refer to him, "Craig 'Junior' Miller."  Good stuff from Da Joonz, as usual.  There was a very interesting moment later in the show, after Craig reported on some historical research he'd done on the old Dallas Texans, and the nexus between football in Dallas and Kansas City.  I wish I had a transcript of what Bob said, but he praised Junior as a "sensitive" guy -- the kind of guy he, Bob, said he also believes himself to be -- who digs down and looks behind stuff.  My opinion, too, and I wish there were an opportunity for Craig to serve more often with the Stat Men on the station like Bob and David Newbury.  Craig doesn't ignore tendencies, but he reads between the lines of the recent performances on the field and comes up with some arresting insights.  Interesting contrast, and interesting that Bob made note of the flavor of Craig's contributions.

After the game, there's Norm and Donovan.  I continue to find myself puzzled sometimes by Norm's analyses -- I've written in the past that Norm will be slagging the Cowboys one moment, and in the next defending them against some caller on what seems to me like the same point.  If one were to break these instances down, I'm sure one would find that Norm is not being inconsistent.  Perhaps he's just instinctively challenging with callers.  In any event, I'm usually on board for the whole post-game.

Time to go rake some leaves, yellow, brown, and red.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Why Cumulus Needs to Damn Sign Up Bob and Dan Within the Next Few Hours

(Will Norm get credit in tomorrow's grammar books for being the first public figure to use "damn" to modify verbs?)

 

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The prairie is ablaze, and Your Plainsman's on fire.

 

 

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Dear Lew,

 

May I call you Lew?  No?

 

So Lew, I know you need to save money, but, based on no evidence, I'm going to assume for purposes of this open letter that you do care about The Ticket and you want to see it thrive for as long as possible.  I know that you know it is a jewel in a very tarnished crown and that you are very fortunate to have acquired it in the Susquehanna deal.  It not only dominates DFW radio in the prize demo, it is one of the most famous radio stations in the United States.  In fact, based on podcast downloads and online listening, it is it one of the most famous and popular radio stations in the world.  You've done your best to starve it of resources -- those allowing it to be heard in its home city, for example -- but it continues to thrash all comers.

 

I'm not going to beat you down about the short run, except to say:

 

(1)   They are amazing talents -- yes, both of them -- and you should keep them in your stable.  An obvious point, but perhaps lost in the money talk.

 

(2)   Bob and Dan's departure would have effects at the station well beyond having to fill in the noon-to-three slot.  Letting Bob and Dan go would expose the essential fragility of The Ticket's success.  Bob and Dan going says -- hey, if they can go, anyone can go.  I'm not talking about the other hosts, who are very unlikely to go anywhere, I'm talking about the long-suffering group that we here at My Ticket Confession call the Junior Varsity.  The JV contains quite a number of extremely talented people who are frequently discussed in these pages as Ticket-worthy successors to the current hosts.   Dime a dozen?  Not the good ones, and the Ticket's are not only good, they are a critical element of the success of the shows bearing the names of others.  The good ones are there because it is The Ticket and that's where the good talent wants to be around here.  If they perceive that The Ticket has been dealt a blow, and that they can make even a little more money elsewhere -- why not CBS? -- because to them, a little more money is probably a large percentage of what you're paying them -- they'll start to trickle out, too, and while you can replace them, you'll replace them only to lose the next batch as The Ticket declines (see below).   Whoever would have thought Kevin Turner would blaze that trail?

 

(3)   Morale will suffer among on-air talent.  Hosts will not feel the same about The Ticket.  They will say that they do, but they will not.  You think the CTO -- that's "Cumulo-Ticket Overlords" in these parts -- are disrespected on the air now?  I can see Mike Rhyner starting to call the place "The Littler Ticket."   The Ticket against the World?  Don't look now, but the World just turned a quarter of your army against you.  Failure to make a creative deal with Bob and Dan will say to them, "Cumulus just put Brett Blankenship in charge of corporate strategic planning."  They will understand what until recently has only been guessed at, which is that nothing will ever get better at The Ticket -- things will only get worse because Cumulus will not do what it must do on any front to keep the thing solid and growing.

 

So, as I say, I assume you can see all the obvious things about the short run.

 

No, I'm going to beat you down about the medium run. 

 

Lew, you look like a pretty smart guy to me.

 

 

 

Don't think about two years from now.

 

Think about four, five years from now.

 

(1) Musers:  According to this site's readers, based on some fairly well-sourced information, Junior Miller is already loose in the socket.  I don't know how long you have him tied up, but surely not much past 2017-18.   (I'll call you Shirley if I want; it's my blog.)   He's gone, and George will have no one to Muse with, assuming he even wants to.  (That's George Dunham, another of your most valuable employees.)   That show is mortally wounded even if George and Gordon -- yes, Gordon Keith, the one who got into it with Nasty Nestor, but that's not important now -- would presume to carry on without the Fred Astaire of Dallas radio.   Fred Ast -- never mind.

 

(2) Norm:  Surely not past five years.

 

(3) The Hardline:  Nope, Mike will almost certainly be done by age 67 and maybe sooner, maybe by New Years 2015.  He'll have created and given public face to The Ticket and done The Hardline for over two decades, with plenty of dough, side projects, and the thanks of a grateful DFW, or that portion of it reached by the incredibly crappy signal you've continued to stick them with.  (That's another open letter.)

 

If you make a deal today, you'll still have Bob and Dan, perhaps already killing it in PM drive, you'll have indicated possession of the foresight that will encourage talent to stay or to come to The Ticket as the legacy shows serially reach the end of their runs, and with BaD Radio as the foundation to sustain the miracle that is The Ticket.

 

Lew, I know you can do this.  I've read the CBA (local inside joke; ask Bob) and you do not have to let this talent nip off to the Goliath rival who, so far, has spent its days picking your rocks out of its forehead.  Creative business leaders would find a way to make this happen.  You not  only need to give Bob and Dan a deal, you need to give them a real, real long deal.  Seven years, at least.   

 

Cumulus didn't get where it is by divesting stuff.

 

So, in the medium run:

 

 

If you don't make a deal with Bob and Dan in the next few hours, you won't have dick.

 

You'll only have Dickey.

 

Yr mst hmb'l & ob't sv't,

 

The Plainsman

 

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Let's All Take a Deep Breath

So, is something afoot involving The Ticket, or isn't there?

Well, nothing happened yesterday, to my knowledge.

I would be tempted to say "sorry, irresponsible blogmeister reliance on anonymous sources here, my bad," and move on.

Except that Richie Whitt also thinks something big involving The Ticket is in the works, something he thinks he can keep the lid on until after the weekend.  Something that will "change the landscape" of DFW radio as we've  known it for "three decades."  Yeah, yeah, I know, it's Richie, but Richie is dialed in.  I don't think he'd stick his neck out unless he had something, or thought he did.

And except that yesterday's Summa Bash was really, really weird.  Odd hostly behaviors, unexplained references, awkward silences, Dan sentimentality, all wrapped around a catastrophic Scott Ferrall monopolization of at least two segments. 

And a peculiar reaction to a Jer drop -- I heard the Musers beating feet away from the drop, but didn't hear the drop.  I gather it was Mike R-flavored.

So we continue to speculate.  To sum up, not in order of likelihood:

(1)  Signal change, or signal swap.

(2)  CBS/Cumulus merger or acquisition.

(3)  Mark Cuban involvement somehow, perhaps a purchase of Cumulus.  (Lack of movement of Cumulus share price yesterday suggests no rumblings in the financial community that would indicate either (2) or (3), so they're kinda off the list.)

(4)  Retirement of Mike Rhyner or Norm Hitzges.

(5)  (4), accompanied by BaD taking over PM drive.  (No PM commuters reported to have jumped off the High 5, so it's kinda off the list.  [Just kidding, BaD.])

(6)  BaD's demise resulting from Bob's going off to do something else or Dan leaving, or something. 

(7)  The return of The Hammer, or reconciliation with Mike.  

(8)  Richie Whitt's affiliation with The Ticket.

(9)  Syndication of some of all of The Ticket.

(10)  The whole damned station is gay.  OK, I made that one up.

(11)  60% of the station is gay.

 

In evaluating these possibilities, I tend to throw out (2) and (3) for the reasons stated, and (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), and (11) as not sufficiently seismic.  Mike's retirement (or departure) would certainly be a landmark of DFW radio, whether or not accompanied by BaD's ascension to drive, as would moving The Ticket to a legacy signal (displacing its no-doubt longtime occupant).  Mikeish news would also tend to explain the cockeyed vibe surrounding Summa Bash.

 



 

But I keep coming back to Gypo Nolan's advice to "face Morton's Fork" and trying to puzzle out what it means.  (Confessors have started to turn on the estimable Gypo for his failure to be more forthcoming and for his obscurantism in this case.   I'm still intrigued, although I'm not sure what is says about me that I'm willing to give a guy named "Gypo" the benefit of the doubt.)   Earlier on, Gypo advised that something was either going to happen yesterday, or not happen at all, which, of course, is tautological -- he can't be wrong.  But maybe what he meant by "facing Morton's Fork" was to hark back to that tautology -- something big was going to happen yesterday, but the fact that it didn't means that it isn't -- at least not in the form or at the time Gypo expected it to. 

 

In which case, we've all had a real good time, and this site has gained some new readers on a pretty flimsy pretext.

 

The least I can do for my readers is to provide an image of
former Ticket Traffic Twist Alexis Smith -- HEY, MAYBE
SHE'S COMING BACK!  Now that would change a
landscape or two around here.

The speculation may continue, and if anything comes my way that I'm able to share, I'll let you know.

 

Y'all do the same.

 

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Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310



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

 

I Wander Ticketstock

Notes from my Friday afternoon visit.  I wandered the floor for an hour or so, visited a few vendors, listened to some of The Hardline.  Thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Reviews have been excellent, and The Ticket should be congratulated.  In fact, let me start with this:

Kudos.  First, how about a hand for the CTO?  Sure, the thing is sponsored, and a lot of it is pretty sponsor-promotional, but it's a lot of work, a big time commitment for the whole station, very entertaining for the P1.   A real nice kiss for listeners, and when we smack the CTO around for one or another sin, let's remember cool stuff like this.  I'll have a further thought on this in conclusion.

Parking.  I could have sworn I heard hosts saying parking was free.  Five bucks to get into the garage.

General.  The floor was less crowded with stuff this year.  Seemed to me like there were fewer sponsors, but that may have been because the did not have the basketball court this year so the joint just had a more wide-open feel.

Shoop.  I put some geld into Michael Gruber's pocket by purchasing a SHOOPY t-shirt portraying him laboring lovingly over what appears to be a Les Paul Custom.  I asked the vendor whether Michael got a royalty for the use of his image and was pleased to hear that he does.

Ticket Guys Generally.  Passed by Gordon, Norm, and Craig out on the floor.  Norm and Gordon had destinations they were hurrying (in Norm's case, slowly) toward, but Craig was taking a stroll and chatting with attendees.  I considered introducing myself, but decided against it.  Everything for the bit, right?  Well, being The Plainsman is my bit, lame thought it may be.

A Confessor on the last thread wrote:  "It was an incredible night, I left the rest of the guys alone [Confessor had chatted with Grubes, Donovan, and Sean Bass]  but to anyone that says they are too big for the P1’s, they are just wrong. All of them walked around, shook hands, took pictures and spent time with their fans, it was a pleasure to watch. I really walked away thinking “we can do what they can do, but they can’t do what we can do.” And looking at my twitter tweet P1 time line, there were a lot of folks who had just as much fun. "  Second that with enthusiasm and could not have put it better.

Un.     While I did not beat down any Ticket guys, I did see some guys wearing UnTicket t-shirts at a booth advertising a way of recording streamed radio, and I asked if they were with that incomparable site.  Turns out they all were, and I was honored to meet DP and two of his invaluable henchmen (sorry, gents, I have forgotten your UT monikers) in assembling Ticket audio.  Great guys.  ap, alas, is stuck in The Great White North.

It's a pleasure to call your attention to their new venture, THINKIT MEDIA.  The are marketing their proprietary system under the uSave.it brand for recording streamed radio. (DP reports that they have some P1s using their system to record their favorite station.)   They also offer other services to businesses such as blog development ("ThinkIt Social) and increasing their profile in the online world.  I may give him a call.  You can read more about it here:  ThinkIt Media  I'm linking it to it on my "Ticket-Friendly Sites" if you ever need to find them.

I neglected to ask DP if he minded if I used his real name (obviously, I was star-struck by the three of them), so I'll keep that valuable information to myself.  However, he and his colleagues were kind enough to let me take their picture at their booth (DP is on the right):

And to top it off, I was deeply honored that they scrounged one of those snazzy UnTicket t-shirts for me.

Ticket Chicks.  Seems to me there were fewer Ticket Chicks abroad, and I did not see a photo area where us mere mortal P1 schlubs could get their picture taken with these lovelies, although I have no doubt that any of them wandering about would have accommodated a request for a quick snap.

T.   As last year, the testosterone clinics were there in force and doing a brisk business.   Apparently I appear to be down a couple of quarts, as I was approached a couple of times by young ladies who worriedly pressed brochures into my infirm grip.

Michael.  The Ticket acknowledged MJ's half-century with a statue.  

However, I couldn't help noticing that he was going to have trouble with this particular dunk, as the anchor for his Airness appeared to have had him stepping in a nasty wad of gum:

I Discover the Theme of Ticketstock.   Last year, I was puzzled by the Mardi Gras theme since it had not been advertised.  This year, it was a collegiate theme, which I realized when I purchased one of the long-sleeved shirts and observed that it had a large "U" in the background.

But with my keen reportorial instincts (which failed me when I didn't get the UnTicket guys' screennames), I ferreted out the true theme.  It was:

"Slanty Boards with a Hole in the Top End Into Which Attendees Were Invited to Attempt to Drain Square Bean Bags Slightly Larger Than the Hole."

(1) The Dallas Stars had the most elaborate set up -- this picture only portrays only two of the four slanty boards:

(2)  Top Golf:

(3)  FIOS:

(4)  Ticket #1:

(5)  Ticket #2/Budweiser, charmingly presented by two fetching Ticket Chicks:

(6)   Hooters had a more inviting variation on the slanty board/hole trope:

And I thought I had snaps of a couple more, but they do not seem to have survived.

Closing Thoughts.  All the Ticket events, but especially Ticketstock, remind us of what an extraordinary phenomenon The Ticket is.  Of course we're unhealthily, sometimes absurdly, obsessed with who's hosting, who's got next, the JV, the shows themselves, what goes on behind the scenes.  As I looked around the place with men and women having a great time, the Ticket guys enjoying themselves, the same phrase kept playing:  This is a club.  A private club that anyone can join just by tuning in.  And think how astonishing it is that it has been maintained for 20 years, and what kind of effort must be going into trying to figure out how to keep it going another 20.  I don't envy them that task.

I hope we're helping.

A big thanks to The Ticket, the CTO, the sponsors, and, of course, Grubes.  Michael, don't spend all my royalty contribution in one place.

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Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

OPEN THREAD: Draft

A number of Confessors have been groaning about The Ticket's NFL draft coverage.  Mainly, that there's too much of it.

I have about as much interest in the draft as I do in women's curling, but I tuned into as much coverage as I could.  I found it very listenable, and even enjoyable.

It takes some talent to make compelling a subject one's audience knows next to nothing about, but by his enthusiasm and expertise and presentational skills Bob Sturm manages it.  David Moore -- terrific.  And personally, I have no problem whatsoever with Norm's draft obsession.

But this year, Norm sounded tired and ragged although his enthusiasm for the task burned as brightly as ever.  I didn't mind his rough sound, but I worried that perhaps the travel and long hours are starting to take their toll.

Commenters have already noted Mike R's nonperformance.  Craig didn't have much to say, but I always get a kick out of what little he does say.  I thought Corby's College Football Blowhard might have had a little more to offer, but he wasn't bad -- tough to compete with Bob and Norm.  The question is, why have anyone but Norm, Bob, and guys like David Moore and perhaps other station draft wonks on the air at all?

In any case, I kind of got sucked into the coverage -- again, evidence of skilled broadcasters taking an arcane and complex subject and making good radio out of it.

But I know not a lot of you don't agree, and now it's your turn.

Please Join MTC in Congratulating Mr. and Mrs. Norm Hitzges

Thanks to T4 in Rockwall for alerting us to a website that has published photographs of Norm's wedding to Mary Danz in Corinth on October 8.  (So, old news, but apparently not widely known beyond The Ticket and radio junkies.)    (The photographer's website featuring the below and numerous other great images is found here.)

I am reluctant to write about Ticket guys' private lives, but this site is pretty out there, it's a happy occasion, and the couple looks spectacular. 

Congratulations from My Ticket Confession and The Confessor Nation.

[PS to Norm and jimmages:  If you would prefer that this item be taken down, I will honor a request from either of you.  Email me at ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com.]

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BUCKLE UP, BUTTERCUP!!

Sean Bass has given us the catchphrase for the season, for good or ill.

The pre-game shows have been good.  Sean and Donovan were plenny fine. 

Rich, Norm, and Mark Followill are putting on a crisp, authoritative presentation.  Miss Bob, but this team is slinging an entirely satisfying listen.  God, I love The Ticket.

But it's SeaBass who wins the prize this afternoon.  At the conclusion of his (pre-recorded?) analysis of the Jets, expressing some concern for the Cowboys' fate under the circumstances, he uttered our title phrase.  I laughed out loud, thought it was absolutely pitch-perfect for this season.  Someone, Rich, I think, said what the hell was that?

I don't know, but it struck me as excellent advice to the Cowboy Cadre.

[[NOTE:  The initial post identified the phrasemaker as Ty Walker.  Thanks to Anonymous and That Nice Young Michael Gruber for correcting me in the comments.]]

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I Know, I Know . . .

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He belches on the air.

He farts on the air.

He broadcasts with his mouth full.

He's not much of a sports prognosticator.

He's been known to mistreat subordinates.

He'll twist off on a caller from time to time.

But I gotta tell you:  I've been listening to Norm substituting for the Musers the past few days, and I've been enjoying it quite a lot.  In particular, I've been enjoying:

-- the show prep.

-- his interaction with Mike, Ty, and even Jeremy.

-- his interviews.

And that's before you get to the run-of-the-mill segments, which are almost always listenable.  I suppose it is fatuous to say this after the man has been in broadcasting, what, eight decades or so, but Norm throws out a darned interesting showgram, professionally presented.  Yeah, he's not a hip young cat anymore, and some of the jokes are obvious and corny, but I don't get a feeling that Norm is out of touch when it comes to sports and even pop-guy culture. 

(Now, if they'd just run Bob and Dan as a morning-drive substitute from time to time so I could get a stronger dose of them  (kicking myself for inability to hear any of their recent drive-time substitution).) 

Listening to Norm also suggests a larger point with respect to the future -- yes, the future -- of The Ticket.  It reminds us (all right, reminds me) that a format consisting of more-or-less equal co-hosts isn't the only format that can succeed on a sports-guy talk station.  A strong central "star" personality surrounded by solid sidekicks/producers can also work well.  You need the right guy, and the right chemistry with the second bananas, but you don't need two stars.

Because he just turned 67 (I think that's right) there is the temptation to think that he's in the twilight of his career.  But he sounds pretty strong to me, and he clearly has the passion to put on a good show for the listener. 

Appreciate ya, Norm. Appreciate ya.

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What Does the Heavy-Duty Sports Fan Think About Norm?

I'm trying to accommodate Confessors who get to hear more ot The Ticket than I do, or perhaps listen at different times.  We did a BaD segment a couple of weeks ago, so now I'd like to give Norm's show some attention.

I am not a heavy-duty sports fan, so I don't have an answer to the question posed in today's headline.  I got to Dallas in 2004 and began listening to The Ticket shortly thereafter.  I was under the impression that Norm was a fairly revered sports broadcaster in DFW.

In recent weeks, I've been surprised by some comments and other Internet postings I've happened onto that treat Norm with something less than sportsy respect.    One blogger has offered three articles in 2007 and 2008 positing that Norm is, in fact, an asshole, mainly based on the way he treats callers and colleagues.  (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3)

Personally, I have always liked his show, and from time to time he'll have some original reporting or sports theory that at a minimum shows that he thinks about the subjects on which he broadcasts.   He seems like a pretty good sport about pranks and, despite his age and infirmities, hangs in there pretty well with the Compound and Campout stuff.  But I've also heard that he's a difficult colleague, death on interns, and the like.  (The Norm/Dan dynamic is of particular interest.)   His short fuse with certain callers is the stuff of legend, of course. 

But the product that emerges during his two hours has always struck me as pretty darned good personality-driven radio.  The Ticket has even managed to make show-biz hay out of his grandiosity -- they've turned him into a drop Vesuvius and, to his credit, he doesn't seem to mind.

The one thing I've always wondered about Norm is whether he is actually much of a sports analyst.  It seems to me that despite his repuration for grand pronouncements, he has a hard time taking a position on some fairly clear-cut issues -- the one that comes to mind is Wade Phillips's competence, where he was all over the lot. 

And for all his analytical efforts, his skill as a prognosticator would seem to be in considerable question.  When I pondered this before, I heard from a commenter who said that he'd been with Norm at a horse race where Norm gave out his tips, and the commenter came out ahead, so maybe racing's his thing.  But didn't I hear this week that Norm's brackets were almost dead last in the pool, and that that is usually the case?

As I say -- I like Norm's show a lot and I think he brings a lot to The Ticket.  He's a first-rate radio broadcaster. 

But what do people in the know about sports think about Norm as a sportsy guy? 

VOICE OF THE NATION: Open Forum on Norm and Mike S

I'm out of town and out of touch and out of time, but thought I would follow up on a commenter's suggestion to allow open posting from time to time.

I like Norm's show when I hear it and enjoy Norm at other times, but I hear the show so seldom that it doesn't get much notice here.  I regret that, so maybe you all can fill in the midday hole on this site.

As always, you can post on any topic you like, but I thought I"d get things rolling with a suggestion.  Mike Sirois has been with Norm for awhile now, after Friedo's long tenure.  How do we all think it's going?  My very brief exposure to the team leaves me with a pretty good feeling.  Mike S doesn't have a distinctive broadcast voice, but he's smart and quick and the Norm/Mike combo seems to be clicking.

Your thoughts?

Back in a few days.

Urgent Message to Ticket Engineering Czar

The Norm +1 with Jean-Jacques Taylor this morning has been a really good show.  They make a very listenable team.  The best I've heard JJT yet.
However, he presents Ticket engineers with a serious problem.

Norm, like most of the Ticket hosts, has a voice that pierces the spitguard and gets clearly into the mic in all registers.  This is a matter partly of his voice's natural timbre, and partly a matter of projection.   Which is to say that Norm, like pretty much every one of the Ticket hosts, has a natural talent for the medium, and devotes professional attention to the sound of his voice.

JJT, through no fault of his own, is not a radio talent and doesn't have the training to project his voice.  In fact, his voice is "soft," comes from back in his mouth and arrives at his lips somewhat muffled.

He also frequently speaks way too quickly, spitting out short syllables and then drawing out certain vowel sounds.

The result is that when you have Norm tuned in at a volume that is pleasant to the ear, JJT cannot be heard or clearly understood.  This isn't a problem when you're listening with phones or in a quiet room, but it's a real problem when the Ticket is on in the background or in a vehicle.  (This isn't just a Norm problem -- it was also a problem when JJT was on with Donovan and Rich, and it's a problem on the Sunday morning showgram.)  This may just be a matter of level -- "more Jean-Jacques," as it were.

This is not discretionary -- The Ticket may have scored a real coup in retaining JJT's services -- I need to hear more but so far I'm liking it -- but the station absolutely must find a way to make him audible and understandable at normal listening levels.

Normathon-athon

So, what do we all think about the Normathon?   A great cause and it's wonderful that he does it.  In fact, The Ticket does a lot of fine charity work that I should have remarked on in the past.  A hearty "good job."



In fact, I doubt that Norm finds it all that arduous to do 18 hours.  He's a professional talker, and he talks and talks and eventually he stops.  I didn't hear very much of it this year, unfortunately, but what I heard was interesting.  I liked the interview with Randy White.  I just wasn't able to stay by the channel much of Monday, unforch.

As far as Norm as a general propposition is concerned:  Great, great broadcaster.  Always interesting to listen to.  Like the way he interacts with his producers.  Mike S makes a worthy on-air companion.

I'll just get off one short blast, and then let you all tell me about the Normathon, or Norm generally -- or Rich Phillips, or Corby D, or Dan M, or the Geminid meteor shower, or whatever you want to comment on.  The short blast is:  I'm not sure Norm is an extremely astute observer of the sports scene.  He knows an awful lot about many sports, but sometimes his opinions leave me scratching my head.  In the first place, he seems to hold contradictory views simultaneously -- was Wade Phillips a bad coach, or was he an OK coach because he once went 13-3?  Norm seems to hold both views.  In the second place, his picks don't seem to me to be particularly accurate.  (Anyone know how he does on the ponies?)   I'll tell you what I'd like to see:  Norm picking against Craig Miller and George Dunham in their weekly picks. 

One more short blast:  Norm has got to be one of the hardest-working guys at the Ticket.  It's only a two-hour show, but his show prep is amazing (with his grundoons' assistance), he fills in all over the broadcast day, he does the Cowboy post-game.  And he did that great piece on the Cowboys' financial condition a couple of months back. 

So::  Two weathered Plainsman thumbs-up for Norm.  But think twice before you give him your money to play with.  Give it to him to donate to the wonderful causes he supports.

So let me hear from you, Confessors:  How was the Normathon?