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

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.

June 7, 2012

7:58 a.m. --  A Confessor sends along this link regarding anti-Cumulus anger in San Fran, and a possible rally against management in support of another popular station Cumulus is said to have screwed, KFOG.  Here is a link to a very short reference: 

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2012/06/breaking-listeners-revolt-against.html

I agree with the commenter to that blog who said that it won't help, and I can't imagine the P1 bestirring itself to do anything similar here.  I do agree with the commenter who said that until the advertisers start leaving, nothing will happen.

8:00 a.m. -- This morning Rich Phillips took over Gordon's Muse/News duties.  He was grumbling about this and stated that "The P1's hate me." 

Is that true?  This site is not the Voice of the P1, but I am actually a fairly stout Rich Phillips fan, after some initial misgivings.  His Tickers are crisp, I like him as a host with Donovan and a Sturm sidekick during Cowboy season.  He's got an acerbic sense of humor, but at least he's got one.  His skills make Race Week listenable for me, who cares nothing about NASCAR.  And he's an absolutely first-rate play-by-play guy for the 'Stangs. 

8:06 a.m. -- Can we get a detailed report on the technical problems yesterday on The Hardline, and Mike's reaction?

8:07 p.m. -- Some miscreant from Ankara, Turkey, just attempted to access this site's gmail account.

DryDock Quick Hits

Been out of town and doing the Christmas thing with the fam, just barely keeping up with comments.

And then I tune in to my own site and find absolute gold in the last batch of comments.  I was going to cobble together some drydock quick hits but I find that Anonymous and Shaggy have beaten me to the punch, reporting more thoroughly and authoritatively than I could.  I hope I have their permission to repost their comments for further inspection by the Nation.

My reactions will appear in a comment.

First, here's Anonymous, Parts 1 and 2:

STD ALERT!!!

Thoughts concerning Dry Dock:

Gordie and the Deuce: Funny and uncomfortable as all get out. Doocy laid out the blueprint on how to effectively combat Gordo's guerrilla warfare. Good chemistry, even better times.

Rhads and Followheezy: Solid. Rhads has become a better radio broadcaster. He doesn't yell into the mic nearly as much as he once did. Nor does he try too hard to Ticket schtick it up, again, like he once did. Followill was his usual bad a self. Sure, he's going to give us a glass is (more than) half full view of the Mavs, but I think we can all understand why. His Cowboy talk has been chock full of HSOs, and that's a good.

Black and Quack: I agree with Plainsman where Dick Hicks is concerned. He's a consummate pro. Yes he can grate from time to time, but overall his HSOs are on point and fearless. Donnie Doo, I cannot say the same. The man is overexposed. There's been WAAAAY (to use one of his annoying traits) too much airtime for our man Donnie Doo. Between BaD, Cowboys post, fill in for the morning drive, and B&Q...it's much too much. I like Donnie, but he's a one trick pony. While it's evident that he's been working really hard on his football knowledge (especially draft history, personnel from other teams, etc.), he just doesn't add anything meaningful to the conversation on a regular basis. He finds an obvious or emotion based point and keeps ramming it home, over and again. And even when he has a really good point, again, he won't relent, he won't move on; he applies it to everything, or he keeps returning to it. The CTOs need to curb his on air time. He doesn't need to be involved with so many shows. No one else up there is, why him? I can appreciate his work ethic and industry, but like Nell Carter used to sing: "Gimme a break, I sure deserve it."

Soul Patch: Why they were tapped to do morning drive is beyond me. Poor decision. It's not a bad show, but it's not strong enough to fill those shoes. Heck, they had basically run out of content by the end of their allotted time. Scott H has a pleasant voice and fairly good sports chops. For the life of me, I'll never understand why the show is named after a spot of (passe) facial hair. I don't understand a mid-late 40-something with multiple piercings, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Like I said, he (and the show) ain't bad. Matt McClearin is an entirely different animal altogether. Wow! I mean, from the prom, the teenage bride, the UFOs, the notion of sex, love, conception, and being well-adjusted, the wearing a kilt, mooning your family, and not realizing the when you don't wear underwear your junk will be showing as well, and finally, the Christmas fisticuffs with his brother over him sticking an olive in his bro's ear while trying to squeeze the juice out of it (hello Freud!)... while his mother is crying. Again, Wow! An odd duck for sure, and I'll leave it at that. (I'm sure he's a nice guy, but nice guys can be weird, too.)

CDS: When the Bros Sirois talk sports, I listen. I think they are the true up and comers around The Little One. What I dislike is their infatuation with their own sense of humor. When they go into schtick, especially extended schtick, it's overkill. Because they're brothers, they both sound similar. Furthermore they both speak very rapidly (something they need to temper). And when you have two people who sounds a lot alike, speak rapidly, and constantly finish each others thoughts/talk over each other, radio chaos ensues. They need to work on this. It's when they get too "cute" for too long that this most usually occurs. I wish they 'd be more sports oriented. I think that by doing so, they're star would rise faster. Don't get me wrong, they can be funny. But, like their rapid speaking, temper it; find the golden mean. Oh, and I know that Mike works for Norm, so I see where it comes from, but they are guilty of "Over Norm." You don't need to do your own Norm drops or imitations at every turn. While they can be funny when well placed, they get stale when repeated time and again. Besides, no one can hold a candle to Gordon in that regard.

Can't wait for p.m. drivetime BaD. A foretaste of the future perhaps???

Well put, Anonymous. 
Here is Shaggy's offering:

The Soul Patch really has got nothing. As generic as it gets. Today was my first time listening to them for a moderate length of time, and it wasn't good. They are exactly what other stations across the country come up with by trying to copy The Ticket's sports talk/guy talk formula. And it's nearly always bad.

Agree about Cirque. I also think they have something, but they are way too schtick-y. They are an almost exact carbon copy of Ben & Skin when they were on The Ticket. They would constantly be laughing at their own and each others' jokes, but they werent all that funny. I think B&S have grown a lot, but they do still suffer from thinking they're a lot cooler and funnier than they really are.

Gentlemen Confessors, you have my thanks.  I'll get the comments underway

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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.

Pre-Game Quick Hit

Listening to Didactic and Quacktic (Sturm and Phillips) doing the Cowboy pre-game.   We've frequently heard sports-talk guys mull over whether the Cowboys' talent is overrated, but Bob is really digging into it, asking quite pointedly if the Cowboys' defense is the elite squad it is reputed to be.  He's coming around to the conclusion that it is not at the same level as the very best in the league, and that its reputation for being "elite" is a product of publicity rather than production. 

His and Rich's rapport is improving with each passing week.

This is so much better than what you get elsewhere, and even what you get in print jourmalism.  Which is why It's Great to Lis -- no, It's Inevitable to Listen to The Ticket. 

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NOTE:  Schedule will make posting masterpieces difficult this week.  May dip into the archives. 

What I'd really like is for some of you to leave me some juicy, well-written comments and I'll reproduce them as primary articles (with full attribution, of course).  Either anonymous or signed, either way -- if I think they're of interest to Confessors worldwide, I'll give them a spin.  They don't have to be lengthy -- just well-written and with an original point of view.

Many thanks for your continued interest.

FURTHER NOTE:  You may post your comments on any article you wish.  I get notified whenever a new comment appears, so I see everything.  Thanks.

This is Professional Radio Broadcast Management?

We all know that The Ticket is this astounding radio powerhouse.  Dominant in the ratings that matter.  Lousy signal, but obviously doing many, many things right.  So why, so often, does it seem like like it's managed like Chrysler?

It amuses us that The Little One is kind of a ramshackle construction, a bunch of guys just having a good time playing radio grabass, feuding, embracing, launching e-brakes in enormous numbers, generally doing the kind of things that a bunch of smart-but-not-smart-to-a-fault-except-Gordon regular guys would do if they were given a radio station to play with.  For the longest time I thought that was just an illusion, that the casualness was really a reflection of a very unique talent for making the difficult (interesting radio broadcasting) seem effortless.

But a couple of things are causing me to rethink this position.  On April 14 I wrote about The Amazing Ty Walker Final Four Screwup, where The Ticket had major boots on the ground in Atlanta and not a single host had the slightest awareness of it.  Rich Phillips claimed the producers knew about it via email, but the producers weren't talking.  So either no one likes Ty Walker, or there was a complete failure of communicaton.

And then, yesterday, Corby and Mike show up for a remote at American Airlines Center, only to find that it had been cancelled.  No engineers, no nothing, just Corby and Mike phoning in their location to Sturm/McDowell/Lewis.  (By the way, Corby handled that exceptionally well -- he was very funny on the phone.)   The only insight we had on this was that Rich Phillips had told the engineers the remote was off because of the late start of the game.  Corby amusingly suggested that perhaps the show hosts should have been let in on this. 

Rich was not on hand to defend himself.  If he had been there and inclined to disclose what had gone on behind the scene, I suspect he would have said (1) yeah, I mentioned it to the engineers but the show hosts don't report to me and it was someone else's job to give them their broadcast assignments, or (2) I did tell the show hosts, via email, but they don't read their emails carefully. 

Now I'm sure it's the case that remotes are somewhat dicey propositions to begin with, complicated to pull off successfully every time, getting everyone to the right place at the right time, and The Ticket does gobs of remotes.   (Although by this time, you'd think they'd have the remote tech and setup down pat, but there are still many technical glitches with remotes.)  

But, as with the Ty Walker episode, it does seem as though people who need to talk to one another at The Little One just don't do so.  

And what do these episodes have in common?  The Ticket's Own Man of Mystery.  Also observed here.  A broadcaster I admire quite a lot, but there's something up with him at the station that I expect we'll hear about by and by.

Rich Phillips Checks In

That was an interesting call to the Musers from Hawaii yesterday morning. I thought they were kidding when they speculated that Phillips might have been out partying.

Oh, dear. Slurring, exaggeratedly chirpy responses (I didn’t think his voice could go that high). I can’t help but wonder if the Musers weren’t deliberately jabbing one of their management overlords. (Did I catch someone saying that they were going to tell Ticket management, “We’re not going to do what this guy says,” or words that effect?)