October 30, 2012

1:10 pm (10-29-12):  Hey  .  .  .  did I miss something, or am I not listening enough?  I'm sitting here trying to avoid doing my job, and the only thought that pops into my head is:  I can't remember the last time I heard Casey Millen on the joint.  Is he still engaged in sportsy broadcasting on The Ticket?  Or, as Confessors never tire of reminding me, am I a bad P1 for (a) not listening enough, or (b) not knowing what news there is to know about Casey Millen?  Is he still up-and-coming?

5:45 am:   I don't care about seeing Obama's Columbia transcript.

I would, however, like to see Jason Garrett's Princeton transcript.

6:27 am:  I liked George's sports talk this morning about trading Romo.  Not because I think it's a good idea, but because it was at least creative and he had some sound reasoning behind it.  And it was not the same two or three points we've been hearing since the post-game show, and which we all knew in advance because we all saw the game and all the other games and we all think the same thing about this team.   I've got a Cowboys HSO that's been perking for awhile that is much less credible than George's.

And it was nice to hear George chip in with some independent sports thinking.

8:23 pm:  Got an odd question for you:  I was checking my referring sites, and one of them was a Yahoo search page where someone had searched for "Greg Williams absenteeism The Rage".  Has he been away lately?  I wasn't aware that there was any issue relating to his attendance in recent months, not since his battle with throat demons a year or so back.  Not that a Yahoo search is evidence of anything, but thought I'd ask.

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.

OPEN THREAD: Been to Bahston . . .

.  .  .  and not by the channel the last several days.  So consider this an open thread.  Music talk, Dan talk, kickass-lives-of-The-Hardline talk, you name it, it's yours.

I'll just mention one thing I heard a few days ago that I really enjoyed:  In the 5:30-6 am segment, Junior engaged in Writing Talk with George and Gordon.  About how hard writing is.  He talked about how he started off blogging with some frequency, and how it has now dwindled to about once a month or so.  (SEE:  www.tickettribute.com, last heard from July 23.) 

Like any art, writing is hard, if you do it right.  You try to write it carefully the first time, and then go back and edit, carve  it down, get rid of anything that gets in the way of your point.  (First rule -- have a point.)  My sometimes lengthy articles are not good examples of the writer's art, but then, it was easy to write them because I seldom did the things that one needs to do to produce a really sparkling slab of text.  I am a speedy typist, which tends to bypass the governor between thought and page.  And now I sometimes use the amazing Dragon speech-to-text software, which, if injudiciously employed, is also an enemy to reflection.

An offbeat topic for TWMSG, and a very fine way to start one's day.

Junior's blog:  http://juniormiller1310.blogspot.com/.   Check it out.

The comments are yours.

I'll Probably Regret This

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A couple of Confessors commenting in the last post remarked on a Corby reference -- possibly a stitched together drop, I did not hear it -- to "n-lover."  And of course we frequently hear Danny's "a pretty good n" drop (he's actually saying "a pretty good in," the original reference being to someone's good inside connection with something or other, but the drop is played as though he's saying "n"). 

 

From time to time commenters have suggested that The Hardline is racist.  I do not believe that any of the Hardline guys is racist in the slightest.  I myself do not find the racial banter or references offensive, but if you do I'm not going to try to talk you out of it or accuse you of oversensitivity.

 

So I'm OK with the occasional risky reference.

 

"A truckful of Mexicans" -- Mike Rhyner
(courtesy http://reinforcingstereotypes.tumblr.com/, used without
permission; site dedicated to collecting photos that reinforce stereotypes of all
races, without discrimination)

 

Here's my concern:

 

There have been times when I've wondered whether a motivated interest group could create gigantic headaches for the CTO and The Hard Ones by doing to them what was done to Mike Bacsik.  The kindling is there.  I truly do not think The Hardline is racist, but the edge-skirting stuff, when you add it up, could be fodder for some "community organizer" to make a name for himself calling for a Ticket advertiser boycott.  Those drops would be assembled and played by the local news channels.  And possibly by The Ticket's competitors.

 

And that would be trouble for our lads that they couldn't laugh their way out of, no matter how unreasonable or crazy the accusations.

 

I'm not suggesting The Hardline should change a thing because I personally don't find these references blameworthy.  But we live in fractious times, and there are those out there who would love to see The Ticket brought low.

 

Please keep comments respectful and moderate in tone.  Thanks in advance.

 

 

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

I Was Feeling a Little Scruffy . . .

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.  .  .  and my workday had taken me northish, so I decided that I had given my employer enough of my remaining time on this earth for the day, so I stopped in and checked out the Hardline remote.  I found a spot where I could observe the room, and I just hung out for a while and purchased some cocktails from a young woman who appeared to be an experienced service technician.

A few unremarkable observations.

The name of the place is "Scruffy Duffies."  Not a possessive, but a plural.  Not Scruffy Duffy's; not a place that belongs to Mr. or Ms. Duffy; rather, a place that is of, or resembles, or contains, more than one Scruffy Duffy.   If they think they are avoiding trademark issues with Scruffy Duffy's saloons in NYC and elsewhere, they are in error.

Not a big crowd, at least up to close to 6:30 or so.  There was one guy sitting directly in front of the Hardline setup who was listening to the show, and I noticed one other table of guys who seem to be paying attention. There was a guy reading a tablet and writing in a notebook.  I haven't been to a lot of remotes, but the ones I have dropped in on were a noisier than this one. The good news is that I could hear the show.

Nobody approached them during the couple hours that I was there. They probably prefer it that way, as some remote visitors seem unable to discern when our lads are on the air. Corby appeared to be working away on his Mac during breaks, probably doing some in-show show prep, but while Corby made his magic Mike stood quietly and swayed a little.

They were broadcasting almost in the dark. The bar is dark to begin with, but they were away from the windows and the "stage" was deep in the shadows.

I am always reminded that it must be quite a talent to be able to hold a conversation in front of a bunch of strangers and in the middle of a bunch of noise. As I said, yesterday's remote was not overcrowded, but they are just as smooth when the place is roaring.

Corby looks at Mike most of the time when he's talking. Mike rarely looks at Corby unless he is particularly exercised, when he will turn to him and gesture. Most of the time, when Mike is holding forth, he just kind of stares into the middle distance even when he and Corby are conducting a lively conversation. It's odd to watch Corby speaking very earnestly  and directly to Mike and looking at him, while Mike is more or less gazing at some indeterminate point among the patrons.

I didn't see any Ticket Chicks or promo guys.

I didn't know who the engineer was.

Mike and Corby interact very little during breaks. As I say, it was dark, so perhaps they were mumbling to one another or to Danny through the headsets.  It's a little trippy to hear the disembodied voice of Danny come drifting through the speakers when he jumps in.

I had heard one or another sports pundit or play-by-play guy make many of the same points that Corby and Mike were making about the sole topic, the Cowboy game -- all of the same points, in fact.  And yet, I was not bored listening to them and I was struck again by the fact that Ticket hosts distinguish themselves in being able to make these repeated points listenable and even entertaining.

As I said, no great insights here, but a nice way to unwind, look at chicks, drink, and reflect on how it's Great to Listen to The Ticket.

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

I Would Like to Congratulate Myself on My 500th Post

Thanks to all Confessors for making this site Your Source for Responsible Ticket Journalism.

Putting a few topics on the table today:

(1)  I was delighted to hear Michael Gruber interviewed on (I think it was) Cirque this weekend.  He was on a football junket to Pittsburgh with Norm and, I believe, Grubes père.  He said that leaving The Ticket was the worst mistake he ever made, and while he was kidding, he was only about 82% kidding, I thought.  The best news was that he's quit drinking and has been sober for the past couple of months.  Keep it up, Michael, and continued academic success.

(2)  Junior as a chick:  Admit it guys, we've all done worse.  All I could think of esd that I wished I had a lump of sugar for him.   If Sarah Jessica Parker can be a chick, so can Junior.

(3)  Was there any announcement of why Jake Z was not twiddlin'/tweakin' on The Hardline yesterday?

(4)  I thought surely someone would have taken new Saturday AM Tickerman Mitchell Kerasik (phonetic) gently aside and assisted him with correcting some of the more dramatic errors from his debut.  Apparently not.  I don't like criticizing new guys, trying to make their way in a tough business, but  .  .  .  shouldn't someone at least advise him that what he is doing is a Ticker and not a Ticket?   Truly hoping Mitchell shakes off his Ball-State start,  MTC is always in there rooting for the JV.

(5)  I didn't hear the whole thing, but I think George DiGianni was commenting on his recent bugouts on his mix with The TeeBox last Saturday.  I didn't hear the whole thing, but I think his point was that people can't tell the difference between his joking and his not-joking, so he was just going to cut the handoff short.  May have that wrong, but he was commenting on some of the recent attention he has received. 

And again, to each of you, except the more tiresome of the mope trolls, Thank You for Shopping at My Ticket Confession.

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Two Cheers for Hardline Music Talk

    

 

Whenever I do an article on Hardline music talk, I get a lot of comments highly critical of The Hard Ones, especially noting (1) music snobbishness, usually by Danny but sometimes by Corby, and (2) the frequency that a small number of artists are featured:   Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, a handful of others.

 

I'll declare my bias.  Long before I was aware of The Hardline, if you had asked me to name my three favorite modern acts, they would have been Steely Dan,  Jeff  Beck, and Neil Young -- three of Mike R's favorites as well, plus Petty.  So off the bat, I don't mind most of the music talk at all.  Other than Danny's (fairly rare) mentions of newer local and obscure national acts, the guys' fave raves coincide with those I got a taste for from my years of primo music appreciation.

 

But I'm not defending their taste in music.  I want to make a larger point about The Hardline, and probably The whole Ticket.  I'll concede the Confessors' point, that there is a fairish degree of repetition in a lot of it.  Even Nude Music Tuesday, on whatever weekeday it happens to fall, tends to feature new releases by old acts.  (So that's where the one cheer gets subtracted.)

 

The thought I want to share is this:  Isn't one of the things that makes The Hardline and all of the showgrams great that they don't pander to the P1?  That these shows are almost more overheard than  heard?  A bunch of white guys + Donovan sitting around talking?  Sure enough, repetition can be boring.  But I'd much rather that Mike, Corby, and Danny were unselfconscious in their music talk rather than trying to gin up chatter for stuff they don't care much about.  I've never heard a single Widespread Panic song, but Corby's enthusiasm for the band has attained the status of a bit, and it's OK.   Mike defends his attraction to certain older, sometimes schmaltzy, pop hits that earn Corby's and Danny's scorn, and it's always a refreshing interude.

 

So I'm good with the quantity and quality of music talk on The 'Line.  Sure, I disagree with it sometimes, as I did with Andy Williams.  And I've defended The Beach Boys in these pages against Danny's and Corby's sneering.  (Oh Danny, Danny, Danny -- or, Little Douche Coupe)

 

And, to get you all good and lathered up, let me say that Neil Young has made some of the most beautiful music, and written some of the most striking songs, of the past fifty years. 

 

 

Considering Andy Williams

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The Hardline noted Andy Williams' passing yesterday.  I won't go so far as to say they were in favor of it, but I was mildly -- only mildly -- startled by the utter contempt that they showed for the man. 

I can't deny that Andy's repertoire sounds pretty bland to a generation who experienced almost nothing but rock-and-roll from the beginning of their musical awareness.  The arrangements were blah.  He pretty much stuck to the melody and the beat.  Maybe that takes Andy out of the realm of "artist" and leaves him stuck in the "entertainer" realm.  Okay.

I'll just offer another perspective.

First, the man had amazing pipes and kept them in shape for years.  As opposed to a tremendous amount of today's pop music -- which, by the way, modern science has definitively established as more boring and tedious than in the past  -- the Great American Songbook (that's Sinatra territory, for those unfamiliar with the phrase) is musically sophisticated, and, quite simply, incomparable popular music.  "Moon River" is a difficult song to sing, which I know because I have done it, and thank Jah it was a noisy saloon, a boomy mic, and a tolerant accompanist.  Andy sang that and many more songs with a deceptive and flawless ease, if not trailblazing originality.  He quite simply had a beautiful voice with great range, perfect intonation, and an incomparable warmth and clarity. 

Here are some things you may not know about Andy Williams, and while they aren't going to convince any scoffers that he wasn't a bland warbler, they may elevate your respect for the man just a bit.

--  In the early 1970's Williams was an early and vocal opponent of the Nixon Administration's efforts to deport John Lennon.

--  Williams was the first television host of the Emmys, a chore he performed from 1971 to 1977. 

--  He campaigned for Robert Kennedy and was with the campaign at the hotel the night Bobby was murdered.  He sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the funeral, at Ethyl's request.

--  He was the first non-country artist to open a theater in Branson.

-- "Moon River" has been covered by R.E.M., the Killers, and Dr. John, among many others.

--  The range of talents on his show went well beyond The Osmonds:  Williams's show showcased black talent on the teevee, featuring the Temptations, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and the Supremes.  In 1970, Michael Jackson was a sensation at age 12 on his show doing "I Want You Back" with the Jackson 5.  (Some of the YouTube versions of this say that it's "live," but it looks synced to me.  Still.)  

Michael on Andy

The Mamas and the Papas and Elton John also appeared on the show, as did:

Remember, this was the late Sixties and early Seventies -- today's punch lines were yesterday's groundbreaking performers.

--  When Williams signed his new recording contract in the 1960's, it was the richest in history. 

--  When his ex-wife Claudine Longet, mother of his three children, was on trial for the murder of skier Spider Sabich, Williams stood by her side and escorted her to and from court every day.

--  He had 18 gold and three platinum albums.

--  He was a noted collector of modern art.

All right, all right, this won't make you like the man's music if you didn't like it before.  But he was an astonishing presence on the musical scene for decades, and a good guy.  You can think he stands for everything mayonnaise in American culture, and you won't get a big argument from me, but a huge talent and fine life like that deserves our respect.  A moment, if you please

And make ready that third bedroom, okay?

Unconfirmed on This Site: Sean Bass

A late comment to the last string reports that Sean Bass was involved in a serious automobile accident.  I have been able to get no additional information on this and have no desire to spread erroneous or alarmist information.  I post this merely because in the past people have come to this site for information.

Google Blogger is having a serious meltdown and it is almost impossible for me to operate with any convenience.  Apologies all around.  I would ask that comments be kept respectful and that new information either be reliably sourced or with a link.

Whatever the situation, MTC wishes Sean Bass the very best, and our thoughts are with him and his loved ones.

[CORRECTION:  Since this was posted, I received informal but reliable confirmation that this story is generally accurate, although I have no additional details as of 8:30 AM Monday.]

OPEN THREAD -- Intentional Grounding

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Missed the first show but caught the second.  First impression is that CTO programming has delivered another off-hours winner.

Two guys sitting around talking, both likable through the ear buds.  Some interviews.  Nobody gives speeches.  Nobody "announcing" to the listeners.  Solid content.

Just a couple of preliminary thoughts:

(1)  More David.  Got no problem at all with Robert, but it seems like he authored the distinct preponderance of syllables.  Wait -- I had to leave for a segment; that may have been Felix Jones talk that David might have helmed, so my count may be skewed.

(2)  Too short.  Needs a second hour.  They spent a long time on the Cowboys, also the subject of the two interviews, which was perfectly OK sports talk, but by Wednesday those topics had more or less been talked out.  Longed for Rangers talk.

(3)  Robert is much different on IG than on The Hardline.  He's shuffled off the hipster-local-sophisticate persona that he has when he's talking to Danny, Mike, and Corby.  (Actually -- I like that presentation; just saying it's different.)  He's much more reg'lar-guy on IG, which is also very appealing.

Anyway.  Small sample size, but it sounds good to me.  You?

That Tony Call-In -- How Did They Know?

+     +     +

Pretty cool of Tony Romo to spontaneously pick up the phone and dial The Hardline.  And The Line did a nice job with the on-the-fly interview.

Danny described the call-in on The Orphanage this morning.  I was wondering how, when they get an unsolicited celebrity call, they ensure that it's the real guy.  I guess it doesn't happen too often, but I do believe I heard Danny say that that is a concern when this they get an unexpected call from somebody claiming to be  .  .  .  somebody.

Tony Romo hoping to delay diaper-changing duties during a glittery
DFW function by dialing up his pals at The Hardline

I wonder how they handle it?  You don't want to offend a major catch for the showgram by showing too much skepticism, but neither do you want to be scammed.  So do you just chat for awhile and hope you can convince yourself that the voice is right?  (Actually -- I thought the voice did not sound a whole lot like the Tony we hear interviewed on the teevee -- although not doubt it was him.  Just saying the producer faces a difficult task.)  Do you ask some identifying question, and if so, how would you ask a question that any follower of the news wouldn't know the answer to?  Do these stations have secret lists of phone numbers of the Local Famous they can check against the incoming call?

Anyway, if any insiders can give us some anecdotes on schmoes trying to call in as notables, please let us hear from you.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

OPEN SEAS -- er, OPEN THREAD: BaD

When I started this blog, my first, I figgered I'd need to develop a thick skin to shrug off some of the passionate negative comments I'd get from fans of a station about which people are passionate.  I didn't anticipate passionate loathing from readers when I didn't post.  But that's life online, I guess.  Well, my hungry Confessors, here you go, some red meat for you:  My very occasional report on the state of BaD, to my ears.  

+     +     +

This piece was started quite some time ago, and was put aside during the upheaval caused by the move to Victory.  So it mentions some things that were fresh at the time, but no longer.  I stand by the stale stuff.

+     +     +

I feel bad that this site somewhat neglects Norm and BaD, mainly because I don't get to hear them as much. I'm quite certain those hosts intensely regret their relative lack of coverage here as well.

However, I've been making a real effort to listen to BaD more often.  In the past year I've spent more time in my car middays, so got myself a good dose.    Way back when. this started out as a Dan article, but think I should get all my BaD thoughts out of the way.  Yes, I know it's too long.

+ + +

Dan McDowell is one of the more polarizing figures at The Ticket, in my case more south-polarizing, but every few months I kinda come around on him a little more, and there are times when I think -- hey, Dan's OK.  I'm still not all the way there after 8 years, but I'm trying. 

First, let's be positive.  Awhile back we heard from a couple of anonymous big fans of BaD and especially of Dan.  Here they are:

Anonymous said...

I have an STD. Well, and STD from me to myself: I have come to the conclusion that BaD has become the best show on The Ticket. I know there aren't a lot of Stars fans on this blog, but their interview with Trevor Daly today was very interesting. I also love the give and take between the analytical Bob and the gut-feeling Dan. And the thing is, Bob can get gutty on you, while Dan will all of the sudden go statsy. I think it's a great mix and a great show. I used to not think as such. The Hardline is either all gut-feeling Mike R organic I just thinks or Corby I just know because it sounds right to my mind. The Musers have that analytical/gut-feeling mix, but they seem to never really get to the heart of a sports issue. And Norm oscillates between analytical thought to sheer lunacy, all within the same segment and about the same topic.

July 10, 2012 2:12 PM 

Anonymous said...

Completely agree and I was thinking the EXACT thing during the Trevor interview today. I got in the car for lunch, heard them talking to Ralph and was thinking "shit all I'm going to get to hear is Stars talk during lunch today". Then Trevor came on and it couldn't have been more interesting. Bob and Dan are both so great, I can't really decide which one I like more (although I lean towards Dan since he thinks like I do); they just fit together really well.

So:  Any commentary on BaD needs to acknowledge the obvious:  It's not only a ratings hit, it has a number of fans who know exactly why they like the show -- not just because it's on The Ticket, but because they like Dan and Bob, and Dan qualifies as the station favorite among a significant segment of listeners.  Got no argument with those folks.

And I can agree that BaD is good and renders its competition superfluous.

However, for me the show is still a very mixed bag.

(1)  Good:  I remain convinced, as I wrote awhile back, that Dan is much better solo.   Not only better, but good-in-fact.   I listened to the show a fair amount during Bob's absence way back when, and found it pretty easy to take with him and Donovan.  I know not all Confessors share this view and could not wait for Bob's return.  Me, I thought the discipline of carrying the show really sharpened Dan's approach.   I'll repeat what I've said in the past:  Dan is a better sports host than he is a Sports Humorist.   While he can get off a good line once in awhile, "Dan" and "humorist" don't coexist comfortably in my psyche.

(2)  Good:  I was getting a lot of hits from an Aggie fan site where someone had linked to MTC.  When I looked at the site I found a string where several P1's were giving Dan big props for being very friendly when approached by fans during remotes.  This is not a small thing; any hosts that show consideration for the listeners in this way should be commended.

From D Magazine 2010
Words with Friends Competition

(3) Bad:  I don't punch out very often when listening to The Ticket, but if I had to sum up my punch-outs over the past several years, I'm guessing that I punch out on BaD three-or-four-to-one over the rest of the station combined, even as comparatively little as I hear it.  It's not just Dan misbehavior or Bob interviewing -- it's that BaD seems to stop down for nothing more often than any other show.  I'm not talking about e-brakes; I'm talking about the interruption of ordinary broadcast content for no discernible reason, usually (but not always -- see below) resulting from vocal interruptions.  The "Come on!" drop needs a heartier workout on BaD (me shouting at the Philco works not at all), although Jake The BO probably shouldn't press his luck on that, since Dan's already on his case for -- well, for no discernible reason.  [That last sentence is one of the stale ones, composed in the early days of Jake the BO.]  Yes, The Hardline stops down a lot, too, but its stop-downs usually have some independent entertainment value.  But I also punch out on BaD for other reasons, like scoreboarding the staff and gratuitously rude treatment of guests.  One in particular I recall:  Lanny Wadkins interview.

(4)  Good:  Bits.  Homer Call.  Some of the Donovan black stuff is unique and entertaining.   Guest Booking League.

Although the GBL is a better bit than some of the resulting interviews.  I was amused the last week or so when BaD was teasing The Musers for being the show that interviews the relatives of the famous, whereas BaD gets the stars themselves.  Maybe -- but at least The Musers have taken some care to hone their interviewing skills.

(5) Good:  Handling of racial issues.

(6) Good-But-So-Strange:  Recall that Dan sat in for Corby on The Hardline awhile back, as did a couple of other Ticket notables.  I heard about George's and Gordon's plus-ones, but got zero response when I asked Confessors to let me know how Dan's stint went.  When Corby returned, Mike took a segment to thank each of the guys who sat in.  I found his very friendly remarks on Dan extraordinary, and strongly supportive of my suspicion that Dan is something of an outlier at The Ticket.  

What was extraordinary was not Danny's statement that Dan was "the worst host, and my favorite," although that was a pretty interesting locution (I may not have it quite right).  What struck me was the extent to which Mike went out of his way to report on how Dan gladly accepted the invitation to sit in and on Mike's apparently growing personal appreciation of Dan, things they have in common (baseball love), and the like.  Although Mike was uncharacteristically effusive, almost gushing, I found his Dan-praise entirely sincere.

I also found it entirely weird that Mike was heaping all this very personal praise on Dan, which would hardly be called for if Dan were already regarded as a one-of-the-guys Ticketarian and friend to all.   Not so weird if Mike felt there were some need to describe Dan in a way that sorta suggests that hey, people, Dan's really, really a good guy.  No, really.  

Wild guess:  The Ticket gets lots of email about Dan.

(7)  Latest Dan Theory:  OK, I'm listening to BaD.  And Dan has been featured on a couple of segments.  And he's fine.  Smart, as he usually is.  Occasionally funny.   Nothing wrong with the overall content.  But for some reason, I'm finding it a really hard listen.  Why is this?  It's not the pipes, I'm way past that.  Pipes are fine, although since the move the poor engineers have not been able to solve the problem of Dan frequently, and seriously, overdriving the mics.  (No criticism intended here -- this is not a Dan issue, I think it's a Victory issue, as Dan is not the only one with this problem.  Don't the CTO actually listen to the station?)  It's something else.  Driving me nuts.  I'm going hey, I make a big show out of trying to be fair even when there's something I'm not crazy about.  So why do I have vast reserves of tolerance for Gordon's and Corby's occasional jerkitude and very little for Dan's mannerisms, even when (as was the case at the time) he's not actually being a big jerk?   Why is my mind wandering to speculation on what Elf might have going today?

And then, it hit me. 

It was just a phrase or two, but I went aha, and the more I listened, the more I realized my problem (maybe it's only my problem) was this: Bob and Dan, but mostly Dan, spend an enormous amount of time commenting on their own commentary in the course of giving that commentary.  Endless loops of monologue, ironic observations on their own observations.  It takes Dan (and again, Bob to a slightly lesser extent) forever to get something said.  That's what Danny must have meant lo those many months ago when he said that Dan "bogs crap down."  That is exactly what he does.  Doesn't make him a bad guy, but it's exasperating for the listener -- this listener, anyway.  Bob may have the reputation of a ceaseless talker (and much of that ceaseless talking does indeed consist of subordinate clauses apparently intended to qualify his opinions into innocuousness -- I've got this on my list as a separate topic), but there's usually a point somewhere at the end of the spiral of verbiage.  Dan seems to feel the need to embellish his phrases with self-observation that, I guess, is what he believes a sports humorist should be doing.   Yes, yes, I know, I'm a fine one to be skeptical of subordinate clauses.

The August 3 E-Brake was an example.  (Sometimes, I write stuff down.)  That was the one where Dan asked Tom Grieve a question that rambled on self-referentially for over minute, during which Tom passed away on the other end of the line. Not that unusual for either of the boys, but for me, too often large chunks of the show sound like that. Christ, get on with it.

The heck of it is, Dan is plenty interesting and knowledgeable and smart and listenable without all of the self-interruption.  (Not to mention the interruption of others, another topic entirely.)  Just talk, dammit; say what you're going to say.  Listen to tapes of Junior Miller, that most elegant of Ticketarians, the Fred Astaire of weekday hosts, who gets to the point faster and more effectively than any of the rest of them and is entertaining in the bargain.   Dan isn't going to turn into Junior Miller and no one would want him to, but I can't help but feel that with his brains and his quickness Dan could be a first rate host if he'd just lose the false (?) modesty or insecurity or whatever it is and say what he has to say with about 75% fewer commas.

(8) Good:  Donovan:  Donovan takes his lumps on this site from time to time, but I must say I don't get it.  I find him a bright spot on BaD.   Some here have accused him of air hoggery, but I find this baffling.  His contributions seem to me to be appropriate and no more prominent than other sub-hosts.  And I find that I like what he has to say and, as I've noted above and elsewhere, BaD overall pitches the race thing about right.  I enjoy Donovan's segments where he brings the community to us pasties.  So I'm pretty OK with Mr. Doo.  His Magic Johnson theory aside, which I wrote about here..

(9)  Bad:  The usual Bob issues:  While I am a Sturm admirer and don't want to hear anyone else do Cowboy pre-game (other than his broadcast partner at the time, Rich or whoever), and while I listen in slack-jawed amazement at his hard-sports analysis when he offers it on BaD, it must be said that Dan is not the only one who brings that show to a screeching halt.  I was on the verge of scrapping this essay -- whatever you may think, I really don't like going negative -- until I was listening a couple of weeks ago to a BaD segment featuring Cash Sirois and a promotional thing he had concocted for the Mavericks.  Bob was introducing it.   Some marvelous thing Cash was going to tell us about.  Coming right up.  It's really amazing.  Here it comes.  And we'll be hearing about it  .  .  .  when?  Good lord, as Danny might say, the preamble, or pre-ramble, just went on forever with no sign of actually getting to the story.  I was seconds away from punching out when they finally got to it.  Good story, as it turned out (sending a Dirk bobblehead into near-space via balloon), but needlessly truncated by Bob's prefatory ambulations.

So I decided to go ahead and post.

*     *     *

That's enough BaD, and way more than enough me.  I feel terrible about my BaD misgivings, I really do.  I want to be an old-fashioned fan of everyone on The Ticket, and truth to tell my opinion of Dan, in particular, has brightened a lot since I started listening to The Ticket.   But BaD Radio is just not one of those seamless listens for me, like The Musers and The Hardline and even Norm. 

*     *     *

WAIT, I was ready to wrap this up, but I thought of a way to encapsulate my view of BaD.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that BaD struggles to broadcast.

It's hard for them.  It's work.

Whatever you might think of The Musers or The Hardline, or even Norm, with those shows (well, maybe not Norm quite so much) you get the feeling that you're overhearing some friends talking about sports and guy stuff.  Now this is work for the hosts on those shows as well, but their labor doesn't come through the ear buds.  That's their gift.

Bob and Dan, for all their skills and brains, have a difficult time conversing naturally, at least with one another.   Those skills and brains are considerable and it's still a much better listen than what the competition is slinging.  But too often it's forced and audience-aware and cautious and slow and -- for me -- the show simply can't get out of its own way.  It stumbles, it labors to rise and move on.  By then, I may have done so myself.

Sorry, BaD fans.  I really do listen, my reactions ranging from pleasure, to shaking my head, to yelling at the Crosley, to XM 21.  As you can see, I find a lot to like about BaD.  But this is The Ticket, the greatest radio station in the world; the standards are high.  I've listened with care and I just have to conclude that with the truly superior talent in those chairs, BaD could be better.

Set me straight, BaD fans.  Or, heaven forfend, agree with me.

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A Question for Our Radio Guys

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No, this is not the STD.

We're all aware that the CTO have issued one of their periodic, and ultimately ignored, edicts about getting to scheduled breaks on time.  I've always been mildly puzzled as to why this is such a gigantic deal, although I guess if a sponsor has paid to have its ad played at a certain time in a certain hour, some effort should be made to do that.

The other day, something occurred to me.

During a Hardline ad break, I switched to RaGE.  Ads.

Flipped on down to Galloway and Co.  Ads.

Your Plainsman Searching for Sportsy-Talk Goodness at the Sod House

Which made me wonder whether The Ticket wants their ads on time so that people who are inclined to wander the dial aren't going to find anything because the competition also schedules their ads for this time.

There's a big flaw in this reasoning, in that The Fan and ESPN would not have a strong incentive to keep themselves on time, because it is in their interest to have broadcast content going on while the P1 is channel-hopping.  Maybe it's just that those stations are better at keeping to their ad schedule, and The Ticket is aping what they know the competition's schedule to be.

I suppose another possibility is that The Hardline (in particular -- it seems to be the worst offender, if offense it be) is so casual that if some discipline were not imposed, they'd end up having to scrunch segments into itty bitty intervals at the end of the hour to get all those hour's ads in.

In any event, maybe someone out there can tell us why it is so critical to "be on time" with breaks.

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Hey, Junior, I Liked Your "Profar, So Good" Pun

Heck, I even liked your Mitzi Gaynor pun.  ("Did she invent the half, or the full?")

Mitzi Gaynor, back in the day

Your Profar pun reminds me of one of my favorites.  Noel Coward had appeared with Keir Dullea in a 1965 Otto Preminger film, "Bunny Lake Is Missing."  When asked for his opinion about the up-and-comer, who would go on to star in "2001:  A Space Odyssey" three years later, he remarked: 

"Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow."

No, this is not the sizzling STD I mentioned in the last comment.

Musers Quick Hit

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From this morning's Muser showgram:

GORDON:  I was on "It's Just Banter" recently  .  .  .

JEREMY [under his breath but clearly audible]:  Why?

FERNANDO:  [Explosive cackle.]

SOMEBODY:  Be nice, Jer.

Ah, Ticket politics.  We try to read the clues on who are pals and who are not, who's just teasing and who's not.  

It's been awhile since any Confessor has mentioned IJB.  I got the impression that most readers liked the podcasts.  Those gents still turning out quality stuff?

*     *     *

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Oh. My. Frackin'. Gawd.

This may not be worth a separate post, but twelve hours later, I'm still shaking my head.

Last evening I saw the most appalling few seconds of video it has ever been my misfortune to view.

Can you guess what it is?

You got it on the first try!

It's the "Chariots of Fire" advertisement for RaGE.

Richie, Greg, Sybil, Armen, and a guy or two I don't know, running around on a football field and crashing into one another with the "Chariots of Fire" theme playing in the background.

The distance shots are in slow motion and quickly cut away from.  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

The close-up shots are also slow motion and quickly cut away from.  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

The running and crashing-into-each-other shots are shot so  .  .  .  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

It's around 20 seconds and they cut away so frequently that  .  .  .  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

So the point of doing a visual ad thing for a personality-based program is  .  .  .  ?

Let's play Fun with Adjectives:  amateurish, ineffective, embarrassing, ill-conceived, irrelevant, cheap-looking, thrown-together, desperate.

There is only one part of RaGE I would want to embrace, and they didn't even manage to employ her charms to advantage.

They decide to do a TV spot, and this is the best they can do.  Fake enthusiasm, fake camaraderie, and no indication of what these running-and-jumping-and-crashing people actually do.

Don't believe me?

Jaw-Dropping RaGE Ad

It's over.  It's got to be over.

OPEN THREAD: Fight Night

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I thought I was going to be able to hear most of Fight Night, but I only heard bits and pieces over the course of the evening as I drove from meeting to meeting.  Since I'm on record as not being a big fan of the event, and since I didn't hear it from beginning to end, I'll relegate myself to the comments.

 

Now this is supposed to be the most popular Ticket event, so let's hear from people who had a good time and enjoyed it, either live or broadcast.  Come on now, you gotta be out there, thousands of you went to the thing.

 



August 22, 2012

+     +     +

 

I liked Gordon's "Five on Five" segment on the Observation Deck this morning.  Punchy, funny, fast-moving, interesting.  Or maybe it was "Five for Five," I forget.  Either way, I liked it.

 

+     +     +

 

I cannot believe that Capital One is bringing back that incredibly odious "I'm calling everyone in America" ads to insult our intelligence.  Why anyone would want to move their money to an organization that would even pretend to employ an asshole of this galactic lack of appeal is a mystery.  Who engages in an activity -- cold-calling citizens to annoy them with some kind of unwanted sales pitch -- universally loathed by consumers. 

 

If you have your assets with Capital One, please move them elsewhere.

 



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I'm a wimp.  I'm a weenie.  You can call me names if you do so nicely.

 

I don't like Fight Night.

 

I've written about it a couple of times, once really early when I had zero readers, but more recently and comprehensively here:  WEENIE ALERT.

 

If you don't want to click back, my basic point is that disaster is just around the corner.  I don't care about headgear, short rounds, the other "safety" features, it would only take one awkward punch or fall to paralyze or kill someone.  True, true, it hasn't happened in all the years they've been doing this, but their fighters are getting bigger and stronger.  It isn't the liability concern -- I'm sure the fighters have signed releases and The Ticket is insured for this.  It's the PR hit to the station if someone really buys it.

 

That piece is outdated in one respect.  Since then I recall satisfying myself that The Ticket had covered the regulatory legalities.  But in general I still feel the same way. 

 

There is one good thing about Fight Night:  It gives hosts who aren't fond of one another a highly-charged forum in which to interact awkwardly.

 

So I'll be listening, but I'll be disapproving.

 

+     +     +

 

On further reflection, Michael Krenek's departure signals the End of The Ticket.  

 



[Hit the Sounder] BREAKING NEWS: Michael Krenek Moving On

I did not hear this, but can only assume it was announced during The Orphanage.  [CORRECTION:  Confessor advises it was at the top of Cirque.]    A commenter to the previous post posted this:

Another employee leaves for greener pastures. Well, it wasn't too hard to see that one coming. Not just for Krenek, but for anyone up there who wants a career that doesn't consist of forever being a scrub, or a jver at best. The cool thing is that Krenek, like a few others, has used The Ticket as a springboard to hopefully a nice career as a host in sports radio or even tv or whathaveyounot. Good on Krenek. He did it by letting the game come to him, having (and I'm sure practicing) good chops and sports knowledge/points, and by being a team player. Unlike some of the fellows up there, Krenek gets how to do these things, and more crucially, the importance of them. Congrats, Krenek, and I'll be listening in via the miracle of the internet as often as possible.

If it turns out I've been had, I'll take this down, but thought I would get it up for those swimming by.  I have no additional information at this time.  [CORRECTION:  He is taking a job at a station in Grand Junction, Colorado -- on air and available via Internet.]

I'm hopeful Krenek will drop by and fill us in on some details, as he has been known to visit and sling a comment from time to time.

Always thought Krenek was one of the solid performers up there, good sense of humor, but wasn't the type to drop in uninvited.  Truly wish him the best.

Previous post has only been up since last night, so check it out if you haven't been by since then.:

The Song of Tyrone

The Song of Tyrone

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On Wednesday, I heard the Musers' beachside interview of drifter/homeless/panhandler Tyrone.  You can hear it here on the Incomparable UnTicket.  Its riches are hard to describe, it must be heard.

I am conflicted about things like this.

By "things like this," I mean (mostly) Gordon and Corby interviewing people who are -- how can I put it?   These interview subjects are not all the same.  Some are just less fortunate.   Some are afflicted.  Some are addicted.  Some are  of well below average intelligence.  Some have a poor grasp of English.  None of them has asked to have his or her words broadcast to the metro and disseminated worldwide online.

So part of me doesn't like the ambush wireless mic/recorder interviews of the drunk black man or the thickwit white girl.  

But I gotta tell you:  On Wednesday morning, the other part of me just about drove off the road laughing at Tyrone's rap about drinking, his teeth (or absence of), and, of course, women: his preferences and an unexpectedly bitter conclusion to one particular encounter.

There was melancholy, too -- a four-year-old daughter he has never seen.

So I'm conflicted.  Not sure where to land on this one.   Unfortunate, unwell, and inarticulate people are out there.  A lot of us never encounter them.  A lot of us would prefer not to know they exist.  I'm not saying that Gordon/Corby are performing a public service, but I am saying that it's not necessarily unfair to target people who look like they might provide a unique interview experience.  (Now in this case, of course, Tyrone approached them for a handout, which he eventually got, so they didn't necessarily seek him out.)

I'd prefer, though, that they not be antagonized, subtly ridiculed, and badgered with schtick.  That happens, and it's cringe-inducing when it does.   But that didn't really happen in the Tyrone interview (we'll put aside Gordon's serial attempts to get him to sing, which he finally abandoned), so maybe that's why I'm not feeling all that hostile toward the exploitation of the inarticulate as I write this Friday evening.

Or maybe it's because it was hilarious.

Happy Birthday, Mike R

On this day in 1948, Babe Ruth died.

Two years later to the day, Baseball Jesus was born.

A respectful happy birthday to the rock upon which Dallas sports radio is built.

A Quick Thought on Originality and Corby

My time and ability to be by the station has been limited lately.  Sorry that new posts have been few and far between.  Hoping that will ease soon.

The prior batch of comments contains some interesting reports on Fan filching of Ticket bits, some of them of long-standing and not even that frequently heard on the station any longer.

I thought of this when I was able to catch about an hour of The Hardline today.  I heard Corby's new bit, Bad Follow-Up Question Guy.  (I don't have that quite right -- it wasn't "Bad," was it?  Someone here will remember.  Yeah, maybe it was.)  He was interviewing a Cowboy hopeful, a second-year guy, I think, whose name I did not catch.  Corby was doing a legitimate interview, the guy was responsive and cooperative, but after every response, Corby would throw in a complete non-sequitur, sometimes a random remark, sometimes a question, would pause for a moment, and then would go on to a legitimate question.  The guy eventually caught on and chuckled some at what he probably figured out was a bit.

I'm not a big fan of Ticket ambush interviews, but I gotta say that I laughed at this.  Corby's non-sequiturs were masterful, and delivered with just the right offhanded lack of emphasis.

This made me think about the comments we had on RaGE swiping old Ticket bits.

Corby came up with a successful original bit.  Why can't RaGE?

This got me thinking about whether Greggo or anyone on RaGE could even have performed that bit if it had been given to them.  I don't think so.  Oh, they could have tried it, but it would have fallen completely flat.

Why?  Because of Corby's unique talent for manufactured sincerity.   He gets his share and more of ballbusting by readers here, some of it accurate (although sometimes overheated, in Your Plainsman's view), but this is a true gift, and I don't intend this opinion as damning with faint praise.  It's what makes him the best interviewer on The Ticket.   Who else on Dallas sports radio could have drawn superstars like Shaq or impossible interviews like Parcells into some really great radio?

I hadn't intended this entry as a celebration of Corby, although I'm always glad to be positive about The Little One.  My point started out to be that it isn't just bad decisionmaking that keeps The Fan down -- it's a major talent gap.   I've said it, we've all said it in one way or another:  In the words of an early commenter on this site, The Ticket is lightning in a bottle.  Whether the assembly of the host lineups throughout the day was brilliant on the part of the station's founders and early managers or merely fortuitous, we should enjoy the hell out of it while we can.

*     *     *

I'll try to catch The Train Station Fitness Show tomorrow to see if George Di addresses last week's much-remarked-on interaction with his somewhat addled guest.

*     *     *

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More George DiGianni Talk

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If you follow the comments, you will know that in response to the prior post a Confessor called attention to George DiGianni's apparently rather shabby treatment of an elderly guest on his Train Station Fitness Show yesterday morning.   Check it out HERE. I was surprised at the commentary about George this called forth, so I thought I'd make it a topic.  One of the comments reports that a bird told him that this thread has received some attention from Ticket luminaries.

Yes, this is probably the most ink George DiGianni has had under any name. I'd be surprised if it doesn't drive his listenership up by a dozen or so souls for the next week or so, as this site's massive audience tunes in to see what all the fuss is about.

I have been listening to The Train Station Fitness show for quite awhile. The foregoing comments are accurate. I am not knowledgable about fitness matters, but I am skeptical of much of the supplement-based, anti-med-establishment advice the show offers, as well as the rather extreme dietary proscriptions. And yep, George can be a bully.

Let me throw out some positive things:

(1) He keeps his show on-topic. And when I say that I mean not only does he try to guide his guests to emphasize the announced theme for the show, but he also does not over-promote his own services. He mentions them, but the Train Station Fitness Show is not an infomercial. By its own lights, it is substantive and informative.

(2) He has helped Bob Sturm become less doughy many, many times (including presently, I think), and I believe that other Ticket hosts, including (if I recall correctly) Craig Rosengarden and George Dunham, have used his services to good, if perhaps temporary effect.  (My unhappy thoughts on Bob's promos may be found HERE.) 

Mark Followill is something of a disciple and was George's guest a couple of weeks ago. He's kept up with most of George's advice (although George berated him for eating bananas during distance running events! -- too much sugar) since first consulting him. I'm sure that if you had the discipline to do what George says, you'd look and feel better. But man, he's tough on both diet and exercise.  I suppose that's what it takes.

(3) I once heard a guest on his show who I thought could benefit a friend of mine. I forgot the name and dropped George an email. He responded promptly and politely with her name and contact information.

(4) He played along perfectly with a Hardline prank on Michael Gruber, calling him to berate him for the stitched-together Train Station promos Grubes would put together.

So George is certainly a piece of work, a highly-disciplined and tightly-wound piece of work. He may be wrong on the science and medicine, but certainly if you don't mind shopping at -- well hell, I have no idea where you would buy the narrow range of unprocessed foods of which he approves -- and burst training, and, yes, some "supplements" now and then, and -- ewww -- a good thorough "cleansing," you would probably look and feel better. You'd be miserable, unless you were Mark Followill, but you'd look and feel better.   Despite his anti-med-establishment stance, you can't deny that less sugar, and more and proper exercise, will do you good.

And, as a couple of Confessors have noted, it's pretty interesting local-sourced radio first thing on the weekend.

George, since you've taken it in the shorts here, let me at least steer people to your websites:

http://georgedejohn.org/

http://21daybodymakeover.com/

We should at least tune in next week to see if he addresses the granny incident.  And to see if Bob Sturm finally gets cleansed.

MTC Congratulates the Teebox

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I'm not a golfer but I've always gotten a kick out of the Teebox.  Not just in anticipation of a Craig Rosengarden malapropism; it's a cool listen at work on Saturday mornings, 8 to 10.  Craig and Rick Arnett, a Ticket pioneer, have a nice easy manner, and like Rich Phillips and NASCAR, because of the skill of the broadcasters I find myself listening with some interest to talk about a subject I care nothing about.

However, this site has on several occasions noted that Teebox remotes were the worst-sounding show on The Ticket.  I won't repeat the detail, but the sound on their remotes was gargly and gravelly and hard to listen to.  Here are some early reports:

The Teebox Sounds Absolutely Terrible This Morning

Once Again, the Teebox Seems to be Broadcasting from Pluto

It never got any better, and I eventually quit mentioning it. 

The other day I thought I heard Rick say that they'd gotten some new equipment for their remotes.  I tuned in last week and my impression was that someone needed to get his money back, there was still a hedgehog in the gear somewhere.  But this morning they're broadcasting from a Park Place dealership in Fort Worth and it sounds great, studio quality.  So they must have gotten the toys installed.

It didn't seem right that they'd be so handicapped in their mix'n'mingle with George DiGianni.  Aurally, at least, they can now hold their own with him and The Orphanage.  Congratulations to them.

Quick Ratings Question for Knowledgeable Confessors

We've taken a passing interest in the on-air postings for positions with Cumulus and the stations.  There's the chief engineer slot, and they're also looking for an IT guy, sounds like.  Both sorely needed. 

We hear the Ticket guys griping about Cumulus corporate practices, and we've observed some ourselves, so it's amusing to hear these ads talking about what a fabulous place Cumulus is to work.  Maybe it is, but the contrast between recent events and the bubbly self-promotion of the ads is amusing.

Lately, we've heard i93 trolling for sales guys on The Ticket.  My question is this:  The ads state that i93 is the "third-most listened-to" station in DFW.  When I go to this site

http://www.radio-info.com/markets/dallas-ft-worth

I see a listing of stations with an "AQH%", but those rankings don't match up with the "cume" numbers, which I assume represents listeners.  Based on the cume numbers, KLIF- FM does indeed appear to be the third-most listened-to station, although down in the listings.

In fact, i93's "cume" is about triple The Ticket's.

Now, we all know that the 25-54 male demographic is the most desirable, and Thc Ticket rules there.  My question for a radio guy is:  how should we read these tables?  What is the relationship between the AQH% (and what is it?) and the "cume," and what is their relative importance to advertisers?  Why does The Ticket appear so far down on this list, if it is so dominant in the most significant demo?

Thanks in advance.

And the Winner, Based on a Small Sample Size and Highly Subjective Taste, Is . . .

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This site has remarked a couple of times on the frenetic George/Gordon Raising Cain's ads.  I think I heard them say that their promotional visit to the opening of the latest Raising Cain's resulted in the biggest one-day sales at an RC store, something like that.

In the comments to my post on Raising Cain's and chicken generally, Confessors weighed in on their local favorites.  My dark-horse favorite was regional chain Golden Chick.

But the biggest Ticket-fried-chicken-related shot was the multi-segment celebration by Danny and Dave on the Orphanage last Saturday on the greatness of regional chain Chicken Express.  I wasn't the only one who wondered whether this was going to cause a problem with the Raising Cain's folks, who must have poured a fortune into the George/Gordon spots and promotional appearances.  Danny acknowledged he'd received cautionary communications from P1's but brushed them off, advising that RC was a "Muser" sponsor.

I have now recently visited both a Golden Chick and a Chicken Express in the Cool Metro.

Chicken Express wins on:

     --  Overall store appearance, inside and out.
     --  Menu variety and layout.
     --  Cleanliness.
     --  Staff friendliness and efficiency.
     --  Store accessibility (more and better DFW-area locations)

Golden Chick wins on:

     --  Chicken.

Sorry, Danny and Dave.  The Chicken Express chicken was good, but the chicken pieces were not of the best quality (size and tenderness).  That would have been okay if the coating had distinguished itself, but it was thin and somewhat limp.  It tasted all right, but it did not have the heartiness and crispiness of Golden Chick, and the thighs (my preferred cut) were on the undernourished side. 

(I acknowledge that crispiness is not the be-all/end-all of great fried chicken.  KFC Original Recipe yields a positively soggy coating but its deliciousness makes up for it.)

I have learned that CE is opening a store on a thoroughfare I get to with some regularity, so I'm sure I'll be visiting again.  If the foregoing is unfair (again, no respectable critic would base a comparo on a single visit), I'll check back.

All topics open, as usual.

*     *     *

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OPEN THREAD: Oxnard and Elsewhere

I like it when a host runs into some luminary at one of the road trips.  Gordon's stories of encounters with Garrett and Jones were fun this morning.

But what's your impression of how The Ticket does overall on these junkets?   Now, maybe Norm and BaD have more vigorous news-scounting organizations, I don't know, and they're broadcasting during the active practice hours.  The Musers, of course, are broadcasting in the very wee hours on the West Coast, although I guess they've snagged Bill Callahan this morning.  The Hardline -- might as well be broadcasting in Thule, not that I mind.  No one listens to The Hardline for sports information, so who cares if Danny isn't badgering Caleb McSurdy for an interview?

When I was listening to the post-Jerry round tables yesterday, I couldn't figure out why Norm's sound was so bad -- I assumed he was on a telephone feed.  I'm sure it takes a heroic engineering effort to get the station going halfway across the country at all.  Killer got some bouquets on The Musers this morning, which he doubtless deserves, from the looks of things.

Overall, I don't get the impression that these trips do much to enhance either the hosts' insight into the team, or ours.  Don't misunderstand me:  Got nothing against the junket.  Maybe the station uses it as some kind of a fringe-benefit team-building thing -- these guys seem to have a helluva time out there unrelated to coverage of camp, and that can kick up a fun story or two.  And, as noted, there's the odd interview here and there that you wouldn't get if you were back in DFW.  There's also the PR aspect -- just to be able crank out some promos to say that you're going/you're there/you went.

On the merits, though, I've never thought the the traveling added much to the sportsy aspect of the presentations themselves, compared to with how much this must cost.  Had this feeling with the Super Bowl and World Series junkets as well.

As always, thread is open for all topics.

Ladies and Gentlemen: George DiGianni

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FKA George DeJohn, Inventor of the

21-Day Full Body Cleanse,

Currently Being Experienced by Bob Sturm

for the Ninth or Tenth Time



Open Thread: "Ethnic" Sports Talk

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There have been some interesting comments in the prior thread about ESPN's pairing (unclear whether this is temporary or permanent) of Jean-Jacques Taylor and Nate Newton.  One Confessor confesses that he is having a hard time making out what they're saying.  Others hearken back to earlier black sports-talk voices, mostly positive recollections.  That was before my time.

Awhile back, I speculated on who would create the "First Black Ticket."  I heard Coop/Nate a week or so ago and while I was unimpressed with the content, I didn't have any particular difficulty understanding Nate.  I can see, however, that if a coupla brothers got together to broadcast, the patois might take a decidedly more, shall we say, ethnically distinctive turn that we pasties might find difficult to make out.

I'm not an affirmative-action guy by any means, but I support experiments like JJT/NN, if that's what it is.  Local competition for The Ticket isn't succeeding with what it's slinging out there, so why not try something a little spicier? 

I went back and read my "First Black Ticket" piece and thought it held up OK.  There were some excellent comments there that I commend to you as well.  Don't have any further Great Thoughts on it, but thought I'd throw it out there since the JJT/NN pairing has caught folks' attention.

July 23, 2012

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What's up, Ticket Tribute Guy?  (Link:  The Ticket Tribute)

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