Confest

How often do people check this site?  I'm about to find out, maybe.

Monday, June 30, is the semi-decennial anniversary of My Ticket Confession.

At 5:30 p.m., or nearby time of my choosing, I will be at The Barley House.

I will be delighted to introduce myself to any Confessor who drops by for the next hour or so thereafter.   

I won't have a mask on, or a bag over my head. 

No tricks.  I'll give you my real name, let you Ask Me Anything and might even answer.  But I hope we can just tahk Ticket.   If you would prefer not to identify yourself as a named Confessor, that is entirely up to you.

My sole request:  No photographs, please.

How will you find me?  I don't know.  I've never been to The Barley House.  I selected it because it seems Tickety, and because it is one of the many homes away from home – does he really have an actual home? – of one Michael Gruber, one of the very first patrons of this site, and its first commenter.

I could post a photograph, but what fun would that be?

I'll tell the barkeeps to direct anyone looking for The Plainsman to send him or her my way.  Hint:  I do not resemble Errol Flynn in "They Died with Their Boots On." 

Unless the crowd is too vast, the drinks will be on me, at least for awhile. 

Please, Confest-drink responsibly.

You are cordially invited to attend and raise a glass to five years of friendship.  

And to accept my personal thanks for shopping at My Ticket Confession.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail

@Plainsman1310

[Note:  Comment moderation is in effect.]

A Question for Acquisitive Confessors

If you, oh, say, call D&M Auto Leasing to investigate a new vehicle, do you tell them that D&M sent you, as Craig and George instruct you?

And there are other hosts that implore you to mention their names when you patronize a sponsor.

The reason they entreat you in this way is obvious:  They want the sponsor to know that their advertising with The Little One has paid off.  So they will attribute value to their advertising dollars and purchase more time on the station.

Tonight's question is:  Have you ever done it?  What kind of reaction did you get?

Random Quick Hits That Have Nothing to Do with the Distant Second-Place Fan

Back from my Very Important Trip Further West.

(1) Little quirky, unimportant things one notices about hosts:  Gordon mispronounces "insurance."  He puts the emphasis on the first syllable.  Without exception.

WAIT:  I see some folks say that "INsurance," is an acceptable variation, especially in the South.  Oh dear, what will the language descriptivists and relativists be permitting next?

Well  .  .  .  that's just wrong and anyone who is pronouncing it that way should stop immediately.  Especially the erudite Gordon.

WAIT MORE:  I've heard two people say INsurance today out on the plains.

Okay, okay, Gordon, I apologize.

(2) I like The Shake Joint's "Sports 303" or whatever their sabremetrics segment is called.  I was an early adopter of Bill James's Baseball Abstract, back when you had to buy it in a book with pages and glued bindings and covers.  Fascinating.  And, of course, there's the Moneyball stuff.

But I was puzzled by something I heard on the segment a couple of weeks back.  Jake and especially Sean were talking about the meaninglessness of the "win" in baseball as applied to pitchers' records.  Noting, correctly, that sometimes pitchers get wins even if they pitch lousily.

But it got me thinking:  In the long run -- couple three seasons, let's say, or the average term of a pitcher with a single team -- what pitchers are incorrectly judged based on their W/L records?  Which ones overrated, which ones underrated?

Let's take a longer run, a career:  Are there pitchers out there in the Hall of Fame who don't belong, or those who aren't there who should be, based on a mistaken emphasis on W/L records?  Are there pitchers who are undervalued in trades or free-agent salaries for the same reason?  Do modern-day general managers overvalue that statistic in building their teams?

Isn't it the case that in the mid-to-long run, undeserved losses and undeserved wins, under the current way of scoring these things, will even out, and that the W/L record of a pitcher will give a reasonably accurate measure of a pitcher's merit against others measured the same way?

But, as I say, I like sabremetrics and I think they're valuable, and I like the segment.  Heck, I like pretty much all of the The Shake Joint except for the current events stuff, which I can generally take or leave.

(3)  And while we're on the subject:  Can anyone think of any presentation in any medium whatsoever whose name contains two separate drug references -- and a pun?  I'll take one with two separate drug references.  (Before you ask:  The pun is "joint," which can refer to a marijahooster cigarette, or a destination of some kind -- like Spike Lee referring to his movies as "a Spike Lee joint.")

(4)  I'm trying to figure out the deal with the Whiskey War.  I thought maybe Gentleman Jack and Woodford Reserve were manufactured by the same whiskey conglomerate, but can't find any evidence of that.  (At the end of one of their ads, Danny states the name of some entity -- maybe a distributor -- that might tie them together.  I'll try to pick it up next time I hear one of the ads.)  One of you smart Confessors knows the answer to why these apparent competitors have commissioned a joint advertising campaign.  What's strange is that I find no other such campaign referenced on the authoritative Internets, nor really any particular pairing of these two products.

EXCEPT that I do see promotions where you can get a bottle of either of these products personally engraved.  But I can't find any other connection between the two UNLESS it's that they're both in kinda flattish bottles that can be easily engraved.

Confessor calling Danny to find out whether Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey
counts as a volley favoring Gentleman Jack

I'll bet there's a Confessor out there in the liquor distribution business who can answer this question, possibly staving off a conflict at The Ticket that threatens to split the place right down the middle.

I Will Be Away from My Ticket Confession . . .

Don't you hate to get automatic replies where some jamoke tries to show you how important he is by activating some automated reply designed to give the impression that his employment has required his service away from the customary place of employment, with the result that he does not have time for your puny efforts to communicate with him?  You know Chris-Chris is checking email and voicemail with exactly the same regularity he did when his butt was wedged securely in his office chair, peering down at his smartphone as the Hertz van is preparing to dump his non-Gold-Club-having ass out at the rental counter.

Well, I'll be on the tony West Coast, don't you know, for the next week.  My assignment there is of the utmost importance and certainly reflects the esteem in which I am held by my Plainsmaster.

Please conduct yourselves with the dignity for which the legacy Confessor is known.

Confessor heeding Corby's and Danny's advice
to enlist in the Ticket Whiskey War

Why Are We Fighting? Mick, I Have No Idea

What are we to make of this fracas over The Fan ripping off The Ticket?  I confess (of course), I'm amused and puzzled by the whole thing.

I personally have not heard any of this thievery, but the accounts I've read from Confessors' comments is pretty persuasive that the Fan is nakedly copying more than a couple of Ticket bits.

Now, let's acknowledge that The Ticket itself may have been, um, inspired, in some cases, by historical bits from gag-based radio.  I personally don't know of any, but it would be surprising if some of those items don't have broadcast antecedents.  I don't think that's very important.  Clearly, The Ticket has owned the bits in question in this market for a long, long time, and their sound and structure must be counted as The Ticket's Own.

This has several aspects.

First, there's the copying itself.

My first thought was anticipated by a commenter to the previous thread, which is that this avalanche of plagiarism may be a deliberately provocative "mass bit" to get some attention, get The Ticket's goat.  If so, it must be considered a success.  Guy's Night Out, today's BaD Radio.  The Fan hasn't had that kind of publicity since RaGE and Greg Williams's perambulations kept us all fascinated by the slow, but inevitable, train wreck.

Second, there's The Ticket's reaction.

Is it wise to let anything about a station as seldom visited as The Fan get under the hosts' collective skin?  I suppose a little well-placed outrage isn't going to improve The Fan's fortune very much.  I'll confess (again), though, when Mike's Mind today was going to be about a current event, instead of checking out Cowlishaw and Mosely (or whoever was subbing for Matt today), I tuned in The Fan.  (It was a segment on Ben's, I think, trip with his family to a drive-in in Ennis.  Of some interest.)

On balance, though, I think I'd let it go.  It can't be a smart competitive move to rip off a rival with bits which, by all accounts, are hugely inferior to the original.

Third, and only tangentially related, there's the suspected invasion of this site by Fan operatives.

We have welcomed Kevin Turner here for a long time, and I personally continue to do so.  I find his contributions credible, and they're always restrained and within the spirit of the site.  As to various other non-named interlopers, I have no evidence other than anonymous accusations that The Two Gavins (Spittle and Dawson) are posting.

Gavin Spittle preparing to open his laptop to compose a comment
for My Ticket Confession

My self-interested reaction is to be somewhat flattered, on my own behalf and that of the Confessor.  I am encouraged in this by Anon 232 from the last thread, who wrote:  "Oh, and why, pray tell, would The FAIL mess around with MTC? Because, and this is a testament to you commenters and to Plainsman, they know the CTO and Ticket personnel DO pay attention to MTC."  While I know that what is written here is sometimes reflected in on-air adjustments, those influences are extremely minor and extremely rare.  (Other than the move to 96.7 FM, for which I still have not received a commission check.)  Some hosts fly by.  Cat checks in maybe once a quarter.  Some of he JV and off-air staff read it with some regularity, I think.  (Long ago I heard from a Ticket employee who said that in walking through the station he would see My Ticket Confession displayed on laptops.)  Most hosts -- no.  I think maybe two check it from time to time, the others only if someone emails them a link.  But The Fan guys?  Maybe more.  Kevin, certainly, and others looking for evidence of interest in their offerings.

Gavin Dawson fortifies himself for the burst of creativity
required for the drafting of a standout comment for
My Ticket Confession

(Side note:  I've noted in the past that the fact that  I so seldom hear from Ticket insiders via email -- really, pretty much never, maybe once every few months -- tends to suggest that whatever the intensity of the politics at the Ticket workplace, it's a tight-knit, loyal, satisfied group.)

Come to think of it, though:  Other than the occasional radio message board and Reddit, this site remains maybe the only regulated swap-meet for views on DFW sports radio.  Guess I should speculate more responsibly.

Self-interest aside, I've said it before:  If Fan enthusiasts want to be heard, I don't have any strong objections to that and won't unless they threaten to take over the comments, which they are far from doing.  As far as who the commenters might be  .  .  .  I will say that I haven't heard privately from anyone denying that Fan luminaries are posting here.   If I were one of The Two Gavins, though, I think I would let the speculation and accusations fly even if I weren't commenting.  As Oscar Wilde famously observed, "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

I oughta know.

The inventor of Gay/Not Gay

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

The Ticket Won't Likely Have Much More to Say About that "Domestic Violence" Sign at the Oddly Plural Scruffy Duffies . . .

.  .  .  because, incredibly, it is still running that "I miss you, baby -- but my aim is getting better" Conrad promo.

Funnymen Steal

The P1 is duly outraged by that almost unbelievably crappy "Fake Jerry" imitation that the imitator -- I can't even remember his name and the sooner I forget the whole episode the better -- stole from Gordon.  The impression is awful, every gag not directly plagiarized from Gordon is lame.  Even calling him "Fake Jerry" is a steal.

But I must observe that:

Artists, including some very great artists, steal.  Picasso famously is said to have remarked that "good artists copy, great artists steal."  Picasso should know.  But no one would claim that Picasso was not a great artist.

Comedians, in particular, steal.  Some, like the late Milton Berle, make a schtick out of their thievery.

Although this site may not be good evidence of it, I've written a fair amount of comedy in my time for performance and in writing, and I've certainly swiped a gag or three.

And Gordon Keith has  .  .  .  borrowed.

I thought I'd written a whole piece on this because I was so stunned when I saw it, but in Googling myself I see I only mentioned it in a comment last July 9 during the never-ending Gordon Keith Week on MTC.

I don't remember if it was Gordon's old TV show or in a sketch he produced for someone else's show, but he appeared in a bit where the premise was that he was going to appear on a TV show, I believe alongside some female co-host.  The bit was that he strutted into the TV station/studio, overly familiar with the staff, breezy, talkative, confident, acting like being on the upcoming show was going to be the most natural thing in the world, like he was an old hand at the TV game.  Then, when the cameras roll, he completely freezes, staring in stark terror.

While no dialogue got lifted, this is an obvious appropriation, in concept, of the legendary "Chef of the Future" episode of Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners."

The punch line -- the stare -- is a direct steal.

Ralph Kramden bought a bunch of multi-use kitchen gadgets that he and Ed Norton (Art Carney) were going to hawk on a live commercial.  All goes well until cameras are about to roll, the director is counting down, and then -- the petrified stare.  If you try to find it on You Tube, you have to find one that begins during the rehearsal, where Ralph is still confident, to get the comedic effect.  I know a lot of these old shows don't travel well through the ages, but the first time I saw this episode when I was in plains graduate school I was on the floor -- literally -- in convulsive laughter.

So let's face it, creativity is hard, good stuff is rare.  It's why the great ones are so treasured.  Gordon is one, in my judgment.   (Come to think of it, Jackie Gleason was known as "The Great One."  Interestingly, Gleason is frequently celebrated on The Ticket as the embodiment of Sheriff Buford T. Justice in "Smokey and the Bandit.")  And jeez, when you crank out the volume that he does, you're going to, uh, remember some things.

And at least Gordon has the good sense to reprise something that's 60 years old that much of his audience will never have seen.  And he ripped off one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the old Admiral.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Pensive in Pensacola -- T.C. Out at The Buzzer

T.C. Fleming:  Terminated at WBSR in Pensacola.  Read from the bottom:

1. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   @sportssturm thanks man

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2. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   Also if you have any job leads…. I kind of need them :) Radio is the preference, but I'm open to new experiences!

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3. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   @jffcrmr Very excited about the Marshall extension

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4. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   Sorry for hijacking your feed. Since I don't have a show to prepare for, I'm going to go watch that new Godzilla now. Thanks for listening.

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5. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   It's a pretty embarrassing episode. I'm gonna try to learn as much as I can from it and try to be a better person going forward.

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6. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   We didn't put on an amazing show. It was worse than everything on KTCK. But for a first try, I thought it was passable and getting better.

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7. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   I've uploaded all of the shows we recorded here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/38gralluahcbrrn/AAAgq_5-QgB-jbvgq7atemJja … Those shows are far from perfect, but I think they're good

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8. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   The owner also fired my cohost, Tommy, saying our show was not working out. I disagree and invite you to listen and judge for yourself.

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9. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

   I remain stunned by that because, though I admit my faults, they are the same faults I had two months ago when he hired me

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10. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

    I did work there that I am proud of. If this were decided by a vote among my coworkers, I'd still be there but it's the owners' call.

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11. TC Fleming ‏@TC1310  1h

    Well guys, I got some bad news. I was informed today that things at ESPN Pensacola are not working out, and I've been let go.

Regrettable.  I rather loudly said that I thought T.C. would succeed.  That's not why it's regrettable.  Guy pulls up stakes, makes the move, two months, gone.  Seems unfair.

Some interesting things in that thread.

He reports he was cool with his colleagues, but the "owner" didn't like the show.

Or  .  .  .  maybe didn't like T.C.  He says he is going to "try to be a better person going forward."  Present faults are the same ones he brought to the show to begin with.   Shows don't usually get cancelled after that short a time because ratings didn't improve.  Oh, it's happened, but usually a show gets a chance to get its feet under it, find its audience (vice versa, actually).  So there's probably some inside baseball there.  Maybe It's Just Banter will get the scoop.

I never heard any of the show.  My recollection is that the few listeners who checked in said it was OK, and that wouldn't surprise me.   Any radio boards on the T.C + Tommy Show?

No, I'm guessing there may have been some conflict other than the owner not liking he on-air content.  Just guessing.  My last T.C. guess was wrong.  Well, just as I and others wished him well on his Pensacola adventure, I wish him well again and hope he lands somewhere where he can make a stand.