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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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