Cirque du Sirois was wrapping up. (By the way -- just as some Ticket hosts seem determined to deliberately mispronounce "Hitzges," which is not difficult to pronounce, some similarly seem to think the name of the show is Cirque de Sirois. Sorry, I know it's nitpicky, but persistent errors on names that should be well-known to the broadcaseters just frost my ass. It borders on disrespect. Yeah, maybe it's a bit.) And the Sirois team was mulling over whether there would be a Race Week, when Carlos Leal mentioned that he was going to be doing it. After some initial banter over whether it was a bit, it soon became clear that Carlos would, indeed, be doing Race Week.
I didn't get to hear more than about fifteen minutes of it. They didn't even change the intro, which still announced that Rich Phillips would be hosting.
I must say that Carlos handled his duties manfully. I like all of the NewGen JVTickemen -- Carlos, John Fahey, and Logan Gourley. I would not have expected him to be as fluid as Rich, and he wasn't. It sounded like he was reading off a prepared text with his initial "news of the week" segment, whereas Rich's account always sounded like he knew what had happened and was easily winging it. Carlos had trouble with some sentences, but seeing as how it was his inaugural effort, he got the news across clearly. No problem. Rich has been a live broadcaster for decades. Keep on swinging, Carlos.
(By the way -- pretty sure Carlos's delivery was live, no "Race Week CD" The Orphanage routinely accused Rich of generating.)
I'm not a broadcaster, but if I had one piece of advice to offer, it would be just to slow down, keep it conversational. Rich's blitzkrieg delivery cannot be duplicated.
What interests me more than Carlos's performance is the conversations that must have taken place in deciding what to do about the 2-3 pm slot on Saturdays.
I don't know if Carlos is a NASCAR fan. I don't know if he went to The Western Hemisphere Catman and offered his services, or maybe begged to be given a shot. I don't know if Cat had a holy-s____ moment and sent out a memo saying who in the name of all things Tickety can we get to keep Race Week going? and everyone else took one step back. I do know -- no, that's not right, I only suspect -- that most P1's thought that Rich's departure spelled the end of Race Week.
In any event, I'm always interested in new voices getting new opportunities, so I urge the P1 to keep The Ticket on while running errands on Saturday afternoon, and check out Race Week, starring Carlos Leal.
* * *
Who the heck, or what the heck, is Giuffria? and Zebra?
So who makes up the JV now? I want the full roster?
ReplyDeleteThere are many points the Plainsman has made over the years with which I have disagreed, but amen on the name thing. It's been a decade and a half; you know how to say "Hitzges." Getting people's names wrong should be close to a fireable offense.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to posit that people have NOT been mispronouncing the Sirloin Brothers show. The plural of "Sirois" is, presumably, "Sirois." The title of the show should be, by all accounts "Cirque des Sirois," which fits the pronunciation everyone has been using.
The Dick Hicks NASCAR CD is aptly named. I've been listening when it skipped for ten minutes.
Not sure about Zebra but I can vouch (don't hold that against me) for the following which you can find on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteGiuffria - Call to the Heart
GTR - When The Heart Rules the Mind
Autograph - Turn Up the Radio
Billy Idol - Catch My Fall & Flesh For Fantasy
Bryan Ferry - Same Old Scene
Damn Yankees - Come Again
Just to name a few that get lost in the cracks.
I'm right there with you on the Cirque du Sirois thing. What gets me is that I've even heard Machine, a card carrying (or, more accurately, shirt wearing) member of Team Having Fun, pronounce it incorrectly. I suppose he could have been doing a bit, though.
ReplyDelete433: Ah, I love it when Confessors posit things, especially foreign grammar things.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to disagree.
First, the name of the show is "Cirque du Sirois." Quod erat demonstrandum. Even if it's incorrect French grammar, it's the correct name of the show.
Second, it's not intended to be descriptive of a circus belonging to multiple Sirois (feminine plural "Siroises") -- it's a pun on "Cirque du Soleil," and a clever one at that. No "du," no pun.
Third, there is no reason to believe that "Sirois" in that title is intended to be plural, i.e., a direct reference to the persons of Mike and Cash. Rather, it has more the flavor of a family signifier, like "oysters Rockefeller" or "Windsor Palace". The "du" functions as does the "du" in "Cirque du Soleil" -- "circus of the sun" doesn't mean that the circus belongs to the sun, it means that the abstract qualities of the sun inhere in the circus. Similarly, as anyone listening to that magnificent production can testify, the Saturday afternoon program incorporates the magical aggregate chemistry of Mike and Cash, so that "Cirque du Sirois" should not be translated literally as "a circus that is owned by the corporeal forms of Mike and Cash," but should instead be understood idiomatically to mean "programming that incorporates the playful but risky circus-like amour de la vie exhibited by the entire broadcast experience to which Mike and Cash lend their combined personalities."
So Ticket guys, and we all, should call the show "Cirque du Sirois."
And Ticket employees should freakin' well call Norm Hitzges by his correct name.
When you want Bryan Ferry references in your Ticket journalism, you simply have no choice but to visit My Ticket Confession.
ReplyDeleteNot enough is being made of the fact that Rich Phillips is now on The Fan...per TMS duties, regularly joins the hottest show in DFW-G-Bag Nation.
ReplyDeleteI think an appropriate amount is being made.
ReplyDeleteIt was a little weird yesterday, planning for our show, when I heard Rich hop on with the G-Bag Nation. I mean, that's the guy that hired me at the chicken.
ReplyDeleteToo much is being made about not enough being made.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing funnier on THL than when Danny and Corby go into "Mike voice" after they've asked him whether he likes a band/movie or has seen a band/movie...
ReplyDelete#NonTHLHateHere
I was (un)lucky enough to hear the entire Norm/Sirois argument yesterday that ended up being a candidate for today's e-brake. It was infuriating to hear live. Norm simply doesn't listen to anyone that has a contrary opinion. Mike was making a really good point that fixing could be happening somewhere in one of the major sports and Norm was fixated on it being a top-down decision. The only reason he "won" the argument was because he was louder and kept repeating the same things over and over again until Mike gave up.
ReplyDeleteOn a kind of unrelated but actually probably related after all note, does anyone catch Frank Deford's weekly rants on NPR's Morning Edition? They're like a car wreck for me; I am disgusted by it but the next time I come across it I can't turn away from the gruesome scene playing out in front of me. He reminds me a lot of Norm, not just because he's a thousand years old, but because he has the same kind of myopia that comes from decades of hot sports opinions. Guys like this are paid to have strong opinions on everything for so long they get to the point where not only do they lose whatever open-mindedness they had, the lose the ability to see that they've lost it. They spend all their time blowing hard in a black-and-white world that it all ends up sounding like yelling at the kids to get off their lawn. Deford's piece this week was tangentially about how silly good-old-days syndrome is, but everything he does is based on his own case of good-old-days syndrome. Every segment contains at least one of "the way things USED to be", "back in MY day", "oh I remember the days when", used as an example of how things used to be better, not in a simple historical reference kind of way. Norm isn't consistently that bad, but it's probably because Deford is concentrated to a minute or two per week.
That Norm/Sirois argument was quite unnerving when put in the context of how He treats everyone from his producer(s) to callers to upper management. Has he ever conceded a point? I don't know. While opposing facts are extremely insulting to him, he's also got a very itchy trigger finger when it comes to ad hominem. I guess if I choose to listen to him, it's for entertainment purposes only. I guess I'm just interested (not hoping) to be listening on the day he actually does clutch his chest and keel over from the mic.
ReplyDelete3 more years of lip-smacking:
ReplyDeleteThe Ticket signs Dallas radio icon Norm Hitzges to 3-year deal
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/more-sports/headlines/20140425-the-ticket-signs-dallas-radio-icon-norm-hitzges-to-3-year-deal.ece
The DMN is reporting that Norm has signed a 3 year deal with the Little One. Crap!
ReplyDeleteI'm liking The Chicken Brothers moniker for the Sirois twins.
ReplyDeleteThree more years of Hitchges means three more years of me not listening from 10-12. That thing with Sirois this week sounds like the kind of thing that made me not want to listen to Norm anymore.
birq - Couldn't agree more on Frank Deford. He always seems to come on when I switch over during a Musers commercial break. He's so very Norm-like.
Bring Sirois on as THL Producer and let Danny on-air full time. Sirois deserves better than Hitchkiss.
ReplyDeleteI will stick up for Norm. Sometimes he makes me want to walk into traffic to end it all....but that is WAY better than having to listen to music talk from anyone on the station.
ReplyDeleteIf you hate Norm for his opinions, then why does Gordon Keith get a pass? This morning's fake knowledge about structures in the brain (synapses)? Stupid! For years being a complete ass to unsuspecting people on the street AND his coworkers (example-making an issue of Rick Arnett's radio name for one). I would like to finally see Plainsman's take on Gordon Keith-a man who is covering up his fading creativity with self righteous references to a few things he doesn't know anything about. And then there is THL....damn....if I hate Keith's uninformed thoughts.......FAREWELL CRUEL WORLD!!!!!!!!
Norm mentioned again this morning he wears hearing aids. Seems to be an old time radio thing. Everyone knows about Rush's hearing problems and Kevin McCarthy and David Gold both have had bouts with inner ear and hearing problems. Wonder if this has anything to do with wearing the old style "can" headphones.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Celery.
ReplyDeleteGet into the archives and go back to June 27, 2013, the beginning of Gordon Keith Week, which lasted about a fortnight. If you will start there and continue into July, you'll see four articles about Gordon. (A couple of non-Gordon articles interrupt the examination.)
By the way, despite my admiration for Gordon, I don't disagree with some of what you say.
Welcome, Celery.
ReplyDeleteGet into the archives and go back to June 27, 2013, the beginning of Gordon Keith Week, which lasted about a fortnight. If you will start there and continue into July, you'll see four articles about Gordon. (A couple of non-Gordon articles interrupt the examination.)
By the way, despite my admiration for Gordon, I don't disagree with some of what you say.
Congrats to Norm and his agent for getting that deal done, period.
ReplyDeleteNow...
1-I will expect IJB to have both Jake and TC comment on the new contract with disdain and disgust.
It seems that TC is overly concerned with the business and content of The Ticket than he is in the station he is actually responsible for. The recent, shortened edition of IJB was basically a “Humble Brag” contest and low on content. Then again, I really did not want to hear them try to talk about the ESPN “30 for 30” on Hillsborough since the review of “Among The Thugs” was poor and I read that book 20 years ago and an undergrad and kept it, so I read my highlights.
Most of all, I have garnered more TC dislike as I thought it was disingenuous of TC to use a media credential given to his former employer to attend the Final Four.
2- Three more years also illustrates that they do not really care about cultivating a younger audience, but in Norm's defense, his hours are not really in play for many under age 25. Most older hosts who are considered a “sports vestige” are in that slot, whichever city you visit.
3- And Barry Horn still fails to realize that those who constantly turn 25 listen to radio less each passing year and eventually will have never listened to it.
4- Corby shows “white guilt” over Sherpas and used Enews to display that he had no idea of both stories (L.A. Magazine and ESPN) over the defection of Puig from the last two weeks.
Have we made enough of the last ratings? I haven't written about it because none of our usual radio-savvy posters have favored us by pasting in those ratings. I wasn't sure I understood correctly, but is Russ Martin one-tenth of one point behind The Hardline in some category?
ReplyDeleteI have it on my usual distant friend-of-a-friend's-friend's authority that Dan Bennett is a gigantic P1 of Norm Hitgzes.
ReplyDeleteThere was apparently little doubt in the radio world that Norm would re-up.
Plainsman: you do know that many, many moons ago Bennett was Norm's producer.
ReplyDeleteNorm helped put him where he is today.
@P 1 Dan....You're right, there is nothing funnier on THL when Corby and Danny do that. Unfortunately, when that's not even funny, it tells you what the rest of the show is like.
ReplyDeleteGopher, I did not know that, having not been around Way Back When, and I suspect many P1's did not. If we had, there probably wouldn't have been so much speculation about Norm's departure. Thank you for advising.
ReplyDeleteYour comment made me think of T.C. Both Cat and Bennett started out lowly at The Ticket and are now major Cumulus players, pretty much the bosses of the hosts (to the extent they any longer accept bossing). T.C., correct me if I'm wrong, has bargained at Program Director-type title into his new job.
Innarestin.
Actually, the fact that Dan Bennett used to be Norm's producer has been mentioned numerous times over the years. I'm aware of it and I never listed to Norm's show on KLIF.
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely a winner then. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteJust curious, did any of you listen to Brad Sham's Sports Central on KRLD back in the early and mid 80's?
ReplyDeleteIt was Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys (KRLD was the flagship in those days)with a little Rangers and other sports thrown in. The nights they did sports trivia were interesting though.
Brad voiced about 90% of the ads and you never got a break from his voice.
Norm was told sports talk in the AM would never work. He proved them wrong and that eventually lead to the Ticket being born.
"Hi, this is Brad Sham. And when I get hungry, I take the wife and kid to Balls.. Balls Hamburgers. You'll have a ball at BALLS!!"
ReplyDeleteRussell Wilson getting divorced. The most shocking news since Jr. Miller divorce.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the Ticket/Cumulus get somebody to keep their website current? It still has contact information for Grubes.
ReplyDelete- Not only is the website out of date with regard to contacts it is from another decade stylistically. Looks like it was designed circa 2002 and never changed.
ReplyDelete- Horribly disappointing ending to Stars game tonight. Kari simply played horrible at key times. I don't buy the BS that a team has to lose first before they can make a run. There are no guarantees the Stars will even make the playoffs next year. They let a great chance to take a series to a game 7 slip through their hands.
Once again just a modicum of effort would have let Kerby (Kirby? Corby?) know the details of the move of Toyota from California to Texas.
ReplyDeleteEvery news item clearly said "Torrance" CA. And it was just the finance, sales, etc.; not a manufacturing facility. Danny didn't help much by not knowing San Antonio has a manufacturing facility. (He evidently sent the info to Corby.)
Please, please just read the story in the break before CQH. Not when CQH actually starts and you are trying to wing it.
.just my .02
They were talking the otherday about a George Bush curse and the Fan was talking about the Tony Romo curse. Well, there was Tony on the sideline last nite...and we lost. I didn't see Bush on TV.
ReplyDeleteGuys spends an afternoon at The Mothership
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bagofnothing.com/2014/04/bag-of-randomness-1174/
Some cool pics included. Also kinda confirms L4G is a childhood friend of Dan's from Cleveland.
@Shaggy - thanks for the link. Interesting look at what it is like on a "normal" day.
ReplyDelete@ETP1: I don't know that I've ever heard a segment of CQH that Cobby was prepared for. He's either skimming the story for the first time on the air or thinks he knows about it and is getting it wrong. And the thing is, he doesn't care and never will. Gordo can be just as bad at times, but 1) he's a lot better at faking it and B) you can tell that he puts in actual prep time more often than not.
ReplyDelete@Shaggy: Thanks for sharing the link. It's cool to see behind-the-scene stuff like that.
Is the Great Donovan on vacay?!
ReplyDeleteyes, in Punta Cana, D.R.
ReplyDeleteAre any of you guys P1's of the Ticket subreddit? if you're interested
ReplyDeleteMore on comparing Corby and Gordon. Gordon gets more prep time because he generally does not participate in the sportsy segments. Corby used to be the same way in his yuckmonkey days.
ReplyDeleteSad news reported on WTDS. Terry Withers of GIML.COM and a regular contributor on the P1 Facebook site has passed away. Most that new him for the years he contributed got to know him pretty well, the way I understand. Prayers are out to all those affected.
ReplyDeleteT4, this is gonna come off as somewhat callous (bad timing and all) but I gotta say it now before I forget.
ReplyDeleteRemember Readers Theater? Well, I'm going to miss "Rich Phillips...as The Whore".
He was always The Whore - always. And he will be missed.
No bad timing...and yes, Rich always had that role whether he wanted it or not.
ReplyDeleteTalk about a kick to the nads...
ReplyDeleteDanny's misconception about the First Amendment thinking Sterling's First amendment rights were somehow violated. Never ceases to amaze me how people think they have the right to say anything they want with no consequences from business interests and the private sector.
@ anon 6:07, there is no comparing Gordo to Corby; Gordo has talent! I cracked up at Gordo's Cuban, Garrett bit, especially the Romo jinx part. I don't know about Romo, but I'm giving all jinx tags to George Bush still. His tentacles of destruction reach way beyond sporting events, like right to our country and it'd economy!
ReplyDeleteIt was shocking yesterday to get the news about Terry. Good guy from all accounts. We pitched in and got him a Rangers themed flower arrangement.
ReplyDeleteLife is too damn short sometimes.
Somewhere there is an emergency break of Dan Bennett when he was producing for Norm. Very reminiscent of the "I don't know.." of Fahy.
I've never quite understand why people get so worked up over Corby and Gordo's ill-prepared news segments. I've always thought that was part of the bit and that they were at least somewhat doing it on purpose. Almost nothing else on the station is completely and totally serious, why would a "news" segment be that way?
ReplyDeleteThe Musers even made a bit out of the bit for a while when they played the "more questions than answers" drop during Gordon's segments.
Maybe I'm totally off base, but to me if they do it the same way every single day, then that's probably the way that they want to or even are being told how to do it. I mean it's not like anyone is saying Corby is the leader in serious local news sources right?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete@Charles Golden: If that's what Corby's going for, he nailed it. I just can't see management sitting him down and saying, "Listen, I don't think you sound unprepared and confused enough. Let's see if you can step it up a little and sound like a complete moron. You know, get facts wrong, take long pauses while you're skimming ahead to answer a really simple question that Danny throws at you. Don't make it sound like you only read the headline, make it sound like you misread it and then went and smoked a bowl."
ReplyDeleteI don't care about Corby being a respected newsman. Hell, I don't care about Corby sounding like he gives a crap. I'm just embarrassed for him when he comes across like a complete slacker like that. But if that's the plan, then good on him.
Corby comes across as a complete slacker because that is what he is. There was an excellent summing up of him and THL a while back on here that said he was nothing more than glorified frat boy. He's selfish and the show revolves around what he likes. How often have we had a Rangers segment vs a college football, Cowboys, Mavericks, concert, festival, golf or tennis segment? The sooner (no pun intended) you accept Corby for the hack that he is the more tolerable the THL will become.
ReplyDeleteYOu guys need to lay off corky. Do you know how many times he had to take his kids to gymboree this week??? He may have even had his wallet stolen there. It's tough being corky. Just ask him.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete@ anon 5:38, a lot of what you say is true, but for the day1 old timers, such as myself, it's hard to accept THL as just "tolerable". I know it's a tired story, but juggernaut didn't come close to describing the old Hardline. The current show is a "well, I don't have anything better to do, might catch some of the Hardline" type of show.
ReplyDeleteI know we have been on this thread for a while, and maybe there is an idea for a new post soon, but here is an idea for one that would get info al to all the MTC'ers:
ReplyDeleteAll the twitter handles of those at the Ticket, and those on here who like to follow the ticket. I know that the radio experience is often enjoyed more from my desktop when I have twitter open at the same time.
But then again, maybe i am the only one...
I wonder if Anon 5:38 knows how silly he sounds when he says "Corby's show revolves around what he likes.". Imagine that...it's his show, and he talks about what he wants to? It's like ripping an author for writing about a subject he wanted to write about...in HIS book!
ReplyDeleteHere's some ticket twitter to start off
ReplyDeletejunior_miller
GeorgeDunham
Gordonkeith
NormsClubhouse
SportsSturm
bracketdan
GreatDonovan
theoldgreywolf
corbydavidson
NotJackKemp
badkaratemovie
MikeSirois
CashSports
ArnettRick
Avidgolfer98
sbass1310
tlw716
poponjer
CincoDeMino
FAHY1015
LoganGourley
CrayTrey1310
newberry1310
oldwaver
21daybodymakeov
dfwticket
killer1310
BJ_owns
LJ1310TheTicket
cnleal34
KSTheSportsGuy
Anon 11:52...that is funny dude. This must be Corby, cause he's the only one that full of himself. Keep up the comedy tho!
ReplyDeleteHow about we revisit the thread from June 27, 2013?
ReplyDeleteThere was some very thought provoking stuff in there.
Enjoyed Dan's interview with Judge Reinhold.
ReplyDelete@anon 11:52 makes a solid point. It's their show, so they should talk about what they want. If it sucks, then the ratings will suck, and they will lose their show. Evolution, no?
ReplyDelete@anon 1:39...what is so funny about that point? You don't make much of a reasoned argument. Do you think you should control THL's topics?
Corby referenced Corky this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWonder where he has heard that before?
I agree about the Dan interview today...it was a good. There's a good Twitter pic on his feed also. I guess Bob wasn't there to big it down.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, Bob wasn't there to triple question him.
DeleteWhat Bob may have asked Judge Reinhold:
ReplyDeleteUh, Obviously, uh, you were in a classic film, uh capturing the essence of youth, uh in 80s Americana, and obviously, you probably still look fondly at the impact you had on the youth of America and do you think that the impact of Phoebe Cates in her bikini, uh I am not saying I was into that back at my all Baptist school, but obviously your role was integral to the plot of the film, having said that what would you say is the redeeming quality of your career, not to say Fast Times wasn't the highlight, but if was, obviously that is ok too, but not that I am telling you anything, obviously that you haven't heard before.
Man...I hope Bob doesn't get his feelings hurt if he reads this, but yeah, that was pretty spot on.
ReplyDeleteIf he doesn't get his feelings hurt with Rhynes doing it constantly during WTDS he should be ok. I think he wears it like a badge of honor often citing his run on questions himself as a humorous habit.
ReplyDelete@at anonBob. You sir win the evening. double bonus.
ReplyDelete@DA and thanks for sticking with this. I don't know where you work or where you come from, but you sure seem spot on.
2- Three more years also illustrates that they do not really care about cultivating a younger audience, but in Norm's defense, his hours are not really in play for many under age 25. Most older hosts who are considered a “sports vestige” are in that slot, whichever city you visit.
Yeah, the millenial works too. I wonder about Norm sometimes. He is that Uncle that you hang out with unless he gets on a subject you could not care less about. Entertaining sometimes and a beating others. I like the old man. I didn't listen to him when he was on KlIF. Oh I tuned in every once in a while but it was never anything I could stick with.
Now tell me, you among all of us are the most bent towards watching the younger demographic. In regards towards the terrestrial radio you might be considered bearish.
If then we can agree upon that who does the 18-38 range listen to from ten to noon?
@kirbyhaters
the most polarizing... can't resist it can ya?
The midday show at The Fan got a 4 in the latest ratings so the younger audience is either listening to that or the Rich Phillips move to The Fan really is a big deal.
ReplyDeletePete Stein is back on The Fan! Our prayers have been answered.
ReplyDelete...and we're done in 5, 4, 3...
ReplyDelete