I have some pretty hard information about some of the changes we should expect to see at The Ticket. I apologize for not disclosing every detail that has come my way, but I do think the individual(s) involved, and the CTO, should have the opportunity to roll out news in their own way.
Also, if I get too mouthy about this stuff, sources could be reluctant to reach out to Your Plainsman.
In other words, I don't want any smarmy comments about what a pussy I am for not disclosing every pixel of information I've received.
Source on this is, on a scale of poor to unimpeachable, fair. Somewhere in the middle.
Here's what I feel comfortable saying at this point:
-- There will be a departure from The Ticket of a weekend host. It will be a voluntary, "friendly" departure -- no termination, no employment- or performance-related issue with the host. The host will not be going to a rival station. No news on what will become of the show he hosts, but I speculate -- this comes only from me, not from my source -- it will either end or move to a new slot with a new host and/or name and/or format (that is, will not keep its current slot).
[[UPDATE: Mike Marshall has announced on the Donnie & Mike show on Friday that he is leaving the station to take a position with the Cowboys.]]
-- Because of NFL and college football coming up, permanent changes may not be decided until after the season is over. For example, the Shake Joint slot may see a variety of different shows filling in for awhile.
-- Speculation (my source speculating here) is that Country Force will get a tumble in TSJ slot from time to time during the football season. At least one other JV is mentioned as a candidate for helming TSJ slot on occasion.
-- The Shake Joint departure will cause "other dominoes to fall," suggesting, as speculated here in an earlier post and above, that there will be other programming changes on the weekend.
This site has a bit of goodwill at The Ticket and I want to keep it that way. Also want to keep faith with readers, so I'm trying to play this down the middle. As long as everyone is equally dissatisfied, I'll have succeeded. So this is all I'm spilling right now.
You know, one of those Friday news dumps.
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| I don't care how much you deny it, Pweenie, you're still a pussy. |
this was all foreseen
ReplyDeleteI'm going to guess it's Machine...dude has a ton of outside ticket activities going on...blowout podcast network, fox sports, I think he is a writer/editor somewhere, and with Mavs season starting up soon the dude is probably tired and wants his weekends back.
ReplyDeleteMachine is my guess as well. It is clearly not Jake or Sean. I can't see it being Mike, though I suppose it could be Cash. I don't think it would be the Kick Around boys. Race Week would continue with a new host as its has done it once already. So Mike or Monty are the most logical choices. I suppose we might know in a few minutes as Mike and Donnie teased yesterday that they would give Machine the first segment today to make a big announcement.
ReplyDeleteWell, that scoop didn't last long. Mike "The Machine" Marshall is reporting on the Donnie/Sirois show right now that he is taking a post with the Dallas Cowboys, something to do with producing digital content.
ReplyDeleteHe is required to leave The Ticket because it is not the Cowboys flagship, and the Cowboys deemed it would be a conflict of interest. So he had to make the difficult decision to leave The Ticket to purge the conflict and take what sounds like a great job.
Tomorrow will be his last Not a Podcast.
Congratulations to Machine, and best wishes from My Ticket Confession.
Agreed, congrats Machine!
DeleteGreat move for Machine. Similar to the reason Grubes left, KTCK doesn't pay their JV well. They gotta eat too. He can still be heard on his weekly Blowout Network podcasts. With his talent and work ethic, he will do a great job with the Cowboys. Even though I liked him, his style ultimately didn't quite fit in with Ticket so this is the best move for him and the station. I do have to wonder how his rift with Rhynes played into it. Some blood is on his hands.
ReplyDeleteIt really does sound like a great move for him, and I agree that his broadcast style was not a good fit with the station.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to being a good move for now, there will probably be opportunities for advancement with the Cowboys/Jones companies that he would never have at The Ticket.
Men and women, I believe I've mentioned from time to time that I have close ties to the sainted state of Nebraska. I'll be writing more about that soon. But for now, I thought this was an astonishing story about a (briefly) former Cowboy and his son. You'll get a good feeling reading this.
ReplyDeletehttp://kentuckysportsradio.com/football-2/keyshawn-johnson-pulls-son-out-of-nebraska-becomes-father-of-the-year-candidate/
Not sure how you all think it's a "great move" as even per the Junes gospel he was tier 100. The value was never there to begin with.
ReplyDeleteUm . . . well, if what you say is true, then how could it possibly NOT be a "great move" to change from the Tier 100 job to a position with one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world?
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I was not a big fan of Marshall's broadcast style and his popping-on when not hosting was worse than TC's. (TC's on-popping has improved; I'm minding it less and less.) However, he seemed to have been well-liked and held in high professional esteem by his colleagues and management, and that cuts some ice with me. In addition, I also thought he could be very good as a host. He was an exceptional interviewer and when he zeroed in on a sports topic he was excellent, broadcast style notwithstanding. I was fine with Not a Podcast as currently constituted.
So MTC wishes him well.
I wish him well, too. My read is that other than perhaps Bob, he wasn't too popular with the Varsity. While I'll miss his NBA talk, I won't miss his immature woke act. For example, just this morning Monty brought up Willy Wonka. Mike's response: "You're going to white people land." Says the white guy who works in an industry run by and almost entirely populated by Anglos.
ReplyDeleteHeard that too. Pretty rich coming from a guy who vacays to Red Rocks for a Father John Zesty show. If that's not a STWPL thing I don't know what is. Pot, meet kettle. But yeah, good luck to ya, Chine.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Plainsman, Machine's style didn't mesh well with The Ticket's vibe. Also agree with the sentiment that his sports talk was stone cold solid. Also agree that his socio-political HSOs that pervaded his on-air and social-media presentations were often tone deaf and juvenile, and at times just plain hypocritical in light of his publicly aired personal tastes and predilections. I sincerely wish the man all the luck in the world with his new endeavor, and I will miss his Mavs analysis, for certain.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting was his goodbye to all that farewell segment. First off, did anyone hear him or Monty say what the future of NaP is vis-a-vis Saturdays? If something was said, I missed it. OK. So what I found interesting was Machine's pulling back the curtain on Sirois's role in many of the JV's careers and lives. I had no idea. Good on Mr. Sirois. GMF, that one. Of course, the juiciest part of his farewell to arms was when he all but mentioned by name Rhyner and Joonz ("sideways" Tweets and employee tiers). He said something to the effect of "whatever about that stuff, its all good, I hold no bad thoughts." That line grabbed my attention in that I immediately thought about all the overt shots at certain Varsity members and shows that Machine has taken over the past few years. He seemed to be playing the wounded (but forgiving) tiger a bit. He also named the Varsity hosts who have "had his back and supported him" (his words). But the most "whoa" moment came when both Monty + Machine pulled back the curtain and flat out said there is no room at The Ticket inn, and that while we JV wait for either one of the Varsity to retire/move on or a producer to do the same, we know it's not going to happen, and our pay is as such that once you reach a certain age and/or accrue real-world adult responsibilities we have to make tough career decisions. While none of that is new to us Confessors, it is a bit jarring to hear the JV publicly state it. I have a feeling that one day, some long-tenured JV is going to have to jump ship due to the above issues and will leave the sports/sports-media/media business. And soon thereafter will post up a no holds barred, tell all, pull back, nay, rip the curtain off of the actual goings on between the Varsity and JV and The Ticket in general. Graves of the dead will be revealed.
A P1 can dream, can't s/h/xe
"his popping-on when not hosting was worse than TC's. (TC's on-popping has improved; I'm minding it less and less.)"
ReplyDeleteNow I'm unabashedly a TC P1, but Plainsman...don't you pretty much never listen to BaD Radio? I'm just wondering how you came to that opinion about TC's pop-ins.
A fair question, ShagMeister. I've had an unusual number of appointments outside the office in the early-to-late afternoon for the last few months so I've heard a lot more BaD than usual, and hence more TC pop-ons. You'll recall I was writing about Jake/Bob and Jake/Dan not so long ago.
ReplyDeleteOne hypothetical that occurs to me is: If BaD were on opposite The Hardline -- which almost happened a few years ago, although I don't know if The Fan had planned on slotting BaD in drivetime -- which show would I listen to? I don't know.
407: Solid comment. I have long thought that despite what one hears from time to time about potential host departures, I don't think it's going to happen. Norm and Mike are not going to retire. You hear about others seeking other pastures or taking their bank and blowing town, but it seems unlikely to me. And that means there's a granite ceiling that a young family man can't tolerate, and off they go.
ReplyDeleteThis site has remarked on Machine's tendency to run down his betters, and my guess there are some who will not miss him.
I wish Machine well. Style aside, he worked hard and I'm glad that's been rewarded. Hope it works out for him.
ReplyDeleteNow, I understand that the unnatural stability of The Ticket does not lend itself to much gossip, so we have to take whatever changes we get. However, for me, the smug "So Anonymous" messages about butt-holding ring hollow here. A guy who was on the air 2 hours a week, and had been for a couple years during a non-listened-to time is moving on. News? Yeah, sure. Worthy of grabbing my posterior? Hardly.
If you want to be taken seriously, So Anonymous, I'd save these prognostications for actual news.
I will not miss TSJ. Not in the least. Good riddance. Now if Cat would move Sean off of Diamond Talk and give Country Force a full time gig......
ReplyDeleteAgreed. A tier 8 man bun leaves for greener pastures. Good for him, but ass clutching news? Hardly.
ReplyDeleteWalter Becker has died. Keep a good thought for the OGW.
ReplyDeleteI will defend the butt-grabbing warning.
ReplyDeleteWhether it was the demise of The Shake Joint or the Machine departure and uncertain future of the ill-named Not a Podcast (surely a Machine shot at his broadcast seniors), this means a seismic shakeup on weekends. That's ass-worthy. After all, I made each a subject of a post. It's big news when things like this happen at a fairly stable platform like The Ticket.
And especially when you're the proprietor of a blog for the past several decades trying to find interesting things to say about The Little One.
I also note Walter's passing. Steely Dan has meant a lot to me for a long time and I have recorded a Donald Fagen tune from one of his solo efforts. Seen them a number of times. The last couple of times I saw them, Walter seemed a bit . . . addled, although performed fine and didn't mess anything up. Wouldn't shock me to hear this was drug-related, although Fagen has recently made reference to a "procedure" he has recently undergone by way of explaining his absence from recent performances.
ReplyDeleteClassic Rhyner.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/mike.rhyner.5/posts/10154619145032130
Jake pulled back the curtain just a hair this morning, stating that there is a Muser edict forbidding characters outside of the 8:40 bit.
ReplyDeleteSo far, so good. TSJ's last bureau was fine. Nothing great, but nothing effect either. CF was solid. The bad song but isn't very good. Other than that, good stuff. NaKA, despite Peter's propensity to bog, has thus far been entertaining.
ReplyDeleteShake Joint was its usual fine self, but Jake sounded like he might have had a challenging pre-holiday night. Missed all of Country Force, but I thought Justin and Peter were pretty good. Justin's one of those guys -- he has a workingman's manner about him, works very well at The Ticket, always going to be a good complement to whoever's seated with him. He reminds me a little of George -- the Sara Lee of The Ticket, the guy nobody doesn't like.
ReplyDeleteI dug Mike's Steely Dan segment. Thought it was cool how he went out of his way to include Justin and to make sure he wasn't talking over Justin's head. Interested Mike is peerless Mike, is HOFer Mike.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to hear Mike on Walter Becker yesterday. When he attempts the same segment on the Hardline this week he won't be able to get in a word edgewise.
ReplyDeleteI missed him yesterday. I didn't know he was going to appear on one of the JV shows. Unfortunately I had to work and was unable to listen to the guys. I'm going to attempt to listen to THL today. I really want to hear Mike's take, but you're probably right.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you anon@11:00 a.m.
ReplyDeleteanother example of plains man over hyping something to make it look like he's really plugged in.
I loved George's "DACA con" gag at 7:28 this morning.
ReplyDeleteThe Walter Becker segment is good. I wish I'd heard the day-off interview. If anyone has a link . . . .
ReplyDeleteDISTANT CONNECTION TO CURRENT EVENTS DEPARTMENT: I have a very, very distant and attenuated acquaintance with Zeke's, Brady's, and other players' lawyer Jeffrey Kessler. The guy who argued in Sherman the other day. We aren't palsy-walsy, but I have reason to believe that if you mentioned my name to him -- my real name, not "The Plainsman" -- he would know who I am.
ReplyDeleteThis gives me absolutely no insight into anything whatsoever.