It's Rich Phillips Week!

Certainly the most significant departure from the station since I've been listening.  I've told the story of my Rich conversion before:

For quite some time after I became a listener, I didn't much care for Rich.  He seemed like a peevish presence on the Musers' morning showgram, and I never paid much attention to Tickers.

Then one Saturday I was out running errands and Race Week came on.  I have zero interest in NASCAR or any of the other vehicle racing regimes, but I found myself listening to the show, I mean actually listening to what Rich was saying.  By the time the show was over, I realized that I had been listening to a broadcast talent of a very high order.  Rich conveyed his enthusiasm for the sport with such energy and sincerity that it kept the ear and mind of the listener engaged – this listener anyway.  The expertise was also quite obviously genuine.

Think about what that show requires: that is a solid hour of one guy talking.  He will do an interview for each show, but for the most part it is one voice delivering news and what struck me as very sly commentary.  No ranting Hicksatorials, just the occasional aside that conveyed what Rich thought about what was going on.

After that, I paid more attention.  The first time I heard him do a Mustangs game, I was amazed.  That was some of the best play-by-play for any sport that I had ever heard, and I've tried to stop by on weekends ever since.  I suppose his style doesn't suit everyone, but I thought it was perfect for radio.  And again, his voice crackled with enthusiasm and drama.

From there, I came to admire his other work on the station, including not only Tickers, but his teaming with Donovan as a fill-in program, usually for BaD.

I also came to think that he was one of the smartest guys on the station.  I don't know that this is particular evidence of it, but his promotion into management as assistant program director did not come as a surprise.

  

I recall writing that there were two people at The Ticket with the greatest potential to break onto the national scene.  One of them was Rich Phillips.  I still think it is possible that he could become a national voice in racing broadcasting, and I'm wondering if some national networks might someday consider his SMU work as an audition for national football or basketball play-by-play.  And there's every possibility that his versatility extends beyond those two sports. 

Rich Phillips gigantically Pshopped onto Kevlar Jeep,
courtesy The UnTicket (without permission)

In any event, in my estimation Rich is a big talent who will be missed by The Ticket.  I think listeners will miss Rich more than they realize, although they can still catch him on the SMU broadcasts for at least another season.  And I'm sure Rich will miss The Ticket as well.

Except maybe Gordon.  He may not miss Gordon

Congratulations Rich, and very best of luck from your friends and fans at My Ticket Confession.

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ThePlainsman1310s@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

No Foolin' -- Time to Freshen Up This Dog // BREAKING: RICH PHILLIPS UPDATE

(1) Best wishes to T.C. Fleming as he starts his serious broadcast career on afternoon drive on The Buzzer, WBSR in Pensacola.  (I think I"m the only one who calls it that, but maybe it will catch on as a sportsy nickname for the station and I'll watch those commissions roll in.)   I trust some Confessors will be streaming that show and will give us a report.  I predict it will be a pretty good little show.

(2) It would be very hilarious if there were mass DFW-area defections to WBSR during T.C.'s show, seriously wounding The Hardline.  I predict this will not happen.

(3) Gordon Keith:

MORE:   Dan McDowell impression.  He may have been doing this for awhile, but lately he seems to be trying it out more.  It's pretty Jay Leno-ish right now, but you can hear him tossing it out there in short bits every once in awhile to see what happens.  During the 5:30 am segment today, he was working on it, but everyone was talking at once so it was hard to pick it out.  Pretty funny, though.  I think it would be a tough one to do because Dan talks fast so the impressionist has to have something worked out in his head to keep the bit going.

LESS:  Drought Man.

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BREAKING

Although my sources are being somewhat coy, it does appear (as suggested in a comment below) that there is at least one major change afoot at The Ticket, and it involves Rich Phillips.

No details, but other than his departure or a violent office coup deposing Jeff Catlin, I don't know what it could be.  

Will be limited in my ability to follow this today, so please advise if you have information.  If my info is faulty, apologies to Rich, The Ticket, and y'all.

BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING

1:20 PM:  We waterboarded that uncertain source.  This remains unconfirmed.  However, best current information:

Rich Phillips will be taking a position with the Texas Motor Speedway in the nature of media relations or overall broadcast operations.  Sounds sweet.   Best of luck to Rich.

I'm Trying to Picture a Kevlar-Lined Jeep

I've listened with fascination to Rich Phillips's ads for Starwood Motors and its Kevlar Jeeps.  Indeed, he apparently owns one.  It has been awhile since I've heard the ad, but I could have sworn that he said it was Kevlar lined, or used Kevlar lining.  But my recollection may be failing me here, or, more likely, I thought that Kevlar, being akin to a fabric (I thought), was used on the interior of the vehicle.

This was incorrect thinking.

The damned thing is coated with Kevlar.

I refer you to the Starwood Motors page describing the Kevlar Jeep.  This particular one is sold as of the date of this posting, apparently, and indeed, the last time I went to this page, the Kevlar Jeep pictured was red. (If the link doesn't work, just google "Kevlar Jeep Starwood Motors" and you'll find it, unless, of course, you're using Bing.)   Maybe you order one, or they customize one at a time on spec, I dunno.  In any event, I invite you to click on the image and get a bigger picture and take a close look at the sheet metal, or where the sheet metal would ordinarily be visible. 

Indeed, the text says: 

"The entire exterior of the vehicle has been professionally coated with Premium Protective Coating w/Kevlar Fiber (4700 PSI tensile strength, which is over 200% strength of other brands), making it impervious to the elements."  It warns buyers:  "Beware of imitations! Many have tried to copy our unique Jeep conversions, only to produce uneven liner coverage, inconsistent or flawed texture, non-Kevlar liner, sub-standard parts and shoddy workmanship."

Now, I must say:  (1) This vehicle looks pretty cool.  The Chrysler folks are making some nifty vehicles these days, and until recently, I owned a Grand Cherokee SRT8 that was and is the absolutely coolest vehicle on the road for under $50,000 (it was my everyday driver and I traded it when the miles got way up there, and I'm even sorta sorry I traded it then).  (2) The Kevlar doesn't look ridiculous, and the red was also very eye-catching.  (3) I'm something of a Rich fan and if a vehicle nut like Rich vouches for the utility of this customization, I'll have some respect for that.  Hey, it sent me to the site to check it out, and now I'm writing this article about it.

But I have a few questions:

     --  How do you keep this stuff clean?  There was a time when vinyl roofs were all the rage.  Me Dad had an old Cutlass Supreme with one, and it didn't look bad, but it was a bear to clean -- swipe marks were all but impossible to avoid, and since you can't polish Kevlar like you can painted sheet metal (or can you?  I have no idea), I'm wondering how it's kept looking nice.  Maybe you just hose it off.  Can you take it through a car wash?

     --  "Impervious to the elements"?  In what respect are today's cars pervious to elements?  I can't remember the last time I even ever saw a rusty car, and man, I used to live in Chicago where (1) they salted the roads in the winter, and (2) they had winter.

     --  How is collision damage repaired?  Does this stuff rip?  And assuming you can re-coat a repaired fender, does this stuff fade at all?  I wouldn't think you could match existing material that had lost some of its color or that even was a bit nicked.

     --  Will it stop bullets and stuff?  

Let's just say it's easier for me to imagine Rich driving this vehicle than it is to imagine Danny driving any kind of a Volvo.*

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LATER:  Rich's Kevlar Jeep:

______________________________

* Really sorry, Danny, I went looking for the name of the dealer you're endorsing but couldn't find it.  I'll come back and fix this next time I hear the ad.  And yeah, the S60 R-Design has some greatness about it, but I just can't get all up in any 5-cylinder engine -- it's like it's missing a chromosome or something.

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

June 7, 2012

7:58 a.m. --  A Confessor sends along this link regarding anti-Cumulus anger in San Fran, and a possible rally against management in support of another popular station Cumulus is said to have screwed, KFOG.  Here is a link to a very short reference: 

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2012/06/breaking-listeners-revolt-against.html

I agree with the commenter to that blog who said that it won't help, and I can't imagine the P1 bestirring itself to do anything similar here.  I do agree with the commenter who said that until the advertisers start leaving, nothing will happen.

8:00 a.m. -- This morning Rich Phillips took over Gordon's Muse/News duties.  He was grumbling about this and stated that "The P1's hate me." 

Is that true?  This site is not the Voice of the P1, but I am actually a fairly stout Rich Phillips fan, after some initial misgivings.  His Tickers are crisp, I like him as a host with Donovan and a Sturm sidekick during Cowboy season.  He's got an acerbic sense of humor, but at least he's got one.  His skills make Race Week listenable for me, who cares nothing about NASCAR.  And he's an absolutely first-rate play-by-play guy for the 'Stangs. 

8:06 a.m. -- Can we get a detailed report on the technical problems yesterday on The Hardline, and Mike's reaction?

8:07 p.m. -- Some miscreant from Ankara, Turkey, just attempted to access this site's gmail account.

Questions for Knowledgeable Confessors

I've been listening since mid-2004, but I'm still missing a fair amount of information on some of the inside stuff.  Occasionally a Ticket scholar will click over to My Ticket Confession, so I'm hopeful I can get educated.  Can anyone help me out with these?


(1)  Why is Rich Phillips called Dick Hicks?

(2)  Why do Michael R and Michael G call one another “Schoopie”?

(3)  What is the guy saying in that rim-shot drop where during the rim shot the guy is saying something like “what about me” (but I don’t think that’s it)?

(4)  Where does the “Stand back, Burrito” drop come from, and what does it mean?

(5)  Why does Mike Rhyner say “Rhyner’s dead.” Why doesn’t he like being referred to as “Rhyner”?

(6)  How did Mushmouth become a popular character?