Lessons in Chemistry

REMINDER: "ANONYMOUS" POSTS WILL BE DELETED.

Just Heard a Pretty Good Little Show on 103.3

Out driving around today.  Hit The Ticket, expecting to hear SMU football with great play-by-play by Rich Phillips.  Nope, must have been halftime.

Wandered the dial and stumbled on a show on KESN (ESPN) that kept me tuned in for the next hour or so.

Not just "a show"; they call it "The Show."  Pretty aggressive (and unimaginative) title, but it was good, kept me listening with approximate Ticket-attentiveness. 

It featured Matt McClearin (formerly paired with Scot Harrison Sundays on the The Ticket (MaSS) before the two of them decamped to Birmingham for 3.5 years (WJOX)) and DJ Ringgenberg.  They talked college football and Cowboys.

Matt the good cop, DJ the bad cop.  In a show where McClearin is the mature older presence, you know you're going to hear some snottiness, but I liked it for all that.   Ringgenberg's contempt for the Nebraska Cornhuskers was amusing after their shellacking by Iowa yesterday.  (Ringgenberg's an Iowa grad.) 

I see on Ringgenberg's LinkedIn page that he also interned for Norm from June through August 2012.  After describing his duties, he notes:  "I also prepared excellent coffee to the exact specifications of Mr. Hitzges on a daily basis.”

A highlight of the show was an interview with Charean Williams.  She was excellent, damned hard-core sportsy talk and no cutesy.  The Ticket could use a sports-media call-in expert like that; heck, could use a host like that.  Would love to hear her on with the 'Line.  She was with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram since 1999, laid off last May.   Cat should give her a call, she sounds like she'd be worth shuffling for.  Jeez, he's Ops Director for the station, he may have programmed her.  Move her on over, Jeff.

You guys may already know about The Show and Ringgenberg and Williams, but they were new to me, probably because I'm mostly Ticket-centric.   Anyway, a meaty listen and thought I'd pass it along.

Did get to hear Rich Phillips's thrilling call of the final play of the SMU-Tulane game.  Of course, most of Rich's calls are thrilling.

A Couple of Quick HIts to Get a New Thread Going -- UPDATED [2]

(1) My schedule has changed so I'm sometimes not in the car as much during drive, so my Hardline listening has diminished a bit.  When I tuned in this past week, I have to say, I enjoyed the show.  I thought the Danny rat story was overrated, but they did some car talk that got me laughing, and it seemed to me that I heard More Mike than I'd heard in recent months, which always makes for a better show.

(2) I sometimes punch over to ESPN, and heard something that I really liked on Monday afternoon:  a couple of hours of "Football Firing Line," which I guess has been going on for awhile.  It was Tim Cowlishaw and Matt Mosley, the usual Afternoon Show hosts, with Steve Dennis, Nate Newton, and another guy whose name I wrote down and now I can't find the slip.  The Internets say Ed Werder is on the panel, but it wasn't him, it was an AA with a four-letter first name, a middle initial, and a last name.  One of you guys can tell me who it was.  [UPDATE 2:  The other guy had a four letter last name:  Clarence E. Hill, Jr., of the Star-Telegram.]  Anyway, I thought it was a lot of fun with some trenchant Cowboys analysis thrown in for good measure.

What's the story on Steve Dennis, anyway?  He seems pretty spicy and zero-BS but it seems all he does is fill in around the Dallas sports media scene from time to time.  Would he make a good full-time host somewheres?

(3) Danny has a great radio voice, but in recent months it's gotten rough and a little breathy and sometimes cracks, as though perhaps he smokes and perhaps smokes a lot.  (I don't know if he smokes.)  Maybe he's been performing a lot.  (You can tell when Mike's not far past a Petty Theft performance -- his voice gets noticeably tired.)  Maybe he has to yell a lot at the Twilite Lounge.  Maybe he's using a different mic or he's getting EQ'd so the treble is turnt up.  His habits are none of MTC's business; I'm just saying his on-air sound has frayed some.

(4)  UPDATE:  Hey, how long has Matt McClearin been hosting the Cowboys post-game on ESPN?  (Since there's only been one other game, I would think that's probably the answer.)  Maybe the better question is, how long has Matt McClearin been working at KESN?   I punch over from Norm and Donovan once in awhile just to see what's airing on ESPN or The Fan, and he was running the show (it sounded like) with Steve Dennis and Tim McMahon, if I caught it correctly.  I thought it was pretty good.

I knew that he and Scot Harrison had lost their WJOX Birmingham show back in July but hadn't heard anything further.  Since Cumulus is operating KESN, maybe Jeff C welcomed him back.  (Scot's LinkedIn page says that he's "Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Taco Mama."  Matt's says that he's "Account Executive at New Home Guide," which sounds like something you do until Cat can find a spot for you.)

QUICK HITS: Heading to Ticketstock

A few topics as I load up the Conestoga and hang the "IRVING OR BUST" banner on it:

(1)  For your convenience, a couple of great links from Confessors on the last comment thread:

       An interview with Cumulus ultimate CTO Lew Dickey:   Lew Dickey Interview   I haven't listened to this yet but I'm going to and will have some further thoughts.

       Real nice article about some of our favorite JV (they're all our favorite!), with pics!:  JV Article

See below.

(2)  I don't have a problem with Scot and Matt lifting bits from The Ticket.  Show biz has always been about stealing bits.  So has business.  So has how we dress, the phrases we use, and everything else.  I am doubtful that the CTO has imposed a "do stuff like The Ticket" regime on our lads, but if they had it would hardly be an irrational strategy.  I do hope they find some creative variations -- "Community Tidbits" as a title is a little, um, weak.  (Maybe in Alabam you'd be better off with "Community Tide-Bits.")

As for Mike R's attitude:   The Confessor may be right that Mike is contemptuous of people who appropriate his mannerisms or lift bits from The 'Line or The Ticket.  I don't know.  And in general it is not a good thing to upset Mike.  But is it not very clear that he has very little influence at The Ticket these days?  He may be able to do what he wants, and thank Jah for that, but I doubt whether the CTO takes his disposition into account when making decisions on programming, personnel, scheduling -- anything.  I'm thinking Rich Phillips has more influence at The Ticket than Mike does.  You may think that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it's the thing.

(3)  Speaking of which:  On The Hardline yesterday reference was made to The Machine, Kevin Turner, and other JV, and Corby jubilated that this was the best possible time to be at The Ticket, or words to that effect (the context was one of general approval of these guys).  Mike replied that "things have never been worse around here" and "this is the worst it's ever been" (or WTTE), which I took as more of an overall Ticket comment and not necessarily directed at the JV (although he took a direct shot at KT).  What was interesting about this is that he repeated these phrases in one form or another at least a half-dozen times or so, but Corby and Danny seemed always to be talking over him.  He continued to repeat the phrase(s) as though he were hopeful of stimulating some reaction to his growling judgment that things were bad at The Little One.  But either because they weren't paying attention, or didn't want to get into it on the air, Corby and Danny did not respond in any way to Mike's repeated condemnation of the way things are "around here."  Anyone hear that and have an impression?

(4)  I really liked the article on the JV guys, but it depressed me a little since it contained more information on these fine chaps than you would get out of reading a year of this site.  I know, this is a commentary site and not a newsy site, different goals, reaction rather than reporting, but still made me feel pretty unnecessary.  So I'm going to go off and sulk for a bit.

See you at Ticketstock.

OPEN THREAD: Various

Let's face it, every thread here is an open thread.  I'll be away for a few days.  In the manner of Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, here are some topics on the table to get you started:

(1) Sunday AM.  Following up on the last comment thread, what would you like to see on Sunday morning, or elsewhere on the weekends?

(2) Bass to MaSS?  I have been startled by a couple of anti-Sean Bass confessions in the comments to the previous post, complaining of know-it-all-ism and breathing patterns.  I have to disagree.  When I tune in and hear a Sean-based program, whether with Ty or Newbury, I'm in.  Always like those shows.  Would have no problem with a Sunday morning show featuring him, Ty, or David.  (Or other guys, either, but they seem to team up with more regularity.)

(3) Matt M.  Also started by the vitriol directed at the departing Matt McClearin.  Yes, Matt has "boundary" issues, although I would classify them more as "governor" or "editor" issues, and I understand the sentiment that one makes one own bed in radio, as one does in whatever freely-chosen profession in which one is engaged (not to mention the personal choices that require, um, cash money).  But they by no means dominate his performance, and on balance I think it's undeniable that Scot and Matt have earned the shot they're getting and that Matt is an equal partner in their success.  I didn't take down random P1's post, because, bitter though it seemed (and the "whore"comment did almost get it booted), it at least had some thinking behind it.

(4) Ax.  And I am hoping, really really hoping, that übercritical posts like those relating to Sean and Matt, are not folks with, shall we say, an ax to grind about these guys.  If you know what I mean.  I am extremely reluctant to question the motives of people who take the time to write comments, but when those comments tend toward the angry and personal (and oddly detailed), I am moved at least to wonder.  If I thought this site were being used to advance anyone's personal agenda to the detriment of both this site and The Ticket, it would be vamanos in zero time.  Maybe I need to get the machete out more often. 

There's a topic:  I don't moderate comments (do not have the time and want comments to reflect breaking items), but should I be more aggressive about weeding out posts that have a legitimate take but are gratuitously mean or nasty?

(5) IJB.  I really regret I do not have time to listen to podcasts.  I barely have time to knock this thing out.  But a lot of P1's really like what Jake and T.C. are slinging, and I wouldn't be offended if the CTO gave them at least a tryout on Sunday mornings.

(6) New Orleans.  What did we all think about Super Bowl Week in New Orleans? Here:  mixed.

Outta time.  Keep it cool, Confessors, with my thanks.

 

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com





BREAKING: Your MaSS Is Grass

This site does not like to convey Total Bummers of the Universe, but sometimes the job requires it:

I have learned from a Source Never Previously Known to Be Reliable Or Even Known as a Source or Even Known to Me But Which I Have, Perhaps Foolishly, Chosen to Believe, that Scot Harrison and Matt McClearin, better known to us as Sunday MaSS, have taken a job with a Cumulus affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, where they will hold down the weekday 10-2 spot.  That spooky Anonymous who posted earlier in the day seems not to have been a troll (at least not today) but to have been clued in.

This Sunday will be their final service.

I regret this a lot, as both men are quite talented in different ways that, oddly, worked.  This site has generally supported MaSS (and even enjoyed listening to it).   Your Plainsman at one time touted Scot Harrison as a possible Mike Rhyner replacement.

Scot and Matt, will you do us the honor of checking in to confirm or deny?

And, whatever the circumstances, very best fortune to you both, and we hope you find your way back here frequently, and even permanently, when circumstances warrant.

Monday Morning Quick Hits

(1)  Who would have thought that Matt McClearin was a capologist?  His MaSS segment on the financial aspects of attempting to improve the Cowboys was one of the best (and more depressing) analyses of the future of the team that I have heard and a powerful (if implicit) condemnation of the Jones/Jones regime.  Well thought-out and crisply delivered.  Very, very nice work by Matt.

(2) Bruce LeVine is struggling.   His weekend Tickers are sometimes painful to listen to, so halting and almost confused-sounding.  I swear, I heard him refer to "Ticker" as "Ticket."  Is he reading some old Mitchell Kerasik copy?  And in general he seems to be having a difficult time with his script, which I assume he composes himself. 

(3) I will be listening to Scott Ferrall tonight.  I thought he was appalling when I heard him years ago and my expectations are not high -- I could hardly believe it when I heard he was still "cracking a cold one" at the request of listeners -- but in fairness I need to give him another shot.  At a minimum, I believe this means The Ticket will have to stop running the ad that proudly boasts that the channel doesn't offer coastal guys shouting at us.

(4)  What was the big funny thing on MaSS this Sunday that had the entire staff and crew breaking down?  I heard that, but did not hear the funny.  I believe it was some naughty thing that Matt said, but didn't catch it.  Anyone?  Maybe it will be an E-Brake.

(5)  In strong agreement with Confessors who are having a hard time believing that The Ticket is running ads containing a reference to "sucking less," a gimmick that was roundly ridiculed by readers when The Fan featured the same phrase.

Have at it, lads.

In the Beginning . . .

.  .  .  there was Bob and Dan, and they named their show BaD Radio, standing for those selfsame Bob and Dan.  And God listened to the showgram, and he heard that it was good.  Mostly good.


And lo, the days were accomplished when Greggo came to depart from the Line of Hard and joined with Richie the Observer, and lifted BaD's naming bit wholesale to create RaGE, the Richie and Greggo Extravaganza.


And it came to pass that Scot Harrison and Jean-Jacques Taylor brought forth The Soul Patch on Sunday mornings, not because of any association of Soul with Sunday the Day of Our Lord, but because it described a facial feature possessed by both men, and also described a racially-prescribed cultural feature possessed by one of them, and was defined, according to Wikipedia, as follows:


"The soul patch (also known as a mouche) is a small patch of facial hair just below the lower lip and above the chin. It came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was a style of facial hair common among African American men, most notably jazzmen. It became popular with beatniks, artists, and those who frequented the jazz scene and moved in literary and artistic circles. Jazz trumpeters in particular preferred the soul patch for the comfort it provided when using a trumpet mouthpiece."


But the prodigal JJT left the Patch of Eden, never to return, and was never heard from again, ever, in any medium, in any capacity whatsoever.


The Overlords who lived in the Clouds saw that it was not good for Scot Harrison to be alone.  So while he was sleeping, they removed a piece of him we are not allowed to name on this blog and crated Matt McClearin to join together with Scot and be his companion and helpmate.


And the Cloud-living Overlords named the resulting program "The Soul Patch," although Matt McClearin did not possess that certain facial feature or racial characteristic that would render the name in the slightest way sensible.


And the Confessor Nation commenced with a vast wailing and gnashing of teeth over the continued use of "The Soul Patch" to describe the Scot Harrison and Matt McClearin program.


And behold, after a process heretofore mysterious, someone had the idea to parody RaGE's ripoff of BaD, and renamed the Sunday show "Sunday MaSS" -- Matt and Scot Spectacular. 


All right, way too much Plainsmanian BS.  Here is Scot's account of the name change, offered as a comment to the last post, reposted here with his permission:

"We approached management about a name change right after the new year. The Soul Patch was so named for the obvious reason that both JJT and I have them. When he left it was generally agreed that in the interest of branding it would be better to leave the name the same. (despite the fact the Matt couldn't grow a soul patch if a gun was put to his head).

"We came up with the name after dozens of ideas were developed, reworked, and rejected. We asked for ideas from people we respected but eventually The Matt and Scot Spectacular or Sunday MaSS, separated itself from the rest - "testing" best among those who were consulted both inside and outside the Ticket studios as well as inside and outside of the radio business. 


"We accept the fact that many of you will hate it or at least dislike it strongly (as it was with The Soul Patch moniker), many will approve (so far the trend on twitter), and some who just want to have their weekend Ticket fix won't be bothered either way. We're just pleased that you guys care enough to discuss our goofy little Sunday morning show and that you would take the time to complain/compliment.


"So, triple fake Scot Harrison says pour one out for the Soul Peettcchh!! (off mic tribute:) Stay Hard Soul Patch!"




My thanks to Scot for permitting the reposting of his remarks, and for putting the process out there for comment.  Personally, I think it's a perfectly fine and clever name and should not be offensive to Roman Catholics, any more than broadcasting a sports show during normal churchgoing hours is in the first instance.  While the name gets mixed reviews, the Nation seems to be reacting pretty favorably to the show, as do I.  Some good stuff there.

*     *    *

They did not take my suggestion, which was this:  Have Matt drop the second "t" from his name, so we'd have hosts named Scot and Mat and call it the "Low-T Center," which would both describe the show and attract the growing number of sponsors appealing to the low-testerone crowd.

Thanks again to Scot H.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

DryDock Quick Hits

Been out of town and doing the Christmas thing with the fam, just barely keeping up with comments.

And then I tune in to my own site and find absolute gold in the last batch of comments.  I was going to cobble together some drydock quick hits but I find that Anonymous and Shaggy have beaten me to the punch, reporting more thoroughly and authoritatively than I could.  I hope I have their permission to repost their comments for further inspection by the Nation.

My reactions will appear in a comment.

First, here's Anonymous, Parts 1 and 2:

STD ALERT!!!

Thoughts concerning Dry Dock:

Gordie and the Deuce: Funny and uncomfortable as all get out. Doocy laid out the blueprint on how to effectively combat Gordo's guerrilla warfare. Good chemistry, even better times.

Rhads and Followheezy: Solid. Rhads has become a better radio broadcaster. He doesn't yell into the mic nearly as much as he once did. Nor does he try too hard to Ticket schtick it up, again, like he once did. Followill was his usual bad a self. Sure, he's going to give us a glass is (more than) half full view of the Mavs, but I think we can all understand why. His Cowboy talk has been chock full of HSOs, and that's a good.

Black and Quack: I agree with Plainsman where Dick Hicks is concerned. He's a consummate pro. Yes he can grate from time to time, but overall his HSOs are on point and fearless. Donnie Doo, I cannot say the same. The man is overexposed. There's been WAAAAY (to use one of his annoying traits) too much airtime for our man Donnie Doo. Between BaD, Cowboys post, fill in for the morning drive, and B&Q...it's much too much. I like Donnie, but he's a one trick pony. While it's evident that he's been working really hard on his football knowledge (especially draft history, personnel from other teams, etc.), he just doesn't add anything meaningful to the conversation on a regular basis. He finds an obvious or emotion based point and keeps ramming it home, over and again. And even when he has a really good point, again, he won't relent, he won't move on; he applies it to everything, or he keeps returning to it. The CTOs need to curb his on air time. He doesn't need to be involved with so many shows. No one else up there is, why him? I can appreciate his work ethic and industry, but like Nell Carter used to sing: "Gimme a break, I sure deserve it."

Soul Patch: Why they were tapped to do morning drive is beyond me. Poor decision. It's not a bad show, but it's not strong enough to fill those shoes. Heck, they had basically run out of content by the end of their allotted time. Scott H has a pleasant voice and fairly good sports chops. For the life of me, I'll never understand why the show is named after a spot of (passe) facial hair. I don't understand a mid-late 40-something with multiple piercings, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Like I said, he (and the show) ain't bad. Matt McClearin is an entirely different animal altogether. Wow! I mean, from the prom, the teenage bride, the UFOs, the notion of sex, love, conception, and being well-adjusted, the wearing a kilt, mooning your family, and not realizing the when you don't wear underwear your junk will be showing as well, and finally, the Christmas fisticuffs with his brother over him sticking an olive in his bro's ear while trying to squeeze the juice out of it (hello Freud!)... while his mother is crying. Again, Wow! An odd duck for sure, and I'll leave it at that. (I'm sure he's a nice guy, but nice guys can be weird, too.)

CDS: When the Bros Sirois talk sports, I listen. I think they are the true up and comers around The Little One. What I dislike is their infatuation with their own sense of humor. When they go into schtick, especially extended schtick, it's overkill. Because they're brothers, they both sound similar. Furthermore they both speak very rapidly (something they need to temper). And when you have two people who sounds a lot alike, speak rapidly, and constantly finish each others thoughts/talk over each other, radio chaos ensues. They need to work on this. It's when they get too "cute" for too long that this most usually occurs. I wish they 'd be more sports oriented. I think that by doing so, they're star would rise faster. Don't get me wrong, they can be funny. But, like their rapid speaking, temper it; find the golden mean. Oh, and I know that Mike works for Norm, so I see where it comes from, but they are guilty of "Over Norm." You don't need to do your own Norm drops or imitations at every turn. While they can be funny when well placed, they get stale when repeated time and again. Besides, no one can hold a candle to Gordon in that regard.

Can't wait for p.m. drivetime BaD. A foretaste of the future perhaps???

Well put, Anonymous. 
Here is Shaggy's offering:

The Soul Patch really has got nothing. As generic as it gets. Today was my first time listening to them for a moderate length of time, and it wasn't good. They are exactly what other stations across the country come up with by trying to copy The Ticket's sports talk/guy talk formula. And it's nearly always bad.

Agree about Cirque. I also think they have something, but they are way too schtick-y. They are an almost exact carbon copy of Ben & Skin when they were on The Ticket. They would constantly be laughing at their own and each others' jokes, but they werent all that funny. I think B&S have grown a lot, but they do still suffer from thinking they're a lot cooler and funnier than they really are.

Gentlemen Confessors, you have my thanks.  I'll get the comments underway

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

We Interrupt This Nosy and Apparently Endless Series on Mike's Employment . . .

.  .  .  for a nosy article on someone else's employment.

Namely, Casey Millen's.

At this point, Confessors are probably aware that Casey made some highly personal and highly critical remarks about Matt McClearin on the Tee Box that apparently took Craig Rosengarden by surprise, although having given Casey the rudder his options may have been somewhat limited.  You can hear it here: (LINK).

While we're on the subject of the UnTicket, I am reposting a comment left by AP which for some reason failed to appear in the comment section to the Open Thread on "Tell a Friend about The Ticket Month."  If you are interested in this topic, there are some good comments on it back there, two articles back.  Here's AP:

I reposted it at The Unticket for two reasons:

1) I wanted to know if I'm just being a prude, or if what I heard was really that bad. The answer appears to be a bit of the former and a lot of the latter.

2) McClearin deserves to hear what was said about him.

I'm not fan of McClearin's radio work for various reasons, but he certainly does not deserve a shot like that. I'm actually a bit disappointed that Craig didn't dump the comment. He was however on remote and may not have been familiar with McClearin or his situation (Matt is 30+, this is his second marriage, and he married his current wife 2-3 years ago when she was 18).

Weekends at the ticket basically serve as the farm system for cultivating new talent. For producer/board ops, there's Kevin Turner, Mike Marshall, Dave Wilson, and even Jason Killer Kellison on occasion. Ticker men in regular weekend rotation include Michael Krenek and Casey Millen. It's competitive environment in which one must bring their own twist to get noticed. If you've listened to the 'It's Just Banter' episode with Mike Sirois, you'll hear him talk about having to "up his ****" to get noticed - and his MadLib tickers went over well enough with other hosts and management that he was a "shoo-in" for Bacsik's seat.

The weekend ticker guys also try to bring their own twist to their work - both insert subtle jokes during their one-minute slots, and both also take opportunities to pop on air whenever possible. Millen's work is decidedly more shock-jock than Krenek's as of late though.

Krenek has recently gained acceptance with weekday hosts, garnering notice and 'praise' from Bob, Dan, Grubes and Tom during his fill-in work with BaD Radio last week. Millen is a reluctant favorite of the Teebox's, and the weekend edition of the SoulPatch uses him in limited on-air doses. I don't believe Millen has ever had a fill-in opportunity during the weekday.

Millen filled in as a host for a Teebox show a few months ago, and his work had a similar level of abrasion to the McClearin comment - borderline shocking, and not terribly funny 'jokes' delivered in rapid-fire succession (at least for my taste, and I'm pretty crass). Read into this what you will, but Mike Sirois was tapped to fill in the next time the Teebox was a host short, and Newbury + Jake also did a fill-in when both hosts couldn't make it. I haven't heard yesterday's Teebox offerings, but I'm told by a purported Millen fan that he was more muted this time around.

"Pretty sure I'm being fired next week" has been his twitter tagline for several months now.

Regarding McClearin, I'm fairly certain that his co-host regularly surfs this blog and was aware of what was said before the audio was reposted. While coming out of a break during Tuesday's SoulPatch, Matt introduced himself as "the intelligent one" ... Scot quickly replied with "and I'm the enthusiastic one." (Scot'll work in a subtle reference or two on you based on things he's read here).

One last note - some of the posts complimentary of Millen's work here and on the unticket seem to be written by Millen himself. The Plainsman is very gracious about letting the anonymii remain anonymous, so I can't make the claim with 100% certainty, at least not for this site.

Thanks, AP. 

My quick and not-deeply-considered takes:

(1) Casey has some on-air gifts, but he's the most nakedly ambitious of the Ticket JV.  Maybe not the most ambitious, but he is least successful in hiding it.  It's why I occasionally refer to him as The Perpetually Up-and-Coming Casey Millen.

(2) When he's playing it straight, he can be good when given some air time.  He's glib, he's intelligent, and he tries to find interesting things to say.  Too bad about that catastrophic-lack-of-judgment thing.

(3)  I have no information on whether or not he's been fired.  If he was on the Tee Box Saturday, sounds like he survived.  I don't like to see guys fired for one horrible moment, although there are some levels of horribleness beyond which one cannot survive.  This one is bordeline, but on balance I think I'd try to handle this internally if I were Cumulus HR.

(4)  Casey has posted here under his own name a couple of times, not offensively.  Always happy to hear from Ticket guys.

(5)  I have suspected Casey of posting anonymously on his own behalf, and I actually caught his significant other doing so with a suspiciously laudatory post about the lad.  I outed her somewhere along the line in these pages, but wouldn't be able to find it now.

(6)  I am in agreement with some of the commenters to the last Open Thread who offered thoughts on what the JV will do to try to get noticed.  Some are more skillful at insinuating themselves onto the air than others.  Casey tends to come across as very aggressive and  brassy, as though he can hardly wait for an opening or an invite, and when it comes he practically bursts with schtick.  It's not that the content is bad, it just has calculated written all over it.  I bend over backwards to try to be fair to the junior guys, who have a tough row to hoe for not a lot of financial reward, and Casey is not an untalented guy.  Just too obviously eager.  If he survives this, I wouldn't be against giving him another fill-in shot somewhere.

(7)  Having said this, the McClearin thing was pretty awful.  Nothing to add to what has already been said about that.

(8)  However  .  .  .  why?  Why would a political guy like Casey have been moved to issue such self-damaging observations?  Let's think about this for a couple of minutes.

Matt has posted very kindly here on occasion, which the Nation appreciates.  He seems to have supporters (generally, I'm one) and those who are less enthusiastic (AP).  I have to say, however, that I have always found him a little  .  .  .  discomfiting.  Just a little  .  .  .  curious somehow.  I don't want to overstate this, because, as I say, on the whole I think he's working out well on The Soul Patch.

The whole young-wife thing, when it got big play on the station when he went to her prom (I believe they were afianced at the time) and when they were married, struck me as really kind of  .  .  .  man, I can't even think of the word for it.  Kind of an eewwww moment.  I really want to keep out of the personal lives of the Ticket guys (Norm's recent marriage a happy exception), but this was all over The Ticket, so fair game.   Yeah, yeah, we guys all yuk it up about getting younger at that position, but I really had to wonder about all that teasing.  I asked myself why he let this happen; I asked myself what the future Mrs. McClearin thought about all of it.   I don't want to be uncharitable -- maybe he felt that this is what his bosses wanted to do, so he had to go along with it; maybe he thought any pub is good pub.  And it wasn't in unusually bad taste by The Ticket's notably flaccid standards, just more or less male joshing.  But it made me wonder about him a little.

Then there was the close encounter with the aliens.  I'll pass on commenting on this except to say that it was certainly consistent with the archetypes of these types of account.   Another emotionally-charged, unusual personal experience by a not-yet-prominent guy on the station that got a lot of airtime.  Hmmm.

Next:  On-air friction with David Newbury, with Newbury seeming to get the worst of the reaction to it.  Numerous Confessors noticed it and commented on it in these pages.  Result:  McClearin up, Newbury down, perhaps a little unfairly in the latter case.  (FWIW at this point, I thought Matt was a little manic on those weekend shows with Newbury.  He's calmed down on Soul Patch and it's better work.)

And now, Casey Millen rather angry with him.

Where am I going with this?  Nowhere in particular, except to say that Matt seems to have a talent for getting noticed, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  He's skillful at it -- taking all of the foregoing into account, has anyone out there formed a strongly negative impression about him, based solely on what you hear on the channel?  (And not about what you might know about him off-hours?)

Can't speak for The Nation -- I have not.  But some of his colleagues apparently have.   I don't keep track of seniority among the JV, but my working theory here is Matt has leapfrogged some of the JV, and it has caused some resentment. 

Rambling, sorry.  But we don't get the curtain pulled aside at The Ticket very often, and when it happens, Your Source for Responsible Ticket Journalism has to get something up fast.   There's some sizzlin' inside baseball going on here, and I'm hopeful some Ticket Inside Baseball Jeebus can fill us in.

In the meantime -- Casey and Matt, you guys take care.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Big Weekend?

Contrary to speculation, it appears that Matt McClearin is going to continue to co-host with Scot Harrison on The Soul Patch for a third week.  At least, I think I heard that correctly -- the spot kinda crept up on me.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I believe I also heard Harrison say there was going to be a major SP announcement during the course of the showgram.

And we have sometime crypto-insider Gypo Nolan commenting in an earlier post that htere are going to be, as he put it, a "BIIIGG weekend shakeup" in the offing.

Yah, I know we've got the always-critical third Cowboy pre-season game, and the Angels in town, blah blah blah, but this is important. 

My pants are uncomfortable!!

Scrubs/Patch -- The Voyage Continues

Soul Patch sounds great to me today.  They've dropped the self-consciousness and reduced the on-air contributions from the production guys (except for segments devoted to them, like the very good "Bull Durham" segment).  I'm better able to distinguish between Scot and Matt.  A strong effort today

[NOTE:  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE PRODUCTION GUYS, KRENEK AND ALL THE REST, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.  ALL GREAT, ALL CAN HOLD OWN ON MIC.  HOWEVER, HARRISON WAS JUST INVOLVING THEM TOO MUCH LAST WEEK WHEN THE NEW TEAM NEEDED TO BE FINDING ITS OWN VOICE.  DON'T ANYONE BE GETTING YOUR FEELINGS HURT, NOW.]

I did not hear Scrubs last week or this, sorry.  Newbury is getting savaged by The Nation.  I have liked him in the past but must confess (of course) I haven't been by the channel for that show or Diamond Talk in awihle.   From recent comments:

I think I might know why the McClearin and Newbury pair were split up. Because Newbury is absolutely insufferably argumentative. My God, he won't let his partner get a word in edgewise. He's talking over him, interrupting him, telling him that he already knows his points before he finishes them and so dismisses them. It's amazing. And it's also annoying. Maybe Cat thought if he separated McClearin and Newbury things wouldn't be so contentious. If so, he was wrong. It's all on Newbury. He is a man who does not like to be disagreed with. Very uncomfortable radio, for sure.   -- Anonymous

It seems pretty clear to this listener that if Newbury does not respect his co-host, he's dismissive, smug, and a bit of an a-hole. Contrast his work with Sean or Ty where he has to defer to a guy with skins on the wall. Worse yet, when Newbury is working with someone he doesn't respect he tries to drive the bus. And that is a disaster. He's very knowledgable but he's a second banana (potentially a ver good one). But this is not a guy that gets you in and out of segments smoothly or generally can get thru a sentence without a few stumbles."  -- Another Anonymous

Newbury is definitely knowledgeable and has some insights that no one else on the station can offer. Well, since Bacsik's demise anyways. His opinions are generally good. But I do agree with the last two anons. He needs a talking to by the Ticket higher ups. -- Fozzie Bear

 Fozzie Bear sums up the consensus:  Newbury is a very solid sports guy, but lacks some broadcast/locution skills and, for lack of a better word, diplomacy.

Anyway, I'm really glad that The Nation is paying some heed to what The Little One is doing on weekends.  Some good stuff, some drama, and some exposure for the JV.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

OPEN THREAD: Weekend Wife Swap

How did the Newbury/Anderson and Harrison/McClearin pairings sound to you?

I missed the former and am now listening to the latter.  It sounds to me like I thought it would -- the guys sound quite a bit alike, and the sonic brew is further confused by Casey Millen's contributions (invited by Harrison), who sounds quite a bit like Matt. 

But the content is good, if a little forced.  Harrison is very self-conscious about the wife-swap experiment -- he has several times referred to The Soul Patch overall as "mediocre," and is reviewing the program as it goes along.  I think I might have just played it cool and gone ahead and done the show without all the self-consciousness.

Having said that, I'd be willing to listen to a few more episodes of this combintation, see what develops.

The Scrubs and Patch have generated a surprising amount of interest among Confessors lately.  Have at it, Nation.

Has the Byron Anderson Experiment Come to an End?

Matt McClearin working with Scot Harrison on The Soul Patch this weekend.

A Respectful Inquiry

Apologies to the C-Nation for not paying better attention, but I can't remember which weekend show I heard this on. It may have been the Scrubs, but it may have been the Stewart Cedar Cvalcade of Sports, I just don't remember. It was a weekend show with two guys, that's as much as I can tell you.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention because they were talking puck.

Anyway, one of the guys says -- crap, I don't even have a good recollection of the quote -- but the gist of it was this: "Turco and Modano are now gone, and they were a bad influence on the younger players, and look how well the team is coming together now." And they said it in such a way that it was clear that they had known for a long time the departed Stars had been a doleful presence in the locker room, like it was a well-known circumstance to those who follow the Stars.

This is something I've wondered about for a long time, since my series on the Ranch Report awhile back. (You can look it up. I'm typing this outside whilst enjoying a martini and cigar and the less screen-skipping I have to do, the better. Sorry for not providing the link.) Why is it that we get so little inside information from The Ticket? These guys don't hang out in locker rooms, but I am certain that they get an enormous amount of team scuttlebutt from all the pro and even college teams.

Well, there's some evidence, right there. I don't recall anyone ever having said a word about this. Now, I don't get to hear BaD very often, and they're puck-centric so maybe BaD listeners knew all about this.

I do understand that no responsible host wants to traffic in unsubstantiated gossip. But surely there comes a point with respect to certain inside tidbits where the smoke turns into fire. It's not like these guys depend crucially on the goodwill of teams or even stars (see the recent C.J. Wilson contretemps) and need to soft-pedal some of the softer newsy items. In general, the hosts are pretty fearless in their views, and that's something we all value.

I just wonder why they're not a little more forthcoming with the stuff that they hear that they reasonably believe to be credible.

Or am I wrong that inside info comes their way?