I Was Wrong About Lake Mingus -- Next Guess

Corby gave a description of the private property they were on during the Pool Party.  His description does not match the landforms around Lake Mingus.  So Lake Mingus was wrong.

Here are the new clues:

Lake is 110 acres.

There are animal pens, oil wells, hay fields, savannah-type meadows.

If one attempted to swim across the lake from the campsite, one would encounter a "thicket" of trees.  There was some debate about how far this was.  Mike thought it was nowhere near a mile -- Corby thought it was further.

There are the new clues.

Pass the beans, please.

I'm still intrigued by two of the earlier clues:  the 7:32 sunrise, and a nearby town with a bar beginning with the word "Mule."

So I'm still scouting the Mingus metro

If you check the map, go north about two miles and a little to the east, and you will find Lake CB Long.

There is a privately-owned CB Long Ranch in Palo Pinto county.

There are also oil wells in Palo Pinto county.

Turning to Google Earth, we find open fields adjoining the lake -- savannah-like, to my eye.

If you zoom in on the lake and scout the area near the shore, just south and west of the easternmost bulge of the lake you will see a single boxy structure.  Cabin-like, to my eye.  I believe that the straight part of the shore at that point is the C.B. Long Dam.  There is a road crossing the northern lobe of the lake, but I don't thnk it's a dam.

Google Earth does not have a scale on it that I can find, but Google Maps does.  A square mile is 640 acres, so a 110-acre lake is about .17 square miles.  A square mile is 5280 feet squared, or about 4.7 million square feet.   .17 times 4.7 million = 806,000 square feet, or about 900 feet on a side. 

Regrettably, Lake CB Long is not square, so forget all of those calculations.  However, if on Google Maps you place the lake next to the scale (sized to show a linear mile) and try to imagine whether you could get 5 Lake CB Longs -- scrunched into an appropriate shape -- into a square mile, it's imagineable.  Especilly if the part of the lake north of the road crossing it (which looks rather murky -- the lobe, not the road) is excluded.

Returning to Google Earth:  If you imagine the campsite somewhere near the eastern edge of the lake (remembering the location of the possible cabin) and look directly across, you will see a peninsula that has on it some trees -- to my eye, a thicket.   (A thicket on the Ticket, if you will.)  It is nowhere near a mile -- maybe between a third- and a half-mile.

I cannot find much information about the C.B. Long Ranch, except in this memorial article about a ranch foreman who passed away in 2008:  http://www.texashuntfish.com/app/journals/19716/The-Passing-of-a-Great-American-Cowboy.  (Steve Holub, sounded like a wonderful guy -- foreman there for 50 years.)  If you read it, you will see that one of the chief products of the ranch is -- hay.

So there's my new guess:  The southeast quadrant of Lake CB Long.

Having been wrong the first time (but close, I still think), I won't scoreboard myself this time around.  Mike V would have nothing to do with a loser like me.

=========

One more thing:  This is of little probative value, and highly circumstantial, but:  After I emailed Junior this morning about my Lake Mingus guess, I heard no further discussion of P1's guessing.   If I was pretty close with Lake Mingus, one would not expect to hear that anyone had guessed correctly (or, in this case, close to correctly) even if the host didn't name the actual location, because after a bit a hundred souls or so might have checked in to Your Humble Site and seen the guess.  (And within an hour or so I'd thrown Lake CB Long out there as well, in the comments.)   Pretty flimsy, I know, but it crossed my mind.

Campout Quick Hit -- My Guess

You'd think a Plainsman would be able to figure out where these guys are.  We've heard several hints.  My guess -- somewhere in the vicinity of Mineral Wells, and my more precise guess is near Mingus in the Cross-Timbers area near Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir or Lake Mingus.  Hints:

     --  Danny suggested that they went west, making a vague reference to the landscape that sounds more like West Texas than East Texas.  Gordon made a reference to "Louisiana" this morning, but this was an obvious Gordon misdirection play (lie).

     --  Junior made a reference to a 7:32 sunrise.  Sunrise this morning in Mineral Wells is at 7:32.  Mingus is south of Mineral Wells and just slightly west.  When I go to http://www.weather.com/, I see that sunrise in Mingus is also stated to be 7:32.

     --  The temperature in Mingus this morning is in the mid-to-low forties.

     --  Mike R let slip that there was a bar in town starting with "Mule."  There is a "Mule Lip Bar" in Mingus.

     -- Mingus is a few miles from a major lake, the Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir.  Now, there are lots of lakes in this area of Texas -- however, if I'm recalling correctly, PPCR adjoins the 7R Ranch development, for which Gordon Keith used to do commercials and might have had, as Danny might say, "a good in" with them. 

         There is also a Lake Mingus just north of town, which might be a better guess, because this morning someone wasn't sure whether the lights in the east was the town or the sunrise.  This indicates that there is a town east of the camp.   The town in question might be Gordon, which is to the east of Lake Mingus, and somewhat larger than Mingus.    So I'm going to give Lake Mingus the edge.




Gratuitous Ticket Campout Woman Photo


Therefore, I conclude that the campout is somewhere near the shores of Lake Mingus, or possibly the Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir, in any event not far from Mingus.

Please do not hassle them.

WAIT -- They're talking about where they are.  Junior named several lakes that they're NOT near, and none of them was PPCR.  So I'm in the running.

I had some more quick hits but I'll let this one simmer a bit.

Let Us Now Praise Corby Davidson

First, apologies to the Nation for my relative neglect of this site lately.  It may continue for awhile.  I've been away and just not able to devote time to composition.  Hope that changes in the next few weeks.  Very much appreciate the good comments on a variety of topics.

============

I haven't done a careful survey, but of the Ticket personalities, the one who takes the most thrashing from Confessors is Corby Davidson.   Dan McDowell is a not-so-close second, with Gordon Keith and Craig Miller somewhat further back.  Your Ticket Confession strongly favors Corby, while occasionally regretting the OverCorby.

This is somewhat stale -- again, sorry -- but I was reminded of one of Corby's strongest broadcast skills during the visit to Rangers training camp.   Get ready, Nation, for an STD:

When he plays it straight, Corby is one of the best interviewers of any kind on any broadcast media I have ever heard.  I actively dislike some of the prank interviews, but when called upon to get information out of a guest he's hard to beat.  (Dan has his interview partisans, but I'm less familiar with his body of work other than those that get mentioned on other shows, usually where the guest leaves mad, which is probably not always indicative of a bad interview.)

It helps if Corby has a good interview subject, but even when he doesn't, he's in there slugging with interesting questions and interesting ways to put familiar questions.  Where he needs to set up a question, he usually does so succinctly and clearly (contra:  Bob Sturm, who should not be allowed to conduct interviews).  He has a naturally engaging way with people he's never met, including scary types like Bill Parcells and Shaq.  I admit that I have occasionally heard him preface a question with a too-lengthy oral essay, but it's rare.

The one that really caught my ear was the interview with David Murphy (I think -- I didn't have my notepad handy to write it down).   Murphy wasn't a bad interviewee, but it seemed to me like he -- Murphy -- got better as the interview progressed largely because of Corby's skill in putting him at ease and exploring subjects Murphy felt comfortable talking about.  The other Ranger interviews (I recall Kinsler, but I believe Mike jumped in on that one from time to time) were also very good.


This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's not intended to be:  Corby succeeds as an interviewer largely because he has no equal in selling insincerity.  Let's face it, hosts of all kinds, in all media, interview stars and public figures because they have to, not because they have a personal burning desire to get answers to mundane questions the subject's heard dozens of times and may even resent.   So almost every interviewer has to mask an inevitable lack of interest in the proceedings.  Corby is great at that.  Because we know Corby so well, we can hear the difference between his Cobra-Snake personality during segments and his warmer "interviewer" personality.  But he makes that transition very naturally, and of course many (although not all) interviewees don't perceive any difference at all.

Along with Rich and Gordon, I think Corby may be the Ticket guy most likely to be able to succeed in other formats.  A televised talk show, for example.  He would be an interesting news correspondent, too, if he stayed away from anal bleaching topics and Woodford Reserve diets. 

Fortunately, relative pay scales likely means we will have be enjoying his talents on The Little One for years to come.  It will be interesting to see how -- and whether -- he matures as his fifth decade ticks away.

Generic Youth Minister Snarky Quick Hit

He developed a lisp in yesterday's appearance.  Funnier without.

Anyone Got Anything on Last Week's Ticket Broadcasting?

Sorry I've not been able to post new material lately.  I have a couple of items lined up, but since I was out of town last week, I thought I'd check to see if anyone had any blasts they'd like to offer.  Didh't hear a word of the channel, and it was rough, let me tell you.

Thanks to everyone who posted on the Voice of the Nation open forum.

Anyone Catch The Teebox on March 13?

The (incomparable) AP from The (really incomparable) UnTicket advises that Rick Arnett and Craig Rosengarden gave this site a mention on The TeeBox a week ago.  Mrs. Plainsman and I were headed out to Carmel for a tenth anniversary vacation and we'd parked the Conestoga at DFW just as The Train Station Fitness Show (with George DeJohn) was drawing to a close, so I missed The TB for the first time in a long time.

Had a great time.  Missed the tsunami (which did cause some damage in California), but Mrs. P and I do seem to be giving off a faint glow.

If any of you heard it and can recall anything that was said, I'd be grateful for a report.  Many thanks.

VOICE OF THE NATION: Open Forum on Norm and Mike S

I'm out of town and out of touch and out of time, but thought I would follow up on a commenter's suggestion to allow open posting from time to time.

I like Norm's show when I hear it and enjoy Norm at other times, but I hear the show so seldom that it doesn't get much notice here.  I regret that, so maybe you all can fill in the midday hole on this site.

As always, you can post on any topic you like, but I thought I"d get things rolling with a suggestion.  Mike Sirois has been with Norm for awhile now, after Friedo's long tenure.  How do we all think it's going?  My very brief exposure to the team leaves me with a pretty good feeling.  Mike S doesn't have a distinctive broadcast voice, but he's smart and quick and the Norm/Mike combo seems to be clicking.

Your thoughts?

Back in a few days.

More Teebox Journalism from the Nation -- or at Least the Part Controlled by Casey Millen

The Nation is aware that Your Plainsman has a soft spot for The Teebox.  Saturday morning, 8 to 10 am.  Rick Arnett -- one of the original Ticket Seven -- and his colleague Craig Rosengarden talk golf and a lot of other things.  To my ear, very entertainingly.  A lot of P1's sleep through it, but if you're up going for a jog or starting your errands or waiting for The Orphanage, give it a spin.  I'm not a golf guy but I still like the show.  Nice, easy, frequently funny.   Just a a real  nice sound to start the weekend.

Confessor email correspondent C.S. applauds the recent contributions to that showgram of one Casey Millen.  Now, I must say, I suspect C.S. is a female and may have an intimate correspondence with Casey, so there may be some special pleading here.  But even discounting the comment for this possibility, I think his/her remarks are of interest:

=========================
"The up and coming Casey Millen seems to be getting a lot more attention from Ticket fans for his blue one-liners and irregular bits. Today Casey performed a bit of high comedy on the Tee Box and I’m a bit confused on what to think.

"The bit featured his creation called “Golf Metal” which was wildly inappropriate for the venue (duh). I think it was a stroke of comedic genius that played like an Andy Kaufman bit because Craig and Rick didn’t seem to understand the gag.

"I attached the audio. I think this Millen kid has something, and I look forward to seeing where it goes. I’m curious as to whether any other P1s heard this bit, and what they’re thoughts were.
 
"Either way you look at it, the Tee Box has become a bit cooler due to this guy’s shtick."

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=b64d39f068&view=audio&msgs=12ead1c254318d3f&attid=0.1&zw

=========================

Many thanks to C.S., Millen intimate or not, for the clip and the comment.

I think The Teebox is getting better as time goes by, too, and I agree that C. Millen may have a little something that the Nation should keep an eye on, C.S.'s special pleading notwithstanding (if I'm right that this email is something of a plant).

I do think that Rick and Craig basically got the bit, but since it was about 12 seconds long, there wasn't much they could do with it.  They also mentioned a creative "open" to the show that Casey had done.  I'm out of town and missed the showgram today, but I would welcome the Nation's views on Casey (or the Teebox).

Chucking Chuck

It's always dangerous when I get sportsy, but this really isn't all that sportsy, so I'm slinging it out there.

Somewhere along the line someone is going to spill the beans about what really happened with the Chuck Greenberg termination.  Until they do, I have a thought or two.

I have heard it said that nothing was revealed at yesterday's press conference.  I heard two things I found, if not revealing, at least suggestive.

First, there were frequent references to Greenberg's "passion."  I hear that from time to time in the business world in which I move, and it frequently means that the guy is a jackass -- that his "passion" is a little too apparent in the way he deals with people -- subordinates, peers, and bosses.   Was it Evan Grant who mentioned rumblings about a possibly abrasive character in private?  I heard it somewhere. 

Second, note that I mentioned bosses.  Greenberg  had some.  In that presser, you also heard frequent references -- and pointed references -- to the Rangers board of directors.  The board of directors, not the CEO or President, have the ultimate responsibility to the corporation's owners.  That board is full of money guys who have come up through, and headed, large organizations.  They're button-down guys.  They want their CEO to be responsive to them and to run the team like a business.   The board probably consists of guys who have confidence in the business theory that calls for clear lines of reporting and responsibility.   Greenberg may well have strayed from the reservation in his dealings on the Cliff Lee thing -- remember that there was a point there where Ryan and Daniels seemed to be excluded from the negotiations.  And there may have been other instances where he didn't keep in touch with his board or involve the baseball people who, in large measure, attracted this risk capital to the Rangers in the first place.   Greenberg is by no means an amateur businessman, but as I read his bio it looks to me like he may never headed anything as conventionally corporate as the Rangers.  His out-front "style" may have looked a little too Cubanesque (his friend, despite the Ranger auction, and former neighbor) for their taste.

Pure speculation based on the items that caught my ear in the press conference.  May be way off base.  N.P.I.

Where Did that Danny Parody of "The Boxer" Come From?

Michael G played it as The Hardline outro yesterday.  Never heard it before.

Like many if not most Ticket parodies -- musically/vocally good, lyrically dashed-off-sounding.

RIPPED FROM TODAY'S TICKET HEADLINES -- Cumulus Has Money to Pay Danny!

The hosts have been teasing this for the past week or so -- probably against instructions, and, since Cumulus and Citadel are both public, potentially illegally -- but today the deal got announced.

Cumulus Media agreed to acquire Citadel Broadcasting, a deal that will approximately double Cumulus's size.  The price -- $2.4 billion in cash and Cumulus stock.

This article says nothing will change at the stations.

Right.

An Even MORE Modest Proposal for The Hardline -- PART 2: The More Modest Proposal Its Own Self

Don't think I don't understand the absurdity of a civilian -- a rather radio-naive civilian at that -- suggesting changes to one of the most popular radio shows in the United States. 

But it's no more absurd than some of the very entertaining things we hear on The Ticket every day.  Not that this is a gag -- I think all my ideas are excellent.  But if the only thing that happens is that you laugh and shake your head at Your Plainsman's chuckleheadedness, I'm perfectly OK with that.  And you'll let me know in the comments.  Respectfully, I am certain.

So here we go:

In Part 1, I recanted my earlier opinion that Mike R goes through phases of diminished interest in The Hardline.  I did not recant my view that from time to time, The Hardline as it emerges over the airways needs more Mike and less Corby, what I have for the last couple of years called balance.

I've been kicking around an idea about a  .  .  .  an  .  .  .  adjustment to The Hardline that not only would address this issue, but that isn't totally cockamamie, unworkable, and incredibly faster-than-the-speed-of-light impossible. 

Why loose it on an unwitting public at this time, while The Hardline continues to ride high?

        --  Continued communications from P1's expressing the view that Mike has lost interest.  Not really my opinion, but I do hear this.

        --  Continued communications from P1's, also reflected in comments to posts, lamenting the OverCorby.  I have some sympathy for this view, much as I admire Corby's performance overall.

        --  Remarks on The Musers a week or so ago that each of the Courage Boys has developed his own theory about Mike As He Has Been Lately, who, they speculate, seems to have developed a don't-give-a-damn attitude, say-anything attitude, suggesting a scorched-earth point of view towards The Little One.  (They were referring to his performance on "The Newlywed Game" at Ticketstock -- I'm don't think they were necessarily describing The Hardline presentation.)  I don't actually know what Mike-AHHBL behavior they were thinking of, but the fact that they commented in such detail on one of their semi-rival hosts at all was somewhat alarming -- although their attitude was bemused rather than alarmed.

        --  A comment from AP (as I recall -- I haven't gone back to check on the commenter), who reported a couple of remarks by Danny, who occasionally experiences tension between his role as producer and as on-air talent.

        --  Unanimously positive reactions to the March 1 presentation, where Corby was absent, Danny was more-or-less the co-host in grown-up mode, Jake did E-News, T.C. produced, and Robert ("Don't Call Me Bob") Wilonsky did Community Quick Hits.

With (i) this context, (ii) our wish to maintain host/host balance on the show, and (iii) my revised Theory of Mike all in mind, I offer the following modest proposal:

               (1)  Make Danny a full-time host.  Relieve him of his producer duties.  Give him a raise -- probably a big one -- and a contract.


               (2)  Include the following in Danny's job description, since it unlikely Corby would undertake any of them: 


                         (i)   Plan topics and segments that are more likely than not to engage Mike's interest (i.e., take charge of show prep, and, if he's already in charge of show prep, take charge of it better).


                         (ii)  On the air, make sure that Mike is heard, even in those instances where he is not particularly engaged.   This sounds patronizing towards Mike, but, as noted, Mike wanders and defers to Corby, and Corby allows it.  Danny has shown flashes of being genuinely concerned about the overall sonic presentation of the show.  Task him with bringing Mike into conversations where he's lapsed into silence for one reason or another.  In other words, give him some authority over the on-air presentation in real time.


                         (iii)  Police the OverCorby.  Now it is true that in the past Danny has sometimes allied with Corby, exacerbating the balance problem.  My hunch, however, that given express responsibility for keeping the showgram sounding professional, he would do it.


                         (iv)  I think this could be accomplished without diluting Danny's colorful and acerbic contribution.   It would only require that Danny put on the adult persona that he has when he's co-hosting with Mike in Corby's absence -- that's a Danny that the Nation finds quite easy to take.


               (3)  For Grubes's years of toil in the fever swamps, give him the opportunity to produce if he wants.  We would miss his amazing drops artistry, but surely the guy doesn't want to be a board op forever, even assuming he plans to hang with The Ticket for the foreseeable future.


               (4)  If Grubes doesn't want the producer job, assign it to Jake Kemp.   Find another up-and-comer to do Top Ten.  (Not T.C., in my view, but the Nation seems fond of him.  Maybe Casey Millen.)


               (5)  If Grubes does want the producer job, I don't know who should be on the board.  There must be lotsa guys who'd like that gig.


               (6)  Ty Wal-KAH?   Jeez, I'm sorry, I just don't see him moving from Tickers -- which, after all, is his natural habitat.  At least not on The Hardline, anyway.   Ty has some real broadcast skills as a behind-the-mic guy, but the Hardline doesn't needs another talker and I don't see him in the producer role -- could be wrong.  His role as lightning-fast Google guy and porn counselor is bringing him an increased role on the show when Danny's drop isn't yelling at him, so he's doing OK.


Danny, Corby, Mike, and a slice of Junior



Consider the advantages (or, in some cases, the non-disadvantages) of this plan: 

          --  It addresses the need for more Mike and a more moderate contribution from Corby.

          --  It requires no new hires or even moving anyone from one show to another (other than Jake and maybe a board op).

          --  Showgram chemistry is altered only very slightly.

          --  It keeps a major talent (Danny) around and lets him concentrate his skills and energy on show presentation.

          --  Unlike other Hardline-related suggestions, it does not involve any kind of formal or even apparent demotion of Corby.  It does not suggest that Corby is "only" a yuk-monkey. 

          --  It barely requires any changes at all within the presentation itself.  Just more Danny, which is a good thing overall, and more authority for Danny to guide the show.  In fact, it may not mean much more Danny at all -- it only requires that his contribution be aimed at getting/keeping Mike involved in the broadcast. 

          --  It keeps/rewards Grubes and opens up a spot for some new Ticket talent (i.e., Jake/Casey or a hotshot board op).

Well  .  .  .  there it is.

It really only has one significant feature -- noodging Danny towards more responsibility and authority.  If he's interested, it works.  If he thinks it's BS, it doesn't.  (Of course, we're all thinking -- this is impossible, so whether it's BS or not is kind of beside the point.)  I may be wrong in sensing in Danny a mature professional waiting to come into his own, but I have found myself hearing a faint regret in the direction the show takes from time to time, even as he participates in it.  He has the presence and the skill to give the showgram a nudge back on track when it threatens to stray.  And maintain his Danny persona in the process.

OK, this has gone on long enough.   The Nation is entirely free to comment on any feature or all of them, but I would request that you not overemphasize the incidental features (Grubes/Jake/Casey/Ty), which are really not important to the overall scheme -- included just to keep things tidy.  

Your turn. 

An Even MORE Modest Proposal for The Hardline -- PART 1: Does The Hardline Really Need Any More of My Modest Proposals?

I mean . . . they're doing pretty well without my deathless recommendations.

Confessors who have been with us for awhile will remember Your Plainsman's five-part series on The Hardline almost exactly one year ago, in late February 2010.  I'm too lazy to link to each article, but they're easy enough to find in the archives.  The series was titled "A Modest Proposal for the Hardline."

It took a rather long route to reach the conclusion that The Hardline should add Mike Bacsik to their mix.  OK, OK, not exactly a prescient suggestion, but along the way I reviewed what a lot of P1's who are Hardline fans think about the showgram's intermittent (and sometimes not so intermittent)  .  .  .  well, let's just call them "issues."  I won't review them all here, but chief among them were (1) irregular show prep, (2) Mike R's waning interest in the proceedings, and, along the same lines, (3) The OverCorby. 

(And I still think Bacsik would have been a good addition to The Hardline.)

I thought The Hardline picked up smartly in early-to-mid 2010.  It reverted to Mike-checks-out/OverCorby form in lateFall/Winter, to my ear.  Since the year-end drydock, however, the show seems to me to have been very sharp most of the time.  So, up and down -- par for the course, and I figure that this is actually probably part of the charm of the showgram, you never know what you're going to get.  Not really that big a deal.



Now, before we go on, I would like to look more closely at one core criticism that one hears with some regularity about The Hardline -- not just on this site and from the Confessor Nation, but throughout the cloud of Ticket journalism and comment that is gradually taking over the Internets.  That criticism is that Mike has lost interest, has checked out, etc.

A lot of people say it.  But is it true?

I have concluded that it is not, at least not in the general sense in which it usually expressed.  Bear with me for a couple of minutes

I began listening more closely to The Hardline.  Even during what I would characterize as its "down" periods, Mike was not "checked out" generally.  You want an example of a checked-out host, hearken back to the final months of Greg Hammer Williams.  There was a checked-out host.    I listened to the shows, but I also watched when the showgram was on the webcam, and I even nipped into a couple of remotes to observe Mike's comportment during a show.

I conclude that Mike's apparent apathy has two sources: 

(1) Sometimes a segment just doesn't grab him.  His attention wanders.  He gets distracted with the Internet or what's showing on what I assume is a studio TV or a set at a remote, or maybe just starts thinking about other stuff, and temporarily loses track of the discussion.  Corby and Danny will call him on it.  This happens only during portions of segments, and not very often, but the fact that it happens at all is so striking that it gives the impression -- the false impression, in my revised view -- that Mike isn't interested in the show as a whole. 

(2) Mike really likes Corby.   Likes him personally, likes him professionally, a lot.  Sounds silly and obvious, I know.  But it bears on what we're talking about here.  When Corby's off on a tear, Mike is listening to him.   He's not cowed into silence, he positively endorses Corby's contributions.  He approves of the OverCorby most of the time.  Were you listening on Monday (February 28) when Corby was going absolutely nuts on the Oscars?  I mean, the man was positively shrieking.  Mike intoned, sotto voce:  "That's what I've been waiting for out of him." 

I conclude, therefore, that I have been wrong about Mike.  I don't think his interest in the show has decreased.  I think it actually may have increased with the revved-up competition.  I think his interest in the odd segment flags intermittently and he gets caught, which gives an overimpression of apathy; and I think he is usually perfectly happy to have Corby talk as much as he does, which also comes through the speakers like, well, like checking out.  But in fact, he's listening to every word Corby says, and approving the magnitude of his contribution.

But even if I've been wrong about Mike's interest level overall, or the reasons for the way the show sounds sometimes, the fact remains -- and I think most Confessors would be with me on this -- the show is better when there is balance between the hosts, and that means Mike fully involved on mic.

So (1):  I apologize to Mike for prior suggestions that he exhibits occasional periods of uninterest.  I think I've had it wrong.  I think he's as engaged with The Hardline as he ever has been, at least since I"ve been listening.

But (2):  The answer to our headline question is:  Yeah.  There's a condition on the showgram that I think a lot of P1's would like to treat.  Couldn't hurt to sling another (very respectful) recommendation out there for the consideration of the CumuloTicket Overlords. 

Which I know they will afford it in the very most high-up and plush of their Overlord decision lounges.

I'll get to it in the next installment.  I promise to limit this series to two parts.

I think the Nation is going to like this one.

==========

NOTE to faithful Confessors:  I don't consider this a finished article.   So I have disabled comments on this post.    After Part 2 you'll have an opportunity to weigh in with your usual perspicacity and enthusiasm on this topic of (judging from emails and comments) ongoing interest.

And, of course, emails are always welcome:  theplainsman1310@gmail.com

Thanks for your patience.  Part 2 will be up in a few.

QUICK QUESTION: Who was the Mello-Tone Guy on with JJ Taylor and (I Think) Stewart Cedar Mid-Morning on Sunday?

I was able to listen for about a half-hour but did not catch any names.

Nice to hear Taylor on again.  I think he has something to offer.  Strikes me as a guy who needs the right co-host.  Really knows his stuff, and offers a very different sound.  A good sound, very conversational, Ticket-ready.

============
The long-promised second STD (a two-parter, look out!) will be up on Monday or Tuesday.  Thanks for your patience.

This is NOT the Promised STD -- It's About Craig Rosengarden's Tickers on This Morning's Teebox and Tickers Generally

I had promised that there would be two consecutive STDs (Scorching Ticket Disquisitions, if you're new to the site), starting with the "Black Ticket" article just below.  But today's Teebox inspired a thought I thought I'd knock off to give the Nation some weekend content:

Whether you like golf or not, the Teebox is a great little show, 8-10 am on Saturdays sandwiched between the dubious (George DeJohn's Train Station Fitness Show) and the sublime (The Orphanage).  Rick Arnett and Craig Rosengarden have a fine old time talking about golfy things but also about other items on their minds and stuff that's happened to them during the previous week.  Always enjoyable.  Even if you haven't ever been up on a Saturday morning to check it out, you will be familiar with its most famous series of utterances -- Craig's "the anus is on him" and Rick's "the anus?!" and "I don't think so."  (My recollection is that Rick's "I don't think so" was not in reaction to Craig's misuse of "anus," but to Craig's attempt to explain his way out of it.)  Yes, Confessors, I was actually tuned in for that immortal exchange.

Anyway, on last week's show Craig expressed the thought that he might like to give Tickers a whirl. 

Today, he realized his dream.

It is not my intention here to criticize Craig's Ticker efforts.   If I understand matters correctly, he wrote the first one, and regular Ticker guy Casey Millen wrote the second one.  (There may have been another one or two but I did not hear the middle of the show.)    He was a little halting and uncertain on the first Ticker, but when he read the second one he'd found his stride -- even though Casey had written in some rather, uh, blue material. 

Here's what struck me -- reading out loud is a skill.  Put aside the skill needed to bang together a mini-broadcast as sporty news piles up during the day, gotta get the clips ready, gotta get a tease ready, maybe a couple of jokes, and then you have to write solid, succinct text that gets the info across in a clear and efficient way. 

Our Ticker guys are really good at all those things.  But again, my focus today is on reading the written word out loud.  Craig, of course, reads just fine.  But he is clearly reading.  It's not seamless.  He's not just talking into a mic, he's obviously reading.  His inflection is non-conversational, his cadence somewhat forced.  But Rich, and Ty, and Sean, and Casey, and all the other Ticker guys just blast it right out.  They're reading too, of course, but there is a seamlessness and polish to their delivery that does not call attention to that fact.  It has nothing to do with speed -- it's just a talent for reading out loud without sounding like a third-grader, on the one hand, or Franklin Roosevelt, on the other.  Expression; pace; continuity.  A mini-speech that is pleasing to the ear and does not call attention to its own delivery. 

So -- Craig's bit was fun, he was perfectly fine.  Rather brave, in fact, to undertake the Tickers. 

But let's take a moment to reflect on the skill it takes to sling out a good Ticker, and to thank the unthanked Tickermen of SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket.

WHO WILL CREATE THE FIRST BLACK TICKET?

This one's been rattling around for awhile. 

You've seen the title, so you know where this is going.  So let's plow right in.

Ever since I started listening to The Ticket I've been struck by the number of black callers to the station.(1)   Nothing surprised me about it -- any sports guy or guy guy would enjoy The Ticket, regardless of race.  There were also Latino callers, Middle Eastern callers, even the odd Asian caller.  Female callers.  Mostly the white male demo.  But I noticed it because I've listened to other sports-talk stations around the country and they didn't have nearly this high a percentage of black callers.  Nice tribute to the broad appeal of The Little One.

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(1)  I don't mind the term "African-American," but I don't think it adds much to the racial dialogue.  It's clumsy, and at this point it's not even very accurate.  Scholars and politicians like it, but it's so obviously PC that it's already falling out of favor among the general public and, I think, blacks themselves.  If the Musers can have a Black Guy Round Table, that's approval enough for me to continue to use the term.
___________________

Then I noticed -- there were actually quite a number of black callers.  (Not even counting Sports Shaniqua.)  Which, if callers are at all representative of the P1 Nation, would indicate that The Ticket had a large black following.  And, as I say, why not?

In fact  .  .  .  wouldn't the black audience for sports-talk be huge?  Don't need to cite statistics to prove the dominance of black athletes in almost every sport (except maybe the one broadcast on The Ticket).   Now let's be clear:  Black athletes are admired by whites as well.  And black sports fans root for the success of white athletes playing for the teams they favor.

But I'm not talking about the black public rooting for black athletes.  I'm talking about the black public making listening choices when they have one.

OK, now let's tread lightly here.   Am I out of line to observe that it is fairly widely acknowledged that entertainment can be racially targeted with success?  That racial groups are interested in entertainment relating to their own experience, ideas, language?  (Whites, too.)   Implied answer:  Not out of line.   Consider radio itself -- the "urban" segment is the code for "black hosts playing music by contemporary black artists."  Nothing wrong with it.  A fact of our society. 

Thus:    my hypothesis is that black sports fans and black-male-culture guys would listen to a quality sport/guy-talk-radio station with mostly -- possibly all -- black hosts.  They're not going to listen to garbage, or anything that is patronizing.  But if it's good radio, and if it reflects the concerns and enthusiasms of the young-to-early-middle-aged black male listener (remember -- it's not just sports) -- they're going to tune in.

So -- with a huge potential audience in major cities, why do we not see anyone tapping into it?  Why has no one tried to create a black Ticket?  And should someone do so?

Well, let's think about this:

Has anyone tried it before?  I've tried doing some research on this, and I cannot find any Internet reference to a black-dominated sports/guy-talk station.  I would love to hear from anyone who knows of one.  Satellite maybe?

Maybe someone has, and it has flopped.  Again, anyone know?

Now there is one well-known black sports-talk showgram, the famous "2 Live Stews" of WQXI-AM 790 the Zone in Atlanta.  You can hear them very early on weekend mornings on The Ticket sometimes, where the station will run a segment or two of 2 Live Stews.  They show up on Radio Row on Super Bowl week.   I have no idea what black listeners think about 2 Live Stews.

2 Live Stews

I know what I think about them.  They're terrible.   One guy is hyper, the other asleep.  But they're pretty popular with someone, since they're at least getting some syndication play.   Anyone know how they do in Atlanta?

And this brings us to our first reason that maybe no one has tried it:

It Is Difficult to Build a Quality Sports/Guy Talk Radio Station of Any Kind, Much Less One of the Greatness of The Ticket.  We've got two vanilla stations here in DFW trying to copy The Ticket's success, and, from all accounts, not doing a great job.  It would be even more difficult to build a black sports-guy-talker from scratch.

But it seems to me that that is not a good reason for a media entrepreneur not to give it a try in some metro market.  Sure, you'd have to go find talent.  I guess I'd start with the local newspaper sports guys.  (By the way -- Whatever happened to Jean-Jacques Taylor on The Ticket?  After Mark Elfenbein departed, he showed up on Sunday mornings and I thought he was pretty good, and I also thought he and Norm made a formidable team.)   Maybe I'd poach a talented black broadcaster from a white station (like Donovan).  Maybe I'd grab a popular black local TV sports broadcaster (like Newy), or, if I were in New York or Los Angeles, a national black sports anchor.  Maybe I'd find retired black athletes who had shown some talent for the microphone.  (I think Jason Terry has a career in broadcasting when his playing days have concluded; Terence Newman, maybe, too.)  Maybe I'd find experienced black DJs who have a strong interest in sports.   I cannot believe that there isn't a lot of black-guy talent out there.  And by that I mean black men who are "guys" in a black-culture sense the same way that The Ticket guys are are appealing hang-out "guys" to The Ticket demo.  Guys capable of talking in their own voices, and not some overamped radio voice.

Also -- there are tons of white sports-guy-talkers, but no black ones -- there has got to be a large pool of untapped black talent out there.

And maybe I'd do it the same way that white sports-talk got started -- put an evening sports show on an urban station and see what happens.  (Actually, I'd probably jump in with both feet and just put the damned station on the air with drive-to-drive sports-guy-talk programming, but I've always had a gift for spending other people's dough.)

Established Media Companies Don't Want to Cannibalize Existing Programs.  So should Cumulus try this in Dallas?  Well, if it's the case that a lot of black guys listen to The Ticket, why would you introduce a competitor of any kind, much less one that would poach an identifable group of listeners?  And you'd probably find the same situation with other media companies in other markets.  Now maybe if I were Cumulus and I had no sports-talk presence in a big urban center, I might give it a try.  But I have a feeling that if this concept is ever to be risked it will be by an independent media company -- quite possibly minority-owned -- or a single-station owner in a major market at what has fondly come to be known as the enchilada end of the dial.  There's a lot of them.

By the way -- there's a lesson from The Ticket:  You don't need a gold-plated signal to succeed.  A light-bulb AM could string this together (although maybe not with the high-profile talent I've hypothesized above).

Why Would Anyone Switch Allegiance from a Great Station Like The Ticket?    If The Ticket is serving the needs of the black listener, why start another station?   My concern here is not with service to the black listener -- it's with the company that is trying to come up with a money-making idea who, incidentally, will put on programming that is even more appealing to a target demo.  And, as noted, we're not necessarly talking just about DFW, but any city with a large black population.

How About a Brown Ticket?  Absolutely.  Same opportunity for targeting the Latino (or is it "Hispanic" these days? -- cue Bacsik giggle) listeners.  Possibly (likely) Spanish-language.  (I have not researched whether there might already be such stations.  If there are, that only supports my point that someone should try this with the urban audience, too.) 

Conclusion.  Someone should do this thing.  Might be tough here because The Ticket is such an 860-pound gorilla -- but, on the other hand, the greatness of The Ticket might have conditioned core black listeners to the appeal of sports-guy-talk radio.

If I had some walking-around money, I might throw in with that myself.

______________

PS to Confessor commenters:  No censorship here, but I would really prefer that this comment thread not be about Donovan, although it seems to me that The Ticket's appeal to and attitude toward black listeners (and that of its local competitors) is fair game.  I'm more interested in what you think about the idea, though, than I am about The Ticket's attitude toward racial matters.  Future article, maybe.

And please, keep the sensitivity of this issue in mind in framing your comments.

And no "Race Week" jokes.

Gordon's Charlie Sheen Impression Is Excellent

And today's material was good, too.

EXCERPT: Cumulus Operating Manual, Volume Eleven, Chapter 7, Article IV, Paragraph 79

"79.  STAGED DROPS BY A CROWD.

"Drops artificially created by a crowd being directed by a host can be very effective and amusing.  They reinforce the idea of a 'station community' and remind listeners of the enthusiasm of other listeners for the station and its programs.  Hosts should 'be on the lookout' for opportunities to create such drops.  Likely opportunities may arise at remote broadcasts, station-sponsored gatherings, and even station-sponsored sporting events.  For maximum effectiveness, please observe the following procedures:

"(a) Keep the proposed language or reaction (laughing, yelling) simple.  Make sure that the crowd can be heard through the open mics at the particular function.  If possible, involve the entire group within mic range so that extraneous signal will not spoil the drop. 

"(b)  Don't laugh over the drop."

Are Any Confessors Going to Ticketstock?

Here's an Example of What I'm Talking About

Your Plainsman is not only a Hardline fan (who isn't?) but a defender of Corby Davidson.  In fact, this site was founded in part as a counterbalance to what I have called the Corby Sux School of Ticket Journalism.  It is true that this site has its misgivings about the OverCorby, as, it seems, do quite a large number of P1's.  On balance, however, I think Corby is a extremely talented broadcaster.  Seems to me that the proof is in the pudding -- with Corby stepping up after Greggo the Hammer's departure, The Hardline is as popular as it ever was, if not more.  In looking over my topic list, I see three items where I have in mind to write positively about Corby's contributions.  Some recent commenters have taken some shots at Corby for one or another perceived shortcoming, and they may be right.  But the 30,000-foot is that Corby does a real fine job on a number of levels; the Nation would miss him a lot if he weren't there. 

Yesterday, however, there was a segment that framed the issue of the OverCorby. 

Corby opened The Presentation with a tale about his iPod Nano.  It had gone missing, but Mrs. Davidson eventually found it on top of an outdoor fireplace (cue Masterpiece Theater music) where it had lain under the last-to-disappear of the layers of ice and snow from the Super Bowl Storm of 2011.  Of course, the iPod worked fine.  Nice story, entertaining back-and-forth during its telling, perfectly good segment.

Next -- What's on Mike's Mind?

Mike noted that Corby's story was timely because what was on his mind was a book he was reading about the development and marketing of the iPod.  The book is "The Perfect Thing:  How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness" by Steven Levy. 

There was some discussion of Mike "coming around" on the greatness of the iPod family of products (although that may have come at the end of the Corby-Nano-fireplace story, don't clearly recall.)  Mike noted the work of "some Euro professor" on the subject of coolness.

But whatever was on Mike's mind about this book stayed in his mind, because at this point, Corby jumped in and jacked the entire segment.  He started talking and did not stop.  There was barely another offering by Mike or Danny until it was almost time to go to break.  And his remarks were not extremely enlightening.and, if I am recalling correctly, a continuation of his thoughts on the reliability (or not) of iPods.  There was nothing wrong with this speech -- but it wasn't what was on Mike's mind.

In Corby's possible defense:   Mike himself seemed not entirely prepared to proceed.  At one point he said that maybe the topic -- or perhaps it was only the subtopic of "coolness" -- should be put off to another segment.  Perhaps he was signaling Corby that he needed some support on this.  Hard to say, but it did occur to me that maybe Corby wasn't Corjacking the segment as much as he was rescuing it.

But mainly I wondered:  What was on Mike's mind as the Corjacking proceeded?  The book sounded pretty interesting.  I'll bet P1's would liked to have heard what Mike had learned about iPod history and philosophy.  Did he perceive that the segment which bears his name and promises the contents of his mind had escaped his grasp? If he did, what was his reaction to that? 

All right, all right, I know -- it is kind of ridiculous, and even unfair, to take ten minutes of broadcasting and put it under a scanning electron microscope like this.  But I thought it was a perfect miniature of the biggest complaint this site hears from P1's about Corby (next to his musical tastes).  

And it illustrates the point that I think must, in fairness, be made:  This is not just a Corby issue -- it's a Mike issue, too. 

Theater of the Mind:  Try to imagine a segment called "What's on Bob's Mind?"  Imagine Bob beginning to talk about some topic that had attracted his interest lately.  Imagine Dan jumping in about two sentences into it and talking nonstop.  What would Bob's reaction be?  I'm guessing it would not be silent acquiescence (although I am always willing to be corrected on BaD etiquette by their many Confessor fans). 

Corby's two-segment contribution on iPods didn't wreck the show -- I'm not even sure it wrecked the "Mike's Mind."   I listened; I heard nothing that made me want to punch out.  It was perfectly good content.  But it wasn't what was on Mike's mind, and it did strike me as a real-time illustration of how (1) The Hardline (which, to my ears, has been very sharp since drydock mainly owing to Mike's increased participation) can sometimes lose its balance, and (2) it s not really a Corby issue -- it's a show issue. 

==============

I would ask commenting Confessors to maintain their equanimity in commenting on this STD.  (Christy -- you have your usual license to comment off-topic.)   Corby is one of the tallest lightning rods of The Ticket -- but please be respectful in your remarks.  The Hardline isn't the only enterprise that benefits from balance.  Many thanks. 

Why Haven't Brian Wilson and Mike Love Sued . . .

.  .  .  Lute Riley Honda?  The jingle on the Lute Riley Honda ad is a direct copy of "Help Me, Rhonda."

By the way -- "Help Me, Rhonda" was the first Beach Boys song with Al Jardine on lead vocal.

Sorry for the not-very-Tickety post.

Let the Call go Forth

First, thanks to the Nation for filling in wint some good observations for the last few deays.

Second, a thought:

I've been listening since around mid 2004 but I still miss a lot of the inside references.  There are surely thousands of older and especially newer listeners who have questions about some of the bits, drops, references, gags, bits.  I've run articles where I ask my qauetsions, and someone always has an answer.  Sometimes we hear from insiders like Grubes who fill us in.

I've got a little list going for a new article, but why should I haves all the fun?

Not Christy

 So if you have a question about The Ticket's legends, myths, any inside stuff, drop me a private line and I"ll collect them and we'll get some of these things straightened out.

The email address is:  theplainsman1310@gmail.com.  Got a question?  Let me hear from you.

(And even if you don't have a question, if you have something you'd like to pass along that you don't want to put in a comment, feel free to contact me in this way.  Remember, however, that much as I would like to have a vigorous email back-and-forth with any of you via email, time just won't permit it in most cases.  It's why I don't do Facebook or Twitter for this site.  Thanks for understanding, and get those questions ready.) 

Let's Try This

I'll be out of town for a few days and won't hear the shows or be able to post much of anything.  I invite Confessors to get a chain of STDs going and I'll try to check in from time to time to direct traffic if need be.

For example, how are the Edmonton BaD shows going?

Will be back in a few with some new blast or other.

Thanks to all.

I Don't Know Whether to be Amused, or Terrified, or Thrilled

Theater of the Mind. 

Suspend disbelief for a few minutes, Confessors.

===========

It's three, probably more like four years into the future.

The United States -- indeed, the world -- is in grave danger.

The US is beset by enemies on all sides.  Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have fallen to radical Islamists.  They are on the verge of declaring war against Israel, which would trigger the Israeli-US joint defense pact and draw us into a new world war.

al-Qaeda has enormous influence on the most radical elements in the Islamist governments in the Persian Gulf.  It has reached the point where Osama bin Laden has assumed operatinoal control of the overall conduct of anti-Western political operations.  The decision for war, or no war, is in his hands.

However, a secret US "black operations" unit within the CIA has penetrated one of the Bedouin tribes close to the al-Qaeda leadership.   The undercover operatives know bin Laden's location.  They have operational control of a Navy SEAL team that is prepared to breach al-Qaeda headquarters, at which time the black ops team will follow them in to provide critical armed tactical support.  Their aim:  to extract bin Laden to a secure Allied location.   At a crucial moment, the US team will call in air support and surgical naval bombardment.  If the operation is successful, it will achieve something no US unit has been able to accomplish since September 11, 2001, and, more important, end the threat of imminent war.

The security of the free world depends on the success of the US black ops penetration and extraction.

The black ops team is ready to pull the trigger.  They've been preparing this for months. 

It's T minus 30 seconds.

The tension is a physical thing, you can feel it on your skin.

So why do I not know whether to be amused, or terrified, or thriilled?

Because the US black ops team is made up entirely of formerly unemployed P1's who have answered those CIA ads now running on The Ticket.

===========================

OK, I've had my fun. 

Here's what I really think:

P1's, I can think of nothing more terrific than answering those ads and entering into the service -- probably pretty dangerous service -- to the United States of America.  Matters not whether you are currently between opportunities or already have a job.  I have to admit -- those ads sound pretty cool.  I have never served my country (so far) and it's one of the chief regrets of my life to date.  I hope some of you hear something in those ads that strikes a spark and that you check it out.  Let us know how it works out -- only if it's not classified, of course.  And be careful; after all, my little story aside, the world is a dangerous place.

Confessors: Report

Need a hand here, loyal and loquacious Confessor Nation.

I liked Ben and Skin on Saturdays on The Ticket.  Oh, sure, I'd bang my head on the steering wheel when they'd get into one of their endless self-referential hyper-irony loops.   And the problem of hosts sounding too much alike I came to call Ben-and-Skin Disease.  But their show was pretty good, they were smart and could be funny and they knew their sports-stuff, I thought.  The show had a very different sound which I found appealing (when I wasn't steering-wheel-banging-of-head).  I was sorry when they moved on.  I regret to say I have never heard one of their ESPN broadcasts.

(Also, I liked the little girl singing "Ben and Skin" to "My Darling Clementine," and the "Ben and Skin Show" guy doing that overdubbed lower-register vamp.)

I always thought Bob Ortegel was OK, whenever I was able to catch the Mavs.  But the fact is that Mrs. Plainsman is not interested in the Mavs and my evenings are usually spent on domestic interactions that do not allow even radio Mavs listening. 

So I have heard absolutely zero broadcasts with Mr. Followill and Mr. Ortegel and Mr. Skin.  (No, not that Mr. Skin.)

I thought that The Hardline today was particularly good on the departure of Mr. O from the Mavs' broadcasts.  They were complimentary to Ortegel's many years of good service.  They were also quite gracious to Skin, I thought.   They could have been snotty about Skin, a Ticket refugee and current competitor, but they weren't.   In fact, in general, they thought the Skin/Ortegel color combo was working OK.    (And, later, they were  complimentary to former-colleague-and-current competitor Big Dick Hunter in his speaking-truth-to-power address to the Mayor and City Council about the Vick key-to-city disaster.)   It was another good Hardline day.

Here's my request to the Nation:  Did anyone out there listen to the Followill/Ortegel/Skin broadcasts?   What was your reaction to the whole thing?  I'd be grateful for your report.

==================

Also:  I found it interesting that RJ Choppy -- Greggo the Hammer Williams's former broadcast partner -- emailed in during the discussion of Corby's invite to the Mav's game.   Obviously, Choppy was listening to The Ticket, not to his former pard.  (Who had let Choppy down, of course, with his claimed mismanagement of what must have been massive prescription meds.)

The Rage of Mike Rhyner

I haven't rambled in awhile.  On this Super Bowl Sunday, I find myself with some time on my hands.  Always a dangerous thing.  So I'm going to ramble a bit.

One of the reasons I started this site was because I was worried about the Hardline.  That was back in mid-2009.

Most Confessors know the recent history of the Hardline -- years of toil, growing success, spectacular success, Greg Williams's departure, flirtation with some plus-ones, settling into simply doing without Greggo -- and continued spectacular success.

Recently, The Hardline and BaD have faced a new competitive threat in the form of a revived 105.3 The Fan.   Both competitors feature former Ticket guys, including Greggo against The Hardline, the show starting an hour earlier than Mike and Corby hit the air.  There are Confessors out there who follow the ratings more closely than I do, and I'm hopeful we can have a report later in 2011  My own feeling is that any ratings comparison is going to be meaningless until at least 6-9 months out, since some listeners will switch out of curiosity for awhile but eventually wander back.  It will take awhile before any meaningful trend may be discerned.  And, as various Confessors have noted, the holiday/drydock ratings are probably not very meaningful.

More than most of the showgrams, it seems to me, a "wave theory" may be applied to The Hardline.  It goes through cycles where it's sharp, followed by a period of time when it seems to descend into a kind of funk.

Galvanic skin responses of a group of 20 Confessors listening to
The Hardline over a four-year period.

The period following Greg's departure was good.  In those months the show was still finding its way but it was solid, dramatic radio as we all tuned in to see if and how they would sustain the high-wire act.  As it turned out, they sustained it pretty well.  The increased role of Danny Balis was a very positive development, and the show was funny and sharp.

To my highly-subjective ears, the graph headed south around mid-to-late 2009.   I started this site in June.  The issue, for me, was one of balance. 

I wrote about my concerns in a five-part series one year ago this month.  I identified a number of issues, but chief among them was balance.   The Corby/Danny axis was overwhelming Mike, and good as those guys are, it was too much juvenalia.  (By the way:  That series concluded not-very-presciently with the radical suggestion that Mike Bacsik should join the showgram -- it's hard for Mrs. Plainsman to keep my crystal ball clean in a sod house.)

Ironically, by the time those articles appeared, I thought that The Hardline was actually on an upswing and through, oh, summer 2010 I thought The Hardline had returned to form.  I had my usual issues with vulgarity but those are largely personal; most of the Confessor Nation does not find even the raunchiest Hardline material very troublesome.  That aside, however, I thought things were going pretty well.

Come fall, however, I thought the showgram once again seemed to run out of gas.  Whenever I get that feeling, I ask myself whether it's just me needing a change, or if there really is a difference in the show.  One of the interesting things about doing this site is that as it has gained readers and I hear from them, is that I can compare my own impression to theirs.  Since this site discourages what I call the Corby Sux School of Ticket Journalism, Confessors weigh in with thoughtful views on the showgram and have proven to be an excellent reality check for my own listening.   As it turns out, I got the same feeling from the Nation -- lots of Corby, Mike checked out.

I found this odd because with the Rangers in the World Series, one would think that Mike would be energized and engaged.  He was -- about the Rangers, and during playoff/World Series time.  But that temporary enthusiasm did not seem to pay off for the show as a whole.  The New York City trip, for example, never really got off the ground for some reason.

So in the latter part of 2010.  I found myself punching out more, exasperated at the OverCorby, wondering what was on Mike's mind after 4 PM since he himself so rarely reported on it, awkward real-time show prep, the usual Hardline struggles.  Of course, by that time the Richie and Greggo Extravaganza had hit the air, so I sampled that from time to time (and, in general, found it wanting but with the occasional bright spot). 

Then came drydock.  I was pretty sure people were tired of reading about the same old Hardline issues so didn't quite know what, if anything, I was going say about it.

As it turns out, it was unnecessary.  To my ear The Hardline has been very good since the New Year.  A couple of Confessors have also noted that recent showgrams have been better.

The reason is not hard to discern.  As Mike Rhyner goes, so goes The Hardline.

Other than the occasional amusing cutting reference, The Hardline appears to have made no formal or structural response to RaGE at all.  That is, the showgram itself hasn't changed its personnel, segment organization, bits.  Wait, they restored the Trifecta, but that's about it.   (Confessor Anonymous B has perceptively asked whether this is a response to RaGE's "Dead and Gone" segment.  Quite possible, I would think.)  Good.  There's no reason to show concern over RaGE at this point by any kind of obvious tinkering with the showgram, and more important, it'd be dangerous to mess with a successful formula absent evidence that it had lost its punch.

But more to the point -- over the long haul, the success of The Ticket showgrams isn't driven by bits anyway.   It's driven by the desire of listeners to spend time with the personalities that the hosts project on the air.  When Confessors complain about The Ticket, it has rarely to do with content -- it has to do with liking or not liking the performance, personality, dedication, attitude of a particular host.

Mike Rhyner, in addition to being the driving on-air force behind The Ticket's founding, is its most distinctive voice, its guiding spirit, and, not coincidentally, a hypnotic radio presence, a font of aural charisma the likes of which is not to be found elsewhere in Dallas radio.  When he is serious about what he is doing, he absolutely commands the listener to keep his fracking mitts off the presets.

Lately, I've been hearing some of the Mike Rhyner that guided me to The Ticket in 2004.  I don't know if it's the new competition.  Wouldn't stun me if Hammer's presence up the dial had something to do with it, but dunno.   I can tell you that the first time I really sat up and took notice was a segment right after drydock when Mike was positively shouting into the mic, his voice a good register higher than normal, about his newly-found and freely-confessed man-love for the most unique-looking Blake Griffin.  We heard it again when he was recounting his personal encounter with Griffin at a booster luncheon.   (I've named Mike's revived passion "Racially Ambiguous Griffin Ecstasy" -- RAGE.) 

Whatever it is, we've heard more Mike lately.  You could see it on the Webcam.  Previous Webcam presentations have showed Mike looking about as uninterested as he sounded.  There on Radio Row, however, he was animated, sitting up, head always in motion, gesturing with arms and hands, always keen on what was being talked about.  And would the Nation agree with me that those shows this past week were pretty good?   Would you agree that they've been better since drydock than in the couple-three months before?

Notice that I've said nothing about Corby or Danny.   Got no problem with them at all.  (Or Ty, or That Nice Young Michael Gruber, for that matter.)   But the past few weeks have confirmed, for Your Plainsman, at least, that The Hardline rises and falls with the attitude and interest of Mike Rhyner.  Lately the showgram has once again attracted his attention, and life in DFW is the better for it.

WEBCAM QUICK HIT: Are You Digging Those Comments Running to the Right of the Webcam Pitcher?

One of the reasons I started this site.

TEAMBUILDING DINNER QUICK HIT: Is MTC on the Hate List?

The Hardline was discussing the "teambuilding dinner" held at Perry's last evening.  They mentioned that one of the topics on the table was their "hate list" of non-Ticket-Friendly entities, which, they said, included all media and Tom Gribble.

I hope that this site, to the best of Your Plainsman's knowledge the sole source for responsible Ticket journalism (including our eloquent Confessor commenters) and a stout defender of 95% of all things Ticket, was left off.

WEBCAM QUICK HIT: My Lord, with Corby's Hair Long, Parted in the Middle, and Smashed Down on His Head with the Headphones . . .

.  .  .  he DOES look like Ruth Buzzi!

Sorry, I don't know how to snag images off the webcam.  If anyone does and can grab one of Corby, pass it along and I'll copy it in here, with thanks.

Or, if anyone has any pictures of Corby looking like Ruth Buzzi.

PS:  Confessor triplespluscv  (many thanks!)  was kind enough to snag an image of Corby that gives you a bit of a flavor.  The head-on shot would show Corby's very nice part in the middle, which adds to the Buzziness of the look:

A Rare Bob and Dan Post -- or, Get Ready, Christy

I have a 100% sincere question directed to listeners of the Bob and Dan show.  I was going to say "fans" of BaD, but I assume if you listen that you like the showgram.

The Confessor Nation is aware that I don't get to listen as often as I'd like, but today I did have occasion to be in my car around 2:30 so I tuned in.

Just in time, it turned out, for a big fracas between Bob and Dan.

I'm not taking sides here.  I just have two questions and I need to set it up as neutrally as I can.

I'm sure I"m not going to get this quite right, but it had to do with certain long-retired athletes being in good shape.  They had just concluded an interview with former Packer Donny Anderson.  Bob was going to make a point about -- I thought it was Roger Staubach, but maybe it was Herschel Walker.  He'd only gotten a few words out of his mouth when Dan interrupted.  I don't know whether Dan was correcting something, or teasing Bob for a misstatement, or what.

Bob took great offense, called Dan a jerk, there was some considerable back and forth, and Bob refused to finish his point.  Eventually they moved on, but I sensed that there was continuing discomfort.  Christy's comment to the last post suggests that she noticed some interesting facial expressions on the webcam.  After awhile, Dan brought the conversation back to the topic and apologized to his "best friend," and Bob was finally cajoled into finishing his point.

As I say -- I don't know if Dan was being a jerk, or Bob was being touchier than usual.  No position on Bob v. Dan.

Here are my questions for the BaD connoisseur as I continue my course of instruction in BaD Radio:

(1) Does this happen often?  When I was doing my BaD series way back when, I got the impression that there might be more, and more intense, on-air internecine squabbling on that show than on some of the others.

(2) Is this one of the things that BaD fans like about the show?  Should I be learning to savor these encounters?