A Question for Our Radio Guys

+     +     +

No, this is not the STD.

We're all aware that the CTO have issued one of their periodic, and ultimately ignored, edicts about getting to scheduled breaks on time.  I've always been mildly puzzled as to why this is such a gigantic deal, although I guess if a sponsor has paid to have its ad played at a certain time in a certain hour, some effort should be made to do that.

The other day, something occurred to me.

During a Hardline ad break, I switched to RaGE.  Ads.

Flipped on down to Galloway and Co.  Ads.

Your Plainsman Searching for Sportsy-Talk Goodness at the Sod House

Which made me wonder whether The Ticket wants their ads on time so that people who are inclined to wander the dial aren't going to find anything because the competition also schedules their ads for this time.

There's a big flaw in this reasoning, in that The Fan and ESPN would not have a strong incentive to keep themselves on time, because it is in their interest to have broadcast content going on while the P1 is channel-hopping.  Maybe it's just that those stations are better at keeping to their ad schedule, and The Ticket is aping what they know the competition's schedule to be.

I suppose another possibility is that The Hardline (in particular -- it seems to be the worst offender, if offense it be) is so casual that if some discipline were not imposed, they'd end up having to scrunch segments into itty bitty intervals at the end of the hour to get all those hour's ads in.

In any event, maybe someone out there can tell us why it is so critical to "be on time" with breaks.

+     +     +

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Hey, Junior, I Liked Your "Profar, So Good" Pun

Heck, I even liked your Mitzi Gaynor pun.  ("Did she invent the half, or the full?")

Mitzi Gaynor, back in the day

Your Profar pun reminds me of one of my favorites.  Noel Coward had appeared with Keir Dullea in a 1965 Otto Preminger film, "Bunny Lake Is Missing."  When asked for his opinion about the up-and-comer, who would go on to star in "2001:  A Space Odyssey" three years later, he remarked: 

"Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow."

No, this is not the sizzling STD I mentioned in the last comment.

Musers Quick Hit

+     +     +

From this morning's Muser showgram:

GORDON:  I was on "It's Just Banter" recently  .  .  .

JEREMY [under his breath but clearly audible]:  Why?

FERNANDO:  [Explosive cackle.]

SOMEBODY:  Be nice, Jer.

Ah, Ticket politics.  We try to read the clues on who are pals and who are not, who's just teasing and who's not.  

It's been awhile since any Confessor has mentioned IJB.  I got the impression that most readers liked the podcasts.  Those gents still turning out quality stuff?

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Oh. My. Frackin'. Gawd.

This may not be worth a separate post, but twelve hours later, I'm still shaking my head.

Last evening I saw the most appalling few seconds of video it has ever been my misfortune to view.

Can you guess what it is?

You got it on the first try!

It's the "Chariots of Fire" advertisement for RaGE.

Richie, Greg, Sybil, Armen, and a guy or two I don't know, running around on a football field and crashing into one another with the "Chariots of Fire" theme playing in the background.

The distance shots are in slow motion and quickly cut away from.  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

The close-up shots are also slow motion and quickly cut away from.  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

The running and crashing-into-each-other shots are shot so  .  .  .  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

It's around 20 seconds and they cut away so frequently that  .  .  .  You can't really fix on anyone's face.

So the point of doing a visual ad thing for a personality-based program is  .  .  .  ?

Let's play Fun with Adjectives:  amateurish, ineffective, embarrassing, ill-conceived, irrelevant, cheap-looking, thrown-together, desperate.

There is only one part of RaGE I would want to embrace, and they didn't even manage to employ her charms to advantage.

They decide to do a TV spot, and this is the best they can do.  Fake enthusiasm, fake camaraderie, and no indication of what these running-and-jumping-and-crashing people actually do.

Don't believe me?

Jaw-Dropping RaGE Ad

It's over.  It's got to be over.

OPEN THREAD: Fight Night

+     +     +

 

I thought I was going to be able to hear most of Fight Night, but I only heard bits and pieces over the course of the evening as I drove from meeting to meeting.  Since I'm on record as not being a big fan of the event, and since I didn't hear it from beginning to end, I'll relegate myself to the comments.

 

Now this is supposed to be the most popular Ticket event, so let's hear from people who had a good time and enjoyed it, either live or broadcast.  Come on now, you gotta be out there, thousands of you went to the thing.

 



August 22, 2012

+     +     +

 

I liked Gordon's "Five on Five" segment on the Observation Deck this morning.  Punchy, funny, fast-moving, interesting.  Or maybe it was "Five for Five," I forget.  Either way, I liked it.

 

+     +     +

 

I cannot believe that Capital One is bringing back that incredibly odious "I'm calling everyone in America" ads to insult our intelligence.  Why anyone would want to move their money to an organization that would even pretend to employ an asshole of this galactic lack of appeal is a mystery.  Who engages in an activity -- cold-calling citizens to annoy them with some kind of unwanted sales pitch -- universally loathed by consumers. 

 

If you have your assets with Capital One, please move them elsewhere.

 



+     +     +

 

I'm a wimp.  I'm a weenie.  You can call me names if you do so nicely.

 

I don't like Fight Night.

 

I've written about it a couple of times, once really early when I had zero readers, but more recently and comprehensively here:  WEENIE ALERT.

 

If you don't want to click back, my basic point is that disaster is just around the corner.  I don't care about headgear, short rounds, the other "safety" features, it would only take one awkward punch or fall to paralyze or kill someone.  True, true, it hasn't happened in all the years they've been doing this, but their fighters are getting bigger and stronger.  It isn't the liability concern -- I'm sure the fighters have signed releases and The Ticket is insured for this.  It's the PR hit to the station if someone really buys it.

 

That piece is outdated in one respect.  Since then I recall satisfying myself that The Ticket had covered the regulatory legalities.  But in general I still feel the same way. 

 

There is one good thing about Fight Night:  It gives hosts who aren't fond of one another a highly-charged forum in which to interact awkwardly.

 

So I'll be listening, but I'll be disapproving.

 

+     +     +

 

On further reflection, Michael Krenek's departure signals the End of The Ticket.  

 



[Hit the Sounder] BREAKING NEWS: Michael Krenek Moving On

I did not hear this, but can only assume it was announced during The Orphanage.  [CORRECTION:  Confessor advises it was at the top of Cirque.]    A commenter to the previous post posted this:

Another employee leaves for greener pastures. Well, it wasn't too hard to see that one coming. Not just for Krenek, but for anyone up there who wants a career that doesn't consist of forever being a scrub, or a jver at best. The cool thing is that Krenek, like a few others, has used The Ticket as a springboard to hopefully a nice career as a host in sports radio or even tv or whathaveyounot. Good on Krenek. He did it by letting the game come to him, having (and I'm sure practicing) good chops and sports knowledge/points, and by being a team player. Unlike some of the fellows up there, Krenek gets how to do these things, and more crucially, the importance of them. Congrats, Krenek, and I'll be listening in via the miracle of the internet as often as possible.

If it turns out I've been had, I'll take this down, but thought I would get it up for those swimming by.  I have no additional information at this time.  [CORRECTION:  He is taking a job at a station in Grand Junction, Colorado -- on air and available via Internet.]

I'm hopeful Krenek will drop by and fill us in on some details, as he has been known to visit and sling a comment from time to time.

Always thought Krenek was one of the solid performers up there, good sense of humor, but wasn't the type to drop in uninvited.  Truly wish him the best.

Previous post has only been up since last night, so check it out if you haven't been by since then.:

The Song of Tyrone

The Song of Tyrone

+     +     +

On Wednesday, I heard the Musers' beachside interview of drifter/homeless/panhandler Tyrone.  You can hear it here on the Incomparable UnTicket.  Its riches are hard to describe, it must be heard.

I am conflicted about things like this.

By "things like this," I mean (mostly) Gordon and Corby interviewing people who are -- how can I put it?   These interview subjects are not all the same.  Some are just less fortunate.   Some are afflicted.  Some are addicted.  Some are  of well below average intelligence.  Some have a poor grasp of English.  None of them has asked to have his or her words broadcast to the metro and disseminated worldwide online.

So part of me doesn't like the ambush wireless mic/recorder interviews of the drunk black man or the thickwit white girl.  

But I gotta tell you:  On Wednesday morning, the other part of me just about drove off the road laughing at Tyrone's rap about drinking, his teeth (or absence of), and, of course, women: his preferences and an unexpectedly bitter conclusion to one particular encounter.

There was melancholy, too -- a four-year-old daughter he has never seen.

So I'm conflicted.  Not sure where to land on this one.   Unfortunate, unwell, and inarticulate people are out there.  A lot of us never encounter them.  A lot of us would prefer not to know they exist.  I'm not saying that Gordon/Corby are performing a public service, but I am saying that it's not necessarily unfair to target people who look like they might provide a unique interview experience.  (Now in this case, of course, Tyrone approached them for a handout, which he eventually got, so they didn't necessarily seek him out.)

I'd prefer, though, that they not be antagonized, subtly ridiculed, and badgered with schtick.  That happens, and it's cringe-inducing when it does.   But that didn't really happen in the Tyrone interview (we'll put aside Gordon's serial attempts to get him to sing, which he finally abandoned), so maybe that's why I'm not feeling all that hostile toward the exploitation of the inarticulate as I write this Friday evening.

Or maybe it's because it was hilarious.

Happy Birthday, Mike R

On this day in 1948, Babe Ruth died.

Two years later to the day, Baseball Jesus was born.

A respectful happy birthday to the rock upon which Dallas sports radio is built.

A Quick Thought on Originality and Corby

My time and ability to be by the station has been limited lately.  Sorry that new posts have been few and far between.  Hoping that will ease soon.

The prior batch of comments contains some interesting reports on Fan filching of Ticket bits, some of them of long-standing and not even that frequently heard on the station any longer.

I thought of this when I was able to catch about an hour of The Hardline today.  I heard Corby's new bit, Bad Follow-Up Question Guy.  (I don't have that quite right -- it wasn't "Bad," was it?  Someone here will remember.  Yeah, maybe it was.)  He was interviewing a Cowboy hopeful, a second-year guy, I think, whose name I did not catch.  Corby was doing a legitimate interview, the guy was responsive and cooperative, but after every response, Corby would throw in a complete non-sequitur, sometimes a random remark, sometimes a question, would pause for a moment, and then would go on to a legitimate question.  The guy eventually caught on and chuckled some at what he probably figured out was a bit.

I'm not a big fan of Ticket ambush interviews, but I gotta say that I laughed at this.  Corby's non-sequiturs were masterful, and delivered with just the right offhanded lack of emphasis.

This made me think about the comments we had on RaGE swiping old Ticket bits.

Corby came up with a successful original bit.  Why can't RaGE?

This got me thinking about whether Greggo or anyone on RaGE could even have performed that bit if it had been given to them.  I don't think so.  Oh, they could have tried it, but it would have fallen completely flat.

Why?  Because of Corby's unique talent for manufactured sincerity.   He gets his share and more of ballbusting by readers here, some of it accurate (although sometimes overheated, in Your Plainsman's view), but this is a true gift, and I don't intend this opinion as damning with faint praise.  It's what makes him the best interviewer on The Ticket.   Who else on Dallas sports radio could have drawn superstars like Shaq or impossible interviews like Parcells into some really great radio?

I hadn't intended this entry as a celebration of Corby, although I'm always glad to be positive about The Little One.  My point started out to be that it isn't just bad decisionmaking that keeps The Fan down -- it's a major talent gap.   I've said it, we've all said it in one way or another:  In the words of an early commenter on this site, The Ticket is lightning in a bottle.  Whether the assembly of the host lineups throughout the day was brilliant on the part of the station's founders and early managers or merely fortuitous, we should enjoy the hell out of it while we can.

*     *     *

I'll try to catch The Train Station Fitness Show tomorrow to see if George Di addresses last week's much-remarked-on interaction with his somewhat addled guest.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

More George DiGianni Talk

+     +     +

If you follow the comments, you will know that in response to the prior post a Confessor called attention to George DiGianni's apparently rather shabby treatment of an elderly guest on his Train Station Fitness Show yesterday morning.   Check it out HERE. I was surprised at the commentary about George this called forth, so I thought I'd make it a topic.  One of the comments reports that a bird told him that this thread has received some attention from Ticket luminaries.

Yes, this is probably the most ink George DiGianni has had under any name. I'd be surprised if it doesn't drive his listenership up by a dozen or so souls for the next week or so, as this site's massive audience tunes in to see what all the fuss is about.

I have been listening to The Train Station Fitness show for quite awhile. The foregoing comments are accurate. I am not knowledgable about fitness matters, but I am skeptical of much of the supplement-based, anti-med-establishment advice the show offers, as well as the rather extreme dietary proscriptions. And yep, George can be a bully.

Let me throw out some positive things:

(1) He keeps his show on-topic. And when I say that I mean not only does he try to guide his guests to emphasize the announced theme for the show, but he also does not over-promote his own services. He mentions them, but the Train Station Fitness Show is not an infomercial. By its own lights, it is substantive and informative.

(2) He has helped Bob Sturm become less doughy many, many times (including presently, I think), and I believe that other Ticket hosts, including (if I recall correctly) Craig Rosengarden and George Dunham, have used his services to good, if perhaps temporary effect.  (My unhappy thoughts on Bob's promos may be found HERE.) 

Mark Followill is something of a disciple and was George's guest a couple of weeks ago. He's kept up with most of George's advice (although George berated him for eating bananas during distance running events! -- too much sugar) since first consulting him. I'm sure that if you had the discipline to do what George says, you'd look and feel better. But man, he's tough on both diet and exercise.  I suppose that's what it takes.

(3) I once heard a guest on his show who I thought could benefit a friend of mine. I forgot the name and dropped George an email. He responded promptly and politely with her name and contact information.

(4) He played along perfectly with a Hardline prank on Michael Gruber, calling him to berate him for the stitched-together Train Station promos Grubes would put together.

So George is certainly a piece of work, a highly-disciplined and tightly-wound piece of work. He may be wrong on the science and medicine, but certainly if you don't mind shopping at -- well hell, I have no idea where you would buy the narrow range of unprocessed foods of which he approves -- and burst training, and, yes, some "supplements" now and then, and -- ewww -- a good thorough "cleansing," you would probably look and feel better. You'd be miserable, unless you were Mark Followill, but you'd look and feel better.   Despite his anti-med-establishment stance, you can't deny that less sugar, and more and proper exercise, will do you good.

And, as a couple of Confessors have noted, it's pretty interesting local-sourced radio first thing on the weekend.

George, since you've taken it in the shorts here, let me at least steer people to your websites:

http://georgedejohn.org/

http://21daybodymakeover.com/

We should at least tune in next week to see if he addresses the granny incident.  And to see if Bob Sturm finally gets cleansed.

MTC Congratulates the Teebox

+     +     +

I'm not a golfer but I've always gotten a kick out of the Teebox.  Not just in anticipation of a Craig Rosengarden malapropism; it's a cool listen at work on Saturday mornings, 8 to 10.  Craig and Rick Arnett, a Ticket pioneer, have a nice easy manner, and like Rich Phillips and NASCAR, because of the skill of the broadcasters I find myself listening with some interest to talk about a subject I care nothing about.

However, this site has on several occasions noted that Teebox remotes were the worst-sounding show on The Ticket.  I won't repeat the detail, but the sound on their remotes was gargly and gravelly and hard to listen to.  Here are some early reports:

The Teebox Sounds Absolutely Terrible This Morning

Once Again, the Teebox Seems to be Broadcasting from Pluto

It never got any better, and I eventually quit mentioning it. 

The other day I thought I heard Rick say that they'd gotten some new equipment for their remotes.  I tuned in last week and my impression was that someone needed to get his money back, there was still a hedgehog in the gear somewhere.  But this morning they're broadcasting from a Park Place dealership in Fort Worth and it sounds great, studio quality.  So they must have gotten the toys installed.

It didn't seem right that they'd be so handicapped in their mix'n'mingle with George DiGianni.  Aurally, at least, they can now hold their own with him and The Orphanage.  Congratulations to them.

Quick Ratings Question for Knowledgeable Confessors

We've taken a passing interest in the on-air postings for positions with Cumulus and the stations.  There's the chief engineer slot, and they're also looking for an IT guy, sounds like.  Both sorely needed. 

We hear the Ticket guys griping about Cumulus corporate practices, and we've observed some ourselves, so it's amusing to hear these ads talking about what a fabulous place Cumulus is to work.  Maybe it is, but the contrast between recent events and the bubbly self-promotion of the ads is amusing.

Lately, we've heard i93 trolling for sales guys on The Ticket.  My question is this:  The ads state that i93 is the "third-most listened-to" station in DFW.  When I go to this site

http://www.radio-info.com/markets/dallas-ft-worth

I see a listing of stations with an "AQH%", but those rankings don't match up with the "cume" numbers, which I assume represents listeners.  Based on the cume numbers, KLIF- FM does indeed appear to be the third-most listened-to station, although down in the listings.

In fact, i93's "cume" is about triple The Ticket's.

Now, we all know that the 25-54 male demographic is the most desirable, and Thc Ticket rules there.  My question for a radio guy is:  how should we read these tables?  What is the relationship between the AQH% (and what is it?) and the "cume," and what is their relative importance to advertisers?  Why does The Ticket appear so far down on this list, if it is so dominant in the most significant demo?

Thanks in advance.

And the Winner, Based on a Small Sample Size and Highly Subjective Taste, Is . . .

+     +     +

This site has remarked a couple of times on the frenetic George/Gordon Raising Cain's ads.  I think I heard them say that their promotional visit to the opening of the latest Raising Cain's resulted in the biggest one-day sales at an RC store, something like that.

In the comments to my post on Raising Cain's and chicken generally, Confessors weighed in on their local favorites.  My dark-horse favorite was regional chain Golden Chick.

But the biggest Ticket-fried-chicken-related shot was the multi-segment celebration by Danny and Dave on the Orphanage last Saturday on the greatness of regional chain Chicken Express.  I wasn't the only one who wondered whether this was going to cause a problem with the Raising Cain's folks, who must have poured a fortune into the George/Gordon spots and promotional appearances.  Danny acknowledged he'd received cautionary communications from P1's but brushed them off, advising that RC was a "Muser" sponsor.

I have now recently visited both a Golden Chick and a Chicken Express in the Cool Metro.

Chicken Express wins on:

     --  Overall store appearance, inside and out.
     --  Menu variety and layout.
     --  Cleanliness.
     --  Staff friendliness and efficiency.
     --  Store accessibility (more and better DFW-area locations)

Golden Chick wins on:

     --  Chicken.

Sorry, Danny and Dave.  The Chicken Express chicken was good, but the chicken pieces were not of the best quality (size and tenderness).  That would have been okay if the coating had distinguished itself, but it was thin and somewhat limp.  It tasted all right, but it did not have the heartiness and crispiness of Golden Chick, and the thighs (my preferred cut) were on the undernourished side. 

(I acknowledge that crispiness is not the be-all/end-all of great fried chicken.  KFC Original Recipe yields a positively soggy coating but its deliciousness makes up for it.)

I have learned that CE is opening a store on a thoroughfare I get to with some regularity, so I'm sure I'll be visiting again.  If the foregoing is unfair (again, no respectable critic would base a comparo on a single visit), I'll check back.

All topics open, as usual.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

OPEN THREAD: Oxnard and Elsewhere

I like it when a host runs into some luminary at one of the road trips.  Gordon's stories of encounters with Garrett and Jones were fun this morning.

But what's your impression of how The Ticket does overall on these junkets?   Now, maybe Norm and BaD have more vigorous news-scounting organizations, I don't know, and they're broadcasting during the active practice hours.  The Musers, of course, are broadcasting in the very wee hours on the West Coast, although I guess they've snagged Bill Callahan this morning.  The Hardline -- might as well be broadcasting in Thule, not that I mind.  No one listens to The Hardline for sports information, so who cares if Danny isn't badgering Caleb McSurdy for an interview?

When I was listening to the post-Jerry round tables yesterday, I couldn't figure out why Norm's sound was so bad -- I assumed he was on a telephone feed.  I'm sure it takes a heroic engineering effort to get the station going halfway across the country at all.  Killer got some bouquets on The Musers this morning, which he doubtless deserves, from the looks of things.

Overall, I don't get the impression that these trips do much to enhance either the hosts' insight into the team, or ours.  Don't misunderstand me:  Got nothing against the junket.  Maybe the station uses it as some kind of a fringe-benefit team-building thing -- these guys seem to have a helluva time out there unrelated to coverage of camp, and that can kick up a fun story or two.  And, as noted, there's the odd interview here and there that you wouldn't get if you were back in DFW.  There's also the PR aspect -- just to be able crank out some promos to say that you're going/you're there/you went.

On the merits, though, I've never thought the the traveling added much to the sportsy aspect of the presentations themselves, compared to with how much this must cost.  Had this feeling with the Super Bowl and World Series junkets as well.

As always, thread is open for all topics.

Ladies and Gentlemen: George DiGianni

+   +   +

FKA George DeJohn, Inventor of the

21-Day Full Body Cleanse,

Currently Being Experienced by Bob Sturm

for the Ninth or Tenth Time



Open Thread: "Ethnic" Sports Talk

+    +    +

There have been some interesting comments in the prior thread about ESPN's pairing (unclear whether this is temporary or permanent) of Jean-Jacques Taylor and Nate Newton.  One Confessor confesses that he is having a hard time making out what they're saying.  Others hearken back to earlier black sports-talk voices, mostly positive recollections.  That was before my time.

Awhile back, I speculated on who would create the "First Black Ticket."  I heard Coop/Nate a week or so ago and while I was unimpressed with the content, I didn't have any particular difficulty understanding Nate.  I can see, however, that if a coupla brothers got together to broadcast, the patois might take a decidedly more, shall we say, ethnically distinctive turn that we pasties might find difficult to make out.

I'm not an affirmative-action guy by any means, but I support experiments like JJT/NN, if that's what it is.  Local competition for The Ticket isn't succeeding with what it's slinging out there, so why not try something a little spicier? 

I went back and read my "First Black Ticket" piece and thought it held up OK.  There were some excellent comments there that I commend to you as well.  Don't have any further Great Thoughts on it, but thought I'd throw it out there since the JJT/NN pairing has caught folks' attention.

July 23, 2012

+     +     +

What's up, Ticket Tribute Guy?  (Link:  The Ticket Tribute)

*     *     *

WARNING -- Marginal Tickety Post: My Brush with Southwest Airline History

+     +     +

The only connection of this post to The Ticket is The Musers' immersion in all things Southwest Airlines today.  Just a brief encounter with the history of this great American company.

+     +     +

A few years ago, Mrs. P and I attended an evening function sponsored by my employer at the time.  We were seated at a  table with one of my employer's leaders.  His companion for the evening was a very attractive woman of indeterminate age -- maybe late fifties, early sixties, hard to tell.  She was beautifully dressed, and extremely gracious and charming.  A lovely southern lilt to her voice  We chatted briefly but non-memorably.  I had never seen her before -- or so I thought; I never learned her profession or affiliation; and I did not recognize her name.

But I thought:  OK -- this woman is someone.  There is something about her.  I'm not good with names, terrible, in fact, but I resolved to remember hers.  I told Mrs. P on the way home of my hunch that this woman was notable in some unusual way -- I thought perhaps she was a prominent local benefactress -- and that I was going to look her up on the electric computer internet.

I did so.

Her name is Sandra Force.

She was one of Southwest Airline's first 17 employees, a flight attendant.  Those employees, most of whom continued to work for Southwest well past their financial need to do so, did quite well, as The New York Times reported in 2006 in an article that prominently featured Ms. Force:   On Some Flights, Millionaires Serve the Drinks.

But that is not where she has been most prominently featured.  Remember the early days of Southwest, where  the FA's were dressed in hot pants or miniskirts and boots?  Did you like that outfit?  So did Esquire, especially on Ms. Force, who was featured on its February 1974 cover:

And there is my brush with Southwest Airlines history, and the charming Ms. Sandra Force.

July 17, 2012

7:24 a.m.:   Stream down.

Ticket computers down, at least in the period prior to The Musers' 5:30 start.  At 5:35, Junior referred to it as "sabotage."  A minute or two ago, they made reference to computers being down again.

Did yesterday's Muser invasion over Gordon's promo recording make yesterday's Top 10?

Now there's an echo from time to time.  Faint, but very audible in the replay of the Fake Jason Kidd interview.

Speaking of which:  Pretty savage Fake Jason Kidd, essentially accusing him of illiteracy. 

An Uninvited Guest Visits the Musers

+   +   +

Gone for a week.   No Ticket?  No problem! 

Not only a wheels-off moment, not only an all-time E-Brake (will be interesting to see if it makes the list on Friday), but a real no-kidding confrontation within the first half-hour of this morning's listening.

Of course, Gordon was at the heart of it.

I have not heard any promo where the Fake Jason Garrett (supposedly) retired but hope one of you will fill us in.    The Musers were talking about how the quality of the impersonation on the promo was not up to Gordo standards -- one P1 thought it was George.   [Wait, just heard it.  Yeah, it does sound a little like George.]

[Love, love, love the Fake Jason Garrett, but the first time I heard it, I thought -- this is genius, but where in the world can you go with a guy whose bit is that he's incredibly dull?  How many "well" jokes can Gordon make?   I don't know if Gordon felt the same way, but from the outset it was clear he wasn't crazy about this character, referring to it as the "first and only" appearance of the Fake Jason Garrett.  One other point on impersonations:  Muser impersonations are aided by being broadcast through a fake telephone line most of the time.  A "clean" recording of even the best impersonation is going to let more of the voice-actor's inflections and timbre leak through.]

As usual in the morning, I was getting ready for work and not paying the closest attention, but I gather that Gordon must have said something that was interpretable as critical of the promo-recording process.

The next thing I hear is someone talking about a "double bird" and someone identified as -- I'm not sure, could it have been "Mr. Doo" (I believe it was a black guy, but sure didn't sound like Donovan, although the precise identity of this guy was not clear)?  The guy must have been the recording engineer for that particular promo, and he was hot.  The Musers were clearly taken aback.  Gordon tried to banter with the guy, but he wasn't having any.  He said that if he'd told Gordon that the impersonation needed work Gordon would have bitten his head off.  (Gordon admitted this.)   Craig and George were yukking it up but man, it was tense.  At one point, Gordon told the guy that if he didn't like the impersonation, he should do it, whereupon Gordon did a black Fake-Jason-Garrett voice.  The guy's parting shot was to say that when Gordon came into the studio, "don't half-ass it."

Hope The UnTicket snags this.  It was chaos, everyone talking at once.  Pretty amazing and tense radio.

While Gordon is a favorite of this site, this does resonate with stuff we hear through The Ticket grapevine from time to time, which is that Gordon is not a favorite among the technical staff.  I have some sympathy for Gordon on this -- his is frequently a high-wire act.  It depends on timing, and everything needs to work and work the first time, and work well, and not get interrupted.  Wherever the merits fall on this particular dispute, this was one of those delicious Ticket pull-back-the-curtain events.

And the guy was probably sick of wrestling with the problems from the botched Victory move, and wasn't having any of Gordon this morning.

I'll be happy to be corrected on any of my recollections here, and would especially appreciate some confirmation of the identity of this courageous (or crazy) recording engineer, if that's what he was.

Still Gone

+     +     +

Just freshening up the thread, to ease scrolling anxiety.

OPEN THREAD -- More Tech Talk

OK, folks, I'm out for awhile with Mrs. Plainsman on vacay way far away.  Will not be listening to The Ticket.  I have an STD (Scorching Ticket Disquisition, for newcomers) in the hopper but it's not quite ripe yet.  Thought I'd at least get a fresh thread started so visitors wouldn't have to scroll through 50 comments.

While the out-and-out catastrophes seem to have abated for the time being, the station still sounds awful (I also have a budding  STD on that topic that needs a little more time on the vine) and there are still a lot of errors.  After a brief post-Jake-suspension period of silence, the on-air grumbling has returned.  

Commenters have noticed that Cumulus is looking for a new Chief Engineer for DFW.  I don't know enough about the hierarchy to know who this person would replace, or if it is a new position, or if it is for all the DFW Cumulus stations or fewer than all.  I was under the impression that the host-reviled Brett Blankenship was not a DFW guy but a little further upstairs at Cumulus.  On LinkedIn his title is "Market Engineering Manager, Tulsa, Oklahoma Area," but I dunno, maybe he's been posted here to supervise the bungled Victory rollout.  But I'm guessing he is not being replaced.  Anyone with a better idea, please weigh in.

Nothing to leave you with here except to get your impressions of station performance since the major meltdowns of a few weeks ago.

*     *     *

Not sure when I'll be returning, so I'll have to rely on you guys to switch gears in the comments if something comes up.  Will try to keep an eye on comments, but maybe not.   Carry on, and hope to see you down the road.

[One last note on the last thread:  Some commenters have recommended that I start screening comments.  It's not a bad idea and I'm thinking about it.  I don't do it for two reasons.  The less-important reason is that I don't have time.  The more-important reason is that it has come to pass that when something breaks ("literally" and figuratively) at the channel, this site gets swarmed and commenters have the news way before I do.  So (1) I am hoping the site can continue to be a source for breaking Ticket news, and (2) I don't want Confessors to be discouraged by having to wait until 9 p.m. to see their and their co-Confessors' comments.  Once-a-day review would also eliminate much of the entertaining and informative give-and-take that commenters provide by being able to respond to one another in real time.  For now, we'll risk the occasional inappropriate comment.]

Thank you for continuing to shop at My Ticket Confession.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail

  

OPEN THREAD: CBS Rumblings

As I mentioned, I was going to take a break, but this tidbit deserves its own thread.

See the following article brought to our attention by Anonoymous:

Boomer and Carton: Get Ready For Your Close-Up

The money quote, speaking of the Dallas market and 105.3 The Fan:

 "This is a market where both CBS and Cumulus own sports radio stations. It would basically be a coin flip between “The New School” on “The Fan” and the long-running “Musers” on KTCK/”1310 The Ticket” – though a scenario where the “Musers” would move to “The Fan” in favor of a “B&C” clearance on “The Ticket” is not out of the question."

According to hawk-eyed Confessor Shaggy, Mike Rhyner had the following reaction to this on his Facebook page, which I've confirmed:

"so you thought this cbs/cumulus alliance is a non-story, huh?...fight through this until you get to the salient point ( and when you do, you'll know it) and then see if you still are thinking that...a merger, probably later than sooner, is coming"

In considering the possibilities, please bear in mind the evidence currently before us on the strategic acumen of the CTO.


Wrecking the channel seems like a long way to go just to get rid of MTC.

*     *     *

Hope to be back in a couple.  Carry on.

A Note on Speculation

+     +     +

Some Confessors like the guessing games on this site.

Others find it annoying and even improper.  That's OK.  I don't mind the criticism, if expressed in tones conventionally disgusted.

I don't want to whine, but put yourself in my shoes for a moment.

This site had its third anniversary last Saturday.  That's 469 posts, counting this one.

Basically covering (1) the station as a whole (CTO, signal, internal politics), (2) The Musers, and (3) The Hardline.  There are posts about Norm but not a lot of them.  A few more about BaD but again, not a conspicuous feature of this site.  An occasional visit to other stations.

You know I'm not a Ticket insider, and you'd need a scanning electron microscope to find the inside information I've received from genuine insiders.

Which means that if I'm going to generate new material on this site more than once every couple of weeks or so, I've basically got two sources to draw on:  I can comment on stuff that I've heard, which is far from the majority of the broadcast day and only, on average, about half of The Musers and The Hardline.  The stuff I've heard you've heard too.  It can be fun to comment on that and get your reactions, but after awhile, let's face it, there's not a lot new out there.  You want another column about Hardline potty mouth?  I didn't think so.

Or I can listen real carefully when I do listen, and speculate about stuff that the Nation speculates about, and sometimes I come up with stuff that maybe it hasn't thought of.  Sometimes it strikes a nerve, sometimes it's right, sometimes it's plausible but wrong, and sometimes it's just plain ridiculous.  I accept the ridicule and criticism -- anyone who runs a blog about something that people care strongly about had better be prepared for that.  If it isn't vulgar or too over the top, up it stays.

A third source would be y'all, but my occasional calls for topics meet with stony silence.  Still, you've noticed that a particularly interesting or well-aimed comment will sometimes serve as the topic for the following article.

Even when I'm wrong, I can sometimes flush out stuff that we wouldn't know otherwise.  Take the just previous Pants Finnegan column.  Anonymous advises that Pants is Gordon's reference to an obstreperous new sales guy.  Says it twice, in fact.  He also instructs me to "stop overthinking stuff like this."  Well, Anonymous, if I hadn't wondered why Gordon had created this character, who didin't seem to have reference to any "type" we knew from the station, we wouldn't have the benefit of your (apparent, and, I think, actual)  inside information that Gordon was noodging this new sales star from San Diego and, presumably, the sales department generally.  And we wouldn't know that Gordon sometimes does whole bits that are meaningful primarily to his colleagues, and not to us.  Those insights are not going to overturn Obamacare, but they are of interest to the good folks who click over to My Ticket Confession.

So I'm going to keep listening between the lines, and throwing out guesses, and maybe we'll all learn a little something about this wonderful station that positively invites us to care about it on a personal basis.

And someday, maybe some of those guesses will come home to roost, and I'll be able to say that you read it here first.

+     +     +

In other news:  Did you hear Corby and Mike discussing Dan Bennett this afternoon?  The subject was working on holidays, which the hosts don't have to do this year, the first time in a decade or so, since the early Susquehanna days.  I laughed out loud in the Conestoga when they ridiculed Bennett for his judgment that a lot of new listeners, freed from their workplaces, would spend their holiday listening to the radio.   And that it took him ten years to realize that this view was in error.  Pretty rough on the ol' CTO.  

+     +     +

Confessors, I'm buried for the rest of the week and then off with Mrs. Plainsman for a vacation in cooler climes.  Please feel free to do 90- and even 180-degree turns on subject matter in the comments.  I will monitor comments and toss in a pfennig or two if I have a thought.   I'll be back if I'm able, but it may be awhile before there's a new article.  Thanks to all for observing the unwritten rules of civility of this site, and in advance for continuing to do so.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

What is Pants Finnegan Trying to Tell Us? -- Listening Too Hard

+     +     +

I was fascinated by Gordon's "Pants Finnegan" "new Ticker guy" character back a week or so ago.

WARNING:  I am about to overinterpret this.  Punch out here if you don't like wild MTC speculation.  We KNOW you don't like non-MTC speculation.

Unnecessary Question:  Why did Gordon create this character?

Obvious Fact:  Pants doesn't resemble any current Ticker guy, or any guy currently on The Ticket.

Sketchy Observation:  He might be teasing guys on other stations, but when he does things like that, it is usually done in the context of some kind of conversation with that other station or overhearing of the other station's broadcast.  (See "The Touchdown Brothers.")  There's no reason to make the guy a Ticket guy.

Over-Analysis:  Let us assume that Gordon has reasons for what he does.  A stretch, I know.

So if Gordon is (1) not making fun of a Ticket guy, and (2) not making fun of someone at another station, that leaves only -- he's pre-emptively making fun of someone he thinks might be coming to The Ticket.

The San Diego reference and bombastic delivery = Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, currently featured on the "Corby Davidson, The Ticket" drop.

Over-Conclusion:   The Ticket is steeling itself for the introduction of new voices -- maybe not Hacksaw, maybe not a Ticker guy, but some bombastic sports talker like the ones we don't listen to on other sports-talk stations.  They are not happy about it.  Gordon is staging a pre-emptive attack.

(By the way:  I happen to like Hacksaw.  This site has recommended that The Ticket hire him. (See The Ticket Should Hire Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton.)  I lived in San Diego for a few years and seldom missed his late-drive/early-evening show.  And he was a first-rate Chargers PBP guy.)

There is my extremely speculative take on what Gordon's Pants Finnegan is trying to tell us.

I ran "Pants Finnegan" on Google Images and this is

the first item that appeared.

* * *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter: @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman: ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

As Frank Sang, "Regrets, I've Had a Few . . . ."

But I don't think I'm entirely crazy.

If you haven't seen the prior post, check it out now.  Read the comments, too.

As I mentioned in my comment, I wish I had taken a less dramatic approach.  But I don't think I was entirely out of line on this.  Ignorant about ALS, guilty.  Ass, guilty.

But this has been on my mind for quite awhile.  I looked ahead.

 Look, I'm a guy that worries about stuff like this.  I don't even like Fight Night, so if you think I'm too much of a mamby-pamby, you're entitled.   But let me invite you to join me in a little theater of the mind. Consider this decidedly non-crazy hypothetical:

Josh throws a bat.  Bat hits someone, doesn't matter who.  Maybe into a group of kids who couldn't protect themselves.  Someone is badly hurt.  The Rangers aren't able to make a private settlement.  This isn't like a foul ball, where spectators have a reasonable expectation of one coming their way.  Scene:  A law firm conference room.

HIGH-PROFILE PLAINTIFF LAWYER:  Good morning, Mr. Daniels.

JON DANIELS:  Good morning.

HPPL:  Mr. Daniels, you're aware of the events of August 3.

JD:  Yes.

HPPL:  Mr. Daniels, were you, or perhaps I should say, to your knowledge, were the Texas Rangers aware of the statistics regarding thrown bats?

JD:  I don't understand the question.

HPPL:  Were you aware that a bat being thrown into the stands is a relatively rare occurrence over the course of a season, and even rarer for a single player to have done it on several occasions in a season?

JD:  I didn't know the exact numbers, but generally, yes.

HPPL:  In fact, the number of bats thrown by Mr. Hamilton, several of which went into the stands, may be a major league record?

JD:  I don't know.  I do know it was somewhat unusual.

HPPL:  On occasion, did Mr. Beltre leave the on-deck circle over concern about Mr. Hamilton's thrown bats?

JD:  It may have been a gag.

HPPL:  The team regarded it as funny?

JD:  No.

HPPL:  Were you concerned about the thrown bats?

JD:  Somewhat, yes.

HPPL:  Did you speak with him about it?

JD:  Yes.

HPPL:  What did you say to him, and what did he say to you?

JD:  I asked him why he was throwing the bats.  He said he didn't know.

HPPL:  Is that all?

JD:  He said he guessed he just couldn't help it.

HPPL:  Did he say anything about the bats, or maybe his batting gloves?

JD:  No.

HPPL:  Did he give you any reason for the increased frequency of thrown bats?

JD:  No.

HPPL:  What did you say to him about it?

JD:  I explained that we were concerned about the safety of our fans and the players on the field, of course, and urged him to make every effort not to throw the bat.

HPPL:  What was his reaction?

JD:  He understood.  He said he would try.

HPPL:   Did you ever think it was intentional?

JD:  Certainly not.

HPPL:  A subconscious issue of some kind?

JD:  No, no.

HPPL:  How long was this second meeting before the incident and Mr Hamilton's suspension by Major League Baseball?

JD:  A month or so, I think.  Six weeks maybe.

HPPL:  But after that and before the incident, he threw another bat into the stands and another towards the dugout, did he not?

JD:  I believe that's correct.

HPPL:  Did you do anything else?

JD:  We spoke to him again and repeated our concern about the thrown bats.  He said he was sorry but he just couldn't help it.

HPPL:  Did you speak to Mr. Washington about possibly removing Mr. Hamilton from the  lineup?

JD:  No.

HPPL:  Why do you think he threw the bats?

JD:  I don't know.

HPPL:  Did it concern you that he said he said he couldn't help it?

JD:  Well, yes, of course.

HPPL:  What do you think he meant by that?

JD:  I don't know.  I thought he meant he would just lose his grip from his swing.  Obviously, he swings very hard.

HPPL:  But the frequency was increasing, was it not?

JD:  Yes.

HPPL:  Did you ever ask Mr. Hamilton to submit to a medical examination to determine why he might be losing his grip on the bat?

JD:  No.

HPPL:  No further questions.

+     +     +

THAT's what I was thinking.  That when the whole world can see there's something odd going on that results in the threat of bodily harm to your fans and highly-paid athletes, you do something about it in advance of tragedy.  And where you don't know the reason, you ask people who know about holding on to things to have a look.  Even if they don't find anything, you've done what you could to find out why this extremely unusual and dangerous series of events were occurring.  Other than sitting him down to think it over.

It would surprise me if I am the only person in the metro who has thought -- there's something wrong here.

But in retrospect, I should not have focused on the specific possibility of ALS.  That was look-at-me, even by my somewhat relaxed standards, and I should have thought twice about that.

Let the piling-on continue.  I know, I know, I've lost a reader.

Josh Hamilton -- ALS?

+     +     +

No, not ALCS -- ALS.

I apologize for the scandalous, extreme, unfair, and unsupported headline.

But what's one of the signs of Lou Gehrig's disease?    You lose your grip.  You start to drop things.

Josh is setting records for losing his grip and dropping things, pretty important things, things that make him his fortune, things to which one might expect he would seek with some care to maintain possession and control.

Especially with his drug past, Josh should be tested for a possible neurological disorder.

From an ehow post:

"As time passes, your Lou Gehrig's disease symptoms will start to make you feel fatigued. You may also notice that it is difficult to grip things, and you may start to drop things that you try to pick up. You will begin to lose coordination in your hands  .  .  .  ."    Signs & Symptoms of Lou Gehrig's Disease | eHow.com  // http://www.ehow.com/about_5099076_signs-symptoms-lou-gehrigs-disease.html#ixzz1z5p6l3kC

Another irresponsible recommendation from My Ticket Confession.

You guys really should not let me write about actual sports.

Wherein I Am Constrained to Defend The Hardline Again

From time to time this site gets comments criticizing The Hardline for doing music segments.  The last one was in the string of the last set of comments, from a listener who calls himself "rhyner never died, he just tries to act too cool for school. what a "rebel" he is. said..."   I paste it here, somewhat sanitized:

"Ah, The Tardline at its worst: golden oldie bands that nobody [cares] about but this is what WE'RE interested in so [the hell with] you talk. I swear Rhyner is unable to express a coherent thought. Like Cuban said to Skip Bayless "you speak in generalities." That's what Rhyner does, and it's maddening to listen to. Buffalo Springfield? Are you kidding me? They have one, count it, one song they're known for; one tune that of the 40% of their listening audience who actually knows of Buffalo Springfield only 5% know anything other than that song: "For What It's Worth." Ah, but now it comes to light, it's all a cover to talk about, once again, the extremely overrated Neil Young. Young, Dylan, Springsteen, The Tardline never quite can get enough of them; listener be damned. Well, guess what Rhyner, [intercourse] you right back. I'm done with ya. From here on out, the moment WTDS ends, I'm out till the Morning Musers.

"The Tardline: Talk for Us, Not You."


OK.  A little intemperate, but a point of view that a number of Confessors seem to hold.

I am not one of them.  I like the music talk.  It's not nostalgia -- Buffalo Springfield was not in my wheelhouse -- I just find it interesting.  Rock and roll is important to The Ticket demo.  Irrespective of whether you're at the younger or older end of that spectrum, the bands Mike features on "Old Music Wednesday" or whatever he calls it were for the most part influential or unjustly overlooked.  He thinks his listeners sh old know about them.  He appreciates them, and it's an emblem of his respect for the listeners that he wants to pass his reasons for that onto them. 

Unlike "rhyner never died," I thought Mike was terrific today.  First, it was good to hear him do an entire segment, with Corby listening more-or-less respectfully, tossing in a question or a comment at appropriate intervals.  The leisurely pace almost sounded like storytelling to me and I thought at the time -- I'm enjoying this a lot.

I will concede that the Springsteen/Neil Young/Petty worship can be tedious (although ol' Neil is one of my personal favorites).  Surely these guys have broader tastes than that.  But The Hardline is kinda in a no-win situation:  If they talk about popular groups, or groups they're obsessive about, they're boring.  If they talk about obscure bands Danny and Davey are listening to, they're musical snobs.   I do wish they would invite Jake to do a segment on some hip-hop he would like to call to our attention, and I could even go for a Ty Walker metal segment (Ty, if you're not a metal fan, I apologize -- I don't think Rich P is around in the afternoon). 

But this begs the question:  Should The Hardline and the other shows even be spending segments on music?  I understand the point of view that there is already not enough hard sports on The Ticket.  Frankly, I don't mind the pop culture stuff.  (Exception:  BaD's movie and teevee talk, the difference being that movies and teevee shows have plots that anyone who might want to watch the show or movie based on their discussion will not want to hear.) 

So, is it correct to say, as "rhyner never died" does, that they should "talk for us, not you"?  On reflection, I don't think so.  The genius of The Ticket is that they have great hosts who make their shows sound like overheard conversations.  I don't want them guessing what "us" wants.  Listeners have come to trust and like their weekday heroes, and, for better or sometimes worse, they want to know what's on their minds, not what they think might be on ours.

WHERE WILL IT ALL STOP?

Oh my GAWD, another cog in the well-oiled Ticket pantheon has flown the coop!  (To horribly triple-mix a metaphor.)

Erwin the Fecund Promotions Guy has, in Mike R's phrase yesterday, "moved on to greener pastures."

What is the meaning of his departure?  How can Your Plainsman overinterpret this?  How will he care for his dozens of descendants?

I have only been to a couple of Ticket events, but I must say that Erwin did not overwhelm me with his interest in promoting anything.  My (very minor) interactions with him were pretty grim.  He was more interested in talking to some honcho than in assisting P1's in acquiring Ticket stuff.

Someone on this site mentioned that The Ticket wasn't generating any new promotional items, so perhaps Erwin's role was being phased out.

In any event, surely a bellwether event in the impending collapse of The Ticket, which I expect any hour now.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com