All things Sports Talk Radio - DMV (met)

[Mr. Sinister]

20 minutes ago, Heisenberg said:

BMitch has always seemed like the type to form an opinion and never be able to reevaluate it over time and adjust. He seems to have determined Haskins is the future after the draft last year and has gone hard at Jay and now Ron because they didn't see it that way. It's funny to me, because BMitch is always the first one talking about hard work and doing things the "right way" and it has been clear from the jump that Haskins has maturity issues and doesn't exactly work the hardest to improve.

 

Yeah, its baffling. B Mitch should detest a guy like that, seeing as he was an unheralded guy coming out of college, and this kid was basically Mr College Football for a year, and was drafted in the 1st round.

 

Very strange

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I'll say this about 980...they have been so tailored to the Redskins that if fan interest continues to dwindle, I don't know what they'll do. Sports radio in DC is reliant on a football presence. That's the way they can fill up 10 hours per day. 

 

106.7, due to their anti-Skins stance, is better positioned for a more diverse format. But if the Skins continue to lose fans it'll be interesting to see how they fill the time. I mean, football is made for week-to-week discussion while there's only so much you can discuss all day when you have one of 80 or 160 games coming up in the other sports. 

[method man]

3 hours ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

I'll say this about 980...they have been so tailored to the Redskins that if fan interest continues to dwindle, I don't know what they'll do. Sports radio in DC is reliant on a football presence. That's the way they can fill up 10 hours per day. 

 

106.7, due to their anti-Skins stance, is better positioned for a more diverse format. But if the Skins continue to lose fans it'll be interesting to see how they fill the time. I mean, football is made for week-to-week discussion while there's only so much you can discuss all day when you have one of 80 or 160 games coming up in the other sports. 

Well with Entercom taking over, hopefully 980 can cut some fat like BMitch, Doc and Scott Linn. Replace that with some more guests. 
 

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by method man

[TD_washingtonredskins]

2 hours ago, method man said:

Well with Entercom taking over, hopefully 980 can cut some fat like BMitch, Doc and Scott Linn. Replace that with some more guests. 
 

 

I'm sure there are ways to change the profile, but why? Honestly, how many people tune into sports talk radio for hours per day to hear about a middling NBA team, hockey, or baseball? This isn't Boston or New York with any tradition...there's simply just not enough to break down on a daily basis, even in-season. 

 

"Can Scherzer be what we need for the Nats to win this mid-July game against Miami? I sure hope so, because what will the Nats do tomorrow if they drop this game and fall to 39-23???" 

[Warhead36]

22 minutes ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

I'm sure there are ways to change the profile, but why? Honestly, how many people tune into sports talk radio for hours per day to hear about a middling NBA team, hockey, or baseball? This isn't Boston or New York with any tradition...there's simply just not enough to break down on a daily basis, even in-season. 

 

"Can Scherzer be what we need for the Nats to win this mid-July game against Miami? I sure hope so, because what will the Nats do tomorrow if they drop this game and fall to 39-23???" 

Its honestly like that in other markets too. I lived in Minnesota for a bit and its basically all Vikings all the time.

[bearrock]

So are they merging?  Keeping separate stations?  What's the benefit of having both sports stations in the same town?

[method man]

1 hour ago, bearrock said:

So are they merging?  Keeping separate stations?  What's the benefit of having both sports stations in the same town?

 

They probably see some sort of management play and synergies between the two stations...maybe shared back office cost structures. There is a probably an opportunity to improve the product, even with a limited budget. As Sheehan likes to point out, the radio industry is filled with morons.

[Springfield]

 

Well there it goes boys. Favorite podcast and a nice 3 hour escape from reality each week is gone. Hoping that someday they can reunite but this is the end of an era for me.

 

I’m blown.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

15 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

Its honestly like that in other markets too. I lived in Minnesota for a bit and its basically all Vikings all the time.

 

Yep...I'm sure it is and it makes sense. I just can't care enough for each and every game from the other sports until the post-season (then it's good debate/discussion). So, the only difference with Minnesota is that the Vikings are 1) relevant on the field and 2) not repulsing fans off the field. I think this market and team are running very close to hitting a point where so few people care...

 

A couple personal things that give my stance some context...

 

1) A few years ago in debates on this board, I incorrectly argued that even more losing would never unseat the Redskins for this market's #1 team. I was blinded by the history and nostalgia that I personally had for them. But I'm one of the younger guys who experience Gibbs (I'm in my mid-40s) so those fond memories are cycling out. 

 

2) I would still be mildly interested in the on-the-field rebuild, new coaching staff, etc. if the owner didn't have so many disgusting allegations against him. If he was somehow removed or sold the team, my interest would bounce back to an extent. But, continued losing would continue to mute the passion I used to have. 

[Heisenberg]

9 hours ago, Springfield said:

 

Well there it goes boys. Favorite podcast and a nice 3 hour escape from reality each week is gone. Hoping that someday they can reunite but this is the end of an era for me.

 

I’m blown.

 

I'm sorry to hear you and other listeners will be missing out on the show for a while. I'd have to think this "hiatus" will end at some point and they'll come back. There is no way Chad's broadcasting career is over. What else would he do? I have a hard time believing he actually makes much money with that "Virginia Dry Goods" store.

 

Drab might have to be a more permanent hiatus, for obvious reasons.

[Riggo#44]

12 hours ago, Heisenberg said:

Drab might have to be a more permanent hiatus, for obvious reasons.

Why, what did he do?

[Heisenberg]

1 hour ago, Riggo#44 said:

Why, what did he do?

 

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm not aware of anything he did other than be on the air with Dukes when he made the statements that got him in trouble. However, IIRC he is considered to be part of management at 106.7 so I don't think they'd be cool with him being on a podcast with someone they just fired for being racially insensitive.

[Thinking Skins]

On 11/10/2020 at 12:45 PM, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

KB could carry a show by himself. He didn't need to bring in experts. He would break down plays and matchups. That's not the formula now...now they find personalities and people who can run a show even if they don't provide the content. 

 

"Yoooouuure next!"

 

What frustrates me is that I literally watched the emergence of this sports talk radio market. WMAL, WTEM and WJFK. Those were the talk radio stations. And we saw it go in three different directions. Beatrice left WMAL for WTEM and WMAL went to straight politics. WJFK wasn't really sports talk but it had the Junkies and other guy talk. But we saw WTEM and 4-7 was Kornheiser and 7-10 was Beatrice. I used to catch the subway home and I'd be on the metro during Kornheiser's shows and didn't care about missing him because I didn't like him, but I remember having my radio ready to listen to Beatrice at 7 to get his show. 

 

But we have to remember how special Beatrice was. Dude could talk about anything, any sport any game just off the cuff. You could say, remember that game in 1971 when we barely beat ____, and Ken would say yeah, you know what's good about that game, we were actually trailing until player ... went into the huddle and said "we're better than this and we'd better start showing it" and then we had a game winning drive. I was mezmorized by his skills. 

 

But we also saw the emergence of guys like Kornheiser locally and nationally (as both a writer and a radio personality) and Limbaugh as a radio personality. Not to mention guys like Imus and Stern. And it was clear that the subject matter expert of sports was not going to be the norm. Instead they wanted somebody who was basically a comedian on the radio to talk about sports. Simply pair that guy with a former player and call it sports talk. And I think thats a lot easier to find than a new Beatrice, especially to get a random audience. 

 

Side track, I remember in the 90s when Sunday Morning Football shows were emerging and NFL on Fox was big (I think right after Fox got the NFL rights) and we started to see these type of things on TV. Before that we had shows like Sports Reporters and NFL Game Film and I forget the other shows, but they'd analyze film and breakdown players as a pregame. That was so awesome. But it got replaced with sthick like the dude who can impersonate John Madden saying Boom.  

 

Honestly, the less we've seen those type of shows on radio or TV, the more I've looked for sites like ES, Hogs Haven, Reddit, I remember Webskins where I could just read a bunch of Skins stories, CBSSports/NFL (or was it sportsillustrated) where there was good sports talk but then it would get so evil and spam / trolled or just people not having discussions. 

[Thinking Skins]

On 11/10/2020 at 9:28 PM, method man said:

 

They probably see some sort of management play and synergies between the two stations...maybe shared back office cost structures. There is a probably an opportunity to improve the product, even with a limited budget. As Sheehan likes to point out, the radio industry is filled with morons.

I am not a fan of this move. I don't know what their corporate strategies are from a high level, but from a product level I have liked 980 over 106.7 for probably a decade now. Now 980 has gone through several owners over that time so I can't say that Radio One was this great executive administrator. But basically 980 has Galdi and he is to me the best guy on Radio in these parts. I liked Grant when he first started out but he went the route of "want to be funny guy" over the "deep knowledgeable guy" and his show has suffered because of it. Otherwise I think there are a bunch of personalities. Sheehan is cool but he has too many "guys" he knows and is contacting (Shanny, Portis, Cooley, Thom, Van Pelt) and his gambling stuff I think influences his opinion. I have to wonder how much he's saying just to be nice to the guys he knows / likes vs coming at it real. Otherwise I won't miss anybody from either station if they're replaced.

 

But since its been some time, how are they handling Chad's show on 106.7? Is it dead silence? The guy from the Junks? Thom? Russell? Mike Wise? 

[spjunkies]

2 minutes ago, Thinking Skins said:

I am not a fan of this move. I don't know what their corporate strategies are from a high level, but from a product level I have liked 980 over 106.7 for probably a decade now. Now 980 has gone through several owners over that time so I can't say that Radio One was this great executive administrator. But basically 980 has Galdi and he is to me the best guy on Radio in these parts. I liked Grant when he first started out but he went the route of "want to be funny guy" over the "deep knowledgeable guy" and his show has suffered because of it. Otherwise I think there are a bunch of personalities. Sheehan is cool but he has too many "guys" he knows and is contacting (Shanny, Portis, Cooley, Thom, Van Pelt) and his gambling stuff I think influences his opinion. I have to wonder how much he's saying just to be nice to the guys he knows / likes vs coming at it real. Otherwise I won't miss anybody from either station if they're replaced.

 

But since its been some time, how are they handling Chad's show on 106.7? Is it dead silence? The guy from the Junks? Thom? Russell? Mike Wise? 

 

Pete Medhurst was covering Chad's slot last week. I'm not sure if they put him there this week though. 

[Thinking Skins]

Just now, spjunkies said:

Pete Medhurst was covering Chad's slot last week. I'm not sure if they put him there this week though. 

Interesting? Isn't he the Navy guy with like 1000 different jobs? How's he doing? I think I like him from the limited knowledge i have of him. 

[spjunkies]

Just now, Thinking Skins said:

Interesting? Isn't he the Navy guy with like 1000 different jobs? How's he doing? I think I like him from the limited knowledge i have of him. 

 

That's him, Pete is pretty good I think you would enjoy him since you prefer the straight up sports people who don't try to be the next Dane Cook.

[Thinking Skins]

Here's a story that WCP wrote on him last year: 

 

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/179995/local-sports-broadcaster-pete-medhurst-practiced-44-years-for-this-moment/

 

I'm going to try to check him out if he's on today. If Its him vs Czabe, its not much competition. 

[@DCGoldPants]

I took the time to message https://entercom.com/contact/ about the merger and IMO, the importance of keeping guys like Galdi and Kevin and yes.... Scott Linn, who can do it all and I think is very good. It didn't mention Czabe or Doc or Brian but did say we don't need 4 hour shows.

 

I haven't listened to the Junkies in years. It's the same thing now mixed with political nonsense. Grant and Danny DON'T NEED 4 HOURS.

[Mr. Sinister]

Has anybody whooped EB's ass yet?

[techboy]

2 hours ago, Thinking Skins said:

 

What frustrates me is that I literally watched the emergence of this sports talk radio market. WMAL, WTEM and WJFK. Those were the talk radio stations. And we saw it go in three different directions. Beatrice left WMAL for WTEM and WMAL went to straight politics. WJFK wasn't really sports talk but it had the Junkies and other guy talk. But we saw WTEM and 4-7 was Kornheiser and 7-10 was Beatrice. I used to catch the subway home and I'd be on the metro during Kornheiser's shows and didn't care about missing him because I didn't like him, but I remember having my radio ready to listen to Beatrice at 7 to get his show. 

 

But we have to remember how special Beatrice was. Dude could talk about anything, any sport any game just off the cuff. 

 

Not true... "I can't scout high school ball... I don't have the resoooources. But have you tried the Jamocha shake at Ahhby's?"

[Heisenberg]

1 hour ago, Mr. Sinister said:

Has anybody whooped EB's ass yet?

 

Last I saw he was on Twitter yesterday asking sarcastic questions about how exactly it worked if he flew to Boston and implying the entire testing/quarantine requirements are complete nonsense. His schtick for a while is to just yell "look at the data!" while quoting what is usually some random biased Twitter account saying nobody is dying from this anymore.

[method man]

6 hours ago, Thinking Skins said:

I am not a fan of this move. I don't know what their corporate strategies are from a high level, but from a product level I have liked 980 over 106.7 for probably a decade now. Now 980 has gone through several owners over that time so I can't say that Radio One was this great executive administrator. But basically 980 has Galdi and he is to me the best guy on Radio in these parts. I liked Grant when he first started out but he went the route of "want to be funny guy" over the "deep knowledgeable guy" and his show has suffered because of it. Otherwise I think there are a bunch of personalities. Sheehan is cool but he has too many "guys" he knows and is contacting (Shanny, Portis, Cooley, Thom, Van Pelt) and his gambling stuff I think influences his opinion. I have to wonder how much he's saying just to be nice to the guys he knows / likes vs coming at it real. Otherwise I won't miss anybody from either station if they're replaced.

 

But since its been some time, how are they handling Chad's show on 106.7? Is it dead silence? The guy from the Junks? Thom? Russell? Mike Wise? 

On Sheehan, you see that with Shanny - always defends him. I like his analytical breakdowns but the dude regurgitates the same things over and over. The guy also spends way too much time talking about clock management and overthinking answers at press conferences 

6 hours ago, @SkinsGoldPants said:

I took the time to message https://entercom.com/contact/ about the merger and IMO, the importance of keeping guys like Galdi and Kevin and yes.... Scott Linn, who can do it all and I think is very good. It didn't mention Czabe or Doc or Brian but did say we don't need 4 hour shows.

 

I haven't listened to the Junkies in years. It's the same thing now mixed with political nonsense. Grant and Danny DON'T NEED 4 HOURS.

My guess is Galdi, Sheehan and Jackson are their cheaper talent. If you cut Doc, BMitch and  Czabe, the quality of your product goes up and you save a lot. If you want an ex-athlete badly, go outside the Redskins and grab someone like Arenas

[@DCGoldPants]

55 minutes ago, method man said:

On Sheehan, you see that with Shanny - always defends him. I like his analytical breakdowns but the dude regurgitates the same things over and over. The guy also spends way too much time talking about clock management and overthinking answers at press conferences 

My guess is Galdi, Sheehan and Jackson are their cheaper talent. If you cut Doc, BMitch and  Czabe, the quality of your product goes up and you save a lot. If you want an ex-athlete badly, go outside the Redskins and grab someone like Arenas

 

That might be true. I don't know. I also don't ask much on this board. But I know guys like Scott, Galdi, and Kevin are good at what they do. If folks here could take the 2 min to message Entercomm through their site specifically about these guys. It's at least a message that we want Sportstalk over Sports-Screaming, and we want hosts who take the time to know what they are talking about.

[Thinking Skins]

So I checked out WJFK yesterday on the drive home. Unfortunately I haven't listened to that channel in a long time and couldn't find it on my app for a while. So once I got in, It was Reese.....I forget his last name but the guy from CBS. He was cool, but I tuned in right before the switch to Russell who I wanted no parts of. I may listen to the show again today, but Friday is normally not a radio day so maybe I'll just wait again until Monday.