There has been way too much football talk for many years on 610. Unless the Astros were in first place, you were more likely to hear them talk about some offensive tackle from Steriod State and where he might go in the draft than about a Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman. John McClain is just awful too.
I've listened to the Ticket in Dallas a fair amount, and I can tell you the biggest difference between that station and 610. Confidence. The Ticket runs some hilarious material which often toes the line. Zierlien and Granato in particular seem to tentatively trot new stuff out and hope it's funny. It's painful to listen to their apprehension. The Van Chancellor readings are the worst thing to ever grace the airwaves of any radio station in the history of man. Is someone's accent really supposed to be funny? Is that the punchline? Horrible. The humor on 610, especially on the morning show, just seems so contrived. It's not natural, it's forced. The Ticket is fast paced, confident, and very entertaining. They aren't scared to be not funny like Lance is.
Wow...it's amazing how people can listen to the same thing and have such different takes. I rarely miss the morning show...of course it's hit or miss...it's a live, everyday show. Afraid to be not funny? John and Lance are just goofballs, in my opinion. They attempt humor that fails, without a doubt...at other times, they have me cracking up. Again...to be expected from live, everyday radio. But the show is light...much lighter than the afternoon show.
Abso-freakin-lutely. XM has more music, but Sirius has NPR and PRI as well as the NFL. Both NPR and PRI have great music shows you can't get locally - give me back my World Cafe!!! Plus, isn't XM owned by Clear Channel?
Ugh, The Ticket is the worst thing I've ever listened to. However, I have no idea really how they compare to the morning guys here since I rarely listen. All I know is I wanted to bang my head against my monitor at work in Dallas because one of my co-workers listened to that crap all day long.
But the other shows aren’t hit or miss, and that’s the point. With Rich and Charlie I knew what I was getting everyday, same with Vandameer, and Matt Jackson. Whether or not those other shows are good or not, I know what I’m getting. Sometimes the morning show can be horrible.
I like Vandermeer and I think he is an excellent play-by-play guy, but he doesn't know the NBA. Every year including this one, I've heard him get players wrong in terms of stats or the team they are on or what their strengths are. Not surprising for the casual fan, but for a sports talk guy? But, that really isn't my main concern. My main concern is how the show is steered. I just don't get how, in the heart of the basketball and football season, talk guys can spend nearly entire segments talking about baseball. Just last week, I listened while Rich and David spent an entire segment just discussin what might be the starting rotation next offseason for the Astros. You might go weeks during the baseball season without hearing a discussion about the Rockets. I actually like listening to Mark's show and I like him as a play-by-play guy. But, my first concern is and always will be the Rockets and Lance and Charlie are the two guys that initiate conversation about them and posses the knowledge to discuss them (I can't speak to Matt because I don't hear his show that often) in detail. Now, one of those guys is gone.
World's most boring ---- football recruiting and draft report Caller : Is my cousin the next superstar? Expert : Maybe! We have him slotted 264th, but he's got unusual quickness for an end. Of course, at 150lbs, he may need more size. Host : Yes, size is very important. Caller : So...you're saying with a few hamburgers, he's lotto?!? Ugh. Second most boring --- point spread radio. Third mb --- Trivia games! Who ran for 30 yds in 1984 vs Detroit? Who cares ? Get a frickin' topic and make a frickin' show. It's not so hard to challenge points of view.
I think the "national search to find the best play-by-play guy" was a success for the Texans and 610. Vandermeer is a really good pbp guy and a passable sports radio host (minus the sound effects). He's no Charlie, but you make do with what you have. Charlie Ward is no Steve Francis - heck, he's no Kenny Smith - but Van Gundy had to start someone at the 1. IMO Chance would be doing the best he could with the parts he has available if he put Rich and Mark together in afternoon drivetime. I don't know how the radio industry works by any means, but it seems to me like it would make sense for the station to do a nationwide search like the Texans did to scout out broadcast talent. I'd think that there are plenty of excellent sports radio guys in other, smaller towns who'd love the chance to move up to a bigger market and wouldn't break the bank doing so. You really need a sports-encyclopedia type guy to fill in a 2 man show. It's similar to a sporting event, in a way, it works better with one "color guy" and one guy who can provide analysis. Especially in an afternoon/evening (as opposed to morning) format.
I always thought the Astros got more coverage than the Texans, but it's close. What isn't close is the coverage (or lack of it) the Rockets get. Sometimes, while listening to 610, I actually forget it's basketball season. As far as football pbp, I miss Tom Franklin and Bum Phillips: Tom: Well, judging from the replay, that call could go either way. Both the receiver and the DB were fighting for the ball and there was a lot of pushing and shoving going on. Flags all over the field, it should be interesting to see who the call goes against, right coach? Bum: Yep....
Honestly (and unfortunately, for the Rockets), I think this is a fair assessment of where Houston sports interests are right now. The pennant race did wonders for Houston as a baseball town, and despite the Rockets acquisition of T-Mac... they'll never be the draw they once were until they advance deep into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Astros are about to enter their first Hot Stove League as players, and that is indeed exciting. From 95-99, those roles were reversed (you'd actually hear much more Rockets talk during the pennant races than Astros talk during the Rockets season)... but its just been too long now since the last time the Rockets fielded a team that from a competition standpoint, was hands-down one of the best teams in the league. Its up to this team to help the city find its b-ball pulse again. Sportsradio helps fuel that to a point, but even if they spend entire 4 hours shows on nothing but basketball, you're still not going to draw over 13,000 fans on a weeknight for a game against a middle of the road team.
I could accept that if the discussion was always initiated by a caller, but it isn't. Last week, I caught Rich and David in the afternoon and they mentioned the winter GM meetings. After that, they spent the entire first segment on that then casually mentioned the Rockets in the last 30 seconds. When they came back from break, they pointed out something else about the winter meetings and then started taking calls. About half of the calls were people saying, "Yeah, since Beltran's agent is at those meetings you were talkiing about..." They DRIVE the conversation. People hear that and they want to talk about it. They spent the majority of the hour on baseball. I am ok with that if they have Tim Purpura on or if they do an interview with a baseball guy, but to drive the entire conversation from the word "go" seems unreasonable given the time of year.
I disagree..I don't think it's ever horrible. But again, this is subjective taste, so there's no convincing anyone of that. I think the morning show and the afternoon show are incomparable. I don't think the morning show is hit or miss on anything other than humor...the afternoon show doesn't attempt the things the morning show does...they're two entirely different shows.
The Ticket is bar-none the worst major market sports radio station I have ever heard in my life. You want ZERO critical commentary & nothing but excuses when Dallas teams lose - "That's The Ticket!"
i have a friend who writes for the morning news...he says the same. he laments the passing of what was once the signature sports radio station in the country. i was living in the dallas media market when the ticket was still a great station...it is vastly different today.
Clear Channel was a founding investor of XM, and while their ownership share has shrunk in the last few years, they are still quite heavily invested in it. I could go on & on about how & why Sirius is superior to Xm, but that's for another thread...
True... but you also have to admit that the FA/trade dealings of any sport (which normally take place right after that sport's season has ended) is one of the BEST sportsradio topics out there to "discuss." It happened this summer, when the T-Mac speculation was going on...and it was one of the best times to hear what these guys had to say. Likewise... its makes for much better talk when you speculate what a team can/should/will do about their upcoming FA/trade negotiations, rather than talk ad nauseum about last night's game (regardless of sport)... Also, I wouldn't trust Rich or David's ability to talk about the fronting defense against Yao, JVG's rotation, Yao's stamina, the lack of a pure shooter on this club... etc. They just don't know their stuff. For that, I'll miss Charlie.
the Tickets ratings BLOW away any other sports station in the country. But that won't work here. When Dalati substitute hosts the conversation always drifts to baseball...it's what he knows best. On NBA knowledge I will pass it on to Vandy and if he feels it is a valid point I am sure he will work feverishly to catch up with the expectations of his audience.
yeah...it's an institution. but i know many from dallas who don't feel that it has the quality of programming it used to have.
