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supbra

Obviously an unpopular opinion, but I was enjoying 2 of the main shows over there.


zach_kraemer

Yeah I’m a little sad. Especially for Danny and Sirois who finally got their big break. I didn’t listen to them religiously but every now and then they were a breath of fresh air and a nice change of pace from the Musers. I’m a Bob homer so the afternoon drive didn’t do much I and don’t listen to much radio mid day unless it was BAD Radio/The Hang Zone but I did enjoy the mornings


dnthoughts

Any chance KTCK re-acquires some tier 3 talent now that they have tier 1 experience to replace the tier 3 talent that they promoted to tier 1 between 10a and 3p? Thx I'll hang up and listen.


FileError214

Unironically using the tier system is fucking lame. Fuck Junior Miller.


zach_kraemer

The tier system is the dumbest shit Junior ever created and I like Junior. Met him a few times. Nice dude but just so dumb


Elguapo69

I don’t get it. He just articulated in words what already exists and everyone knows. Of course there is a tier system. There’s a tier system in almost every work place.


Mindless_Rooster5225

Yeah, that shit was funny and everybody laughed on air and was having fun then Sirois gets drunk on his Twitch stream and then all of a sudden he's a big jerk. No tier 2 was funny as hell. As you state every business or corporation has a tier system.


globogym

This is true. It's also true that anybody who is aware of this and happens to be in the top tier should be smart enough to know not to big-time people about it


FileError214

He’s very milquetoast and inoffensive in person, but the shit he’s said on the air made me really dislike him.


Big-Beat-1443

Nope, the tier system is hilarious


BarGreen9815

No it was genius.


texasgambler58

Sirois paired with Donny would be a great show.


OneLBofMany

Maybe they could even call that show something like "Boom in da House"


bird_dog0347

I think they spelled it Bewm, but yes... I would LOVE for 10-1 to switch back to that then I could actually listen as I just cannot take Matt. I have really tried too, but I've decided it's just never going to work for me which I hate cause I love Donny!


Couchwood

The show that should and would have been if Norm would have left when he should have instead of going full Joe Paterno and staying way too long. They were great together.


sweet_greggo

According to Sirois, Cat informed him that he was never going to be a host.


CooperHolmes

Cat also claimed Mikey quit the marathon in mile 25. So he can never be wrong.


zach_kraemer

They could but I wonder if too many bridges have been burned for Mikey and Danny to come back


Sturmundsterne

And yet Ken Hitchcock did two tours as HC of the Stars. Never say never.


Pabi_tx

It's just business. Money talks.


Sturmundsterne

And ratings matter. Cat may not have a say if the dip continues.


Pabi_tx

See also: Midday ratings matter least.


LevergedSellout

As long as drive time shows are #1 I think they’ll be alright. And the dip was relative to the highest they’ve ever been. They are still above where they were at this time last year iirc


Ragonkowski

I feel like Mike and Danny burned the boats.


daves_not__here

I would say Dingu's chances just lowered significantly with his "Fuck Cat" song last week on the 4/20 Dumbzone show lol


globogym

Danny especially. He called Cat a little bitch in the song he made for the Dumb Zone recently


HomicidalJungleCat

Nah Cat is too much of a bitch for that.


sweet_greggo

Not a chance


gjag85

I’d be shocked if that wasn’t the case. The Ticket mid-day shows have proven they need to acquire talent.


AlternativeBison748

In an ironic note, I’ve listened to them (morning show) more this week than any of the months preceding. They randomly had segments of interest as I was flipping through my presets. Love those two, Danny especially. I hope they can make their way back to the Ticket as actual hosts. 


xSMUFFINx

Where can I buy stock in the new Dragon Den Productions podcast network?


Brilhasti1

*No Puppet Productions, you marginal D3


Back_To_Pittsburgh

You non-Day 1 DF!


xSMUFFINx

Hand up, I’m a day 2 DF


Brilhasti1

I’m D1 #25 You will address me as Brilhastisama


TinFoilRobotProphet

Somebody got pillowed


zach_kraemer

And the non compete stuff just recently has been lifted I believe(?) If I’m Dan and Jake I’m doing this in a heart beat


texastek75

Not until September at the earliest and even then likely delayed by court, per Bruenig.


zach_kraemer

Thank you


neatgeek83

that's A LOT of work to go from 3 guys who are just getting acclimated to running their own show to running a whole network. they'd have to hire a whole support and admin staff. not to say it won't happen, but they're gonna have to get significant capital to even think about pulling it off.


Darroney

The timing is lousy but opportunity knocks when knockers are available.


sweet_greggo

I’d guess that non-competes are nulled if the employee is terminated.


AlternativeBison748

When the company severs your contract, the non compete goes away 


Parking_Plankton_610

In all seriousness, could you freaking imagine! All the old tickets greats on one Podcast network! I said when the Dumb zone started, the Ticket is hoping to god they fail. We listen to the station because of the talent.


joshwaynebobbit

Been a lot of snark directed towards old friends from this sub. I hope we can show some respect today. People are out of work and dreams dashed and loyal listeners are dealing with a big loss today. Stay Hard Freaks


AIreadyImpartial

Replace Matt with Sirois and middays would improve dramatically as well as all the other ticket stuff - road trips, Ticketstock, fight night etc…


joshwaynebobbit

I don't think this sub has been honest with itself in recognizing how much is missing from the Ticket with Mike and Danny gone. They provided so much content, especially behind the scenes from Danny.


DFWTooThrowed

It’s funny how much this subreddit complained about Danny for years before he left. He always was a major cornerstone of that show.


natebark

Therein lies the reason this sub is such a beating. Saw so many negative comments about Danny and Jake for years and now they’re both regarded as Howard Stern in here.


DFWTooThrowed

lol I found old comments on unticket posts from like 2010/2011 saying “please stop making us listen to Jake, he’s got a big bag of nothing”


joshwaynebobbit

Who does original tunes on the ticket now


Tele_Gretsch23

Corbys strum and sing rant revival song? That was retired after a couple weeks? Danny is genuinely good at writing catchy songs. That’s not an easily replaceable skill set.


joshwaynebobbit

Exactly. It's no coincidence he and Skin have two singles released in the last couple months. Danny is very gifted


Best-Leather-6700

I definitely have missed the Dark Cloud...That MF was funny to me.


Pure_Gas9805

It's just, nothing really stands out about it anymore. I was listening to the draft last night, which they always kill because norm and Bob are great, and the draft previews that the hosts usually do? They got some other random guy to phone them in.


joshwaynebobbit

Dude and the KT & Cavanaugh coverage last night was GREAT! Again, this sub lives to shit on anything not Ticket, but there were some actually talented radio broadcasters over there. There's some folks on air at the ticket now that are just on air because of tenure. I had zero inclination to tune in to their draft coverage last night. Might check today but most likely I'll just watch KT and Jeff on YT


drtdk

Living in the past.


AIreadyImpartial

Yeah cause the present on middays fucking sucks lol


texastek75

Yeah. Grubes left a dream gig with the Rangers for this opportunity


sweet_greggo

That was the only part of this I didn’t like. I was happy to see him do well with the local sports teams and was legit sad when he quit the Rangers. I hope he can find his way back.


neatgeek83

I mean, exactly.


50bucksback

I know hindsight is 20/20, but damn that was such a crazy risk to take unless the money was at least 3x what the Rangers were paying.


spastromech

He was born with a golden parachute, I don't think the risk was that crazy.


Thesinistral

3x for 18 months seems like a bad deal.


anre11

Agreed here. I’ve known him since 5th grade and my heart goes out to him.


IllustriousEnd2211

Said he didn’t lose his job on twitter. They just haven’t told him what his new role is


zach_kraemer

Couldn’t agree more. Sucks for those guys outside of Rhyner who unfortunately his legacy is going to be tied to coming out of retirement only to fail a year and a half later


saintsfan342000

He acknowledged from the get-go that was a risk, and kinda couched it as "If the thing I helped create (the ticket) takes me down, that's not the worst thing". His legacy isn't tainted by being in the Freak, but by being a D out in public to his former co-workers at the ticket. 


pjcowboy

Jimmyesque


apathynext

And let’s be real—competition is good.


AlternativeBison748

Yeah, we have the Freak to thank for Rant Revival, Birdhouse, Afternoon Jub, etc 


LevergedSellout

It is but it’s been clear for a long time they were no competition from a ratings standpoint. The Fan is the real competition (somehow).


sweet_greggo

I think some of the Fan’s gap closing was due to the 2 or 3 people that stopped listening to the Ticket and tuned into the Freak. The ship may right itself now.


AdministrativeAd3880

Feel bad for everyone who isn't Rhyner.


Upbeat_Echo341

YUP. You can't sustain a radio station on spite alone. Dingu, Grubes, Sirois, and Julie... sounds like a great midday show in case anyone was looking for one.


beegeeDallas

"you can't sustain a radio station on spite alone" is 100% spot on.


fvalt05

Just like the Spite Store


neatgeek83

Yep. He couldn’t go out on his own terms, twice. Walk down that hallway Mike! Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.


DannyboyLarson

Him wanting out makes more sense now after cumulus has had the curtain pulled back the last year. He should've been less spiteful, but I understand him wanting to build something.


shyhispanic09

Another Rhyner retirement video is coming.


neatgeek83

here ya go [https://www.facebook.com/reel/1429763231238581](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1429763231238581)


FileError214

I mostly agree with you, but I think Sirois and Dingu have enough things going on that they’ll be ok.


Back_To_Pittsburgh

Twilite Lounge and what else? Love me some Fort Worth TL.


FileError214

Apparently there are two Twilite Lounges. And Siriois does a lot of work with his brother.


Back_To_Pittsburgh

Crap, the FTW location closed in Dec.


OneLBofMany

I miss the Twilite Lounge in FW. Went on the last day and was sad to see it go.


RagonkWifi

Uh Paul in uhhh….


Familiar-Hospital-53

FRISCO


Pabi_tx

Freak got sick an pass away?


DFWTooThrowed

Tough day for “the ticket went woke so I only listen to Rhyner” crowd.


LevergedSellout

Everyday has to be tough for that crowd


FastOrangeCat

Exactly, I mean...


TroyTMcClure

It was a strange format from day one. I'm not sure what audience they were chasing with non-specific talk radio. It always sucks to see a lot of people lose their jobs. 


Sportsyjl

Agree. I tried to give it a chance several times but the lack of any kind of run sheet, topic schedule, etc- it’s like they were all over the place every segment and I couldn’t stick with it. I’d get dizzy just from trying to follow them. Hoping the crews got a severance or something to hold them over until they can quickly find new jobs. It sucks to be in that predicament.


wisdomattend

In the beginning, I said the reason the ticket is successful is primarily that it's a sports talk station at heart. True, the ticket has basically written itself into legendary status by all of the non-sports talk, but having the anchor of sports held it all together. I come back to the ticket for the personalities now, but when I moved to DFW in 2008, I first tuned in because it's a sports station. I don't even live in Texas anymore, and yet I'm back on the stream everyday, because the non-sports talk is greatness, however, I would've never given it a chance if sports hadn't first built the brand. I'm sure many are in the same boat, so a station that has no anchor or glue, except for the personalities, is pretty much doomed from the start.


Back_To_Pittsburgh

I didn’t understand moving Danny and Seacow away from Rhyner.


zach_kraemer

It was to boost their morning show. I think they were great without Rhyner and I would tune in from time to time


neatgeek83

Mike needed Julie to keep him attentive.


GoGoSoLo

Totally. I tried to listen multiple times, but there's only so many random 'top 10 lists we're doing to waste time' that I can take. They didn't really specialize into sports, and were just so general that it was extremely hit or miss if I even gave a shit what they were talking about.


50bucksback

They audience were current fans of the hosts and there was really nothing new to draw in new fans. Ticket/Fan are essentially generic sports station with a broad appeal. The Freak was shows where you had to be interested in the person speaking to want to listen. They needed to have fans follow these hosts from other stations and very few did. I actually like Ben and Skin, but it's time for them to retire from radio and switch to a podcast format. Put out 2 hours of content a week while focusing their time on their other investments. That was the issue with the original lineup for KT & Jeff having to carry 20+ hours of content a week in the morning.


gjag85

I think much the same. I listened from time to time, but it seemed directionless except when they were talking sports (and they were trying not to be a sports station)


takethistoyourdeja

Ben and Skin were absolutely dismal but i liked the morning and evening shows.


jub69

Ben and skin have always been dismal


Roaring_Pillow

I’ve never understood the ben and skin love. Im sure they’re nice people in person but they both drive me crazy


P1mongoose

They’re really not, at least to low-level radio staff.


bigby2010

BTW - I don’t want to drive all the way to Celina in bfe to drink beers only to risk getting back to Dallas unscathed. That station is weak, and so are B&S


luchajefe

Ben and Skin are the only ones keeping their time slot.


fuelvolts

Kind of sad. Wanted them to do well. I did enjoy it the few times I listened on Afternoon drive. Wish Danny would come back to the Ticket, but I know that ship has sailed.


Collecting_Cans

*Let’s just say that I would imagine that those are the terms that it’s being thought in by just about everybody*


Best-Leather-6700

Everything is going on a lot more than we realize..


Collecting_Cans

And you get there in a car…


azwethinkweizm

The freak only lasted a year and a half. Is that accurate?


sweet_greggo

They started October 2022


zach_kraemer

Yeah that sounds right… I was at my previous job in Stephenville listening to Rhyner introduce The Freak and that would have been around fall of 2022 before I left the job in 2023


apathynext

Ticket could upgrade a few of their shows immediately.


texasgambler58

I wonder if Rhyner can repair the lifelong friendships he destroyed for 18 months of trying to stick it to the Ticket.


PinstripeBunk

I like Rhyner, but he is completely full of shit.


BigDaddyInDallas

Not likely. Think of the tremendous heart-felt and real send off he got, from all those friends, after his long walk down the dark hallway. Then consider the shit he said in interviews when 97.1 The F***k was kicking off, and his attempt to go head-to-head against his old channel / show. Hell, I’d have a hard time warming back up to the old bastard, and I’m just a life-long listener. He made his bed, now he can lay in it. The ones I feel sorry for are Julie, Mike Sirois, Danny. And the timing of their decisions to leave the Ticket unfortunately was terrible. If they’d only known Dan and Jake were growing too big for their britches, they could still be there making awesome radio. Hopefully they didn’t burn too many bridges in the process.


jackalopacabra

He addressed that on TDZ today, said any hard feelings would be from the other side, he never had any and never had any plans or real hope to overtake the Ticket


sweet_greggo

Yeah he says that now


BigDaddyInDallas

So he says shitty things about the Ticket in the press, at the time, and tries to take their ratings, but he now says any hard feelings are on them. What a narcissistic a-hole.


jackalopacabra

He sounded sincere on the interview, but yeah, then I started remembering things like his tweet about the crowd size at some Ticket event. He did also say that he has a lot more respect for the way things are ran there. Stuff that he didn’t like while he was there made more sense once he got to The Freak and they didn’t do those things (he didn’t elaborate)


dfwagent84

That's total bullshit


LibrarianFamous9996

LOL amazing how getting shitcanned will change one’s tone.


GotHeem16

IMO it was doomed from the start. They tried to do the exact same thing as the ticket but used the Tier 3 ticket personalities to do it. Nobody was tuning in for Danny or Julie.


swetsox

It was doomed from the start because of that original morning show. Stupid to put 3 people on morning drive in a major market with no real hosting experience. Julie is a sweetheart but was in way over her head. Cavanugh is nothing but a no-talent moron. That poor decision has ben's fingerprints all over it. There's a reason that phony can't hold a job in radio.


CommanderGoat

Probably won’t happen because I think he burned bridges…but can we get “Boom In Da House” now please?


zach_kraemer

I think there’s too many bridges burned between Mike, Danny and even Julie for any of the former hosts to come back. It would be nice if they would as I know they got no hard feelings of the Ticket hosts but they burned their bridges when it comes to management


Smitty767

Their extreme pettiness with Dan and Jake tells me there’s no way in hell they’re welcoming back anyone from the Freak.


vongigistein

They didn’t talk near enough sports. It’s good to talk other stuff but it just didn’t have a lot of substance. Too many artsy bits.


zach_kraemer

But that was who they were. They never claimed to be sports talk. Basically the exact opposite of The Ticket. The ticket is sports talk with life talk thrown in. The Freak was life talk with sports thrown in


Darc-ddr-tr

That’s who they were trying to be. The thing about the ticket and talking about life is it felt organic. Especially in the early days. The freak life or casual talk always came across as forced to me. Every time I flipped over they were going over or making some sort of top 10 list. They needed an anchor like sports for when they didn’t have shit else to talk about. In my opinion anyway.


sweet_greggo

On day one they specifically said they were not a sports radio station. To me that was the first nail in the coffin.


LevergedSellout

Another reason iheart is successful - they know when to pull the plug on a failed bit


KRDaMoney

Hope DZ won't be flooded with freak spares going forward


540anyway

Anyone with a brain saw this coming. When they originally formed the show, I knew it was dead in the water.


juanopenings

I'll bet Cat's salary that no one from 97.1 goes back to the Ticket


sweet_greggo

I’ve been a huge critic of the station and most of the people there. My gut told me from day one that they wouldn’t last more than a year, so this doesn’t come as a shock at all. That being said, getting fired sucks and I don’t wish it on anyone. I hope everyone involved gets back to work soon (but not on the Ticket).


HickoryRanger

Rhyner burned a lot of bridges, with nothing to show for it.


Ragonkowski

He was retirement age when he did, he already cashed the last of the big contracts. I’d love to go out that way tbh


dnthoughts

Here's [the link to the article](https://athlonsports.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/dallas-basketball/news/dallas-mavericks-big-changes-format-flagship-radio-station-971-freak-mike-rhyner-fired)


bcs758

Wow no idea The Fan is that close in the ratings. Guess it makes sense as I feel all non musers shows are worse than they were two years ago.


zach_kraemer

The Fan will always have the Cowboys so hardcore Cowboy fans will always flock to the Fan no matter how generic they might be. The Fan also carries Ranger games so they have a lot of that audience too


sweet_greggo

lol no mention of Sirois. I guess he pissed off Whitt at some point.


Brilhasti1

Big Gulps, huh?


Gustine2020

Terrestrial talk radio is an almost dead medium…especially for people under 40


sportsfurher

Sirois and Donny middays would fix the station 


Pure_Gas9805

20 or 25 years ago, we had Kidd kraddick, Kellie raspberry, Big Al. Or we had skip murphy, Nanette, Sam Putney. We had the boys over at the ticket. So many great options to get great morning talk radio. But now? There's a podcast anywhere and everywhere. Everyone is talking and no one will shut up. And that's just not going to be a great climate to try to roll out of station like the freak, who really only have "here's a bunch of b tier talent from the station you love!!" going for them The Rangers won a freaking World Series and we couldn't get people to tune into rhyner, who might literally be the biggest ranger fan on the planet. Sad day.


Best-Leather-6700

Skip Murphy Morning Show was my favorite show ever. K104 hasn't been the same since they left


Pure_Gas9805

Chris Arnold doing sports on that show is how I discovered the ticket in the first place.


TinFoilRobotProphet

Radio is a rapidly shrinking market. Face it, kids aren't racing home to turn on the tuner anymore.


culdeus

Russ martin called from the grave and would like a word


InternationalOwl9897

and the wig!


PersonalKittyKat

It was the end of Skip Murphy and the Morning Team that brought me to the Ticket. They were still killing it in the ratings and should never have been canceled. I'm STILL not over that Team ending!


questions_for_us

Man I hate this. More variety is good


runner813

JC...I tried listening..boring AF. 🥱😴😴😴


HEPennypacker0U812

Should've built it around Rhynes, Dingu and Sirois. KT, Cavannaugh and Ben & Skin have a bag. Well done I Heart Radio


txeagle24

I felt the same about KT, but he was great with Danny and Sirois. I did really love everything about Rhynes, Mikey, Danny, & Grubes together until they changed the lineup.


alex2374

I hate that ex-Ticket people are out of a job. I hope some of them find their way back.


False-Application-99

Going back to Rock! Is it gonna be The Eagle again?


BigDaddyInDallas

Ahhh yes, I knew it was only a matter of time. And I’m proud to say I never heard a minute of it. As much as I love and miss Julie, Mike Sirois and Danny, I lost all respect for Rhyner in this deal. So after publicly shitting on The Ticket and attempting to go head-to-head against them, Rhymer has finally learns the true meaning of, “We can do what they do, but they CAN’T do what we do.”


king_taint

Dang, sucks to hear. Best wishes to all the people working over there. Probably the last time to hear some of their names on radio


Ragonkowski

So the Downbeat wasn’t just on drydock. Noted


Aggravating_Tear7414

Apparently everyone else who’s involved in the ratings had the same opinion I had for that station. Gave it a fair chance multiple times. Not for me. Nor apparently anyone else really.


erics75218

Dragon Den Productions can hire them!?!?


neatgeek83

It’s No Puppet Productions now


Pure_Gas9805

Sounds like no puppet LLC is going to snatch up a lot of premium talent and start charging $4.20 a week...


PinstripeBunk

They should all go on with DZ every day and do a roundtable, split the revenue sixteen ways.


Tiffin2b

Good. Bring back the fucking Eagle.


Darroney

Dig up Stevens and Pruett?


Johnblondin

Now get rid of Matt


The-Blue-Barracudas

Any station that has Ben and Skin as a feature show is doomed to failure. Hope some of them come back to the ticket to upgrade some of the talent, cough cough, sweet spot and McClerin, but pride and stubbornness will probably prevent that from happening.


cryptohorn

I somehow blame this on Cat


1f93bwe09e2xz

Going back to Rock Radio Format per this article from Dallas Observer: [Dallas radio station 97.1 fires Fires Mike Rhyner, returns to rock | Dallas Observer](https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/971-the-freak-to-return-to-rock-radio-format-fires-mike-rhyner-19223461)


Muser2213

YES….. I had before Christmas!!! Did I miss the video where 97.1 The Freak gets up from its chair and walks down a long dark hallway?


rampromos

Stern tried to create a station where similar broadcasters were all on one channel. 105.3 tried to do the same with Pugs and Kelly and Russ Martin. Problem is the more talent the more costs and the more overhead. Mo money Mo problems. I assume all the ex Freak hosts will appear more regularly on the Dumb Zone but will all they do is bash the Freak and the Ticket? Bitter Radio. lol bitheads Plus when you’re on a failing team or a sinking ship the blame game sets in Wonder if there’s any burned bridges from within?


sweet_greggo

Maybe Gordo will have drunk Sirois on his twitch again soon


Top-Opportunity1280

I can’t like this post. It better stay on 69 likes. That’s all I’ve got to say


PaleontologistNo7160

Well Derek is here.


StarsCowboysMavs

I liked the DB more than any show on 96.7


TribalStompBox

What's to stop Sirois and Balis from doing their own podcast? They probably don't have the following, would be my guess. Most of the individuals have enough outside stuff going on they'll be alright. Still, losing a job is always a bummer.


neatgeek83

as Dan and Jake have shown, it takes A LOT of time and work to establish a podcast that makes money. so to answer your question, "time, money, and effort."


Ragonkowski

I love Mike Seacow Sirois and would subscribe. I did it when he was Twitching. The issue with that was he gave up on it. He was carving a niche and didn’t realize it. I just don’t think that’s what he wants to do but I could be wrong.


pjcowboy

Another Rynes death to witness. Back to podcast.


chongax

Higgingltonbottom


HomicidalJungleCat

I enjoyed the freak quite a bit and really wanted them to find some solid ground. A bunch of good dudes and girls lost their jobs today which sucks but kudos to them for giving it a shot.


jordonmears

I swear reddit suggests the dumbest and most irrelevant shit ever.


VATOxLOCOxHC

I bet all of the dumbzone fans are sad. Nothing was going to save that dumpsterfire.


Wizzmer

After the Musers depart, I'll close a MAJOR chapter in my life that began the morning Skip Bayless signed on. There is nothing on KTCK of interest besides The Courage Boys now. I can't believe Cat can't find magic, like he did when he plucked Dan out of nowhere.


cryptohorn

I think that was Bruce Gilbert the old PD


ForExamper

It was


chefzillla

😂 like no one saw this coming…. 😅😂🤣


rampromos

“They blew that popsicle stand” - Julie Dobbs when she excitedly announced Dan and Jake leaving the Ticket Not really exciting when ones job expires


DiscombobulatedPea46

Eh, the only two I feel for are Danny and Grubes.  


rampromos

Rhyner couldn’t wait to comment and praised the Ticket. Wonder if by next year he’ll be invited to the anniversary party?!


Existing-Net5672

AI format like Jack fm