Marty Lurie's departure from XTRA Sports to KNBR was not a big surprise, but KTRB PD Kevin Barrett said the station made a pitch to retain Lurie.
"We wish Marty well. The real story is we offered him the ability to broadcast "Off the Bat" on XTRA Sports each weekend to coincide with A's Baseball. He
was not interested in doing that. Ironically, it is essentially the same arrangement that he accepted at the other sports station."
Bottom line: Lurie's show, however quaint and interesting, (and it is,) interfered with the recent Michael Savage addition to XTRA 860. Savage' early buzz is generating a huge audience for the sports outlet. It's beyond "move-the-meter" buzz. Simple biz decision, plain and simple.
**No one's talking on the record at KTVU; hell, no one's talking period about the newsroom personnel shake-up. Lots of whispering and angst at 2 Jack London Square.
**Mike Malloy of Green 960 on The Who halftime Super Bowl show: ..."Talk about a Superbowl Wardrobe malfunction...I'd rather see Janet Jackson's nipple any day over Pete Townshend's belly!!!" referring to Pete lifting his arm and exposing his big belly.
**Speaking of the Super Bowl, the official MASH question: Who would you rather see throwing a football? Drew Brees, or Alan Alda?
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Good for Marty. I look forward to hearing him on KNBR on the weekends. Like many, I enjoy hearing him talk but just can't pick up the A's station (whatever one they choose for that year). Even in the East Bay.
ReplyDeleteSorry, A's fans! While the big boy teams pick off the talent on the field, the Giants just need to snag Ken Korach to finish picking off the talent off the field.
And while it wasn't Alan Alda, we did get some football in the M*A*S*H movie. However, we didn't get to see Radar run the pick back for a TD.
I love Ken Korach's broadcasting style, but he wouldn't fit in with the Giants broadcast team. He has too much integrity and he doesn't suck up to management or make excuses for horrendous play like the absurdly bush-league Kruk & Kuip. They are very much part of what Howard Cosell called the "jockocracy," ex-ballplayers who are allowed to flourish as sub-standard broadcasters because of their connections. Hank Greenwald's son, by the way, who has come up the right way as a broadcaster (i.e. doing minor league games, honing his craft, just like Korach did in Las Vegas) did one Giants game on the radio last year as an emergency substiture for either Kruk or Kuip and he was great. But he still toils in the minors, broadcasting Fresno Grizzly games, while the Giants continue to employee these brown-nosing lackeys because they'll never critcize the team or management.
ReplyDeleteAnd R.R., would you also classify the horrendously incompentent "Amy G" as part of this alleged Giants stable of talent? The Giants can keep that sorry lot of hacks that they call a broadcast team. And same with that ridiculous sounding gal who is the ballpark PA announcer. That's another AT&T Park gimmick -- along with the annoying kids announcing the players -- that has outlived its usefulness. Can you imagine some 8-year-old brat announcing Joe Dimaggio's name at Yankee Stadium in the 1940's? The Giants are big on gimmicks and light on tradition, and championships....
DarboO, another right-on classic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Giants have tons of statues, monuments, garlic fries, splash-pad homeruns and ZERO championships...meanwhile in little old Oakland, they have 4 World Series trophies in their lobby and yes, the great Ken Korach.
Yes, I would include Amy G as part of the Giants stable of talent. I'm just not sure which part of the stable; horse's arse or the mess on the stable floor.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are BIG on gimmicks. It does mask the lack of championships. The more "Eliminate Me" and shots of the kids in the crowds we get, the more I know it is to hide a lackluster game. But they do embrace tradition; bringing back old players and celebrating their past. But probably too much as that too masks the lack of championships.
Yup, the A's do have 4 trophies. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of bragging rights in the Bay Area.
Where is the steady radio presence?
Why did they get the bump on Comcast to the upper channels?
Where are the crowds that use to be there in 1990?
Why are they blocking off the upper deck and can only fill the stadium when Boston or the Yankees are in town?
Does Wolfe care about the team?
Are they moving out of Oakland?
Is Moneyball/Billy Bean's style really working anymore or is the organization always prepping for a future that never arrives?
Would ex-players like Maguire and Giambi, if ever inducted into Cooperstown, go in with an A's jersey and cap or prefer the Cards or the Yanks?
Yeah, the Giants have a lot of dressing on their salad. But I hardly see a bastion of baseball across the bay. Four trophies from 20 and 35 years ago doesn't seem to pull in the fans and clout, I guess.