They wanted a more local guy who devoted more time to the gig and was around the facility more and could bond with players and coaching staff.
Sure, Plummer was not afraid to call it like it was, and indeed, he was brutally honest. Sometimes, over the top.
But Plummer was rarely seen around the practice facility, (he lives in San Diego) and team officials wanted someone new and fresh. A bit sanitized too? Yes, but Eric Davis, is hardly a homer, but yes too, he'll be a good company man. If that sounds lame, get used to it. It's how most of the teams in most markets do business. The 49ers are no different. The days of Bill King, Lon Simmons, Hank Greenwald, and Vin Scully are over.
*I haven't talked much lately of why so many people despise Bob Fitzgerald because then I would be accused of piling on. "Fitz", or as he's known around Warriors fan sites, "Giggles", is never wrong and will tell you every day if given a chance. He's also the biggest, phoniest, dweeb on the planet with a smarmy personality that would make Jim Gray look like Mary Poppins. I long ago figured out "Rudy", yeah, tell us how fantastic Notre Dame football is 365x a day.
*Finally listened to Eric Byrnes on knibber. All I will say is that it was far worse than I expected....Byrnes used to be a baseball player and drinks beer and surfs alot, dude. Oh, and he's got a personality too which automatically means he's great, right? Yeah, on MLB-TV and Fox, he knows how to play to the camera and is fairly knowledgeable.
On radio, he sounds, sorry, lazy. "Thanks for the call", lots of empty dead air and a mishmash of sometimes incoherent rantings. That's about it. Oh yeah, and he's succumbed to the usual baseless KNBR brand of beer sound drops. Utterly original, "Byrnesie."
*From my friend at Newsblues, (pay wall,) Mike James informs me that KGO/ABC7 GM,
Valari Dobson Staab, has taken a new gig and will become president of NBC Local Media. She's been at KGO since 2002. Staab begins duties in June.
*And no, Gary Plummer will never be the color analyst of the Oakland Raiders. Then again, when you refer to a player as a "turd", your chances of hooking up in the future dramatically decrease. Maybe Plummer can apply for the Sabrecats gig.
*How classy of a few "mainstream" bloggers of local papers to refer to the Plummer firing without attributing the guy who broke the story first. Humn, wonder who he is? Then again, thanks to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, SFGate, and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk for their professional courtesy.
*Follow me on Twitter
"Bonding" means you wont criticize the 49er player you just had lunch with. More of that Jed MBA training on how to be a controling meglamaniac-especially important when you run out a losing team year after year. Joe Lacob you might notice also approves of Fitzs shenanigans..for a man who boasts he did his Warrior research..Fitzs blog trolling,company's hidden KNBR mouthpiece-his KNBR salarie paid by the Warriors for years never revealed until last years exposure. Fitz actually thinks he's vital to the team!..his comments to players are laughably full of himself. All,now Lacob endorsed. I wonder what he says to those emailers he claims he answers when Fitz is the topic?..oh,THOSE slip by unanswered..lol..
ReplyDeleteThe new announcers are almost proud they repeat the company line-like being an unapologetic company whore like Radnich makes it right. And thats a good word for most of the on air people today.
Speaking of Radnich-"Plummer was wanted by the 49ers to do banquets and things like that,and Gary in San Diego wasnt available" In other words,the company line they wanted somebody who lives in the bay area.
ReplyDeleteWhat Radnich didnt mention,is that for 13 years the 49ers were fine with that since for those first 11-12 years Plummer was pretty much straight and non critical. I guess Singletary's bumbling era pushed Plummer into crossing the line into an area the company wouldnt put up with.
Who for that first decade remembers Plummer as being critical?
Today's MBA sports media are strangling truth...
Lazy? Incoherent? Like you said last month-"A KNBR kind of guy"
ReplyDeleteBut dont worry-he works cheap and is a Lee Hammer,Lew Dickey type of guy also. That means he can be as bad as he wants to be for years and years. Quailty isn't in the KNBR handbook.
Fitzgerald is FANTASTIC! What's wrong with you??? He has such enthusiasm for the team, a fabulous voice and good chemistry w/ Barnett... Please elaborate. Calling people names is ugly - examples please!!
ReplyDeleteMr. Lieberman,
ReplyDeleteYou my friend have it spot on!! Bob Fitzgerald (Mr. Hair Mousse) and Rod Brooks are the biggest douche-bags in the Bay area, can't stand either one. Why the hell are this cretins in the air?
"Moussie Boy" (Fitzgerald) is a brown nose, can't stand that arrogant little punk.
ReplyDeleteThat's a big-time move for Valari Dobson Staab -- running all the NBC O&O's plus their online and digital platform endeavors. Not unlike the job NBC Universal CEO, Steve Burke, once held at ABC before Brian Roberts hired him at Comcast. JW
ReplyDeleteGranted it was one night out of many for only 25 minutes but I turned on Byrnes' show last week. I was hoping to hear the score of the game I missed. I heard the attendance numbers but never the score even once. Repeating the score every now and then is kind of one of those basic rules, right?
ReplyDeleteRich@415 - You may NOT have seen my post but I did say Byrnes might be worse than anybody ever heard. You are right. Talking nonstop to "Feldhouse" and all the other behind the glass types. Loudly talking almost YELLING about Bill Walton and Jim Grey. Constantly dropping Tweet sounds, dead air, dead air, did I say dead air....way to many rejoin songs from god knows what generation.
ReplyDeleteLee Hammer: if you read this PLEASE consider offering Byrnes some off site clues on how to conduct Sportsphone 680. He doesnt have to be HanK Greenwall/Bruce Mcgowan/ Damon Bruce or even FP, but right now....right this day: Byrnes is a cartoon type character plain and simple.
Never thought I would listen to nothing if 7 to 10pm was on KNBR but I can say I have missed 90% of Brynes gigs so far.
You thought Ray Woodson was boring Lee....oh my Byrnes is unintelligable...if thats really a word.
@PaloAlto Pat
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? Fitzgerald is the reason that Greg Papa left his warrior gig and Tim Roy is now our problem. Roy is good but Fitz kissed everyones feet at KNBR and caused a rucus when he moved or did not want to move his original KNBR time slot - that draped over to the Warriors fiasco.
Fitzgerald is scum among his peers. Listen to him on TV - the Warriors can do no WRONG.
My god Pat, get OUT a little more.
Ask Greg Papa what he thinks of Fitzgerald. Warrior telecasts were enjoyable to watch until someone undercut Papa so he could get the job instead.
ReplyDeletewow, is that true - Warriors been paying Fitz's salary at KNBR for years?? disappointing...
ReplyDeletei remember last year during the World Series, i think it was before Game 1 and i thought Fitz + FP were gonna throw down.....i thought Byrnes was there too but not sure....that was the strangest radio broadcast i've heard...did you report it Rich?? i swear i thought punches were gonna be thrown...
I was wondering when the story broke -over there..if they got it from you or did the team do a mass press release?
ReplyDeletelol,Susan Slusser had a fit when she mistook what I said on an A's blog post,that you beat her to the move to the Country station by the A's, breaking story....
Haven't watched a Warrior's telecast in years because I loathe Fitzgerald; he should be selling mattresses at Sleeptrain.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 2:10PM
ReplyDeleteI do get out, dude. But I ONLY watch Warriors on TV... I do not listen to sports radio or watch other sports team. So, in my defense, I know absolutely nothing about Fitzgerald except what I see/hear during Warriors games. And I like him. I'm kind of disappointed to hear he is scum. Who is Greg Papa?