Ralph-- Why don't you just get another job? Comcast, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN. You're good, you're controversial. KNBR is not the only game in town.
It seems to me..he's only going to stick who stuck it to him. Bunghole's firing...but Lee Hammer's stab in the back is a good start. And why he thinks those KNBR hosts have never called him. It cant be fear..because Ralph would never divulge what they said..but Ralph did mention none have called him other then Tolbert. And..Why WAS he so late so often? Was he tweaking the noses of big business? huh? a little? Unlike others, I know why Ralph hasn't gone to another job. Parkinson's is a real debilitating illness..but KNBR could have worked with him. New employers wont even try.
Here's one Rich-and I'm serious- ask Ralph how much effort KNBR interns put out into being trolls of local blogs..and go over Fitz's trolling with Raymon Ridder of the Warriors. Ask Rich,the dirty tricks and "rules" Dibbs alludes too on occasion of working there.
Any good question will be answered with "My Council has advised me that with the impending court case I shouldn't answer that. The answer will come out in Court". (The "It's in my book" answer)
I can tell you all of the particulars about that one. A sleazy agent named Martin Mandell got wind of the fact that the Warriors were not thrilled that Greg Papa was going to be asking for more money (his contract was up), so he went to Robin Baggett (then chief council for the Warriors) and offered 'his guy' (Fitzgerald) as an alternative for less than half the money. Cohan, who was a complete idiot and never truly understood that people liked Papa and identified him with the team, went along with Baggett's idea. KNBR GM Tony Salvadore had pushed Fitz for the radio gig when Papa had gone from Warriors' radio to Warriors' TV in 1995, but at the time, the Warriors were still owned by the Fitzgerald/Finanne tandeM. The late David McGahey, who was in charge of Warriors' broadcasting, was repulsed by Fitz and hired Tin Roy instead, but Fitz got his chance a few years later. We were all hoping that with new ownership, Fitz would be shown the door as he's a shameless homer to was constantly pumping up bad teams over the last decade and a half, while sucking up behind the scenes to Cohan and his minions. Obviously, Fitzie must have used his wiles to convince the new ownership that they should stay with him as warriors TV play by play guy, a most unfortunate choice, according to most Warrior fans.
First, as some people have mentioned already here, ask him about Fitz and if he realizes how unpopular he is with so many of the fans. Also, does he think it's true that the Warriors pay (or help underwrite) Fitz's salary to be on the air at KNBR for his noon-to-three show? And when the whole TC FIrehouse debacle came down (evidence seemed to indicate that Fitz was posting on fan sites under an alias) why wasn't any caller allowed to bring this up on the air? How about when Fitz back-stabbed Greg Papa to get the Warriors job? What did he think of that?
Here's something else to ask him: what does he think of criticism that he mailed it in the last several years? I for one was frustrated that a guy who is supposed to talk about sports would often cop to not paying close attention to the games and other important things happening in the sports world. I mean, it was his job to have an opinion on this stuff and he seemed to always lack preparation. Also, why didn't he ever get a Twitter account and tweet like Tolbert? Does he not believe/accept that this is how a new generation of sports fans expect to be able to engage with the sports media? What does he think of that, and social networking in general? It's a big part of how radio hosts interact with their listeners; how writers interact with their readers, etc. Peter King of SI, for example, has over 1 million Twitter followers. A local writer -- Tim Kawakami -- has over 27,000. Why didn't he use these tools to stay more relevant? I would have thought it would be right up his alley and that he'd use it to make frequent pronouncements. Just curious to know what he thinks about it.
Some of these suggested questions are idiotic. Why in the world would Rich ask Ralph about Fitz. And do you think Ralph is stupid enough to answer a question about Fitz?
Rich is interviewing Ralph and will ask questions to Ralph about Ralph.
Who the hell is this guy? I don't listen to KNBR or follow sports, but this discussion with Barbieri is boring beyond belief and difficult to follow. Maybe it's the holy grail for those of you sports nuts and radio business insiders, but I'm going to listen to something else. This isn't working for me. I'll be back, however.
Rich is already scaling back alas Michael Savage (2 hour shows only). Soon he'll be on the Len Tillem and Ronnnnnnnn Owens holiday schedule which Johnny Carson pioneered. Don't be surprised if "Lieberman Best of" shows begin to air soon...
The podcasts are now online. Kudos to Rich for taking the brunt, asking the uncomfortable questions from his followers, and keeping the interview focused and moving. I think the interview confirmed some of the feelings people have about Ralph. I was sorry to hear that Ralph has diabetes on top of the Parkinson's disease.
I just got done listening to the podcasts. I'm sure people will dive into the details and pull out what they want and dissect it apart.
For me, the part I was shaking my head over was Ralph wondering why they would fire him over lateness when they just got done giving him a raise for being on time the first 3 months of the new contract. Um, in most jobs, showing up on time is kind of a given. That 10K was a carrot they dangled in front of you to get you to show up on time because they knew you had issues in that area. And it did work, didn't it? No appointments or other functions in the way.
The other related issue was Ralph making the argument that that he and Tolbert didn't need to show up at 2:30pm to do prep because they never did that before. So what time DO you need to show up then? 3pm? 3:07pm? That extra 30 minutes of buffer was there in case you were late but even that got abused. You might not think you need the extra time but I have to think you were putting Tom and the producer in a bad position.
Other than that, I enjoyed the interview. I wish Ralph well. Health issues are a bitch.
Rich, you had a lot of things to get through but you did it. From Brent Jones to the Sharks to Amichi's to Sabean to parking spaces to Baer to Damon Bruce to Nukem to Quentin Koch.
Ralph-- Why don't you just get another job? Comcast, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN.
ReplyDeleteYou're good, you're controversial.
KNBR is not the only game in town.
It seems to me..he's only going to stick who stuck it to him. Bunghole's firing...but Lee Hammer's stab in the back is a good start. And why he thinks those KNBR hosts have never called him. It cant be fear..because Ralph would never divulge what they said..but Ralph did mention none have called him other then Tolbert.
ReplyDeleteAnd..Why WAS he so late so often? Was he tweaking the noses of big business? huh? a little?
Unlike others, I know why Ralph hasn't gone to another job. Parkinson's is a real debilitating illness..but KNBR could have worked with him. New employers wont even try.
Question for Ralph: Do you think the A's are gonna stay in Oakland??????????
ReplyDeleteHere's one Rich-and I'm serious- ask Ralph how much effort KNBR interns put out into being trolls of local blogs..and go over Fitz's trolling with Raymon Ridder of the Warriors. Ask Rich,the dirty tricks and "rules" Dibbs alludes too on occasion of working there.
ReplyDeleteWhat question to ask? Do you actually think tht you'll get a word in edgewise?
ReplyDeleteAny good question will be answered with "My Council has advised me that with the impending court case I shouldn't answer that. The answer will come out in Court".
Delete(The "It's in my book" answer)
he has a "council"??? wow
DeleteWhat is his relationship with Tolbert now? Have the two spoken recently?
ReplyDeleteAsk about Bob stealing Papa's job.
ReplyDeleteTHATS what you would ask that nobody has of anybody associated with KNBR now or past.
Ask him Rich.
The only reason he would be a good interview is if he dishes. He won't, so all you will have is a bitter blowhard
ReplyDeleteI can tell you all of the particulars about that one. A sleazy agent named Martin Mandell got wind of the fact that the Warriors were not thrilled that Greg Papa was going to be asking for more money
ReplyDelete(his contract was up), so he went to Robin Baggett (then chief council for the Warriors) and offered 'his guy' (Fitzgerald) as an alternative for less than half the money. Cohan, who was a complete idiot and never truly understood that people liked Papa and identified him with the team, went along with Baggett's idea. KNBR GM Tony Salvadore had pushed Fitz for the radio gig when Papa had gone from Warriors' radio to Warriors' TV in 1995, but at the time, the Warriors were still owned by the Fitzgerald/Finanne tandeM. The late David McGahey, who was in charge of Warriors' broadcasting, was repulsed by Fitz and hired Tin Roy instead, but Fitz got his chance a few years later. We were all hoping that with new ownership, Fitz would be shown the door as he's a shameless homer to was constantly pumping up bad teams over the last decade and a half, while sucking up behind the scenes to Cohan and his minions. Obviously, Fitzie must have used his wiles to convince the new ownership that they should stay with him as warriors TV play by play guy, a most unfortunate choice, according to most Warrior fans.
First, as some people have mentioned already here, ask him about Fitz and if he realizes how unpopular he is with so many of the fans. Also, does he think it's true that the Warriors pay (or help underwrite) Fitz's salary to be on the air at KNBR for his noon-to-three show? And when the whole TC FIrehouse debacle came down (evidence seemed to indicate that Fitz was posting on fan sites under an alias) why wasn't any caller allowed to bring this up on the air? How about when Fitz back-stabbed Greg Papa to get the Warriors job? What did he think of that?
ReplyDeleteHere's something else to ask him: what does he think of criticism that he mailed it in the last several years? I for one was frustrated that a guy who is supposed to talk about sports would often cop to not paying close attention to the games and other important things happening in the sports world. I mean, it was his job to have an opinion on this stuff and he seemed to always lack preparation.
Also, why didn't he ever get a Twitter account and tweet like Tolbert? Does he not believe/accept that this is how a new generation of sports fans expect to be able to engage with the sports media? What does he think of that, and social networking in general? It's a big part of how radio hosts interact with their listeners; how writers interact with their readers, etc. Peter King of SI, for example, has over 1 million Twitter followers. A local writer -- Tim Kawakami -- has over 27,000. Why didn't he use these tools to stay more relevant? I would have thought it would be right up his alley and that he'd use it to make frequent pronouncements. Just curious to know what he thinks about it.
Some of these suggested questions are idiotic. Why in the world would Rich ask Ralph about Fitz. And do you think Ralph is stupid enough to answer a question about Fitz?
DeleteRich is interviewing Ralph and will ask questions to Ralph about Ralph.
Ralph is proving that he doesn't belong on the air! He can't stay on topic and sounds awful.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell is this guy? I don't listen to KNBR or follow sports, but this discussion with Barbieri is boring beyond belief and difficult to follow. Maybe it's the holy grail for those of you sports nuts and radio business insiders, but I'm going to listen to something else. This isn't working for me. I'll be back, however.
ReplyDeleteRich: Are you scaling back your program to two hours (from three)?
ReplyDeleteRich is already scaling back alas Michael Savage (2 hour shows only). Soon he'll be on the Len Tillem and Ronnnnnnnn Owens holiday schedule which Johnny Carson pioneered. Don't be surprised if "Lieberman Best of" shows begin to air soon...
DeleteIs their a transcript of Ralph interview?
ReplyDeleteThe podcasts are now online. Kudos to Rich for taking the brunt, asking the uncomfortable questions from his followers, and keeping the interview focused and moving. I think the interview confirmed some of the feelings people have about Ralph. I was sorry to hear that Ralph has diabetes on top of the Parkinson's disease.
ReplyDeleteExactly where is it online, or has it been taken down.
ReplyDeletehttp://ksco.com/lieberman-live
DeleteI just got done listening to the podcasts. I'm sure people will dive into the details and pull out what they want and dissect it apart.
DeleteFor me, the part I was shaking my head over was Ralph wondering why they would fire him over lateness when they just got done giving him a raise for being on time the first 3 months of the new contract. Um, in most jobs, showing up on time is kind of a given. That 10K was a carrot they dangled in front of you to get you to show up on time because they knew you had issues in that area. And it did work, didn't it? No appointments or other functions in the way.
The other related issue was Ralph making the argument that that he and Tolbert didn't need to show up at 2:30pm to do prep because they never did that before. So what time DO you need to show up then? 3pm? 3:07pm? That extra 30 minutes of buffer was there in case you were late but even that got abused. You might not think you need the extra time but I have to think you were putting Tom and the producer in a bad position.
Other than that, I enjoyed the interview. I wish Ralph well. Health issues are a bitch.
Rich, you had a lot of things to get through but you did it. From Brent Jones to the Sharks to Amichi's to Sabean to parking spaces to Baer to Damon Bruce to Nukem to Quentin Koch.