Now that Ted Griggs is leaving CSNBA to take on an even bigger role in Connecticut --word has come to me that one of Griggs biggest hires may be on the hot seat.
That would be Comcast "Senior Insider", (whatever) Ray Ratto, who has a cushy job at the 3rd Street /SoMo studios.
Ratto has never been a favorite of mine; he's a good writer and generally moves the needle with his various opines but his eternal, pissed-off curmudgeon sports sage has never moved me. I've often thought, why is Ray always look as if he's always on the rag? Is a bad sandwich always? Is he playing the part down too honestly because generally, Ray doesn't have a positive look on life even when the world has treated him well; I mean there are worse things in life Ray could be doing if Comcast weren't paying him a shade under $300,000 for his opinion and daily missives.
Comcast has a new big suit on the way who doesn't know Ratto that much which in turn might be the reason (among others) that Ray might have to go out and once again work for a living.
Time will tell.
I agree with you Rich. His act is a joke. Stop drinking your own piss Ray!
ReplyDeleteI agree, as well.
DeleteAhhhhhh!
ReplyDeleteThe smell of spring in the fall.
Time to clean house "Comcast Style"....so they can pay for that KNTV StormRanger.
Dust and sweep....dust and sweep.
CSN and KNTV are in different divisions of NBCU.
DeleteI like Ray. Partly because he is informative and different: Not just another stuffed suit or clown.
ReplyDeleteOne thing he is terrible at is reading out loud his own writings. He had some contract with knbr last year to read something "special" for a few minutes on air. Snooooooze-then burp. I couldn't tell you how fast I changed the station.
ReplyDeleteStrangely,this year that feature is missing. Missed about as much as the sports poet-rapper at Comcast....
Ray Ratto is nothing more than a miserable fat fuck.
DeleteGood riddance
Right there. On the money. On point. The end.
DeleteRatto is a smart, funny guy. Wish he was working with Tolbert; Lund is a walking cliche.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. Though Lund is a definite talent but he doesn't have the firepower to work with Tolbert like Ratto did. Ratto and Tolbert were transcendent in sports insight, and also very very funny.
DeleteI like Ray too. He is smart, creative, and wonderfully cynical.
ReplyDeleteBut he bites like a toothless bulldog. You notice no matter what he says in a negative,cynical manner... it's pretty much mainstream. He's never offended or angered anybody as far as I know.
DeleteI first posted something like that 4 or 5 years ago. No change.
There was only ONE Ralph...
DeleteLike Uppercut above, Ray is very good and informative in his Sports Talk Live segments with Tim Kawakami. But I also agree that reading his columns each day are get old fast.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Rich Lieberman only publish comments from people who agree with him?
ReplyDeleteDissent is dangerous?
Ray Ratto can talk about any sport and is knowledgeable enough to speak on sports history. He is an asset to Comcast Sports Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Besides the big three - football, baseball and basketball, he knows hockey and EPL soccer too. As a music geek, he knows his pop music history too. Could give Paulie Mac a couple lessons if he was willing to bust out of his Quiet Riot and Motley Crue box.
DeleteFor a journalist, he is a terrible on-air interviewer. Almost like he is trying to think of the question mid-sentence. Back when I actually listened to KNBR, if Tom T was off and Ray was going solo, I'd change to another station.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Ratto and Kawakami are the only reasons I watch Sports Talk Live. Ratto goes, so do I.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe you'll get a life, buddy.
DeleteIs it them,or is it compared to pablum puking MontePoole,Phil whats his name,Mark Purdy,Killion..?
DeleteThe bar is low for revelations on sports talk.Its still not met!
Philcycles, you have good taste. I would add Phil Taylor to the list. Greg Papa and Gary St. Jean are worth watching after Warrior games.
DeleteRatto was a High School Referee back in the day. AAA SF Hoops and he even did WCAL games...
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know how Comcast's Griggs successor will get along with Mr. Lockstep in case ol' Larry does not agree with a Ratto removal. Should be an interesting showdown if there is one.
ReplyDeleteis that 300 as in $300,000...wow, that is truly disturbing.
ReplyDeleteRay is one of the smartest people in the press box, is a terrific writer but he's got a negative, cynical attitude about what he does for a living and I have yet to figure out why. The continual sarcastic remarks really start grating after awhile. Hey, this isn't politics, it's sports for cripes sake!
ReplyDeleteIt might be a defense mechanism to avoid appearing to be a homer or cheerleader. I notice his predictions are also pessimistic. If he makes a prediction, I usually assume the opposite will occur. Other than that, he's a pretty thoughtful journalist.
DeleteRay's just a smart ass who needs to be put out to pasture along with those ugly ass sweaters
ReplyDeleteyour demeanor makes Ray look like an optimist!
ReplyDelete