Furthermore, KNBR has a looming, big-time issue: the lack of Giants' baseball games due to the ongoing MLB lockout --KNBR is tied to the hip with baseball and the Giants. They will LOSE and have already lost almost a half-million dollars and figure to lose more as baseball is down now.
When you have all those variables you have to SHED...amd shed they do. This is not very surprising.
UPDATE: 5: 01 PM Adam Copeland to co-host with Tom Tolbert.
Makes sense, not only the fact that he's already there and can be moved to the PM, his status as an African-American host, doesn't hurt.
how is cumulus still in business?
ReplyDeleteKreuger will find work very easily, Brooks will not, Tolbert will dodder along like the imbecile he always has been. This was a horrible mismatch of personalities. One very smart, one not very smart, and the token athelete.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good analogy. Krueger has some talent and at least follows sports. Tolbert looked great with Ralph but he is just collecting a check and I never saw a ounce of talent with Brooks, very dull guy with nothing to say.
DeleteKrueger is part sports nerd and part meathead. He is really knowledgeable about football drafts, but he also misses the point. Recently, TKB were discussing signature basketball shots like Kareem's sky hook. Larry went on to mention some basketball move like a Tim Hardaway's crossover dribble. Rod had to correct Larry, "But that's not a shot." Roll the eyes.
DeleteSo the other day I was listening to TKB on my way home from skiing with my daughter. It's a rare listen because I'm not often in the car. Normally I get about 15 minutes between kQED and whatever music I choose to listen to, sometimes Murph and Mac (which I like). Anyway, I'm listening and I realize these guys are just talking in circles about nothingness. I'm wondering where the calls are so I call the station just to see if they're taking calls, and no one answers. I text a buddy of mine about the calls thing and he tells me "they don't take calls." And now I'm sitting there, driving on 80 thinking to myself, "Someone thinks these guys are interesting enough that they don't take phone calls?!?! WHO THE FUCK HAD THAT IDEA?"
DeleteSo I listen a bit longer and Rod Brooks makes a point about something, maybe about being cold waiting for an airplane without a jacket, or some shit. The story is not wholly uninteresting, but the way he tells stories is WHOLLY UNINTERESTING. Then it ends, and the next day tells a story, and then the next guy tells their story. And on and on and on and on and on and fucking kill me. Is this really the show? Every day? The no-calls-i-kind-of-agree-with-you-rod-and-tom-and larry-but-my-story-is-this-one-which-is-similar-but-a-little-different-and-again-fucking-just-kill-me-already!!!
Now I was a sports talk host in Philadelphia. I left the Bay, I went to WIP, did some sports and I truly hated it. It made me stop liking sports, for the most part. Or at least not caring enough to where I'd ever want to discuss it on the radio again. But as much as I didn't give any shits about Philly sports I at least tuned into Mike Missanelli because HE'S ENTERTAINING. Because the CALLERS ARE ENTERTAINING. Because the PEOPLE HAVE PASSION.
There's none of that in afternoon drive in the Bay Area. It's devoid is passion and lacks any real entertainment value.
Now where I disagree with the above poster is when you call Tom an idiot, or whatever you wrote. He's far from that. Tom is sharp. He understands sports, and what transpires on the court, etc. He was never the most athletic guy so he got where he is/was by actually being heady, and it shows. If you don't recognize what he brings to the table you're a moron. That said, he doesn't work with these other two because one guy is far from entertaining or passionate, and the other guy is like a stat-nerd sports-guy. Contrast this with RALPH. That dude was an unhinged sports fan, and what's why it worked with Tom's level-headed presence. So yes, he has been miscast all the way. Brooks shouldn't have a job here, and Larry should not be a drive guy.
The station completely lacks entertainers short of the morning show, despite what anyone has to say. Those guys understand their roles and stay in their lanes. But the rest of the station, and the other station, total fucking mess.
To think a major market sounds like this is really a reflection of the audience itself: they don't really care. No other sports driven market would stand for such shit programming, but in the land of apps and podcasts and transitory people no one really cares that much. So it's completely passable.
I hope for Tom's sake, and the new guy, it works out. But I've not heard a truly engaging sports show in the Bay Area since I moved here 13 years ago. The ownership groups are not going to pay real talent, and there's no real talent coming up because no one will work for these wages. Even in Philly, the #1 guy was making $1,000,000 because he was in the business 20 years. The new, young, #2 guy, who actually beat him a few times? He was making $125,000.
You pay for what you get, and that's why KGO is trash and KNBR ain't far behind.
Cheers.
excellent analysis, The morning show does what it needs to do. All theother shows are boring with zero calls and therefore zero passion. Most of the peole after the morning show are bought and paid for by a sports team. Either having side jobs with the niners or warriors or giants. So the only real unadulterated passion has to come from the fan callers.
DeleteMaybe Larry Kreuger should apply for work at KYLD(WiLD 94-9)! He could be a good fit if he went there. :)
ReplyDeleteI get why they keep Tom, but he can't carry a show working solo.
ReplyDeleteThose clowns were overpaid to begin with. Good riddance to bad rubbish!
ReplyDeleteLol so true. 100%.
DeleteBrooks is like a cockroach.
Hate to see anyone lose their job, but I never could get into the show. The personalities just didn't gel, there was absolutely no chemistry between the three of them. The three personality show isn't a good format either. Solo or two leads -- not three leads, just doesn't work, there are too many voices at once. Rod and Larry might have worked well together as a show because it would have been a contrast in personalities. Interesting that Tolbert post Barbieri has never really found his spot on the station.
ReplyDeleteKNBR should bring Damon Bruce back and pair him up with Tom Tolbert.
ReplyDeleteDamon doesn't want to be paired with anyone unless it's me, myself, and I.
DeleteI'm not sure if Damon would come back to KNBR. He would be a good addition to KNBR if he ever did come back, but it looks like he has a good thing with 95.7 right now
DeleteOtis III good point, I think Bruce is better off with Tolbert than Ratto.
Delete@2:21- A Damon-Tolbert pairing would be interesting, but would Tolbert be ok with not being the top dog? As we saw when Damon was paired with Gary, Damon doesn't want to be #2/play second fiddle.
DeleteI think Ratto ruins Damon's vibe. Sometimes you can tell even watching them on the livestream on Youtube, that Damon tries to plead with Ratto on some things, but Ratto is not having it. I miss the Tuesday Trifecta segment that Damon used to do. Ratto has kind of killed some of Damon's fun segments Damon used to do back when Damon was a solo host.
Damon is average. The guy makes one salient point and he literally has to repeat over and over just so you know he actually came up with something coherent. That show is truly awful. Putting him with Tom would be a waste. Put that guy Guru with Tom and you'd have something.
DeleteAdam Copeland is just as much white as black.
ReplyDeleteAdam Copeland, the patriarch and moneymaker of the Copeland Family. With father Brian paying for lunch at McDonald’s with his Venom 2 royalty checks.
DeleteTrue. Let's see if he dials back the caffeine to play second banana to Tolbert.
DeleteI don't care about sports for the most part, so don't listen to that station. I do know that Adam Copeland is Brian Copeland's son. Brian is multi-talented, he was a talk show host on KGO for years, he wrote a book, he had several VERY successuful one man shows. 8:01's comments have no base in reality, they come off as ignorant and mean spirited.
DeleteSorry to see Larry go, he's a solid host. Probably see Rod working at Costco in Novato soon, can't see him landing on another station.
ReplyDeleteLoved Tom with Ralph. Since then, not much. Ralph was the best sports host ever, smart, fully, interesting. Tom funny then. Awesome pairing. Rod horrible now. Kruger knows sports but can't really relate off of that knowledge. Tom does a great job on Warriors broadcasts. He is in his niche with Roye. Hope he stays on there. However, truthfully, KNBR is just awful.
ReplyDeleteThey should move Kreuger to Papa and Dumb slot.
ReplyDeletePapa can't stand Krueger, because he's not a puppet like Lund.
Delete3 a crowd........Love Tom......been listening for over 20 years
ReplyDeleteYou know damn well they're going to end up at "The Game" soon enough and push the former KNBR interns over there out of their shows.
ReplyDeleteKgmz is doing even worse then knbr is..imagine entercom has a budget too,I cant fathom that station isnt losing money..it would make sense, both of these stations have been swapping personnel for a few years..larry kruger would be a major upgrade over anyone there..mark willard and dan dibley cant be any more bland, and incredibly uninteresting..the weirdest thing is them building their lineup over a former caller who worked in a grocery store,he's the face of the station
Delete@unknown stuntman- I think Butcher Boy is one of the faces of the station along with Bonta, Guru, Damon Bruce, and maybe Dibley. But yes, Butcher Boy is definitely a big part of 95.7.
Delete95.7 at least gives people chances and are willing to give them a shot. What would 95.7 be without Guru and Butcher Boy, two guys who didn't get to 95.7 the conventional way?
They let go of Larry and keep Paulie???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
ReplyDeleteDo you know hard it is to find somebody to repeatedly yell an athlete's name over the music of a bad 70's song?
DeleteSorry to see Krueger lose his job. He worked hard and tried to keep the show focused on sports. Brooks was useless for 20+ years at KNBR. He had absolutely nothing to say nor did he seem the least bit interested in doing his homework. As for Tom, another dumb jock leaning on beer, gambling, fast food and cartoons to bide his time and collect a fat paycheck. Ralph essentially carried him for years.
ReplyDeleteTom was at the top of his game with Ralph, he seems twice as knowledgeable about sports then Ralph. Ralph was much better in interviews. He would ask the tough questions and it will be great Radio. Tom is a blowhole who can't ask a question in under 100 words.
Deletecouldnt have said it better. Tolbert cant ask a direct questiuon without a long winding list of multiple choice options to show us all how smart he is. He is talking to experts in the field and they dont need multiple choice options. Does he really need to give Steve Kerr multiple choice?
DeleteGood riddance to both losers. Too bad KNBR is a lost cause of a station
ReplyDeleteWow, shocking news. Even though Krueger and Brooks weren't really a fit with Tolbert, it's still kind of a surprise they were let go. It will be interesting to see if either one of Krueger or Brooks will end up on 95.7.
ReplyDeleteThe harsh realities of the radio business where hosts can be let go at any point.
Possibly Krueger, Brooks should apply as a assistant manager position at Firestone in Modesto.
DeleteBrooks and Krugs are a better fit @ 95.7 the Game if you put them in AM morning slot 6-9am
ReplyDeleteBrooks would be better at night time, he sounds like whale fart music and he could put me asleep fast.
DeleteNo, Bonta wakes me up. With Brooks and Krug, I would turn the channel.
DeleteBrooks would be better as a mime.
DeleteIf you think those two guys are morning material you have no idea what you're talking about, just like the dipshit who actually programs 95.7 the game. So, actually, they probably have a shot of getting the show...
Rich, call me when Papa is gone. That will be news.
ReplyDeleteAfter I retired I stopped listening to KNBR on my way home from work. Never liked the three-man format where you had three alphas fighting for air time and stepping on each other. I always liked Tolbert. Brooks was entertaining when he first came to the station years ago, but he seemed to run out of material after a couple of years and then became too crotchety and sarcastic. Kreuger was someone who would say something stupid just to start an argument.
ReplyDeleteLove Tommy. Never been a fan of Larry, Rod was great with Fitz, he needed a better foil. Bring back Rod!
ReplyDeleteGood riddance! And congrats to Copes! Larry was a buffoonish homer and Brooks is just dull.
ReplyDeleteReplacing Brooks with Copeland was inevitable because it keeps Rod from screaming racism. Tolbert though needs a strong co-host to direct the show so he can go back to playing the second banana role that he did with Ralph. Larry probably could have handled it (as he did with Gary), but the optics would have been bad in today's climate. I could see Larry replacing Ratto on the other station.
ReplyDeleteClearly all about money. Hosts develop their craft, become pretty good, get pay raises for their good work...and then get fired because they make too much money (and because radio listenership continues to decline). Welcome to life in modern radio
ReplyDeleteWelcome to life in modern MEDIA.
ReplyDeleteLike I said in an earlier post...once I found out that the Afternoon guy at the biggest station in Philly was being paid $125,000 I did one more show. And it was truly the best show I ever did of any kind because I gave no shits about what others thought. Then I told my former boss to go fuck himself and never looked back. Felt great. Now I can feed my family.
DeleteHow long will Know It All Copeland last with The Supreme Know It All Tolbert? I see a huge clash of egos and less than entertaining radio (if there is such a thing).
ReplyDeleteMany of the comments above about Rod Brooks are offensive and quite unfair. Rod was entertaining and seemed to be well prepared for guest interviews. It is hard to disagree with this move by KNBR, because the trio did not mesh and the show often went nowhere. Larry Krueger is absolutely horrible and ruins most every show that I have heard him on... I often said the best thing that they could have done with the Gary and Larry show was simply make it the Gary show. Larry has a bad habit of stepping on the number one guy's lines or overstating the point that the number one guy has already made. He often did that to guests too, which is not cool. That said, Larry is infinitely better than the two clowns in the morning (the guys who always say "Dude") so maybe he could take their spot.
ReplyDeleteI heard Tommy and Copes today and I like this matchup.
I live in the Portland, Oregon area. I've only been listening to KNBR because it's the 49ers flagship station. And I mainly listen to Papa And Lund. Haven't been doing so as much since the season ended and my sleep schedule has changed. I honestly didn't mind TKB. Nor do I have the history of listening to Bay Area sports talk radio that y'all do. These days I have replaced KNBR with the Pat McAfee Show. Oh, and listening to angry 49ers podcasters like Rob Guerrera and Grant Mother Effin Cohn. The latter out of self-loathing, apparently...
ReplyDelete