THERE ARE WORSE SHOWS ON KNBR, more the "Commercial Leader" than Sports Bleeder; a radio spam pot headquartered on Broadway and Battery. Part of the Cumulus SF cluster where broadcast zombies go to work for the cloud company so they can become cast members for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."I haven't written much about the Radnich/Krueger 9-Noon show lately; the program bamboozled by nearly 40 minutes of commercials; infomercials; "updates" disguised as 'newsy' only, really, regurgitated sports minutiae aided by, yes, a sponsor, (another commercial); KNBR, really, Cumulus, is hellbent on making the most cash now because their corporate position is in the tank, a penny stock and destined any day now for bankruptcy --a subject matter you'll never even remotely hear discussed on the Bleeder because they live in the mother of all bubbles. It's as if they simply push buttons and block out life, real life. The alternative isn't that rosy.
Neither is "Gary and Larry" --(Radnich and Krueger) from 9- Noon, minus the sponsored obscenity thanks to greed and FCC lameness but we'll skip that albatross and concentrate on the diarrhea at 9.
Radnich long ago gave up any seriousness to his gig; (TV too--I mean, how many sportscasters don't attend the NBA Finals and Super Bowl? Name one?); it became apparent when he succumbed to middle-aged boredom and preoccupation with his domestic status, or as he calls it, "overhead"--Radnich's excuse for being asleep at the wheel and the nadir of his boredom is repeated alludes to his family. The same old tired "To be responsible and legit, you have to have kids and family." This nauseating carp wouldn't be so tiresome only to Raddy it's a staple he repeats every day, every goddamned day; as predictable as the sea lions on Pier 39.
When Radnich wants to; when he's alone and has the gumption to give the masses something of note; something with a little more girth than his usual GAR-Bosh, Raddy can still carry a show and deliver something new, something refreshing; an actual decent and cogent performance. But that's a rarity now; Gary is all about Gary and kissing Krueger's behind which I still haven't figured out only Gary is mildly insecure and protects those he views as possibly his future replacement.
Krueger has lost my trust. He used to be credible and fairly entertaining; now his staple seems to be the talent to talk out of both sides of his mouth. He's more now a radio salesman; the sports talk-radio version of Chip Franklin shilling everything from suits to car mufflers. Hey, we all have to earn a living; Krueger has taken it to the extreme. KNBR thinks it's cute. To hell with their listeners and everything else. A buck is a buck even if the future spells doom.
Moreover, Krueger, who actually knows sports (most of the time) has become boorish and amateur --it's mysterious because in the old days he preferred reliability and cred over audio histrionics that mostly cater to the worst common denominator. It's a sad development too because Krueger is the only one that has the ability to carry the show when Bentley man is absent. Furthermore, everyone who has listened to Larry in the past knows the new Larry is phony; being real and genuine is a commodity at the bleeder.
Now, let's get back to commercials.
Hmph...Tardnich & Kroger...a couple of dead fat asses. At least KaLezz Scott aent on there nomore.
ReplyDeleteYawn!!! didn't even know they were still around......as the late Gary use to say...."Nobody cares"
ReplyDeleteGary's wife won't let him have a cell phone.
ReplyDeleteThat's cute that people still listen to KNBR.
ReplyDeleteI only really trust Krueger when he talks about football. Hoops and baseball, forget it. Today going out to lunch, I was listening to KNBR and they were talking about Nate Robinson, whose NBA career is probably finished, wanting to see if he could play in the NFL. Krueger didn't think he'd played college football (He played 13 games and had two interceptions at the University of Washington). I thought to myself, "Okay, a listener knows more about the subject than you do, who's allegedly a professional sports talk host." I realize you can't know everything, but that was a no-brainer from a sports fan's POV.
ReplyDeleteGary's show is about Gary's personality. I admit he's lost a little off his fastball, but there is still no one like him. If I really wanted to listen to "Go Giants" talk, I would listen to the other 21 hours of KNBR programming - which I don't.
ReplyDeleteAs for Larry, its sad to see how phony and sloppy he has become. It seems like Joe Hughes has to correct him nearly everyday on something he has said. When he isn't gorging himself on commercial reads, Larry comes across like some loud-mouth fan spouting off out the top of his head. He doesn't seem credible or entertaining and he is making me listen less and less.
Just because there's no one like him doesn't make him good.
DeleteI think it's time to recognize that 95.7 is eating their lunch. KNBR can have the buffet dinner at 4 PM crowd which don't ever change the dial but but The Game isn't after those people nor should they be.
"Lee Hammer gets it!" Right Rich?
Bill Martin reveals his true personality on his Friday segments on the Mr. T show. He always appears as a dry person, having a no personality without a pulse nor heart beat and showing no emotion while delivering his weather reports, but in real life he is a strange, far-out, frugal dud and is so envious of Tom Tolbert's persona.
ReplyDeleteIf cumulus and I heart radio are about to go belly up, why would you work so hard to produce a quality product? Best save the good stuff for a new employer who can pay long term.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is entirely... ON POINT!
ReplyDeleteKNBR is a waste of natural resources -- human and energy. All they should do is broadcast Giants, 49ers and Warriors games and do infomercials the rest of the day. Their hosts are nothing but shrills for the teams. There's no objectivity. They pander and suck the tools of Larry Baer, Jed York and Peter Gruber. Nothing can go wrong with those teams on that station. They've also turned their listeners into zombies as they keep feeding them that pablum. People with an ounce of brain matter can figure out what they're doing. But most of the people who listen during the day are dead weight. WAKE UP YOU FOOLS!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem that KNBR has is that they're lazy and pay virtually no attention to the A's and Raiders, who admittedly are the 'poor little sisters' among the 'Big Five' local pro teams. However the A's and Raiders deserve at least a modicum of coverage on a station that bills itself as 'The Sports Leader.'
ReplyDeleteKNBR stopped earning respect when they started coasting and just became a station that carried games and parroted and promoted what the local teams wanted. Unlike 'the Game' which sends a reporter, (Jon Dickenson) to virtually every game of importance, KNBR could care less about updates and it shows with the quality of people they use for those duties. KNBR's update people just sit in the studio and read quick headlines, promote the games the station will carry , read a commercial and then turn things back over to the talk show hosts. No real information or sound or interesting news…zero.
That's not covering the local sports the way it should be covered, but that's what happens when you have a cheap, predatory company which takes over an installs lackeys to just do their bidding and decides to go with an unimaginative approach.
Sadly, most bay area sports fans could care less because 90 percent of the listeners and 'fans' out there are not that invested in sports and aren't really paying attention. After all, this isn't New York, Chicago or Philly where the passions run high, it's the 'laid back' bay area where the 'front runner' mentality is prevalent. As good as the Warriors, Giants and Raiders fans have been lately, how many of those folks truly live and die with the fortunes of those teams?
Therefore, the listeners will tolerate lazy, 'entertaining' hosts such as Gary or Fitz and Brooks because they could care less.
No, they could NOT care less. But your point is accurate. There is no substance to the hosts or shows because it's all built around the "spots" and other filler which dominate 80% of a typical hour broadcast. But that's true of every radio station in the country so I'm not sure sports fans in New York, Philly, or Chicago are getting any better product.
DeleteGary and Larry show, still better than crappy Kgo lineup and Knbr terrible morning show. A&G, the best in morning radio.
DeleteI grew up with Krueger and attended school with him until we graduated from SI. I'm not going to go into detail about his personality (or lack thereof) but let's just say that being fake and insincere aren't new developments. The fact that he's been "forgiven" for his racist comments still boggles my mind - I guess he should be thankful that his rants at the Philosophers Club, Portals Tavern or any number of Sunset District bars were never recorded.
ReplyDeleteThe real issue with Larry is laziness. yeah the guy knows a little about sports and can talk a decent game when he needs to but so can a ton of other guys that you'll run into at almost any aforementioned bar in any of the outlying SF neighborhoods. we don;t even have to go as far as Daly City to find a dozen or more characters that would make Krueger look like an amateur. While that can be said of many folks in many professions what makes it an issue with Larry is that he just doesn't care. There is zero ambition to make his product better. The guy has always set the bar low for himself in any endeavor so that when he would achieve a mediocre level of success it was like winning the World Series to him. This is a guy who thinks that Bob Sarlatte "has it made". Now there's nothing against being a local hero but when your ego is the size of someone who is truly world famous then resting on your laurels isn't going to serve you well when it comes to career advancement or even doing a decent radio show. Like with most things in life if you are not moving forward you are actually going backwards not standing still. If Krueger keeps his current pace he'll be trying to apply for a job at the long shuttered Doggie Diner on Sloat.