"Common Man and Company" (Weekdays from 3:00p - 6:00p, on Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan - Columbus) seems to be getting less entertaining.
I think the program director is stuck between a sports-talk radio host who hasn't recovered from the loss of his foil and two guys doing the same job, one of whom is paid less.
Either Mike Ricordati: 1.) gets a new foil; 2.) gets launched and or 3.) reunites with Torg, in Cleveland.
What do you guys think?
Edit: One of the common refrains in sports broadcasting is, "He got exposed."
I think that's what happened with Ricordati. His biting tone worked well against Torg's goofiness.
Now - with Torg gone - that biting tone sounds angry, all the time.
If I'm being a totally honest heel, Mike is the weak link in that show, and the Common Man show is the weak link in the programming lineup. Something's gotta give. The show was (relatively) good prior to the Torg/Howard debacle, and now it's just... meh.
I find myself listening less, tuning into 1460 ESPN. I think the lack of sports knowledge and insight makes me listen less.
If I'm in my car after 3:00 p.m., I'm rockin'.
"It's just another case of there you are". ~ Doc (1918-2012)
If/when I listen, it's with a sliver of hope that they bring on a guest via phone interview (ie. Coach Meyer or Matta or one of their assistants; or a former player)...
Keep Calm and Ignore the Trolls.
They are still using a lot of the same shtick they were using back in the Torg days. The problem is that is doesn't work without the Torg.
The Common Man's best bet would probably be to head to Cleveland as you said. They have experimented with replacing the Torg but have not successfully found any chemistry on the show.
Putting T-Bone on that show has caused me to never turn on 97.1 from 3-6. He is awful.
IMHO 97.1 is Beau Bishop and a bunch of other dudes I don't really like. Beau is insightful, does great interviews, and is knowledgeable about many sports.
The station's talent (or lack of talent) and ridiculous streaming setup are my barriers to listening more.
Never cared for Common Man + Torg and care less for Common Man + Company. The First Take model is not my thing.
The streaming setup is awful.
Just out of curiousity, what do you mean by the "First Take model"?
Sorry, OSUSTU for not being clear. 97.1 at its worst, just like ESPN, produces its talent to obviously push arguments they don't believe. In turn the talent goes to extremes (see Torg and his firing) or trolls listeners without providing any objective evidence (see Torg again).
I understand some listeners enjoy that stuff, but it's not my thing.
I have friends who don't like Beau because he comes off as arrogant or a douche with Rothman I guess. He's also out every Monday haha
I think fans of CM&T took it for what it was - mainly low-brow humor. It obviously did well with its ratings, but I don't think anyone was tuning in for some great sports insight or anything like that.
This is dead on why I listened to CM&T. Humor with a sports theme. Now that Torg is gone, I no longer listen to 97.1.
The best combo was Ricordati and Spielman, before Torgerson was even in Columbus. That was also before Bruce "I'm Mad at the Entire World" Hooley started going ape every afternoon.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Hooley's up in Cleveland on ESPN860 in the afternoons. Usually tolerable for a minute or two when Trivisonno is at commercial.
The postgame show is brought to you by... Christ, I can't find it. The hell with it...
I enjoy Bruce. He's tough but fair on Buckeyes + Tatgate. Know that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way down here.
850AM was very stale before Good Karma came in and made some positive changes, but its obvious errors are grating, such as letting Aaron Goldhammer talk about politics or letting Greg Brinda consistently do the same show from 1987.
Hooley has been suspiciously off the air the last few days without any response from the station. Rizzo claimed to know nothing this morning but sounded ominous, as if something bad had gone down. Hooley always tweets during Bucks games but has been dark for a few days.
it's ESPN 850
Battles are sometimes won by generals; wars are nearly always won by sergeants and privates. Football is no different, the guys down in the trenches win the games, not the coach.
This is the combo that I remember. I moved away from Columbus nearly 5 years ago and if I was listening to the radio, I was listening to 1460. I enjoyed when it was Mike and Spiels. I even sort of remember him starting to call himself the Common Man right around that time as well. I haven't listened to any of them in years, but from the sounds of it, it's all gone downhill since I left. Maybe it's my fault...sorry guys!
Well I think it's almost unfair to say Mike is the weak link. The Common Man & the Torg were there to be outrageous, over-the-top, self-deprecating homers, that would provide small tibits of insight on accident. They're a certain type of comedian that worked well together.
That being said. T-Bone is not funny, & though he tries to be more insightful, his mantra doesn't fit the show - it kills it.
That being said, personally 97.1 isn't diverse enough for me - I've said before & I'll say it again - between the voice talent, you almost can't tell the difference between, Bishop, Rothman, T-bone, & Hall, IMHO they sound almost exactly the same - they're the same type of guy it seems - whereas the ESPN lineup you get every angle a little more fresh between Mike & Mike, The Herd, SVP & Russilo, Coach & Company, & my favorite Freddie Coleman (SVP is a very close #2).
They need to get a whole different kinda guy, definitely someone younger with a more progressive mindset - kinda like they guys UNITE or something, especially in "The Buckeye Show" slot or where Adam Neft (pretty decent show, but I HATED his voice) used to be.
I want to hear guys disagree & give an avenue for fans who aren't status quo & who have a little swagger. As matter of fact, 11Ws staff should have a rotating cast radio show that airs in that slot!
"Leave...Your...Mark..."
I agree about Neft, Gametime. There was just something about his voice. Like he was in a consta t state of shock and surprise.
"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University
I like Neft. Tim Hall has been decent but Ai still refer Neft.
Never have been a fan of T-Bone but he's been more tolerable lately. They need to bring back Rant of the day.
This is actually a pretty great point, GT... As an old radio guy, I'll admit that when I listen to B&R, a lot of times it takes me a minute to figure out which one is which (although I think their show is actually OK radio). I don't mind The Buckeye Show, either, perhaps because Carpenter amuses me most times I listen. He has just enough irreverence.
On the ESPN portion of the day's programming, I think Cowherd does a great show, and while I know it's hip to hate on him, I find his analysis most days to be pretty spot on. Mike and Mike are a solid morning show.
I'll admit I don't listen all that often (working from home means you don't have all that much windshield time, which is when I do most of my listening), but to me the most obvious hole in the schedule is 3p-6p. (And an 11W roundtable sounds like a lovely suggestion, btw).
I just cannot stand Cowherd's rationalizations for his arguments. This is a standard example "Premise: All great players are assholes. Evidence: Michael Jordan was an asshole. Proven: all great players are assholes." Drives me insane. He is an extreme extrapolator and I cannot stand it even when he is right.
Edit: And also his NCAA approach of assuming that saying something 2-8989822 times proves its validity.
"Who cares? Go Bucks." - Aaron Untch
If Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd were on at the same time I think the TV would explode. Those guys are weak.
You add Jim Rome to that duo and the sports world would riot.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
Please tell me no one listens to Jim Rome anymore. I cannot listen to his incredibly tired act for a second.
I would still like to see Rome receive a proper beating from Jim Everett.
The last time I saw something Jim Rome related, Elika was on there.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
I stopped listening to Cowherd when he said (the year he won MVP) Joey Votto only hit as many homeruns as he did because he played in Cincinnati and the launching pad that is GABP. What Cowherd didn't know (because he didn't do 5 minutes of research) is that Votto hit more homers on the road than at home. Cincinnati fans called him on it and Cowherd went on a 30 minute rant about how the state of Ohio is the armpit of America and when was the last time any of your teams did squat? He's a douche.
Yeah, apparently I wasn't listening that day.
The quote that got me was when he was talking shit about the scorned LeBron fans in Ohio. Whilst describing that said legions claimed that LeBron brought it upon himself, he literally responded with "I could argue that if you're still living in Youngstown, you're bringing unemployment upon yourself." I admit that the LeBron hate is way, way overdone in this state; but Jesus, using your show to talk shit about an area that's been economically ravaged by the yoke of progress? Kiss my ass, Cowherd; it's easy for a media personality to lob insults from behind your white picket fence--try living the life of the folks you trash from your pedestal. (\ end rant)
I still catch the odd bits of his show every now and then, but I couldn't care less about his opinions. Don't let his articulacy fool you, he's a troll--showering "unpopular" opinions that are bolstered by strawman arguments that his well-spoken tone and confident persona bail out. Good radio? Yes. Informative? Hardly.
Cowherd is a tool, every time I turn to listen to his show 5 minutes later I'm switching channels.
Po'd you for your diversity point, GT. When I was in radio, all I heard ad infinitum was, "Radio is theatre of the mind."
But, radio was more about presenting distinct voices, than it is, presently.
We heard the "Theatre of the Mind" quote all the time, too...
It's interesting if you go back and listen to the evolution of radio personalities over the past 50+ years, you went from the "serious newsman" voice - think of guys like Paul Harvey, for example - to the "Ron Radio" shtick (or what one program director I worked for used to describe as "puking" the words) e.g. WKRP's 1970s-era jocks, and now you're almost going for the more conversational "average Joe" type of broadcaster.
You don't really have to have a "radio voice" to make it in radio any more.
PO'd you, too. Cowherd does a great show, indeed. He's got a great voice, great energy and a wit.
That said, I think it's real easy to get tired of talk radio guys. Variety is a necessary spice, unto that stew.
T-bone doesn't fit at all. He basically just agrees with everything Mike says and it's become very boring. I think the Common man is funny so I hope he stays but he needs a better sidekick fast.
I think Krenzel was better with Common Man than T-bone is. I didn't mind t-bone on his own but when he's with Mike he tries too hard. It's like he feels the need to always have the last word on EVERY subject. He needs to learn that not everything that leaves his mouth is gold. Keep Common Man but get him some different help.
Now Bishop and Rothman kill me. They make reading obituaries exciting in comparison. They're the same guy on the radio. It just makes for such a vanilla show. For stats and summaries I'd rather read it myself.
1000% agree with this. T-Bone, you're killin' me. ...and the show.
I haven't heard or read about Colin Cowherd in almost a month. Thanks for breaking the streak, guys.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
Agreed, the show ended last fall when Torg was fired. I found both of them sub average as individuals. But somehow when you combined them...... like a chemistry experiment explosion, the synergy between them made a show good. They were somehow equalled more than the sum of their parts. Now torn apart, the common man is just a bitter pill, too much to swallow.
"There is a force that makes us all brothers, no one goes his way alone, all that we send into the life of others comes back into our own." -WWH
This may be the best description of the situation I've read. Well said.
I totally agree.
The Common Man is kind of funny and entertaining. And the Torg is kind of funny and entertaining.
But The Common Man & Torg are great and extremely entertaining.
I mostly stopped listening to 97.1 as a whole when they fired The Torg. I knew it wouldn't be as good.
And I'm still pissed about how it all went down.
The new guy is just awful. The show sucked but now I pretty much tune it out.
Stay golden, Ponyboy.
Anyone know where Jason Smith went? He used to do the late show on 97.1 and he made the second shift drive home a little easier.
Buckskin: Jason Smith left ESPN Radio for the NFL Network a year or two ago. I always enjoyed his show on ESPN Late Night, too. You can still find him guest-hosting on FOX Sports Radio from time to time.
common man and torg was the best sports radio show ever. I went from listening every minute of every show for years, to listening when im in the car from 3-6 and nothing else has my interests. id love to see the torg get back to cbus and someone pull common man away and those 2 do another gig.
Mike's not going anywhere. He's building a $500-750k house in Dublin, so I imagine he has a pretty fat contract at 97.1
Which makes me wonder...what does 97.1 pay their talent?
not that much, I promise. Your numbers are extremely inflated.
He posted on his twitter his new home build--by Coppertree Homes. Coppertree doesn't bother with houses under a half mil.
His wife's family has the money :)
D. Anthony
He may be building a $500k house but it isn't from his salary. Sports talk radio guys do not make that much, someone like him makes $40-$50 a year. What's to say his wife doesn't make a boat load of money? My wife out earns me by by $80k a year.
I think you are right on the Money here...I looked into Coppertree homes and couldn't find anything anywhere about the average cost of their custome built homes..Either The guy above is well acquainted with their services or its just made up Bologna....I tend to give 11W readers the benefit of the doubt so I will say he knows what he's talking about.
And those radio guys get a little extra juice on the side in endorsement deals...who's to say he didn't get a couple 100K knocked off for mentioning them in that tweet and I wouldn't be surprised to hear common man talking about coppertree homes down the road once the house is finished.
I am familiar with Coppertree (I built a house a few years ago--not by Coppertree, ultimately, I was priced out of their services).
They don't really make mention of it on their website, but here's an article from the BIA Parade of Homes that describes their homes:
http://www.biaparade.com/aws/BIA/pt/sd/news_article/50598/_parent/layout...
Thank you for the link...figured you knew better than me.
I still think its also possible he's getting some kind of an endorsement from them and we will hear a coppertree commercial shortly after his home is finished..kinda like the Nissan commercials he's involved in now.
If he makes that much, as a local sports talk radio host for 3 hours a day, with no college degree...we're all doing something wrong. Have to think he has some $$$ from inheritance, his wife, etc.
Mike himself told me about his wife's family having some money...they are members of Muirfield Village (the big course, not the country club course)
D. Anthony
Not getting back together with Torg. Torgerson starts next week on 95.5 The Game (CBS affiliate in Cbus) and has said Common Man will not be his co-host. Also read/heard Matt Finkes will be guest hosting the 9-12 slot that first week.
thought he had some "no compete" clause in his contract??
I'm not sure that is applicable since he was fired.
I think his offer was to sign a non-compete or something. If they straight up fire him they can't really hold him to a non-compete. Actually, iirc, he was offered some sort of compensation package if he signed a non-compete but he said it was crap and didn't think he deserved to be fired.
I had heard (from a friend so I'm not sure of the validity of it) that he ended up settling with 97.1 The Fan. I remember him saying that he was going to take them to court and it didn't seem like anything like that happened.
So it's very possible that they settled out court and part of that settlement was to not work for another company for a few months.
Or he didn't do any of that and I'm wrong.
Either way, I'm glad he's going to be back on the air... I know some people don't like him but I thought he was hilarious. And that's what he's there for... for people to laugh at him.
So here's the real question - does Columbus need two sports stations? I guess I'm struggling to see that K95.5's move to sports makes a huge amount of sense from a listener's perspective. No doubt they'll be able to sell it, 'cause sports always sells, but... really?
I think WCOL was all-sports for a brief period opposite 1460, but I seem to recall it was all national shows like Jim Rome, nothing local.
My own belief is that a sports talk station in Columbus is doomed without access to Buckeye programming, but I suppose we'll see.
The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.
Their hands will be tied without the Buckeye event broadcasts. But if they can beat 97.1 on entertaining radio talent, they they can carve out a niche. There will always be plenty of former-Buckeyes to stock the shows with, so that's not an issue.
I'm going to say yes and no.
Yes, because you never want an Apple type situation where there is no competition at all. I know this a little different because we aren't exactly paying for the service, but without any competition, there's no choice... You HAVE to listen to 97.1 for sports unless you listen to AM or XM. People like to have a choice.
A question I have is: I thought I heard 95.5 being affiliated with CBS? If Bishop is also employed by 10TV a CBS affiliate does that then put him into compete/conflict of interest with his involvement with ESPN/97.1/ABC?
Well, basically, 95.5 broadcasts CBS Sports programming but it is not affiliated with the same company that runs 10tv here in town.
95.5 is run by Wilks Broadcasting which also owns 96.3 and the old 95.5 (I think it's like 107.1 now).
97.1 is run by The Dispatch Broadcast Group which also owns 10tv an ONN.
Try 3. 97.1 (ESPN radio), 95.5 (CBSsports radio) and 1230 (FoxSports Radio).
I try to listen occasionally. But whenever I turn the dial over there during my afternoon commute, much (if not most) of the time they are talking about something dumb and almost completely unrelated to sports (movies, songs, inside-jokes, etc.) It's just not very good. I know it's tough this time of year, but it's worse now than I can remember and I have been listening to 97.1/1460 for the best part of 15 years or so. I though Common Man/Torg made a great duo. They may have been stupid, but they had good chemistry, good guests, sometimes funny, and were generally entertaining. Now, you could drop a mike above just about any group of guys sitting at a sports-bar and get the same level of entertainment. 97.1/1460 should get the Torg back, if they can.
Couldn't have said it any better. I was an everyday afternoon CM and the T listener forever. Now I just listen to my iPod or NPR on the way home. All of my Buckeye analysis comes from 1.) 11W and 2.) the Dispatch anyway. I listened more for entertainment than for news obviously, but now that the entertainment level has dipped.................
On the way home I'll stop by to see what they're talking about. But 10 out of 10 times I'll just end up listening to a podcast. The sports talk shows around here are getting worse.
enjoy what you have Ohioans! I'm stuck down here in Austin listening to The Horn where they seem to do nothing but talk about their love of golf or quiz each other on Nicki Minaj trivia. It's awful. I would kill to hear some Buckeye chatter on the daily commutes.
Common Man doesn't talk a whole lot of Buckeyes. Once with Torg on scUM eve they spent their whole show talking pro wrestling. Haven't listened to that show since.
"It's just another case of there you are". ~ Doc (1918-2012)
Totally unrelated, but your avatar is rad as all hell. One of the greatest (fake) commercials ever.
I will say it is nice to have another option than Collin Cowherd
x1000
Static is a better option than Cowherd.
I'm starting to think Cowherd and Rome are worse than Bayless.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
I can stomach the common man...I cannot stomach his new co host. The guy is just brutal.
Stay golden, Ponyboy.