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Ticket Miami Changes PM Drive Plan

Jason Barrett

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Another crazy day in South Florida sports radio began with The Ticket announcing one lineup, then throwing a curveball six hours later after corporate meetings that focused, among other things, on how to replace ratings giant Dan Le Batard in afternoon drive.

Ethan Skolnick and Israel Gutierrez emerged with that late-afternoon job, at least on a temporary basis, and we’ll get to that later in the column.

But the big media story Thursday was ESPN’s formal announcement that Le Batard will be replacing Colin Cowherd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. And so the South Florida radio show that became so popular that ESPN decided to air it nationally now moves six hours earlier in the day beginning Tuesday, quite an adjustment for Le Batard and his loyal listeners.

The first time ESPN pitched Le Batard on the idea of moving to 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to replace Fox-boundColin Cowherd, Le Batard said his reaction was “mixed. Found it interesting but hadn’t given it much to any thought because we have been happy with what we’ve been doing for a long time and I didn’t really want to mess with happy.”

So two years after ESPN began airing his radio show, why did he agree to the time shift?

Everyone around me wants it,” Le Batard said. “Not just our team. But ESPN, [790] The Ticket, everyone. I was literally the only one tapping brakes. And it is low risk, high reward. That’s an ideal way to make a decision. Huge support, minimal risk and high reward. ”

My tiny reluctance isn’t enough to push back against that. It’s not a forever contract. If we try it and fail, me and Stugotz [Jon Weiner] and our team will transition into selling arepas on Calle Ocho before Marlins games.”

Le Batard assures that the program — which will be simulcast live on ESPNU and aired on tape on Fusion at 1 p.m. — won’t be any different, that he won’t do anything to conform to a “traditional” ESPN show.

It better not [change],” Le Batard said. “I’ve been adamant about that. I don’t want our fun diluted by degrees. I’ve gotten every assurance about that. ESPN says it wants our show, this show. That remains to be seen, right? But everyone at ESPN has promised me they won’t mess with the format one ounce.”

ESPN has earned my trust there. ESPN hasn’t messed with our show in two years. We have a Miami zoo guy on weekly [Ron Magill], for God’s sake. I’m sure that we will be met with great audience hostility the first six months when people used to the polish of broadcast professionals are met with our careening, reckless Miami mess. Only changes I’d predict are the one that comes with growth. And Stugotz somehow reversing evolution and becoming more like an ape.”

Though afternoon drive is a more prestigious time slot than middays on local radio, that isn’t the case with ESPN’s national programming. More affiliates carry ESPN Radio from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST than 4 to 7 p.m.

Le Batard also agreed to do a local hour from 9 to 10 a.m. on The Ticket because “that was one of my few wants here, even though I’m not a morning person and I certainly would prefer just 10-1 as a lifestyle. I wanted to keep giving South Florida four hours of our show, how ever I could, and 9 a.m. was the only possible time it could actually work.

We have TV and studio conflicts after the show. Can’t claim we aren’t changing, that we’ll be equally South Florida, and then lose the one hour that is exclusively South Florida.”

The Ticket also will air a fifth hour of Le Batard — essentially a “best of” show with morning content — from 3 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

I never imagined any of this,” Le Batard said. “I just wanted to do a little show for South Florida and my neighbors. Always. So that’s the little show we are going to keep doing. And ESPN is betting America will find it interesting and contagious, which is somehow an indictment of both ESPN and America.”

Le Batard will continue doing his TV show, Highly Questionable, at 4 p.m. weekdays.

How the station will replace Le Batard has been a story with lots of twists and turns, and it still hasn’t reached conclusion.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, morning co-host Jonathan Zaslow announced on the air that Josh Friedman and Chris Wittyngham will move into the 4 to 7 p.m. slot on The Ticket “for now,” beginning Tuesday. Management had made clear that both were candidates for the job permanently.

But after several hours of corporate meetings, management emerged with plans to use Gutierrez and Skolnick in that 4 to 7 p.m. time slot as soon as Gutierrez becomes available Sept. 16. They are poised to keep the job longterm if they fulfill management’s expectations.

Station general manager Doug Abernathy explained that “Josh and Chris were killing it at night” in the ratings before moving to 10 a.m. last month, and “we want the least amount of disruption as possible. People expect Josh and Chris in the evening.

As for Skolnick and Gutierrez — who have built sizable followings in this market — Abernathy said he’s eager to hear how they do in a high-profile time slot. Skolnick has appeared regularly on the 1 to 3 p.m. program the past two years, while Gutierrez appears twice a week on the morning show.

We’re giving [Ethan and Israel] an opportunity to be the quarterback of an afternoon drive show,” Abernathy said. “Here’s a real opportunity for them to prove themselves. They’ve done great shows but doing it in prime time [afternoon drive] is a little different. You’ve got to be perfect every day. We believe they can do it but they’ve got to do it.

Credit to the Miami Herald who originally published this article

Sports Radio News

Doug Gottlieb: I Would Give Up Radio For Coaching Job

“I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up.”

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Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb recently interviewed for the vacant head coaching job at Wisconsin-Green Bay and detailed the experience on his podcast.

“I got a chance to talk to (Wisconsin-Green Bay AD) Josh Moon several times during the year after they had made their coaching job available and my approach to how I’ve done these things — and this is not the first time I’ve gone down this path, but this was a different path,” Gottlieb said on his All Ball podcast.

“This is a low-major, mid-major job, and there’s no connection there. I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up. I love doing it and I think there’s a very smart world where if I’m coaching I can still do this podcast and still do it with basketball people all over the country and the world, and it’s kind of like a cheat code.”

He continued by saying that seeing Shaka Smart be successful at Marquette has motivated him to continue to search for the right fit as a college basketball coach.

“That’s what I want to do. And last year when I was coaching in Israel, that also continued to invigorate me…this is something that I would really like to do. It has to be the right thing. It has to be the right AD who hits the right message.”

He continued by saying that a sticking point of negotiations was he wasn’t willing to give up his nationally syndicated radio program for the job. He was willing to take less money for his assistants pool, but also to continue doing his radio show.

Gottlieb did not get the position with the Phoenix, noting that he was a finalist but was never offered the job. The position ultimately went to Wyoming assistant coach Sundance Wicks. Wicks had previous head coaching experience and had worked with Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon at Division II Northern State. He admitted he wasn’t necessarily “all-in” on the job due to the current ages of his children and whether the timing was right to uproot his family to move to Northeastern Wisconsin.

The Fox Sports Radio host does have coaching experience. He has worked as a coach for the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Maccabiah Games, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics.

Gottlieb’s father — Bob — was the head men’s basketball coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1975-1980, compiling a 97-91 record.

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Sports Radio News

Waddle & Silvy: Scott Hanson Told Us to Lose His Number

“We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”

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Aaron Rodgers took immense pride in the fact that he told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter to “lose his number” while discussing his future earlier this week on The Pat McAfee Show. ESPN 1000’s Waddle & Silvy said they’ve experienced similar treatment from guests on their radio show.

While discussing the Rodgers interview with McAfee, the pair admitted that NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson once told their producer to stop trying to book him for interviews on the program.

“I believe the presentation was ‘Do me a favor: lose my number after this interview’,” Tom Waddle said. “So he tried to do it politely. Scott Hanson did. Get out of here. That concept is foreign to me. How about ‘Hey, next time you text me, my schedule is full. I can’t do it, but thanks for thinking of me’. ‘Lose my number?’ You ain’t the President, for Christ’s sake. I’m saying that to anyone who would say that. ‘Lose my number?’ We’re all in the communication business. I just don’t know — why be rude like that to people? What does that accomplish? You know what it accomplished? We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”

Co-host Mark Silverman then mentioned that the show once tried to book Hansen and NFL Red Zone host Andrew Siciliano together in the same block, with the idea of doing a trivia game to see who the supreme Red Zone host was. Siciliano agreed, but Hansen declined.

The pair also confirmed that an NFL Network personality had told them to lose their number, but couldn’t remember if it was Rich Eisen or not.

Silverman later joked that maybe Hanson was getting a new phone with a new number, and was politely sharing with the producer that he could lose the current phone number because he would share his new number in short order.

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Seth Payne: Aaron Rodgers ‘Makes Gross Inaccuracies’ When Calling Out Media

“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations.”

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Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is always mad at the media for the inaccurate things he says they report, but according to Sports Radio 610 morning man Seth Payne, no one is more inaccurate than the quarterback himself.

Friday morning, Payne and his partner Sean Pendergast played audio of Aaron Rodgers responding to a question about a list of players he provided to the Jets demanding they sign. Rodgers called the idea that he would make demands “so stupid” and chastised ESPN reporter Dianna Russini, who was the first to report it.

“Now to be clear, Dianna Russini didn’t say demands in her tweet. She said wishlist,” Pendergast clarified.

They also played a clip of Russini responding to Rodgers on NFL Live saying that she stands by her reporting and it is her job to reach out to confirm that it is true.

“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations,” Seth Payne said.

He added that if Rodgers is being serious, he is doing some serious nitpicking. He claims that he didn’t give the Jets a list, but that he spoke glowingly about former teammates and told the Jets executives that he met with who he enjoyed playing with during his career.

Payne joked that maybe he wrote down the names in a circle pattern so that it was not a list. Pendergast added that he could have had Fat Head stickers on his wall that he pointed to instead of writing anything at all.

In Payne’s mind, this is a case of Russini catching stray frustration. Neither in her initial tweet nor in any subsequent media appearance did she use the phrase “demands”.

“What he’s actually responding to in that instance is Pat McAfee is the one that described it as a list of demands,” Seth Payne said.

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