The Official Ottawa Sports Radio Thread #8

[Sens of Anarchy]

Who is doing the post game show. First time on radio?

 

[Langdon Alger]

Yeah today was bad day for the station a lot of people turned of there radios because way to much cfl talk.

sports talk on sports radio. Blasphemy!

 

[Langdon Alger]

Are Ian and Lee a permanent pairing on the drive now?

 

[GCK]

Are Ian and Lee a permanent pairing on the drive now?

Yes. Ever since Simmer moved to the morning.

 

[Icelevel]

Are Ian and Lee a permanent pairing on the drive now?

That simply cannot remain. They have a negative effect on each other. Mendes who used to be a bright spot is far too silly now. I get he’s trying to work with LV and smooth out the rough patches but it doesn’t work at all and is now the weak link of shows on 1200.

 

[GCK]

That simply cannot remain. They have a negative effect on each other. Mendes who used to be a bright spot is far too silly now. I get he’s trying to work with LV and smooth out the rough patches but it doesn’t work at all and is now the weak link of shows on 1200.

I think they are improving their chemistry. It’s very tough to find good combos. It’s similar to broadcast teams, PxP and colour roles aligns to host and sidekick. Simmer is the perfect sidekick as the host just needs to learn how to direct him.
The best sidekicks are either ex-players or really plugged in to the inner workings of a league.

 

[Tuna99]

Are Ian and Lee a permanent pairing on the drive now?

Simmer needed to go, he’s mailing it in day after day, I don’t think he takes his roll as seriously as he should. Compared to guys like Ferraro who has a book on every guy in the NHL, Simpson barely has a book on the Sens top players. He has a passion for being cool, but he doesn’t have a passion for the Sens, and that’s just the truth. He’s dismissive when he should be informative because he doesn’t do his homework, and his evaluations are frequently if not almost always off or incorrect.

 

[Hockeytalk2424]

.

 

[GCK]

Simmer needed to go, he’s mailing it in day after day, I don’t think he takes his roll as seriously as he should. Compared to guys like Ferraro who has a book on every guy in the NHL, Simpson barely has a book on the Sens top players. He has a passion for being cool, but he doesn’t have a passion for the Sens, and that’s just the truth. He’s dismissive when he should be informative because he doesn’t do his homework, and his evaluations are frequently if not almost always off or incorrect.

I think you are missing what the show is. Ferraro, Dreger, MacKenzie, etc.. do hits on different stations, you can't do multiple hours of that.

 

[Tuna99]

I think you are missing what the show is. Ferraro, Dreger, MacKenzie, etc.. do hits on different stations, you can't do multiple hours of that.

It’s more Simmers dismissive attitude and his actual evaluations - I don’t think he’s great at evaluating players.

 

[GCK]

It’s more Simmers dismissive attitude and his actual evaluations - I don’t think he’s great at evaluating players.

That’s not his job. He’a like Jeff O’Neill on Overdrive. Strong opinions to create chatter.

 

[otown]

That’s not his job. He’a like Jeff O’Neill on Overdrive. Strong opinions to create chatter.

Agree with the strong opinions needed to create chatter but Simmer could learn a few things from the O-Dog when it comes to being an integral part of a sports talk show.

 

[HSF]

That’s not his job. He’a like Jeff O’Neill on Overdrive. Strong opinions to create chatter.

Except Jeff O’Neil thinks a lot like a fan so people can relate even if what he says can be negative

I feel like simmer is always negative for the sake of being negative

 

[GCK]

Except Jeff O’Neil thinks a lot like a fan so people can relate even if what he says can be negative

I feel like simmer is always negative for the sake of being negative

I dont find him overly negative.

 

[Micklebot]

Except Jeff O’Neil thinks a lot like a fan so people can relate even if what he says can be negative

I feel like simmer is always negative for the sake of being negative

People actually relate to Jeff O'Neil? The guy is a clown imo. Small step up from Glenn Healy.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Except Jeff O’Neil thinks a lot like a fan so people can relate even if what he says can be negative

I feel like simmer is always negative for the sake of being negative

Simmer tells it like it is.

Refreshing given all the ass kissing that goes on from the team1200

 

[OD99]

People actually relate to Jeff O'Neil? The guy is a clown imo. Small step up from Glenn Healy.

I like him. He has his off moments of course but generally I think he pulls off the sarcasm act pretty well.

He doesn't seem like a smug jackass like Healey did.

 

[TheDebater]

I find the last few days especially, that Ian and Lee have made it work quite well. They do tend to get "silly" and make jokes needlessly sometimes but I find they are very enjoyable to listen to when they are strictly talking hockey/sports without the jabs or side content. You can tell they are both very knowledgeable and know their stuff, but they have to really stick to the topic in order to keep people's attention.

 

[Tuna99]

I find the last few days especially, that Ian and Lee have made it work quite well. They do tend to get "silly" and make jokes needlessly sometimes but I find they are very enjoyable to listen to when they are strictly talking hockey/sports without the jabs or side content. You can tell they are both very knowledgeable and know their stuff, but they have to really stick to the topic in order to keep people's attention.

Have to agree. Started the season a bit to much with polar opinion and now that natural chemistry is back. Lee just needs to avoid the 50s grumpy Dad vibe he plays sometimes

 

[BatherSeason]

It’s more Simmers dismissive attitude and his actual evaluations - I don’t think he’s great at evaluating players.

I feel like the main reason Simmer was brought in was to give us, as listeners, a perspective from a former executive, someone who was in the war room with GMs and scouts, someone who has been through drafts, contract negotiations, etc, but it really seems like he really has no insight. When he is asked about the inner workings, his responses are generally quite vague and he never really gives an answer.

JR will ask something along the lines of "Will this guy ever be an NHLer?"and Simmer will usually talk for a few minutes about his agent, then branch off on another conversation about that agent and end with a "will Nick Paul ever become a player....maybe" (just using Nick Paul as an example). When asked about the draft, the conversation usually becomes about the "pops" the boys were drinking and nothing about player evaluation.

In my opinion, the Ottawa Senators dodged a major bullet by not hiring Shawn Simpson as AGM. Kudos to Dorion for that.

 

[TheDebater]

I feel like the main reason Simmer was brought in was to give us, as listeners, a perspective from a former executive, someone who was in the war room with GMs and scouts, someone who has been through drafts, contract negotiations, etc, but it really seems like he really has no insight. When he is asked about the inner workings, his responses are generally quite vague and he never really gives an answer.

JR will ask something along the lines of "Will this guy ever be an NHLer?"and Simmer will usually talk for a few minutes about his agent, then branch off on another conversation about that agent and end with a "will Nick Paul ever become a player....maybe" (just using Nick Paul as an example). When asked about the draft, the conversation usually becomes about the "pops" the boys were drinking and nothing about player evaluation.

Thank goodness it was not just me that noticed this. I found it so difficult to listen to Simmer talk hockey it felt as if he was suffering from A.D.D or something. I liked him as a person do not get me wrong, he seemed like a nice guy and would sometimes provide some interesting stories but he never ever really finished a sentence. Did anyone else notice that? He would start talking about one thing and next thing you know he would jump to another thought and never actually get back to what he was originally talking about. It drove me nuts because Ian would ask him for his opinion and he would just babble on with random vague commentary without ever actually providing any conclusion to his thought process.

I am not a morning person so I do not listen much to the morning show, but I catch plenty of the afternoon "Drive" show to know that Simmer was simply not making it work.

 

[Radiogirl]

Simmer tells it like it is.

Refreshing given all the ass kissing that goes on from the team1200

Simmer tells they way it is to make him the center of every conversation, regardless of the topic he has to tell us how wonderful he is, how he was big wig in the NHL, and how he is the coolest now with his lavish lifestyle and attractive younger girlfriend. He just needs to be Mr. Big Shot.

 

[Icelevel]

I find the last few days especially, that Ian and Lee have made it work quite well. They do tend to get "silly" and make jokes needlessly sometimes but I find they are very enjoyable to listen to when they are strictly talking hockey/sports without the jabs or side content. You can tell they are both very knowledgeable and know their stuff, but they have to really stick to the topic in order to keep people's attention.

Disagree. I tuned in a couple days ago and they were both laughing on and on about nothing sports related. To the point where I had to turn it off again. So yeah it’s still very bad radio and it will have to be switched up. I see it as an inevitability now. And that’s coming from someone who just wants to hear good sports talk. Don’t really care who it is as long as they are entertaining and able to have a good unbiased sports convo.

 

[GCK]

Disagree. I tuned in a couple days ago and they were both laughing on and on about nothing sports related. So yeah it’s still very bad radio and it will have to be switched up. I see it as an inevitability. And that’s coming from someone who just wants to hear good sports talk. Don’t really care who it is as long as they are entertaining and able to have a good unbiased sports convo.

It happens everywhere. Overdrive spent about 15 minutes ranking appetizers.

 

[ianmendes]

Disagree. I tuned in a couple days ago and they were both laughing on and on about nothing sports related. To the point where I had to turn it off again. So yeah it’s still very bad radio and it will have to be switched up. I see it as an inevitability now. And that’s coming from someone who just wants to hear good sports talk. Don’t really care who it is as long as they are entertaining and able to have a good unbiased sports convo.

I'll use my usual catch phrase on here of "respectively disagreeing". I've said it before and I'll say it again: We cannot please everybody. For every person who has the opinion above ("stick to sports!"), we have an equal number who appreciate when we delve into something trivial or non-sports related. Just this week we received a really positive and glowing note from a listener praising us for not being so bogged down in the monotony of sports and talking about some other things.

So we try and strike a balance and I would say that on average, we're still probably in the neighborhood of 85-90 per cent sports talk. That's our bread and butter and I think it's disingenuous and inaccurate to suggest that we don't talk sports for the majority of our show.

On a side note, I am extremely mindful of Lee's reputation in this market and so is he; and we're working on changing that. If you'll notice, he's actually less argumentative and combative -- and he's working diligently on being opinionated without being abrasive. It's tough to expect people to change overnight, but he's made some significant strides in that department. The guy truly cares about his craft and in terms of pure sports knowledge in a wide range of sports, he's far ahead of me.

I appreciate all of the feedback from our listeners.

Ian