Toronto Sports Media Discussion Thread - v6 (2021 Edition)

[smokes lets go]

Overdrive now spends way too much time on their personal crap and bits that no one gives a **** about. I appreciate the banter at the start or coming off break for a minute or two but now its bordering on the ridiculous. Last week they spent the first 45 minutes burning through airtime on absolutely nothing.

I think that you exaggerate it a little. I will conceed that they are spending waaay to much time talking about f***ing golf when the majority of listeners don't care. What I like is that their heirarchy of airtime towards sports reflect my interest (Hockey first, then Raptors/Jays/Football depending on time of year/story/team success) but the golf talk seems a bit too much because I know they spend so much time on it because O'Neill/Hayes are huge golfers, whereas the Raptors I know O'Neil and Noodles don't give af about basketball but Hayes and their audience does. If Hayes ever leaves that show is dead, the guy is the glue and has an impressive all-around knowledge of N.A sports.

 

[TMLeafer]

Tim and Sid ended today. These guys were a fixture in our sports media for so long.

 

[willmma]

I'm happy Sid is gone.

Maybe I can watch Sportsnet in the evening now.

 

[Confucius]

No, he’s really bad.

I like him, somedays I turn the volume down on his youtube vids but then again that's why I have the volume option so no problem.

 

[DaWatcher]

I'm happy Sid is gone.

Maybe I can watch Sportsnet in the evening now.

Sportsnet won't be watchable until Kayla Grey, Donovan Bennett, and Steve Dangle are learning to code.

 

[Kurtz]

Sportsnet won't be watchable until Kayla Grey, Donovan Bennett, and Steve Dangle are learning to code.

I've got bad news for you, old timer, those kids are the future and you might just be stuck in the past.

 

[Stand Witness]

TIL everyone hates everyone

 

[justashadowof]

Presumably corporate sports media is degrading as fast as corporate media. We've never had more free time to watch and yet less of us are watching sports regularly. It's mostly boomers and older GenXers hanging on.

Using Steve Dangle and his circa 97 YTV aesthetic to capture the action figure collecting demographic is probably a death rattle for Sportsnet.

 

[stickty111]

I couldn't stand some of Sid's takes, but he looks like a likable guy. Those tears were real yesterday for him. Good luck to him.

 

[rielledup]

Tim and Sid ended today. These guys were a fixture in our sports media for so long.

Sid can be as sad as he wants but he made a career out of being an obnoxious blowhard with moronic takes who took unjustified shots at people. Even Tim seemed annoyed with his shtick sometimes.

Sid is the reason I stopped watching that show and I would imagine there's a lot of other people who stopped watching because of Sid. Makes me wonder if this was completely voluntary or if Sportnset realized that they had no shot of beating overdrive in the ratings unless they made changes to the show and nudged Sid out the door.

 

[forecheck]

I've got bad news for you, old timer, those kids are the future and you might just be stuck in the past.

honestly - what do these people bring to the table talent wise other then meeting the required equity boxes?

 

[Nineteen67]

It’s Still A Mystery to the Bobcat

Good Howard Berger article regarding the bobcat and the media landscape.

Thanks for posting that link.

 

[Westlander]

I love Steve Dangle. I don't get the hate he gets here.

I don’t either. I understand why he’s not everyone’s cup of tea as his rants are OTT , but he is genuine I think.

I commute to work by scooter and often listen to the podcast then and in the last episode when Steve was going through the players that Dubas had acquired followed by the ‘go **** yourself’ response in the Babcock voice I absolutely cracked up, people who saw me must have thought I was a maniac

 

[hoglund]

Sportsnet won't be watchable until Kayla Grey, Donovan Bennett, and Steve Dangle are learning to code.

What does "learning to code" mean?

 

[Thissiteisgarbage]

Sportsnet won't be watchable until Kayla Grey, Donovan Bennett, and Steve Dangle are learning to code.

Dangle is the worst!

 

[Thissiteisgarbage]

What does "learning to code" mean?

A famous politician said when killing off the coal mining industry that the workers (should essentially get with the times) and learn to program computers instead of being coal miners.
It's used as a derogatory put down now.

 

[justashadowof]

What does "learning to code" mean?

It represents a backlash against the faux concern city elitists like journalists were affecting for the impact of policies they were advocating, sort of like a modern day "let them eat cake" meme.

I do recall seeing some mainstream media report (60 minutes or something like that) where they took that coal miners "learning to code" very seriously using images of some thick-fingered poor souls hunting and pecking at desktop computer keyboards.

 

[Leaftors]

I like Steve.

 

[Brobust]

Presumably corporate sports media is degrading as fast as corporate media. We've never had more free time to watch and yet less of us are watching sports regularly. It's mostly boomers and older GenXers hanging on.

Using Steve Dangle and his circa 97 YTV aesthetic to capture the action figure collecting demographic is probably a death rattle for Sportsnet.

They'll rebound once gambling becomes a focal point of sports talk.

 

[RogerR]

Anyone feel the Leafs are getting 0 credit from the media compared to the lovesfest the Habs got in the 1st month?

 

[The Examiner]

Anyone feel the Leafs are getting 0 credit from the media compared to the lovesfest the Habs got in the 1st month?

Good.

Let’s keep it that way.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Good.

Let’s keep it that way.

Exactly. We don't need a bunch of hype right now. Everyone knows that the only thing the Leafs need to do right now is prove themselves in the playoffs.

 

[Walshy7]

Anyone feel the Leafs are getting 0 credit from the media compared to the lovesfest the Habs got in the 1st month?

I’m genuinely surprised they aren’t severely overhyping us only to write articles about how the fans expectations were too high, if we don’t win it. That’s their usual tactic, say things when those things don’t happen write articles about “fans thought this was going to happen, that’s leafs nation for you”

 

[srnd9399]

I had a feeling Noodles would be bitter after seeing the Oilers shut out twice. Just seconds into the show he looked uncomfortable lol. he started out saying he could have been in net for the Leafs while crediting their defence. if you look closely you can see Hayes shake his a head a bit after Noodles starts talking.

 

[hockeywiz542]

The Travail of Stormin’ Norm

TORONTO (Mar. 1) — Norm Rumack remembers the unmistakable feeling of doom.

It was June 23, 2009. Early morning on a Tuesday. The night before, while en route to a promotional appearance near Toronto Pearson Airport, he’d gotten an email from Nelson Millman, program director of The FAN–590. “Come see me in my office tomorrow at 9 a.m.,” it read. One sentence. Short… and not–so sweet.

“My heart was in my throat,” Rumack recalled on the phone today. “I remember thinking ‘what? 9 a.m.?’ I’d met with Nelson numerous times. But, not at that hour. So, I figured something was up. I had a bad feeling.”

Norm’s premonition was accurate. “It happened quickly. Nelson said ‘we’re gonna make some changes. I’ve got to let you go. I’m sorry. Here’s a severance package. Look it over; sign it and send it back.’ We shook hands… and that was it. Seventeen years in sports radio down the drain. Took less than 30 seconds.”

Rumack, at that moment, became the first of innumerable big names to be sacked by Rogers Communications and Bell Canada — owners of Sportsnet and TSN properties. The purge continues, unabated. It has included the likes of Don Landry, Mike Hogan, Jim Lang, Glenn Healy, Daren Millard, Barry Davis, Paul Romanuk, Nick Kypreos, Doug MacLean, John Shannon, Don Cherry, Bob McCown, George Stroumboulopoulos, Mike Wilner, Barb DiGiulio, Ian Mendes, Natasha Staniszewski, Brent Wallace… and TSN all–sports stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton. Throw yours truly in there, if you wish. But it was poor Norm — the Late Night Vampire; Mr. Hammerhead Alert — who got the ball rolling.

Nearly 12 years later, Rumack is on the cusp of his 66th birthday. Healthy. Generally happy. But, with no financial security. He’s employed as a swing–shift Concierge at an upscale condominium near Spadina and St. Clair Ave. For $16.60 an hour. Enough to pay rent and put food on the table of his bachelor apartment. Nothing more. “I’ll be working until the day I die,” Norm said. “I’m carrying a debt–load that I’ll never be able to eliminate. I’ve pored through all of my retirement savings (roughly $60,000) just to survive. When I got let go at The FAN, I was making $52,000 a year, plus $6 or $7,000 more in promo fees. I was fairly comfortable."

“But, I’m not comfortable today. Not even close.”