Corby Davidson Ain't Going Nowhere

By Robert Wilonsky Thu., Feb. 19 2009 at 3:35 PM

Categories: Media

The Snake performing at Ticketstock 2008, as captured by Brian Darley

And neither's Mike Rhyner, which you already know if you read Richie's piece last Friday about how "The Hardline" was awful close to moving from KTCK-AM to the recently launched The Fan located at 105.3 on Your FM Dial. Said Rhyner last week, "It was close. Very close. ... [But] in the end game, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't turn away from The Ticket. From what we've built here." And today, the station makes it official with the announcement of new deals for both hosts.

Moments ago, Ticket program director Jeff Catlin sent a press release announcing that Rhyner and Davidson are now proud owners of "new long-term contracts," which "assures that 'The Hardline' will continue to be heard on The Ticket for years to come." Says Cumulus veep and marketing manager Dan Bennett in the release, "We are very pleased to sign Mike and Corby to new deals. They've had a strong track record of consistently high ratings since day one, and they have done a great job reinventing the show over the past two years. They are and will continue to be a key part of The Ticket's overall success."

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I don't get all the corby hate. Greggo was a drug addict... Good riddance. Corby is doing an excellent job. Get over the old days and move on. Hard line has me laughing my ass off daily and the ticket is as good now as it's ever been. Danny and grubes > *
Corby sucks, period. He is causing the ticket to lose listeners who love the ticket, like myself. Until he's gone, my radio changes at about 3:20.
Yo Scott, how bout the Dems and Obama? Blind followers brother. It works both ways and neither camp is better than the other. NPR and Bob Wilonsky aren't really that smart. Long live the Musers!!! I like Corby for the record; He has done a great job. I mean, you could have Mike Fisher to listen to in drive time. Big Bob and NPR are smarter than Mike Fisher.
Corby is not now, or ever will be "Hardline"! The few times I stop down, it's not long untill Corby has me wrestled into one of his patented "Ass Whip" headlock modes. I would love to see Ryner & Williams {sounds good, doesnt it} to bury hatchet {in Corby's head if possible} and meet up at the Fan. Ticket should pull Muser's to evening drive. If anyone deserves huge contracts...better be those guy's. Corby could'nt lick Gordo's boots when it comes to talent, and Im sure he probably tried!! Did I understand some idiot teacher said this guy was a "Leader of Men" The only place this clown could lead men would probably be the restroom where he would take turns servicing them!!!
I've listened since day one and continue to listen, but some crack either in their performance or my allegiance have begun to show. For one, neither knows ANYTHING about basketball or football. Sure, they have a casual knowledge, like all of us do, but nothing approaching any sort of insight or expertise. So, when they discuss it, i learn nothing. Corby gets all excited about college football and that's great, but he verges on gas baggery. Another point...they are way too addicted to everything pop culture. And not even the good kind...all they talk about is the trashy aspects of our culture. Paris, Britny, USHER!, etc etc. Who cares. It dumbs us all down. I almost wish is Danny and Corby would switch spots. Musers rule.
If some of these folks don't like today's Hardline, what do they listen to? On the Fan - Ben & Skin - Nice guys, but everything they do sounds so forced. It's not an easy listen. On ESPN - Galloway - Please, you can't be serious. I've tried to listen and it's just plain awful. And the Dale Hansen hour isn't much better. All I can say is long live the Hardline! I just wish they would give Corby the legitimate ownership of the Hardline title. When they come on the air, Rhyer says "I'm Mike Rhyner". When will he give in and let Corby announce himself? "and I'm Corby Davidson". He's earned the right.
The Big Guy think having Big Bob on The Hardline would be a mistake. "The Demographic" isn't smart enough to really "get" Big Bob. The Big Guy is barely smart enough to "get" Big Bob. Big Bob's appearances on the Hardline are like a bowl of candy at the front counter of a whore house. It's a nice treat, but it's not why I The Big Guy is there.
Greggo was a coked-out vegetable his last year on the show. So for those that say The Hardline sucks since he left didn't listen too carefully. Greggo drops > Greggo I like listening to The Hardline when they don't talk sports or music. That's when they're at their best. But the holier-than-thou turning up of the nose at every song they review is vomit-inducing. And when they do talk sports, it's some Cowboys news I've heard all day, or about the Rangers which nobody cares about, or Corby uses hyperbole to describe any sporting event or team he just watched. The show does need another voice. My vote is for Wilonsky. He'd be great at e-news since, well, he'd actually know what he was talking about and not just reading off the interwebz. Or get Bob, Dan and Donovan to rotate staying on once Why Today Doesn't Suck is over. Or Norm even. What is he going to do with the rest of his day, go to the track or polish his cane? Hell, they make enough, would another few hours on air just to chime in really be too much. No funeral.
Full disclosure. I am a Gentle Muser P1 more than a Hardliner. And maybe that explains why I understand the Corby and Danny hating that goes in these posts. I listen more to the Hardline on my drive home than I ever did when Greggo was around. Sure, the show's lost more expertise when it comes to baseball and whores, but at least Corby and Danny are A)there and B)listening to the show when they are on the air. I only miss Fake Greggo, the real one lost all relevance to me when he lectured Q-Car on drug addiction. If "stayin' hard" means being completely hypocritical, then good riddance.
what chris said. My biggest problem with the ticket these days is that every day is a mail-in day. The only time it gets interesting is when they switch up hosts or they do a roundtable. One thing that's always bugged me is any time there was a GNO or Ticketstock, they never carry the Timewasters playing. For those of us that couldn't make it out, it'd be cool if they didn't just go off the air when the last roundtable was done.
Wilonsky, we all know you're friendly with corby and probably have shared a few beers at the barley over the years. But, I have to agree with folks on here: The show hasnt been excellent since he took over for Greggo. I give him credit for stepping up and putting on his big boy pants, but im not really impressed with the product. I will give Dan and Catlin one thing: They got rid of the Cowboys, Now maybe the station can get their "Sports Balls" back and be the Ticket I used to respect and listen to daily.
Ticket addicted here. My biggest complaint these days is apparently Danny and Corby don't have the time anymore to go into the studio and create those great song bits. Love Danny on the air, even Saturdays, Grubes is priceless ("PaPOW!"), and I can listen with fascination to Mike talking about anything. I know that's true, because he persists with Rangers segments NOBODY else cares about. Corby's greatest asset is that he comes across as genuinely likeable, and his positive attitude is infectious. Ask Bill Parcells.
Scott, you generally nailed it, although to say the little Ticket is smarter than NPR is a stretch.
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as fucked up and juvenile as the Ticket is, political talk radio makes the Ticket look like Ivy League stuff. No Cowboys fan blindly supports Jerry, but look at Reps. and Bush. Ralph Nader, the Great Ralph Nader has repeatedly commented that it is a pity we don't follow politics like sports. The only comparison is fan loyalty. TO gets Cowboy love though he was hated before and will be after the puts down the star. Seriously, The Ticket is far smarter and fairer than anything else on radio. Even NPR has it's biases and conventions it will not pick at.
Always remember - any time negotiations have concluded and the "loyalty" card is played. It's about the money and only the money. Nothing wrong with that, just be honest and say it. Don't pull out the "loyalty" crap.
Big Dumb Danny Is My Leader Seriously, I love the guy. He's just damn funny. And probably smarter than he plays on the radio. "GET YOUR ASS HUNG UP ON NOW YOU IDIOT!" (not gay. ok gay for danny.)
The Big Guy loves the Old Gray Wolf The Big Guy can tolerate Corby the yuk monkey The Big Guy can not tolerate Corby the sports guy. The Big Guy is a P1 that switches over to the ipod when too much Corby is allowed. They need another voice on the show, which is apparent every time Fallowill is on.
Toots have the hell've you been? Haven't talked to you for a while. I must disagree with the "Stairway to Heaven" comment, in a manner of speaking. Hav they settles into a certain formula? No question. The same way Dave Letterman did. The same way "The Simpsons" did. In the beginning, they were all different from anything we had seen before -- off the cuff and exciting. After a while they gleaned what made them such a success -- the bits, the guy talk, the comraderie. Is it as spontaneous as "The Rant" used to be? Not at all. But they still give us what we must want, and a high quality product at that. It may well be that they have mined all the gold out of this lode, and it is on the way out. And when that day comes, I'll be as sad as anyone else to see it come to an end. BUT consider your options around here and tell me anything that comes close. Kidd Kraddick? Jagger Mafia? There's a reason Russ Martin is a speck in the rearview mirror while the Ticket, for the time being at least, is still going strong.
Yes 15 years........of the same old shit. It's like the talk radio version of "Stairway to Heaven".
What Dave Little Said. I know nothing about radio. But everything I hear makes it sound like 15 years in radio is about equal to the Mesozoic Era. Good for them.
What about Danny?
15 years, bitches. 15 years.
I left terrestrial for XM about 4 years ago. Then, I turned right around and left XM for terrestrial the first time I heard them play a commercial. These bastards hooked me with "200 channels, commercial free" and then sold me down the river after I had already bought the equipment. Then I remembered why I left terrestrial radio in the first place. Listening to it ranks somewhere between dental surgery and poking my eye with a swizzle stick. Now it is the Ticket, or nothing. Long live the Ticket!
Thanks Robert. I guess we now know the guys at the Ticket read Unfair Park.
For what it's worth, I think Corby's doing a bang-up job. Consider: He's thrown into that gig after the Greggo debacle, then not only does he have to transition from sidekick to co-host, but he has to get up to speed on sports he may not follow as religiously as, oh, college football or Mavs basketball. And purely as a listener -- and not as someone who will be on tomorrow at 5 to talk Oscars, full disclosure -- he never sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. And, granted, I ain't the hardcore sportsy type -- that kind of talk radio bores me anyhow. But I was listening long before I knew those guys, and I think "The Hardline" is as good now as it ever was. Though I do miss Robot Greggo. He's a good radio man. What always tickles me about these Ticket posts and radio items is how folks always talk about how they've left terrestrial radio for XM and Sirius and their iPods, but Kurt Johnson from CBS Radio Dallas was kinda right yesterday when he told me that for all the reports of radio's demise, there are still people passionate one way or another about their favorite radio stations, even the ones they love to hate. Me, I like listening to a show like "The Hardline" featuring guys born and raised in the area who never left -- doesn't get more local than that.
When is it going to fail...Isn't this the same line that has been said for the last 15 years?
Still waiting for this "Last Supper" of which you once spoke....
I was going to type a long drawn out comment but I would like to say I agree with Toots, arbitron soothsayer, chicken pants and kyle.
How have they reinvented the show over the past two years? They're still talking sports, trifectas, e-news and community quick hits. They're just doing it with one less voice than they were a couple of years ago. I'm not saying they *should* reinvent the show. I just don't understand Dan Bennett's assertion that they *have* done so.
you mean the ticket is still around?
Do I get a photo credit since the image is from my video? :)
Where's Greggo?
the beatings continue
they will fail...
Less Corby, please.
All Hail The Hardline!! The omega to the Muser Alpha of my listening day!
I'd like to see that contract. I mean, seriously, I would. When I read Whitt's article on Williams and it revealed the last year of his salary, my jaw hit the floor. Half a million plus for radio? Man did I get into the wrong business.... I loves my some Ticket and also like the Snake though so I don't begrudge it. But still.... <i.Wow</i>
Whatever.........................