Archive for June, 2007

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It’s Official: OKC Radio Still Sucks

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

So, the weird little robot countdown on WKY has ended. And the result? More sports talk! Yipee! If you couldn’t get your fix from the Sports Animal, KREF or whatever the hell 1340 is called, we now have 930am “The Jock” to satisfy your sports cravings. Want to hear Pat Jones stutter? Turn to The Jock. Want to hear Billy Tubbs talk about Waymon Tisdale? Turn to The Jock. Want to hear commercials? Turn to the Sports Animal!

Seriously, the last thing the Oklahoma City radio market needs is another sports talk station. What we really need is something like “The Spy” to return. With XM or Yahoo Music I can listen to all the Indie music I want, but only with radio support and promotion will good bands come to Oklahoma City.

For example, just last night I went to The Stills concert at The Conservatory. The Stills are a pretty mainstream indie act, and have had videos featured on MTV, etc. There were literally 100 people there to watch them play. Why so few? Probably because most people who have heard of The Stills didn’t know that they were playing, or, people who would enjoy their sound haven’t heard of them because they are force fed Linkin Park, Hinder and Metallica all day along.

Anyway, with crowds of 100 showing up to see mainstream indie acts play, I can see why most of them bypass Oklahoma City for Dallas or even Tulsa. Until we get a decent station to play their music and promote their tours, they won’t be coming. But at least when they drive through town, they’ll have plenty of local sports talk to choose from. That’s something to be proud about…right?

UPDATE: Per today’s Oklahoman, the name of the new station is Jox 930.

Posted in Hinder, OKC Music, Oklahoma City Radio, Sports, The Sports Animal | 20 Comments »

Searching for our Jack Nicholson

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

While looking for something else, I ran across this old article from ESPN’s Page 2 ranking the top 50 celebrity sports fans. This got me thinking about the potential impending arrival of the Sonics. Who will be our famous celebrity fan? Our Jack Nicholson, Spike Lee, or even better, Eva Longoria?

Here are a few ideas of who could be the Oklahoma City Sonics #1 fan.

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Posted in Basketball in OKC, Toby Keith | 6 Comments »

June Sports Animal Host Power Ranking

Monday, June 18th, 2007

It’s June, which means that it’s time to update our power rankings of Sports Animal hosts, which we’ve never done before. And what good is a web site that doesn’t include power rankings of some sort?

This is a particularly bad time to be a Sports Animal listener, as the only thing going is Major League Baseball, not exactly something this group of characters is well-versed in. So after the jump, here they are, ranked from least likely to most likely to make me turn my radio to NPR in disgust.

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Posted in Oklahoma City Media, Oklahoma City Radio, The Sports Animal | 11 Comments »

JamesOn Curry Has Lost His MindOn

Monday, June 18th, 2007

Oklahoma State head basketball coach Sean Sutton has reported to ESPN that JamesOn Curry will remain in the NBA draft. Projected as a possible third round pick, it seems odd that Curry would choose to forgo his senior year at OSU when you consider that the NBA draft has only two rounds. It is possible that he could maintain his eligibility by not signing with an agent should he go undrafted. That way, he could sign as a free agent with an NBA team as soon as the Oklahoma State season ends next year, such was the course taken by Randolph Morris of Kentucky. Of course, Morris is a seven foot center who duped Isiah Thomas of the New York Knicks, and Curry is a 6′3″ shooting guard with a felony conviction for marijuana distribution on his resume. (So, the odds of teams rushing to sign him in the wake of going undrafted are somewhat slim.)

Should Curry persist with this course, it will please me to know that I won’t have to hear “Curry is (James)On fire” type puns. Unless, of course, there is a good Russian pun on his name, since he will likely be playing in Siberia next year.

Posted in Sports | 4 Comments »

Watch Out! The new Braum’s are coming!

Sunday, June 17th, 2007

Braums WhatsNews

I think that everyone who has lived in Oklahoma for more than three years has some interesting and odd story about a visit to Braum’s. Here are mine:

The “Fresh” Burger:
This is actually a second hand story, but it’s still great. One time, a friend went through a Braum’s drive-thru and ordered a cheeseburger combo meal. After confirming the order, the drive-thru operator asked, “Would you like that to be a fresh burger?”

My friend asked, “As opposed to what?”

“Ohh, someone just placed the same order about 10 minutes ago and couldn’t pay for it, so we have that burger ready to go. Or we can just make a fresh burger.”

“Uhm…I think I’ll take the fresh burger.”

Refried French Fries!
A couple of years ago, my grandpa and I stopped by Braum’s for lunch. When I got my order, the French fries were cold. I took them back to the front and asked for some new fries. I then watched the employee take my French fries and dump them in the fryer for about 30 seconds. He then shook them off, resalted them, put them in a new box, and gave them back. That was my first (and last) time to ever knowingly eat refried French fries.

As I wrote above, I think most every Oklahoman has a classic tale about a Braum’s experience. And most of these tales have to do with poor, slow or awkward service. That’s why I chuckled when I read this blurb from Saturday’s Oklahoman:

Work is well under way on the first of the next generation of Braum’s stores at 800 E Lindsey in Norman. It will replace the Braum’s at 1320 E Lindsey, built 28 years ago, and should be complete by the end of July, spokeswoman Andie Schwab said.

It’s “model W,” the 29th different design of store since the first Braum’s opened in Oklahoma City in 1968. Some models were tweaked, not overhauled, hence more models than letters from A to W.

Listen. I love the food at Braum’s more than anyone. Where else can you buy a malt, 1/2 pound cheeseburger and a pan of frozen lasagna at the same time? But expanding a “new generation” of stores should be the lowest low on their list of priorities. Instead, they should focus on other “new generation” things…things like “improving customer service” or “getting your order right at least half the time” or even “firing the guy who stands around and does nothing.”

If they don’t address these issues, I may actually stop eating at Braum’s. Of course that will never happen, but it seems like a good threat to end this post with.

(p.s.- Please share your funny Braum’s experiences in the comments. I know you’ve had one!)

Posted in Braum's | 17 Comments »

Remember The Original Varsity! Screw the Oklahoman!

Friday, June 15th, 2007

Last night, while reading the Oklahoma Gazette, I noticed a buried blurb that mentioned The Original Varsity Sports Grill on NW63rd and Western is closed. This sucks, because The Original Varsity was pretty much the best sports bar in Oklahoma City. For the last 6-years, a group of friends and I would gather at its doors at 10:30am on the first day of March Madness to secure a prime spot in the TV pit. We’d then drink a ton a beer, eat too many nachos (you could add spicy chicken at no charge) and watch basketball all afternoon and evening. They even had an Elk Hunter game. Now those happy days are gone!

I, as an astute and gracious individual, can think of no better way to honor The Original Varsity than by voting it as “Best Sports Bar” in the Oklahoman’s Reader’s Choice Awards. Think of how great this would be! Oklahoma’s most read and most horrible newspaper would have to honor a closed restaurant in one of its Reader’s Choice categories!

Maybe next year, instead of trying to rig the Oklahoma Gazette’s Best of OKC publication, we should focus on destroying the Oklahoman’s Reader’s Choice Awards. Everyone hates the Oklahoman, so getting participation from the entire Oklahoma City web community (including theinnerwebs.com) should be easy. Of course, when you look at some of the categories and their choices (AOL makes an appearance as the “Best Internet Provider”, Parasite Turner Falls is a choice for “Best Tourist Attrraction”), you have to wonder if the thing is already rigged. Maybe Ed Kelly, Jenni Carlson (or even the Oklahoman’s Ass Pub) can tell us.

Posted in Best of OKC, The Daily Oklahoman, The Oklahoma Gazette | 3 Comments »

KWTV’s commercial is kind of weird and scary

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

Last night there was a pretty big thunderstorm around these parts. It rained quite a bit, and there was lots of lightning and the thunder was really loud. It was very scary! I was extremely frightened and cowered in the corner with only my beloved dog, Stripes, there to comfort me.* Suddenly, I remembered this advertisement that I had recently seen for Gary England and the Channel 9 weather crew:

I realized that the experience I was having was eerily similar to what had happened to the family in this promo. The sky was dark, the windows were open so that the wind blowing through the drapes would look even more ominous, debris was flying everywhere, and dramatic music had started playing in the background! What was I to do? Naturally, I listened to the sage advice of the mother of Mitchell and Lauren and turned my television to Channel 9 in the hopes that Gary England would “let us know it’s ok.” And did he ever! I am more certain of anything that the only reason I made it through the night was because of the reassuring tones of Gary England and his trusty sidekick, Val Castor. Eventually the storm even ended! Some people say that it simply passed through the area, but deep in my heart I know that Gary England stared the thunderstorm down and it simply disappeared so that the noble meteorologist wouldn’t beat the living hell out of it.

*For all the attractive women reading this: I was not really cowering in the corner. This is a fictional story intended to aid in making fun of this completely over-the-top Channel 9 promo. I have never been scared in my entire life and am usually described as “Braver than anyone I’ve ever seen.” Also: “An unparalleled genius.” And: “An incredible lover.”

Posted in Gary England, Oklahoma City Weather | 7 Comments »

Is “105.3 The Spy” Coming Back?

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

It has been almost three years to the day that 105.3 the Spy was quietly and tragically pulled from the Oklahoma City airwaves and replaced with some “I’m eating lunch at Nino’s” radio station.  Now, after reading a blurb in today’s Oklahoman, I have a hunch that The Spy (static and all) may be returning:

WKY-AM 930 began a minute-by-minute automated countdown on Wednesday to draw attention to a format change that will go into effect Monday morning.

Station spokesman Dax Davis said he could not comment on the new format.

Since purchasing WKY from the Oklahoma Publishing Company in 2002, Citadel Broadcasting has operated the station under a news/talk format and most recently as a Spanish language music station.

So why exactly does news like this lead to me the think that The Spy is returning?  Because if you visit 105.3TheSpy.com, you’ll notice that it says:

Please come back! We are revamping our site to better serve you. Keep checking back because we know you will like what you see. You’ll find more information, more news, more interactivity. It’s all about more, more, more.

Maybe it’s a strange coincidence, but why would the website for a radio station that’s been dormant for three years say something like that?  Plus, do we really need the same Spanish channel broadcasting the same thing on both AM and FM.  Is the demand for “Te Gusta La Montaquella” that big?

Anyway, here’s hoping that I am right.  If I’m wrong, we can always listen to the indie rock radio station based out of OU at 1710am.  Of course, if you live in Oklahoma City you have a better chance of hearing Jim Caviezel talk to his dead dad before picking up any actual music.

Posted in Oklahoma City Media, Oklahoma City Radio | 15 Comments »

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