Getting Fired Kinda Blows

I think the headline probably gives this away, so yeah, my radio station cut me loose.

I'm fine with it. I had been contemplating quitting for a number of weeks, so now that decision was made for me.

I really came to like a lot of people at Cumulus-SF. I think I developed a personal relationship with nearly everyone in the building, and that means something to me. For I liked nearly everyone there, and made it a point to get to know people. I'm truly interested in other peoples' lives, and trying to be a positive influence in their lives, even if I show it in strange ways.

Paul Hosley, Jared Hart and Ron Escarsega gave me a chance to do something I love very much, in a big market. And while I was not always the easiest person to work with, I really did appreciate that they are/were professional radio people who truly love the medium. We had our ups and downs, but creative people will.

When the people who gave you a shot leave, or get blown out, it's usually not a good sign for yourself.

For the sake of the employees at the station(s), I hope it works out for them too. The radio business these days is not what it was when I began, and on many levels it's hard to watch it change from the inside. That said, I believe in radio, and think the right people will find solutions to what has become a self-created problem. But please, stop hiring the people who helped caused the problems, and tasking them with fixing the problems. It is not going to work.

As for now, I probably need to take a step back and focus on my writing (things are late; people are angry). Maybe I'll continue the pursuit in radio, but the more I think about it in light of the environment, the less appealing it seems to me. But maybe that changes when the dust settles? We'll see.

Thanks for listening (if you did) and being supportive.

And thanks to all the people who wrote, called, and reached out. It's appreciated. But believe me, I'm okay with it. I was resigned to this weeks ago.

Been Awhile...

Sports:

Rutgers vs Ohio State

It would not cause me much pain see Rutgers beat Ohio State this weekend. Growing up Rutgers did not have a good football program. I went to 3 games, of which Bryan Fortay started two of them, of which he was replaced by Ray Lucas in one of them. I never believed RU should strive to be a major college football player, but they did. On the back of Rikki Cook they were going to make it happen, even if it was a few years later when they landed their best all time recruit Anthony Davis.

In short, there was never a reason to take Rutgers football seriously, and on many levels, there still is not.

It took me attending Ohio State for a couple of years to recognize what college football truly is, and I've remained a steadfast fan ever since. Although my love has certainly waned in recent years.

All that said, when the two teams square off this weekend for the first time (at least in my life time), I won't be rooting for either team. Whichever way it ends up I will certainly be satisfied in the end. Yet at the end of the day there would be something satisfying about watching my hometown team win in Columbus.

It won't happen.

FSU

Jameis Winston is a rapist. Florida State is trying to figure out how to cut bait without landing a lot of influential people in the shark's mouth. That's the reason for the delay, in my opinion.

To this day I ask: what was the women's motivation? Winston was not yet a star. Winston hadn't won a Heisman trophy. Winston wasn't even the starter on the football team when she made the accusation. Winston has no money, or at least he didn't then (at least no money you could win through a lawsuit).

There was no motivation. Her life is forever scarred.

Winston seems like the type of kid who has never known responsibility. The way he acts on the football field gives off the impression he believes someone will fix this for him. Someone always has. He knows no punishment, so he just goes about being him.

The NYTimes piece on Winston and FSU is an indictment of Winston, Tallahassee, the process, the NCAA, and college football. I'd suggest reading it.

Again, they're looking for a way to move on to the clean cut white kid from New Jersey.

Who didn't choose Rutgers...

Todd Gurley

He's a moron.

It's absurd that he can't do what he did, but he can't. And he did.

The rules are terrible, the process is terrible, the injustices abound. But he's a moron.

All that said, Gurley is a wrecking ball. Every carry he makes, and has made, has taken off days from his NFL career. Players used to rarely play as freshman and sophomores, but Gurley has, and it has taken a toll. The concept of the NFL not allowing kids into the league until they are juniors has officially become unfair, especially to running backs who are still growing. Players at other positions don't take nearly the level of beating a running back does, and these kids are still growing.

I have no proof of this, but I believe the body has finite growth, and recovering from injuries in itself is a form of growth. When you have 18 year old kids going against 300 pound men it will stunt some form of growth. And with that it stunts the careers of people like Toddy Gurley.

It's unfair. It's wrong. But...

He's a moron.

Fantasy & NFL

Justin Hunter is not yet the player I thought he'd be.

Odell Beckham is. He was in college, and will be in the NFL. Can't wait.

Sucks about Victor Cruz. Tough to watch. But he makes a lot of money, so he'll live.

Jeremy Hill is one of the 10 best Running Backs in the NFL. You'll see.

I don't know who's going to be in the Superbowl, but I know who won't be: The Cowboys.

I figure Demarco Murray has about 6-7 games left this season.

Mission Soccer

If anyone heard my show this past weekend you know I'm passionate about the gentrification situation in San Francisco, which was on full display because of the Mission Playground Soccer field.

As I mentioned, that field should never be rented. Yet since it was available to be rented, certain adults, many of them white, took advantage of it. This ended up being a bad scene/situation.

Go listen to my show if you want to hear my take on it. In summation, watching gentrification play out in a public conversation, that isn't a protest, is very uncomfortable. The primary reason is there seems to be a gap between the two groups; one that the largely Latino group is never going to cross. That's not necessarily true across the board, but that's the emotion I felt THEY sensed when I watched the video.