There’s an argument to be made that bits in sports radio are somewhat of a lost art. But if anyone is keeping the spirit alive it’s certainly The Ticket in Dallas, most notably, its morning drive show The Musers.
Whether it’s fake Jerry Jones, fake Stephen Jones or a fake Tiger Woods, the trio of Craig Miller, George Dunham and Gordon Keith have perfected the art in sports radio.
“I would say the great majority of sports radio talk shows don’t do bits,” said Miller. “The bits were done by the wacky FM music morning shows or the late night crazy talk shows. That was one thing unique about The Ticket as we were probably the first all sports station to be funny and focus on comedy, have bits and crazy characters. I know The Fan in New York wasn’t doing that and a few other all sports stations, as well. I think that helped make The Ticket unique. George and Gordon have much more voice talent than I do, in terms of impersonating people and changing their voices. You have to have guys like that on your staff.”
You would think the logistics behind creating a bit so funny and entertaining would be a difficult and time consuming process. But that’s really not the case with The Musers. Credit their ability to be naturally funny without a whole lot of prep, but most bits are done just a few minutes before the segment.
“Some of the characters are done on the mic in the studio,” said Miller. “Gordon does most of them, George does a few and I do a handful. They’re all pretty much, not completely on the fly, but I would say each morning around 8:10 in that commercial break we say, OK, what are we going to do for 8:40? Some mornings, like a Monday after a Cowboys game, we know we’re going to do fake Jerry Jones. We know the morning after The Masters we’re going to do fake Tiger Woods. But for the most part we have about 30 minutes where we decide what character it’s going to be and during the commercial break, we’re trying to write or help Gordo write it if he’s the one doing the character that day. It’s slapped together pretty quickly and that’s a strength of Gordo’s. He operates really well under a deadline. If you told him a day before ‘Hey, let’s do fake Nolan Ryan’, he would say, ‘OK’, but he wouldn’t start writing it till 8:15 that morning. He can’t work a day out but he works extremely well 20 minutes beforehand. It’s very much done in the spur of the moment.”
Funny character voices aren’t the extent of the bits done with The Musers. You’ll often hear them make fun of themselves, especially when it comes to the comparison of the show being the Susan Lucci of sports talk radio. The Musers have been nominated over a handful of times for Major Market Personality of The Year at the Marconi Awards but have never won it. But in their true ability to relate to the listener, they use that as content for the show.
“The Ticket has won three,” said Miller. “They were great and it meant a lot to all of us. Our show, the three of us specifically, have been nominated for Major Market Personality of the Year like six or seven times, but we’ve never won. We’ve almost embraced not winning, like we’re the Susan Lucci of sports talk radio. If we actually did win, which would be great, but if we did win it would kind of spoil that bit and I don’t think any of the three of us really care about winning that much, not to give you coach speak, but it’s almost funnier if we keep losing. I think it’s better for the show if we keep losing because it’s something to make fun of (laughs).”
Regardless if The Musers even win a Marconi it’s pretty well understood few morning shows across the country can compete with their success over the years. In an industry that’s routinely swapping shows and hosts to find the right combination, Miller, Dunham and Keith are the longest-running show in the Dallas market and have been a top rated show since 1995. That’s unheard of, especially with all the changes and trends that sports radio has seen during that time frame.
“I really think it starts with me, George, Gordon, we all genuinely love each other and love working with one other,” Miller said. “We get along really well. That’s kind of rare in radio, at least my experiences and stories I’ve heard. Not just from our market, but others as well. A lot of people have trouble checking their ego when it comes to radio, and I think that’s what’s been unique about not only our show, but also our station. I think when you have a good locker room and everyone gets along and enjoys spending time together, good things happen. I hope that comes across to the listener, because I think it’s been our secret at The Ticket.”
Miller is one of the originals at The Ticket, starting at the station all the way back in 1994. His story on finding a love for sports radio isn’t unique from most hosts across the country. But before sports, it was all about the weather. To this day it still fascinates him. At an early age he wanted to be a weatherman on television. His fascination with local radio and TV led him to watching and listening to numerous newscasts from his Oklahoma City home. But then in 8th grade, he figured out sports was the passion he wanted to pursue.
While at an Oklahoma City 89ers game, a minor league baseball team now called the Oklahoma City Dodgers, Miller and his dad arrived early at All Sports Stadium. He noticed a couple of TV reporters in the dugout talking to players. That’s when it struck him.
“I thought, what a great job,” Miller said. “You get to go out in the field, into the dugout, and I love sports anyways, so that’s kind of when I shifted from weather to sports. I’ve had that in my mind ever since.”
The Ticket has seen a ton of success and recognition since it took the airwaves in 1994. One of the biggest changes over that time is the growing number of competitors the station has seen since its inception. Miller has been in the middle of all of it and has seen just how different the station is today from the first time he sat behind the mic in Dalas.
“When we started in 1994 none of us had personal computers,” Miller said. “We were going to the studio every day and bringing the sports page as well as a NBA, NFL or Major-League Baseball almanac, if we needed to look something up. That has changed because of the computer age. The competitive landscape, obviously, is a lot different. Back then we had a couple of other stations but there were no other all sports stations. We had some stations that did a sports talk show, one in the morning and one in the evening, but by 2000, we had three all sports stations in Dallas.
“Now we have not just other sports stations to compete against, but podcasts and you can stream any other radio station around the country or the world if you want to. When we started, we didn’t have one specific competitor, now we have hundreds of them.”
The Musers aren’t going anywhere. That’s more of a fact, than an opinion, seeing as the show inked a long-term deal with The Ticket in November of 2019 to remain in morning drive. Miller loves working with his two co-hosts and sees exceptional talent in both.
In Keith, Miller sees an amazing comedic talent with a quick brain and incredible voice talent. With Dunham, he sees a great football mind with a unique voice and perspective. Plus, a rapport that’s irreplaceable and exists all the way back to their college days.
But what exactly are The Musers still chasing? They’ve been the best in Dallas for so long. They know they can probably be in morning drive at the a top station in the market for as long as they want. What’s going to keep the show at its best?
“I think we’re chasing the same thing we’ve been chasing forever now, which is to be a little different and a little better every single day,” Miller said. “Not to give you coach speak again, but we don’t want to fall into a rut. I’m trying to change it up so the listener hears something a little different. If you give them a different perspective, a different opinion, a different joke, or a different character and try to change it up a little each day, that’s the challenge we’re chasing.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
