As Mike Stone moves closer toward his retirement from mornings on 97.1 The Ticket and his transition to a fill-in host for the next two years and appearing on the Detroit Lions postgame show, those in sports media are reflecting on his illustrious broadcast career.
Stone participated in an interview several months ago with The Detroit News in an article that was posted on Monday that exists behind a paywall.
The headline of the story includes a quote from Mike Stone that reads, “I’ve had a really… great run.” The inclusion of the ellipses had co-host Jon Jansen and executive producer Tom Millikan wondering just what was omitted within the quote, encouraging people to call or text in for a game of “Mad Libs.”
“The actual answer might be funny to you; I don’t know,” Stone said on Tuesday’s edition of Stoney & Jansen with Heather.
“Finding out more about you generally brings a smile to my face,” Jansen replied. “Okay, so let’s go!”
Several guesses came from Jansen and Millikan, the first of which was, “I’ve had a really Springsteen-obsessed great run” by Millikan. Jansen offered his own inference on what was left out by saying, “I’ve had a really those people great run.”
Millikan offered the final guess of the segment before Mike Stone revealed what he actually said, inferring that it had to do with eating bagels. In response to this guess, Stone divulged that the interview took place at Jersey Bagel, a popular delicatessen and grill in the Detroit metropolitan area. He then proceeded to admit that the ellipses eliminated an expletive within the statement that, in essence, read, “I’ve had a really effing great run.”
After cachinnation towards the answer from those in the studio, Stone implored the article’s author, Tony Paul, to have his bosses make the column for free. When browsing online, The Detroit News invites people to subscribe to the publication in order to read the article, which is exclusive to paying customers.
“Well you’re the draw; you’re the godfather,” Jansen said. “The godfather of Detroit Radio; that’s what they are banking on literally. ‘I want to know what this is – I’m going to pay my $5.99 just to hear about Mike Stone.”
“It’s not worth $5.99 to hear about me,” Stone replied. “You can get me for free every morning.”
The conversation transitioned to the changing state of media consumption and how it may be easier for some people to listen to the article. While discussing the topic, the program was not sure whether there was a functionality that allowed the article to be read to subscribers with The Detroit news, something that could be a time-saving measure for those who are too busy to look at it. Jansen in particular is working on preparation for the show and driving his children, along with co-hosting a podcast, working on Michigan football coverage and appearing on the Big Ten Network.
“There’s a lot of things going into that audio/digital space,” Jansen said. “Obviously you can get us at any time of day through the Audacy app. There’s a lot of different things that you can get in the audio world. The one thing that I didn’t realize – again, I knew that it was there, [but] I had no idea I would enjoy it as much – is the audiobook.”
The issue with listening to these audiobooks in the car, however, is that his children will often parachute in and not know what is being discussed. For Jansen though, he is able to become immersed in a story without having to physically read the book. Even though he knows many traditional readers do not feel that listening to the story genuinely encompasses reading a book, Jansen is committed to doing what works for him on his schedule.
“I’m not sitting there reading it word-for-word, but I am getting the same information you got by reading it,” Jansen said, addressing critics of the practice.
