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Gates Leaving WGR After NFL Draft Promise

Brandon Contes

Published

on

Maybe there’s something in the Lake Erie water that caused two sports radio employees, one from Buffalo and the other from Cleveland, to make lavish promises based on NFL draft predictions.  One of those employees followed through with their promise, hopefully the other will not.

On March 13th, Ryan Gates, a full-time producer for WGR 550 Sports Radio in Buffalo stated he would quit if the Bills draft quarterback Josh Allen with either Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen remaining on the board. One month later, further down Lake Erie, ESPN Cleveland radio host, Aaron Goldhammer, stated he would “eat horse poop” if the Browns take Baker Mayfield with the number one pick in the draft.

Following the two proclamations, Mayfield went first overall to the Browns and the Buffalo Bills traded up to draft Josh Allen while Josh Rosen was yet to be selected which meant two bets need to be paid. Goldhammer says he will follow through and “eat horse poop” prepared by popular Cleveland chef Michael Symon, but personally I wouldn’t mind if he found a different way to pay his debt.

Meanwhile in Buffalo, full-time producer Ryan Gates is in need of new work. Gates is the producer for WGR’s afternoon drive show, Schopp and the Bulldog, as well as their evening program, The Nightcap. After tweeting they “are not playing some sort of long con,” Friday, June 8th will reportedly be Ryan Gates final day producing Schopp and the Bulldog, with Thursday being his last time as producer of The Nightcap.

Gates has not announced his next move, but did say he “will remain a part-time contributor to the station.” It’s possible Gates was already looking for a new job when he stated he’ll quit if Josh Allen becomes a Buffalo Bill. It’s also possible Gates will quietly return after a few weeks away from his full-time gig.

The argument can be made it’s stupid to make promises based on sports outcomes that are difficult to keep. The argument can also be made, for a radio producer in Buffalo looking to take the next step in his career, the national publicity Gates received for quitting his job was a smart play.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

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Cumulus Reaches Settlement with Dan McDowell & Jake Kemp

“They each appreciate one another’s sincere efforts to resolve their differences so that everyone involved can move forward.”

Jordan Bondurant

Published

on

Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell
Courtesy: the dumb zone

The legal dispute between Cumulus Media, Susquehanna Radio and former The Ticket hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp is officially over.

The station on Tuesday evening released a statement saying that a mutually agreed resolution of litigation has been reached.

“They each appreciate one another’s sincere efforts to resolve their differences so that everyone involved can move forward,” the statement read. “The parties wish each other well.”

McDowell and Kemp resigned from The Ticket in July after discussions between the station and the duo on a new contract had reached a stalemate. The big discrepancy centered around McDowell and Kemp’s desires to have a podcast outside of their sports talk radio hosting duties.

Dan and Jake would later launch a Patreon-funded podcast called The Dumb Zone, which was a play on the name of their show on The Ticket, The Hang Zone. Cumulus/Susquehanna sent a cease and desist prior to filing a lawsuit against the pair in federal court.

The company alleged that McDowell and Kemp launched their podcast while still actively employed at the station and formatted the podcast similarly to the radio show, targeting the same audiences.

The company alleged McDowell violated a six-month non-compete clause in his contract, which would’ve prohibited him from radio or media work from the time his employment was finished.

The Dumb Zone does not occur at any specific time. It is not published daily or even on five consecutive work days. There is nothing about The Dumb Zone that prevents or discourages listeners from listening to The Ticket at any time,” a legal response to the Cumulus suit filed on behalf of McDowell and Kemp said. “To the contrary, Ticket listeners choose to listen to The Ticket based on the content The Ticket broadcasts. If Plaintiff suggests that its audience has shrunk, it’s not difficult to identify the primary reason.”

Mediation in this case started at the end of August. In mid-September, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed.

Since it ultimately was an employment matter, the legal argument for McDowell and Kemp was that federal court was not the proper venue.

Lawyers for the pair argued that they didn’t violate their non-disparagement clauses by discussing some of what ultimately led to their departure from The Ticket.

“None of these four things appear to be ‘confidential information’ even under the extremely broad terms of the confidentiality rule at issue here,” the filing said.

Now that the case has settled, both parties can move on.

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Sports Radio News

Dukes & Bell Laugh at Ex-Producer Going Hollywood After Becoming Morning Show Host

“How much has changed when Squid used to tell us, ‘I can’t afford that,’ and now, Mike, he’s talking about packing a Louis bag.”

Jordan Bondurant

Published

on

Dukes and Bell
Courtesy: Audacy

Former Dukes & Bell producer and now The Morning Shift co-host Beau “Squidbilly” Morgan turned some heads at the 92.9 The Game on Tuesday morning just casually mentioning that he owns a Louis Vuitton travel bag.

Morgan is the executive producer for the Atlanta Falcons radio crew, and he will be making the trip to London for Sunday’s game between the Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. On the morning show earlier in the day, Morgan said something when talking about traveling to England that Carl Dukes couldn’t resist discussing with Mike Bell.

“I need help about a weather report this time of year,” Morgan said in the brief clip Dukes played on their show Tuesday afternoon. “I can only take my little small Louis bag so I don’t know how much to pack.”

“How much has changed when Squid used to tell us, ‘I can’t afford that,’ and now, Mike, he’s talking about packing a Louis bag,” Dukes said.

“I’m literally dumbfounded,” Bell responded.

Dukes and Bell weren’t trying to rain on or put down the success Morgan has had at The Game, but it was just hilariously shocking to learn that Beau could afford a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton.

“Guys, this is what we do,” Dukes said. “We push people to become very successful, and then Mike this kind of stuff happens.”

“I had to share it with our audience because I loved it. It was funny,” Dukes later added. He mentioned that part of what made the clip so great was the reactions from Morgan’s co-hosts Mike Johnson and Tiffany Blackmon. “And Beau, I hear you man. You know what, just don’t forget the little people as you continue to move up alright?”

Bell figured since Morgan was traveling with the team for this trip, Beau probably had to step his luggage game up just a little bit.

“I guess when you’re traveling with the Falcons you do have to look like a baller to keep up with the styles in the room,” Bell said.

It obviously was all in good fun. Morgan caught wind of the segment and responded on Twitter not long after hearing.

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Boomer & Gio Break Down Fight Between Tiki Barber & Joe Benigno

“Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

Published

on

Boomer & Gio

Even if WFAN is in the news for something a little less than flattering, the station does not run from it. That was evident on Tuesday morning as Boomer & Gio broke down the argument between Tiki Barber and Joe Benigno on Evan & Tiki from Monday afternoon.

Gregg Giannotti found it tremendously entertaining. Boomer Esiason says he had not seen the video, but had read about the argument.

“I was laughing,” Esiason said. “Then, of course, I started to think that, you know, you have, you know, obviously passionate fan. in Joe, who is just going to be screaming and yelling, and you have Tiki, who’s a very reserved, smart bright that is not going to want to put up with the frickin nonsense.”

Both hosts agreed that Tiki Barber and Joe Benign will not let this ruin their relationship. Giannotti said that there is no denying that Barber took Benigno questioning his work personally. He very clearly pointed to the screen Benigno appeared on and said “that’s bullshit.” 

Giannotti added that the visual is even better than the audio.

“Joe, who I believe just turned 70, is wearing a jet sweatshirt, a Jets hat. He’s got a Joe Namath Jersey thumbtacked to the wall behind him, and he is screaming at Tiki Barber’s credibility in breaking down Zach Wilson,” Giannotti said. “Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

“Well, welcome to talk radio,” Esiason joked.

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Sports Radio News

Gates Leaving WGR After NFL Draft Promise

Brandon Contes

Published

on

Maybe there’s something in the Lake Erie water that caused two sports radio employees, one from Buffalo and the other from Cleveland, to make lavish promises based on NFL draft predictions.  One of those employees followed through with their promise, hopefully the other will not.

On March 13th, Ryan Gates, a full-time producer for WGR 550 Sports Radio in Buffalo stated he would quit if the Bills draft quarterback Josh Allen with either Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen remaining on the board. One month later, further down Lake Erie, ESPN Cleveland radio host, Aaron Goldhammer, stated he would “eat horse poop” if the Browns take Baker Mayfield with the number one pick in the draft.

Following the two proclamations, Mayfield went first overall to the Browns and the Buffalo Bills traded up to draft Josh Allen while Josh Rosen was yet to be selected which meant two bets need to be paid. Goldhammer says he will follow through and “eat horse poop” prepared by popular Cleveland chef Michael Symon, but personally I wouldn’t mind if he found a different way to pay his debt.

Meanwhile in Buffalo, full-time producer Ryan Gates is in need of new work. Gates is the producer for WGR’s afternoon drive show, Schopp and the Bulldog, as well as their evening program, The Nightcap. After tweeting they “are not playing some sort of long con,” Friday, June 8th will reportedly be Ryan Gates final day producing Schopp and the Bulldog, with Thursday being his last time as producer of The Nightcap.

Gates has not announced his next move, but did say he “will remain a part-time contributor to the station.” It’s possible Gates was already looking for a new job when he stated he’ll quit if Josh Allen becomes a Buffalo Bill. It’s also possible Gates will quietly return after a few weeks away from his full-time gig.

The argument can be made it’s stupid to make promises based on sports outcomes that are difficult to keep. The argument can also be made, for a radio producer in Buffalo looking to take the next step in his career, the national publicity Gates received for quitting his job was a smart play.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sports Radio News

Cumulus Reaches Settlement with Dan McDowell & Jake Kemp

“They each appreciate one another’s sincere efforts to resolve their differences so that everyone involved can move forward.”

Jordan Bondurant

Published

on

Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell
Courtesy: the dumb zone

The legal dispute between Cumulus Media, Susquehanna Radio and former The Ticket hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp is officially over.

The station on Tuesday evening released a statement saying that a mutually agreed resolution of litigation has been reached.

“They each appreciate one another’s sincere efforts to resolve their differences so that everyone involved can move forward,” the statement read. “The parties wish each other well.”

McDowell and Kemp resigned from The Ticket in July after discussions between the station and the duo on a new contract had reached a stalemate. The big discrepancy centered around McDowell and Kemp’s desires to have a podcast outside of their sports talk radio hosting duties.

Dan and Jake would later launch a Patreon-funded podcast called The Dumb Zone, which was a play on the name of their show on The Ticket, The Hang Zone. Cumulus/Susquehanna sent a cease and desist prior to filing a lawsuit against the pair in federal court.

The company alleged that McDowell and Kemp launched their podcast while still actively employed at the station and formatted the podcast similarly to the radio show, targeting the same audiences.

The company alleged McDowell violated a six-month non-compete clause in his contract, which would’ve prohibited him from radio or media work from the time his employment was finished.

The Dumb Zone does not occur at any specific time. It is not published daily or even on five consecutive work days. There is nothing about The Dumb Zone that prevents or discourages listeners from listening to The Ticket at any time,” a legal response to the Cumulus suit filed on behalf of McDowell and Kemp said. “To the contrary, Ticket listeners choose to listen to The Ticket based on the content The Ticket broadcasts. If Plaintiff suggests that its audience has shrunk, it’s not difficult to identify the primary reason.”

Mediation in this case started at the end of August. In mid-September, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed.

Since it ultimately was an employment matter, the legal argument for McDowell and Kemp was that federal court was not the proper venue.

Lawyers for the pair argued that they didn’t violate their non-disparagement clauses by discussing some of what ultimately led to their departure from The Ticket.

“None of these four things appear to be ‘confidential information’ even under the extremely broad terms of the confidentiality rule at issue here,” the filing said.

Now that the case has settled, both parties can move on.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports Radio News

Dukes & Bell Laugh at Ex-Producer Going Hollywood After Becoming Morning Show Host

“How much has changed when Squid used to tell us, ‘I can’t afford that,’ and now, Mike, he’s talking about packing a Louis bag.”

Jordan Bondurant

Published

on

Dukes and Bell
Courtesy: Audacy

Former Dukes & Bell producer and now The Morning Shift co-host Beau “Squidbilly” Morgan turned some heads at the 92.9 The Game on Tuesday morning just casually mentioning that he owns a Louis Vuitton travel bag.

Morgan is the executive producer for the Atlanta Falcons radio crew, and he will be making the trip to London for Sunday’s game between the Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. On the morning show earlier in the day, Morgan said something when talking about traveling to England that Carl Dukes couldn’t resist discussing with Mike Bell.

“I need help about a weather report this time of year,” Morgan said in the brief clip Dukes played on their show Tuesday afternoon. “I can only take my little small Louis bag so I don’t know how much to pack.”

“How much has changed when Squid used to tell us, ‘I can’t afford that,’ and now, Mike, he’s talking about packing a Louis bag,” Dukes said.

“I’m literally dumbfounded,” Bell responded.

Dukes and Bell weren’t trying to rain on or put down the success Morgan has had at The Game, but it was just hilariously shocking to learn that Beau could afford a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton.

“Guys, this is what we do,” Dukes said. “We push people to become very successful, and then Mike this kind of stuff happens.”

“I had to share it with our audience because I loved it. It was funny,” Dukes later added. He mentioned that part of what made the clip so great was the reactions from Morgan’s co-hosts Mike Johnson and Tiffany Blackmon. “And Beau, I hear you man. You know what, just don’t forget the little people as you continue to move up alright?”

Bell figured since Morgan was traveling with the team for this trip, Beau probably had to step his luggage game up just a little bit.

“I guess when you’re traveling with the Falcons you do have to look like a baller to keep up with the styles in the room,” Bell said.

It obviously was all in good fun. Morgan caught wind of the segment and responded on Twitter not long after hearing.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports Radio News

Boomer & Gio Break Down Fight Between Tiki Barber & Joe Benigno

“Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

Published

on

Boomer & Gio

Even if WFAN is in the news for something a little less than flattering, the station does not run from it. That was evident on Tuesday morning as Boomer & Gio broke down the argument between Tiki Barber and Joe Benigno on Evan & Tiki from Monday afternoon.

Gregg Giannotti found it tremendously entertaining. Boomer Esiason says he had not seen the video, but had read about the argument.

“I was laughing,” Esiason said. “Then, of course, I started to think that, you know, you have, you know, obviously passionate fan. in Joe, who is just going to be screaming and yelling, and you have Tiki, who’s a very reserved, smart bright that is not going to want to put up with the frickin nonsense.”

Both hosts agreed that Tiki Barber and Joe Benign will not let this ruin their relationship. Giannotti said that there is no denying that Barber took Benigno questioning his work personally. He very clearly pointed to the screen Benigno appeared on and said “that’s bullshit.” 

Giannotti added that the visual is even better than the audio.

“Joe, who I believe just turned 70, is wearing a jet sweatshirt, a Jets hat. He’s got a Joe Namath Jersey thumbtacked to the wall behind him, and he is screaming at Tiki Barber’s credibility in breaking down Zach Wilson,” Giannotti said. “Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

“Well, welcome to talk radio,” Esiason joked.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

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