Sports Radio News

Bob Fescoe: The Last Dance Was Popular Because ‘We Were a Captive Audience’

“I firmly believe that if people had somewhere to go, even the grocery store, they would not have consumed The Last Dance. Not to that extent.”

Published

4 months ago

June 1, 2023

BSM Staff

How do you remember The Last Dance? The ten-part docuseries quickly became a phenomenon when ESPN released it in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bob Fescoe thinks the timing was kind, and it shouldn’t be something networks and streamers look to as a model for sports documentaries.

Fescoe and Josh Klingler discussed HBO’s recently announced Barry Bonds documentary Thursday morning on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City. Fescoe dismissed the project as unlikely to tell any true stories about Bonds’s association with performance-enhancing drugs. He added that he isn’t sure this is a story that deserves the multi-part documentary treatment in fact, most sports stories are not.

“I’m not doing this because it’s not going to resonate,” he said. “But the other thing is, too, everybody thinks we have a space in our lives for more of The Last Dance. The Last Dance came out when we were all being captive with masks on and couldn’t see others. And it was the only new thing on TV and it was the only sports-related thing going on.”

The duo took turns naming documentary series that got considerably more time than they needed to tell the story. ESPN’s multi-part Derek Jeter retrospective The Captain was named as was the new 30 for 30 about the 1980s show American Gladiators.

In announcing the Bonds project, HBO acknowledged that Bonds himself is not involved, but the network is leaving the door open for him. Klingler questioned if that was a good idea for creating an entertaining, honest documentary.

“Do you want him to be fully on board?” Klingler asked before lobbing another criticism at The Last Dance. “It can skew the truth. Certainly put it in question like The Last Dance. Right?”

Fescoe wondered if anyone greenlighting these projects has taken a critical look at what made The Last Dance the phenomenon it was in 2020. He isn’t sure it was as entertaining or as anticipated as the ratings may suggest. Networks don’t seem to consider that.

“I firmly believe that if people had somewhere to go, even the grocery store, they would not have consumed The Last Dance. Not to that extent,” he said. “But because we had nowhere to go and we weren’t allowed to walk amongst the living, we were there. We were a captive audience.”

BSM Staff

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John Kincade Celebrates 700th Show at 97.5 The Fanatic

“In radio, if you could find a show that’s faced more adversity in 700 shows, I’d like to buy them a beer.

Published

1 hour ago

October 4, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: John Kincade

97.5 The Fanatic host John Kincade reached a milestone for his show on Tuesday – show number 700.

Kincade has been on the air at the Philadelphia station since 2020. He made sure to show love to everyone involved with the show for all they’ve done.

“Congratulations to the entire crew,” he said.

The road to 700 for Kincade in Philly hasn’t always been an easy one. One thing John has been dealing with has been a colon cancer diagnosis back in the spring that led to a brief time away from the show.

Still, Kincade was thankful for the listeners who’ve continued to tune in and get the show to this point.

“In radio, if you could find a show that’s faced more adversity in 700 shows, I’d like to buy them a beer. That is what I would say to you,” Kincade added. “We appreciate all of you being a part of us for 700 shows, and we hope you’re gonna be with us for the next 700.”

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

Sports Radio News

Paul Allen: I Don’t Know What We’ll Do if Taylor Swift Says Yes to Announcing With Us

Allen offered to let Swift announce a portion of the upcoming Vikings/Chiefs game with him on KFAN.

Published

1 hour ago

October 4, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: Dan Myers

It’s been a few days since VP of programming for iHeart Twin Cities Greg Swedberg attempted to get Taylor Swift’s attention ahead of Sunday’s Chiefs/Vikings game in Minneapolis. But Swedberg’s offer for Swift to come to the KFAN FM 100.3 broadcast booth and potentially do some play-by-play with Paul Allen still stands.

Swedberg was a guest with Paul Allen on Tuesday. Allen, the radio voice of the Vikings, asked Swedberg what exactly the plan was for Swift if she happened to see him and say hello.

“I thought she could come in and give you a break on play-by-play,” Swedberg joked.

“That’d be sweet! That’d be great!” Allen responded.

Swedberg has known Taylor Swift since she was a teenager just breaking through on the country music scene. While he said he wouldn’t consider them close friends, they know each other as associates.

Allen asked what would happen if she did show up. She usually rolls pretty deep with security and the like, so the situation in the broadcast booth could be crazy. But Swedberg did say he realizes Swift likely isn’t going to come say hello or anything on Sunday. He acknowledged that it’s possible Taylor doesn’t even show up in Minnesota at all. He just wishes some people would let people enjoy things.

“It’s a bit. Pretty much everything we do here is a bit to a certain extent,” he said. “But, I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s possible.”

“We would make room, wouldn’t we?” Allen asked.

Paul asked Greg the possibility that Swift and Travis Kelce’s family could be situated in a suite near the broadcast booth. Swedberg said if that’s the case, it would make it hard for her to ignore stopping in to say hi.

“If she wants to come in, it’s a quick trip from that booth – I’ve made that little trip myself – into your booth,” Swedberg said.

“It’s an extreme longshot, but hey, you know somebody for 17 years you take a shot,” he added. “And she’s very conscious of PR, and it would be a great scene!”

Jordan Bondurant

Sports Radio News

Greg Hill: NFL, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift All Working Together for Publicity Stunt

“I don’t think Taylor Swift needs the publicity.”

Published

10 hours ago

October 3, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: WEEI)

Are Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the NFL in cahoots to drive publicity for each other? That’s what WEEI morning host Greg Hill believes.

During The Greg Hill Show Tuesday, the Boston-based host led a discussion about whether or not Swift was more popular than the NFL. Co-host Courtney Cox argued that it’s undeniable she is more famous than the NFL on the global stage. Meanwhile, colleague Jermaine Wiggins argued the pop start isn’t even the most popular artist in America.

“The reason this came up is because of the massive fraud, charade that is being pulled on America by all of them,” Hill said. “And that’s Kelce, that’s her, and that’s the NFL. Who is it benefiting the most? I think Courtney is right. I don’t think Taylor Swift needs the publicity.”

Producer Chris Curtis claimed 2.5 million people in Brazil watched Super Bowl LVII, while only 2 million attempted to get tickets for Swift’s shows in the country. Cox argued that was an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Hill maintained the alleged relationship between Swift and Kelce is simply a ploy by the NFL to seek out a new potential fan base with Swift’s massive following.

BSM Staff