Preliminary ratings are out, but not hour-by-hour breakdowns, according to Greenstein today. He was able to draw the following conclusions, however:

"While WMVP continued to lead in mornings and afternoons, the Score dominated the midday (5.4-3.4), defined as 10 a.m.-3 p.m."

Man, those ratings still must be flawed! You'd think they could have fixed them by now.

There are not enough billboards.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Here, Mike, save your breath. If you're planning on making any excuses for losing again in the ratings, refer to this handy list and just say 'a', 'b', 'c', or whatever.

(a) The ratings are flawed.

(b) Management does nothing to promote me.

(c) It's tough to compete against the ESPN national brand name. [Funny how Mully, Hanley, and Murph have no problem with this.]

(d) Ratings don't matter anyway. I'm a revenue-producer for the station in other ways.

(e) The local teams were bad.

(f) Now that we've made some changes, like getting rid of Annie, we're really starting to hit our stride and sound good. These things take time. In another 12-18 months, we'll be right there with Mike & Mike.

(g) Our listeners don't use computers. [I know this has nothing to do with ratings, but it sounds like a good all-purpose excuse!]

Chus, that's a good one about billboards.

I think there's a simple explanation why a national show dominates in that one time slot. So many sports fans around here aren't originally from Chicago, and we have to choose between North's super-local focus or ESPN's corporate agenda.

If you're so into local sports that Lee Elia's rant is your ring tone, then North probably works for you. But if it's "Rocky Top," or "Hang on Sloopy," or (God forbid) the one USC plays after every first down... then you're listening to a national show.

I have never heard a guy that laughs at his own jokes more than North.

How does anyone listen to this guy more than three minutes? He is to radio what yeast is to a vagina.

Remember Teddy was on the "other station' so thats why he likes them better

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""I am now done at the Score."
Mike North, June 24, 2008

The old-timers among us may remember the Carol Burnett Show where Harvey Korman and Tim Conway couldn't get through a skit without breaking up at their own lines.

That's Mike and Fred--the Harvey Korman and Tim Conway of Chicago radio--minus their talent and good looks.

Actually, their game was to try to crack the other up during the skits. Conway, Korman and Burnett had talent and were well cast into a good show. You can argue North's talent if you like, he's obviously not applying correctly and it's obvious the morning trainwreck isn't a good show.

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

I usually try to not even comment on North because it's such an easy target, but why in the hell would the Score even keep him in this timeslot anymore? There better be a major shakeup in that show.

What a fucking waste of a timeslot.

North in the morning time slot makes sense from a bean counting decision maker perspective. Morning ad time brings more money than say Mulligan's time slot. Therefore, parking the biggest cost component (North) in the biggest revenue slot evens out the station's profitability curve on time slot by time slot basis.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

Heard North talk to some high school coach yesterday. Unbearable. Didn’t know he stills talks this crap. Man, I wish I could get my own radio show. I’ve golfed maybe eight times my whole life. I could interview Tiger and equate the feelings he had when he won his first Masters to the feelings I had when I broke 130. I could go somewhat off topic and interview Arnold Schwarzenegger and he could talk about winning the Mr. Olympia while I compare it to benching my own weight.

Listening to North is a lot like trying to hold a conversation with a co-worker that has a dried and bloodied snot in one nostril that flutters with every breath or one that has breath that smells like a tire fire. You just have to get away. I truly hate that man.

Congratulations! North has been called a lot of things on this board, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time he's been compared to a "fluttering, dried, and bloodied snot." I like it.