JohnKirk has vanished from the site in the last 24 hours.

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

Webio wasn't very separate from Next Step t all. If Webio is done, so is Next Step. I think that news is just around the corner.

Huh? Didnt HE find this guy? I wonder how comcast keeps that show goin with out a cash cow to fund it.

And where's Spada? Who's your messiah now?

If NextStep isn't separate from the webio, then some people who had nothing to do w/ this are going to lose their jobs.

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

Chris, that'll be the next shoe to drop. Get ready to start seeing reruns of "SportsRise" come Monday morning in place of "Monsters in the Morning" on Comcast SportsNet...

My guess is lots of people will be out of jobs very soon.

I'm going to go out on a limb and CSN keeps Monsters until July 3rd when they will pull the plug. They already have a ton of stuff lined up for the crosstown series with monsters that it would be more difficult to fill programming. July 4th will be a good breaking point and they will bring back the morning sports.

I'm guessing JohnKirk=David Hernandez

Nice due diligence by North on Mr. Hernandez.

At least Big Doug and Ed O didn't get a check in time for it to bounce.

Greenstein is thanking his lucky stars.

Timmy Doyle and J. Hood must not be too happy

Chet and Ray go Boom-Boom

Neiman Marcus has an APB out on JenJen

You might see a replay of "Monsters in the Morning" tonight at 11p on CSN, but come Monday night, I predict...Say it like I mean it...

"The Best Damn Sports Show Period" or a replay of "The Joker's Wild", a.k.a. "Chicago Tribune Live" airs in place of the "Monsters".

Mike North out as exec at Webio; still on air
Allegations of bounced checks lead to dispute; simulcasts to continue
By Phil Rosenthal | Tribune reporter
June 13, 2009
Amid allegations that Chicago Sports Webio has been bouncing checks in recent days, Spectrum Entertainment Chief Executive David Hernandez on Friday fired host Mike North as senior vice president of the sports talk Web site he helped found last year.

A simulcast of North's Comcast SportsNet Chicago program, "Monsters in the Morning," will continue to be heard on the Web site, according to North, who said late Friday he hopes to wrest back control of the Web site from Hernandez.

Efforts to reach Hernandez -- whose NextStep Medical Staffing has been title sponsor of the "Monsters" television show -- for comment were unsuccessful.

Other members of the launch team Hernandez fired Friday were North's wife, Bebe, as chief operating officer and Jeff Schwartz as general sales manager.



CSN Chicago's Web site, for a time Friday, did not list "Monsters" on its schedule for next week. But the program later returned to the listings, and a spokesman had no explanation for the temporary absence but said the show would run as scheduled.

North said when he learned checks were bouncing, he, his wife and Schwartz tried to reach Hernandez for an explanation.

"He wouldn't return our e-mails. We tried talking to him," North said. "Right now the plan is to figure out what's going on."

Hernandez has raised eyebrows with his considerable spending for the start-up. Among the more notable expenses were paying for talent such as veteran host Chet Coppock and former boxer Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and a heavy marketing campaign. He also invested heavily to outdo established media rivals in areas such as travel for staff to cover the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But a Crain's Chicago Business blog earlier this week quoted Hernandez as talking about expansion into broadcast radio and insisting the Web site already was making money.

"I know what my overhead expenses vs. revenues are," Hernandez told Crain's. "We're absolutely in a profit."

Offman and Huebs were going to be let go by WSCR, but man, Matt Weber left a paying job for this shit.

This whole venture seemed like such an obvious failure that I started talking myself into thinking it would work. I thought they'd at least make through the summer.

So Hernandez... scumbag, terrible businessman or both?

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

As John Madden might say, "BIG MISTAKE!"

I mean, for a lot of them, it was all they had so getting paid for a couple months was good.

I just wonder about those who just left the Score. I think Jesse and George did leave on their own. Jesse was the baseball reporter. George was the update guy. I think they both could have stayed as such. North convinced those 2 to leave. They don't seem like the sharpest knives in the old drawer.

For this to blow up so fast and for him to have been lying about profits this week as he was trying to rope someone into a radio deal there is only one answer:

Maybe Jesse could've stayed, but wasn't George's move to mornings Rosen's way of pushing him toward the door?

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

Does North even understand what the fuck he's saying? He wants to get control of webio? What? He's gonna take on all of that salary? Or what, he's gonna find another dumb ass to finance it after Hernandez is bouncing checks? Is he fuckin' stupid? Oh yeah... he is.

I hope Paulina Market didn't pay in advance for the honor of advertising on the home page. You gotta slice a lotta ham to make up for dat loss.

Wow. I don't really understand what went on but this is really sad.

This was actually my question - did these advertisers have to pay up front or did they pay by the read on a weekly/monthly basis?

Let's say it's early June 2008. What odds would you have given that in a little more than 12 months Mac would be on the Score, North would be unemployed after failing in 4 separate ventures (losing the MNMS, Dontfademe, Wildfire webio, CSW), and Murph, Huebner, J. Hood, Jesse, Coppock, Doug, OB and Offman wouldn't be on the air at all... but Matt Spiegel would?

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

Think of all the checks that bounced for the two hundred charities. Bastards!

Wow. I understand exactly what happened and this is really funny.

Imagine if you're one of the 30 employees at Webio and you tried to cash your check today at the bank...You'd be irate, too!

For those who hate North and Murph, I hope you keep hydrated tonight after repeatedly creaming yourselves.

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

I agree Spaulding. I feel bad for all of these people. Not North or Hernandez though.

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[quote]"When people's checks started to bounce, we wanted to find out why," Mr. North said.




Because theres no cash you fuck nut. Notre Dame missed several payments. I thought North was famous for his business sense and he wanted to know that?

This Hernandez was sending George Ofman to Vancouver and Detroit to cover a team that nobody cares about. He was bouncing checks while George was buying the airline ticket.

Those travel expenses probably could have covered, at least, Weber's and Fred's check.

This might be well be a Coen brothers movie w/ how many innocent people are going to get fucked.

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I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony

Lets face it...anyone who thought this was going to work was a grade A

Beardown, at the time, George Ofman was where his former station wasn't. Except for the last game of the Western Conference Finals between the Blackhawks & Red Wings, 670 The SCORE did NOT send a reporter to Vancouver or Detroit to cover the Hawks' playoff run...