Cincinnati's Hard Rock Casino changes hours to comply with

Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.
PREVIOUSLY:


1-7-2002	1-14-2002	1-21-2002	1-28-2002
2-4-2002	2-11-2002	2-18-2002	2-25-2002

NOTE: I mentioned it in the first post of 2002 but a lot of y'all are aware that a few months ago, SaintRidley picked up the Observer Rewind reins after I stopped and started doing his own recaps from the 1980s. Well, he's been doing great work with it and he just finished posting the year of 1987. I went ahead and added it the Previously" section up there. ↑↑↑ Just wanted to make sure to bring it to everyone's attention.

It's been awhile since we've had major PPVs going head-to-head with each other, but it happened this week when WWA aired it's 2nd ever PPV live from Las Vegas, going head-to-head with PRIDE. Dave recaps the history of head-to-head PPV battles, specifically the WWF vs. Crockett war in the late-80s. How Vince McMahon created Survivor Series specifically to run it in direct competition with Crockett's first ever PPV, Starrcade 87. The resulting loss of needed revenue was a huge reason why Crockett eventually had to sell the company to Ted Turner and, in retrospect, set into motion everything that led to WCW's eventual death last year. He goes on to recap how Royal Rumble was created and aired on free TV to go head-to-head with Crockett's next PPV attempt, Bunkhouse Stampede. Then Crockett responded by creating the first Clash of the Champions and airing it against Wrestlemania IV. Not sure PRIDE vs. WWA is up there in the same league as that PPV battle. Which, to be fair, Dave admits it's not the same thing.
Anyway, the PRIDE show was among the greatest events of all time, one of the very few times in the history of the Observer that a show got a unanimous 100% thumbs up vote on the reader poll. It aired in Japan live and in the U.S. on a bit of a delay, with the matches edited in a different order. In Japan, the card was headlined by Vanderlei Silva vs. former UWFI wrestler Kiyoshi Tamura, which was an excellent fight that Silva won. In the U.S., the show was built around Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye in the main event (in Japan, it aired 3rd from last) and the 2 men had an absolute war that should shut up critics who say both are too old. Shamrock lost a split-decision in a fight that Dave thinks should have legitimately been a draw. (This fight is considered to this day one of the all-time wars in MMA history. An utter slobberknocker. Neither fighter was the same again afterward and Frye has said that the damage Shamrock did to his legs in this fight led to him later getting addicted to painkillers). After the fight, Shamrock went over to ringside and hugged his girlfriend Alicia Webb, who you may remember as Ryan Shamrock. The girl that played his sister in WWF.

WATCH: Don Frye vs. Ken Shamrock - PRIDE 19: Bad Blood (2002)

And then there was WWA. A low-budget, amateur-ish event, marred by bad production and no-shows. Not that the crowd would even know, because most of the lineup was never even announced ahead of time anyway. The scheduled main event of Jeff Jarrett vs. Randy Savage didn't happen because Savage held promoter Andrew McManus up for more money at the last minute. Savage originally had agreed to work the show in exchange for a 30% ownership stake in the company, which was agreed upon. But three days before the show, Savage upped the ante, saying he wanted the 30%, plus an extra $50,000 in cash. At that point, they started haggling back and forth to try to strike some kind of deal. Ownership got pulled off the table and then Savage asked for a flat $250,000 fee to work the show. WWA turned that down and came back with a flat $150,000 offer instead. Savage turned that down and at that point, everything broke down. For what it's worth, a lot of the lower card wrestlers on the show worked for $300. Last second attempts to bring in Sting to save the show didn't work either. Road Dogg was also supposed to appear on the show but couldn't because of legal issues. Word is he got arrested 2 days before the show in Florida on a probation violation. As a result, the PPV was headlined by Jeff Jarrett defending the WWA championship against Brian Christopher.
The whole show was simply an embarrassment. The production was completely minor league and the crowd was totally dead for all these long matches with guys nobody cares about. The in-ring work was fine, but the booking often made no sense, with overbooked three-ways and 6-way undercard matches that ended up being more clusterfuck than match. It was also one of those Russo-type things where the commentary team made endless inside-references that only the hardcore internet fans would get. But then again, this show only drew hardcore internet fans anyway, so why not? They also constantly made reference to WWF, which came across as desperate and sad. In particular, Larry Zbyszko was given the chance to cut a meandering promo, challenging Vince McMahon to a fight over some unspecified grievance from 20 years ago and criticized them for having Chris Jericho as their world champion. Dave thinks Zbyszko was actually angling for a job from WWF by trying to start his own angle and says this promo was basically his job application. And he thinks it was pretty pathetic. Backstage, the disorganization was apparent and most even within the company saw what a mess it was and have already given up on the promotion as a lost cause. Dave said this PPV made it clear that nobody will be challenging WWF anytime soon.
Other notes from the WWA Revolution PPV: yes, in case you're wondering, that Japanese man sitting behind the commentary table all night who very briefly (literally blink and miss it) got involved in the Scott SteineDisco Inferno tussle was indeed NJPW star Hiroyoshi Tenzan and yes, they flew him all the way from Japan (and had him bring his ring gear just in case), only to have him do almost nothing and never be acknowledged on camera. Eric Bischoff was backstage, as a guest of Ernest Miller. Bischoff laughed off any questions about going to WWF but said the ol' "never say never" shtick. The crowd was about 2,800, most of them freebies and they were desperately giving away tickets in the casino before the show. During the first match, the building looked practically empty so they quietly began moving everyone closer to ringside to pack the area around the ring to make it look presentable for TV. Opening 6-way match featuring all the hottest indie stars was a sloppy mess, with too people flying everywhere trying to get their shit in and the cameras missing most of it. Bret Hart came out and cut a long, rambling promo before announcing Brian Christopher was replacing Randy Savage in the main event, to zero crowd response. By the 5th match, people in the crowd could be seen leaving, never to return. Jerry Lynn showed up, interrupting an Eddie Guerrero interview, at which point Dave mentions, oh yeah by the way, the WWF released Jerry Lynn 2 days before the PPV. Considering WWF has been talking about reviving the cruiserweight division after Wrestlemania, Dave doesn't know why they'd get rid of a guy who could be one of the best in the division. Anyway, yeah, this show sucked. Here ya go, enjoy.

WATCH: WWA: The Revolution PPV - 2002

WWF's latest investor conference call took place and wasn't particularly newsworthy, but there's some stuff to note. The new agreement with DirecTV is until August of 2003 and is under the exact same terms they were operating under last year, which means WWF gained nothing while losing an estimated $4.4 million in revenue over the last few PPVs. Following the brand split, WWF plans to run 16 PPVs per year, and increasing the price by an extra $5. Linda McMahon said Wrestlemania 18 has sold 58,000 tickets as of the time of the call, for a record gate of $3.96 million, breaking the record set by last year's WM. Dave goes through all the numbers and for the most part, in comparison to previous quarters, almost everything is down. Which is no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention because WWF is clearly on the downswing. Linda also said they're currently interviewing new writers and are hoping to double their writing staff, which Dave thinks is a terrible idea (and time has damn sure proven him correct). Finally, Linda was also asked how the purchase of the WCW library has benefited the company, which Dave thinks is an interesting question since revenues have declined since then and the Invasion angle flopped so hard that it killed any brand value the name "WCW" may have had. Linda talked about the value of the tape library but Dave points out that it's been a year and WWF has done practically nothing with that library (of course, in the end, they found ways to monetize that WCW library and it more than paid for itself).
In his first match as an official member of the AJPW roster, Keiji Muto lost the Triple Crown championship to Toshiaki Kawada in a match nearly a year in the making, before a sold out crowd at Budokan Hall. He hasn't seen it yet, but the match was reported to Dave as a near-classic (he ends up giving it 4.5 stars). The other 2 NJPW stars who jumped ship, Kendo Kashin and Satoshi Kojima, also worked their first official AJPW matches. Kaz Hayashi, formerly a member of Jung Dragons in WCW and who worked in WWF's developmental until asking for his release a few weeks ago, also debuted on the show and will be part of Muto's faction.

WATCH: Keiji Muto vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 2-24-2002

Obituary time for Swede Hanson, who worked primarily in the Carolinas and had a brief run in the WWF as a cult favorite babyface in the early 80s. Sadly, he passed away in a mental hospital because he had advanced Alzheimer's disease which made it impossible for his family to handle him and they had him put away. Jeez, that's rough. He also had a litany of other health problems. Dave gives an in-depth history of his career in the 60s and 70s as a heel in the Carolinas before talking about the WWF run. Vince Sr. brought him in as a monster heel to challenge Bob Backlund, and Dave thinks someone else must have backed out at the last moment or something. By this time (in 1979), Hanson was well past his prime and hadn't been a major star anywhere in years but he was a big dude and so they brought him in to face Backlund and they actually sold out Madison Square Garden with Backlund vs. Hanson in the main event (though Dave says Bruno Sammartino working the undercard sure didn't hurt). The match sucked and almost immediately after, he became a jobber in the WWF, but Vince Jr, on commentary, just loved to call him "Rawboned Swede Hanson" and the "Rawboned" nickname caught on. Vince said it with such gusto that Hanson briefly became a cult favorite jobber from it and the crowd turned him babyface at damn near 50 years old. It led to a brief career resurgence and him having a small role in the Backlund/Billy Graham feud for the title before he finally faded into oblivion.
Mark Henry won the "world's strongest man" competition at the Arnold Classic bodybuilding and fitness event. Henry has been out of WWF for the past 2 months training for this competition and the training paid off, with Henry capturing first place and making a legitimate viable claim to his "strongest man in the world" moniker. During the event, Henry became the first man in 50 years to cleanly press the 366 pound Apollon wheel weight above his head. In another event, he carried an 800 pound block of bolted together railroad ties up a 40-foot ramp faster than the other competitors. For his victory, Henry won a $75,000 Humvee and some other cash prizes. Over the same weekend, he also won another $1,000 in a contest where he was able to lift an inch dumbbell (which weighs 172 pounds) to his shoulder with one arm. There's a bunch of other weightlifting stuff here, but you might be surprised to find out....I dunno shit about any of this. I got winded lifting pizza to my mouth earlier. Mark Henry strong.

WATCH: Mark Henry at the Arnold Classic 2002

Another obit for former wrestler, promoter, and father of 80s valet Baby Doll, Nick Roberts who died of pancreatic cancer. Once again, a bunch of details and stories about someone I've never heard of in wrestling history that Dave somehow knows everything about. I know I've said it before, but these obituary pieces are some of the greatest reasons for subscribing to the Observer.
Masahiro Chono says he wants to take NJPW in a more serious, realistic direction. No sports entertainment gaga nonsense, they want it to be like a real sports product. So much so that, in his own match with Manabu Nakanishi at the last big NJPW show, Chono wouldn't even bounce off the ropes, saying that it's not credible and no one would do that in a real fight. Ah yes, Inoki's gonna love this.
FMW wrestler Kodo Fuyuki has said he plans to try to keep the promotion running after it was announced it was folding last week. FMW still has 8 shows scheduled for this month and Fuyuki said he plans to try to run them himself and keep the company going (no such luck buddy).
Japan Today, an American newspaper that covers Japanese news daily, had a story on Antonio Inoki battling diabetes. It says he was first diagnosed in 1982, which Dave says is right around the time Inoki's in-ring work dropped off considerably when he lost his stamina. The story said for the last 20 years, Inoki has eaten a ridiculously healthy diet and is in better health now at 59 than he was then at 39.
Dave said he got tons of positive feedback on the debut of RF Video's Ring of Honor promotion in Philadelphia. The show was sold out in advance, was well organized, and had several really good matches. They limited a lot of the mistakes that most indie companies fall victim to, such as too many matches, too many run-ins, too much mic work, too many guys trying to do too much stuff, etc. Steve Corino and CZW announcer Eric Gargiulo did commentary. Eddie Guerrero faced Super Crazy in an excellent match and the main event was a three-way featuring Low-Ki, Christopher Daniels, and American Dragon that Dave has heard rave reviews for. And thus, ROH was born.

WATCH: Highlights from ROH's debut show in 2002

Vic Grimes took the most insane bump of all time at an XPW event before 1,500 fans in Los Angeles. Grimes was facing New Jack in a scaffold match said to be at least twice as high up as the fall Mick Foley took off the Hell in a Cell. The ring below had tables stacked 4-high to break his fall, but Grimes ended up missing most of the tables when New Jack overshot him. Perhaps on purpose. Grimes missed all but the corner tables at the edge of the ring before coming down on the corner turnbuckles. After the bump, they tried to rush fans out of the arena since it was almost 1am and gave many the impression Grimes life was in danger. But he was surprisingly okay and was walking around backstage after, although he was definitely banged up. Grimes was really nervous about the bump earlier in the day, as you might expect and Dave says he's pretty damn lucky he didn't miss the ring because he almost certainly would have died if he took that bump straight to the floor. Elsewhere on the show, there was a match where porn star Lizzy Borden (wife of XPW promoter Rob Black) faced another porn star, Veronica Caine, in a match that was supposed to end only when someone was stripped totally naked. But right before it happened, the lights went out and the women were rushed out of the ring and when fans realized they'd been ripped off, they were so pissed the arena feared a riot. (Anyway, here's the bump and yeah....Grimes very easily could have died from this. No mention from Dave on the fact that New Jack also tazed him before this)

WATCH: Air Grimes goes long

Shane Douglas is expected to take over as XPW booker when his WCW contract with Time Warner expires next month.
Former WCW journeyman wrestler Chip Minton's primary career was bobsledding. He only wrestled in WCW occasionally while doing that, primarily as a jobber on the C-shows. Minton was part of the US bobsledding team in both the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics and was planning to compete this year, but failed to make the team. Soon after that, he failed a steroid test and has been suspended from the sport for 2 years.
Remember a couple weeks ago, it was mentioned that Roddy Piper was in a car accident but he was playing down how serious it was? Turns out....very serious. Piper suffered 4 broken ribs, one of which punctured his liver and nearly killed him. He also suffered severe back injuries and shattered his ankle. Piper was taken to the hospital and was near death but obviously, he managed to pull through and has still been making all his appearances for XWF in recent days. (Yeah I think in Piper's autobiography, he dedicates the book to the guy who saved his life by rushing him to the hospital and even says he was clinically dead for a few moments. Then again, Piper was like a lot of those old time guys and was prone to exaggeration, so who knows).
Eric Bischoff is teaming up with Mark Burnett, the producer of the hit show Survivor, to produce a MMA reality show called Skien. From Dave's understanding, it will basically be a reality show with K-1 kickboxers leading up to a PPV event. (Here's an article about it from Variety at the time, but this ends up going nowhere).

WATCH: Variety article on Eric Bischoff's new reality show

Notes from Raw: only one thing really notable, they filmed a segment at referee Tim White's bar The Friendly Tap. The bar really is owned by White and WWF pretty much always films angles there when they're in town (Providence, RI). This time, the skit featured the APA going into the bar to drink and the bar was filled by a bunch of gay men and drag queens (played by a bunch of wrestlers from indie promotion Chaotic Wrestling) while the APA guys acted all grossed out by it all. Then Billy and Chuck attacked them. Dave thinks this played on all the typical homophobic stereotypes and he seems pretty irritated by it. Anyway, among the wrestlers from Chaotic were Todd Sinclair (better known now as ROH's senior official), Rich Palladino (ring announcer for Beyond now) and John Walters (indie wrestler and former ROH Pure champion).
Next week's Smackdown hasn't aired yet but it was taped and Dave has details. Notably, this is the episode where Austin chases down the NWO and tries to shoot them with a net gun. Dave says this was a mess, with the gun going off but no net being fired from it and they'll have to fix the whole thing in post-production. It went horribly when they filmed it and it aired for the live crowd and it killed the crowd and basically forced them to improvise on the spot (on one of the Something To Wrestle podcasts, Bruce Prichard tells this story and how frustrated they were with this net gun being a piece of shit). This episode also featured Stephanie yelling at Chris Jericho for getting her the wrong hand lotion and Booker T and Edge feuding over a Japanese shampoo commercial. (Rock/Hogan was great, but man, the build for everything else at Wrestlemania 18 suuuuuucked.)
Prototype won the OVW title from Leviathan at the latest OVW tapings. After the match, they did an angle to set up David Flair as the #1 contender for the title. Prototype's only singles loss in OVW came last week, when Flair beat him, so there ya go (this video covers ALL of that. The FlaiCena match, the Leviathan match, the post-match angle, etc).

WATCH: Prototype vs. Leviathan for OVW title - 2002

Wall Street Journal did an article talking about the decline in Smackdown's ratings, saying they were down 28% from last year and down 42% from the year before that. The article blamed it on Smackdown changing networks. Here's the thing though....it hasn't. Raw changed networks in 2000. Smackdown has been on UPN since its debut. Also, UPN has grown overall in ratings while Smackdown has declined. So....no. It's just because the show sucks now.
Charlie Haas, fresh off returning to the ring and winning the HWA title after the death of his brother, tore his ACL this week. He just had surgery and will be out 4-6 months. Rough few months for that dude.
A Washington newspaper did a story on James Dudley, who you may know as....WWF Hall of Famer James Dudley and little else. On-screen, he's never really done much. But Dave says Dudley started working for Vince Sr. back in the 1940s, when Sr. was a boxing promoter, and was essentially his Vince Sr.'s driver and assistant. Dudley did a lot of odd jobs for the company during those early years, working ticket booths and stuff like that, but to most people, he was just kinda known as Vince Sr.'s limo driver. So when he was indicted into the WWF Hall of Fame a few years ago, it was a pretty controversial decision among a lot of people, given that someone like Bruno Sammartino isn't in, by the company's limo driver is. Anyway, before his death, Vince Sr. made Vince Jr. promise to take care of Dudley and keep him on the payroll. So for the last 18 years or so, even though he doesn't work for the company, Vince McMahon has continued to pay him a salary. He also bought him a new car as a gift some years back.
Billy and Chuck's recent tag team title win makes Billy Gunn the most decorated tag team wrestler in WWF history, as he's now held the tag titles 9 times (3 as part of the Smoking Gunns, 5 as part of New Age Outlaws, and now once with he and Chuck). The previous record was Mick Foley, with 8. (to the best of my research, if we're only talking WWF/WWE tag title reigns, that record is now held by Edge).
USA Network CEO Barry Diller took part in a lecture at Syracuse University and talked about losing the WWF to TNN. When asked why it happened, he responded, "Because I'm a dope." He said he didn't fight hard enough to keep the WWF and admitted the loss hurt, but also said it may have been the best thing for them in the long-run because pro wrestling doesn't really fit the direction they're planning to take the network. He said wrestling fans came for wrestling and left immediately after it was over and there was never any cross-over fans who stuck around to watch the next show or anything like that. He said they could never figure out what to connect wrestling to within the rest of their properties.
WWF held a try out camp in Cincinnati and reportedly, nobody was particularly impressive, including AJ Styles. The knock on Styles was that he's average looking and too small. Wrestler Sonny Siaki was said to be the most impressive, but he also rubbed people the wrong way with his attitude so probably not gonna make the cut this time. Matt Morgan, who was on the Tough Enough casting special last season got a tryout and since he has no formal training, he was pretty awful but he's big so Dave seems to think he'll get a chance anyway. The other one they were impressed by was a woman named Erin Bray, who was one of the final 25 picked for the original Tough Enough. But then some other contestants spotted her out on a date with one of the show's judges and they threw a fit, which resulted in Bray not making the final 13. Another wrestler, Travis Tomko, is a guy who has worked some indies and is a former bodyguard for Limp Bizkit ("Tomko, gimme a beat." "No.")
Rock was a presenter at the NAACP Awards and Dave thinks he looked pretty great for a guy who was almost murdered in an ambulance by the NWO a few days earlier. Cheeky Dave is just the best.
Speaking of, Dave throws in a random paragraph to backhandedly shit on Kevin Nash. For years, people in the business joked that Lex Luger made the most money with the least ability or drawing power of anyone ever in wrestling. Dave says it's gotta be Nash. For example, Nash is not wrestling and is only going to be in Hall's corner for the match at Wrestlemania (his knees really are giving him problems), but he has been promised that he's going to get the same type of payoff as if he was the guy in the match working with Austin in the semi-main event. Not to mention all the huge contracts he signed in WCW, or how he got a huge-by-WWF-standards deal here, plus got Vince to cave to almost all his other demands regarding schedule and bringing back Scott Hall, among other things. (I mean, while Dave is being kind of a dick here, I don't think he's really wrong either. When it comes to top draws in the history of the business, Nash isn't anywhere near even the top 10 or 20. And he's never exactly been a great wrestler. But since the 90s, Nash always managed to make sure he gets PAID like he's in that upper echelon. Nash is one of those very few wrestlers who isn't entranced by the fame or the fake accolades. He treats wrestling for what it is: a business. It's the way they pay their mortgages and buy groceries, just like you and me at our jobs. I love it. I laugh my ass off every time I hear "Brock Lesnar signed a huge new contract to only work 6 matches a year." Good for him. I hope he gets even more money for less dates next year. You should always know your worth and never let your employer take you for anything less. Nash has always been one of the guys to do that and he's probably going to die comfortably in a nice house while these other guys from his era are still clinging to fame at 60 years old doing $300 indie shows on crippled knees. Anyway, that's my soapbox). Dave seems to feel the same way and admits, love him or hate him, you gotta give Nash credit for being one of the smartest guys in the biz.
Fear Factor featuring the Hardyz, Lita, Test, Molly Holly, and Jacquelyn aired this week. First they had to climb up a rope ladder hanging from a helicopter over the river and they all made it up except Jeff Hardy who slipped near the top and fell (knowing Jeff, he probably purposely let go so he could take the big fall for fun). Lita also got eliminated for being the slowest one up the ladder. Next they had to chug a gross drink that included bile, rooster testicals, spleen, and some animal brains all blended together. Molly Holly almost vomited after one sip and was out. Jackie and Matt succeeded. Test refused to even try. So then it came down to Matt vs. Jackie and they had to walk across the tops of high poles and move flags around. Matt Hardy ended up winning the whole thing and won $50,000 for charity.

WATCH: WWF stars on Fear Factor, Pt. 1
WATCH: WWF stars on Fear Factor, Pt. 2
WATCH: WWF stars on Fear Factor, Pt. 3

Sunday Night Heat is being converted into one of the B-shows like Metal and Jakked. Awhile back, they started airing Heat from the WWF New York restaurant but the production costs of that were high. So in a cost-cutting move, they're just gonna tape dark matches and throw them on Heat the same way they do those other shows, featuring all the nobodies that can't ever get TV time on the main shows.
As mentioned last week, Scott Hall has been taking a drug called Antabuse, which makes him violently sick when he drinks or even smells alcohol. It caused him to get sick after Raw last week when Austin poured beer all over him in a bit after the cameras were off. Hall has said he is clean and has been clean for awhile, except for the incident a couple weeks ago where he fell off the wagon. Others are skeptical and question if Hall only takes his medication on TV days and needless to say, there's some doubt here.
Everywhere he goes, Brian Christopher has been telling people he's coming back to WWF after Wrestlemania, but contrary to what he's saying, Dave says there are zero plans for that (indeed, it does not happen).

FRIDAY: More on WWA's PPV disaster, the landscape for any new promotion attempting to start up, WWF huge show in Japan, WWF loses appeal over "WWF" initials, Bret Hart given offer for Wrestlemania 18, and tons more...

CreateYoureReality NFL Analysis and Picks Week 13 (Sunday Games)

https://preview.redd.it/sl52k3krr1241.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=afc336e0639a9e319d040be1232683e733601e79
MNF and Thanksgiving Recap
Singles: 0-2 (-2.5u): Boy was I off here. I doubted the Raven's offense and they showed me! Marcus Peter's did exactly the opposite of what I hoped for and we payed for it by losing all our MNF plays.
Parlay: 0-0 (0u):
BBDLS: 0-0 (0u) Man this sucks. We lost a free bet here that I feel really confident is going to hit every game except the one it lost (the rams) Thats ok, big wins incoming!
SBBDLS: 0-0 (0u) None
Teasers: 0-1 (-3.3u) Oooooof.
Thanksgiving Recap: Ok. I am reaaaaalllly sorry I didnt post anything before the Thanksgiving games. I was rather busy and didn't have time to do a write up or post my picks. Unfortunately for you guys, you missed out on a big day by me. Not only did I pick every game correctly, I picked the totals all correctly too!! To top it off, Sugarhouse ran a Thanksgiving Day reload bonus and I got 10u worth of free bets there and Draftkings gave everyone a 0.5u free bet just for logging on and opting in. I Took my DK free bet and through it on a huge SBBDLS that had the bills ml and the under, and the saints ml and the under and is still alive. I broke my SH free bet up and placed it on a few different wagers. The first was Galloday and Robinson to get 60+ yards and a TD @ 20-1. This hit, netting us a 42u return! The second is I put it on a parlay and a BBDLS, both which are still live!!! Some big sweats for this weekend! :D
Note: I did not include any of my winnings from Thanksgiving in my win/loss number. The bets weren't posted, so they dont count! :D

Sunday Games

Green Bay @ New York Giants (+6.5): What a great game to start of the Sunday slate. I am so confused looking at this one. My algo has this game 26-24 GB with NYG PK as the generated spread. The total it generated was 48.5. First, looking at the total...I know its early in the week, but 2 out of 3 tickets are on the over yet the total has dropped from 47 open to 45/44.5 in most places...I looked into this because I was going to be on the over but this RLM has me confused. (The only reason I can see for the total moving down the way it has is the predicted cold weather, rain, and possible snow on Sunday)
The second thing to look at is the spread. This year, the Packers are 3-2 OTR and Rodgers has played notably worse scoring 11 or less in 3 of those games (winning vs. the Bears 10-3) and he has scored an average of almost 5 points less OTR than when at home. He has protected the ball well though, throwing 0 picks on the road this year, to only 6 TDs, in 5 games OTR.
So far I am quite torn. I was leaning Giants and the over and I was going to look at props all around. This RLM on the total and the weather uncertainty has me looking to back the dog or stay away. If I check Sunday morning and the weather has calmed down, I will look to take the over and props on:
Saquan (rush attempts and receptions): I can't imagine the Giant have much more of a game plan then keep trying to wake up the beast that is Barkley. GB is horrible this year against the rush giving up 4.8 ypc on the season. Even if there is bad weather, I may still look at Barkley's rush attempts. (Bad weather should lead to more hand offs)
Kayden Smith (Receptions) Against the pass they aren't much better, giving up one of the highest YPA percentages in the league. Both Golden Tate and Evan Engram are out for this game, so I expect Smith to have some extra looks as he fills in at TE. (Last week filling in for Engram he had 5 catches on 6 targets and before that game he had 1 catch on 1 target...all season)
Devante Adams (Receptions and yards). I mean, he is back and healthy. Rodgers doesn't really have another reliable receiving option and they are facing one of the worst secondary's in the league. Rain or shine, if his total is 6.5, I am rocking the over. If it is 7.5 and (+) I will consider.
Extra note: Packer right Tackle Bryan Bulaga might be sitting. If he does, I really lean NY and the points and look out for Golden to get a Sack if you have that prop. So be sure to check his status and the weather status before making any hard bets on this one.

Washington @ Carolina(-10): This is another interesting one. My algo has this CAR -7 and 44.5. Vegas has really pushed this one up there in the spread, and dropped in the total. I'd say the reason for the adjustment is the matchup and the context of the match up. The context is obvious, Washington is out of the playoffs and Carolina is mostly out, but they still have an outside shot with winning out and some luck. There are two key matchups and both favor Carolina. The first is CMC vs the Redskins rush D that has given up the 10th most rec yards to RBS. The second match up is rookie QB Haskins vs. one of the best pass rushes in the league. In the last 4 games (all of which Haskins played some or the entire game) the Redskins have scored 9, 9, 17 and 19 with both 9s coming on the road. Short of a D/ST score or a random breakout from a Redskins RB, I dont see them scoring in this game.

San Francisco @ Baltimore(-5.5): Ooooo Weeeee! What do we have here?! In possibly one of the best regular season weekends of the year this is a potential Superbowl match up. The weather is predicted as 100% rain. This is reflected in the totals. With the high chance of crappy weather I dont think I can touch this game. Also, my algo has this as only BAL- 2 so I really dont wanna put to much action on this game.

Tennessee @ Indianapolis(-2): Continuing in the weekend of exciting match ups we have a fantastic divisional game here. The winner gets a shot at a wild card spot while the loser most likely fades into the wind. I understand the opening line because my algo spit out 21-20 Colts with a line of -3. However, these teams seem to be trending in the opposite direction. IND struggled in October going 1-3 SU with a home loss vs. the Dolphins. TEN however, has going 4-1 since Tannehill took over at QB with a win over the Chiefs! Honestly to me, this comes down to TY Hilton. The Colts looked great when they had a number 1 to stretch the field and make big plays. But without him, they just dont run the offense as well. (Also, I am pretty sure the Colts next option, Ebron, is out as well)

Philadelphia @ Miami(+10): Both are coming off losses. Miami players are playing for next years contracts. Philly is playing to compete with Dallas for the spot of division leader with a .500 or less record :X
I can honestly lean both ways here and just like last weekend, I think the most important factor will be PHL injuries. If both starting tackles are out again and the majority of PHLs WRs are out again, who to and how is Wentz gonna throw the ball? However if the philly WRs return, Miami is one of the WORST all around defenses by DVOA and can easily give up 30 points... I lean PHL to win, but don't favor either side enough to single them. If I am gonna look at any props in this game, just as it has been since Fitzmagic came back, Im gonna look Devante Parker. Fitzy has targeted him at least 6 times in each of those games, targeting him 10 or more in 4 of those 6. Extra Note: Nick Raffoul "The Dolphins are down to two healthy receivers. Jakeem Grant was put on injured reserve Wednesday, and Albert Wilson has a rib injury that causes him discomfort and is uncertain to play Sunday. That will put added pressure on DeVante Parker and Allen Hurns to carry the offensive load. "

Tampa Bay @ Jacksonville(+2.5): Here we have one of the biggest line movements of the week. This opened as high as JAX -4.5 and has moved in most places to JAX +2/2.5. I really don't understand this much movement and pubic support on the Bucs. I mean, sure TB won last week as a dog, and Jacksonville is 0-2 over their last 2 games starting Nick Foles, but almost a TD swing with no significant injury news...?
My algo has this 23-25 Jacksonville so I really dont understand the move. Jacksonville sucks vs. the run, but TB doesn't have a run game. Jacksonville is meh against the pass so I can see the TB WRs having opportunity. TB is LEGIT against the run, so stopping Fournette seems reasonable. But, TB is the second worse pass D in the league. If Foles is gonna put up a fight for this job he just got paid 88 million to go 0-3 for, this defense is a great opportunity to start!

NY Jets @ Cincinnati(+3): First off I am so mad at this game. I put the Jets in all my parlays on Thanksgiving under the assumption that the Bengals were letting their rookie QB gain some experience points. However, now I find out Dalton will be under center as the Bengals try to throw everything they can at the league to avoid going win less. I still lean Jets as now they are healthy and just cruising on offense and they are going up against the Bengals D that hasn't really given any trouble to anyone. However, even though they were losing, I was still a fan of Dalton's competitive effort each game. Seeing him come back really hurts my lean on the Jets and it's possible you see me throw in some CIN into a parlay to balance the early week bets.
Statistically there isn't much to say here. We all know how bad the Bengals have played, they haven't won a game. As for the Jets they had their share of problems in the first half of the season, but are looking to finish strong.
If I look at props, it's gonna be Bell for the Jets as they have one of the worst run defense. If I look at any Bengals it would have to be Tyler Boyd receptions. When Dalton was in, he was the main option for targets.

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh(+2): Along with the above game, this game has me the most worried as the week progressed. This is a huge game for both teams that can have major wild card implications. I was all happy to take Cleveland to continue there shot at zero to hero glory. This game opened up at PIT -3 and has flipped all the way to the other side and now sits CLE -2 in most places. The big news is PIT will again be changing QBs. Duckman came in and sparked PIT over CLE last week and the Steeler org is hoping he can do it again this week. While he did spark the Steelers to a win, he completed less than 50% of his passes in that game. The Steelers will again be without Conner or Juju. There defense is pretty good so I expect Chubb to have trouble. To be honest, Kareem Hunt might be in line for a big spot. He is making a case as a RB to be the number 3 reciever for CLE. I am still leaning CLE in this spot but most times there has been a QB change this year the new QB has out performed the spread.
LA Rams @ Arizona(+3): What is big news right now is if Kyler Murray is going to play. He looked good in practice all week, but apparently tweaked his hammy and is Questionable now. If he sits I dont even know who the backup is to give him a chance. If he is healthy and plays, I find it hard not to take the 3 points here. Statswise, LA has the edge. In fact, they are playing better on the road this year than at home. (however, that could just be because of match up imbalance) My algo is giving me a spread of LA -5. Even so, with the demoralizing blowout the suffered last week that really diminished their playoff chances, I am not sure they can get up for this game. If Chandler Jones can get to Goff and Kyler Murray is healthy....wooo weee

Oakland @ Kansas City(-10): Welp, another divisional game here. The Raiders shit the bed last week and only put up 3 points against the Jets. Kansas City is coming out of the last bye week for anyone rested and ready to go. What really gets me here is even though KC offensive players have had 2 weeks to rest for this game, that doesnt change the fact that KCs biggest weakness is their run defense. Combine that with OAKs greatest strength...Josh Jacobs...and I cant see how this line is so big. We have already seen the Colts and Texans take down the Chiefs in Arrowhead this year just by using a great run game. I can see Gruden looking to attack the same strategy.

LA Chargers @ Denver(+3.5): Both teams coming off back to back losses. Another divisional battle. This one sees a QB that looks to be at the end of his career vs... well we dont know yet. DEN is still undecided at the QB position. It is either going to be Allen who struggled last week against the Bills, or Lock, a 2nd round draft pick. Honestly, I dont think the QB matters. DEN is going to play to their strengths which is sound defense and pound the two RBs. My algo has his as DEN -1 Total 37. Neither team has any playoff incentive to win and every loss helps their draft stock. With no heavy lean, I'd say there is value in the Denver with the points at home.

New England @ Houston(+3): Imagine a day filled with divisional battles, playoff implications, potential Superbowl and Conference championship match up previews...THEN, to end the day you have two of the top AFC teams facing off that could be a preview of a playoff match up. That is what we have today. This game is important for playoff seating not much for the Texans, but if the Patriots lose, it puts them in line with BAL for 1st in the AFC with BAL holding the tiebreaker. My algo has this as NE -2. I expect NE to put up more then the last few weeks, first off they will be indoors. Second, they are facing the Texans D that is one of the worst vs. QBs. The big question mark in this one is the 17 or so players that came down with a sickness for NE. The one thing I am comfortable taking in this game is Watsons rushing yards. Not that hes that big of a threat, but NE has had trouble containing the rush with mobile QBs this year.

Singles 89-84-3 (+33.08u)

Davante Adams 6.5 Rec Over (1u to win 1.22u)
Barkley 70.5 Rush Yards Over (1.1u to win 1u)
NYG 1Q ml (0u to win 2.9u)
NYG +6.5 (0u to win 1u)
Washington Team Total 14.5 Under (2.6u to win 2u)
TEN ml (0u to win 1u)
Devante Parker 4.5 Rec Over (2.6u to win 2u)
D.J. Chark 4.5 Rec Over (2.74u to win 2u)
Le'Veon Bell 33.5 Rec Yards Over (1.06u to win 1u)
Tyler Boyd 5.5 Rec Over (0.5u to win 0.6u)
NYJ 41.5 Over (0u to win 1u)
Kareem Hunt 3.5 Rec Over (1u to win 1.1u)
Kareem Hunt 27.5 Rec Yards Over (2.24u to win 2u)
Josh Jacobs 77.5 Rush Yards Over (2.2u to win 2u)
JAX ml (0u to win 1.25u)
AZ +3 (0u to win 1u)
OAK +11 (0u to win 1u)
DEN +3.5 (0u to win 1u)
Deshaun Watson 27.5 Rush Yards Over (2.2u to win 2u)
Barkley & CMC each to record 100 or more rush yards & 1 or more TD (1.11u to win 13.33u)
Edelman and Hopkins 100 Yards and a TD each (1u to win 36u)

FYI, I went a little ham this week on the parlays. Lets see if ham goes well with Turkey? :D
Parlays: 5-8 (+43.9u)

Cole Beasley 4.5 Rec Over, NO Saints ml, CAR ml, CLE ml, NYJ ml, TEN +3.5 (0u to win 122.61u) Live from Thanksgiving
Jax +3.5, TEN +3.5, BAL +3.5, AZ +6.5, CAR ml, PHL ml, PIT +3.5, CIN +6.5, NYG +10.5, OAK +17.5, Den +6.5, MIN +6.5 (1u to win 79.7u)

Big Boy Daddy Long Shot 0-8 (-8.54u)

CHI ml, BUF ml, NO ml, NYJ ml, CLE ml, PHL ml, TEN ml, ARZ ml, DEN ml, HOU ml, MIN ml (0u to win 1286.48u) Live from Thanksgiving
BUF and Under, NO and Under, NYJ -3, CAR -10, CLE ml, JAX ml, BAL ml, NYG ml, TEN ml, MIA ml, AZ ml, DEN ml (0u to win 25818.81) OK. This is the 0.5u free bet DK gave everyone just for opting in on Thanksgiving. I decided to just let it rip with some things I favored.
Chark Rec Yards Over, Hunt Rec Yards Over, Bell Rec Yards Over, Devante Adams Rec Yards Over, Jacobs Rush Yards Over, Parker Rec Over, Watson Rush Yards Over, TEN ml, WAS TT Under (2u to win 518.95u)
Actually, when I said I went ham, I put in some real BBDLSs. However, over the 8 wagers I am only risking 2u total. The wagers are all way to many teams for me to type out 8 times so I am just noting that there is 2u wagered. If any of them are live at the end of the day, I will post with a picture. We can assume that they are all going to lose, but who knows! :D

Super Big Boy Daddy Long Shot: 0-8 (-4u)

Putting two in at the Ocean Casino (1u to win 10,000u)

Teasers: 6-17 (-26.6u)

Carolina -3 and Under 46 (2.2u to win 2u)
TEN +8.5, JAX +5, ARZ +8.5, AZ O 42.5, DEN +8.5, CLE +5.5, MIN +8.5 (2u to win 20u)
Putting in a teaser card with too many to type at OCEAN (1.5u to win 350u)

Thanks for reading. Good luck to all! :D

Subreddit Stats: cincinnati top posts from 2018-09-04 to 2019-09-04 00:00 PDT

[Table] IAmA: Jason Bentley, host of KCRW LA radio's Morning Becomes Eclectic, Metropolis, and EDM pioneer. AMA.

	Submissions	Comments
Total	1000	43174
Rate (per day)	2.74	118.10
Unique Redditors	645	6120
Combined Score	213175	277191

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2014-02-05
Link to submission (Has self-text)

Questions	Answers
As the music director for a non-profit public radio station, do you ever feel a duty to expose KCRW’s listeners to “important” music which may not be popular among your listeners? Or does the station’s reliance on listener donations necessitate the dumbing-down of music programming to ensure sufficient funding? Is that why more eclectic, but less popular, DJs such as Tom Schnabel are no longer on the air?	Well, you always want to strike a balance between things that are familiar, and things that are going to be a new discovery. A lot of our listeners tune in for music discovery specifically, so that's a priority for us. And over the years, we've been able to present many many artists with their first airplay in the states. So whether it's Adele, or Norah Jones, or whomever, it's almost like the list runs really long. So that's an honor and a privilege, but to your question, you want to strike a balance between things that are accessible and things that are just much more progressive. I still think that our sweet spot is pretty far left of center. I mean our world is far more independent and in most cases unfamiliar to the mainstream.
	Specifically for Tom, he's still at the station and he hosts an online music blog called Rythm Planet (Link to blogs.kcrw.com so he is still with us. He was our very first music director in the late 1800s.
Jason, thank you for doing this. You've been my favorite DJ for as long as I can remember. Morning Becomes Eclectic is the best show on the radio. What are your favorite small clubs to see bands in LA? What is the coolest place you've ever DJ'd at?	Good questions! For local venues, I like the El Rey and I like the Fonda (even though it's a little bit bigger) and for nightclubs, I think Sound is best. And there's a new spot called DBA which is great too. As far as favorite DJ sets, that's really hard to say because it's like 2 decades of playing. Sometimes if I imagine a map of Southern California in my mind, I could drop a flag at so many locations over the years. But I would say a special honor was playing the Governor's Ball, which is the Oscar's after party, which I've played twice. And also Coachella is a personal favorite because I haven't missed a single Coachella and I've played there 3 times now.
As a person who has pretty much been a part of the Los Angeles "EDM" scene since the get-go, what aspect of this recent boom in popularity has been the most surprising for you? Also, any crazy story you care to share about the old school warehouse days??	Well you know to see EDM on Superbowl commercials, major motion pictures, basically the highest level of popular exposure is pretty remarkable. And also these events, whether it's EDC or Hard or Ultra in Miami, it's pretty astonishing. I didn't expect that it would become as big as it has gotten. But it's certainly validating for those of us who had a sense of its potential very early on, the power of connecting and a different way to experience music unlike rock n roll. As far as the old days, lots of very funny stories. One time I was at a rave and I stumbled down the wrong hallway and came upon a Quinceneara that was happening at the same time. We threw a rave on Catalina called Gilligan's Island in the casino that's out there and I just remember people as the boat was leaving the next morning running down the dock trying to jump on the boat at the last minute. I remember a rave in a bullring in east LA and the Orb played. Fond memories of a really influential event called Organic in 1996, probably the ultimate lineup of any rave, it had Underworld, Orbital, Meat Beat Manifesto, The Orb and the Chemical Brothers. And actually I really hope that we can get a 20 year anniversary of Organic event together. So that would be coming up in a couple of years. Countless memories, breaking into warehouses. I knew these promoters that would go downtown and they would put padlocks on different doors and they would come back a few weeks later and if the padlock had been cutoff they knew they could not use that warehouse, but it was a great way to test whether people were actually using the space. Sort of a reverse psychology there. So if the padlock was still on, they knew it was open season. Map points were also a really big part of the scene. Before everybody had a cell phone, the party would have a voicemail and you would call the voicemail number and you would get directions to a map point. You would go there, pay your money and get a map to the rave. There was always a sense of adventure in the scene. It needed to be illicit and sort of dangerous. That was a big part of it. So you and your friends would drive for hours trying to find these places, and you get there and it would be a giant room or giant sound system, something very special about all of that. I don't run around looking for underground parties anymore, so I don't even know if that scene exists. But I'm sure it does.
Hey Jason! Long time listener, first time writer. How much would it cost for you to DJ my wedding? And for the follow-up, will you be the groom at my wedding?	I do not play weddings, it's just potentially a minefield with music, so I steer clear of that. We should probably have dinner first.
My question is, what is a common thread you've seen in bands/artists who have started out small/unknown and have broken into wider success? What advice would you give to the struggling independent musicians out there that hope to gain wider exposure?	As far as common thread, I think you just need to love what you do, playing music and making that connection to people. Look at a band like the National right now. Their trajectory is over multiple albums, they are from the midwest (Cincinnati) and now they are headlining festivals. I like that trajectory where it's a slower build, you work to establish an audience over time and over multiple records. It's tough when you go big on your first record. Look at MGMT. They clearly don't like their early success. They have been trying to get away from the music they wrote in college ever since they put the album out.
I love KCRW and listening to it in my car is one of the top 5 things I miss about not living in LA anymore.	Yeah, Henry really is crazy. He's outta control, he's a special individual. I recruited him and he's been great. One thing I really appreciate about him is how he has so much passion in what he does, and when you hear that in his voice, you're pretty much going to give anything a chance, no matter what he plays, you're going to sit there and go Ok, if you're that into it I'm happy to check it out.
Can you really put on anything you want (that's not cursing)? Like could you find some random band from anywhere and put them on the air, or do you have certain sources that you're 'allowed' to choose from?	Well first, to quote Peter Parker's Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility.So I can play anything I want, but I need to be mindful of the audience and the radio station's reputation, and our credibility, so I take all of that very seriously and my goal is to play the best music possible. I jokingly say sometimes that I listen to bad music so you don't have to. And KCRW is an important filter for people, and you know, in a pop culture landscape where there's more choices and access than ever before it can really make your head spin. But that puts KCRW in a more important position.
Hi Jason, thanks for coming here. What bands from the past decade or so do you think will hold up as classics of the era? By that I mean the bands that will remain the most culturally and musically important in the coming decades.	Wow. That is a tough one. I'll say that it was great to see Daft Punk receive 5 Grammys just a couple weekends ago. That for me was special because i presented their first DJ appearance in Los Angeles and have worked closely with them over the years, specifically on Tron: Legacy, so to see them validated at that level was pretty special. People know me as a real pioneer for electronic dance music, and they are obviously such a part of that too. The EDM movement over the past couple of decades has been my most significant genre and is my sort of "British Invasion" if you will.
	As far as other bands, it's really hard to say who will endure, especially these days it seems like you know pop music and culture moves so quickly now because of digital and the internet, you are just seeing things turning over more rapidly. I think that when record labels were in more of a powerful position, they would really help to refine artists over time, but now when artists break on the internet, it's a little more disposable.
Jason I've been listening to you and KCRW since I was 15-16 and it has become the soundtrack to my life, I'd first off like to thank you and the staff for everything you guys do! 1st question: How is your voice so smooth and soothing? Rumor has it, it sends men and women alike into states of delirium. 2nd question: What is your favorite 90's 1 hit wonder, I'll go easy and let you pick 3 :]. Lastly if you were to be stuck with 5 albums to listen for the rest of eternity what would they be?	1st question: Proximity effect, look it up. 2nd question: Blackstreet's No Diggity, Eels' Novocaine for the Soul, The Breeders' Cannonball. 3: I'll take a shot. I would say The Who's Quadrophenia, The Clash London Calling, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, Radiohead OK Computer, and Massive Attack's Blue Lines.
THANK YOU JASON AND KCRW FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR LA!! RADIO ISN'T DEAD.	You're totally right, I consider those proprietary.
P.S. You always have the best background tracks/interludes between sets or when you talk, I'm beginning to think you keep all those instrumentals as your own little gems, and are sending me on a musical scavenger hunt. P.P.S. Please start doing audiobooks.	And people call about the interludes and I either ignore them outright or give them the wrong information.
If you could have been apart of any movie to provide music for what would it be? Do you think you could improve it?	Well earlier I mentioned wanting to hang out with Stanley Kubrick. I guess a bunch of his films, but A Clockwork Orange definitely changed my whole worldview when I saw it as a teenager. I think that being involved in that process would have been pretty amazing. I think the genius of Kubrick is that he is a complete filmmaker. I think it really was a case of Kubrick appropriating and placing the ideas, not a traditional film score. But any of Kubrick's films would have been great to have worked on. I really liked There Will Be Blood in more recent times. Gotta credit The Social network and Trent Reznor because it was so unconventional and represented the film so well.
	One of the things that people don't realize is that composers will come onto a picture when there's already a temp score in place. And the effect of that is usually limiting creatively. Because the direction and the sensibility has already been set in place. And so the conversation is usually with the director saying something like do something like this, I know it's the temp, it's from another film but we're used to that. It's a negative spiral. Sometimes you have directors like David Fincher for instance who involve a composer very early on and there is never a temp. Because a director like Fincher will appreciate the pitfall of doing that. So he involves someone in that process from even the script phase, getting ideas going. That's what we did with Tron: Legacy and Daft Punk. Daft Punk were on that project for 2-3 years wire to wire. On the set we were playing demos they had made. It helped to inform a scene and inform actors on a mood. So not everybody has that luxury because it doesn't make sense for a working composer to set aside 3 years for 1 film but the great films and the great directors (back to Kubrick), these are people that are approaching it with a holistic vision and that's when you get great results.
JB! Long time listenesupporter of KCRW and MBE. I have built a lot of my music library around your selections and have a great amount of respect for what you and your KCRW colleagues do for artists. That said, what genre(s), if any, do you have your eye on for 2014 and who's albums are you anticipating most?	Good question. New music trends are trancehall and gravewave (a mix of witch house and chill wave, it's the next thing). No I'm joking I just made that up.
	The Beck album is superb. So is the Broken Bells record. Those 2 albums are early candidates for the best of the year when all is said and done.
I went to a PACKED sold out Tame Impala show one time, and you stood right next to us. There was a good 2 foot radius of space/respect around you so you were not crowded.	Practice.
How did you get so cool?	Stay in school.
How do you line up your music supervision gigs ... do producers/directors reach out to you directly, or is it vice versa? Also, how many of movie/tv/game projects per year can you ideally work on?	Well the music director position here at the station is my priority and takes up most of my time. The other projects such as films, commercials, video games, I will consider on a case by case basis. Honestly they are really about relationships. Directors that I've worked with over time, projects that I feel have a certain creative reward, in other words I'm not just looking for anything to pick up. I don't have a set number I try to do, it's just about interesting opportunities that come up that I'm excited about and working with good people.
You play incredible music, and your voice is as soothing as Bob Ross'. Those are the highest compliments I've ever given someone. Are you just constantly listening to new music or do you have interns helping out? What do you think of the Broken Bells new album? Who's your favorite band of 2010+?	Love the new Broken Bells. I listen to all the music. I don't know how I could assign someone like an intern to do that for me. It does not really compute for me. And as far as a favorite band post 2010, let's say M83.
Jason, I need to know. Who cuts your hair, player? And can I walk in and say give me the Bentley?	I go to Yuki Sharoni in Beverly Hills, the mecca of hair salons.
Hi Jason! Love the show and glad to have discovered it. Thanks for all the music you play. You've really opened my ears! What made you pursue the music life? Was it an artist or a DJ that you listened to when you were younger?	When I was young I was totally fascinated with radio and subculture. By that I mean style and graffiti and music in the city. And so I think without having a set plan I have always known what excites me, what interests me and have naturally been drawn to music and culture. I have always loved radio as a medium. I think partly because it engages the imagination. I think music videos and video in general it establishes too much. It tells you too much. I always liked radio being theater of the imagination and that's what drew me to KCRW originally because there was this exotic music programming and really unusual radio drama that I had never heard before. I'm not talking about the BBC presents Shakespeare, it was weird radio drama like an intimate conversation that you should not be listening to. So I think KCRW always drew my interest from just being very young.
1) How does one become a KCRW DJ, is there anything specific that you look for?	1 well I started at KCRW as a phone volunteer in the main office and traditionally that's how people get involved and find their way and many of our DJs had their start as volunteers so that's certainly 1 way. We don't really go out and recruit people so much. Henry is an exception but he's an exception in a lot of ways. Get involved is the easy answer. It's public radio and there's a lot of ways that you can.
2) What was the inspiration for bringing back Metropolis?	2 When I became music director my responsibilities broadened significantly. While my passions for electronic dance music remained, I didn't really have the outlet. It was by popular demand, enough people over time asked me about it and ultimately our general manager brought it up and asked me to bring it back. And so we devised a saturday night program and that's my forum for just pure unadulterated Metropolis.
3) How do you think the electronic music scene in Southern California has changed in the last decade, and where do you see it going in the near future?	3 Well Los Angeles has always been a beacon for dance music culture. It's probably a combination of reasons (weather, the aspirational spirit, interesting venues, British expats) and so from the early 90s we really picked up from a lot of what was happening in Europe. Over the years it has evolved and we have made it our own in lots of ways. There have been growing pains where the rave scene has had major issues with people being injured, dying, it's just a matter of managing the masses and safety. There have been growing pains. But we do have the biggest dance music promoters in the country whether it's Insomniac who do a number of events including the Electric Daisy Carnival which is the largest single event in the country (used to be in LA for many years), also the Hard Festival, and then megaclubs like Avalon and Create. And also a lot of the leading Djs have relocated here like Tiesto and Zedd. So Los Angeles is undeniably the US capital of dance music. As far as where it is going, it's hard to predict the future but wherever it's going I will be there.
Boxers or Briefs?	Briefs.
Jason! Awesome job all the time, love MBE!	There are so many different ways to do this nowadays. I think it's very important for an artist to have a strong aesthetic. It's more than the music which needs to be great, but it's an artistic statement that extends beyond that in terms of whatever imaging or affiliation they make. It's really important. And it's definitely not lost on me the effort that is made. I can't really offer a magic bullet in terms of what a solution is for people across the board. But aesthetics are important. For instance if you send me a CDR with some writing and a sharpie, I would prefer to find you based on a compelling statement musically and artistically. So be careful about the partnerships that you strike. Generally people are more forgiving of commercial endorsements and brands, people understand that it's a necessary evil of sorts. But try to be discriminating of who you get in bed with. There are lots of opportunities out there. Music is a special magic that connects all of us. As human beings it's our connective tissue. So if you are able to make that magic, just protect it and respect it and you might have to turn some things down if you don't feel good about it. As far as great marketing, it's more about respecting your craft and finding the right people to help you get the word out.
Since you're neck deep in the industry and see a lot of musicians moving towards more innovative ways of making money (due to the old ways not working as well), such as utilizing themselves as brands and integrating alongside partners such as movies (Pharrell + Despicable Me 2 and his 24 Hours of Happy website or even Bieber getting the digital video makeover from addidas) and more - What have you seen in the digital music marketing world that you feel has been really effective in spreading awareness of the artist, brand and getting listeners and fans excited?
Hello, Have been a KCRW member for a while, listen to you in the morning at work, and very excited for this summer's line up at the bowl. anywho, living behind the orange curtain, there aren't many shows down here. KCRW did an event at the Segrestrom Center a couple years back, and that was it, no mas. Any chance it might happen again? Or any KCRW events in Orange County for that matter? Thanks and keep up the good work :)	I totally hear you. And it's really a matter of limited staff and resources. We would love to do more events down there, it's just about finding the time and the energy honestly. We enjoy coming down there and also the reception that we get is always terrific. People really appreciate the effort and that is an important audience for us. But sometimes all we can do is focus on the more immediate community in central LA, but please know that we definitely are trying to find more opportunities down there.
When would be the most convenient time during a DJ set to approach you and ask questions?	Never...
Hello Jason, I was wondering how it was working on the music for the Matrix? And also, what is your favorite fruit?	I love raspberries. But on the Matrix, amazing project, a good 3 years of my life working with the Wachowskis. Just totally inspiring. A long time ago. Wonderful to be around such creative people. The first Matrix was such a game changer. I also got a Grammy nomination for that soundtrack. Unfortunately I lost to Phil Collins for Tarzan. It's true, I was on the edge of my seat when they made the announcement and then they said Phil Collins.
	The funny thing about working on a film is that you are too close to it. You see a film in pieces and at the end of it you've seen it 50 times or more so it becomes really difficult to even tell anymore. I knew it was great but it's so hard because your perception is so off. I don't think I knew it would have the kind of pop culture impact that it did. It's just impossible to say that. But amazing group of people, visionaries, and it changed my life.
MBE is hands down my favorite way to discover new music. Thanks so much for all that you do. Probably a hard question, but which in-studio guest session surprised you the most?	Hmmm. Well, I think I hope for surprise every day in terms of what people are bringing to that stage. It's a rarity that any radio station would allow live bands nearly every day to play their hearts out live for the radio audience, it's almost old timey, it doesn't happen anymore. So I hope for the sense of surprise and excitement for everybody. I think the last band that really made me kind of stop and my jaw drop was White Denim. They've been in studio a few times, they're from Austin, Texas, and they are just so good as musicians, they are completely in a zone when they play. It's almost startling to watch. Probably the best live band I know that I've played at KCRW. I mean, everybody's good, but there's something about White Denim, they take it to another level. Oh, and they're at the Troubadour on Friday!
Jason. As a curator for the KCRW world festival shows @ the Hollywood bowl, have you thought about bringing house music to the bowl? Something like say Masters at work? a Reunion of Nuyorican Soul? With some contemparies to show the evolution? I think 30 plus years on House music is having a revival currently. Any thoughts on this?	House music is definitely having a revival, largely due to Disclosure, 2 young brothers from England. Their Grammy nominated album Settle is a nod to classic soulful house music. As far as the Bowl, booking is not easy and it has to be done so far in advance so a lot of times ideas will go on a back burner but it's a good one, house music night. We did have the Basement Jaxx from London there 6 or 7 years ago and that was a great night of house music. But the genre has definitely seen a resurgence and that's just the cyclical nature of the dance music world. I think it's down to move in a different direction in time, probably Trance will make a comeback.
Hey Jason! You've played Coachella 3 times, and even did the voiceover for their trailer. How did you first get involved with the festival? What were your thoughts on the introduction of the new Yuma tent last year?	Yuma is very cool. It's the result of the Sahara tent getting overblown. The EDM takeover of Sahara, Yuma is the answer to that. And it puts music first. And low on spectacle. It's very much an environment where you can feel the sound. I think it's a brilliant innovation on Coachella's part, and Coachella is a very influential festival. I would guess that other festivals like ACL or Lollapalooza or Sasquatch will probably follow suit. But it's basically an answer to the EDM bombast of Sahara.
Hello Jason, what did you have for lunch yesterday?	I went to The Counter (location undisclosed but I love The Counter).
Jason, hi. Listening to your show on KCRW for a long time ... nearly 20 years. I volunteered during a few membership drives during your shift too. I'm sure you've had many offers to accept jobs elsewhere. What's kept you in the KCRW studio for all this time?	It's more of an extended family, and you know, it's home. It's like a big house of crazy people and you know the little secret place where you can sneak off and get a little work done, and the place where you're going to run into somebody, it's just sort of a touchstone over the years. So I'm just totally a KCRW person, I listen to the radio station when I'm not here, and I'm here every day. I have been here a really long time. It's really strange, I didn't think I would be a lifer, but it's sort of working out that way. As long as I wake up and I'm excited to come here and excited to play that first record and that first set and figure out how I'm going to inspire people and do something special on the radio, I just don't see a reason to stop. It's really special to find a purpose and a calling. Not everybody finds that. We all make sacrifices here to do what we do, we take less money than we might make or we have to make other compromises in our life but it's worth it.
What are your current favorite restaurants in LA?	I love inc. because it's a culinary adventure. I also like Scopa on the west side for italian, and Tar & Roses is also good. We definitely have it good in LA for food.
Hi Jason, do you have any advice for an aspiring produceDJ?	Probably find your community. When I think back to the days when I was just getting started, you're naturally gravitating towards your friends and like minded people, whether it's at your college radio station or a live music scene. But don't take any of that for granted. It's amazing to me, looking around at some of my peers today who are successful, are friends I've had for a long time. And you know you really never know. If you find people with a shared passion for something… music, a club scene, a live music scene, everybody has a skill set. And so you probably know a person who can act as a manager or as a promoter or as an art director or as a lighting person, there are so many different ways to express your talents and your passion. I feel like it's easy to overlook these people who are right in front of you a lot of the time, especially when you're hanging out with your friends.
Hey Jason, really appreciate you doing this. I'm a huge fan of KCRW and a member.	We host roughly 150 live musicians every year, so it's difficult to pinpoint a few. But personally I loved Underworld. They're a british electronic act and they were just great. But I have a chance to speak with a wide range of artists from Neil Young to Broken Bells. It's pretty crazy. So I really just want to facilitate a good conversation and provide a little insight into an artist's creative process. And there are good and there are bad, but I think my goal ultimately is just a solid conversation. Nick Cave, he's an intimidating figure and an amazing artist, but if you just sort of listen to his music, he seems like a pretty serious customer. That was a real triumph getting a better than good interview with him. It's funny because he is someone who during our conversation talked about the importance of creative tension, and sometimes when you step out of your comfort zone, you bring your best effort, because of the anxiety, because of the tension. And I thought a lot about that when he talked about that and it's true. Having those butterflies really means that you care about something going into it. A lot of artists have dysfunction or they have a certain reputation and from my position you're thrust into a place with someone you don't really know and you have to try to get this conversation done so whether it's Sigur Ros or Ryan Adams, everybody is complicated. So some of my main principles are to be gracious and welcoming. For us, the art is the most important thing. We all rally around the art and the artist. So one of the most important things is to just show our respect for that and our care for that.
Just wanted to ask, in your time as host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, who has been your favorite in studio performance and any good stories from the people that have played?	Also as an addition to that, if I can promote our fundraiser tomorrow, we have a very unique place here, we have a very unique philosophy here, and that is only made possible by listener support. We don't answer to a corporation or a boardroom, we are free to share our passions for music and art and culture, and really, honestly the only way we are able to do that is that individuals decide to pick up the phone or go online and support us. It's a very 1 to 1 relationship. So if you want to keep that spirit alive here at KCRW which has made such a huge difference for artists over the years, we hope you will make a pledge starting tomorrow.
Thank you for the years of great interviews and not dumbing down electronica and having such a great taste and ear for great music! Who would you say are your favorite all-time electronic music artists that influenced you in the biggest way? Also, if you could open for any electronic music act, who would it be?	I don't know who I would want to open for. Maybe Daft Punk just for the sake of it? Also the year they have had. It would be great to open for them.
Long time listener here, loved Metropolis for years, glad it came back. How do you find some of your tracks? Great selection as always.	I'm a fan, first, so I'm always on the lookout for leading indicators, whether it's producers or labels or different recommendations or things that are buzzing online. It's sort of a lifestyle. You're just immersed in a music scene that you love. So I think that when you're approaching it that way with an open mind and excitement for what you do that really helps. Also maybe people will mention things and I will pick up on that and pursue it. Also I review a lot of music, people send me music constantly, I'll get hundreds of submissions a week so I try and go through as much as possible, typically in the evenings.
Speaking of listener support, could you break down, roughly, how is the money from donations distributed in order to keep KCRW on air?	Roughly 70% of our operating budget comes from listener donations. The rest of it is from major donors, corporate grants, things like that. people can hear that on the air, it's not quite a commercial but you will hear credits for different people. It's like our version of an advertisement. But 70% is a lion's share. Also we are working on a new building which is part of Santa Monica college but hopefully in a couple of years we will have that finished. That's a huge commitment, but there is something called a Capital campaign where we go to more institutions, organizations like the Annenberg foundation and things like that for support. So it's not so much the listeners for that one. But we are excited to move into a new facility in a couple of years in Santa Monica. It's a big deal and it's been taking a long time.
Where do you get all those awesome t-shirts?	I am photographed a lot, so I have to be thinking about my shirt selection. I really like All Saints. I know it's just a mall store, but I think it's because they are from England that I really like them. For more unusual fashions, I like Opening Ceremony. But I have to keep mixing it up, it's true, because I take photos with all the bands that come through and I can't be seen wearing the same shirt every day.
Ready for torturous question? Your favorite LA taco spot. Go Bentley! Haha.	El Galleon.
Why did you leave KROQ? I first heard you on KROQ on weekends, but I forgot what show you did… Edit: I remember KROQ gave your Silversun Pickups remix a lot of plays back in the day...	Well when I became music director of KCRW it would have just been weird for me to carry on at KROQ. But I love those folks, they do great work and we're still friends.
Yay hi Jason! Is there a particular artist you have not yet had the pleasure of interviewing that you would just love to talk to?	Maybe that will be my fallback career if this radio thing doesn't work out, I will do yoga and meditation tapes.

Last updated: 2014-02-10 00:45 UTC
This post was generated by a robot! Send all complaints to epsy.

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today video

Cincinnati's Hard Rock Casino changes hours to comply with Ohio COVID-19 curfew To comply with this week's curfew order of Governor Mike DeWine , the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati will change its Under MGM ownership, he Hard Rock Cafe is now known as the Tap Room. This needs to be changed in Trip Advisor. Two couples had lunch on a Friday during lent. We were looking for a fish sandwich, however, there wasn’t one on the menu. We both ordered a fish and chips dinner to split. It came with two very large breaded filets of fish. Book now at Prism Steakhouse- Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH. Explore menu, see photos and read 416 reviews: "Eric and his team have outdone themselves again. I can’t thank them enough for going above and beyond for my girlfriends birthday." Unfortunately, the closure deferred rebranding efforts and projected timelines of a Grand Opening as the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati. We are hopeful the Grand opening of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati will be late this year or early 2021. At the future home of Hard Rock Casino, everyone has to wear a mask, and guests and employees have to get their temperatures checked upon entering. The casino will only operate at 20% capacity Hard Rock Hotel Facebook Link Hard Rock Cincinnati Twitter Link Hard Rock Cincinnati Instagram Link Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati 1000 Broadway Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 United States Phone: (513) 250-3150 Win Loss Statement Hard Rock Atlantic City. Fill out, securely sign, print or email your hard rock casino win loss form instantly with SignNow. The most secure digital platform to get legally binding, electronically signed documents in just a few seconds. Available for PC, iOS and Android. Start a free trial now to save yourself time and money! Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, downtown, Miami Valley Gaming in Lebanon and Belterra Park Cincinnati in Anderson Township all plan to remain open despite a ban on gatherings of 100 or more people. COVID update: Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati has updated their hours and services. 2 reviews of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati "This is the third name/ownership of this casino property and I have to say it hard to tell if much has changed. Obviously there is a different logo in some places, but for the most part everything has remained the same from JACK. The Future Home of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati has reduced table game availability and seating capacity to avoid crowding. In most cases, Plexiglass shields have also been installed between dealers and guests, as well as between chairs. Here are the new health and safety precautions for table games.

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today top

Tour of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ ...

#guitarhotel #happinessisalifestyleJoin us for a little Staycation as we check into the Seminole Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The new guitar shaped h... ————Leave us a thumbs Up 👍 Recommend a Game in the comment ️Be sure to Subscribe👉https://bit.ly/2VdLiqc🔔🙏😁I hope you guys enjoyed watching as ... Jim Allen Chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, talks about the re-open to the public It’s a one of a kind. The only guitar-shaped hotel in the world and the 35-story building at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood is now just... Hundreds of people waited to get into the casino Thursday, backing up traffic on Forty Mile Road. Officials in New Orleans set off a series of explosions designed to topple two cranes looming over the ruins of the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel, Sund... One person has been killed, three are unaccounted for, and 18 were taken to hospitals after a Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel under construction in New Orleans coll... Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. This is a look at the new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. This tour takes you through a standard room, hotel dining options, the indoor pool and...

Cincinnati's Hard Rock Casino changes hours to comply with

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today - win

Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Mar. 4, 2002

CreateYoureReality NFL Analysis and Picks Week 13 (Sunday Games)

Subreddit Stats: cincinnati top posts from 2018-09-04 to 2019-09-04 00:00 PDT

Top Submitters' Top Submissions

Top Commenters

Top Submissions

Top Comments

[Table] IAmA: Jason Bentley, host of KCRW LA radio's Morning Becomes Eclectic, Metropolis, and EDM pioneer. AMA.

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today video

is hard rock casino cincinnati open today top

Tour of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ ...