OT-WTEM Fires Al Smokin Koken

Ji · Post #1 » by Ji » Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:31 am

Pretty sad..he has been doing Washington Sports forever...they did not renew his contract today according to DCTV.com

fishercob · Post #2 » by **fishercob** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:47 am

Pretty amazing. Brian Mitchell can't go two "sentences" without butchering the English language and he has his own show. Smokin' Al's a pro's pro and will land on his feet somewhere -- hopefully here in DC.

F Dan Snyder.

FreeBalling · Post #3 » by **FreeBalling** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:12 am

For some reason I want to blame Ji. :giveup:

FreeBalling · Post #4 » by **FreeBalling** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:16 am

fishercob wrote:Pretty amazing. Brian Mitchell can't go two "sentences" without butchering the English language and he has his own show. Smokin' Al's a pro's pro and will land on his feet somewhere -- hopefully here in DC.

F Dan Snyder.

I enjoyed Smoking Al every day on WTEM.

Why was he let go?

I meet Danny Boy over at Snyder Comm, what an ASS.

P'Oed · Post #5 » by **P'Oed** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:16 am

whoa! That's a shocker man. Forget a 22-year-old like me getting work when everyone is losing it. Tough times.

closg00 · Post #6 » by **closg00** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:18 am

What a laugher, B-Mitch gets to stay because the station is %95 about the Skins. They should re-name the station SKins Radio

newslowsad · Post #7 » by **newslowsad** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:30 am

I hope he stays on with Comcast. I always look forward to him doing play-by-play on CAA basketball games every year.

newslowsad · Post #8 » by **newslowsad** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:32 am

newslowsad wrote:I hope he stays on with Comcast. I always look forward to him doing play-by-play on CAA basketball games every year.

They are saying on extremeskins that Larry Michael is going to replace Al on Big John's show. Oh god, that is going to be a nightmare.

no D in Hibachi · Post #9 » by **no D in Hibachi** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:21 am

newslowsad wrote:
newslowsad wrote:I hope he stays on with Comcast. I always look forward to him doing play-by-play on CAA basketball games every year.

They are saying on extremeskins that Larry Michael is going to replace Al on Big John's show. Oh god, that is going to be a nightmare.

My favorite show used to be the John Thompson show with Doc John and Al. Those were the days. When they took off Doc and put on B-Mitch the show immediately became unlistenable. It went from a talk show I never missed to a talk show rivaling the Turico and Van Pelt show in awfulness, I mean people blame Gary Williams for being a bad recruiter, but hell if I were a top high-school ball player and I knew that Van Pelt went to UMD I'd go to UNC just to beat down the Terps cause he's so damn annoying. Gary is at a competitive disadvantage it's not his fault for the Terps decline. I digress, I feel for Coach Thompson, Larry Michael's is unlistenable, I bet his show gets dropped before too long. Only a couple of years ago it was the rush hour program, but the sports reporters took that over and have been doing a good job if you ask me. They are the back-bone of that poor station. I love how they have the stones to rip on Snyder and Cerrato, talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Wizards2Lottery · Post #10 » by **Wizards2Lottery** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:37 am

What a joke if Larry Michaels replaces Koken. First the guy takes over for Frank Herzog, now Koken? The only reason this is happening is because Michaels kisses Snyders ass.

Halcyon · Post #11 » by **Halcyon** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:00 am

Unbelievable. He was the only guy who knew what the hell he was talking about most of the time. Oh wait, that means he has to speak bad about the Redskins occasionally...

newslowsad · Post #12 » by **newslowsad** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:35 am

It's official:

Post #13 » by **TheSecretWeapon** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:15 pm

I agree with the sentiment about BMitch, who is a terrific individual but lousy on the radio. My heart's not broken over Koken, though. He was okay, but I never found him all that insightful or entertaining. Dumping for Larry Michael would be a travesty, just as it was to dump Herzog for Michael.

closg00 · Post #14 » by **closg00** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:20 pm

I have to say it again, B-Mitch is a terrible on-air sports commentator, just dreadful. Skins coverage 24-7 is on it's way.

fishercob · Post #15 » by **fishercob** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:43 pm

TheSecretWeapon wrote:I agree with the sentiment about BMitch, who is a terrific individual but lousy on the radio. My heart's not broken over Koken, though. He was okay, but I never found him all that insightful or entertaining. Dumping for Larry Michael would be a travesty, just as it was to dump Herzog for Michael.

Agreed that Koken's not special, but he's solid. And more importantly, he's the one guy on the air in this town who knows anything about hockey. And I cannot help but think that ground the Caps are gaining in terms of local popularity played a role in this decision. I'm sure Snyder views the Caps as competition and doesn't want them getting "free pub" on his airwaves.

F Snyder.

Post #16 » by **Ruzious** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:19 pm

Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of Koken, but he was solid - probably best on hockey - which I have only a limited interest in. I'm sure he'll be fine - doesn't he still do Caps tv games? But Larry Michael? Not only he is unlistenable, but that sounds like the Skins ownership is throwing their weight around. And if I was working at the station, I'd be more concerned about job security. Al has certainly let it be known over the years that he wasn't a big fan of Skins management. Does hiring a blatant homer like Michaels send a message to the other hosts?

Ji · Post #17 » by Ji » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:20 pm

they still employ Doc who has been the teams(skins) biggest critic at 980

badinage · Post #18 » by **badinage** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:32 pm

A shame. Koken is very good -- witty, smart, incisive.

Mitchell is just awful. He's so inarticulate, it's like listening to fingernails on a blackboard.

And John Thompson is no better. I like the man, like his courage and conviction, but he, too, has no facility with the language. "In the same token" -- ugh.

Speaking well and gracefully and wittily on the air -- this is as much a thing to get excited about, to me, as a great crossover.

Same with a writer who can put together a beautifully written paragraph.

I'm obviously in the minority, or there wouldn't be all these jocks making big money in broadcasting.

With rare exceptions, jocks simply aren't interesting to listen to. Kornheiser's right about this. I'd rather listen to somebody who is well-spoken and has some distance and perspective on games.

There's a reason newspapers don't hire jocks to write columns. Print, it's merciless. And God love it.

Post #19 » by **Ruzious** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:41 pm

Ji wrote:they still employ Doc who has been the teams(skins) biggest critic at 980

Meh, half the time I can't make heads or tails of what Doc (not our Doc) is trying to say. That's not true - It's more like 75%. The more emotional he gets, the more I scratch my head trying to figure out what his point was. Hmm, some posters are like that, too. :lol:

FreeBalling · Post #20 » by **FreeBalling** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:48 pm

I like Doc Walker, he calls it like he sees it. I can take the truth. Now B-Mitch, I love the football player but on the radio his name is He'll Bitch.