PJ Fleck on KFAN with Paul Allen

Gold Rush

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PJ was pretty positive and felt fortunate to be 2-0 but was glad the team was able to pull it out. He said the team is maturing and finding ways to win. He talked about QB Tanner Morgan and he doesn't make the same mistake twice and is getting better. He sang the praises of Winfield and Autman Bell and said he felt the offensive line all played better. Still need to work on the mistakes - if you take away the mistakes it is entirely a different game. Also - teams they play in the non conference schedule won 32 games last year and Georgia Southern is a well coached team that is not a pushover. Key to stopping the option is a boring defense where everyone does their job.

I get the feeling PA was bored and couldn't wait to get back to talking more about the Vikings - lol. But any time is good time and I am glad they were able to get some air time in between all the Vikings segments!

My take on the Gophers so far is they are not as good as they were at the end of last year, but they have improved a bit from 2 games in to last season. We are in the same spot we were in last year 2-0. I know we are making a lot of bonehead mistakes but those are correctable. If our problems right now we are too slow or not athletic enough we would have a whole other list of concerns that would be far worse!! Time will tell, but we just might have a very good year if everything falls in place and we can stay healthy!
 

Thanks for sharing and I'm not surprised to hear PA was eager to get back to his Vikings chit chat.
 

I didn't hear the interview today, but the Fleck on KFAN thing is tough. There is obviously a reason to have the coach of the team on the station since they broadcast the games and have a wide audience of sports fans, but there is no show where it is an obvious fit. The Power Trip (or is it Powertrip?) isn't really a sports show with hosts who pride themselves on not liking sports that much and Sauce who openly talks about not liking Fleck personally. They cover the Vikings and will mention the Gophers, but it's mostly with disdain and you certainly aren't going to learn anything from them. Common Man isn't college football fan and isn't interested in any type of a serious interview with a coach. Barreiro would rather mock Fleck and the Gophers than discuss them seriously.

That leaves PA. He is not very knowledgeable or interested in college football and his focus is obviously on the Vikings, but he's the best personality fit with PJ and he usually appears to have prepped for 5 minutes to do the interview. It is often stilted and awkward, but it's probably the best they can do. They would be better off just having JG or Grimm do the interview, even if it is recorded and replayed during one of the other shows.

None of this is intended as a rip on KFAN as their shows all do well and they seem to know their audience, I just wish there was better and more even-handed coverage of the Gophers in this market in general and on the flagship in particular. I like the weekly coach's shows.
 

PA isn’t much of a college football fan. A few years ago, he said he can’t get into Gopher games, because they were “boring.” To be fair, it was back in the Leidner days, but they were still a competitive team. I do think he genuinely likes PJ. He definitely supported his hiring.


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I didn't hear the interview today, but the Fleck on KFAN thing is tough. There is obviously a reason to have the coach of the team on the station since they broadcast the games and have a wide audience of sports fans, but there is no show where it is an obvious fit. The Power Trip (or is it Powertrip?) isn't really a sports show with hosts who pride themselves on not liking sports that much and Sauce who openly talks about not liking Fleck personally. They cover the Vikings and will mention the Gophers, but it's mostly with disdain and you certainly aren't going to learn anything from them. Common Man isn't college football fan and isn't interested in any type of a serious interview with a coach. Barreiro would rather mock Fleck and the Gophers than discuss them seriously.

That leaves PA. He is not very knowledgeable or interested in college football and his focus is obviously on the Vikings, but he's the best personality fit with PJ and he usually appears to have prepped for 5 minutes to do the interview. It is often stilted and awkward, but it's probably the best they can do. They would be better off just having JG or Grimm do the interview, even if it is recorded and replayed during one of the other shows.

None of this is intended as a rip on KFAN as their shows all do well and they seem to know their audience, I just wish there was better and more even-handed coverage of the Gophers in this market in general and on the flagship in particular. I like the weekly coach's shows.

Excellent summation of the KFAN dilemma. Gopher football is an odd fit with their on-air personalities.
 


KFAN know where their bread is buttered and it isn't with the Gophers. I think they could do a better job but when you dominate locally like they do and no one has taken market share by increasing Gophers coverage they have little incentive to change what isn't broken.

This site is the minority. We all want more Gopher coverage.
 

I didn't hear the interview today, but the Fleck on KFAN thing is tough. There is obviously a reason to have the coach of the team on the station since they broadcast the games and have a wide audience of sports fans, but there is no show where it is an obvious fit. The Power Trip (or is it Powertrip?) isn't really a sports show with hosts who pride themselves on not liking sports that much and Sauce who openly talks about not liking Fleck personally. They cover the Vikings and will mention the Gophers, but it's mostly with disdain and you certainly aren't going to learn anything from them. Common Man isn't college football fan and isn't interested in any type of a serious interview with a coach. Barreiro would rather mock Fleck and the Gophers than discuss them seriously.

That leaves PA. He is not very knowledgeable or interested in college football and his focus is obviously on the Vikings, but he's the best personality fit with PJ and he usually appears to have prepped for 5 minutes to do the interview. It is often stilted and awkward, but it's probably the best they can do. They would be better off just having JG or Grimm do the interview, even if it is recorded and replayed during one of the other shows.

None of this is intended as a rip on KFAN as their shows all do well and they seem to know their audience, I just wish there was better and more even-handed coverage of the Gophers in this market in general and on the flagship in particular. I like the weekly coach's shows.

Exactly why I stopped listening to KFAN and listen to podcasts only. Sports radio in this town is pathetic. Common I can handle for entertainment, but not sports. 1500 is a rube central and only plays negative and is even worse.
 

I get the feeling PA was bored

The handful of times I hear any sports radio in this town I get the impression that the folks talking are often a bit put out to be bothered to show up that day. There are exceptions, but there's a weird cadence in most sports talk radio in the Twin Cities where folks play being "too cool for school". Like man if you don't care ... I don't care about listening.
 

The handful of times I hear any sports radio in this town I get the impression that the folks talking are often a bit put out to be bothered to show up that day. There are exceptions, but there's a weird cadence in most sports talk radio in the Twin Cities where folks play being "too cool for school". Like man if you don't care ... I don't care about listening.

Yes. Nearly all sports talk in this town is a big bit.
 



I am probably in the minority here, but I feel like Gopher football coverage is as good as it's ever been. The problem is you just need to learn when and where you can find that coverage. The PJ Fleck Show is on every Tuesday on the radio, he has his appearances with PA as well. Then you have the PJ Fleck Show on FOX 9 on Wednesdays. JG and Barreiro also talk plenty of Gophers at times. Mike Grimm has been on the radio as well to discuss Gopher football and basketball. Obviously the Vikings and the NFL are the juggernaut but compared to where we were 10-15 years ago when games were on WCCO radio, I think Gopher coverage is much better overall. And consistently winning will only help that over time.
 

Gopher Gridiron, Skor North podcasts for Gopher analysis; the Audible with Stew and Bruce for national coverage. Beyond that the Big Ten Show on BTN is on weeknights.

Between all that I don’t have any more room or desire for more sports coverage as there is diminishing returns on rime invested. I have difficulty finding time for the Audible these days. And, I have a lot of other interests to occupy my “ free “ time.
 

KFAN does ok, they've had Ryan Burns on few times, JG and Grimm are always good listens, Ron Johnson obviously.

Generally for gopher talk I do listen to Podcasts
 

I am probably in the minority here, but I feel like Gopher football coverage is as good as it's ever been. The problem is you just need to learn when and where you can find that coverage. The PJ Fleck Show is on every Tuesday on the radio, he has his appearances with PA as well. Then you have the PJ Fleck Show on FOX 9 on Wednesdays. JG and Barreiro also talk plenty of Gophers at times. Mike Grimm has been on the radio as well to discuss Gopher football and basketball. Obviously the Vikings and the NFL are the juggernaut but compared to where we were 10-15 years ago when games were on WCCO radio, I think Gopher coverage is much better overall. And consistently winning will only help that over time.

This matches my opinion. While I agree that among the regular lineup of hosts, the Gophers are not the first topic of choice, there are a lot of options with coach shows, Grimm, Cake Show, etc. that focus a lot on the Gophers. I feel like JG in particular does a great job of weaving gopher stuff not only into his own Cake Show, but also into his daily banter with Bareirro. I listen to KFAN pretty much whenever I am in my vehicle, commuting, errands, etc. and although my preference is always to have more Gopher coverage, I appreciate what they have. I'll be tuning in tomorrow at 7:00 AM to hear the weekly Fargo Flash Gopher talk with the morning show.
 



I see that PA is going to help out on Wild games as well. What in the heck does he know about hockey?
 

I see that PA is going to help out on Wild games as well. What in the heck does he know about hockey?
Not much. Just throws some names around.

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I see that PA is going to help out on Wild games as well. What in the heck does he know about hockey?

Maybe it will be like the ESPN news crawl that gives you updates on LeBron's latest tweets while you're watching a different sport?
 

The reality is that Gopher football isn't going to get any real respect from the on air personalities in this town until the team wins a division and/or BIG championship. The program was such a joke for so long it has just become an easy punch line. Even though Mason got the program back to a respectable level, he and none of the subsequent coaches have been able to push the team to that next tier.

The program gets ripped on less then it used to but there is still work to do before it really starts to register with the on-air folks in this town.
 

The reality is that Gopher football isn't going to get any real respect from the on air personalities in this town until the team wins a division and/or BIG championship. The program was such a joke for so long it has just become an easy punch line. Even though Mason got the program back to a respectable level, he and none of the subsequent coaches have been able to push the team to that next tier.

The program gets ripped on less then it used to but there is still work to do before it really starts to register with the on-air folks in this town.

How much respect have those on-air personalities "earned"?

Don't some — or most — of those guys get paid six-figure salaries to do what they do? Have they really "earned" that money?

Do you get the impression that they spend a lot of time working at their job, or does it seem as though they think of it all as a lark? Do they work as diligently as the Average Joe or Josephine does in order to excel at their jobs?
 

Radio likes to rip the Gophers for not winning. Reality is their winning percentage is very close to the Vikings the last few years.
Difference is the Vikings can win their 4 team division twice a decade so that makes us think they are really good. One of the three teams they have to beat is Detroit.
KFAN likes to complain about the Gophers non-conference schedule. The Vikings play Detroit twice every year.
 

How much respect have those on-air personalities "earned"?

Don't some — or most — of those guys get paid six-figure salaries to do what they do? Have they really "earned" that money?

Do you get the impression that they spend a lot of time working at their job, or does it seem as though they think of it all as a lark? Do they work as diligently as the Average Joe or Josephine does in order to excel at their jobs?

Whether they have earned it or not is up for discussion but radio is a cut-throat business and if your ratings aren't good you get replaced. So while it might not seem like they are working real hard while on the air, there is a lot of pressure to make sure they are doing what they have to do in order to keep their ratings at a high enough level to avoid losing their show.
 

How much respect have those on-air personalities "earned"?

Don't some — or most — of those guys get paid six-figure salaries to do what they do? Have they really "earned" that money?

Do you get the impression that they spend a lot of time working at their job, or does it seem as though they think of it all as a lark? Do they work as diligently as the Average Joe or Josephine does in order to excel at their jobs?

Yes, they have absolutely earned their salaries. You know nothing about radio.
 

Yes, they have absolutely earned their salaries. You know nothing about radio.

You could end my ignorance by enlightening me.

Explain to me, please, how hard these guys work. Do they study film? How, exactly, did they acquire their vast knowledge?
 
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You could end my ignorance by enlightening me.

Explain to me, please, how hard these guys work. Do they study film? How, exactly, did they acquire their vast knowledge?

You seem to think that the job is to be knowledgeable about sports. I wish it was, but the job is to get ratings and they are doing that well.
 

You could end my ignorance by enlightening me.

Explain to me, please, how hard these guys work. Do they study film? How, exactly, did they acquire their vast knowledge?

As MNVCGUY said radio is extremely cut throat. The guys on KFAN are the best of the best and have worked their way up to that level. Just because you don't think they work very hard (it's just a bit that is obviously over your head) doesn't mean they don't deserve their pay or have earned their salaries.
 

As MNVCGUY said radio is extremely cut throat. The guys on KFAN are the best of the best and have worked their way up to that level. Just because you don't think they work very hard (it's just a bit that is obviously over your head) doesn't mean they don't deserve their pay or have earned their salaries.

What I don't understand is with it being a "cut-throat" business, why is there such a lack of new personalities on these stations?


1500 for example was largely made up of a few old KFAN people.
The 105 sports station was recycled with Mike Morris and Sansevere a few years back.
Then 105 goes away and Mike Morris ends up on 1500.

1500 has suffered for years, but they continue to run with Judd Zulgad who has had 3-4 different co-hosts during that time.
It's a bit weird.
 

absolutely nothing

I'm not a diehard KFAN listener, but I was happy for Allen and Dubay when they took over in 1998 after Jesse moved into the Governor's mansion (or at least his kid did). I really can't listen to Allen anymore though. I get the pro teams want "homers" for their announcing teams, but Allen really takes the homerism to an absurd level, especially with the Vikings. Glad to hear Fleck gets some air time and agree with others that Allen is the only show where he fits.
 

Thanks for sharing and I'm not surprised to hear PA was eager to get back to his Vikings chit chat.

This is part of the reason I am only a casual fan of the Vikings nowadays. The local TV sports guys and talk radio cram Vikings, Vikings, Vikings down our throats like we're supposed to drop what we're doing and pay attention to this fabulous thing the Vikings supposedly are, when all they really do is find some way to fail miserably at the end of the season. I have already seen predictions that the defense is really good and there could be a deep playoff run. We all know how that will end...
 

I didn't hear the interview today, but the Fleck on KFAN thing is tough. There is obviously a reason to have the coach of the team on the station since they broadcast the games and have a wide audience of sports fans, but there is no show where it is an obvious fit. The Power Trip (or is it Powertrip?) isn't really a sports show with hosts who pride themselves on not liking sports that much and Sauce who openly talks about not liking Fleck personally. They cover the Vikings and will mention the Gophers, but it's mostly with disdain and you certainly aren't going to learn anything from them. Common Man isn't college football fan and isn't interested in any type of a serious interview with a coach. Barreiro would rather mock Fleck and the Gophers than discuss them seriously.

That leaves PA. He is not very knowledgeable or interested in college football and his focus is obviously on the Vikings, but he's the best personality fit with PJ and he usually appears to have prepped for 5 minutes to do the interview. It is often stilted and awkward, but it's probably the best they can do. They would be better off just having JG or Grimm do the interview, even if it is recorded and replayed during one of the other shows.

None of this is intended as a rip on KFAN as their shows all do well and they seem to know their audience, I just wish there was better and more even-handed coverage of the Gophers in this market in general and on the flagship in particular. I like the weekly coach's shows.

Barreiro and JG talk Gopher sports a lot
 

What I don't understand is with it being a "cut-throat" business, why is there such a lack of new personalities on these stations?


1500 for example was largely made up of a few old KFAN people.
The 105 sports station was recycled with Mike Morris and Sansevere a few years back.
Then 105 goes away and Mike Morris ends up on 1500.

1500 has suffered for years, but they continue to run with Judd Zulgad who has had 3-4 different co-hosts during that time.
It's a bit weird.

Who listens to AM?
 




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