Q on business of the WTKA roundtable
Ohhh, "Q" as in question, not what certain members of the "Q" think....
That's a man, baby
That's the pipe bomber!
moved on to politics memes since the board started saying no (sorta) to the sexy-bits?
They both trust the science...nothing to see here.
Lee Corso with hair.
Now I can't unsee that.
Okay but what does this guy think? I've heard he was once an advisor to the President
President of what?
+1 for Rational National plug
There's that liberal mgoblog bias. Clearly we need to bothsides whether space lasers cause wildfires and give equal time and respect to both viewpoints.
I don't know the answer, but I imagined Q doing an interview on this issue and it made me smile.
Okay, which won is Sam?
I think he's the won with a blanket...
You mean the striped blanket?
Correct---you one.
I'm confused, which 1?
That Juan.
Oh, Yuan... the guy with the sombrero.
I hear he coaches basketball and the kids call him Juwann.
Yes, Juan De Lancie.
Very good, the actor that plays "Cue"
Jose or Hose B
Jose can you see, by the dawn's early light.....
And while we're on the topic... would you say the Roundtable is considerably better, or undeniably better since the departure of Ed Fengofthepowerankdotcom?
Ha. I'm kidding... well, maybe only a little bit.
that dude constantly sounded like he needed to clear his throat really bad
1. It didn't seem like Ed brought much to the show.
2. #1 above could have been related to the fact that the rest of the group was so rude to him.
3. I am pretty sure it's Brian who is always clearing his throat.
3. No,no,no. Brian is always clearing his throat. Ed sounded like he had a massive amount of phlegm in his throat.
Do you really think the group was "so rude to him"? I guess "rudeness" I interpret as being malicious or personal. Unprofessional in a broadcast setting, in fact.
To me the main issue with Ed was that he didn't really add much to the discussion. He seemed to feel like he needed to take a contrarian's viewpoint, but a bad argument is a bad argument. He would cite his "formula" as a factual reference but it really was just the statistical backing for his opinion. It's kind of a thin line point I'm making, but basically it was kind of annoying to listen to a guy cite his personal formula as if it were a standard that anyone else at all on the planet used.
Ultimately, I think he's not there anymore because he didn't really add much to the discussion. I think the Roundtable has only improved over the past couple seasons since he's been gone.
I think Brian can be somewhat dismissive of points he doesn't agree with, or dismissive of things he doesn't want to spend time on. But that's just a Brian "flaw". He does it to Seth as well, not sure that it was exclusive to Ed Fengofthepowerrankdotcom.
I guess I'll be more direct. Brian was unprofessional and rude to Ed in an often cringe worthy way. You are right that Brian does that to a lot of people, normally his own employees. A "flaw" is one way to put it I guess.
This is true. Aside from those, he's also very dismissive of other's opinions even when it's not warranted. Brian brings a lot of experience and talent for what he's doing, but I couldn't imagine being a friend of his... I tend to give shit right back when it's not warranted to begin with.
It would definitely be interesting radio or podcast content if someone fired right back instead of taking like Seth, Ace, and Ed did / do.
Brian has been quite dismissive of Seth recently. I'm with you, though... I'd be ready to give it right back to him!
I agree with this. I actually liked Ed. I thought Brian was dismissive of him.
I remember a podcast during the cursed 2020 season when Ace and Brian were incredibly rude toward Seth to the point that I turned off the podcast and took a break for a week or two because of it. It's why my biggest complaint about the tone this blog takes at times is that "detached cynicism" isn't all that interesting of a take or insightful. Acting like you don't care and that everyone else is wrong if they share a different outlook is nakedly a coping mechanism when it comes to sport fandom and denying that just makes you look silly.
Ed seemed like a nice enough guy but he did what a lot of stats guys do on radio - he fell back on his formula/"system" when he ran into pushback for his statements instead of engaging the discussion. There were a couple of times when he'd say "my numbers show X" and "X" was something easily disprovable/debatable and he just didn't have a follow-up. But I did check out his site a couple of times and he does fine work and I have heard/read him elsewhere and people seem to respect his ideas.
Seemed like a super nice guy who knew a lot about math but not much about football and he kept commenting on things he didn't know much about.
Ed is highly regarded in the gambling community for his statistical models. He definitely knows what he is talking about and brings value from that perspective -- what variables actually impact success.
That said, I only listen to the podcast occasionally and didn't really notice he was gone.
It seems to me that every person on the round table has an exceptional ability to get on my nerves. Each one could thoroughly annoy me with certain aspects of their personalities turned up loud.
That said, they mostly entertained and informed me and weren’t annoying. But Ed was/is by far the most annoying of the group. I always found him unnecessarily combative with Brian (maybe lots of people are but I’m not there to listen) and as others said, better at math than football. He was not always correct but NEVER in doubt.
When was this guy on? I don't recall hearing him. I haven't listened since bball season ended (and have been listening for probably the past two years during football and bball season).
The cast of characters since I've been listening: Sam, Brian, Seth, Craig (and the host / narrator from WTKA forget his name but doesn't talk much).
He was on for years during football season (not sure if he did basketball too). I think he's been gone two seasons now.
Also, Ira is the other person's name you're trying to place.
Got it. Yeah, I've only been listening for about two years. Got into podcasts during pandemic
I follow lots of gambling sharps and it seems like Ed Feng is pretty respected by those guys. I think he had a lot of good data but he just didn’t know how to articulate it in a meaningful way or explain it in layman’s terms. So it sounded like he said a whole lot of nothing. Some people just don’t have the skill required to be on TV/radio.
Ed was on the Roundtable for years and years. I always thought his contributions were valuable, and I thought the interplay where he'd make a hot take based on numbers and Brian would fan brain on him was good radio. I've also been around the two of them enough times to recognize it was "good radio"--they're good friends. I have the utmost respect for Ed. He's one of the guys. I subscribe to his newsletter, use him for basketball analysis, and weigh his numbers equally with Kenpom and Torvik when I build my tournament matchup widget every year.
The reason I replaced Ed on the Roundtable was originally was because it went from in-studio (Ed lives in Ann Arbor; I don't) before the pandemic to Streamyard starting about 3 weeks into the pandemic. At that point I had a brand new virtual recording setup that I'd put together to record the MGoPodcast, and we had Brian set up for that as well, so it was easy for me to slot in.
The reason it became permanent was I was about to take over for Brian as editor, and would be doing the UFRs, so I was going to be producing the informed opinions that form the basis of MGoBlog's contributions to the show. There's only limited space, or participants end up sitting there quietly for a long time.
Well, for my money, and in the least kiss-assy way possible... I think the show has had a drastic improvement since your addition Seth. I never really put 2 and 2 together on how Ed's departure and your inclusion related, but it makes sense and to me it's a trade up.
On the table generally: It makes perfect sense since you crunch the numbers now to be there to talk about ... surprise, the numbers. But also, you have a different sensibility entirely. Brian is Brian, and I think for the same reason he may rub some people above the wrong way, it's what makes his insight something I've personally sought out for years now, above most other pundits that cover this team we all love so much. It's why this site exists. Etc. But he is his own unique person, and that analytic/logic heavy brain sometimes isn't exactly "tactful."
Sam, on the other hand, is a great host. He has those insider tips that he can put out there, or let us all sniff out (JJ may get some packages this week). And he also seemingly has an empathy for the athlete's viewpoint, likely because he speaks to so many of them and their families.
Craig is Craig. What is there to be said, that hasn't been said 100x over? He's great at what he does.
Ed, to me, never really brought much that I wanted from a Michigan fans perspective. When he was attempting to play a Devil's Advocate to give another side of the coin, it always felt forced. Like others have mentioned here, he relied too heavily, and with little context, on his formula. A formula that even people who are fans of this blog and aren't averse to a heavy statistical conversation, didn't understand? Care about? Connect with? I'm not sure the best way to describe it, other than how people have already said it. But mostly, he just wasn't that good at connecting with me as a listener. I never really figured out why I should care about what he said, or want him to "butt in" to the conversation, which is basically the entire intent of a roundtable discussion.
Finally, without making things awkward... I think you do an excellent job blending a fans perspective, with a studied statistical perspective. You can cite the numbers, until Brian cuts you off awkwardly. (lolz) But, I want to hear how the charts went, and I want to know who actually did well and who didnt. That's important stuff to hear. But you also have a nice understanding of contemporary history (sorry Craig). How players and teams comp to other recent players and teams that we may remember. How to contextualize the data. And then there's also a little humor and human side mixed in as well. (Even if you struggle giving players unnecessary cyans lol)
All of this to say, this past football season I consumed a SHIT TON of Michigan content. So much. I even started watching parts of that weird looking guy who does Youtube videos because I just had to eat it all up. But the Roundtable and the Weekly pods were easily my favorite stuff. Keep up the great work!
For what it's worth, from a listener's perspective (me at least), it didn't always sound like "good radio," it felt like uncomfortable tension bordering on bullying. I'm glad to hear that wasn't the real life impression.
Brian Cook has a 7 figure contract. Everyone else has to pay to appear.
Brian Cook is now the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family WTKA Contributor.
I thought that was WD?
/ducks