Tuesday, August 30, is the final day for The Morning Jones. We expected to go through the 31st, but something changed along the way. You’ll have to ask someone with an office in Toronto about that one, for I have no idea.
I suppose there will be more time to discuss this Tuesday morning, and more on Ustream that evening at 9 et. And tomorrow, on the show, there will certainly be time for phone calls. Off top, I wouldn’t even be surprised if we run past 10 am (we have the option). Either way, we still ain’t dead, even if there’s an appointment at the funeral home set. I’m breathing while there’s air.
My long of the short on this is pretty simple: we did a show that we were happy to wake up in the morning for, even at times when getting the show on the air wasn’t exactly easy. Corey, Sacha and I got to know each other on the air, just as we got to know the people who listened. We introduced the world to the single most interesting person on the face of the Earth, DJ Mike Hitman.
And now that it’s done, we’ll move on and do other things.
On a personal level, it’s hard for me to be terribly sad. That’s largely because I know, when things are right, I’ll be able to work with everyone again. And, if things go as I hope they will eventually, we’ll be able to do the same thing we’ve been doing, just better.
The guys at Serious Sports, whom I’ve worked on videos with for the last two years, are still in Raleigh and still ready to work together. Shannon Penn and I can’t get together every Saturday morning, but we figured out how to get together to make those mockumentaries work. I’ll still hit Petey Green up for beats. Corey will one day be a big famous boxing commentator, and I’ll hope to still be relevant enough to, at the very least, book him as a guest. And Mike will still run the streets of Chicago.
Sacha, of course, will always be the kaaaaang. There’s always room for royalty.
And the people who listen will still be as connected as they so choose to be. You might be shocked to know how many people have established legitimate friendships through The Morning Jones. Hell, I can even name a couple that moved in together — and I’m talking about pack-up-your-shit-and-move-halfway-across-the-country move — after meeting, effectively, through our radio program.
You hate it when stuff like that goes away, but that’s not nearly as much fun or productive as celebrating what it was. So Tuesday morning, we’re going to do a radio show. We’ve only got one more chance to do it as we’re presently constructed. We’re gonna live it up, and nobody’s going to be angry.
At least I won’t. And if I won’t be, and I won’t be getting a check next month, I think you’ll be okay. This is the business I’ve chosen, and these are the sorts of things that happen.
So I encourage you to check us out tomorrow morning. If you’ve never listened, I think it’ll be a great chance to see a sort of sports talk radio you may not have known existed. From there, you’ll know what sort of thing I’ll be doing next.
If nothing else, doing The Morning Jones solidified, in my mind, that I’ve got an approach to all of this that may work. After having editors tell me what I wanted to do wouldn’t work and bosses tell me, effectively, that a guy like me wouldn’t be attractive to advertisers, the growth of The Morning Jones has demonstrated that there’s a significant portion of the sporting population that wants to be spoken to honestly and intelligently. Further, it showed me that lots of people can get into the cultural stuff that makes me the same way I can get into what makes them. If people trust the host, they’ll ride with him through unfamiliar terrain.
Lots of you rode with us down an unbeaten path. We came out on the other side better for it. Now, to keep going, we’ve got to do it again.
And we will.
So, for now, thank you for your support and, more importantly, your time and insights. I’m better at what I do because of our listeners, and I’ll be in a place to do bigger and better things because of your contributions.
The Morning Jones – Final Show – Hour 1
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The Morning Jones – Final Show – Hour 2
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The Morning Jones – Final Show – Hour 3
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The Morning Jones – Final Show – Final Segment
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I’ll leave you with this picture from Chicago. It’s Corey, Sacha, Mike Hitman, Stacy in Brooklyn, Shultzie, Francis in Maryland, and me at Mike’s birthday party in Chicago. Unless you know of another show that can bring folks together like this, I’ll take this moment as my favorite of the last 20 months. Just felt good to be a part of it, just as it felt good to be part of all of this since last January.