Old Grey Wolf and The Hammer Reunite making DFW radio history

Nobody would have thought that I would be the one.
Ryder?
Sports talk?
Baseball, baseball, baseball, football, football, football, football, baseball.
Oh, it's a big mic.
Oh, OK.
All right.
Yeah.
OK.
Now I get it.
We're going to lightning strike, boys.
What happened over there, Grego?
We had a little lightning strike right outside the window.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Here's a tip for all these Americano League teams.
Don't do it.
You said tip.
Yeah, tail care.
It's a peak.
Keep jamming.
The ticket, the ticket, colon.
Nothing but a big Gen X jerk, I'll say.
This is a little lighter, what?
Although somebody would hear that.
Bullshit.
I'm back.
Well, well, well.
What have we here?
Why it looks like something they call a post.
Something that was impossible to do.
Near years ago, not decades, near years ago.
And now they happen all the time.
And this is once happening again.
This is your dark companion.
You're back for another round.
I would be Mike Reiner, the chief cook and bottle washer up in here.
And we're glad you're with us.
This is our maiden voyage on your dark companion, too.
I used to do this a few years ago at another place.
And we reached a point where we kind of get back in the radio game.
So I kind of let podcast.
Oh, but now radio has gone.
And I'm back to podcasts.
You know what?
I'm going to stay here.
What we're going to do here is basically just shoot the bull with
whomever and whatever.
I want to shoot it about and with.
I'm lucky.
I've been lucky in this was I have fascinating network.
Fascinating highly intriguing people.
Many of whom have stories of their own detail.
And my plan is to bring them on and talk to them about what they do.
How they do it.
Our plan to make them sort of a co-host situation.
Not going to be interview per sale, though.
I'm sure.
Or some of them it may fall into that.
But.
I want somebody who can come in here and make this a well-rounded conversation.
And I can scarcely think of anybody.
Better to do that than the man we're starting this thing off with today.
He is.
Greg.
The hammer.
Williams.
Now I can think of a lot of people.
There would be better than me.
I can think of no one.
But.
I'm glad to be.
I'm glad to be.
Well, I'm glad to have you.
And good to see you once again.
And to be honest, I don't know how to act around.
Why?
I don't know.
I mean, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Long, long, long.
Well, I'm still basically the same old horse's ass I always was.
I wouldn't have it.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Some people are just better off being an ass.
Yeah.
That's me.
I mean, I wouldn't be a regular person.
I've got to be an ass.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I mean, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Long, long, long.
I've got to be an ass.
No.
And I kind of, I just be what I am.
If that's an ass, that's an ass.
It's not.
It's not.
I just be what I am.
If you like it, you like it.
You don't, you don't.
But over the years,
it's something that, you know,
because I'm always, people asking all the time about, you know,
Reiner, this, Reiner, that and hardline this and hardline that.
And they say, what do you miss?
And the one thing that I miss more than anything was just,
just siphoning off a lot of your wisdom as far as sports or,
especially music.
And that is what I've missed.
Because if you'll think back right,
how many times would we come in and you'd get your desk or would be
during a commercial?
And I'd ask you some just dumb question.
And you'd like, you know, I'd say,
did you like Herman Herman's?
Yeah.
And you'd like, give me some answer.
But there was always that wisdom that I could come to you.
And I missed that.
And so that, that's kind of what I'm looking forward to.
And I've got a whole list of stuff to ask you.
Whole list.
Well, for those who are new to this,
we probably should fill in some blanks.
For many years, Grego and I worked.
And a local Dallas radio station known as ticket.
We were there from day one.
I was there through 2000.
I think.
Teen.
Yeah.
2019.
And you were there.
How long?
To October 12, 2007.
Okay.
So.
From my 94,
about 330 p.m.
You really want to.
Boy it down.
From 94 to 2007.
We did a show together on the ticket.
And then we weren't anymore.
I stayed for a little while longer.
And for a while.
And say that the split between us was not a real amicable one.
We were.
Shall we say estranged?
But.
I don't know.
Time heals a lot of things.
A lot of water is going under the bridge since then.
And a few months ago or a couple of years ago,
I got back in the radio game once again.
And we had him on the show.
That was the first time.
I'd ever seen him.
First time I ever talked with him.
First time I'd ever done anything with.
Sure.
Since then.
And it was okay.
You know, it was all right.
We were found that we were able to.
Somewhat function together.
And I decided that there wouldn't be a better guy to have on.
The first episode of the reboot of your dark companion,
then Grego.
And here he is today.
And that's what we're doing here.
Unbelievable on it.
Unbelievable on it.
You could have had you.
You could have picked a bunch of people and.
You know, to extend that.
I don't even want to say all the branch.
You don't owe me the all with branch.
But you know, to invite me on here.
I mean, there's.
There's no doubt I was going to just nervous.
That's all I'm still nervous.
Look at my hands.
I'm shaking like a leaf on a tree.
Relax.
I know it's all good.
All good here.
Well, let's.
Go through the perfunctory stuff.
Everybody wants to know.
Number one.
Are you okay?
You know, I am.
I really am.
I mean, I had.
I spent a lot of years of.
Trying to repair myself because I've done so much damage.
And.
Just.
Through a lot of self awareness.
A lot of self therapy.
And all those other stupid words that people throw out and make them sound like they're.
Know what they're talking about.
You know, I just.
I just looked inside much.
Once again, I know the stupid phrase, but that's what I did.
Did you have a therapist or anything?
I did.
A couple.
And.
They reveal.
But I'm in a good place now.
I mean, I'm.
I'm where I need you to be.
I mean, there are certain people that.
That can handle things.
There's certain people that can't.
And I came to the realization that I just couldn't handle success.
And you saw it.
You know, I did.
And.
And there was.
But it's hard.
It's hard to handle success.
And there was no stop.
There was no stop.
You know, people.
You know, and I did it for a long time.
People.
Why are runners stopping?
There's no stopping.
Stopping.
You know, I mean, I was in out of control.
18.
We were going down the mountain.
They asked me that.
I'd tell them to look.
I couldn't stop.
Good enough.
Good enough.
You tried.
He had tuned me out.
He wouldn't listen to me anymore.
And I couldn't stop him.
So.
All I could do is just.
The best I could do to work around it.
And try to keep the thing on the road until.
Until I just couldn't.
I can't believe it last.
You know, looking back now.
Now, when I was in a situation, I was 100% right.
I mean, everybody else was wrong.
I mean, I, I had my act together.
And everybody else is wrong.
That's what I really believe.
And not the way it always goes.
Well, they always say that.
That you are the last person.
To know that you're an asshole.
You're always the last person.
Yeah.
Everybody else knows it.
Everybody else sees it.
You're the last one.
Yeah.
Well, and I was the last one.
And a lot of people out there that think the same thing about me.
And to be quite honest, I have been one.
A fair amount of the time to a lot of people.
And I feel bad about that.
You know.
I feel bad about the way I treated some people and didn't do right by some people.
And if I can and to the extent that I'm able to.
I'll try to make things right with those people.
Have you gone around trying to make things right with people?
Oh, yeah.
That's a big part of a big part.
Twelve steps.
I mean, you got a gun.
I had one person on my list that I didn't make right with one person.
And that was you.
And the only reason I didn't is because I didn't think you were talking.
I probably wouldn't probably wouldn't have for a long time.
But I said me a little time takes care of pretty much anything.
And I reached a point to where I didn't have quite the animosity and quite the angst toward you.
I once did.
And now here we are.
Yeah.
I really appreciate it.
I mean, you're kind of doing me a solid here.
Because I knew that people if I had you on here, people would be interested in seeing you.
And they want a train rack.
They want a train rack.
Well, they want me to buy that maybe they want me to pull out a baggy of cocaine and way of line right.
They want me to do that.
Are you going to do it?
No.
No.
I'm too broke.
I've got to give the people what they want.
No.
No.
Believe me.
Believe me.
I've never going to say never on stupidity, on doing stupid stuff.
And me doing cocaine was.
No, the stupidest thing I ever did was having weight loss surgery.
That's the single biggest mistake I ever made in my life.
The single point.
Because it turned me into a monster.
It turned, it turned a fat guy, which I always be.
I'm never not going to be a fat guy.
I'm a fat guy.
I'm always going to be one.
But I started thinking I wasn't.
And then I turned into another person.
The worst thing I ever, worst move ever made.
Worst move.
How long did it take you to realize that maybe you did the wrong thing?
It was a couple of years.
You know, I mean, it wasn't a meat one.
And then I had, you know, just a little bit of a few years later,
I had some problems that I had done.
Thank you.
And I was losing my voice.
And this was the time that I was working at the fan.
And I was losing my voice on the air.
Now, how many radio stations did you run through?
Three.
Three.
Take it.
Fan.
And it counted BAP.
And ESPN.
Okay.
It's count BAP.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
I thought I was thinking about doing call shop.
But.
But.
So for flexion help me.
You know, I was just looking exactly, you know.
And.
You know, you, you look the same mirror for years.
It's just a guy looking back at.
And one day you look at that mirror and boy, you don't like who you.
And I came to that.
Did you do about it?
Well, it's not like.
I just said, I have to change.
And it wasn't like that I admit it would just change everything.
It's just a little bit of thing that I change.
That being more thoughtful about.
Be more mindful of what you say.
Be more mindful of somebody's feelings of themselves.
I had to learn that.
But how do you do that?
I mean, you don't just decide you're going to do it.
And do it.
There's got to be a process in there.
You have to get rock bottom.
And for somebody that's never been.
Close to rock bottom.
I don't think you've ever.
I mean, I've been close to rock bottom.
And you know, you can either.
So come to it and just find out how deep that hole is.
Or you can try to dig yourself out of it.
I didn't know if I was going to be able to.
I just said, man, I don't like that guy in the mirror.
I need to change.
And you know, that's when I started really.
Getting away from.
From a love of sports.
That's when I started.
You know, contemplating.
More social issues.
And the way of the world and not living in, you know, kind of like a little.
We hold bubble.
The way of the world.
And social issues, such as what?
You know, just, just.
I don't want to turn this into a political rant.
But just, you know, being more mindful of how every.
Of how the world works.
I had no idea.
I was crazy.
I had no idea of how to deal.
I lived in a fantasy.
Yeah.
The world we lived in back then.
It's easy to get caught up in things like that.
Well, you know, look, I got out of high school.
And, you know, like the first real job I had was as a bartender.
That's a real life, isn't it?
You know, getting in a club business.
Yeah.
And then you get in the media.
And you can.
Kind of.
You know, get lost in that fantasy.
And when you start believing.
All of your own lies.
And you start believing all of your own BS.
He.
It's a podcast.
You can say bullshit.
And I'm trying not to custody.
I'm.
All right.
All right.
That's something.
That's something.
That's something I'm really working on.
But it's not fucking working out.
All right.
Well.
That's right.
I wanted to tell you this for, you know, for a long time.
You know, when you and I first met, you said something that is ingrained in my mind.
Ever.
And I'll never forget.
I don't.
I don't know who you're talking to, but you.
It was talking about putting together the ticket.
The line up.
And you said, there's just something about Greg.
People like him.
I don't know what it is.
You remember.
Oh, yeah.
People.
They did people like him.
People were drawn to you.
People like him.
And so there's some self awareness and self reflection.
I'm not going to say the words again, but, uh, but you know, I went back and that guy,
that Greg that you liked was real me.
Not the monster.
I became.
Yeah.
I became a mom.
Yeah.
I wasn't a mom.
I will tell you.
There is a, there was a world of difference between that first guy that I met and got to know.
And the guy that I quite honestly couldn't wait to get rid of.
There's a one.
It's two.
And I'd like to prove to you that, that, that was an aberration.
That was just me being stupid and me being able to knock to handle six.
You don't need to prove it to me.
Me prove it to the world.
Exactly.
That's what I wanted to.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You need to prove it to the world.
You prove it to the world.
You prove it to me.
That's, that's what I miss.
And it's been my mission for a while.
You're just doing the right thing.
You know, when, when you're not text about doing this, you said, well, what do you want to do?
I thought about it.
And I thought, my God, you know, you've had 20 years to think about this dumb ass.
And, you know, I come up with, I still have fun.
I want to get on there with you.
And I want to try to make you laugh because that was, that was always my mission when we were on the hard line.
If I can make Reiner a guy that doesn't laugh at anything.
And when he does laugh at it, it's going to be funny.
And it's going to be good.
That was my mission every day was to make you laugh at a lot of things.
And I laughed a lot of things back then, but somehow people had the idea that I did not, but you were good at making.
Well, I tried.
I mean, I would, that, that was it.
I mean, I, I always, you know, I never thought I was doing a, a show for thousands, maybe a hundred thousand.
I was going to show for one.
You know, you can either believe that or you don't.
I mean, I'm being honest with you.
I just wanted to please you and I wanted to make you laugh because I knew that if I hit that level,
that level, your level, the rest was easy.
I was on the right path.
Yeah.
Then the rest of it was up to me.
Well, what do you do with yourself these?
I mean, I don't wish you hadn't asked me that question.
How do you while away the hours?
Because we're both in the same boat moral.
Yes.
You know, barely you don't have a job.
I don't either.
I mean, I mean, I'm either retired or unemployed.
Yeah.
You pick one.
Well, I'm, I know I'm definitely retired.
If it's one or the other of those, I know I'm definitely retired.
It's, I don't want to go into a rabbit hole.
But you asked me the question.
I'm going to answer it.
You know, give me the absolute unbornish truth is I live a pretty boring life.
I mean, I mean, I, I was looking for was whatever I want.
Whatever I want.
There you go.
Yeah, I live a boring life.
I, I'm asleep for 10 o'clock every night.
Usually about nine, nine, 30.
And I'm up at 4 a.m.
Really?
No, the next question is, why do you get up at 4 a.m.?
I don't know.
I just want to get up.
That's just when that's just what I, those things inside your brain.
That's when I get up time to go.
And then I've got my, you rimmed with me on the road.
You know, I've got routines.
I go through my little routine every morning.
I, I, I do so much reading.
That's all I do is read in research.
And just kind of watch TV or I walk a lot.
I mean, I can tell you every answer.
Great fine.
I've got that place memorized.
And that's pretty much it.
Go to a meetings a lot.
Great fine, huh?
Yeah.
I was at a bad relationship and break up.
And, and I was in really, really, really bad shape.
And that's a pound.
Oh, I was, I was drinking like, really?
That's the.
You remember how long?
How many times have you ever seen me drink?
Not very often.
And when you did not very much.
I changed all that for about three years.
Really?
Now, that surprises me.
Just, uh, and I don't know what it was.
You know, drink beer my whole life.
You know, drink one or two.
Like you said.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I didn't see you drink, bro.
I'd see you do that.
That was it, you know?
And I never saw you drunk.
And so I, uh, and it got really bad out of control.
And I was in a horrible relationship.
And finally, my family, my cousins, they had enough.
And they just came up to me.
I was living in Gainesville down.
And they brought me.
Gainesville.
And, uh, they brought me back.
And, and they live in, uh, in trophy.
So I stayed with them.
And they pretty much got me in a, you know, a rehab.
Uh, started going to church with them a lot.
And they really helped me turn.
But I was, uh, I was in some seriously bad shape.
I mean, they got a hold of me.
They sent me to the mercy room.
And in quite a weekend, I drank 105.
That doesn't sound humanly possible.
They got me the mercy room.
And I blew a nice point.
435.
Again, that doesn't sound humanly.
They, they claim I still have the record.
The record you proud of?
No, not at all.
I'm not proud of anything.
Well, actually, I am proud of something.
When they rescued me out of my little apartment.
Were you conscious?
Oh, yeah.
But it, it'd been like, you know, the past couple of years.
I, I was drinking so much that, you know, I never went to sleep or woke up.
I passed out and came to you.
Yeah.
And that's pretty much how I was.
But, but the reason they knew that there was 105 beers is because.
And you'll, you'll find this funny ride.
Because I had very neatly stacked them all in a pyramid.
Still as OC is ever, huh?
Yep.
That's come like me.
Totally.
And so here I am.
I'm so drunk that I can't walk.
But yet, well, you can stack the beer cans.
That's those 105 beer cans.
So that was pretty much.
It's pretty much yet.
And no drinking.
What are you into these days?
What do you mean?
Now, you, while in earlier, you were telling me that if we're going to talk sports,
you're kind of out of the loop.
I am.
I am.
And I don't think you believe.
I think you think I'm.
It's hard for me to get my.
I know.
I know.
I know.
But.
One of the things I had to.
And I'm going to come across as big as pansy and all that.
But it's just a true.
You know, I had to learn how to manage my discipline.
Because when you're like me in an alcoholic, if you get disappointed,
you can treat yourself right off a cliff.
And I found out that, you know, a lot of the watching the Rangers.
Brought me a lot of disappointment.
It's always cool.
It's the same thing with lots.
Did bring you a lot of disappointment last year.
Well, the Rangers win the World Series.
Didn't watch.
Didn't watch.
I know you don't believe that, Ron.
And.
It's a truth.
I didn't watch one pitch.
Now, what would you have thought of me if I hadn't watched games all year
and the Rangers finally get the World Series and all of a sudden?
I saw.
I wouldn't thought you were doing what you needed to be doing.
I'm just.
That's what I would have thought.
I mean, it was the greatest night of my sports life.
Oh, I can.
I can do that.
But you know what?
You know what?
I was thinking of.
I was thinking of that night in 2011 when I was standing right outside the clubhouse.
I saw them wheel.
The champagne in.
I saw the plastic.
I saw them frantically take that plastic down and go.
I was disappointed.
I kicked up.
Work with.
And I called the Muslim cab driver a terrorist.
I was mad.
I was just pointed.
I wouldn't go to that again.
But I just baseball left me.
Baseball left me.
I didn't leave base.
They left me.
What?
Baseball is now two elements of the game that I hate worst in the.
The strikeout in the home room.
That's it.
And I don't I don't like that.
It's definitely one of the.
They talk about the three true outcomes.
And it's all about that.
And.
It's.
It's just not the game anymore.
You know, I.
I remember.
Setting up there with you.
Before Diamond Talkers.
And you and I would always find the game.
Right.
You know, why is.
Why is.
You know.
What's the short story playing.
Backslides.
He's done.
He's done.
We can't figure it.
We found out that.
You know that you got so wrong.
Come in.
Uh huh.
The game within the game.
You remember that right.
Sure.
Game in the game.
You know, you got a picture.
The six five was two fifty.
Can throw a ball through.
Can throw a baseball through a brick wall.
It has no idea where it's going.
But he will throw that ball and what's the first movie makes?
That's what it is.
I'm not faster than that.
And it just let me.
It just became...
And I just...
I didn't like it at all.
And I miss it.
Now I do watch college, but a lot of it.
But I found women's college softball.
And I love it.
I love watching women's college softball because they play a brand of ball that's teamwork.
You know, the station to station and hit and run and good defense.
Yeah.
I like watching women's college softball too.
And they're talented.
Yeah, they are.
And it's a very quick game.
I mean, those balls get hit.
The baseline is not as far as it is in a regular baseball.
And the field didn't get it over there quick.
And they can do that.
They're good at it.
It's entertaining.
It's the way they've been trained.
You know, it's entertaining to watch.
But I go back to...
You know, I would first start that.
The old-timers that are our age now.
And they'd be talking about players back in the...
I'm going to cry.
Well, I've become that person.
And, you know, I don't want to push that belief on anybody else.
Hey, you know what?
The athletes are better.
They're stronger.
They can certainly throw harder.
They can certainly hit it farther.
I can't believe.
But that's just not entertaining.
It's just not baseball.
It's a different game.
Do they have to do that to survive in the world of TV of today?
Maybe they do.
Well, man, I'm disappointed to hear that because you are missing
the best sports time.
I mean, right now, these days, you're missing the best sports time
we've had in our world in years.
Why?
Well, number one.
What am I missing?
You have the Rangers coming off a World Series win.
You have the Mavericks who looked like they've got a real shot
at doing something big.
Got the stars who even have a better shot at doing something big.
And we've got all that going on in the Cowboys are not apartment.
I love that.
Yeah.
I love that.
Yeah.
Cowboys are all they're doing is telling us they're all in.
And they're not acting like it.
Meanwhile, we've got one team that won a championship too that
could, you know, it's certainly not out of the question for either one.
I'm not going to sit here right now today and say that either one is
particularly a favorite because the championship is something you got to earn.
You know, and I don't think anybody that watched the Rangers as they were
making their playoff run last year really thought they had a chance to win the
World Series until they did.
Yeah, they weren't really favored.
I wouldn't say so.
I mean, I thought that the first of all they ran into the Astros.
It's always tough that they beat them in the first round.
Oh, no, it was a second round.
They ran into the Orioles.
The Orioles won 100 games last year.
The Orioles had a really good, really young team.
And they proved over the course of 162 games that they could hang with anybody.
But the Rangers beat.
And then as the National League tournament was winding down.
And I started keeping an eye on the Phillies.
And in the National League championship series, they were playing the Diamondbacks.
I thought surely the Phillies were going to beat them.
I was worried about them.
They didn't or were you thinking Rangers might could win a championship?
Yeah.
I don't know if I allowed myself to think that because at no point in 10 and 11 did
I think the Rangers were going to win in no point during the game.
I came a lot more, a lot closer to thinking that in 2010 or well in 2011 anyway, and in 2000.
They got to the World Series.
When they ran into San Francisco Giants, I knew they couldn't hit that.
Well, besides him, you had Kane.
Kane.
I mean, they just had a juggernaut match by Manning's by Bruce Bochi.
And, you know, the Cardinals, I thought they could and didn't hang with the Cardinals for the most part.
But that got away from them.
So gutless Phillies, gutless Phillies.
Well, it was.
It was more than just him.
Wash wanted him to go out there and he wouldn't go out for it.
It was more than just him.
Yeah.
There's a guy that can't catch a fly ball.
They were playing a team that knew how to win a game like that and the Rangers just didn't.
That's it.
I mean, I, if you want to point fingers at guys, that's, that's okay.
That's what you do.
That's my job.
That's what you do.
And you know what?
Nelly Cruz.
I don't care what anybody says.
That would have been a good catch.
But you know what?
You're in the Major League.
You get paid to make good catch.
You do.
It wouldn't have been a spectacular catch.
It would have been a good one.
And you're absolutely right.
No argument.
But the Rangers just did not know how to win again.
Yeah.
I've finished it off.
And some way somehow without us knowing that much about what's going on or the wise or where fours of it.
Last year they did.
And it was the greatest sport slot.
You go.
You know, and now we got the Mavericks.
We got the stars.
Both of them were excellent clubs.
Both of them were going up against stiff, stiff competition in the playoffs.
But they're, they're hanging in there.
That they're, they're hanging in there.
And they have not given.
They're not giving us any reason to look at them yet.
And say, well, this team doesn't know how to win games.
Because it looks like they do.
And now you're going to get me back into it.
I want to get back into that.
Yeah, you do.
I don't want to get back into it.
Greg, oh, these.
Greg, oh, these times are made for you.
You know, it's funny.
Is there people that know our history going back to talking baseball?
You know, good gosh.
We had people convinced for years that we knew more about baseball than anybody in this town.
I don't know.
Well, didn't we?
You might have.
But I was running a scam.
No, we did.
We did.
We did.
And nobody.
And nobody conditioned.
No, we did.
I don't brag about many things.
But I do brag about, hey, talking sport.
We invented.
We invented it.
Right.
Talking sport.
Well, I don't panic.
I can't throw my part.
You remember how about it?
Yeah.
I think about it is.
Took it ran with it.
What?
It's a talking sport.
No.
Who?
I think it was.
No, no, that was you.
It was not.
It was somebody was on.
Because everybody was always on me and you because they hated baseball.
Yeah.
Everybody to ticket hating baseball except me and you.
And don't let anybody tell you that they get.
Those morning guys, they hated baseball.
Right?
Not their bag for sure.
But somebody was asking us that and they go, you know, we're about based on.
And I just pan it because I had nothing else said I go.
Well, baseball is a.
It's a talking.
Yeah.
And it cracked you up.
It is.
I cracked you up.
That was some of the.
And speaking of that, I mean, doing those dominoes.
You know, looking back now.
I don't know how much other.
I forgot how much.
Yeah.
Even though we thought it was a beating it.
A lot of fun.
A lot of fun.
So do you miss the game?
Again, the radio game.
Yes.
I mean, we're both out of it.
I do both out of it.
You're probably not going to be going back to it.
I don't think I am either.
I um.
I miss it on.
There are certain days when something will happen.
And I'm like, well, if I was on the air today, I would say the thing.
And I would have this tape.
You know, I miss that aspect of it.
I don't know that I could ever capture working anywhere in radio,
terrestrial radio of capturing the magic that we had early on.
And I always say that.
I love doing radio, but I love working ticket money because it was a.
It was a brand.
Yeah, I mean, that's all it was.
Yeah, working in radios.
One thing working at the ticket.
At least back then.
Was quite another.
And I've never heard anybody that worked in any other industry,
whether it be media or not.
It had that kind of.
Just stewardship that that that kind of.
A boxy.
I mean, we were feared.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, we took ownership of.
And you know, situations like that.
Or I would say they're hard to find, but these days they're virtually impossible.
I mean, I can't imagine.
Ever being a situation like that again.
Oh, but you had to have, but.
And see, I like to.
And there are people who are right.
That we were at the right place.
At the right time.
The right people.
Okay, that's a gift.
I understand that.
But you still got to make.
Right.
I've always said, you know, if, you know, you can go out and you can sign.
Every high price free agent on the market.
You got to make a team work.
The right guys in the right place at the right time of the right shit and later work.
Otherwise, they've got that.
Got that barrel that your dad had in the garage.
And bolts and stuff that.
Couldn't make anything.
Bare parts.
And this.
It's just a different world out.
And you know, some days you wake up and you like it and some days you wake up and you don't want to wait.
Yeah.
Oh, let me tell you.
You want to wake up.
You just don't want to get.
Yeah.
Want to get out there in it.
I don't want to say anything.
Sue us up.
They will put you.
And not let you up for you.
I learned that the hard.
Oh, that was for it.
You learned that the hard way.
Yeah.
Have you ever.
In there because I thought you were suicide.
I was in a rehab.
And I've been in rehab twice.
And I was in once.
And.
I was being me.
Wasn't good.
And I said.
They were trying to make me do something.
Of course, I was being in pass.
And I said, you know what?
I'm just going to get out of here.
I'm going to go out there in that road running.
Eighteen.
You were bound and determined to.
No, I was just saying.
I was just talking.
Oh, I just, you know, you know, I thought, you know, I was just.
Ram.
Okay.
I'm going to take you to John.
Who did you say this to?
One of the attendance there.
And that's what they did.
What?
Oh, they took me to JPS.
John Peters.
And I got to be in the middle wing.
And once they commit you in there, you can't get.
So that was.
So how'd you convince them you were all right.
After three days, they let you go.
Oh, they do.
Then matter what you do.
After three days, you say, I'm going to.
I'm about to leave here.
I'm going to go cause all kinds of problems.
Okay.
See you later.
So what do you remember?
Remember best.
A specific instance or or just in general.
The genesis of it over Madison.
With all that at one typewriter.
Yeah.
And we had no equipment.
But we had a talk.
Yes.
And we could talk to people.
And we were on the turf of our whole other radio company.
And they didn't want us there.
Oh, they didn't want us there.
And when we found out they didn't want us there.
That's when we squatted harder and stay long trip.
And I remember just just those days like that.
Because it was so fun.
There was a lot of uncertainty.
But we.
No.
No, the uncertain.
And and we were we were just incredibly short-sighted.
But that's the way we had to be.
You know.
If we started looking big picture at anything or, you know,
way down the road or something like that.
That would have been foolish.
Because there's a greater than zero chance for us back then
that there wasn't going to be no down the road.
Well, I don't know if you can see this.
But you know, somebody like me that was dismissed.
Is you don't know what we had built.
And I'm going to say we because I'm talking about when I was in.
Until you get out of it.
And then you start looking from the outside end of what.
Really went on there and what we accomplished.
And what we did and the influence we had.
And then the magnitude is.
I couldn't believe it.
Yeah, I couldn't.
But you know, my was all about blown opportunity.
Because you know, I had the chance to do so much more than I really did.
And so so there were regrets on my part on that.
But just the magnitude at which.
And you know what?
It never happened.
It could never happen.
You never, you know, you need a wheelcane is.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Okay.
He and I emailed back every once in.
And when he found out.
I want to take it after.
He went on and on.
Yeah.
Just on and off.
And I talk to every now and then.
And I'm part of that.
You know, and.
It's just so weird.
It's kind of like, you know, being out in end, you know,
you're asking me, you know, now that you're out, you know,
do you want back in?
Yeah.
You know, that's another realization that I had to come to.
Is you're out, dude.
I had to say that to myself.
Dude, you are out.
You're not in anymore.
You're not in the club.
Yeah.
You're out.
So you need to start acting like you're out.
So one of the.
A couple of years ago.
A bunch of us from a group.
When you go to the venture game.
And so I thought.
What's kissing tickets and you know, we can, you know,
have a go out and say that I hadn't been in years.
To the game.
And I thought, you know what?
I bet I could call Chuck Morgan.
And I bet that he'd come down and say something to us.
Or maybe even Chuck might let us, you know,
go in and see the operation.
Yeah.
And then hit me like, dude, you're out, man.
Quit doing that.
You know, quit trying to show off.
You know, quit, quit trying to do that.
You're out.
So quit trying to act like you're in.
That was hard to do.
Yeah.
That was hard to, to realize it.
But you know, you, you're out of your end.
Yeah.
What do you think about the new ballpark?
Good out there.
Never been.
You should go.
You should go.
I'd love to know what you think about.
How can anybody afford to get up?
It's an expensive trip.
It's, it's, it's, I, I hear it's not.
That's not the reason I go.
It's just.
Kind of out of the scene.
I hear it's nice.
You like it?
I love it.
Really, it's just a make.
More or less.
I say it's just.
It's bad.
The overriding, the overarching thing about it for me is it's a make good.
Or the one thing that they didn't get right at the, they didn't do.
That is put a roof on.
Yeah.
I don't know.
But you said put a roof on the time.
You know, I would have bitched our heads.
Yes, we would have.
I don't know if technology was such back then that they could put a roof on it like they
have now.
Because now the roof is retractable.
Sometimes it's open.
Sometimes it's not.
Whatever it is, it's, it's, it's usually, you know, the right call for the situation.
And I don't know if the technology for that sort of thing was at that time where it is now.
Um, probably it would have been a whole lot more expensive back then.
There's now really the main thing that it never got a roof past Tom Schiefer.
No, I don't think they would have because Tom Schiefer wanted what he got.
He got what he wanted.
And what he got was a wonderful, wonderful ballpark that will stay with everybody who was out there.
You might find one as good, but you're not going to find one any better than.
No, and I haven't been to the new one.
So I can't speak of that.
But I just don't like indoor baseball.
I don't like it.
I understand the economics of it.
I understand.
You know that.
I guess players didn't come here because it's too hot.
Never stopped him from going to St. Louis.
Yeah.
Out there too.
Yeah.
So I never really bought that.
But it does get hot.
You can't play day game.
And there is something about get away games during the week.
Yeah.
Understand all that.
I still like it.
Yeah.
And I think with global warming and the planet getting hotter in general, they had to do.
They had to do.
Even though the temple had probably another, I don't know, 15 good years in it.
Maybe more than that.
Who knows.
It's just hard for me to believe.
Great ball.
He's setting it.
Don't they play some kind of ball in it now or something?
Yeah.
They do.
It's sad.
Yeah.
You know, there's something about it that strikes me.
Sad that because it was built for baseball.
Yes.
You know, that's the whole thing about it.
It was built for baseball.
But now baseball has been taken out of there and moved across the street.
And they have other stuff going on up there.
It was not built.
Well, you know, Arlington.
I mean, if you give them a chance, they're going to make it work.
You know, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Bill, you don't build you what you want.
Yeah.
The city of bits.
It's a great tombed bed.
Yes.
He saw it to that.
But, I just don't like the indoor baseball.
I mean, I'm, I'm morphing into that old man that I just buys what I was here.
That's where I'm morphing into that guy.
Well, look, I don't like it either.
I found that when I'm there and the roof is not open you don't notice you don't notice that you're playing indoors and
In the summertime when it's really really hot out there like it was last year every night
You appreciated it then oh my gosh, I mean, it's you know, you were talking about diamonds all
How many times do we have that window open and you shouldn't they're just dripping on our scorecard it was so hot
Yeah, yeah, don't have to worry about that there and I think what happened here and one of them one of the other things that drove this
is that the Rangers correctly assessed that the
Ride for the vibe of the masses for going out there and
Sitting through a three-hour baseball game at
eight when it's
101 degrees at nine o'clock at night
Was diminishing people just don't want to do that anymore and
They knew they had to do something so they did something about it
And I think they came up big here. I give them credit for it and and I should be more
Flexible in my thinking of just being so close minded about indoor base
I mean, that's so old man sounding auto lock indoor baseball. I just don't go
I thought I didn't like it when the astronaut when the astronaut
I'll never forget seeing the first game in the astronaut after you get through the all of it
you're like
Playing baseball in a
Yeah, well, I mean, I didn't like the astronaut on that much either was, you know
Kind of neat because it was the first one of its kind and everything and it was something
You know, I had a big my old man to take me down there. Let's go to a couple games, which we did
but
Yeah, I mean over time the astronomer didn't age very well. I think this place will yeah
I think there's enough legitimate baseball stuff about it right now
To where it will age well or do we live in the time to where that stadiums are so
Disposable that you just have to build one every 20 years. Are we are we in that we might because I'm telling you right now
I have read this but I've got to be thinking that Jerry right now is thinking if I had a new stadium out with all my other stuff in
Frisco, how great with that
Yeah, I mean, you know what's going on in the mind of Jerry
You'd like to think he's got
Other for football oriented stuff going on because after all he is the owner general manager
He
But he's always got an eye on that other stuff and it wouldn't surprise me one bit
to find that
Those thoughts have been running through mine and he may have even he may have even started the ball rolling
You know, you're talking about greatest time of being in sports in this area
You know a bit my perfect scenario where I would want to be back on the air doing sports radio
What's up this scenario right here rangers repeat
Stars win the Stanley Cup and the Maverick's win the NBA championship and the Cowboys go seven and two
You know what would happen
Well biggest sports topic every day
Be what's wrong with the Cowboys? Yes, why are they seven and ten?
What's going on here? It wouldn't be hey? We got three championship teams. It'd be what's wrong with the Cowboys?
Of course it is what I hate about this place
Hey, what when you got to get we didn't put up with it. We went to the Super Bowl and talk basement. Yes, we did
Yeah, and made no apologies
right and and
But I used to always defend Jerry on because that that all in in
That all in
I don't know why but that just struck me. It's very funny very humorous
And I used to always defend him saying that nobody wanted to win more than Jerry the Jerry would he he'd rather win than make money
I don't know if I believe that in
No, I definitely don't believe it. I think that all in was just
Something to pacify the shallow-minded cowboy masses
Is something to make them think there was something going on there that actually is not
Because if this is what all in looks like then then I don't know all in and something happened
You know a week or so ago when they brought Robert Jones's kid in
They they Jones yeah, and just he's a guy that complied he's a guy that could help this team
Yes, and they just let him walk out
I remember the day that if you were free agent and you got an invitation
To the Cowboys to come interview
If they wanted you you didn't walk out the door without a con
You did not you did not
But those were the days of Jimmy
Well, even even that a little bit. I mean remember the almost fist bite between Jerry and Steven over beyond yeah
Yeah, you know, I mean I used to always say but Jimmy's the one that then still back on set true
I mean you can you can go back through those days and
every
positive thing
From the way they played on the field
Way the games went the way the games were coached
To the way the organization was running the whole work organizational thought
That was all instilled by Jimmy
It was and we were there from the very beginning you know as you saw this whole thing
You know start from the from the genesis to the zenith
And it was
Magnificent to watch and especially fascinating Jimmy because he was such a
A fascinating. Yeah, we didn't know we had
But of course, we didn't know we had a switchery
Yeah, crew. I still can't believe that it was both
That that that was all pretty awesome time from Jimmy to Barry one of the most awesome times ever
For the cowboys and one that has not been matched since although parcels came close
parcels was
was
Interesting cat
Think about it is he didn't let the man the media get too close to it, you know, yeah
He kept his distance
Did Jimmy knew how to play to me? Oh, did he ever I mean he was a master at I mean you and I were there every Tuesday
Jimmy to come in there or that
suit on that million dollars suit and get up there and
Give his Tuesday press conference
And you knew he was talking right to buddy riot. He was talking right to bill par cell. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he got his message out. Yeah
and
Well, those are fun. Those were fun. I mean it was just amazing and
Now it just seems like I don't know what are you on the radio one time say
That I wanted you to explain it
There's some element missing within that cowboy word
It's not easy to find what is it and you were trying to define what it is. It's more than a mindset
It's more like a a and I don't want to say mission statement, but it just seems like
the
Days of saying we're America's team
We have better equipment and we have more money and we're going to win those caught up with Jerry
Yeah, what I think it is is the whole organization is distracted by other stuff
Their mind is not on footballing. There's like
Micah Parkins all of a sudden. He's a media guy
Have you read though? I
Guess not is he a media guy? He was he was just named president of some kind of media arm or something
Oh, really? Yeah
somehow that blue ride by me
That's what happens when you're out of the game. I guess trouble
You think Micah from the Cowboys. I find out what I can get for him right now. He's a big game player
Talented. Oh my god. Is he talented? Oh, can he wreck things on deep
Good grief. I'd hate to add the point of his day
Um, I don't know. I don't know if I agree with that. He's not a big game player thing because
Did you see me that green Bay game? Well, yeah, but I saw a lot of guys in that dream Bay game or where it just fell apart totally
Um, I don't know if I would say that about him because he's too good and he's too talented and too impactful most of the time
To for me to
Go along with that
But there's something going on with this organization that just
I mean, you can get him you're lacking talk about
Whoever else out there that you want that are supposed to be the stars of this thing
And those guys aren't ever going to win any
They're not you don't think they had I think they have too many what I call brand
Yes, they do too many people that are worried about their own personal right? There's too much brand going on out there
You know, it was a better world when people didn't have brand
It was what they did it was on it was on the ass of a heft. Yeah, or if they did have brands
It was something they attended to on their own time. Yeah
And didn't take out to a practice or you know, I just get bad vibes with that mic up portions
And and now I've yet to find anybody that agrees with me. So I could be wrong. Well, no, I just I just get bad vibes from that guy
I'm I don't know if I get bad vibes from him, but I'm lyria. He's always quick for an excuse on why they lost
Challenging oh my gosh great player. Oh, I'm lyria like you but the thing about it is
nowadays
Those guys will say something like that
And it may or may not be real, but we don't know because we're never around him anymore
You know, you get no access anymore
Get after the game access, but that's really about it. Cut you off
I this is new so they've cut the access down
I
It's not like it used to be. I'll tell you that because I've always said that the Dallas Cowboys is the greatest uncovered beat in America
When's the last time a local rider broke a story on the camera
Well
See him do it all the time. I mean guys like David Moore those
excluding well, I mean
Some others as well, you know, I think the guys who cover the Cowboys do a great job of it
I think they're really good. I think there is good as is this ever been what's changed, but there's no reporting, right?
Well, what what's changed though is that those guys don't have the access like they used to. It's it's
There's no reporting going on anymore. I mean they know there is reporting right all their stuff from press releases
No, no, they don't they don't great. Oh, I can tell you they don't they've had more of us not ride from press work once again
Those other guys don't either, but
thing about it is
It seems like they don't dig as deep as they used to they don't have the kind of access that it takes to do that
I
Mean that's what's changed. That's what's changed since you know back in the day
They just said they make sense and I understand they just don't get that kind of access. I think if you look you'll find that there's
There's not that much difference
But those little things that the guys back in the day used to throw down
Aren't really there anymore because they're not around them the way they used to
you know like
Like back of the day
If you wanted to you can go in the cowboys locker room just about any time those guys were in there every day
Just the big were there the big guys were you know, they were in there every day just about but they're not able to do that anymore
I didn't know yeah, I had no
Well
Yeah, it's gone now a lot more regulated than it used to be I remember hearing flink luxe say one time
Uh, he asked about a player
You know some some player and
Jerry taught
Yeah, Jerry and Jerry taught he goes. I don't know Frank here. No Doug Todd. Doug Todd. Yeah, not Jerry
And he goes you know Frank here and he gave him a list of every home phone number of every player. Yeah, can you imagine that now
Because that was that was that was
Unthought of when you and I were in it in the 90s
You know you the cowboys they've started protecting their players
I think more than anything. Yeah, they would give it to him. Remember how they protected Leon let sure
But I mean they'd give the numbers to guys who needed it like the beat guys
But as far as guys like us who were just out there, you know, now and again, and that was real about it
We didn't get that kind of access because they knew that we were
Frank called Roderick sergeant. They knew that
We were smart that'd be a good podcast how calling Roderick sergeant
We've been going about an hour here. You got anything else you want to get into um
So much, but I'm having fun. Well, okay. I'm having fun. Nobody says we got a quit. Are you kicking me out? No, nobody said we got a quit
I mean because we want because according according to your schedule if I leave I'm not see you for another 20 years
So you only get as much as I can
I'll be around. Oh, no way man. You're right. I didn't run him. You might not see about 20 years
Or me
I don't get out much him
Got a grapevine every once in a while
Where do you hang in grapevine?
Um
I really like that will hold
Except they let people smoking
Yeah, and I can't take that
Did that anywhere? Yeah, and I like jakes and they got a jakes over there. Yeah, grapevine's a cool little town
I know it really is. It's a cool little town. I'd never even balled at it before and the reason I moved there was you know
It was close to my family close to my cousins and trolley
Because that's in high-price real estate. Yeah
So but I like it there
I got me a little one bedroom apartment
Now that's kind of difficult for me to get my head around
You know one bedroom apart
Mm-hmm
Let's be a palatial one bedroom little under a thousand square feet
Again, that's hard for me to get my head around it's it's
Simplify
You know and and you know I love other it's less stuff than dust
That's why I look at it and
I'm never going to live in a place anymore that I can't plug my vacuum cleaner in
In one outlet and do the whole
Without having to unplug and plug it
That's not asking no, that's not asking
Well, if there's nothing further then we will sign off for today. This has been your dark companion
He is Greg Williams I keep my grider if you'd like to subscribe
patreon.com is where you go to handle that we're gonna be doing this
probably once every week every two weeks
I really don't know what kind of shape it's going to take yet in other words you don't want to commit to a schedule
Um, I'd rather not if it were up to me
I'm gonna try to get on one
They don't want you've got something to say about this
You can hit me up on twitter or facebook on twitter. I'm at the old gray wolf
Or you can email me at the old gray wolf at gmail.com and tell me what you thought about this today
Tell me where you'd like to see it go
Got some idea as to you want me to try and get on hid me
And I will do that. We're gonna do this like I say about once a week. That's the plan right now
And um, that's um the way we're gonna land around here
Uh, by the way, sorry about the theme music earlier today
I wanted to use my old theme music that I used to do on the first your dark companion
I can't find it. Well, that I am
I've never bothered to see what it was wearing what because you know, I was just
Now I regret that I miss it, but
Got theme music you want me to use?
Got some original music that you want to lay down and send it to me for this
Hit me send it to me. Take a look at it one guy one guy did that once upon a time
And look what happened great
Carry crafting carry crafting hardline theme for all those years
Just because we told him or we put it out there that
We wanted that to happen and he put something together and it was so on point. I'm never the first time I heard it
He he had he had reached in to our soul. I know about what we are before we even
Recognized it. I remember you coming to me go man listen to this you played it for me and I go damn
Man, that sucks and you go we're using it. Yeah
If we're using it was exactly what I had it captured the essence of the show
Before the essence of the show was ever even formed. Did we ever have an essence?
I don't know don't you have to be in that kind of a lead us to be having essence. I don't I've never had to essence
I don't think I do
I don't think I do
But I do know this this has been fun. Thank you Greg. I can actually can I give out my my my
You can my Twitter you can it is
Because get on there now before they kick me off again
It's riff raff 32 32
riff raff 32 32
Is that all over case one word?
Well, actually it's a capital R okay RFF
One word RFF right riff raff 32 32
On X we can all be on X we can all X you X if you want
I'm still I'm still doing Twitter. No, I'm gonna die hard. No, I'm pure fentanyl these days brother pure fentanyl
Thanks to Ashley Bullington stringing this together from the text and wonderful work by her as always
And that's it. This is your dark companion. We will see you next time
All right
I don't plan so often