MJDDawg Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Was a big fan of his and his show almost from the very beginning, mainly because the it was the only sports talk show in town in those days, but stopped listening after he became a bitter old man after losing out to Shorty for the Canucks play-by-play gig. Damn I must be getting old! http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Sportstalk+Russell+sign+after+year/9776245/story.html Sportstalk's Dan Russell moved his show to CISL AM 650 last September after a nearly quarter-century run on CKNW 980. Photograph by: Jason Payne , PNG files VANCOUVER — Dan Russell calls it a hiatus, not a retirement, but after nearly 30 years he is ending his nightly Sportstalk radio show. Russell will wish his listeners one more "pleasant good evening" when he does his final show next Thursday night on CISL AM 650. Russell moved to AM 650 last September after a nearly quarter-century run on CKNW. He bought his own airtime at the Richmond station and sold advertising to try and keep the show going. "I knew that when I had to take this on my own that I would be the first to know if it was going to make it or not," Russell said Friday. "We actually had a really good start last fall with sponsorship, but I found it extremely challenging to add to what we had and even maintain what we had. There are so many options for sponsors these days. It's very, very competitive and I am not a sales person per se. "It has been a long run and at some point a change is needed. I'm not thinking of retiring. I am going to take a hiatus on the daily show." Russell intends to keep his Sportstalk brand alive. He will continue a Sunday night golf show on AM 650 with Bill Wilms and Fraser Mulholland. And he plans to continue podcasts and blogs on his sportstalkbc.ca website. "So I am still going to have a voice that way, podcasting and blogging and the Sunday night golf show, and then we're going to see what that leads to in the fall," he said. "Maybe we could do a regular hockey show. We are kicking around different things. We just don't know." When he signs off on Thursday night, which is May 1, Russell will have come full circle. It was May 1, 1980 when CISL signed on as a radio station and the first disc jockey on the air was a 19-year-old Dan Russell, who was working the midnight to 6 a.m. shift. Russell began his Sportstalk show on Oct. 15, 1984 on former Vancouver station CJOR. Now 53 and the father of three children, Russell is looking forward to a new phase of his life. "It has been a great run in terms of consistency, but I am actually looking forward to a new stage here," he said. "Maybe what we do at my age is morph into something that is a little bit less in terms of quantity. Maybe we do a couple of days a week or maybe zero. I don't know what the market is going to say. Maybe somebody is going to come and ask me to do something else. Maybe the market will retire me, maybe people will say that's enough, they have heard enough of Dan and that's fine. If the tribe has spoken, that's cool." Russell's future could include a book. After nearly 30 years on air, Russell has lots of stories to tell. His show drew large ratings at CKNW and Russell has a storage locker filled with the tapes of many of the thousands of interviews he did over the years. Some of the most popular were with Brian Burke, who as the then-assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks did a hugely popular weekly segment with Russell. "Burkie himself would fill four or five chapters," Russell said with a laugh Friday. Russell actually started work on the book two years ago. "I kept a diary of every show over the 30 years," he said. "There are just so many behind-the-scenes things … Two summers ago I spent six weeks writing a book and it just poured out of me. The first draft was done. It was actually very fun and therapeutic to do. The only intent at that point was for my three kids to one day have a look at it, but then the more people I told the more people said maybe you should consider doing it. I don't know, would there be a market for that, would people want to read it? I think maybe they would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VICanucksfan5551 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Good riddance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tearloch7 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I always felt his biggest agenda was in promoting his own 'self brilliance', so I tuned him out about 20 years ago .. not all bad I am sure, but the bitter edge came thru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonLever Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Good riddance Why? No one is forcing you to listening to him. Just turn the dial. I listen to him because he provides a diiferent viewpoint. The more viewpoints out there the better. The reason why he is leaving radio is he could not make money by buying airtime and paying for it by using sponsorships. That is a risky propostion for any business. Especially for a business that got no assets besides the name, "Dan Russell" sports talk. This business model works only if you use it as promotion for your company. Plus it is is obvious long term sponserships were not there for him. Otherwise he would have gone on longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VICanucksfan5551 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Why? No one is forcing you to listening to him. Just turn the dial. I listen to him because he provides a diiferent viewpoint. The more viewpoints out there the better. The reason why he is leaving radio is he could not make money by buying airtime and paying for it by using sponsorships. That is a risky propostion for any business. Especially for a business that got no assets besides the name, "Dan Russell" sports talk. This business model works only if you use it as promotion for your company. Plus it is is obvious long term sponserships were not there for him. Otherwise he would have gone on longer. Because I think he's a terrible host and radio would be better off if he was replaced by a howler monkey. I turned the dial for good years ago, but I'm still bitter over the lack of competing alternatives for night time sports talk, which caused me to turn to his show occasionally out of desperation. I counter your notion that more viewpoints is automatically a good thing. Would a neo-Nazi talk show being on the air be a good thing because it's a "different viewpoint"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonLever Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Because I think he's a terrible host and radio would be better off if he was replaced by a howler monkey. I turned the dial for good years ago, but I'm still bitter over the lack of competing alternatives for night time sports talk, which caused me to turn to his show occasionally out of desperation. I counter your notion that more viewpoints is automatically a good thing. Would a neo-Nazi talk show being on the air be a good thing because it's a "different viewpoint"? I am talking about sport talk radio shows, so what does neo-Nazis got to do with this discussion? You yourself say you are bitter about a lack of alternatives for night time sports talk. Dan was one of the alternatives; there are others out there, namely Team 1040. Now there is no local alternative to Team 1040. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intoewsables Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 About time. Sports radio here is garbage in general, but Dan Russell was definitely the worst of them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VICanucksfan5551 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I am talking about sport talk radio shows, so what does neo-Nazis got to do with this discussion? You yourself say you are bitter about a lack of alternatives for night time sports talk. Dan was one of the alternatives; there are others out there, namely Team 1040. Now there is no local alternative to Team 1040. Fine then. A sports talk show hosted by 13 year old trolls from Canucks Talk. Still good to have another viewpoint on the air? I think different viewpoints are good as long as they're well reasoned and expressed. Russell's viewpoints were neither. I was talking about back when 1040 had no local late show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I counter your notion that more viewpoints is automatically a good thing. Would a neo-Nazi talk show being on the air be a good thing because it's a "different viewpoint"? holy christ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmployeeoftheMonth Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Because I think he's a terrible host and radio would be better off if he was replaced by a howler monkey. I turned the dial for good years ago, but I'm still bitter over the lack of competing alternatives for night time sports talk, which caused me to turn to his show occasionally out of desperation. I counter your notion that more viewpoints is automatically a good thing. Would a neo-Nazi talk show being on the air be a good thing because it's a "different viewpoint"? Don't do drugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VICanucksfan5551 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 holy christ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera82 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Well that's just great. Goddammit! I guess 1040's got the market cornered again and I'll have no choice but to listen to all their boring drones in the evening. Oh and even better! When they decide to sign off early it'll be time for Fox Sports Radio, I'd almost rather shoot myself than listen to that dull american hockey-ignoring trash. This actually really bothers me. Dan Russel was one of the few Vancouver sports personalities I enjoyed listening to on the radio. He goes away, comes back for a few months with a great show, now he's gone again. Pisses me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngould21 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Wasn't this discussed several months ago?? NW didn't renew his contract, tough, but this is how the radio market works in Vancouver, with mega media dictating what we are suppose to listen to, not what we want to listen to. CISL, Well I've never listened to that station, can't stand 50's music. 1040 lost me with Bro Jake and Pratt, not much else to listen to on the radio. FM is crap, AM is worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I liked 1040 when it used to have the lounge/elevator/bossa music format and the Mojo Marjonovich Sports Zone show. Beat The Team hands down, though I was probably their only loyal listener! Didn't realize Dan was back with CISL. He started out there I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Wasn't this discussed several months ago?? NW didn't renew his contract, tough, but this is how the radio market works in Vancouver, with mega media dictating what we are suppose to listen to, not what we want to listen to. CISL, Well I've never listened to that station, can't stand 50's music. 1040 lost me with Bro Jake and Pratt, not much else to listen to on the radio. FM is crap, AM is worse. Lol, I love 50's music, and brother, CISL doesn't play it anymore. 70's music is now considered 'oldies'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Martini Madness, Dal Richard's Dal's Place show, Mojo Marjonovich's Sports Zone-the late 90's era 1040 was some good listenin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Never heard of the guy till now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgyfan Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 If you weren't around for Dan's show during the '94 cup run, you really missed some awesome radio. Dan loved the team back then and had really good access to the team and management. The show was incredibly interactive with the fans and very spontaneous. It was such a hoot, following those guys with the old beater traveling across Canada and USA to watch the games. Dan has a fantastic knowledge of the game, but as others have said, he became very negative and his popularity dwindled. It got to the point that one could predict what (negative) agenda he would have before he spoke. Very boring. More recently, I've noticed that he has made an effort not to chirp about the team so much, but I guess it came to late. I'll never forget that run in '94; partly because of Dan Russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucklehead Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Won't be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaches Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Well that's just great. Goddammit! I guess 1040's got the market cornered again and I'll have no choice but to listen to all their boring drones in the evening. Oh and even better! When they decide to sign off early it'll be time for Fox Sports Radio, I'd almost rather shoot myself than listen to that dull american hockey-ignoring trash. This actually really bothers me. Dan Russel was one of the few Vancouver sports personalities I enjoyed listening to on the radio. He goes away, comes back for a few months with a great show, now he's gone again. Pisses me off. This. Scott Rintoul is ok but Dan was far more entertaining. I wish 1040 would bring back Blake Price in the evening. That was a good show. Anyone know if Lee Powell will take over? Or will it just die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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