Al Eschbach

[Bigrayok]

I have not heard Al Eschbach on his show in recent days. Is he on one of his marathon vacations?

[OKCretro]

Heard he took a job in kc?

[OKCretro]

Heard he was working on his newest restaurant adventure

[ljbab728]

He wasn't on the Sugar Bowl coverage so something must have happened.

[GoThunder]

Tramel was on the air from 6-7 tonight and said he was filling in for Al while he's on vacation.

[ljbab728]

Tramel was on the air from 6-7 tonight and said he was filling in for Al while he's on vacation.

I'm sure that's true but for Al to take vacation when OU is playing in the Sugar Bowl is hardly normal.

[warreng88]

I heard he was walking around an area trying to return a ring to a volcano...

[Tydude]

Al is on Vacation somewhere across the ocean.He should be back soon

[SoonerDave]

I'm sure that's true but for Al to take vacation when OU is playing in the Sugar Bowl is hardly normal.

Yeah I thought the same thing. And I noticed it was Tram taking the lead on calls to him and Traber from 5-6pm, which was also really unusual.

[Jersey Boss]

Considering that Al went to OU in the sixties one would assume he is of retirement age. He could be transitioning to retirement or because of his age, have health issues. I'm sure it will shake out in the coming weeks.

[ou48A]

The rumor is that Al is on vacation on a beach in Thailand which if true and baring some type of heath issue is a pretty clear confirmation of what many others have said in that Al has shipped it in.

Clearly by avoiding 2 out of the past 3 OU bowl games Al doesn’t take his job seriously anymore and only does it for the money.....
It's no wonder why more people have turned to better local sports talk radio sources.

[SoonerDave]

Considering that Al went to OU in the sixties one would assume he is of retirement age. He could be transitioning to retirement or because of his age, have health issues. I'm sure it will shake out in the coming weeks.

Considering Citadel just forked over half the building to re-sign Traber (or, more specifically, keep him away from Tyler/"The Franchise,") I wonder how close Al is to re-upping and whether a) he wants to keep up the media work, and b) how much are they willing to pay him?

Pretty sure Al is in his 70's if I'm not mistaken. If he finished OU in the mid 60's, say 65 (?), and he was around 22 then, 49 years on top of that would put him right at 70-71. And let's face it, while he still is connected to OU, he surely doesn't have the "connections" he once did, and in all honesty some of his afternoon non-sports ramblings with Traber get a little disgusting even if they're intended for a laugh. Mind you, I remember Al when he more or less started sports talk radio in OKC on KTOK-AM 1000 back in the 70's, and he's always been kinda rough around the edges, but this latter day bent gets a little (no, a lot) creepy after a while.

Definitely think there's something to him not being in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. I can't recall him ever having missed an OU bowl game.

[zookeeper]

The rumor is that Al is on vacation on a beach in Thailand which if true and baring some type of heath issue is a pretty clear confirmation of what many others have said in that Al has shipped it in.

Clearly by avoiding 2 out of the past 3 OU bowl games Al doesn’t take his job seriously anymore and only does it for the money.....
It's no wonder why more people have turned to better local sports talk radio sources.

If true he couldn't have picked a better place. A neighbor just got back after spending the entire holiday with his wife near Phuket. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and they both said it was their favorite vacation ever. That must be a hot place right now, they said there were a lot of Americans.

I think Al's broadcast days are numbered, probably by choice.

[ou48A]

Definitely think there's something to him not being in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. I can't recall him ever having missed an OU bowl game.

Al did not cover the OU bowl game against Iowa. He took a vacation.
WWLS did not send any full time on the air employee to that particular bowl game....This in spite of the fact that they sent several to cover the OSU game in that same city just 3 or 4 days later.

[MustangGT]

I was hoping to read the bums obituary.

[zookeeper]

I was hoping to read the bums obituary.

Wow.

?????????

[Romulack]

Heard he's been hangin' out inside a tree somewhere baking cookies.

[Stew]

I was hoping to read the bums obituary.

Not cool.

[SoonerDave]

I was hoping to read the bums obituary.

Um, awkward at best, not funny at worst.

[soonerguru]

I was hoping to read the bums obituary.

Why? I've always liked Al as a radio personality (not as a person). He's a weirdo, no doubt. But he's a legend in OKC and at times he's been good.

Overall, though, I avoid the Sports Animal like a plague. Stupidly, I decided to tune in yesterday to hear discussion about the OU / Bama bowl game. I should have known better. Here's the setup:

1. Traber comes on the air and immediately starts ripping OU fans for making jokes about the SEC. Then, he puts all of this pressure on OU by saying if they don't end up in the playoffs next season their season will be a "massive disappointment."

2. No discussion about the plays, no background from conversations with coaches, players, etc. No discussion about the atmosphere or key moments in the game. Nada.

3. Then he shifts the discussion to how much "better looking" the Alabama team was; that OU should not have been on the same field with them. He said Trevor Knight looked like a "peanut."

I realize this is all an elaborate attempt to troll OU fans, piss them off, and get them to call in. But when OU has won one of the biggest bowl games in the history of its program, people want to talk about that and not much else.

The Franchise at least will make an effort to have an honest conversation about OU football with OU fans. F the Sports Animal.

[Garin]

Got banned from his show for life.....LOL

[ctchandler]

I haven't listened to sports talk in quite a few years, but just to remind you folks that there was no sports talk until Lou Staples on KTOK in the mid 70's. It was doing OK but lacked something so they brought Al in as a co-host. The rest is history. Love him or hate him, whatever sports radio you listen to now came about because of him. We all get old (he is 68), and sometimes it's time to hang it up. I'm not saying he should retire since I haven't listened in a long time but he has made a lot of money for whatever station he has been on. If you like your sports radio and it's not the Sports Animal, you owe Al for the competition.
C. T.

[Dave Cook]

If true he couldn't have picked a better place. A neighbor just got back after spending the entire holiday with his wife near Phuket. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and they both said it was their favorite vacation ever. That must be a hot place right now, they said there were a lot of Americans.

I think Al's broadcast days are numbered, probably by choice.

While rumors abound, I think he is actually in Bali.

You know, I think Al has sort of become the modern-day 'Mathis Brothers Gerbil' urban legend. It's terrible the things people post about him on the Sooner message boards and over on The Lost Ogle. He travels all over the world - Cuba, Vietnam, Bali, Phuket, Dubai, etc - but at this moment on the Sooner board, they're claiming he's on some sex trip to Thailand. People's imagination can run ridiculously wild at times. On a personal level and as a celebrity, I don't see how you deal with such rumors.

As for Phuket, I live in Thailand. It's beautiful over here. Fantastic culture, very nice people, excellent food, peaceful religion and the beaches are just amazing. The country gets a bad rap but it's not that much different from Oklahoma when it comes to incorrect perception. Ignore all the stereotypes and ignorant opinions.....overall - like Oklahoma City - it's a good place to be.

[Stan Silliman]

I don't understand the hate.

Al has always been nice to me. I used to play table tennis with him and he was a pretty fair player.
Eschbach's store of knowledge about quite a few things is remarkable.
Bob Barry's gone. John Brooks, I don't hear from much and when Al's gone, sports radio will be
pretty bland in Oklahoma.

[SoonerDave]

While rumors abound, I think he is actually in Bali.

You know, I think Al has sort of become the modern-day 'Mathis Brothers Gerbil' urban legend. It's terrible the things people post about him on the Sooner message boards and over on The Lost Ogle. He travels all over the world - Cuba, Vietnam, Bali, Phuket, Dubai, etc - but at this moment on the Sooner board, they're claiming he's on some sex trip to Thailand. People's imagination can run ridiculously wild at times. On a personal level and as a celebrity, I don't see how you deal with such rumors.

As for Phuket, I live in Thailand. It's beautiful over here. Fantastic culture, very nice people, excellent food, peaceful religion and the beaches are just amazing. The country gets a bad rap but it's not that much different from Oklahoma when it comes to incorrect perception. Ignore all the stereotypes and ignorant opinions.....overall - like Oklahoma City - it's a good place to be.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I like Al and have over the years, but I think those rumors wouldn't be nearly as persistent if he didn't lace virtually every afternoon on-air comment with sex-related jokes, some that get more than a little weird, so to a great degree he perpetuates it himself.