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A Christian comedian, drama king Tony Romo & 610 AM's Robert Henslee are set tocollide on MNF
Robert Henslee is the sports director at 610 AM, home of the Houston Texans and one of the power sports radio stations. Yet when a new, unknown, experimental online sports TV network approached him about hosting a weekly three-hour plus Monday Night Football companion show, he didn't hesitate.
This isn't Wayne's Worldafter all. It's Eric Winston's — with a knowledgeable behind-the-scenes team helping power the Houston Texans right tackle's new online TV network..
"Just to watch the game with Eric and get the insights he has is great," Henslee told CultureMap in New Orleans where he was covering the Texans. "I mean it's cool to watch the games with all these interesting people. Whether it's an NFL player or a hilarious comedian like Bob Smiley.
Henslee is the traffic cop at the center of the controlled chaos, a professional host who pushes himself to get the most out of guests who have varying levels of TV experience.
"It's fun. It's sitting around watching the game with a bunch of people and getting into it. That's what I've been doing for years with my friends. That's how people watch football."
Not Your Ordinary Sports Show (which is shown in the video module on the front page of CultureMap on Monday nights) is designed to encourage plenty of give and take between the guests — and viewer interaction on social media. Guests have already included an astronaut (Scott Kelly), an Olympic speed skater (Chad Hedrick), an athletic director (Texas Southern University's Charles McClelland) and more. You also never know who's going to stop by.
Winston's Texans' teammate J.J. Watt — who just might win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year — made a surprise appearance on last week's show.
Henslee is the traffic cop at the center of the controlled chaos, a professional host who pushes himself to get the most out of guests who have varying levels of TV experience.
"It's going well," Henslee said. "It's been a process and we've worked some kinks out. We've had two practice shows and two shows now and we've changed some things, but we're getting into a comfort zone. We're getting guests on and off, keeping the show moving with some different things."
The third week of Monday Night Football brings the best matchup yet, one with plenty of local interest. The Dallas Cowboys (with Tony Romo, those fractured ribs and all his melodrama) taking on the surprising Washington Redskins and Rex Grossman, who's somehow managed to make that Sexy Rexy nickname seem a little less like a farce. Not Your Ordinary Sports Show is upping the eclectic ante on its guests this Monday night as well.
How about a Christian comedian (Smiley, who's much more relaxed than that title first might make people think), a local band (The Black Matches) and one of the premiere trainers of professional athletes anywhere (Danny Arnold of Plex)?
Like you'd rather hear Jon Gruden drone on about how "courageous" Romo is? (You know that's coming.) Not Your Ordinary Sports Show is built around the idea that people will turn down the volume on their TV and call up Winston's show on their computer to listen and watch that while paying attention to the game showing on that muted set.
"People don't just want to watch a game these days," Henslee said. "They want to feel involved and talk about it."
Which is one of the reasons the 610 AM guy is fascinated with the possibilities for Not Your Ordinary Sports Show and THEBUS (it's pronounced Thee-bis), the name for Winston's online-only sports TV network.
"In a way, it's social TV," Henslee said. "We're trying to do a lot more Twitter interaction with viewers. It's a different way of communicating around the game."
For more on Not Your Ordinary Sports Show, you can go to website of Winston's new network dubbed THEBUS. And remember, you can watch the show live on CultureMap Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. Read CultureMap's exclusive story on what drove Winston to start the network here.
Watch a clip from last week's Not Your Ordinary Sports Show: