Because it's never too early to get an Elf for Christmas, 105.3 The Fan is hiring long-time Ticket personality Mark Elfenbein.
Elf, who hosted a Sunday morning show on 1310 AM since the birth of The Ticket back in 1994. He will begin his new gig alongside Josh Lewin weekdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on The Fan possibly as soon as Wednesday.
"I hate losing and I'm here to win," Elfenbein said Monday night. "I thank The Ticket for all the great years and I know they're still King Kong atop the mountain. But I'm excited about being part of the station that finally takes them down."
At The Ticket, Elfenbein sat patiently for the opportunity that never arose. Along with his Sunday morning show he hosted Dallas Mavericks post-game shows and waited for a spot on the station's regular weekday lineup. But at The Ticket - Dallas-Fort Worth's sports talk radio dynasty - personalities leave the station about as often as bosses voluntarily depart the Mafia.
"This is the chance I've been looking for," he said. "I've proven I can play ping pong with myself for hours and hours on the radio and I know I can match with Josh for a good, entertaining show. I'm bringing my A game right from the start."
Said Fan program director Bruce Gilbert, "Elf has the energy, enthusiasm and experience in this marketplace. He's going to be a great asset on our new team."
After last Sunday's show on The Ticket the impending change wasn't lost on Elfenbein, who is also resigning a sales position he's held with Centex homes for 13 years.
"That last segment was tough, I won't lie," said Elfenbein, 49. "I looked out the window over Reverchon Plaza and thought 'Wow, this is the last time I'm going to do this.' It's really, really weird. But opportunities like this don't come around very often. The best part has been all the people that are genuinely happy for me."
As for a working name for the Lewin-Elfenbein collaboration, "Two Live Jews" or the "Bagel Boys" probably will hit the editing room floor. Maybe something simple like ... Josh 'n Elf?
For those of us who have spent parts of Sunday mornings listening to Elf over three decades, it will be refreshing to have his signature breakfast now served for lunch ...
Get the coffee going. Juice flowing. Toss a couple of bagels in the oven - toasted with a schmear. Pancakes stacked very tall, with butter and syrup between every pancake and butter and syrup on top, dripping down the sides. And ... if I ever, ever, ever do the bacon, you know how I like it - Extra, Extra, Extra crispy!
