Mike Mutnasky is the co-host of the Mut and Merloni show on WEEI.

A Pepperell, MA native, Mutnansky went to UConn, where, during his junior year he interned on WEEI’s Big Show. Upon graduation, Mutnansky met Marty Tirrell, who hired him to be a co-host/flash guy on the 5000-watt 1590-AM WSMN in Nashua, NH. The station was sold in early 2004. Later that year, Tirrell and Mutnansky were hired by AM 900to do a similar show. In 2005, while still working in NH, Mutnansky began filling in on flashes for WEEI.

By 2006, Mutnansky was the lead host on WGAM (900-AM Nashua and 1250-AM in Manchester), hosting a weekday afternoon show Mon-Fri 3:00-6:00pm while also filling in at WEEI. In 2008, Mutnansky was named co-host of the new Saturday morning WEEI.com Radio Show.

Then, in February of this year, it was announced that Mutnansky would be teaming up with former Red Sox player Lou Merloni to take over the midday shift at WEEI with the Mut and Merloni show.

{democracy:124}

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

42 thoughts on “2011 Approval Ratings – Mike Mutnansky”

  1. Captain Obvious is obviously terrible. Kids voice, kids opinions, Cowboys fan. Woefully overmatched in his midday role, a sports/swap format would better suit his talents, minus the pallets.

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  2. Might be good someday…but right now he just does not have the knowledge and skill base to a primary host in a major market sports talk show. I think Entercom should have sent him to a smaller market for a year or two to let him cut his teeth. Too much searching for an angle and not enough intelligent analysis. I do think he has a good radio voice but I don't think he moves the show along well nor do I think he is a good foil for Merloni but I am not sure that is Muttansky's fault completely.

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    1. Not that I disagree with you, since I agree 100% otherwise, but, well, he was /at/ a smaller market for a few years.

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      1. The show in NH. I forgot about that. In which case maybe they should have had Lou and him do a small market show together to see if they have any chemistry. Either that or Entercom gets what they deserve.

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  3. He's like the "Funnybot" of radio talk show hosts. Everything sounds pre-programmed from his opinions to the way he handles callers. I disagree that he's a "good foil for Merloni" — their chemistry is so bland it's nearly invisible, much like the entire show, which ought to be the first to get axed when EEI makes another round of changes.

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  4. Oops, sorry Latefordinner — misread your post. I agree he's not a good foil for Merloni, and you're right, on that front I wouldn't blame him entirely. 🙂

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  5. He is one of the young hosts who grew up listening to sports talk radio and has never done anything else in sports media. He knows nothing more than any well informed fan does. The result is somebody who just knows how to spout off all the tired cliches of sports talk radio while offering nothing insightful.

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    1. "He knows nothing more than any well informed fan does"…….Agree, but you could say that about EVERY host at WEEI

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      1. When I was a kid, I had a suspicion that the CSB was an elaborate joke promulgated by WEEI. (The ads with Dick Robinson only reinforced this idea.)

        Now that I am older and (arguably) wiser, this impression has changed to suspecting it’s merely mediocre enough to be ludicrous, but is technically not a joke.

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  7. Disapprove as a host of a weekday show. I always thought he was fine on the shows during staurday and sunday. BUt latetodinner is right, does not have the skill or knowledge to be a lead host right now. He seems like a nice guy, but does not leave you looking forward to his show.

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    1. I actually kind of feel bad about voting disapprove, he's not outright annoying or disdain-worthy, but you're right- he just doesn't have what it takes to be the lead host in a market like Boston. I probably haven't listened to he and Merloni for more than 20 minutes total since they started.

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    2. Agreed. He was a good weekend host but he can't handle the midday gig. Seems like his ceiling is a 6 on a scale of 1-10.

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  8. I guess I just don't get the appeal. What is the difference between Mutnansky and Joe Blow? He's not an ex-athlete, he's not a sportswriter, he's not a local TV personality, he's not a loudmouth brash personality. He's just… some guy. What's the difference between him hosting a show and any one of us?

    I have nothing against him, and I enjoyed his weekend gig with Bradford, but he made the jump from short-season Class A ball to a September game between the Red Sox and Yankees, and for the life of me I have no idea why.

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  9. No chemistry between he and Merloni. His show with Rob Bradford was better than this one.

    It would have made sense to pair Lou with Dale Arnold, so he could learn from a pro. Mut is not ready for prime time, not yet.

    He sounds a bit like Ted Sarandis at times, leveraging favorites like, “what’s up buddy? and “thanks for calling Chief.”

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  10. Seems to be adequate in his current role but there is zero chemistry between him & Merloni. As a result, the midday show is extremely boring to the point of being unlistenable. WEEI's midday shakeup reeks of desperation but that's pretty obvious, isn't it?

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  11. Boring, boring, boring, except when he's being a blowhard for no good reason. (To his credit, it's rare. But sometimes he just gets on these yelling jags.)

    He and Merloni are OK, but Lou's boring, too. Alas.

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  12. I have come to the conclusion that the pairing of M&M is what is really poor. Its the worst possible combination. Like Soda and Pop rocks or peanut butter and tuna. Mutnansky appeared IMO, to have some value on the weekend. I feel Lou was always a good guest on the Big Show and on CSNNE. But together, it does not work. If the two were separated, like some mentioned, and had show for example like Arnold and Merloni, or Mutnansky and Curran/McAdam, I feel they would do much better.

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  13. I'd love to approve of him, just because he was cheap enough to allow EEI to finally relegate Dale Arnold to fill in duty, but this guy sucks, too.

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    1. Finally! Another Dale non-supporter! Glad to hear I'm not alone in finding him insufferable and find the love for him baffling.

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  14. The only time during I day I actually switch to 98.5 – Gresh is bad – but can't handle these two – should have paired Lou with Dale

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  15. Chemistry??? How can you have chemistry when your on the air with a dull, boring dud?
    Lou is a one pitch guy. Sit on the heat baby cuz you're not seeing any a curve or change ups. No personality, way too serious, no humor, nothing human happening, he's the guy you get stuck sitting next to in a bar that just talks, and talks, and talks, and talks….you to death by boredom.

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  16. Mutnansky, Wallach, MeterPerel and even Sheppard are wannabe jock sniffers. They really don't bring any insight to the table. The speak well (except for sheppard) and know what buttons to push on the console. Not witty in the least. I read the papers too and I feel I know more than all of them.

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  17. WEEI, by not taking listeners seriously have put themselves in a tremendous bind. One of the many things asked by listeners, who are also consumers, was for Glen Ordway to change how he did business. He was asked change his guest line-up. Listeners wanted far less of Fred and Steve, Larry Johnson, Steve Burton and of course Butch Stearns. Ordway was told to stop shouting and interrupting everyone and allow for conversation. The only people who did not want this were aspirin companies whose stocks went up when the Big Show was on. He was also asked to put on callers with just one ounce of intelligence. Ordway would not do it and his superiors, Wolfe and Kahn, would not make him. Now WEEI has frantically made one bad move after another.

    With the understanding that Ordway could be released from his contract (Chad Finn chat two weeks ago), I would stay patient if I were a WEEI executive. I would have let the Big Show continue on as is. If another bad book came out for summer then let Ordway go immediately and move D&H to 2-6. Mut and Lou could have been working on their repoire on the weekends and maybe they would have been ready by fall to take the 10-2 slot. Here is why WEEI probably would not make that move because another bad book may mean not only Ordway being removed but Kahn and Wolfe as well.

    With regards to Mut I gave him an approve. That's right, I said it. I don't think he is as bad as people are making it sound. He also was thrown into the fire without any opportunity to get used to his partner. Is he great? No. Is he better than Gresh? Absolutely. Of course the caveat is a folding chair would do a better job hosting a show than Gresh. I just think it is going to take time, at least a year for Mut and Lou to totally hit their stride. The problem is listeners and management are not going to wait that long. If WEEI had listened to those who had problems with their shows, then they would never had been in this predicament to begin with.

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      1. I know, it's kind of damning with faint praise. But looking at his competition at the same time, Mutnansky is better.

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    2. mandb…here is my question…who would have leaked the details of Ordway's contract and to what end. Is it Wolfe or Kahn letting Ordway know not so subtly that the clock is ticking? If so, why ask Ordway to change…why not TELL him to change and if he doesn't then he will be out? What I am getting at is who benefits from the public knowing Ordway is replaceable. Furthermore, if it doesn't happen…we are still stuck with 8 solid hours of bad programming. Pile on to that the fact that Football and Hockey are about to start and 98.5 has both the Bruins (we will see if the bump continues) and Pats, while the home of the Celtics is going to be eerily silent once the Sox are done. I think WEEI is going to be forced to change both shows.

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      1. Late I honestly have no clue who could be feeding Finn his information. I will say he has pretty good track record of being accurate, so I'll go with him for now.

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        1. We will probably never know…but in theory only a few people should know about the contract…Kahn, Wolfe and the lawyer on Entercoms side that put the contract together…and then Ordway's side. There is no logical reason for Ordway's side to leak the details so I think it had to come from Entercom's side. My point is Finn should be following up and trying to figure out why the info was leaked rather than just carrying management's water in a long apparent dislike of Ordway.

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          1. And everyone who works in Entercom's HR department. They'd know, too. Or the administrative assistants who typed up the contract, or who have to file memos from Wolfe/Kahn regarding the deal, etc. etc. etc.

            There are a lot of people who could know about those contract details outside of Wolfe/Kahn/Ordway, trust me.

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          2. A lot…maybe 10 people on Entercom's side? All with fear of losing their job if they were found to be Finn's leak. My point is I don't think it was a low level "mole" who gave Finn the details. That to me is the bigger story and one in which I think Finn should be wondering… am I a dupe? DId I get manipulated? Why am I suddenly getting this info?

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  18. Good insight Mand. I don't mind the approval or Mutt, but for me, I don't see how I can possibly approve. I tune into the show, then find myself tuning out and looking elsewhere. I want to enjoy that show, but why do I want to hear M&M discuss football? As much as I despise Gresh, I can listen to G&Z talk football. I feel that the combination of D&H ending and being replaced with M&M was too much for listeners.

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    1. Winning this is why WEEI made such a big mistake with their kneejerk reactions. WEEI should have had a trial run on the weekends to see if Mut and Lou would work.

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  19. I work with people like Mut–just trying to fit in and desperately hoping that nobody will notice that he has no qualifications and brings nothing.

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  20. His show is as bland as grits with no salt or butter. Him and Merloni love to beat to death the phrase "You talk about a guy…"

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  21. I tried several times to give the “Mut & Lou” show a shot but this show by far is the worst show out of both stations. Mutnansky is arrogant and condescending to the listeners and his lack of sports knowledge is painful to listen to. Lou is the better of the two but when taken out of his element (baseball) he often sounds uneducated and misinformed.

    I will doubt their contract will he picked up when it’s over (Hipefully soon) They would be much better when back in their element which is Weekends and days after holidays.

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  22. I try listening to the Mutt & Lou show every couple weeks thinking, well this time it must be better, it can't be as bad as I remember it! And every time, without fail I have to turn it off less than an hour in. I agree with everyone that has said these 2 are not ready for prime time. Their voices also grate on the nerves too; Lou always sounds like he's talking with his mouth full of marbles and Mutt sounds like a 12 year old pretending to be an adult.

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