Now that the Mike Salk shoe has dropped, the WEEI reshuffling really can’t be far behind.

Besides Dennis and Callahan, nothing really remains from the glory days of the station when they were a ratings powerhouse. D&C (and Minihane) still trail Toucher and Rich in the ratings, but have posted strong numbers and continue with their claim of being “the most listened to morning show” locally. There probably don’t need to be any changes here, unless you’d consider moving Minihane out to another role on the station.

We’re left with the midday show and the afternoon show to try and improve. (Mikey Adams at night does well competitively with 98.5 – with help from the Red Sox broadcasts – and he has his own unique audience that is going to tune in to him.)

On midday, the Mut and Lou show has been dismal, ratings wise. Prior to their taking over this slot, this had been the only daytime period that WEEI was winning, when Dale Arnold and Michael Holley had the show. Since then, Gresh and Zo on 98.5 have wiped the floor with them in the ratings.

The afternoon show has seen a similar decline since the changes a year ago. During February 2013, Glenn Ordway’s last month with the station, they posted a 5.8. This February the Salk and Holley show only rated a 3.7.

So what, if anything, can WEEI do to not just stop the bleeding, but to begin to reverse fortunes? They’ve certainly cleaned house in the last year, with Ordway, Jason Wolfe, Jeff Brown and Julie Kahn all exiting. In their places are Entercom VP/Market Manager Phil Zachary and WEEI Brand Manager Kevin Graham. They’ve had some time now to evaluate the station and it seems that some moves need to be made soon. But what?

Some have suggested putting the own team of Arnold and Holley back together on middays. That teaming would likely be successful ratings-wise, but Holley now makes too much to be a midday host.

I like Michael Holley, I really do, but what a track record he is building up. Think of the places/shows he’s worked on in the last decade. Boston Globe – sinking. 1510 the Zone – gone, I, Max – cancelled, Dale and Holley – Dale gets demoted, Big Show – Ordway gets fired, Salk and Holley, Salk leaves before he’s fired.

Yes, bringing Dale back would be recycling a host, not exactly a fresh voice, but they tried to bring in a young, fresh voice with Mike Mutnansky. It hasn’t worked. I feel bad for Mutnansky, I really do. He’s worked his way up in the business, paid his dues at small stations, and got this break. Now he’s trying to hang on and doing what he thinks he needs to go to stay in the business with the “worried” storylines, and the other tactics common today. He’s also a new dad, and he likely doesn’t have the resources to fall back on if he loses his job as someone like Merloni would have.

Can they find another young voice around? Matt Perrault has the same job that Mutnansky used to have up here in NH. Do you try him? How about trying to get someone like Marc Bertrand for this show – I don’t think he’s fulltime drive-time host material, but middays could work for him.

It’s been rumored more than once that they could remove the local show altogether from that time slot and just go with ESPN Radio there. That would be raising a serious white flag. They might as well just change the format of 93.7 FM and go back to 850 AM.

How about trying out the crew from Playaction Sports Boston? They know their sports. They’re passionate. They’re entertaining. They currently do shows on Tuesday and Friday evenings. It would definitely be something fresh and something the market hasn’t seen on either one of these sports radio stations. It probably won’t happen, but I’d be in favor of giving it a try. Give them some weekend shows or something, at least.

So we’re back putting Dale Arnold back on the midday show. It might work. He’ll need a co-host. Do you keep Lou Merloni on there? Merloni has tried very hard on his Felger impression. He works in the YOU as often as possible, he still has his DAMN storylines. OK. WEEI won a bidding war with 98.5 for him, so he’s probably making enough money to keep his job safe for now.  I’m also not sure Merloni is long for the station. He might leave or take another job on his own. Then what? Brand Manager Kevin Graham hosted his own show at his last job. Does the Jets fan try himself out in the midday role? Maybe? I’ve never heard him, so I have no idea what his show would be like.

I’m not thrilled with it, but an Arnold/Merloni midday show might be the best WEEI can hope for at this point.

What about the afternoons? I think Holley still stays. He needs the right partner though. I don’t think Michael Smith is walking through that door. They’d be interesting. So does Minihane come over? Would his removal from the now-stable morning show be detrimental there? What other options are there? Tom E Curran would be great, but I don’t want to take him off the Patriots beat, and I suspect he would not want to do radio full-time either.

Does Arnold join Holley in drive time with a rotating third guest, as we’ve had this week? Again, we’re recycling, and while that could stem the tide, I don’t see it reversing things. They need to to go big.

But then again, maybe they’re not interested in competing with 98.5, just putting together a solid show that gets decent, not record, ratings.

Which ever way they want to go, Entercom has some  major decisions coming up.

What do YOU think they should do?

Note: I’ve gotten some comments, tweets, etc accusing me of now saying I love Glenn Ordway and the Big Show after years of HATING them. That would be inaccurate. I always admired and respected Ordway. Their old show did drive me nuts at times, and was getting old with some of the same personalities showing up all the time. I never hated, never quit listening altogether. I was excited at the launch of 98.5 to see if some competition would force WEEI to improve their product. It really didn’t. They went in the tank. Over time, 98.5 became what WEEI used to be, both in ratings and in the attitude of the hosts. In fact, they exceeded what WEEI had ever done, especially in terms of finding the negative storylines to pound, day after day.  In retrospect, I can look back and appreciate the Big Show more now than when it was on, and can be glad that there is a new form of it available for when the other stations start driving me nuts.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

47 thoughts on “What’s Next For WEEI? What Would You Do?”

  2. Dale and Holley do not excite me for the afternoon drive. Christian Fauria is getting marginally better but still cannot form a concise opinion without ending up back-tracking on himself. I will never be able to listen to Lou Merloni and his choppy sentences.

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  3. Any thought to pairing up Holley with John Dennis in the afternoons? Not guaranteeing they’d have instant chemistry, but maybe JD’s personality gets Holley to come out of his shell a little more. It sort of worked for the old ‘A-team’ of Dale and Eddie. Callahan & Minihane certainly have enough chemistry to hold their own without Dennis in the AM, but if TPTB thought they needed a third person to moderate, bring in someone like Greg Dickerson who doesn’t have much to do these days.
    I’ve never heard Graham on air before either, but having him serve that role is intriguing (he could join Fred Toucher as the second Jets fan on Boston sportsradio).

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  4. Chris Mannix from SI is on today. I think he comes across as a knowledgeable reporter. He speaks fast and I can’t recall hearing him screaming. Maybe they try Mannix and Minihane, and if Holley’s contract is too big for mid-day, he stays. I think Ordway could have carried Mutt, if anyone believes he’s worth it. Merloni? No thanks–weatherman on NECN?

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    1. I like the Mannix idea. I don’t know what his knowledge of other sports is like, but he does well on CSN’s Celtics coverage. I also don’t know what the likelihood would be of getting him away from SI full-time.

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    2. I like him too, but then they become a one trick pony. Hockey is a major sport in Boston. WEEI constantly forgets this.

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  5. For as many people as they’ve cleared out, ‘EEI still seems hamstrung by people they’re unable (Lou, Holley) or unwilling (D+C) to let go. The ratings say I’m wrong about D+C, but I’d love to see them both gone. In their place? I think Rich Keefe would do well in a morning show, particularly as competition for T+R. And I’d pair him with Rob “Hardy” Poole. Dale and Lou might work in the midday. I still enjoy Lou, more or less, on CSN, so I can’t understand why he hasn’t been able to figure it out on the radio side. Dale is such a pro that he might be able to break Lou of some bad habits. (My personal preference would be a return to Dale and Neumy, but I know that’s a pipe dream.) I’m a big Minihane fan, so I’d like to see him given the drive-time show even if D+C remain the morning hosts. If Holley’s high salary means that he has to be the co-host, so be it.

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  6. Jerry Thornton and Minihane. Play to win. Also you monitor what Stern did 20 years ago which is constantly attack his opponents. Too much grab ass at CSNNE. Go after Mazz he’s not talking sports he playing a role orchestrated in the pre-show email. Whether it is de-legitimizing a 10 game win streak, picking the Yanks or choosing the Broncos as the favorite. Btw, this is all done by design with Felger it is as thought out as Foxnews and MSNBC. How to grow anger on both sides. Felger hater of greed with his Wellesley home, Nantucket summer home and vacations in St Bart’s. A fraud.

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  7. Why not go after 98.5’s younger talent, they have a lot more than WEEI. Bertrand would be the first place I start. I would also see what I could do about getting DA – Damon Amendolara for my afternoon drive maybe with a rotating host – something they have had success with. I too, don’t want to see Tom E. Curren off the Pats beat but he is too funny not to be on the air. The only way to hurt 98.5 is to go after their talent and to get younger. BTW Dale on Mid-day is not a bad idea, as the demo is older during this time, but if I were him I would raise a middle finger to EEI, play out my string and walk away fast.

    As for the some coments and tweets accusing you, I think where the divide I have with you is that I am a hockey guy and you are a basketball guy. WEEI is basketball and 98.5 is hockey. That is why I like Felger and Mazz and you do not. I like to be challenged on my thought process and hear a different view. You like to hear the team line (Everything is Awesome). See Patriots and the Big Show and Bruins speed talk on the big show. In addition Felger and Mazz is not old bastard radio.

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    1. Good thoughts. I guess if I felt like my thought processes were actually being challenged by Felger and Mazz I would be OK with it, but really it is the complete opposite. The conversations insult my intelligence. They’re repetitive, it’s the same things over and over again. Contrary to belief, I’m OK with criticizing the teams when it is warranted, but if you’re simply going out of your way to find something to be critical about and ignore everything else – I don’t find that entertaining or challenging. It’s also annoying that they won’t challenge each other. They’re in lockstep agreement on just about everything. Mazz’s next original thought on that show will be his first.

      I’m an old bastard?

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      1. Your hardly an old bastard, and in fact I am pretty sure I have you by several years. I see Felger and Mazz (especially Felger) more as entertainers. I think if you listen to Felger when he slips up, you can hear that he really is a fan. That he really likes the Bruins and he likes BB and the Pats. I also feel that Mazz brings more to the table than you feel. When discussing the Sox he has, in my opinion as good insight as McAdam and Buck. I too stopped tuning to the Big Show because their rotating guests were unlistenable. The same for D-C. I cannot stand any of the current mid-day programs and I cringe when I listen to either one of them.

        I do agree that Felger and Mazz can beat the drum to long and if they are not careful they will go the same way the Big Show eventually did.

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        1. Felger is much more tolerable and a better host without Mazz. Mazz without Felger is still at Boston.com, shrieking for attention. Who else could get ratings with Mazz? I don’t think Mazz is as bright as you give him credit for.

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          2. The Baseball Reporters has a stronger lead-in, and it’s a call-in show as opposed to a true pregame show full of canned interviews. If the Baseball Reporters had a different host, I’d listen to that. If the Sox pregame didn’t seem like it was 70% commercials and 30% content, I’d listen to that. Instead, I listen to neither.

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          4. Except the Baseball Reporters is usually a significantly better show than Felger and Mazz. The on air personality that Tony plays in that show is more informed, better articulated while the show is better paced and significantly more interesting.

            Tony can be quite good. His role on F & M is not to be. Felger can be quite good. He was for years a s a fill-in/ rotating host of the Big Show and even his 1510 show was not bad. He exploded at 98.5 because he figured out the right mix of sarcasm, self deprecation all coupled with a partner who knew the right way to make Felger shine. Don’t underestimate the talent it takes to be a great straight man.

            I completely agree, and have complained in this forum, that F & M has become a parody of itself. I do think its hosts need to do some self scouting and move away from some of the corners they have boxed themselves into. Having said that as long as WEEI leaves Mike Holley on the air opposite them, in any fashion, with any cohost, they have nothing to worry about and don’t have to do any introspection.

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          5. I used to love the Baseball show when it first came out three(?) years ago? I enjoyed how he actually had other baseball reporters on the show discussing the team and opponent. I particularly like the discussions with the opposing teams beat writers.

            However the last two years it seems to be a continuation of F&M minus Felger. Negativity, straw man argument (Wiki definition – “To be successful, a straw man argument requires that the audience be ignorant or uninformed of the original argument” how funny is that?), less interviews and more Tony. No thanks. Rarely listen anymore.

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        2. “That is why I like Felger and Mazz and you do not. I like to be challenged on my thought process and hear a different view.”

          “I see Felger and Mazz (especially Felger) more as entertainers.”

          Can’t make up your mind, eh?

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        3. I think its unquestionable that Felger really likes the Bruins and is a big fan of them, that is quite obvious to anyone who has listened to him for years like I have. The Pats though? Felger is a Green Bay Packers fan. He is not a Pats fan. For example, despite how good he did here, Felger was constantly bashing Randy Moss. Why? Because he had a grudge against Moss after all the years he played on the Vikings against Felger’s Packers.

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      2. “but if you’re simply going out of your way to find something to be critical about and ignore everything else – I don’t find that entertaining or challenging.”

        Tony Mazz 101

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    2. I have to disagree with your assessment of Felger and Mazz. They want you to believe that they spit truth and are not local sports “yahoo’s” but they are probably the most biased on the radio. Either they make points purely to get calls or let their own personal biases influence all their talking points. Felger, who is probably the smartest man in radio, acts as the White Knight of the Boston media. His on air persona searches for “Justice” and “Truth” so he goes after every writer and media member who is in the “bag” for the team ( for example Mike Reiss) trying to discredit their them, while pumping his own biases to the listeners. When someone brings him facts, he uses the eye test, and if they fail the eye test he finds facts. He cracks up probably once a month, which is super enjoyable and actually makes him come off as likable, but really sticks to his script really really well. By saying another media member is full of crap and is a honk for the team, it gives the illusion his opinion has more weight.

      Mazz is barely worth commenting on. He still cannot admit he was wrong about the Red Sox last year and on todays show, he started it by criticizing their own Celtics play by play announcer for doing his job. He is attempting to do what Felger does, trash someone elses view, to make his own have more weight but it comes across so much worse. He is really a poor man’s Felger.

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    3. I think Felger and Mazz are far beyond “a different view” though. It’s not “a different view” when you are negative 95% of the time against teams that have been as successful as the local teams have been. For example, yesterday Mazz was going on and on about how the Bruin’s ten game winning streak was not impressive at all. A TEN game winning streak. The amount of bile that they spew against the Patriots non-stop is complete absurdity considering the success this team has had. While the old Big Show did go overboard at times concerning its Patriots biases (Fred Smerlas in particular who picked them to go 16-0 every year) Felger and Mazz have brought it so far to the other extreme that I think we’re far beyond simply calling them “a different view”.

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  8. I would not be shocked to see Toucher and Rich drop a bit – Just me or is the replaying of bits and interviews happening more and more often? It comes off as laziness. Also, and I know it is for a really good cause and I will most likely get hammered for this take, but the 4 hour commcercial the show has become for “Cuts for a Cause” has become tiresome.

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  9. ok..so here’s the deal..after the morning show EEI is simply AWFUL, unlistenable! Every person I have ever met in my life is more interesting than Michael Holley, There’s a reason all his shows have failed and it’s not just the co-hosts. Merloni and Mutt put me in a radio induced coma in about two minutes every time I try and listen to them.

    EEi quickly became “old man radio” after 98.5 left, the callers skewed older and older by the day until the call ins were basically the same people calling into WBZ at two in the morning.

    Then they tried to go younger with their hosts and botched it to the nth degree. As Harry Connick would say on American idol..”I don’t know who your trying to be”.

    Selfishly, I like things the way they are..I listen to eei in th morning and 98.5 the rest of the day…works for me!

    If i were the king of EEI tho, I would give Minihane either the afternoon or mid day, Christian Fauria would be fantastic, Curran would be fantastic, Bertram would be strong. if they could steal Jermaine Wiggins away that wouldn’t be a bad thing…entertainment first, actually make people laugh…what a concept. I laugh more in one day listening to 98.5 than in 10 years of listening to EEI.

    I find virtually all the younger fill in guys or writers who guest on both stations to be very good..DJ Bean, Rob Bradford et al. There’s plenty of good people out there…just stay away from the old boy network..dan roche, greg dickerson et al booooring with one exception…Bob Neumeier. They shoulda held onto that guy.

    In the big picture I think EEI is unfixable unless they steal away Felger. Letting hime go was their No No Nanette. Like it or not, he is the Babe Ruth of Boston Broadcasting, a Howard Stern style personality that will anchor 98.5 as long as he is there…he is Walmart and Target all rolled into one..EEI, ummm..Banana Republic?

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  10. If only there was a Minihane clone, I think the best thing to do is to have Holley with rotating co-hosts, makes it more exciting imo, have Curran on football days, Mannix on bball days, etc etc….I think Dale is good but better suited for middays, I personally dislike mut and merloni, mut seems like a nice dude outside of radio but he can’t be hosting a radio show imo, merloni – i dont get the fascination with him, so what hes an ex-sox, when was the last time he said something that made you think oh wow good point, he sucks. My ideal lineup – D&C mornings, dale and neumy/mike giardi/ (anyone would really work with him in this slot), holley w rotating co-hosts based on topics of the day even throw in minihane somedays. one last thing, thank god salk is gone and stay away from 985 talent.

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  11. I think it would be interesting to see what TSH’s is thinking. Everything is faster in today’s media; news cycles, interest, soundbites, and even your stay at the top. Loyalty, like attention spans, is transient. Most posters recognize that the F&M and Gresh&Zo are flawed, their place at the top vulnerable. We knew we wanted something else we just weren’t sure how it would look towards the end of the Big Show run. The military uses a process called the OODA loop to Observe,Orient, Decide, and Act to plan attacks, the goal is to always be moving forward keeping your enemy on their toes and never comfortable. Change is inevitable is TSH’s connection to that change planned or reactionary.

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  12. I had a drinking buddy way back when named The Turk. One day whilst
    mulling his options over whatever, The Turk decides he can’t do any worse
    than the knuckleheads already running things, so he decides to run for
    local office. His slogan:
    “Go Berserk and Vote for Turk.”
    Therefore, in the here and now, I nominate Kirk Minihane and Jerry Thornton for afternoon drive time at ‘EEI. With any luck the inevitable dueling ids of skeevy mick neediness (I’m a member of the tribe, so back off) won’t cancel each other out in some solemn display of almost
    paranormal loathing, and we’ll truly experience the next step in sports talk as the surreal experience it should be.
    “Go Berserk,” indeed.

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  13. The biggest problem with Felger is Mazz. Whenever they pair Felger with someone who challenges his assertions with facts, a really good conversation ensues. One of Felger’s strengths is his ability to be educated and change his opinion when presented with new data. T&R have become unlistenable. For my 40 minute commute, I might get 10 minutes of sports talk, and that’s usually an interview. As a middle-aged woman, I’m Dale’s demographic. 🙂 I’ll listen to any station that talks smart about sports without a lot of bombastic hosts. Unfortunately, we just get the same old tired storylines most of the time.

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  14. I’m sure the Mike Salk Fiasco makes them gunshy to go outside of the market. Mut & Merloni are bad, but Mut could be used somewhere else, maybe replacing Minihane if he’s moved off D&C, maybe in a Minihane type role on an afternoon show. I think John Ryder could work in an expanded role.

    I think 98.5’s Rob Hardy Poole is underused. While some of his sports knowledge is limited, his golf knowledge is exceptional, and he is funny and is the equivalent of Rich Shertenlieb as far as sound producing goes. He would be exceptional as a Minihane replacement.
    As much as Dale and Holley doesn’t cause excitement in the afternoon drive time, Dale is the only one that Holley has been able to work with effectively.

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  15. Soooo glad Sulk is gone. From day one, Salk had a dismissive relationship with the callers and, by that proxy, the listeners. He always sounded to me like he felt we owed him fealty as listeners for slumming it with us. Total ESPN-style personality in a town that does. Not. Like. That.

    Personally, if WEEI is going to keep Holley, I’d love to hear him paired with Michael Smith.

    Those two together really fly and shine. Without that comfort level, Holley gives nice conversation that makes for lackluster radio.

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  16. While I agree going with ESPN Radio would be, “waving the white flag”… As I’m getting ready for work I go back and forth between D&C and the “Mike & Mike” show on ESPN…..gotta say I like “Mike & Mike” more….D&C is just one gigantic bitch fest. In other words who are we going to blame,mock, ridicule, try to tear down today?….it gets tiring

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  17. Always liked Ordway and honestly wish EEI would get him back. But I think part of the show’s downfall was his insistence of keeping DeOssie and Smerlas (aka “The Knuckle-Dragging Ticket Scalper”) around. Smerlas is the worst radio personality ever to grace the Boston airwaves. The only reason I can think of why they were even allowed to be around was their chummy relationship with the Patriots front office.

    Yes, F&M routine IS getting tired, but at least no one at 98.5 (except for Zolak) is playing the same name dropping games Ordway and his friends got away with and D&C STILL do. Yeah, guys, we get it you’re friends with the owner of Davio’s and get a lifetime supply of ProV1s. Nothing is more annoying than listening to people that make six figure salaries giving shout outs for free dinners and golf balls.

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  18. Okay Bruce…time to fix WEEI. Here are some ideas some recycled (just because I have said them and they have been ignored does not mean they are not good) and some are new.

    First a supposition…we do not know what the WEEI network revenues look like versus the Boston only numbers. For example I think that when you include all 11 markets (Boston, Cape Cod, Providence, Portland, Springfield, etc) certain shows are making Entercomm a lot of money. SO that skews what the suits think in regards to what really needs to be fixed.

    I agree that D & C with or with our Minihane is not going anywhere for the time being. Even with their contracts they are paying for themselves and then some. My understanding is Mininhane just got a bump in pay. I could see WEEI move him out of that slot to something else to maximize value. But I think they would take a long hard look at who they were pairing him with and what they think the upside would be before they would consider breaking up the band. I think the only real credible option they would or should consider is a Minihane/Bradford show midday which I think would be okay. The issue would be football. They would have to solve that knowledge gap creatively for that show to work.

    Another midday option would be Dale Arnold and Sean McAdam. It would be a hockey heavy show which might not be a bad idea in this market (although I personally would not listen to that) but McAdam and Arnold are two of the most prepared, intelligent and calmest voices in Boston Radio. They would be the perfect counter to Gresh and Zo. It would mean convincing McAdam to leave the Baseball Beat but from what I understand he left WEEI to do more at 98.5 because he was frustrated he could not get a more permanent spot.

    For Drive if I were staying in Market I would look at Tom E Curran and John Ryder. On the face of it it seems like an off pairing. However they would have a strong Football/Baseball dynamic. Curran is a little off beat and Ryder, who has paid his dues working with Mike Adams and deserves to be rescued, makes a calming foil. He has a good radio voice and presence. He is the type of unknown who if given a bigger stage could blossom (like what was hoped for with Mutnansky). The important part of that pairing is they would be everything F & M are not. It would make the sports most important.

    If I were looking outside the market I think it is time to consider trying to bring Mike Barcann back to the market. I know he is originally from the Philly area. I know he has one of the highest rated shows in the Philly market and there may not be much incentive for him to come back to Boston. I know that when he left, a bunch of us, including me, said meh. But the fact is he thrives in Philly which is not a much different market than Boston. He knows Boston sports. He is bright, funny and articulate. Most importantly he is not Felger.

    I could go on about this with other permutations but those would be where I would start mostly because Chuck Wilson is not walking through those doors. One final point. I think WEEI has a bigger metaphysical decision to make. Are the sports more important or the entertainment. 98.5 went entertainment. If WEEI believes it is the sports then they can build a legitimate alternative. If they believe it is the entertainment then all they will feed us is substandard copies.

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    1. Curran, to me, is the easiest “Football” fix that WEEI could inject at any hour. Finn has stated, in articles or responses to questions on chats, that Curran wants nothing to do with the politics between the stations. I’m not sure how it affects his ‘viability’ then to do a dual-role because who would want to give up what he has with CSNNE for a risky venture into radio? He’s not just ‘the guy’ on CSNNE around here but he’s often the “go-to” guy when any NBC or national network needs analysis or comment (when it’s not about something dumb like another TomatoCanDan article or Borges troll).

      Where you put him, I don’t know. He seems fine doing rotating guest stuff. I think it was you who mentioned about how this could easily be a strength with Ordway’s gig. I think the same with WEEI. So far, I’ve enjoyed the ‘alternative’ but its only available when I’m in my work area at home due to the internet thing.

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    2. I was not one of the ‘meh’ folks regarding Michael Barkann’s return home to Philly. Do you recall he was the first to be paired up with Callahan from 10-12 on EEI, and it was only after his departure that John Dennis stepped in to create what is now D&C(&M). I thought Barkann & Callahan had pretty good chemistry and always wonder what would’ve happened had they stayed together; I have to at least think their show would’ve been less dark and cynical.

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    3. A Minihane/Bradford pairing would be my dream show. I loved when they’d work together on weekends and on the Hot Stove show they did with Alex Speier. I wonder if Bradford’s increased presence in the Red Sox radio booth shows a willingness to move on from the beat or if he just happens to be the only one available to fill in during spring training.

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    1. that’s why you don’t give a specialized guy (Mannix) the gig. Arnold may be ‘old’ but he can competently discuss MLB, NFL, and NHL–the only three I care about.

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      1. Yeah, and Dale has familiarity with issues any most (I know not all) people enjoy/trust him; it’s also a safer fill-in than doing another “Salk” hire.

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        1. Exactly. I don’t know what they were thinking with Salk. From the first day Salk was on-the-air I found him off-putting.

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  20. What is the obsession with a ‘Young voice’? Good sports talk is good sports talk whether the host is 25 or 65 years old. What is a young voice – reading tweets for 4 hours as they do on ESPN radio? By the way – Minihane did such a spot on Masserotti impersonation this morning in both voice and substance (or lack of)

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  21. I think a Minnahane-Bertrand show in the afternoon would destroy Felger-Mazz. First, neither of them is a non-stop whiner like Mazz. Even on those rare occasions when something pleases him he whines about it. They both seem to have original, lucid, and sustainable takes, they do not just regurgitate what every other radio voice on the dials are saying. Minnahane is the best thing going at WEEI right now, I hope they know it. Give him afternoon drive time with a fresh voice like Bertrand and watch them take down the afternoon chicken-little show on the Sports Hub. I would move Holly back to noon with Arnold and if he objects, then see ya later Mike. You are getting buried in the afternoon, you are not as popular as you want to think you are.

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  22. I’m not saying it’s fantastic or anything but at least they talk sports..Why would I want to hear D&C blather on about the plot lines of their favorite TV shows?…

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  23. So, 40% of this market is black or hispanic, where do they pledge their allegiance to the sports talk radio market? You’re telling me Smith and Holley wouldn’t have some appeal a different demo? And don’t tell me white people won’t be interested. Those two are terrific together. But, as stated, why would Smith leave? You’d likely have to double what Salk was getting, so no dice.

    I loved his idea of tapping Playaction’s network. There’s real talent there, and let me tell you something about how to eliminate the old man radio angle, bring in some youth. The youth angle plays to a minority audience and would make you look like you were after their market share rather than ignoring it (as per the usual).

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  24. EEI just shot itself in the foot by now requiring any user to have a Facebook account in order to comment on an article. Many people don;t have and don’t want a Facebook account. So I guess they are now discriminating against those who don’t have an “in your Facebook” account—even those who have been with them for years. Nothing like driving away fans, huh?

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