Kirk Minihane returned to the WEEI airwaves this morning off of his one-week suspension. His return was considerably more low-key than his previous return. Probably a prudent move.

With Gerry Callahan out this morning, Minihane was sitting in the number two seat, and John Dennis joked that when he is out, Minihane will likely sit in his, number one seat, which prompted Minihane to quip – “my stock is rising here at the station.”

*****

Monday means MMQB from Peter King, who manages to set new standards in self-importance on a weekly basis.

Today leads off with Cam Newton, who apparently is now “mature” after having pulled King aside and contritely spoken to him, probably after getting sick of being regularly villainized by King ever since the Carolina QB stopped talking to him following an incident in which Newton felt King quoted him out of context.

King’s vendetta against Newton has been noticed by others. But now, after Newton talked to King, all is forgiven and forgotten.

But in the end, I feel bad that he was branded with those comments because his three years as a player has proven him to be, after some missteps at post-game podiums following losses, a good person and leader.

Amazing.

I’ve given up trying to figure out the appeal of Peter King. He doesn’t report, he doesn’t cover games. He is essentially the gossip columnist of the NFL. People give him information to get into his column. The 900 calorie Starbucks drinks and fruity beers combined with the accounts of the disgusting person sitting next to him on his plane/train from Manhattan (did you know he lives in Manhattan????) and uninformed Red Sox hottakes are bad enough, the moral high ground fingerwags coupled with the humblebrags really push things over the top.

*****

I’m still shaking my head over this Tweet:

Yes, by all means, let’s shut these players up who have been elected to this Hall of Fame. We don’t want to hear about their influences or stories from their playing career. We’d much rather hear introductions from unbiased journalists like Jay Glazer or Mike Florio!

*****

Last night’s Red Sox game was about as frustrating and annoying as a television experience could be. Clay Buchholz has definitely reached Dice-K levels of infuriation with both his performance and the time he takes to work. Add John Kruk to that mix, and you’ve got a formula that could be used to break hardened criminals.

I don’t remember Kruk being this bad, but man. Did you know that Red Sox fans boo players who used to play for Boston, but who now play for the Yankees?

*****

Misc.

Did the Globe really send Dan Shaughnessy to Oakland for Jon Lester’s first start? Why, on God’s earth?

Did John Henry give Jon Lester a break on the price of the full page ad the former Sox pitcher took out in yesterday’s Globe?

I managed to make it to the third quarter of last night’s Hall of Fame game before Cris Collinsworth made me change the channel for good. Yeah, Mario Manningham “gave us all quite a thrill” with that Super Bowl catch a few years ago.

Speaking of preseason football, can’t wait for the first mention of the Patriots polo shirts on the broadcast crew for the preseason games.

Nice of D&C and Jon Meterparel to suggest last week that Don Orsillo had anything to do with NESN deciding to drop the simulcast of their show when the contract ends next month. Even worse to pretend like it had something to do with Orsillo feeling insecure about a perceived threat to his job from rising star Meterparel.

Gresh and Zo is the best football show on the local airwaves. It’s not even close.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

63 thoughts on “The Triumphant Return of Kirk Minihane, Take 2.”

  1. G&Z are good on football, but it doesn’t make up for the lack of insight or entertaining commentary on any other issue. Show is terrible.

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    1. I think G&Z is the best show of all of them. Then again, I’m mostly interested in football. Felger is good, but his partner is awful on so many levels, and I can’t listen, or worse, watch him. All of these people need to move on from the baseball trade babble and how Lester played and what he said, blah blah blah.

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  2. See, I don’t mind Kruk as much, because he serves a valuable purpose. Because John is… well, he’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, let’s say…. he once upon a time let it slip that his function on the Baseball Tonight set was basically to comment on the talking points ESPN fed him, which were (often) contrarian positions designed to get attention.

    So I view Kruk as a hidden window into the narratives that ESPN wants to push on us, which is always a good thing to know.

    But yeah — he’s not exactly Vin Scully out there.

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    1. I think ESPN keeps him on as a “at least he’s not Harold Reynolds” ?

      Maybe have longer-term plans to expand his TV role, after some inspiration from things Heidi used to do?

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          1. Hahaha, no worries. I thought it was something like that, but it’s amazing all on its own.

            I think I’ve repressed those “food” assignments from back in the day.

            Not that things really have improved. Anyone else suffer through that prolong conversation between Don, Jerry, and new Generic Guy reporter about what to call the rapper Ludicrous? E’gads.

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  3. PK/MMQB – I always wondered what internal feedback and other national guys, off the record, thought of him. I even saw Chad Finn take a shot at him once during a chat (as rare as Mike Reiss saying he doesn’t like something). If he writes the way he does for the world to see, you have to assume it’s much worse behind the scenes. There’s entire blogs devoted to things he does and thread on forums. They said MMQB was “doing well” but I know that SI is now largely supported via the swimsuit issue. It’s “good” remaining talent also continues to retire or leave for viable outlets.

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  4. Bruce: G&Z is the best sports talker covering football. That is kind of loaded. T&R don’t talk or know sports. D&C focus on sports but are not experts on any of them. MFB has to carry Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria is good on football but he is all alone on that show. Dale is busy carrying Mike Holley who sucks the air out of any conversation he is involved with. F&M observe they don’t really dissect. So yes G&Z are the best on local radio. I think Quick Slants is a better football show and they do a better job at analysis. The biggest problem with G&Z is the 45 minutes an hour they are not talking football…but I guess you can’t have everything (as Steven Wright once said) where would you put it?

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    1. I’ll continue to say that as far as football shows in the area, the WEEI Sunday morning show with Dale, Fauria, and Price is the best. As for the daily programming, Gresh and Zo spend plenty of time during the season talking football. I never realized before today how much Zolak carries that discussion though. Today Gresh had Flynn on with him, a former NFL lineman, and Gresh was struggling to keep a football discussion going and I didn’t get the sense that it was Flynn who was pulling it down. I’ve heard him on other shows and he does fine.

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      1. It’s a good show. I’m a Fauria fan and Dale keeps his hot takes to a minimum during this show.

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      1. Interesting test for this is how ‘honest’ they let Scal be. Ordway touched on this yesterday, how the Celtics weren’t happy when Maxwell would call the team or someone out. We already know the team is not going to win 30 games, with most of us hoping it is far less than that. Will they let Scal be honest? I recall him having no problem ‘calling it how it is’ in the past. Will CSNNE or the Celtics allow this?

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        1. I would hope that Scal wouldn’t take a job that would not allow him to be Scal.

          By the way, does this mean Scal is being groomed to replace Heinsohn?

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  6. “Add John Kruk to that mix, and you’ve got a formula that could be used to break hardened criminals.”

    Bruce is on fire today!

    “Gresh and Zo is the best football show on the local airwaves. It’s not even close.”

    I change the channel when Gresh gets into basketball or baseball, but I still totally agree with the above.

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  8. kruk IS horrible, is his appeal supposed to be that he’s the fat former player who wasn’t very good?
    that might work if he were ever funny.
    Schilling as a 3rd guy would be great but if he’s unable to do it physically, hard to believe a giant like ESPN can’t come up with someone, anyone, as a decent replacement.

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    1. Kruk is a terrible broadcaster but he was a very good hitter with a .397 lifetime OBP, which was better than Rod Carew.

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      1. I guess we could debate “very good” but all Kruk talks about, in a lame attempt to be Bob Uecker, is how bad he was as a player.
        lifetime .300 hitter, nothing wrong w that, although it seems to be an empty .300…. averaged 10 HR and 59 RBI, #1 career comp is Mike Easler.
        I’m amazed Kruk made 3 all-star teams.
        but my original point remains: he’s awful on TV, ESPN should be able to do a lot better for its main showcase game of the week.

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  9. Glad you caught that PFT tweet and column…talk about complaining for the sake of complaining!…the speeches have to be “better” and “shorter”?? It is what it freeking is! Those who enjoy watching the inductions will watch, those who don’t won’t…. don’t really see the time and quality of the speeches being a “pressing issue”… Florio is an idiot

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    1. It’s simple. Nothing the media hates more than “working”. Shorter speeches = less “work”. They can all get out of there an hour or so earlier.

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  12. Meatpuppet is a ‘rising star?’ LOL. The idiot can barely read ad copy for goodness sakes. His overwrought, hyperbolic calls of BC football were nauseating. But it does prove that sports radio hacks constitute the amoebas of media if he’s seen as a ‘rising star.’

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    1. Getting spammed by one twitter using hardly qualifies as “taking it on the chin”. Maybe Norris should be looking for a job to fund his education rather than spend all his time on twitter.

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      1. don’t have a clue who “norris” is…but SMY was crying. Asking why Patriots can’t be “nicer” to the media….List of people who care about that?..THE MEDIA.(end of list)… PERFORMANCE ON THE FIELD is what real fans care about

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        1. Agreed. Everytime the media rants about Belichick not being nice to them the callers phone in and say “We don’t care.”

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          1. and after hearing from fans who said, “Who cares”?…. on cue SMY then tweeted how Pats being more “media friendly” could lead to more “stories and insight” for THE FANS!…. just knew she tried to drag “the fans” into it…. BULL CRAP, The media couldn’t care less about the fans. It’s all about making a “name” for themselves…and I can even understand that. Just ADMIT it

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      2. Eh, I think he was pretty harsh on her if you click the link and read the entire conversation. DryHeave is right, though. She is serviceable as a writer but complains way too much about how difficult it is to cover the Pats. In fact many of the local media are tweeting about how “nice” it is that the Washington players interact more with the media. In other words, they make our job easier, why can’t the Patriots be like the Redskins?

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  14. Apparently a**hole radio is here to stay….from Finn’s Twitter…

    @GlobeChadFinn Don’t have the specific numbers, but have confirmed @DandCShow was top-rated morning drive program for July. (Covering June 19-July 16).

    This, it should be noted, ends on the day that Minihane called Andrews a bitch, so all of that fallout will not be seen until the next ratings book. But still, pretty big news for the Guest St crew. What surprises me is that there’s still a large portion of people that like this form of radio; derisive, spiteful, casually racist, sexist & homophobic. T & R have been wearing thin for a long time while also succumbing to Hotsportztake syndrome, and I fear that with this they’ll only get worse. Any chance Ordway can start doing mornings too?

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    1. Have D&C&M been derisive, spiteful, and casually racist, sexist & homophobic? On occasion, yes. But the show is not a Klan rally. They talk sports and they’re good at it. That’s why they’re beating T&R.

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      1. No, not a Klan rally, and when they do stick to just talking sports and leave the rest of the crap out of it, they can be good. Just hard for me to overlook all the offensiveness (at least in my eyes). T & R have just grown stale. I find myself wishing for a third alternative, hence the Ordway remark.

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    2. I became totally bored with T&R right around opening day of baseball season. Too many idiotic #HotSportsTakes, too many Fred Toucher idiotic, angry rants, and repetitive bits that have lost their appeal.

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      1. My disconnect began earlier with them, towards the end of last year, but for the exact same reasons. Too many tired lame bits, most of which are variations on a theme: make fun of white trash. Which, fine, no one ever went broke doing that, but at least try harder on sports sometimes. They mail it in far too often these days, or at least it feels that way.

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      2. How in the hell does Fred Toucher have a segment on CSNNE? Of all the guys to have a sports segment for their opinion, they choose him?? Or is it purely a counter-move to NESN having DCM? Like, ‘EEI has their morning show guys on TV so we need ours on too.

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  15. Lessons from Felger & Mazz today?

    Jimmy Garoppolo is already a huge, massive bust. One week into preseason of his rookie season. Belichick wasted a draft pick on this?

    Belichick is a terrible drafter, just look at all these QBs who haven’t worked out. Mallet, Kingsbury, Davey, etc… Nevermind the fact that with Brady behind them they never got a chance to play. Cassell? The Pats took him in the seventh round. They didn’t want him. He doesn’t count! Brady? That was all luck! He fell into their lap!

    Let us not forget the media on media crime either. Someone dares to say something positive about a Pats player? He’s in the bag for the team!

    Got a lot to look forward to this season from them. -_-

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    1. This plays right into what I’ve been saying all along, the demographic for these shows is, “The idiot hysterical fan” …who else would lap this crap up??… Now, I have no idea how Garoppolo’s career will pan out but to label him a “bust” this early in the process is nonsensical…..but in today’s sports media world, nonsensical equals “entertainment”….to each his own,I guess.

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    2. Imagine for a second what the show would be like if Felger had a co-host who called him out instead of echoing every syllable.

      @firemazz

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  16. Do you have a special radio that automatically filters Gresh? If so can I get one? If not then there is no way that show is becoming your favorite sports talk show…you are older than 5.

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  17. @BGlobeSports: #RedSox chairman Tom Werner is one of the finalists to be the next commissioner of @MLB

    I guess MLB’s front office never watched NESN.. Wally Waves for everyone! Pop-Up Facts!

    Have fun accelerating your demise there baseball.

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    1. God I hope not. Its bad enough we had to suffer through Bud Selig all these years. His lack of any empathy for fans who complain about the quality of the game today because he was too busy looking out for the owners interests has been a huge reason why I am no longer an avid fan of the sport.

      Tom Warner would be in that mold. His interest would be marketing and developing media dollars. The sport needs someone to stand between the players and owners and make the game watchable. Say what you want about Felger and Mazz but they are spot on with their drum beat for shorter games, less crap in the games, and more accountability. Afternoon broadcasts and day time playoff games are also sorely needed. I don’t think any of this would be on Warner’s agenda. Heck I am not sure any of the finalists see these as issues. Getting a better Asian tv deal with Sky sports… while maximizing Roto baseball licensing $’s, now that is what the new commish wants to sink his teeth into.

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  18. Bruce, you really need to write something about how utterly f–ing unreadable Eric Wilbur’s “columns” on BDC have become. Today’s is just atrocious: hey, let’s take some platitudes John Lackey said and spin it into a screaming ‘WHY DOES JOHN LACKEY HATE BOSTON?’ nonsense screed. That’s gud jernalissim!

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    1. Yeah, dude. I accidentally typed in boston.com trying to come here (I had cleared my history and hit enter thinking it would auto-complete) and I came across this utter garbage of a front page (which you’ve referenced).

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    3. How unreadable he’s BECOME? You mean you once found Wilbur’s excrement readable? Not me. I’ve always found him to be both clueless and pretentious. And talk about a guy with an unjustifiably elitist attitude! Fits right in with the rest of the Globie’s and Globe-related employees.

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  19. Stay…confusing (or is click baiting) CSNNE.

    Article title: Bedard: Revis won’t sign a contract extension right now

    Bedard in said article:

    “It’s possible. I wouldn’t rule it out.” said Bedard. “If they win a championship and he likes it, and he’s thinking about his legacy and the Hall of Fame, maybe he does take a little bit less.”

    Oh.

    Article:
    http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/bedard-revis-wont-sign-contract-extension-right-now

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    1. See my comment above.

      The Jackals and vultures are circling around the next #HOT story. Lester has been traded, so that can be tabled – for now…

      Starting from today – through January – We will hear more about Revis’ contract negotiations that will take place in 2015, than we will about his play on the field.

      Kill your radio, kill your tv, kill your internet.

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      1. You had me at “Kill your radio”, but I think all of us here are proven masochists when it comes to sports talk.

        Somewhat related/unrelated: does anyone think that Felger is building up the Patriots so much so he can gleefully rip into them when they fail to meet the expectations that they “should meet”?

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        1. Oh, dude, Felger has been doing this for a LONG time. Not just with the Patriots either. If he says something positive about a team, it’s framed as “they SHOULD win, if they don’t then it’s a disappointment.” By doing this Felger sets himself to gloat about being right (“I called this MONTHS ago!”) or have a reason to be hyper critical. Basically, he can’t lose. It’s fool proof unless you recognize what he’s going.

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  20. I haven’t listened much to the WEEI midday show. I flipped it on today and, at first, I was astonished. I thought Mut was back on. Those of you who said Benz sounds just like Mut weren’t lying. Then I learned something very important about sports talk radio I didn’t know. Benz informed the listeners that they can “call in and take either side” of the Revis contract “issue.” Who knew that a caller was allowed to call in and take either side. Next thing you know, WEEI may “embrace debate” with their callers.

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    1. What I enjoyed the most about the short portion that I heard is the “issue” itself. It’s a creation of Benz’s. He seems to be on the verge of criticising the Patriots for not already signing Revis to a long term contract. He has not even played a goddamn down yet and Benz wants to start this up.

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  22. I can’t help but laugh at how often T&R are mentioned here for not knowing sports, but Bruce’s criticism of Peter King is basically identical to what Fred Toucher has been ranting on for over a year now.

    I see the D&C beat T&R is the most recent ratings book. Let’s pump the brakes and see if this is sustainable. I’ve said before that I think T&R aren’t really trying right now. I think they can turn it around, but who knows, Minihane might be moving the needle for WEEI. One month during a time when regulars are on vacation might be an aberration. Heck, the Big Show beat F&M for a month before F&M buried that show.

    I agree the G&Z are at their best when it’s Football Season. I find them unlistenable the rest of the year. I don’t know why Mike Flynn isn’t used more. He’s played in more NFL games than G&Z together. His role will increase with Zolak traveling for Pats games, but I’d prefer to see him replace that loudmouth Gresh.

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    1. They aren’t really trying right now? What does that even mean? They certainly haven’t tried to educate themselves on sports since they moved to the Sports Hub. They’re just a couple of guys who aren’t interested in sports. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s going to cost them their show. People are tuning out. It’s not an aberration.

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      1. They used to have new, entertaining bits. They engaged guests and got them in on their act. The Red Sox were a big focus this past month and EEI had guys like Bradford & Speier and access to Lucchino, Cherington, Farrell and other Sox brass. T&R didn’t lose by much, and can turn it around. Their show is stale, but stale beat EEI for the last 2 years. I’m not ready to bury them after one losing month. Let’s check back at the end if the year.

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  23. Not apropos of anything about Minihane–I find him as tedious as Meterparel at this point–but I’m watching Wednesday Night Baseball for the first time in quite a while (I work offshore and don’t see much baseball during the summer), and finding Rick Sutcliffe a real pleasure to listen to. HE and Jon Sciambi get along amiably enough–I don’t know if I’d say they have any chemistry to speak of, but they don’t compete against each other–but Rick is a delightful combination of humility, humor, frankness and knowledge of the game. He criticized Farrell twice, once for having the pinch-hitter Middlebrooks bunt (when the guy he subbed for, pitcher Joe Kelly, is a much better bunter), and then for pinch-hitting Papi in a spot that was tailor-made for an intentional walk. Both wasted opportunities, as Rick plainly pointed out. I loved his commentary on the pitchers, about the pitches they should throw, and how hitters would approach them. I learned something (usually several things) every single inning as he talked. From now on, if I’m not busy and Sutcliffe’s doing a game, I’m probably watching.

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