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2011 Approval Ratings – Heidi Watney

June 21, 2011 By

Heidi Watney is the Red Sox reporter for NESN.

Watney joined NESN in 2008, replacing the popular Tina Cervasio. She was born and raised in Fresno, California, and graduated with honors from the University of San Diego on an academic scholarship.

Prior to coming to NESN she was a sports anchor for Fox affiliate KMPH-TV in Fresno. She also did some time as a sports radio host for 1430 ESPN Radio KFIG in Fresno.

Her father is the golf coach at Fresno State, and her cousin Nick Watney is on the PGA tour. She was the third runner-up in the 2003 Miss California pageant

Heidi Watney 2011 Approval Ratings
View Results
Filed Under: BSM Approval Ratings, NESN
  • Doza

    Who heck is voting disapprove?? What is the matter with you people!

  • Winning

    There are people on this site that would disapprove god, ghandi, or martin luther king.

  • tl;dr

    She's lovely to look at but very bland…DonJerry

    Why was Toothy Tina ever popular? Ick.

  • Rick

    Overall, she does a great job. Despite all of the off-the-field rumors and fluff she gets my approval. Her delivery is good, she's almost always informative, and she seems very smart and professional. I also think she's doing a better job than both Tina Cervasio and Hazel Mae ever did. I really enjoy her pre and post game input as a reporter, as well as her in-game updates and also the weekly Ultimate Red Sox show.

    My only gripe is that recently NESN seems to be trying to capitalize on her looks by injecting entertainment bits during her in-game updates. For example, the concession stand food sampling stuff is just unnecessary and seems like they are just making excuses to put her on TV. That being said, I realize this is a flaw with NESN, not Heidi.

    • Winning

      That would be the only negative in my eyes, those goofy food bits. However she is just following orders. Not going to disapprove for that, does a great job otherwise.

      • mandb97

        I think NESN is trying to copy ESPN's college football where Todd Blackledge goes to different campus restaurants and tries the food. In Watney's case they have her trying ballpark food.

  • Classless

    Doesn't like chicken and waffles. Broke up Varitek's marriage. Disapprove.

    • afa

      The problem with the internet is that people can say anything without facts. Jason Variteck and wife seperated BEFORE Heidi ever got to Boston. She got here in 2008. Vteck seperated in winter 2007. People prefer gossip to facts !!!

  • Paul

    Jason Varitek still approves!

  • Tony

    Some will call me crazy, but I think she's actually grown into her role pretty effectively over the last three years. I know that NESN's original hiring of her was widely criticized as nothing more than an "eye candy" move, but if you compare Heidi today to where she was three years ago, I really think there's a difference. She seems to work hard at the job and comes off as much more informed about baseball than she did back in the beginning of her tenure. Also, I do think she's a tremendous improvement over Hazel Mae, who came off as little more than a telemprompter reader. I also have some sympathy for Heidi because her name has been dragged through the gossip columns and internet "whisper" boards repeatedly–mainly because of her looks and the fact that she works around big league ballplayers all the time–with little factual substance to back up what was said or written about her.

    Her weekly segments on the K&M morning show on WZLX are also pretty lighthearted and somewhat informative. She takes their ribbing in a very good-natured way and usually provides some insight into what's going on with the team at the same time.

    Approve.

  • http://twitter.com/saundep @saundep

    I think she does a decent job. She is much better than Cervasio. Who ever liked her and her NY bias?? I met Heidi a few times at different Red Sox functions and she is as pleasant in person as she is on the air. Not to mention she is easy on the eyeesss.

  • NutCracker

    "humina, humina humina" – yes, I like. Seriously though, I think Heidi is pretty good at her job. She usually asks relevant questions and I get a sense that she really enjoys the game of baseball. Approve.

  • Blaise

    Jason Varitek and Nick Green just to name a few, she is quite lucky to still have a job…

  • Ray

    Only question she knows "what did you see from (fill in the blank with appropriate name here)?

  • etak

    As Tony says, she's in a bit of a difficult position, what with the sexism and all, but she does a fairly effective on-air job. So she's A-OK in my book.

  • cakes_are_cooking

    She is the epitome of the baseball expression, Five Tool.

  • cakes_are_cooking

    "She was the third runner-up in the 2003 Miss California pageant".

    Good Lord, does anyone have pictures of the contestants who finished ahead of her?

  • Tony

    The "Jason Varitek" mentions in this comments section is one of the reasons why I say I have sympathy for the young woman. Because she's young, single and attractive, her name gets linked to stories like that, and she's even been accused of breaking up the Varitek's marriage, despite the lack of any verifiable, credible evidence that the two of them were ever an item. If she was dating Nick Green, then there's nothing wrong with that as long as NESN doesn't have a contractual restriction on their employees dating unmarried players. By the way, if it was even remotely true that Watney and Varitek were an item while Varitek was still married, how long do you think it would take for NESN to fire her? I'm guessing not very long. That simply would have to have been a violation of the morals clause in her contract, which most media personalities like Heidi have to agree on before being hired (remember what happened to Derek Lowe's ACTUAL homewrecker TV reporter girlfriend out in LA, Carolyn Hughes).

    • http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com Bruce Allen

      I agree with you 100%.

  • Doc Michaels

    She's the best thing in an otherwise vanilla NESN Red Sox broadcasting package…approve!

    • Jason_Coyote

      Approve as well. Do we dare refer to Heidi as the hot fudge on the NESN sundae?

  • rc33

    Exactly. If there were foundation to that rumor, there's zero chance she'd still be at NESN. Met her here in Houston when the Sox came to town a couple years ago. Very pretty and sweet.

  • Andrew

    I like Heidi. HD treats her well.

    There is no doubt that she was an eye candy hire (would she ever have gotten the job if she were not attractive?), but just because she was an eye candy hire does not mean she was a bad hire. She is likeable and fills the role of attractive sideline reporter well. I cannot think of a time when I found myself wishing she would just stop talking, which is by no means a given with many of her contemporaries in the odd & unnecessary world of sideline reporting.

    • tl;dr

      "would she ever have gotten the job if she were not attractive?"

      Toothy Tina did.

  • mandb97

    She still gets an approve even though she inexplicably does not like fried chicken and waffles. I don't buy her excuse that her cameraman was making her laugh. She would not have been turning eight different shades of green if the cameraman was acting goofy. Heavens who in the world does not like fried chicken and waffles?

    Seriously, she does a fine job. She is used just enough and her features during the game are usually pretty good. Her Red Sox show is also fine.

    There is a distinct possibility that this could be the last season for Watney. (I have not heard if she has re-upped.) Two months ago Chad Finn had one of his great chats at Boston.com. He mentioned that NESN had tried to fire Watney after last season but management, who I have to believe is the Red Sox, stepped in and would not allow it. Finn believes that when her contract is done after this season, NESN will let her go. Stay tuned.

    • NutCracker

      If Chad Finn is correct in his assumption, I wonder if NESN is eliminating the position all-together or if they just want to replace Watney? Hmmm

      • mandb97

        That's a good question. My guess is the Red Sox ratings will have a say in what NESN will do.

  • Suzy

    I think Heidi's a very good sideline reporter and not bland at all–I'll take her any day over the insufferably smug Hazel Mae. HW does her job well and is a beautiful-looking, intelligent woman to boot. Good for her.

    Honestly, what's not to like? Approve!

  • Chris

    Thank you for following one of the worst with one of the best. I'm sure Gresh has a not-so-quiet rage built up inside him following the humiliating undressing he took here. And we know that sports media hacks cannot stay away from media that focuses on them, which means he knows exactly how people feel about him. What a tormented, poor soul he must be.

  • Guest

    Nothing but a pretty face. No substance at all. She's not a complete package like Kathryn Tappen or Hazel Mae.

  • Fred West Lynn

    It seems that people missed a key bit of her bio: " … graduated with honors from the University of San Diego on an academic scholarship." That's a testament to Heidi being more than just eye candy. Although I must admit she's all that, too.

    APPROVE!

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