The affiliation will also bring a variety of play by play programming, such as the Major League Baseball playoffs, the NBA and NBA playoffs, and the College Bowl Championship Series. The MLB playoff programming will start this week. (No Mike Adams? What a shame.) 

Beginning on November 2, 2009, WEEI will syndicate ESPN’s overnight programming including AllNight with Jason Smith (1-5 a.m. ET Monday through Friday), as well as select weekend programming in and around its local coverage.

As part of the agreement with WEEI, Adam Schefter, ESPN’s NFL Insider, will join Dennis and Callahan every Friday during the NFL Season beginning this week, and Peter Gammons, ESPN’s veteran Major League Baseball insider, will join The Big Show with Glenn Ordway every week during the upcoming baseball playoffs and once a week next season.

Other ESPN personalities will also be joining WEEI shows on a regular basis, throughout the week and the weekend.

This announcement today could eventually lead to WEEI moving to an FM station and ESPN Radio national programming taking over the 850 AM signal full-time.

Keep checking back here on BSMW for the latest…

ESPN Radio, WEEI Announce Affiliation Agreement is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Tedy Bruschi Joins ESPN as NFL Analyst
Super Bowl Champion Patriots Linebacker to Provide Analysis on ESPNBoston.com and Appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio

Three-time New England Patriots Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi is joining ESPN. The veteran linebacker, who just announced his retirement from pro football last week after 13 seasons, will provide NFL analysis on ESPNBoston.com – ESPN’s new local sports site, launching September 14 – and appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio and other ESPN platforms.

Bruschi, who played in five of the Patriots franchise’s six Super Bowl appearances, will offer his NFL insights and analysis in multiple contributions per week on ESPNBoston.com, ESPN’s new home for New England sports news and information, online video, and original and customized content. He will also offer analysis on ESPN, beginning this week when he debuts on NFL Live Thursday (4 p.m. and 12 a.m. ET) and Friday (4 p.m.) with host Trey Wingo and Darren Woodson.

As part of studio coverage leading into ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader on Monday, Bruschi will be on-site at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., for SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown before the Buffalo Bills-Patriots game. Also, Bruschi will attend ESPN’s MNF Chalk Talk Series event at the Hall at Patriot Place that morning (11:30 a.m.), and during halftime he will be recognized on the field as an honorary captain of the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team.

Bruschi played in 189 career regular season games (and 22 playoff games) during his 13-year career (1986-2008), all with the Patriots, who selected him in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Captain of the New England defense for seven seasons, Bruschi helped lead the Pats to nine playoffs, eight division championships, five conference titles and three Super Bowl crowns (XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX). He also helped guide the Patriots to the first undefeated 16-0 regular season record in NFL history in 2007. A 2004 Pro Bowl selection, Bruschi finished his career with 1,134 tackles, 30.5 sacks and 12 interceptions. He is the only player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns.

“Tedy Bruschi has embodied the Patriots and their unrivaled success the past decade, and we are thrilled that this three-time Super Bowl champion is joining our roster of NFL experts as well as ESPNBoston.com, which will give New England sports fans a stable of authentic and familiar Boston voices when it launches Monday,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production.

Bruschi added: “I’m very excited to be joining the ESPN team. I hope to bring my passion and knowledge for the game as an analyst just as I did as a player. I look forward to the national exposure of covering the entire league while also having the opportunity to stay close to my roots here with ESPNBoston.com.”

In addition to his relentless worth ethic and intensity on the field, Bruschi is equally as well known for his determination and professionalism off the field. After suffering a stroke in February 2005, Bruschi endured months of rehabilitation before he was medically cleared to play football and returned to the Patriots lineup in October. Bruschi was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and the recipient of both the Ed Block Courage Award and the Maxwell Football Club’s Spirit Award.

Bruschi was named to NFL.com’s All-Interview Team for accessibility to the media, and he has been one of the Patriots most active players in the greater Boston community. When his retirement announcement was made, Patriots coach Bill Belichick called him “the perfect player,” and team owner Robert Kraft, citing “executive privilege,” promptly named him honorary defensive captain of the franchise’s 50th Anniversary Team.

Certainly Tedy impressed people when he made his retirement announcement last week at Gillette and supposedly, he was approached by ESPN right after he got off the podium. Judging from his TV ads, Tedy has the potential to be a very good analyst.

Tedy Bruschi to ESPN, Debuts Thursday. is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Former big league infielder Lou Merloni caused a stir when he mentioned on a Comcast show in Boston that in 2001 a doctor addressed the Red Sox in spring training and suggested that if taken correctly, steroids could be helpful. Merloni has been hammered publicly, and then-GM Dan Duquette denied it. But a former major leaguer who was in camp that spring training corroborated Merloni’s story and says: “I’m not sure of the name of the doctor; he was someone outside the Boston organization. In no way did I think Boston was trying to push steroids; I think they just wanted to educate us on the subject. But you could tell by the faces on the training staff that they didn’t think the doctor would say the things he did.”

Now if someone could just remember this gentleman’s name, or who it was that asked him to come in and speak…

Peter Gammons Finds Confirmation Of Merloni Story is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Fish’s reports during the controversy were of such little value as to be laughable. Now, with the episode in the rear-view mirror, Fish tells TBL that the Pat Tillman story was a much bigger and challenging story than Spygate.

Asked directly about his involvement in the Spygate reporting, Fish rambles a bit about the how the Patriots stonewalled him, and that Matt Walsh really had nothing of value to add after all. He then changes the subject to talk about Tillman:

Q: You were all over the Patriots and Spygate. Would you say this was the most challenging story you’ve worked on? The Patriots are a notoriously unfriendly media organization, and we imagine that most of your reporting was met with roadblocks. What kind of obstacles did you have to hurdle on a story that was discussed on Capitol Hill?

I spent three near-perfect January days in Maui tracking down Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant and key figure in the story, so I can’t sell it as too tough a gig. But it definitely proved challenging for a lot of other reasons, though I can’t rank it No. 1 (I’ll explain in a bit). The name Matt Walsh had circulated in media circles as someone who had information that could possibly blow the lid on the Patriots’ sketchy practice of taping future opponents. The rumor was he had taped the St. Louis Cardinals final practice before the 2002 Super Bowl, which proved not to be true. After some time, I found Walsh in Hawaii, where he was a golf pro, and developed a decent relationship through a number of phone conversations. I ended up flying to Maui. The catch is he wouldn’t take time from his job to meet with me. So I showed up at the Ka’anapoli Golf Resort and booked the young golf pro for lessons, even though I didn’t bring any clubs and hadn’t played in 10 years. The first afternoon we chatted driving around the course in a golf cart. The next lesson took place at a table in a clubhouse lounge overlooking the course.

Dealing with the NFL spin machine proved an exercise in futility. There was always a sense that the Patriots and owner Bob Kraft had enormous say over the league’s position. The team initially balked at fully indemnifying Walsh, which any lawyer would require as a condition for his cooperation. From where I stood, the story never would have dragged on as long as it did had the franchise admitted to mistakes up front and not invested so much energy trying to discredit Walsh. The other interesting character here was Sen. Arlen Specter, who just recently announced his switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Specter, 79 and up for re-election next fall, envisioned hearings similar to what had been held on baseball’s steroid issue, but the committee’s Democratic leadership left him to whistle in the wind.

I first met Specter while in Washington to cover House committee hearings into the death of Pat Tillman. By this time, the Spygate story had already run on ESPN.com and his staff asked if I would come by to discuss what I knew about Walsh and the Patriots’ taping practices. Spygate had created a huge buzz breaking days before the 2008 Super Bowl (the timing of which, Pats fans may never believe, wasn’t planned), but as far as importance, shear effort and challenges, it wasn’t in the same league as the Tillman story.

He then ends up spending more time on the Tillman story than on the one he was asked about. And what did he really say about Spygate? Not much.

I like the insistance that the timing of the story wasn’t planned. A Steeler fans notes in the comments section that ESPN and Fish did the same thing this year in “breaking” the story of the former team doctor who was a big proponent of HGH…just two days before the AFC championship game. The author of that article is of course Mike Fish once again. But the timing wasn’t planned. No sir.

Related:

Why Spygate Is The Most Disgraceful Episode In Recent Sports Media History

Former Steelers doctor embraced HGH

“Investigative Reporter” Mike Fish Talks Spygate. Has Nothing To Say. is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

E:60’s Lisa Salters explores the conflicting sides of Boston Celtics guard Stephon Marbury as he opens up about the most tumultuous chapters of his life. Topics covered include his public divorce with his hometown New York Knicks last winter, his feud with former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, and his shocking testimony in Thomas’ sexual-harassment trial. More intimate matters are also discussed, leaving Marbury in tears and exposing a side of him hardly anyone has seen.

E:60 Stephon Marbury Preview from ESPN Communications on Vimeo.

Stephon Marbury on E:60 is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The post below this one outlines the national numbers ESPN got for Celtics/Bulls, but locally, Saturday’s Celtics/Bulls game one scored a 9.5 rating, which was split between CSN (4.8) and ESPN (4.7)

It is striking how similar the ratings were, despite a number of factors – the difference in the dates/times of the games, the networks involved, and the “buzz”  for each team heading into their playoff series. The Bruins had a positive vibe, while the Celtics enter the playoffs reeling from the news that Kevin Garnett will likely not play in the postseason, and Danny Ainge suffering a heart attack.

It’s unfortunate for CSN that ESPN split the ratings. It’s probably safe to assume that those who watched the game on ESPN would’ve also watched it on CSN, which would’ve given them the entire 9.5 number.

I’ll be interested to find out how the numbers work tonight. The Celtics game is again split, this time between CSN and TNT. The Bruins again have NESN all to themselves.

Game One Ratings Battle is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The first game of the NBA Playoffs, the Bulls’ Game 1 overtime victory over the Celtics, drew a 2.5 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday afternoon, up 19% over a 2.1 for Wizards/Cavaliers Game 1 in the same timeslot last year, and up 79% from a 1.4 for Nets/Raptors Game 1 in ‘07.

Bulls/Celtics was the only NBA Playoff game on Saturday to see increased ratings.

Keep in mind that this is just the national ESPN ratings. This is not the local Comcast SportsNet rating.

Bulls/Celtics Only Winner for ESPN is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The Celtic Pride Radio show, heard on 890 ESPN is expanding their coverage for the postseason.

Celtics fans can tune into 890 ESPN an hour before all Celtics Playoff Games.  Radio duo Patrick Gilroy and Jeff Hickman, now in their 6th year together will get Celtics fans prepared for the best the NBA has to offer.

Playoff coverage will feature special guests Dee Brown and Antoine Walker, who along with Gilroy and Hickman, will be giving away Converse sweatshirts and sneakers during every show.

Also prior to every Celtics playoff game, fans can check out Comcast SportsNet’s Game Day Central which will feature their team’s take on the upcoming game as well as exclusive interviews, recaps and previews.

The Celtics-Bulls Game 1 edition features video from Paul Pierce on playing in the Garden during the playoff’s; Greg Dickerson’s game day notes; Tommy’s Hein-sight, and a look behind enemy lines.

To get to Game Day Central click http://csnne.com/wickedgoodsports/celtics/game-day-central/.

For links and blog updates, you can always go to CelticsLinks.com and get the latest headlines and chatter.

You’ll want to go to BruinsLinks.com and RedSoxLinks.com as well as those two team are also in action today.

Celtic Pride, Game Day Central, Get You Ready for Celtics/Bulls is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The NFL announced this afternoon its opening season primetime games as well as its Thanksgiving Day games.

On the docket includes your New England Patriots which will open the season on Monday night, September 14 as part of an “AFL 50th” doubleheader. Here’s the press release from ESPN:

ESPN’s Monday Night Football Season-Opening Doubleheader – Bills-Patriots and Chargers-Raiders on Sept. 14

Tom Brady’s Return, Terrell Owens’ Bills Debut to Highlight Kickoff of MNF’s 40th Season

Monday Night Football will kick off its 40th season with two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady expected to make his highly-anticipated return to the field when the New England Patriots host wide receiver Terrell Owens and the Buffalo Bills in the first game of a nationally televised ESPN doubleheader on Monday, September 14. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, followed by the San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders in a matchup of AFC West rivals at 10:15 p.m.

The Patriots finished with an 11-5 record in 2008 despite losing Brady to a season-ending knee injury in their opening game. In 2007, Brady was named the NFL MVP after leading the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 regular season record and a Super Bowl appearance. The AFC East rival Bills will make their season debut with a revamped offense featuring Owens, the dynamic All Pro wide receiver who signed as a free agent earlier this month. ESPN’s MNF commentator team of Mike Tirico (play-by-play) and analysts Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser will call the game.

Quarterback Phillip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson will lead the Chargers against the Raiders in Oakland in the second game. San Diego won the AFC West a year ago and advanced to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. The Chargers and Raiders also played in ESPN’s inaugural season-opening MNF doubleheader in 2006. The ESPN commentators who will call the game will be announced later this offseason.

The MNF doubleheader will be part of the NFL’s celebration of the 50th anniversary season of the AFL. All four teams in the opening weekend ESPN games originally began playing in the inaugural 1960 American Football League season.

The rest of the season schedule will be announced in April.

Patriots to Open Season on Monday Night is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

At the present time, there doesn’t appear to be any further cuts at the station and the only other local programming, the dreadful “Lew and Mike” show is likely to remain. (Giving legitimacy to whispers the show is either a time-buy or a revenue share, likely in conjunction with major station advertiser Kelly Automotive Group, where Lew (Goldstein) is the marketing director) 

The move is an indication that ESPN 890 is stepping further into the abyss realm of what WWZN 1510 AM has become, which is a time-buy based operation augmented by national programming. The question now is, how long will ESPN national allow the Little Station That Can’t to continue sullying the brand name of ESPN. To have such a weak station in one of the nation’s top sports markets does nothing but embarrass the Worldwide Leader, especially as 890 continues to make no perceivable dent whatsoever in WEEI 850 AM’s stranglehold in the region.

Carey will also be looking for work, but should have little trouble (economic turmoil notwithstanding) as he has been considered one of the top radio producers ever since  guiding the Mike Felger radio ship at 890.

Two other on-air talents, Kevin Winter (afternoon updates) and Adam Jones (morning updates), appear to be unaffected by the cuts.

One other thing pertaining to 890 – it seems the station’s rumored move out of the Schraffts Building in Charlestown is just that, and the station will remain in its current location. 

Perhaps it will be buried there as well.

Salk and Halloran done at ESPN 890 is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch