Boston Sports Media Watch

The latest radio ratings are out, and 98.5 continues to surprise with their solid gains in the sports radio market.

WEEI is doing just fine, though, actually moving up a bit from 5.2 in September to 5.3 in October. The station is fourth overall on the chart while WBZ-FM, 985TheSportsHub went from a 2.5 in September to a 3.6 in October, good for 14th in the market.

WEEI vs. The Sports Hub - Jessica Heslam in the Herald breaks down the two stations, show vs. show.

Round 2 : SportsHub proves that it has arrived - Boston Radio Watch says that no matter how you look at it, WEEI is still the top dog in this fight, and is not going away.

‘Hub’ is climbing the charts - Chad Finn notes that the Sports Hub’s gains did not come at the expense of WEEI, though they’re showing that there is room in Boston for two strong sports radio stations.

Fox 25 dumps top sportscaster - Heslam reports that FOX25 has chosen not to renew the contract of top sports anchor Butch Stearns. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Stearns is interviewing with Comcast SportsNet, among other places.

Worcester native to join Dolphins - Bill Doyle has Worcester native Jim Rushton set to take over as the Dolphins’ senior vice president of corporate partnerships and integrated media. He’s leaving his job as vice president of sports sales and marketing at Entercom Communications, responsible for all revenues associated with the WEEI radio network.

Sports coverage? Think local. - That Bruce Allen guy in the Metro tells you why national sports coverage is worthless.

Jabs Reserved For Web Foe - Jeff Jacobs looks at a web group calling themselves the Paper Champions Society, who have been mounting a campaign against boxer Chad Dawson.

Elsewhere in the sports sections, here are some of the top stories from this morning:

For the Sox, Hermida a Lottery Ticket Worth Playing - Alex Speier has a look at outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who the Red Sox acquired from the Florida Marlins yesterday.

Six tricky questions for Epstein this winter - Bill Burt looks at Red Sox issues that GM Theo Epstein must address this winter.

At a loss - Bud Barth tells us that if the Bruins “were scoring goals right now, the Bruins would be the terror of the NHL, because the rest of their game has been that good for the last couple of weeks.”

Lack of scoring strikes recently has been striking - Bob Ryan thinks that the Bruins still have time to get things straightened out.

Don’t underestimate the Dolphins - Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss warn that there is a whole lot more to the Dolphins than just the Wildcat.

Worry Wart – Game Eight vs. Dolphins - Chris Warner has some more concerns about the Dolphins.

Rookie Myron Pryor preps to pick up ‘D’ line - Ian Rapoport looks at sixth round pick Myron Pryor making a place for himself on the Patriots defensive line.

Brian Hoyer making an impression with Patriots - Andy Vogt has another rookie, QB Brian Hoyer also learning the NFL ropes.

Shelden Williams answers Celtics’ role call - Former Celtic Ryan Gomes tells Mark Murphy why Williams has been successful with the Celtics.

Celtics couldn’t ask much more from their bench - Mike Fine calls this the “deepest and most talented bench the Celtics have had in the past three seasons.”

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In his column today reporting on the shutdown of 890 ESPN, our pal Chad Finn tosses an interesting twist into the local sports radio state of things. He writes:

According to multiple industry sources, ESPN is in discussions to air some of its national programming on WEEI-AM 850 during nights and weekends, with WEEI intending to move to an FM station within months. (Entercom Communications, which owns WEEI, also owns two FM stations in Boston: WAAF 97.7/107.3, and Mike 93.7.)

ESPN Radio would then take over the 850 spot on the dial. The new ESPN 850 station would then be affiliated with the ESPN Boston website, which launches Monday.

Now THAT would be a big shuffle, which would just be latest in a series of frenzied moves by WEEI as they take on the new competitor in the market, 98.5 The SportsHub WBZ-FM.

I talked about the possible FM switch for WEEI a few weeks ago:

Will WEEI Add FM Simulcast In Boston?

That post looks at the options for WEEI in the FM market here, and what the possibilities might be. The move suggested above wouldn’t just be a simulcast, it would be a full switch to FM, with ESPN radio taking over 850…which would be sort of interesting. Why would WEEI want another source of sports radio competition in town, one with a signal that they previously occupied? Would WEEI want to hand ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning a spot where they could compete better with Dennis & Callahan? Unless they feel that having two programs locally to compete against WBZ-FM’s Toucher & Rich is the way to go.

Mike & Mike is the one show that ESPN seems to insist on local affiliates airing.

Dan Kennedy doesn’t think this is a smart move for ESPN.

It’s going to be really interesting to see how this all shakes out.

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The new 98.5 The SportsHub has been on the air for a week now, and it’s time for a few knee-jerk reactions and thoughts on how they’re stacking up to WEEI.

Toucher and Rich vs. Dennis and Callahan

Right now the best things I can say about T&R is that they’re trying, and that they’re not D&C. The show is clearly a work in progress as they make the transition to more sports talk. I like that that they usually have several guests over the course of the morning, and make the effort to talk sports.

It seems like I don’t fit either demographic for these shows right now. I’m too young for D&C’s bitter, angry old man act and target audience, and a bit too old for the fratboy humor attempts by T&R. Some of their comedy bits have been painful.

I haven’t settled on one show or the other just yet. My listening habits for the last week have pretty much been whichever show is talking sports at the moment, or is having an interesting guest or discussion. It’s nice to have that option.

Advantage: Push.  

Tanguay and Zolak vs. Dale and Holley

I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that Gary Tanguay has been everything I feared he would be on the radio. It’s true. He’s dreadful. Whether he’s wondering “whether Tito has the BALLS to put right lineup on the field” or how long the “leash” is on Francona and whether or not he’ll be fired. It makes my ears hurt, which is too bad, because I really like Zolak. He’s likable, and not prone to saying stupid things just for reaction which is Tanguay’s calling card.

Dale Arnold certainly has his critics among the readers of this site, but I’ll listen to him over Tanguay everyday. It’s not a contest.  This week Holley has been out, but Tom Caron and today, Christopher Price have made the shows much better than Tanguay’s mock indignation.

Advantage: Dale and Holley.

Felger and Massarotti vs. The Big Show.

Felger is Felger. He also loves to make stupid comments (”Josh Beckett is mentally weak“) and take unpopular stands just to be a contrarian. That’s not good radio. Glenn Ordway does a lot of the same things, which make sense because Felger learned his radio craft in the ample bosom of Ordway. However, what makes the 98.5 show more tolerable is that Massarotti is willing to challenge Felger’s comments and stances, whereas Ordway surrounds himself with yes-men sycophants who agree with everything he says.

For the most part, I really like Massarotti on the radio. There isn’t a lot of the fan-insulting, condescending arrogance that comes across (intentional or not)  in a lot of his Boston.com columns and blog entries. (Today’s column about the Yankees farm system is an example. He actually talked this subject on the radio, and it didn’t come across in the neener-neener way it does in the column.) On the radio he seems to deal more with facts, and as mentioned, isn’t afraid to take on Felger’s dumb comments. They talk sports, not Fred Smerlas’ tailgate venture or steakhouse, and mix the topics up a least a couple of times in the course of the show. They also bring on guests to break things up a little, which is something The Big Show rarely does. The Big Show will hammer the same topic for four hours without a break, while F&M try to introduce new topics in the course of the show. This makes F&M a more worthwhile listen than The Big Show. Except for the whiner line.

Advantage: Felger and Massarotti

Damon Amendolara vs. Mike Adams.

This one is simple. Do you want to hear about and talk sports, all sports, or do you want to hear Adams getting an Orlando Magic tattoo on his ass and bitching about Manny?

Amendolara has been the single biggest pleasant surprise on the new station, which is huge. There was a lot of skepticism out there about bringing in a kid from New York who grew up rooting for the New York teams and is a huge soccer fan, who had most recently been doing a show in Miami to come here and do Boston sports radio. He’s been great. Amendolara is knowledgeable about what’s going on, not just locally, but all across the nation in big time sports. He’s also hard working, having done all the weeknights, plus a show each day of the weekend.

Advantage: Amendolara.

It’s early yet, but there’s some good things going on here, and at the very least, we can say it’s nice to have an alternative to turn to and get a different topic and take.

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Yes, Virginia, there is a sports radio station launching tomorrow here in Boston. It’s remarkable how quiet this launch has been. The station website is not up and running yet, the twitter account has been dead quiet for the last two weeks, and no press releases or announcements have come this way.

(As an astute commenter points out, the site is up, but they have their re-direct wrong. The above link re-directs to http://www.cbsports.com/boston instead of  http://www.cbssports.com/boston - which is up and running.)

But the new station is launching tomorrow, and here are the details:

WBZ-FM, aka 98.5 The SportsHub will go live at 1:00pm tomorrow afternoon as Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti lead into the pregame show at 4:oopm  for the first Patriots preseason game, which starts at 7:30pm.

That is just a one day schedule, as they’re using the Patriots as a springboard to the new lineup. Here is what the day-to-day lineup will look like:

• Toucher & Rich, 6 am – 10am with Jon Wallach doing Sports Headlines
• Gary Tanguay & Scott Zolak, 10am-2pm
• Mike Felger & Tony Massarotti, 2pm-6pm
• Damon Amendolara, “DA” – 6pm-12am

Yes, The SportsHub did manage to steal Jon Wallach away from WEEI. Funny, I never noticed he was missing from the 850 AM airwaves.

Damon Amendolara, slated to do the evening show, is a New York native and sports fan who has been doing a show on WQAM in Miami.

We’ve also learned that Jerry Trupiano will be doing a Saturday show with for WBCN personality Hardy. It’s been rumored that much of the weekend programming will be filled with shows from other CBS Radio outlets. We’ll wait and see what happens on that front.

At 3:00am tomorrow morning, Boston sports highlights will be heard on 98.5, leading into Felger and Massarotti at 1:00pm as noted above.

Update: 4:00pm a few more details, thanks to the long-awaited press release.

Tony Massarotti will continue to write for the Globe and Boston.com

The SportsHub will become Sporting News Radio’s affiliate in Boston and will feature some of that network’s shows and play-by-play.

The release states that: ”On Thursday, August 13, 98.5 The Sports Hub will debut at 6:00 a.m. and the day will culminate with the broadcast of The New England Patriots’ first pre-season game of the year against the Philadelphia Eagles.” That doesn’t agree with what I have above, so I guess we’ll see what happens.

Statements:

“Boston is the greatest sports town in America and we are very excited to bring Boston sports fans a new content experience, both on-air and on-line with 98.5 The Sports Hub,” said Mark Hannon, Senior Vice President and Market Manager for CBS Radio Boston.

“98.5 The Sports Hub is going to be a fun, fast-paced FM Sports radio station with a rock edge to it, added Mike Thomas, 98.5 The Sports Hub Program Director. The talent lineup and the support staff are some of the best in the business and ready to give Boston sports fans a great alternative to the same old same old.”

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We’re a little more than a week away from the launch of the new 98.5 FM The SportsHub, and more details of the programming are coming together.

This post is composed of information cobbled together from various rumblings, and from sources which have already given good information on the goings-on at the new station.

Apparently the midday and afternoon drive shows, hosted by Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger respectively, will not have rotating co-hosts, but will each have a permanent co-host. There will be some in-studio guests mixed in, along with call-in guests.

Separate sources have said that Scott Zolak will be Tanguay’s partner on the midday show. The former Patriots backup QB is already heavily involved in WBZ’s Patriots coverage, and on the pre and post game radio broadcasts. Zolak did the Bill Belichick interview on last week’s edition of Patriots All Access, and brings a good base of football to the station. He’s already worked extensively with Tanguay, so the two shouldn’t have a problem finding chemistry.

Felger’s co-host isn’t set in stone just yet, but it appears Boston.com’s  Tony Massarotti is the favorite to land the role beside his former Boston Herald colleague.

Massarotti could be very good in this role, as for the most part, his on-air personality is more reasonable and less bombastic than a lot of the things he writes. He’s expressed some frustration at the style of radio employed by the Big Show in the past, so it’s possible that he and Felger – two former beat reporters – could simply stick to sports, and tone down the daily “Soap Opera” style of radio that is the Ordway stylebook of radio.

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I’ll admit, I’m a little obsessed with the idea of a viable second sports radio station in Boston. Other cities have several, (Dallas has four) so why can’t it work here?

I have to say, while I’m excited for the premiere of the new 98.5FM The SportsHub on August 13th, the early feeling I’m getting is that it is just going to be more of the same. Speaking right now, on July 28, WEEI doesn’t have much to worry about.

Let’s look at what we know thus far:

Toucher and Rich will be the morning show. I’ve listened to them a little bit since the announcement was made, to try and get a feel for what they have to offer. When I listened yesterday, the segment was about what to do when you accidentally pee on yourself. While they no doubt will talk more sports on the new station, it’s still not going to be an all-sports program. There’s some “rule” out there that says all sports in the morning can’t work. OK, say that’s true. T&R will hopefully stay away from the nasty, biting political talk that dominates D&C, and will ideally keep things pretty light in the mornings. How do the sports fit in? Will they do regular “sports flashes” or whatever they’re going to call them? What type of guests will they have? That’s going to be a big factor in whether the show can compete.

My formula for the show would be to talk at a minimum 50% sports, with guests each hour, and keep the rest of the show light. Do some humor, some pop culture, whatever. Don’t try to become the moral compass of the Commonwealth. Stay away from the nastiness.

I can see myself still listening to D&C a fair amount of the time, especially when they have guests, and on Patriots Mondays and Fridays.

——-

Gary Tanguay is going to do the mid-day show. Which Gary Tanguay are we going to get? I generally like Tanguay, except when he goes into his patented ”panic” mode. It happens way too much for my taste.  He just sounds fake, contrived and generally ridiculous. Some of the Patriots pregame shows that he has done are examples of the worst radio I have ever heard in my entire life. At times during the Patriots 2007 season you’d have thought they doing a pregame show for the 2008 Detroit Lions.

(By the way, Tanguay will still be hosting the Patriots pre and post game shows on 98.5 along with Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh.)

My free advice for this program is for Tanguay to aim for more of a “Dan Patrick Show” type of feel. I think Tanguay could pull it off if he was setup correctly. He needs to talk, to inform, to entertain, not just stir things up with the aim of getting reaction. From what I’ve heard there will be rotating co-hosts on this show. I’d actually rather see the show setup so that Tanguay is the main figure, with a sidekick, to toss things off of, and a series of call-in guests. These can be local, but I might actually prefer outsiders, especially writers or radio hosts from cities that have a team playing the Boston team that day. Also reach out the local beat writers, especially for the Bruins and Patriots, to give us the latest on those teams.

Depending on how it goes, I think I’m still going to have heavy doses of Dale & Holley, which for pure sports talk, is the best show WEEI has to offer.

——–

Now we come to Mike Felger. When Felger started his show on 890ESPN, he vowed that his show wouldn’t follow the WEEI model and spend “four hours talking about Manny peeing in the wall.”  The show got off to a promising start, but when the ratings didn’t follow, he changed course and jumped back to the WEEI style, and eventually back to WEEI itself. The mistake made here was concluding that the poor ratings were due more to a horrific signal rather than to a rejection of the early content of the show.

It was reported this week, first by Ken Fang, and then by Jessica Heslam,  that WBZ-FM made a hard run at WEEI regular Lou Merloni, who after auditioning for a spot with Felger, decided to sign a deal to remain with WEEI. (Interestingly, Fang reports that CBS rejected Merloni after hearing his audition…spin?)

That’s not encouraging to me. Not that Merloni remained at WEEI, but that WBZ-FM thought that he was the guy to target. This just tells me that they’re looking to rob WEEI of “talent” and perhaps copy the model. Merloni was their top target? Why? When he first came on the air, he was a breath of fresh air, but time spent at the knee of Glenn Ordway has turned him into just another voice, especially when talking sports other than baseball. He’s good as a baseball analyst, but I don’t really want to hear his take on the Patriots defense.

After failing to get Merloni, who is Felger/WBZ-FM going to go after next? Fred Smerlas? Steve DeOssie? Bill Burt? Ron Borges?

Like the Tanguay show, this program is also supposed to have rotating co-hosts. I’d prefer a “Mike and the Mad Dog” approach to the afternoon drive. Have two permanent hosts, who can talk knowledgeably on any sports topic, and attract intelligent callers who bring something other than a tired shtick to the airwaves. This is probably a total pipe dream on my part, because the “rule” of Boston sports radio seems to be that you can only talk Boston sports. Besides, who currently in the Boston media is going to be able to do this? If they’re not willing to bring someone in from the outside, maybe the rule needs to be rewritten.

I would settle for a smart, informative show, with again, many guests. Bring in some of the beat writers from the smaller papers as call-in guests. (Much better than four hours of Fred and Steve) Get some national voices to talk about big events elsewhere. Whatever you do, don’t pound the same topic into the ground for three straight weeks. Or even three straight hours. Keep it moving.

Do that, and I might never listen to the Big Show again, which despite the ratings, is the weakest show in the daytime WEEI lineup.

———

We don’t know yet about the overnights or weekends. I don’t have as strong of opinions on these timeslots, so I’d be welcome to suggestions. Ben Maller is looking for work. He’s a national guy with a pretty big following, who was let go from FoxSports Radio after doing the overnights for quite a while. Does Ted Sarandis want to get back into the radio game?

On the weekends, would you just go national and carry as many college and pro sports events as you could get your hands on, or would you do more local programming? A show devoted to the Bruins? A Sunday morning NFL show leading into the Patriots (in addition to the three-hour pregame show)?

——–

Overall, the new station has a lot of work to do if they hope to compete with powerhouse WEEI. Some of the early moves leave me thinking that rather than competing with, they’re trying to copy WEEI. That’s simply not going to work. If someone wants to listen to WEEI, they’ll listen to WEEI, who already has their formula perfected, not to a startup that is merely trying to imitate them.

For all the criticism I aim at WEEI, I have to tip my cap to them for what they’re able to accomplish in terms of ratings. They’re very good at what they do, which as Chad Finn famously put it, is catering to the lowest common denominator.

If WBZ-FM hopes to succeed, they need to target and cater to the reasonably intelligent and informed fan base, not the just the casual fan. Bringing in Tanguay and Felger (and chasing Merloni) aren’t a promising start to that end.  Prove me wrong, guys. If you’ve got any further questions on programming, my fee is quite reasonable.

Related Links:

WBZ-FM Sports Hub Starts up in August

More On The New WBZ-FM

Boston Radio Watch on the New WBZ-FM

Will WEEI Add FM Simulcast In Boston?

You Program The New Boston Sports Radio Station

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In part of the buzz around the new 98.5 The SportsHub, some wondered the future status of the Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday programming, as well as the primetime NFL games through Westwood One.

WEEI announced this morning that they have extended their current deals to keep all that programming in place at WEEI.

WEEI has inked a multi-year extension with the Patriots to continue the top-rated Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday programs for the foreseeable future. The two shows provide listeners with the most comprehensive and insightful pre and post game analysis, and consist of top-flight interviews with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and a host of players. Past participants have included Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork and Tedy Bruschi.

The network will also continue its exclusive local programming of NFL Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Football and NFL playoffs through its partnership with Westwood One. The contract has just been extended another two years.

“Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday are staples of the WEEI lineup and are appointment listening for New England fans,” said Entercom New England Vice President of AM Programming Jason Wolfe. “The Patriots are tremendous partners and we’re thrilled to continue this can’t miss programming while expanding our relationship with the team.” Wolfe continued, “The Patriots are primed for another Super Bowl run, and that will put a much larger emphasis on the games, league wide. WEEI is proud to be Boston’s only home for the NFL’s primetime lineup for the next two years.”

Smart move by WEEI to protect some of the most valuable aspects of their programming.

Update: This is weird. WEEI sent out a correction to say that the extension for Patriots Monday and Friday was was actually signed LAST YEAR. I’m trying to determine why they chose to announce it now.

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The venerable Boston Radio Watch blog has a post today on why the new Sports Hub 98.5 has a decent chance of succeeding:

The Sports Hub starts Boston radio war

An excerpt:

For one, CBS has already been producing lots of local sports content with Patriots on WBCN and Bruins on WBZ-AM since mid 1990’s so bringing two teams onto one signal is no-brainer. A no-brainer number two, with a clear and crisp FM signal covering the entire Boston market and beyond, the new SportsHub has a potential to reach a lot more ears than any of current and/or former WEEI challenger on the AM dial. This is more of marketing/promotional goal, but CBS will surely use the local synergy with sister TV station WBZ/Channel 4. The new SportsHub will be able to tap into WBZ-TV’s sports department for any live updates on major breaking or developing local sports stories. CBS can also cross-promote its new sports talker among its other three FM stations and one AM station.

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Yesterday’s announcement by CBS that WBCN would be no more and that a new sports radio station would be coming on-line certainly caused quite a buzz in Boston. We enjoyed one of our biggest traffic days of the year yesterday, and the new Fang’s Bites at BSMW blog had the best day in its short history as well. So now that the dust is settling here, let’s take a closer look at things:

What We Know For Sure

WBCN is going off the air, MIX 98.5 is moving to the 104.1 frequency and the new WBZ-FM will start at 98.5 on August 13th.

The new all-sports station will be called “98.5 The Sports Hub.”

It will be a sister station of prestigious CBS sports radio stations WFAN in New York, WIP in Philadelphia, “The Score” in Chicago and “The Ticket” in Detroit.

The new WBZ-FM will be the broadcast home of the New England Patriots and the Boston Bruins.

What We’re Pretty Sure About

Current WBCN morning team Toucher and Rich will move over to WBZ-FM (6:00-10:00 am).

Gary Tanguay will host a 10:00am to 2:00pm mid-day show.

Michael Felger will host the afternoon drive, likely 2:00pm – 6:00pm.

Both of those shows will likely have one rotating co-host each day.

The relationships with the above sports radio stations could mean plenty of guests from those stations/cities, especially when Boston teams are taking on teams from those cities.

A good signal at 98.5 FM automatically puts this station miles ahead of previous WEEI competitors 1510 the Zone and 890ESPN.

Stealing from Peter King -  Things We Think We Think

The CBS connection could naturally mean broadcasts from the CBS Scene at Patriot Place. Does WEEI get the boot? What relationship is WEEI going to have with the Patriots going forward? They will still have Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday,  as well as the Sunday morning football show, but beyond that, does their relationship shrink a bit?

The WBZ connection with WBZ-TV means plenty of tie-ins with the Patriots. WBZ-TV has the Patriots preseason games, many of the regular season games broadcast nationally on CBS, the pre game show and Patriots Fifth Quarter, plus Patriots All-Access. (I foresee plenty of Steve Burton on the WBZ-FM airwaves. Wow.)

I’m unsure of the local status of the Westwood One rights. WWO used to be owned by CBS before it was spun off, but still maintains strong ties with its former parent. WEEI had the local rights, and used them to broadcast Monday Night Football and other events. If WBZ-FM can get these if will give them plenty of top-notch national sports programming.

The above station websites give you a fair idea of what the new WBZ-FM website should look like, and it should have on-line streaming available. Expect content integration with CBS Sportsline for stories, and some local blogs. Could this be Felger’s writing outlet?

Speaking of Felger, this puts him at a station that has his two strengths – football and hockey. Good fit. Hopefully he can go away from the screaming banchee contrarian that he has been of late and can go back to how he was in the early halcyon days of ESPN890.

Some figures I’d like to see/hear on the station as rotating co-hosts/guests: Bob Ryan, Sean McAdam, Steve Bulpett, Mike Reiss, Chad Finn (he’s done a segment on WGAM in NH which I always found to be good radio), Chris Gasper, Jon Couture, (How about the Cooch and Chad show – the new Clif and Claf?) Ryen Russillo (Just got a new ESPN show, though) Charlie Pierce and Bob Neumeier.

With the Bruins broadcasts on board, they’ll be able to tap into Dave Goucher and Bob Beers for hockey talk.

Please, in the name of all that is holy, refrain from poaching such WEEI “talent” as Steve DeOssie, Larry Johnson, Butch Stearns, Jon Meterparel, or Fred Smerlas. If August 13th comes and at 10:00am I hear Gary Tanguay with Butch Stearns, I know the station is doomed to failure. We don’t need Andelman involvement, either.

Other Items Indirectly Related To This

Felger is immediately off the WEEI/CSN weekend baseball show. Also this morning when a caller to Dale & Holley mentioned Felger, Holley said “I guarantee you you won’t be hearing Felger this summer on these airwaves.” So it would seem that he’s already out. His last mailbag on WEEI.com mentioned he was taking time off….convenient.

Who replaces Felger on The Baseball Show? Does Mike Mutnansky get another shift? Or does Greg Dickerson get the role? Someone else? Mike Adams?

Update: Felger’s name has already been removed from WEEI.com’s list of columnists. That didn’t take long. Several of his recent columns/mailbags, which as of this morning were listed under the “Most Popular” section, no longer appear there.

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There was a statement released tonight by Julie Kahn, Vice President/New England Market Manager, Entercom New England on the announcement today from CBS about WBCN and the new WBZ-FM. The first part of the statement is claiming total victory for Entercom’s WAAF in the Boston rock radio market:

For decades, WAAF and WBCN have competed fiercely against each other for rock radio listeners in this market. It truly has been an epic competition. With the announcement that WBCN will soon go off the air, WAAF has won that battle and is now in an even stronger position to attract new listeners and build upon its dominance among Boston rock stations.

“WAAF Boston is New England’s most listened to Rock radio station broadcasting on 97.7and 107.3 FM. Over the course of four decades, WAAF has been able to garner ratings in more Arbitron measured markets than any other station in the country. In Boston, WAAF is consistently ranked the #1 station among Men 25-44. WAAF is among only a handful of radio stations in the world that has been able to thrive in the same format as the day it signed on decades ago.

Can you say “victory lap?” Kahn then assures all that Entercom will win out the sports radio market as well:

“On the sports side, this announcement was not a surprise. We’ve been expecting it given the many rumors over the last few years. We’ve dealt with competitive situations in the past and we’re fully prepared to do it again. We’re blessed to have built the strongest lineup of sports content and talent in the country, and are proud to have expanded that content platform through the newly designed WEEI.com, and our 9 station regional network. We have the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Patriots Monday/Friday, and we’re fully committed to providing the best sports programming to our listeners for many years to come.

The statement is mildly surprising to me, though the email did specify that the statement was in response to several inquiries requesting comment on the CBS announcement.

The coming months will be interesting to see if WBZ-FM is more successful than previous attempts to crack the Boston sports radio market.

I’ll have more on this tomorrow, along with some thoughts on how things might shake out, and what I’m hearing from some in the industry on the situation.

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