Sarandis’ show, like his old WEEI program will be called the “Ted Nation Show” and debuts this Sunday, March 14th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm This first show will focus on the NCAA tournament selections which will be announced that day.

The show will begin its regular Sunday afternoon time slot in April.

Sarandis has been the play-by-play voice of Boston College Basketball (ironically heard on WEEI’s airwaves) for the last fifteen seasons.

A  quote from Sarandis passed on by 98.5: ““I am thrilled to be joining what I consider to be the best sports radio station in the country, exclaimed Sarandis. It’s my hope that my TED NATION audience will turn out big time to 98.5 The Sports Hub. I can assure one and all we will cover the Boston sports scene in a comprehensive manner and do it with dignity and class.”

In other words, he’s not going to ALLOW you to drag his show into a MORASS OF NEGATIVITY.

And Pete Sheppard is still unemployed….

Ted Sarandis Gets Weekend Show on 98.5 FM is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The simmering feud between the city’s two sports radio powerhouses boiled over yesterday when a WEEI producer got slapped with a one-week suspension for texting “vulgar” messages to upstart rival the Sports Hub.

Andy Massaua, who works for Glenn Ordway’s “The Big Show,” was suspended yesterday and has been banned from texting anyone at WBZ-FM (98.5).

I thought 98.5 wasn’t even on WEEI’s radar?

WEEI Producer Suspended for Vulgar Texts To Rival 98.5 FM is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

He’s been on the air for a few days now with 98.5thesportshub, but WBZ-FM sent out the official release this afternoon announcing his hiring:

ANDY GRESH TO JOIN 98.5 THE SPORTS HUB

GRESH WILL BROADCAST HIS OWN SHOW ON WEEKENDS AND SERVE AS FULL TIME SWING HOST

Boston—Notable sports broadcaster Andy Gresh will join the air staff at 98.5 The Sports Hub, WBZ-FM effective immediately.

Gresh will host his own program on weekends, broadcast on-air and online at www.985thesportshub.com, as well as serve as the full-time swing host for vacationing 98.5 air staff. Gresh currently co-hosts the New England Patriots pre and post game shows on the 98.5 The Sports Hub Patriots Radio Network.

This Saturday, Jan. 9, Gresh’s new program on 98.5 The Sports Hub will air from 4:00– 8:00pm, immediately following the Boston Bruins/New York Rangers game.

Gresh returns to the Boston area after hosting programs on satellite radio, and ESPN Radio. Prior to becoming a national host, Gresh was on-air at The Score in Providence. He also hosted programs on Comcast Sports Net New England, and was the color analyst for The ECAC Football Network.

“I am looking forward to contributing to the success that 98.5 has already achieved since its debut in August,” said Gresh. “I am just flat out looking forward to getting after it.”

“98.5 The Sports Hub is off to great start and to add a personality like Andy Gresh to our team is a victory for us and our listeners,” said Mike Thomas, 98.5 The Sports Hub Program Director. “Andy has been a big part of our Patriots coverage for years and it’s going to be great to have him on The Sports Hub beyond game day.”

Back in July I offered some Free Advice for WBZ-FM. Hiring Andy Gresh was not on the list.

But you know what? The latest ratings indicate that WBZ-FM is still gaining ground on WEEI. So maybe they know what they’re doing after all.

Andy Gresh Officially Joins 98.5 as a “Swing Host” is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

A sports media frenzy in Boston

I’m quoted toward the end of the article, in regards to whether 98.5 can be a serious competitor to WEEI.

Also, if you see a copy of the 11/25 edition of Patriots Football Weekly on the newsstands this week, be sure to check out my interview and column with CBS broadcaster Lesley Visser, who talked about breaking down barriers as the first female NFL beat writer as a 22-year-old with The Boston Globe in 1976.

Patriot Ledger Piece on WEEI/ESPNBoston/CSN is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

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.”

WEEI Holds Steady, 98.5 Continues Rise, FOX Dumps Butch Stearns is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

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.

ESPN to 850? WEEI to FM? is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

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.

Thoughts on 98.5 FM – One Week In is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

(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.”

Shhh…Don’t Tell Anyone, But The SportsHub Launches Tomorrow – UPDATED is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

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.

SportsHub Lineup Coming Together is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

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

Free Advice for WBZ-FM is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch