Boston Sports Media Watch

The first hour of today’s Big Show on WEEI was pretty interesting, as they discussed the transition of sports media into the internet age. The comparison was made to when radio and TV were getting into everyday sports coverage and resistance they encountered from the newspaper writers.

The topic came up when it was revealed that WEEI.com editor and Red Sox writer Rob Bradford, a co-host on the show today, is not currently a member of the BBWAA, (Baseball Writers Association of America) mostly because he does not write for a print publication, but instead for an internet site only. Bradford had been a member when he wrote for newspapers (Herald, E-T, Lowell Sun) in the past. Glenn Ordway even joked that Bradford appears on polls about Who is the best Red Sox Writer?  – so why isn’t he considered a writer by the BBWAA?

Ordway discussed coming up the media ranks in the 1970’s as a radio/TV guy (lugging around a giant reel-to-reel tape recorder) and the resistance he met from the old school newspaper writers. (Interestingly the name Clif Keane came up.)

It’s a pretty interesting discussion, we’ll see if they talk more about it as the afternoon goes on.

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WEEI has issued a press release announcing Glenn Ordway’s new contract, and it’s a piece of work. The quotes from Julie Kahn and Jason Wolfe are especially nauseating.

Emphasis Mine:

Glenn Ordway Re-Signs Contract with WEEI

BOSTON (January 5, 2009) – Entercom New England today announced that it has re-signed WEEI Sports Radio host Glenn Ordway to a new multi-year contract. Ordway is host of WEEI’s The Big Show, a perennial powerhouse among talk radio programming.

The Big Show has ranked number one among men 25-54 in every ratings book since the spring of 2003, and has also ranked number one with adults 25-54 in every ratings book but three over the same period of time. The show originally aired from 3 PM – 6 PM, but shifted to 2 PM – 6 PM in September of 1999 where it remains.

Ordway has been a presence on the Boston sports broadcasting scene for over two decades. Prior to joining WEEI as Program Director in June of 1995, he was a commentator for Boston Celtics radio broadcasts for thirteen consecutive years, including five as play-by-play man. The Big Show was among the new programs he created upon joining ‘EEI and he has hosted it since its inception. At the same time, he also created the ever-popular Whiner Line, which has become the highest rated fifteen minutes in Boston radio today among both men and adults 25-54.

Today, Ordway’s influence transcends the airwaves. He has hosted The Whiney Awards to honor the top callers to the Whiner Line for the past six years. The event began as a small gathering of 150 people at Davio’s in Boston and grew to upwards of 3,000 attendees at the Wang Theatre in 2008. The event benefits a different non-profit organization each year.

Ordway’s extensive charitable initiatives have helped raised millions for numerous local non-profits, including The Jimmy Fund, Champions for Children, The Rodman Ride for Kids, The Genesis Fund, and The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, to name a few. In 2005, he was honored by the Jimmy Fund as the recipient of the annual “Jimmy Award”, an honor bestowed upon a media member who goes over and above to support and raise funds for the organization.

Ordway has also been nominated for three Marconi Awards (2006, 2007, 2008), which are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards in the radio industry.

“Glenn is a very special part of the WEEI “Magic”; having been one of the architects of the station and the only nationally recognized Major Market Personality by the Marconi Awards in the Boston market, three times in recent years,” said Julie Kahn, Entercom New England Market Manager. “His show is a must listen to destination for breaking sports news in America’s best sports market.”

“Glenn and I have been together since the beginning. He has played an enormous role in helping grow WEEI to the legendary status we currently enjoy, and I’m thrilled to be able to continue to work with him for the foreseeable future,” said Jason Wolfe, Entercom New England’s VP of AM Programming and Operations. “I’ve been privileged to work with some of the very best broadcasters in the business in the seventeen years I’ve been at WEEI, and Glenn is at the top of that list.”

“We have had a phenomenal run with The Big Show on WEEI and I am thrilled that we will have the opportunity to extend that run for years to come on America’s number one sports station,” said Ordway.

While I know that the very purpose of a press release is self-promotion and touting yourself, I’m wondering in what universe has a sports radio station achieved “legendary status.”

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Yeah, that was Dan Shaughnessy on the 6:30 edition of CSN’s Sports Tonight program last night. As Gary Tanguay explained in his blog yesterday, CSN’s partnership with the Boston Herald (they were a sponsor of New England Sports Tonight) has expired, and that partnership was what had kept Globe writers off the show. Tanguay says that Tony Massarotti will be back on the show as well.

Tanguay’s blog has had some interesting entries as of late, as he tries to give us more “behind the scenes” type narratives about what’s going on at CSN.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Troy Brown will not be making his scheduled appearance tonight on Sports Tonight, as had been reported on the Herald’s Point After blog.

Yesterday Curt Schilling blasted Manny Ramirez on a call-in appearance to WEEI’s Big Show. Schilling’s remarks irritated me at first, simply because this is a topic we’re all sick of, and we know full well Manny was a major disruption near the end of his Red Sox tenure. Manny’s gone now, and his teammates have moved on, and have been playing their best ball of the season (well, except against Tampa) and I just didn’t see why Schilling, who hasn’t thrown a pitch all season felt it necessary to talk more about it.

On reflection, I think I have a bigger problem with how two-faced Schilling is with this stuff. When Manny was his teammate, he defended the guy to death to these very same radio shows. When Manny and Youkilis had the dust-up in the dugout earlier this season, Schilling was calling the media fools because this stuff happens all the time between teammates, and we just don’t see it. He’s defended Manny’s work ethic in the past, and played the role of good teammate.

Incidents like yesterday show that he really was just playing that role, since as soon as Manny is gone, Schilling can do an about-face and start telling all sorts of tales. I don’t like that.

It’s become customary when criticizing Schilling to acknowledge his huge contributions to the 2004 World Series championship, and to a lesser extent, the 2007 title. OK, duly noted. I’ll always be thankful that we had Curt Schilling on those clubs, and he turned in some legendary performances in his time here.

However, now that his career appears over, I’m rather sick of him. I’ve taken 38 Pitches out of my RSS reader, simply because I’m not interested in what the guy has to say. I’d rather get out now while I still have that great respect for him as a player, rather than keep reading, and totally losing all fondness for the guy.

Back to Manny for a moment, Joe Posnanski, the KC writer who has gained a huge following here in Boston simply because he puts out great stuff, has a piece on SI.com entitled The genius of Manny Ramirez. It’s a lot of stuff we already knew about Manny in better times, but also has some interesting perspectives on Ramirez as a person. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN says Manny has made a huge difference to the Dodgers both in the lineup and in the clubhouse.

Tony Massarotti wonders if David Ortiz is returning to form just in time.

TBS has announced their MLB Postseason Broadcast Team, and both Don Orsillo and Dennis Eckersley will be a part of the coverage.

Peter May on Yahoo! Sports has a feature on new Celtic Darius Miles, who says “I would have come here (to Boston) for $5 and a bag of Doritos.” No joke.

Jim Corbett of USA Today has a look at Randy Moss taking on a leadership role with the Patriots in the absense of Tom Brady.

Jeff Pearlman has a must-read feature on former Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock, a budding star who was murdered during the 1978 season.

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