Boston Sports Media Watch

“I got the ball!”

With those words, Cedric Maxwell interrupted the call of broadcast partner Sean Grande as the Celtics clinched their 17th World Championship just a few weeks ago.

After an 11 year NBA career with the Celtics (who retired his number 31 in 2003), Clippers and Rockets,  Maxwell joined the Celtics radio broadcast team in 1995.

He’s developed his own signature style over the years, including the “Quack…quack…QUACK!” after a big play. This call originated while the broadcasts were on AM 1510 the Zone, which had a signal that went straight out to the ocean. The call is said to be a reference that only the ocean birds and ducks could hear the call.

Maxwell got in some hot water last year with a comment he made about referee Violet Palmer. This controversy went national in scale, and caused much discussion around various blogs on the internet and in the media. The remark was actually a dig at the style of Celtics TV announcer Tommy Heinsohn, but those who weren’t familiar with the reference assumed the worst of Maxwell.

With the Celtics resurging to a championship level this season, Maxwell has been a frequent guest on WEEI’s Big Show. He seems to have something of a beef with former teammate Larry Bird, as not a show will go by without some reference (usually initiated by the host) by Max about Bird.

————————–

Popularity: 24% [?]

Craig Mustard is co-host of the weekend “Mustard and Johnson” program (aka The Preacher and the Teacher) on WEEI.

During the week, he is also a Wellesley High School English teacher.

Mustard was one of the original crew of WEEI, back when the station first went to the all sports format. In fact, he was one of the “stars” of the station, teaming with Tom Doyle for the Mustard and Doyle show.

Known as a huge Roger Clemens fan, Mustard severed his allegiance with the Red Sox and became a Yankees fan. His program with Larry Johnson on the weekends is dominated by Yankees talk, with Yankee fans calling into the program constantly.

He was also a Drew Bledsoe fan, but didn’t switch over to following the Bills when Bledsoe was traded.

———————–

Popularity: 26% [?]

Dale Arnold is the co-host of WEEI’s mid-day “Dale and Holley” show.

A Maine native, Arnold has been broadcasting games since he was 15 years old. He attended Bowdoin College, and began doing Maine Mariners games in 1979. In 1986 he got the same job with the New Jersey Devils. From 1988-1990 he was the voice of the New England Patriots.

In 1991, he joined WEEI, and in 1995 he started calling Bruins games for NESN, a post he held until 2007. On WEEI, he has had a variety of broadcast partners, from Eddie Andelman, to Bob Neumeier to his present partner, Michael Holley.

This year he also joined the Red Sox broadcast team, calling mostly Wednesday games while Dave O’Brien handled his ESPN duties. Arnold is the only broadcaster to have called games for the Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Revolution.

———————

Popularity: 23% [?]

Dave O’Brien is in his second year alongside Joe Castiglione in the Red Sox radio booth.

O’Brien is another New England native, having grown up in both NH and Massachusetts. He broke into broadcasting in 1990 with the Atlanta Braves, and then was the voice of the Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2001. In 2002 he joined ESPN, where he has had a variety of assignments for the network. During 2003-2005, he was the television voice of the New York Mets.

His arrival in Boston last season was celebrated in some circles simply because it meant the end of the Jerry Trupiano era, but O’Brien quickly became a favorite with his strong presence on the broadcasts. He was still doing a large number of games for ESPN, a number which has shrunk this season, allowing him to be in the Red Sox booth more often.

There have been a couple of recent bios on O’Brien in New Hampshire papers such as the Portsmouth Herald and Nashua Telegraph.

———————

Popularity: 24% [?]

The Godfather of Sports Talk Radio may be in semi(mostly)-retirement, but he still deserves a day on the approval ratings!

Eddie Andelman is a pioneer in the sports talk radio arena. The original Sports Huddle show back in the 1970’s was one of the first of its kind on the airwaves.

Andelman was a fixture on WHDH radio during the 80’s, and moved over the WEEI in the 90’s. He was best remembered on the station for his show with Dale Arnold, dubbed “The A Team.” Andelman left the station in December, 2001 right in the middle of the Patriots push to their first Super Bowl title.

He reappeared on sports radio 1510 The Zone, where he opened his show blasting his former employer and partner. He took many more shots over the years at the station, and WEEI to this day continues to blast right back at him with whiner line callers and various skits.  

He’s had an intense rivalry with Glenn Ordway over the years, angry that Ordway had taken his time slot on WEEI and also canceled his son Michael’s weekend show on the station. With Ordway’s recent family crisis, it is thought that Andelman might’ve been one of the one’s Ordway referred to when he expressed gratitude for support from people he never thought he’d ever hear from.

Andelman currently hosts a show on Sunday nights from 7:00 to 10:00pm on talk radio WTKK, named the New Sports Huddle. These days however, Andelman is chiefly known for his annual Hot Dog Safari to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis/The Joey Fund.

————————-

Popularity: 16% [?]

Since the 1970’s Glenn Ordway has been stirring things up on the Boston Radio airwaves.

After a short stint as a General Hospital actor, Ordway turned his attention to radio as the Sports Director and talk show host of WMEX/WIS. In 1981 he moved on to WRKO, hosting the popular “SportsCall” radio show and serving as sports director. It was during this time that he also joined Johnny Most in the Celtics radio booth, where he remained for 13 years.

When the Celtics moved to WEEI (Then AM 590) in 1987, Ordway followed, and has been at the station since. The Big Show began in 1995, and has become a staple on the Boston airwaves.

Earlier this year, Ordway had a scare in his personal life during the birth of his daughter Mia. Both his daughter and wife suffered severe complications during delivery, which took Ordway off the air for a couple of weeks. Both mother and daughter are doing better, and Ordway is back in his familiar spot on the afternoon drive.

———————

Popularity: 14% [?]

It’s not football season, so we haven’t seen or heard a whole lot of Smerlas recently.

Fred Smerlas is a former Pro Bowl Nose Tackle for Boston College, the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Patriots. He currently is a TV and Radio commentator for WEEI and other outlets. On WEEI, he is mostly teamed with Steve DeOssie, who is also his business partner in their Rhode Island steakhouse.

During football season he also serves as a a contributor to western New York radio stations WGR in Buffalo and WHAM in Rochester.

He is known for picking the Patriots in every single game, something that almost worked last season…

——————

Popularity: 16% [?]

Sean Grande is in his seventh season as the radio play-by-play voice of the Boston Celtics.

When Grande took the Celtics job alongside Cedric Maxwell in 2001, he was mostly known among New England sports fans for his role as Pete Sheppard’s predecessor in the “Flashboy” role on WEEI’s Big Show. He was also known for his work on Hockey East TV telecasts, and as the Boston College Football announcer from 1996-1999. He was also the program director at WEEI for three years.

In 1998, he took the job calling Minnesota Timberwolves television games, becoming the youngest announcer in the NBA, at the age of 28. He has done some national work calling college football for ESPN. When he came back to Boston to cover the Celtics, he also became a programming consultant for sports radio 1510 The Zone.

———————

Popularity: 18% [?]

You either love him or you hate him.

These days Gerry Callahan is perhaps best known for his biting political commentary on the Dennis and Callahan morning show on WEEI, but it’s easy to forget that at one time, he was perhaps one of the best sports writers in the country.

Callahan grew up in Massachusetts, graduating from Chelmsford High School and UMass Amherst. He started his career with the Lowell Sun in 1983 and then moved on to the Boston Herald five years later. In 1994, he moved on to Sports Illustrated, where was a senior writer for the publication.  

He was a frequent Big Show co-host in the early days of the program, before getting his own show with John Dennis starting in 1997. After leaving SI, he rejoined the Herald as a columnist.

The D&C program has garnered its share of attention, and not all of it positive. In 2007, Callahan missed several months of work on the show with a throat ailment. By the time he was healthy enough to return, his contract as well as that of co-host Dennis was up for renewal, which resulted in a brief lockout for the pair which had them returning in time for the first “Patriots Monday” of the 2007 season on September 10th.

———————

Popularity: 25% [?]

With TomaseGate slowing down, (though I still plan on a wrap-up post) its time to get back to the approval ratings.

Today we’re looking at WEEI Big Show Football co-host Steve DeOssie.

DeOssie played for Don Bosco Technical High School and then Boston College for playing 12 years in the NFL for the Cowboys, Giants and Patriots, winning a championship with the Giants in Super Bowl XXV.

Year-round (but especially during the football season) DeOssie is a presence on WEEI as well as various television outlets around New England, such as WBZ-TV. He plays up the touch-guy persona, but can also bring strong analysis of the game to his appearances on the various shows. He also co-hosts The Real Postgame show with Pete Sheppard and Fred Smerlas.

During the week of Super Bowl XLII DeOssie did a creditable job of balancing his Patriots analysis with the fact that his son Zak was playing for the opponent.

————————

Popularity: 41% [?]