Deadspin Slams Boston Sports Media ...

TFP

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I don't know, that article was pretty terrible. It seemed rushed and talked about people who haven't been on the air for a long time. Dennis? Gresh? Who the F cares?

It was lazy and unfunny, especially considering how much actual material there is to work with.
 

Bozo Texino

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The part on Minahine is outstanding.

Looking forward to hearing responses from those mentioned in this piece.
 

PseuFighter

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Wow; that was a trash article. Clickbait appealing to stroke the egos of anyone already unhappy with Boston sports radio. And yeah, I don't really care for sports radio.

Agree with TFP.

(wonder if we're going to see some more of these... seems like his job over there is just to try to trash other media outlets - which might not be the best longterm course of action if that's your industry. http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/worst-writer-on-the-internet-samer-kalif-of-univision-back-at-it/)
 
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Kliq

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Is the article for people who live in Boston and hate the media, or for people who don't live in Boston but hate their sports teams and want reasons to hate Boston some more?

Not breaking new ground, although I'm surprised he didn't go after Trenni or Fauria since they seem like easy targets for that kind of a piece. Maybe they didn't fit into the demographic he wanted to target (old fat white guys).
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I didn't say it was funny, I said it was awesome. And it was. Everyone on that list is a miserable prick (aside from Toucher, Rich, Zola and Bertrand) whose job is to suck the joy out of sports.

I'm glad to see someone call these assholes out.

The stuff about Callahan and Minihane was the best of all.

Though I do agree with the points about Gresh and Dennis.
 

Bergs

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This made me laugh.

Kirk is the rat a ratfucker fucks. He is on the lowest rung of the ladder that is Boston sports radio, which is quite an accomplishment. He replaced John Dennis as Gerry Callahan’s partner for Kirk and Callahan on WEEI, which is like replacing the rat a ratfucker fucks with a dead rat.
 

the1andonly3003

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this article gives Brighton a bad name...there are respectable people who live here

edit: could they find any worse pictures of these people?
 
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RedOctober3829

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This made me laugh.

Kirk is the rat a ratfucker fucks. He is on the lowest rung of the ladder that is Boston sports radio, which is quite an accomplishment. He replaced John Dennis as Gerry Callahan’s partner for Kirk and Callahan on WEEI, which is like replacing the rat a ratfucker fucks with a dead rat.
That first line makes the whole article.
 

Rusty13

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Sounds like Kirk and Callahan asked to have the author of the piece on tomorrow and he (wisely) declined. They will now spend 4 hours tomorrow trashing him. This will actually benefit them, and they know it. They love this stuff.
 

dcmissle

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Weak sauce; if you're going to write it, you have to post to defend it. And it is no excuse that these radio guys are pros. Twitter testicles.

But -- it is awesome. Truly. And yes, the longer Felger goes, the weaker he gets.

Sad -- correctly acknowledging that Mazz was a decent beat writer.
 

Devizier

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I mean, many of the Boston radio guys are more trash than your standard sports radio, which is quite an accomplishment.

But the problem is that Samer clearly likes a lot of 'em, particularly Ordway, who he tries to have it both ways with in the article.
 

Captaincoop

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Ah yes, media criticism from the great Samer Kalif, with his 3ish years of experience writing for Deadspin and a degree from the prestigious University of New Hampshire school of whatever. Hard pass.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Weak sauce; if you're going to write it, you have to post to defend it. And it is no excuse that these radio guys are pros. Twitter testicles.
Would you go on C&M? They wouldn't let you speak, they'd yell at you for 20 minutes and with his name, they'd probably insinuate that he's from ISIS.

Coop, how long does one have to write before one can discuss the media?
 

Rasputin

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I haven't listened to any of these assholes in more than a decade and there are some of them I've never even heard of, but holy shit that was funny.

I thought this line:
Was Derek Lowe in the 2004 ALCS. Woulda been the guy but for all the other guys who were the guy more.
 

Bergs

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I haven't listened to any of these assholes in more than a decade and there are some of them I've never even heard of, but holy shit that was funny.

I thought this line:
Was Derek Lowe in the 2004 ALCS. Woulda been the guy but for all the other guys who were the guy more.
That's got a nice Flannery O'Conner kinda vibe.
 

soxfan121

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Weak sauce; if you're going to write it, you have to post to defend it. And it is no excuse that these radio guys are pros. Twitter testicles.

But -- it is awesome. Truly. And yes, the longer Felger goes, the weaker he gets.

Sad -- correctly acknowledging that Mazz was a decent beat writer.
I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, dc.

There is no reason anyone, anywhere should agree to appear on the Kirk & Callahan show; their entire schtick is to yell over the guest, not allow any of their "gotcha!" questions to be answered, and to provoke the guest to either hang up or give up, allowing them to proclaim victory and do a touchdown dance. It is ambush radio and every guest is booked to be lit on fire. And since their M.O. is to literally keep the guest from speaking more than a sentence at a time, or to shout loaded, bullshit "YES OR NO!" questions that invariably make the guest look stupid, there is no benefit at all to the guest.

I dunno the author of this piece and have no knowledge of his/her testicles or lack thereof, but not agreeing to have his/her testicles stomped, kicked, and pulled by these "pros" is not reason enough to criticize the author, IMO.

If Ordway wanted this author on, and the author ducked Turtleneck Glenn? Then by all means, question the testicles and the author's motivations/etc.

But no one can be blamed or criticized for avoiding the K&C experience.

Also: how does this article get written without mentioning Michael "Co-Host Killer" Holley? It's not a good article, for lots of reasons, and missing the 2nd longest tenured host in Boston sports talk radio is a pretty huge omission/error.
 

the1andonly3003

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Indeed - that's classic bullshit. Quick, everyone lay your credentials on the table.

How many years has Coop done before we take his message board quote seriously?
1,776 posts as a Lurker

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, dc.

There is no reason anyone, anywhere should agree to appear on the Kirk & Callahan show; their entire schtick is to yell over the guest, not allow any of their "gotcha!" questions to be answered, and to provoke the guest to either hang up or give up, allowing them to proclaim victory and do a touchdown dance. It is ambush radio and every guest is booked to be lit on fire. And since their M.O. is to literally keep the guest from speaking more than a sentence at a time, or to shout loaded, bullshit "YES OR NO!" questions that invariably make the guest look stupid, there is no benefit at all to the guest.

I dunno the author of this piece and have no knowledge of his/her testicles or lack thereof, but not agreeing to have his/her testicles stomped, kicked, and pulled by these "pros" is not reason enough to criticize the author, IMO.

If Ordway wanted this author on, and the author ducked Turtleneck Glenn? Then by all means, question the testicles and the author's motivations/etc.

But no one can be blamed or criticized for avoiding the K&C experience.

Also: how does this article get written without mentioning Michael "Co-Host Killer" Holley? It's not a good article, for lots of reasons, and missing the 2nd longest tenured host in Boston sports talk radio is a pretty huge omission/error.
yeah, forgot Holley, Dale and Keefe - you know, the other existing drive time show

if you bring up Gresh, and Beetle, why ignore the original Gary Tanguay?
 

RG33

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"Gerry KuKluxKallahan" from a reader comment made me laugh.
 

Ale Xander

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I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, dc.

There is no reason anyone, anywhere should agree to appear on the Kirk & Callahan show; their entire schtick is to yell over the guest, not allow any of their "gotcha!" questions to be answered, and to provoke the guest to either hang up or give up, allowing them to proclaim victory and do a touchdown dance. It is ambush radio and every guest is booked to be lit on fire. And since their M.O. is to literally keep the guest from speaking more than a sentence at a time, or to shout loaded, bullshit "YES OR NO!" questions that invariably make the guest look stupid, there is no benefit at all to the guest.

I dunno the author of this piece and have no knowledge of his/her testicles or lack thereof, but not agreeing to have his/her testicles stomped, kicked, and pulled by these "pros" is not reason enough to criticize the author, IMO.

If Ordway wanted this author on, and the author ducked Turtleneck Glenn? Then by all means, question the testicles and the author's motivations/etc.

But no one can be blamed or criticized for avoiding the K&C experience.

Also: how does this article get written without mentioning Michael "Co-Host Killer" Holley? It's not a good article, for lots of reasons, and missing the 2nd longest tenured host in Boston sports talk radio is a pretty huge omission/error.
Thread title is a little deceptive.

It's not slamming boston sports media, it's slamming those media members who deserve to be slammed

The good guys like Holley, Arnold, and Arcand aren't slammed
 

Detts

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I moved away from NH in 2003 so I have missed the shit show.

I must admit that I enjoyed clicking on the 'are you a townie' link. I lost it (in my office) when the guy said he had been arrested 50 times.
 

dirtynine

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Not mentioning Dale or Holley was weak. Also some of Ordway's cast of characters from the glory days deserved mention, as did (probably) Andelman, Bob Lobel, etc. They also skipped what makes T&R so interesting individually. Their "Lodge" concept was custom-made for a mention here. It's hard to tell who this article was for - if you don't know any of these guys, it wasn't really that entertaining, and if you live in Boston it's barely surface deep. The whole exercise has me convinced there's a great definitive book to write about this topic, which should probably be by Bruce Allen.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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He didn't mention Dale and Holley because the article is the Guide to Boston Sports Radio Chowderheads, and Dale and Michael don't qualify as they're not rampant assholes and might actually be decent people, which sets them apart from the rest of that group.
 

Reverend

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He didn't mention Dale and Holley because the article is the Guide to Boston Sports Radio Chowderheads, and Dale and Michael don't qualify as they're not rampant assholes and might actually be decent people, which sets them apart from the rest of that group.
What about Arcand?
 

soxfan121

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He didn't mention Dale and Holley because the article is the Guide to Boston Sports Radio Chowderheads, and Dale and Michael don't qualify as they're not rampant assholes and might actually be decent people, which sets them apart from the rest of that group.
Then what the fuck was Beetle doing in there? I mean, other than for the fat joke/picture. He is not a rampant asshole and is actually a decent person.

The author did a crap job. Trying to justify his crap decisions after the fact just covers you in crap.

You cannot write anything about the state of Boston Sports Radio without mentioning Holley's name. Full stop. The author fucked up.
 

LMontro

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Then what the fuck was Beetle doing in there? I mean, other than for the fat joke/picture. He is not a rampant asshole and is actually a decent person.

.
Huh? Beetle is an asshole on air and on Twitter. In fact, it amazes me the arrogance with that guy sometimes. Don't know him personally to comment on if "decent person" is fair. Do you know him?
 

NortheasternPJ

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Huh? Beetle is an asshole on air and on Twitter. In fact, it amazes me the arrogance with that guy sometimes. Don't know him personally to comment on if "decent person" is fair. Do you know him?
Really? Beetle seems like a normal person. I don't find him an asshole at all. I don't know him but in the realm of Boston Sports Media he's at the low end of the a-hole scale.
 

dcmissle

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The a-hole scale in Boston sports radio begins in the exosphere. That's the principal point of the article. So although I agree it's slap-dash, I have no problem with the Dale and Holley omissions, for example, because they do not belong in that bad company.

There is an enormous disconnect between the quality of Boston as a sports city -- first rate -- and the people there on the radio -- bottom of the barrel. I've lived in several major metropolitan areas, Washington for a long time. D.C., at best, is a mediocre sports city (note, I say "sports" not "football"). But with the exception of a few Boston pairings, the guys up there would not last here more than a month. And that's taking the transparent race baiting out of the equation, which obviously would not go over for more than a show. What you get on "EEI in the early morning, and on the other station in the afternoon, is juvenile, uninteresting, uninspired and, at its very best, mediocre. That sucks when you're talking about one of the nation's very best sports cities and cultural centers. It's embarrassing. But that's the way it is.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Huh? Beetle is an asshole on air and on Twitter. In fact, it amazes me the arrogance with that guy sometimes. Don't know him personally to comment on if "decent person" is fair. Do you know him?
I know him a little bit and know people who know him pretty well- he's good people.

Sports radio (unfortunately) seems to require drama/conflict/entertainment beyond what the sports themselves provide- if you want to get ahead, you need to get the clicks. Sit down with Mark and his sports knowledge/passion is deep...he's fighting for a job in a tough field with limited options, and playing with confidence/arrogance is what's required.
 

8slim

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The a-hole scale in Boston sports radio begins in the exosphere. That's the principal point of the article. So although I agree it's slap-dash, I have no problem with the Dale and Holley omissions, for example, because they do not belong in that bad company.

There is an enormous disconnect between the quality of Boston as a sports city -- first rate -- and the people there on the radio -- bottom of the barrel. I've lived in several major metropolitan areas, Washington for a long time. D.C., at best, is a mediocre sports city (note, I say "sports" not "football"). But with the exception of a few Boston pairings, the guys up there would not last here more than a month. And that's taking the transparent race baiting out of the equation, which obviously would not go over for more than a show. What you get on "EEI in the early morning, and on the other station in the afternoon, is juvenile, uninteresting, uninspired and, at its very best, mediocre. That sucks when you're talking about one of the nation's very best sports cities and cultural centers. It's embarrassing. But that's the way it is.
This I agree with. I thought the rise of streaming audio would be a Godsend for people like myself who moved out of the Boston market. Was very excited at the prospect of being able to immerse myself in Boston sports radio as if I still lived there. Outside of listening to T&R in the morning it's turned out to be an absolute wasteland. I often have a 1 hour driving commute home in the evening and Felger & Mazz and Adam Jones are so intolerably awful that I've become a rabid non-sports podcast listener.
 

shaggydog2000

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I know him a little bit and know people who know him pretty well- he's good people.

Sports radio (unfortunately) seems to require drama/conflict/entertainment beyond what the sports themselves provide- if you want to get ahead, you need to get the clicks. Sit down with Mark and his sports knowledge/passion is deep...he's fighting for a job in a tough field with limited options, and playing with confidence/arrogance is what's required.
I think Beetle comes off as a combo of stupid and arrogant that is pretty repellent. There seems to be little thought, complexity, or originality in the opinions he tosses off on air. But real life and public persona aren't always the same thing.