Kirk and Callahan: Done

Mueller's Twin Grannies

critical thinker
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Dec 19, 2009
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Thanks for this. I think I've heard approximately 5 mins of the Hillman show a long time ago and I changed the channel. I didn't remember them being Republicans, but you're telling me it would be Callahan redux....why would EEI do that? Gah. No good options in the morning.
Yeah, Greg is a rich, privileged white guy who lives (or did) in Stow and used to openly cheer W even when things weren't going well for him. I'll let you do the math. He's not as vitriolic as Callahan, though, so it wouldn't be a complete redux. He also doesn't hate firefighters.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Mustard and Johnson?

If we're going to pretend that it's the late 90s and run out a bunch of retreads, maybe the Sox should get into the spirit off their radio partner and put Steve Avery and Frank Castillo back in the rotation?
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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How dare you question a 2 hour block of The Teacher and the Preacher!
The only thing that I like about M&J is that it brings me back to 20 years ago, when I intensely hated everything about them. What a life I lived, where one of my biggest gripes was who was talking on sports radio. I also recall having a bone to pick with Scott Stapp too.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Wow. I'm surprised. I figured he'd be out in August. Ratings came out yesterday according to T&R, so I'm guessing there was some out in the contract for them to terminate him. Good riddance. I'd love for WEEI to have a half decent show in the morning (or afternoon). I like Keefe, so I can tolerate Dale.
 
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Red(s)HawksFan

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If they are moving Greg Hill to WEEI, I don’t think that will be true.
Kinda depends on if they're moving Hill entirely or simulcasting on both WEEI and WAAF. If they're moving his show, then yeah, they might see not see a drop in ratings. If it's a simulcast, where all Hill's regular listeners keep their dials right where they've always been, I'm sure the WEEI numbers will take a hit.
 

Koji’s Slider

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If anyone remembers 96.9 talk, this is what happens to a dying radio station, they start jettisoning the talent people actually listen too, and in a year it will be soft rock or country station.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Well 98.5 is dropping CBS Sports Radio (cya Amy Lawrence and John Kinkaid!) maybe they can simulcast the CBS morning show whatever that may be.
 

jayhoz

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Wow. I'm surprised. I figured he'd be out in August. Ratings came out yesterday according to T&R, so I'm guessing there was some out in the contract for them to terminate him. Good riddance. I'd love for WEEI to have a half decent show in the morning (or afternoon). I like Keefe, so I can tolerate Dale.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2019/07/11/media/OW323DeVeKep3KABugAz7I/story.html?event=event25
In morning drive (6-10 a.m.), The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich” show was first (9.1). WEEI’s “Mut and Callahan” was fifth (6.5, including 0.4 from WVEI and 0.4 from its stream).
 

24JoshuaPoint

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Wow, i turned in for all of 10 seconds to hear him say something stupid and said out loud 'how does anyone listen to this show' as i turned it off. This is good news.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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I have never heard of Hill. I imagine it's "Bro Radio" that a kind of boring guy in his 50's wouldn't care for? Correct?
Hill is a guy in his 50s, and kinda boring himself, so maybe it would appeal to other "boring guys" in their 50s. He's been doing the morning show on WAAF for over 25 years. The only reason this might feel like an attempt to skew younger is because WAAF's demo is a bit younger than WEEI's (or at least the Callahan demo), but I don't think it's that big of a leap toward the youthful side.
 

Senator Donut

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I'm amazed that Callahan was fired not for some on-air controversy, but due to the fact that the listening public has lost interest and stopped listening to his dull radio show. I guess that's a victory for good taste.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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I have never heard of Hill. I imagine it's "Bro Radio" that a kind of boring guy in his 50's wouldn't care for? Correct?
Could not be further from the truth. My post upthread gives a little more info, but here's the Crib Notes version:

Greg Hill has been the morning show host on WAAF for it feels like 20+ years, maybe even longer. It's where many of the station's current DJs cut their teeth as interns or supporting talent. The core group that I knew when I used to listen to WAAF is Greg Hill, Kevin Barbare (impressionist responsible for many of the show's best bits), Mike Hsu (headlines and traffic guy, stoner from Pittsburgh who was largely the smart comic relief), and Lyndon Byers (former Boston Bruin, meathead, regularly just doesn't show up because he's sleeping off a bender, non-smart comic relief). Several years ago (more than a decade at this point), Mike Hsu graduated to his own show (which I think he's since given up to go back and join the HMMS cast) and his replacement was a guy whose name was Anthony Spaziani (or something to that effect), colorfully nicknamed Spaz. "Come on, guy!" was his catchphrase whenever he would get indignant over anything (which was frequent). He was kind of like the white Jermaine Wiggins when it came to his level of knowledge, diction, and penchant for playing the fool. Kevin Barbare left a few years later and has not returned. A woman named Danielle was brought on as the traffic/headlines person but graduated to full-fledged member of the group and is, for lack of a better description, the Robin Quivers archetype (laughing at all the men's buffoonery but never calling out anything they do or say that crosses a line).

Greg is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican who lives an affluent lifestyle and has a lot of thoughts about stuff, most of them relatively uninformed. He's pretty much a blowhard with an overinflated sense of self but his biggest claim to fame, locally, might be the innovation of the "mantown," better known as a man cave. Not sure if he coined the term or just started using it before it caught on nationwide, but his has been much ballyhooed and is basically his safe space from all the things he doesn't like while still being able to revel in being a heterosexual, sports-minded male. He also created the Miss Mantown contest, which was originally designed for local attractive women (single or not) to strut their stuff and do some risque photo shoots to sell calendars for charity. As could have been predicted, eventually they went through all the "normal" women willing to degrade themselves by answering questions like "Spit or swallow," the style of their pubic hair, whether they allow "third input" during sex, etc., and the net was cast wider to start picking up local strippers and escorts looking for their 15 minutes of fame. That has gone on for several years and through a couple different iterations. At last check, it was being sponsored by friend of the station Ernie Boch Jr., who got to be in-studio to see the topless girls in between shots where their nudity was "tastefully" hidden.

Greg knows next to nothing about sports other than he likes the Boston teams and hates the Yankees. He brings almost nothing to the table accept as the director of the inmates in the asylum. He's a bit of a walking cliche with a good radio voice.

I predict his show lasts 6 months and then he goes back to WAAF.

Speaking of WAAF, it's had its own issues over the last few years but who takes over in the morning spot when the show moves? Simulcast? I fear WAAF's format is going to be changing before the end of 2020 with the way things are going for radio, especially a rock radio station that doesn't play anything recorded prior to 2005.
 
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mauf

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Wow. I'm surprised. I figured he'd be out in August. Ratings came out yesterday according to T&R, so I'm guessing there was some out in the contract for them to terminate him. Good riddance. I'd love for WEEI to have a half decent show in the morning (or afternoon). I like Keefe, so I can tolerate Dale.
The last thing management wanted was Callahan on the air in DGAF mode. Once Callahan realized there was no chance he’d be re-upped, getting him off the air immediately was a no-brainer. I assume they’ll pay him not to work for the next month and chalk it up as cheap insurance.

I still can’t believe he survived the Metco thing. This is like 20 years overdue.
 

Rusty13

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Could not be further from the truth. My post upthread gives a little more info, but here's the Crib Notes version:

Greg Hill has been the morning show host on WAAF for it feels like 20+ years, maybe even longer. It's where many of the station's current DJs cut their teeth as interns or supporting talent. The core group that I knew when I used to listen to WAAF is Greg Hill, Kevin Barbare (impressionist responsible for many of the show's best bits), Mike Hsu (headlines and traffic guy, stoner from Pittsburgh who was largely the smart comic relief), and Lyndon Byers (former Boston Bruin, meathead, regularly just doesn't show up because he's sleeping off a bender, non-smart comic relief). Several years ago (more than a decade at this point), Mike Hsu graduated to his own show (which I think he's since given up to go back and join the HMMS cast) and his replacement was a guy whose name was Anthony Spaziani (or something to that effect), colorfully nicknamed Spaz. "Come on, guy!" was his catchphrase whenever he would get indignant over anything (which was frequent). He was kind of like the white Jermaine Wiggins when it came to his level of knowledge, diction, and penchant for playing the fool. Kevin Barbare left a few years later and has not returned. A woman named Danielle was brought on as the traffic/headlines person but graduated to full-fledged member of the group and is, for lack of a better description, the Robin Quivers archetype (laughing at all the men's buffoonery but never calling out anything they do or say that crosses a line).

Greg is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican who lives an affluent lifestyle and has a lot of thoughts about stuff, most of them relatively uninformed. He's pretty much a blowhard with an overinflated sense of self but his biggest claim to fame, locally, might be the innovation of the "mantown," better known as a man cave. Not sure if he coined the term or just started using it before it caught on nationwide, but his has been much ballyhooed and is basically his safe space from all the things he doesn't like while still being able to revel in being a heterosexual, sports-minded male. He also created the Miss Mantown contest, which was originally designed for local attractive women (single or not) to strut their stuff and do some risque photo shoots to sell calendars for charity. As could have been predicted, eventually they went through all the "normal" women willing to degrade themselves by answering questions like "Spit or swallow," the style of their pubic hair, whether they allow "third input" during sex, etc., and the net was cast wider to start picking up local strippers and escorts looking for their 15 minutes of fame. That has gone on for several years and through a couple different iterations. At last check, it was being sponsored by friend of the station Ernie Boch Jr., who got to be in-studio to see the topless girls in between shots where their nudity was "tastefully" hidden.

Greg knows next to nothing about sports other than he likes the Boston teams and hates the Yankees. He brings almost nothing to the table accept as the director of the inmates in the asylum. He's a bit of a walking cliche with a good radio voice.

I predict his show lasts 6 months and then he goes back to WAAF.
Thanks for the hilarious summary! Did his AAF show play music? I haven't listened in YEARS.

6 months sounds about right and is probably true for the entirety of the EEI sports talk format. I don't think Callahan will be the only unemployed casualty from this. I wonder where Callahan goes from here if anywhere? 680 is running with Jeff Kuhner in morning drive, who is absolutely AWFUL. Gerry would be an upgrade by default if he wanted to go full blown politics. I doubt Barstool will tend him a contract.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Thanks for the hilarious summary! Did his AAF show play music? I haven't listened in YEARS.
There used to be music, but it's been all talk for at least a decade. I haven't listened to the show more than once or twice in the last 7-8 years, but each time I have there's been no music and no real change in what the show was when I was a regular listener (probably 96 to 09).
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Thanks for the hilarious summary! Did his AAF show play music? I haven't listened in YEARS.

6 months sounds about right and is probably true for the entirety of the EEI sports talk format. I don't think Callahan will be the only unemployed casualty from this. I wonder where Callahan goes from here if anywhere? 680 is running with Jeff Kuhner in morning drive, who is absolutely AWFUL. Gerry would be an upgrade by default if he wanted to go full blown politics. I doubt Barstool will tend him a contract.
When I used to catch it, they would play a few songs in an hour. I think they've largely been music-free for awhile (which is a bit odd for a ROCK RADIO STATION but there you go). I just don't see how his show survives on WEEI unless it completely changes formats. They won't be able to parade the local callgirls in to get naked and giggle while incels call in with their meat in the other hand and ask questions that would be below Hustler standards and they won't be able to do a lot of their comedy bits that might appeal to a younger demo. Danielle will be basically forgotten on the show except as "the girl" of the group and will probably be doing flashes (but not the kind they normally have done by other women) until she gets bored and gets a better gig. He's going to need a cohost who can challenge him and I'm not sure one exists because he's so lazy and uninformed that it would basically require someone chiming in every time he says something.

Callahan's best next step would be to go completely digital. I could see him joining some RW site like The Daily Stormer or Breitbart (Schilling can probably help him get in the door) so he can rant about libs and Dems into the echo chamber. Hopefully he just goes away.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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My God. Talk about basically admitting who you are and THEN some if he takes a job there!
Yes and no. It's clear how he thinks and there's an audience out there waiting to gobble up rhetoric like that, so why not get paid well to spew it. He may not be Alex Jones, but he could certainly get paid like him if he tries hard enough. I think his time in the sun is up either way. Pending the results of the next election (or even in 2024), there's a decent chance that wave starts to recede and take all the refuse with it. His future is falling asleep at a bar after screaming about some minority group over a few glasses of whiskey to anyone who'll listen.
 

RIFan

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Greg knows next to nothing about sports other than he likes the Boston teams and hates the Yankees. He brings almost nothing to the table accept as the director of the inmates in the asylum. He's a bit of a walking cliche with a good radio voice.
I haven't listened to the HMMS in the last few years, but I don't think this is an accurate take. Hill has been very well connected with a number of Boston sports figures. For a radio guy, he's had pretty good locker room access and acceptance with at least a notable subset of players. It's been a while so maybe he doesn't have the same access now that he did with the prior generations of players. This seems like an all around good move. Get him off of 'AAF and maybe they'll go back to actually playing drive time music. I think the whole HMMS grew stale with that audience. He won't be a complete affront to the Callahan lib haters, since he shares that ethos. He will do it with a lighter touch and without the overt racism so sponsors won't be scared off. He'll carry over some of his audience and will appeal to a similar demo as T&R so he should pull back some WEEI lost listeners. On the sports side, he'll definitely get more willing interview participants than Callahan especially since he will be more of a suck up than an antagonist. I can see him winning the time slot and crushing the Callahan ratings.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Dec 19, 2009
9,386
I haven't listened to the HMMS in the last few years, but I don't think this is an accurate take. Hill has been very well connected with a number of Boston sports figures. For a radio guy, he's had pretty good locker room access and acceptance with at least a notable subset of players. It's been a while so maybe he doesn't have the same access now that he did with the prior generations of players. This seems like an all around good move. Get him off of 'AAF and maybe they'll go back to actually playing drive time music. I think the whole HMMS grew stale with that audience. He won't be a complete affront to the Callahan lib haters, since he shares that ethos. He will do it with a lighter touch and without the overt racism so sponsors won't be scared off. He'll carry over some of his audience and will appeal to a similar demo as T&R so he should pull back some WEEI lost listeners. On the sports side, he'll definitely get more willing interview participants than Callahan especially since he will be more of a suck up than an antagonist. I can see him winning the time slot and crushing the Callahan ratings.
Maybe you're right. I purposefully stopped listening to him (and the station, largely) years ago because everything about it was so stale, especially their playlists (oh boy, Skid Row is on again...in 2014!), so maybe he's gotten better. It used to be that LB (who is conspicuous by his absence in that press release) was their sports "in" since he was a former player and had a good rapport with most athletes (e.g., the Scott Zolak Corollary) but maybe Greg's beefed up a bit on his sports knowledge. I still expect a lot of hot takez from him.

Interesting that Danielle has been officially announced as his cohost. Is she the first full-fledged female cohost on a major 'EEI show in a long time/ever?
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Been waiting for this news for years! One less Trumpet on the radio! God bless the man with his transgender kid who has stood up and forced WEEI to change its racist ways.
 

henrydog

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"Additionally, on-air personality Mike “Mut” Mutnansky will transition back to hosting evenings at the station, a position he previously occupied. "

In some ways I feel bad for the guy because he's put in the time and finally got his shot, but in most other ways he was your stereotypical sports talk dude straight out of central casting and it's not a big loss.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Been waiting for this news for years! One less Trumpet on the radio! God bless the man with his transgender kid who has stood up and forced WEEI to change its racist ways.
I'm willing to bet that Greg Hill not only voted for Trump but thinks he's doing a great job and is still YOUR PRESIDENT. He likely has a MAGA hat in his home.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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I'm willing to bet that Greg Hill not only voted for Trump but thinks he's doing a great job and is still YOUR PRESIDENT. He likely has a MAGA hat in his home.
One battle at a time. You are unfortunately correct. Now it should be Bostons job to get Hillman's sexist show off the radio. Still a slight upgrade over the KKK rally on the airwaves from 6-10 every morning.
 

jayhoz

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Maybe you're right. I purposefully stopped listening to him (and the station, largely) years ago because everything about it was so stale, especially their playlists (oh boy, Skid Row is on again...in 2014!), so maybe he's gotten better. It used to be that LB (who is conspicuous by his absence in that press release) was their sports "in" since he was a former player and had a good rapport with most athletes (e.g., the Scott Zolak Corollary) but maybe Greg's beefed up a bit on his sports knowledge. I still expect a lot of hot takez from him.

Interesting that Danielle has been officially announced as his cohost. Is she the first full-fledged female cohost on a major 'EEI show in a long time/ever?


At sister station WAAF, longtime personality and morning show sports anchor Lyndon Byers will remain with the station in a new capacity.