Kirk and Callahan: Done

Vinho Tinto

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 9, 2003
7,047
Auburn, MA
Felger and Callahan would be an unbeatable pair. But it'll never happen unfortunately.
They worked together when John Dennis recovered from surgery. It was the optimal version of their current shows. Callahan's politics blind people from recognizing that when he is interested in a sports topic, which he usually isn't when working with Dennis, he is an excellent radio host.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
14,181
Caught Luchino on this morning - love the repoir he and Callahan have now. Great verbal sparring at times. Dale is such a nerd it's painful, but he was a decent middleman there.
 

judyb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
4,444
Wilmington MA
I caught a bit of them this morning, it sounded like they were trying to figure out how pitch fx works, and they seemed to come to the conclusion that there must be experts in every park charting all the pitches.
 

weeba

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
3,537
Lynn, MA
This made me laugh, from BSMW:

Callers afterward accused D&C of being in the bag for Francona, which they denied, and then the third caller said that D&C were tweaking Valentine because their ratings are horrible. He then noted he had no wait in calling in and getting on the air. Callahan shouted that they have 12 phone lines and that’s the reason he got right through.
 

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,371
Chicago
http://audio.weei.com/a/55033867/red-sox-manager-bobby-valentine-talks-with-dennis-and-callahan.htm

First question:

John Dennis: 10-part question
BV: I don't understand [your question], so I don't know.

ha!
 

soxfan121

JAG
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
23,043
This made me laugh, from BSMW:
I listened to the whole interview in real-time and thought there were no real issues until the very end, AFTER Dennis had stated "last question from me". It was at that point that Callahan brought up Schilling's comments and BV answered "why are you so dismissive of Schilling's opinion?" with "he's not in the (locker) room." Callahan didn't hear that or accept it and kept pushing, resulting in several seconds of dead air and a "next question" snapped off by BV.

BV came off in the whole interview as a touchy, on-edge jerk. He was defensive, he was reticent, he was a bad interview. Having heard lots of BV interviews, this was one of his bottom 10%. But Callahan, if he was "in the bag" for anyone, is in the bag for Schilling and I have no doubt that Callahan's flippant "yeah, he's been on our show a lot" response made BV even more defensive and hostile.

Anyway, two weeks, two shows, two extremely awkward and poor interview performances on WEEI for BV, Ordway & D/C.

Gotta give it to Gerry tho - the comment after they came back from break "Well, next week Bobby will be on with the midday show and they won't offend him" was pretty damned funny, mostly because while he was only half-joking.
 

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,371
Chicago
We'll have to see if BV will have ANY good interviews with any other outlet in Boston. Think about if BV goes on F&M? That would be even MORE uncomfortable.

BV might be letting the Boston media drive him out of town
 

Phenom

as if andy gresh and gary tanguay had a baby
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
998
Regardless of who's at fault for these bad interviews with Bobby Valentine, EEI has to mend the relationship. One of the few remaining advantages they have over "The Sports Hub" is their access to the Red Sox and primary sources within the organization. At this rate, even if Valentine is contractually obligated to continue with the interviews, he isn't going to give them anything of substance. The interview will become a giant waste of time.

I'm not advocating that the hosts should suck up to Valentine and not ask him tough questions. But they have to find a way to create a more amicable relationship with the manager, who by the way, is notoriously an entertaining and newsworthy interview.

It would be a total disaster for WEEI if Valentine broke news on Michael Kay's show in New York while giving them nothing. Or, even worse, he goes on Felger and Mazz for one appearance like Tito did and gives them a relevant news item. For WEEI's sake, this relationship has to work.
 

ForKeeps

New Member
Oct 13, 2011
464
I love it. Make these clowns uncomfortable, Bobby. Silence, that is literally what 95% of their questions deserve.

Think about if BV goes on F&M?
I think the universe would explode. Then again, it's possible they see what's going on with EEI and decide that they're going to be Bobby V's cheerleaders.
 

Submariner

New Member
Apr 23, 2010
37
So on Friday, the day after a huge first round in the NFL Draft and with the Red Sox then on a 4-game win streak that they sorely needed, half the show was spent continuing to hammer on the post-Bruins racist tweets from a day or two prior.

It's just so obvious that, if it's not the NBA, PGA, politics, or celebrity gossip, it's not on their radar. Surface-level commentary on everything else, most of which consists of Callahan stating the facts of the situation in a sarcastic tone. I love how they disparage the use of phrases like "low pad level" or "arm slot". It must be awesome to get away with doing a show that requires little to no show prep.
 

Puffy

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 14, 2006
1,263
Town
To be fair, racism is right in D & C's wheelhouse.
On this topic, I happened to catch the last half of the Oil Can Boyd interview this morning. I am not a regular listener and was about to change the channel, but the tone of the interview hooked me. After the interview, as Dennis and Callahan start snickering and guffawing through their typical self-congratulatory interview postmortem, I had that uncomfortable feeling that I sometimes get with these guys when they start prancing on the edge of bigotry. It guess it was really just a tone rather than something overt, but it was surely an unsettling undertone of racism masked by bad and patronizing attempts at humor. I was about to shake it off because it was hard to put my finger on the faint but palpable racist edge, when a caller named Jarrod called in to tell them exactly what I was feeling - that he was just sensing a hint of racism that was making him uneasy. Of course, Dennis and Callahan were supremely offended and started clucking and puffing up their chest and flapping their wings, completely smothering the caller's fairly measured point (he didn't call up and say "you guys are racist" - although that's how D & C took it).

I actually don't know where I mean to go with this. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know what else to say except to get this moment on the record and also observe how amazing it is that these humorless dinosaurs are still on the radio.
 

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,371
Chicago
On this topic, I happened to catch the last half of the Oil Can Boyd interview this morning. I am not a regular listener and was about to change the channel, but the tone of the interview hooked me. After the interview, as Dennis and Callahan start snickering and guffawing through their typical self-congratulatory interview postmortem, I had that uncomfortable feeling that I sometimes get with these guys when they start prancing on the edge of bigotry. It guess it was really just a tone rather than something overt, but it was surely an unsettling undertone of racism masked by bad and patronizing attempts at humor. I was about to shake it off because it was hard to put my finger on the faint but palpable racist edge, when a caller named Jarrod called in to tell them exactly what I was feeling - that he was just sensing a hint of racism that was making him uneasy. Of course, Dennis and Callahan were supremely offended and started clucking and puffing up their chest and flapping their wings, completely smothering the caller's fairly measured point (he didn't call up and say "you guys are racist" - although that's how D & C took it).

I actually don't know where I mean to go with this. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know what else to say except to get this moment on the record and also observe how amazing it is that these humorless dinosaurs are still on the radio.
they are trumpeting the uncensored version of the interview on their website...I think they are focusing on the clip where Oil Can called Boggs and his father racists, calling him the N-word while they played...this is interesting indeed
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
14,181
I head the whole Oil Can interview on the way to work and honestly don't know what to make of it. First, Oil Can did generally seem like he was fucked up, and when Callahan asked him if he was high right now he said yes, but Oil Can was just talking and talking and I'm not sure whether he heard any of the questions or not. Was he stoned during the interview? Quite possibly. Did it just seem funny to him to say yes? Maybe.

Anyway, D&C didn't have much chance to get a word in edgewise, actually, and when they did try to follow up with questions, it was definitely in a patronizing tone: "what about the example you're setting for your kids?" "Wouldn't you have been better if you hadn't been doing the drugs?" ETc.

But Oil Can was really going off: "I was always the best athlete on the field, whether I was high or drunk or whatever. I was the best!" That type of non-sensical stuff. Said he was driven out of the league because no one wanted to deal with him anymore, not because he couldn't pitch. Said even though he was talking about being high all the time, and admitted to Pappas that he was doing drugs all the time, that "no one knew! no one ever caught me with anything! That's not why they didn't want me!"

Said Wade Boggs called him the n-word [that word filter is probably for the best] every day, as well. He was swearing all the time, to the point that they were beeping out half his words and even missing some. Shit and fuck both made it on the air a couple of times. Then he hung up at the end.

D&C definitely didn't come off particularly well - it seemed to me like they were baiting him into being a crazy person as much as possible - but I didn't catch a racist tone necessarily. I think they're dismissive of and condescending to those they consider beneath them, like "drug addicts" and those who don't have their superior moral standards or whatever, but I don't think it was a race thing.

The whole thing felt gross. Oil Can was only on to pimp his book, and D&C had clearly agreed to pimp the book in exchange for the interview and pimped it at the end grudgingly, but neither side really wanted to talk to the other, it didn't seem. D&C just wanted salacious details, but they didn't want the real Oil Can. I think they were hoping he'd be Bill Lee charming, and he really wasn't.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
I can't fault D&C for their interview. Dennis Boyd is high-risk when he's talking. Anything can happen.

Oil Can is a black man from Mississippi who doesn't expect white folks to ever understand him. He hasn't really changed much since he played in Pawtucket nearly 30 years ago. He was always very self-centered, trying to sell himself, set himself apart from his teammates, even his black teammates like Chico Walker and Lee Graham. He told stories that nobody could believe and after awhile the BS got so thick that you stopped listening. Even his black teammates rolled their eyes at Oil Can's stories.

Boyd seemed to like the comparison to Satchel Paige that so many writers of that era made. Maybe he is our generation's version of Satchel although from reading about Satchel you get the sense of a man who knew where he was going in life, and knew how to make himself some money. Oil Can is nowhere near Satchel in that regard. I guess this book is his last chance to cash in. No matter what, he still has his monthly player's pension check to keep him from going broke.

Oil Can also knows that Dock Ellis gained some notoriety by admitting that he pitched a no-hitter while on acid. Maybe that is the point of his publicity tour, to create some controversy that will sell his book.

Ellis spent his later years counseling kids against drug abuse. He died in 2008 from liver problems. I hope Oil Can lives to a long age because somehow, despite his self-absorption, he had a likeable quality that often overshadowed his ego.
 

Puffy

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 14, 2006
1,263
Town
Yeah, I guess in the end it was just a really bad match. I really kind of felt for him at the end as he was coming unhinged. He seemed really fragile and it was obvious that Dennis and Callahan possess neither the sensitivity or grace to deal with it. I understand we're talking about sports talk radio here, but it still seemed exploitative.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Yeah, I guess in the end it was just a really bad match. I really kind of felt for him at the end as he was coming unhinged. He seemed really fragile and it was obvious that Dennis and Callahan possess neither the sensitivity or grace to deal with it. I understand we're talking about sports talk radio here, but it still seemed exploitative.
Fragile is probably the perfect word to describe Dennis Boyd.
 

Dalton Jones

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Nov 24, 2001
1,410
Didn't hear the interview. No problem believing the racist mf's did their usual shtick. Anytime anyone doubts the racist bona fides of these two, just remember the Metco gorilla comment. 'Nuff said.
 

Byrdbrain

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
8,588
I just tuned in and heard them say they are at the "Tame the Tiger" golf tournament. I assume that is the issue, they may have talked about it but I haven't heard.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,548
I don't really listen to D&C, but are they even talking about the Schilling conundrum? I mean, they have to be spinning this, right?
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
I don't really listen to D&C, but are they even talking about the Schilling conundrum? I mean, they have to be spinning this, right?
they are, apparently they don't see any problem with being in favor of limited government and then turning around and accepting $75m from the state, they had kirk minihane on to talk about the article he wrote on weei.com and he pretty much crushed them, its in the archives on the website or itunes
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
Link to the Minihane article?
probably this one is why they had him on, since he wrote it today
http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/kirk-minihane/2012/05/25/end-curt-schilling-was-only-about-curt-schil

but he also wrote this one a week ago when the news first broke that 38 studios was in trouble
http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/kirk-minihane/2012/05/16/hypocrisy-curt-schilling
 

Andy Merchant

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2010
1,647
they are, apparently they don't see any problem with being in favor of limited government and then turning around and accepting $75m from the state, they had kirk minihane on to talk about the article he wrote on weei.com and he pretty much crushed them, its in the archives on the website or itunes
I held my nose and listened to the Buddy Cianci, Darren Rovell, and Kurt Minihane interviews from this morning and true to form they circled the wagons defending Schiling and didn't understand why anyone would call him a hypocrite (a position I also heard last week listening to a Holley & Ordway podcast). Basically, they wrote it off as a "businessman trying to grow his business" type of argument. I wonder if they feel the same way about the Evergreen Solar debacle here in MA?
 

Billy Jo Robidoux

Shoveltowner/Jerkface
SoSH Member
Jan 6, 2003
2,857
Cape Cod
Flipped on D&C for a minute this morning -- they were talking about 38 Studios. Callahan was spouting all of Schilling's talking points, saying that Chafee wanted the company to fail, and that private investors were ready to fund Schilling's company, but decided against it when the Governor spilled the beans about the next release date and the company's cash burn rate.

I would rather listen to a test of the Emergency Broadcast System than these two idiots.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,426
I thought the same thing BJR.

"Private investors were JUST going to give Schilling all the money he wanted, but the Governor screwed him!"

Hey guys, Schilling needed State money because no private investors wanted to touch his stupid fucking venture. Now all the sudden people are lining up? Like they're not going to want to look at Schillings books and say, "Hey...uh...you have no fucking money and your business model sucks. We're not interested."

Complete schill(ing)s for G38.
 

steveluck7

Member
SoSH Member
May 10, 2007
3,994
Burrillville, RI
[quote name='Kenny F'ing Powers' timestamp='1338306407' post='4155933']

"Hey...uh...you have no fucking money and your business model sucks. We're not interested."
[/quote]

Unfortunately for those of us residing in RI, the EDC didn't realize this
 

bosox188

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 11, 2008
2,916
Marlborough, MA
I'd love to know how they defended the fact that nobody got paid for their last month, employees were given no advance notice of layoffs or the fact that their health insurance was gone.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,548
I'd love to know how they defended the fact that nobody got paid for their last month, employees were given no advance notice of layoffs or the fact that their health insurance was gone.
Should have become a millionaire. If D&C were laid off, they'd be fine. Be like them, suckers.
 

sharke5

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
13
[sub]Once again, the Sox come through as tone deaf. Even entertaining the thought of "offering" the PA job to the smarmy Meter just shows that they are in a fog. Plus, having the PA guy announce balls & strikes? Larry mentioned that he has discussed that with Dr Charles.[/sub]