The Arbitron radio numbers for September as well as the summer ratings book became available yesterday, and WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub continued their intriguing battle for sports radio supremacy.

ESPN Radio’s Boston affiliate set to sign off

By Chad Finn Globe Staff / September 4, 2009

Damon Amendolara isn’t even a full month into his gig as the weeknight host on “98.5 The Sports Hub,’’ and already he has proven this to be true:

An unfamiliar voice who makes an effort to be deeply knowledgeable about his subject matter is a considerably more appealing option than a familiar voice that does not.

In a media market in which name recognition too often trumps competence, Amendolara, a 30-year-old New Yorker via (most recently) Miami, is not a retread but a revelation. During his 6-11 p.m. shift (plus occasional weekend duty), he has demonstrated some fundamental characteristics that should be appealing to the discerning listener:

He has a polished and poised radio persona, easing the concerns of Boston fans who fretted upon hearing of the Warwick, N.Y., native’s hiring that he might sound like some shrill combination of Chris “Mad Dog’’ Russo and Liza Minnelli; he treats callers respectfully but keeps the let’s-trade-Jason-Varitek-for-Joe-Mauer crowd on a short leash; and he has a well-considered opinion while willing to hear out those that might be even better considered.

Judging by the feedback received at this address, listeners greatly enjoy Amendolara’s approach, with the word “refreshing’’ being a common refrain. So much for being the outsider.

“It’s kind of like being the new kid at school,’’ said Amendolara. “Everyone is trying to figure out who you are at first. But three weeks in, the reaction has been so good, and everyone has made me feel so welcome. It’s an incredible feeling to have Boston fans embrace the show in this way.’’

For someone so young, Amendolara already has a number of stickers on his suitcase. He joined WQAM in Miami in January 2008, hosting the “The D.A. Show’’ on weeknights. Previously, he worked at Kansas City’s 610 Sports beginning in September 2003 and hosting the morning show from August 2004 to December 2007. He also worked at Sportsradio 770 ESPN in Fort Myers, Fla., shortly after graduating from Syracuse with a degree in broadcast journalism in ’01.

He became familiar to decision-makers at CBS Radio – parent company of the “The Sports Hub’’ – by doing fill-in and overnight shifts on sports radio powerhouse WFAN 660 in New York City while he was home visiting family, most recently in July. That association played a significant role in Amendolara ending up where he is now. When he learned that CBS Radio was starting up stations in various cities, he made it known that if anything opened up in Boston, he’d be interested.

“Everything appealed to me about Boston,’’ Amendolara said. “When I heard about the opportunity, I told them, ‘I’d love to do it in any role you have for me.’

“Money didn’t matter. I wanted to get to a place where the fans really cared about sports, a sophisticated sports market, and those places are on the East Coast – Boston, Philly, New York.

“Being in Miami, there was apathy – people weren’t from there, the games weren’t sold out, there wasn’t the passion. When you’re hosting a sports talk show, you exist in a vacuum; if you don’t have callers, don’t have people listening, then you don’t exist.’’

The natural question when his hiring was announced by “The Sports Hub’’: Who is this guy and what does he know about Boston sports? While Amendolara is not a native son, he has ties to Boston he says are meaningful to him. He attended games at Fenway Park and Boston Garden as a kid and was instantly smitten. And he’s had a number of relatives attend college here.

He was familiar enough with Boston to realize a long time ago that it was a place he wanted to be. But when the hope became a reality, he knew it would be wise to take “a crash course’’ in Boston sports history.

“The Red Sox are always a national story, the Patriots and Celtics, they’re always playing big national games, always on ‘SportsCenter,’ so it’s easy as a sports fan to know about them to a fundamental degree,’’ Amendolara said. “But I knew that coming into this market, you really needed to be plugged into them, to have that depth of knowledge to be able to converse with a caller who has been going to Fenway as long as he can remember, or you’re going to be exposed extremely quickly.’’

So Amendolara immersed himself in the city’s newspapers and sports blogs, read a library’s worth of books about the Red Sox, and grilled his friends in Boston for their insights and opinions. And even then, he knew there was more he needed to do.

“You can read all you want, do all the homework you want, but you really need to know the context of where the passion and the angst lies,’’ Amendolara said. “So much of it is about context and feel.

“You have to know the real history, so I asked a lot of questions, and I’m still asking a lot of questions: ‘What was the relationship between this coach and this quarterback, what was the perception of this outfielder and why,’ that sort of stuff.

“I hate listening to ill-prepared hosts, and for me to walk into a new city and thrust my opinions on people, [that would be] disrespectful.

“This isn’t about building a persona or some sort of contrived character. I’m talking sports for five hours every night. If you have a question, I have to be able to answer it, because no one around here is going to be fooled if you can’t.’’

Bruschi’s next stop

Can’t imagine anyone would disagree that Tedy Bruschi set the standard for graceful goodbyes by a retiring professional athlete.

Bruschi stood out among his peers during his 13 NFL seasons for his ability to articulate his passion for football. His press conference Monday only enhanced his reputation as a gifted speaker.

And his eloquent farewell to his first career may have set the stage for his second.

“Tedy would be a natural on television, radio, as an analyst,’’ said Brad Blank, Bruschi’s agent. “Without even lifting the phone, Tedy had received three radio and three television opportunities, including one national.’’

In fact, Bruschi had barely stepped down from the podium before he received a significant inquiry.

“Not more than five minutes after his press conference was over, ESPN called to gauge his interest,’’ Blank said. “It’s fair to say he’s made his share of good impressions.’’

While Blank said it isn’t a certainty that Bruschi will pursue a media career – coaching is another of Bruschi’s interests – he indicated that the former linebacker is giving it serious consideration.

“We haven’t really gotten into specifics with anyone,’’ Blank said. “The next stop is to take inventory and figure out what the next step is. But I do know that Tedy isn’t going to sit around. He wants to stay busy.’’

In the zone

Forget the first-round draft picks; this is a leading candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year.

The NFL RedZone channel, which is produced by the NFL Network and promises to offer a live, high-definition look at every significant on-field moment during Sunday afternoon games, is ready to launch Sept. 13, the first weekend of the season.

Better yet, it will be available to cable and dish subscribers via three different distributors. On Wednesday, Verizon announced its agreement to carry the RedZone channel through Verizon FiOS TV. That follows previous distribution deals the NFL Network reached with Comcast and Dish Network.

For the diehard NFL fan – in particular the fantasy junkie and those who might enjoy wagering on a game or two – the channel should fast become a favorite. Hosted by Scott Hanson from the NFL Network’s Los Angeles headquarters, the channel will keep fans up to date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, particularly when a team is inside the 20-yard-line.

The goal is for fans to see every important play during Sunday’s games as they happen.

Sounds like a fine way to spend an autumn Sunday, no?

It should be noted that NFL RedZone, which is produced by NFL Network, differs from DirecTV’s Red Zone Channel, which is part of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

By Chad Finn Globe Staff / September 4, 2009

Yesterday, a well-known but unexpected player entered the fray. And did it ever land an important piece.

ESPNBoston intends to closely follow the blueprint of ESPNChicago, emphasizing its deep reservoir of ESPN-produced content while also utilizing aggregation and links to other sites in an effort to become the destination site for local sports.

Like the Chicago site, ESPNBoston will emphasize logical, symbiotic affiliations and integrations with various branches of its own brand. It will feature a brief daily “SportsCenter’’ regional highlight package as well as a partnership with the local ESPN Radio affiliate. Currently, ESPNBoston does not have a website, instead redirecting to ESPN Radio 890-AM’s site.

The appearance of the ESPNChicago website is certainly familiar: it is virtually identical to the ESPN mother ship’s home page, except, of course, that all of the content is localized, including all of the news links down the righthand column.

Among the national ESPN personalities who have contributed at ESPNChicago are columnists Gene Wojciechowski (a former Tribune sportswriter) and Chicago native Scoop Jackson. ESPN has a roster of columnists and contributors with significant Boston ties, including Bill Simmons, who writes the popular “Sports Guy’’ column and also hosts an entertaining podcast, baseball guru Peter Gammons, and NFL analyst Michael Smith.

ESPN confirmed that Simmons, Gammons, and Smith will contribute to ESPNBoston, though much if not all of their work is expected to be repurposed from ESPN’s main site.

Nonetheless, their contributions will be a tremendous asset. As one source at a competing Boston sports website put it, “If they come up with a creative way to spin Simmons’s and Gammons’s traffic as part of their site here, their numbers are going to be insane.’’

ESPN announced July 20 that it planned to follow its successful debut in Chicago by launching city-specific sites in Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York. ESPNDallas.com is expected to launch within the next couple of weeks, to coincide with the Dallas Cowboys’ opener.

ESPNLosAngeles and ESPNNewYork are slated for early next year, and other cities that already have ESPN Radio affiliates are likely destinations. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, ESPN is intent on expanding into virtually every major media market, with the possibility of regional branches down the road.

Eyebrows were certainly raised in Boston when the sports-mad region, home to six professional championship teams this decade, wasn’t listed among ESPN’s second wave of localized sites. After yesterday’s developments, perhaps the initial absence was part of the plan.

“We started hearing [ESPNBoston’s arrival] was a possibility weeks ago,’’ said a source at a competing local sports website. “But it certainly does seem to have been a clandestine operation.’’

Until yesterday, that is, when the local sports media’s seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs saw Reiss switch seats.

“Everyone is scrambling right now to position themselves in the best way possible,’’ a source from a competing website mused. “Only time will tell what the best situations actually are.’’

Chad Finn can be reached at finn@globe.com

Chad Finn Touching All the Bases

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

His friendly style fits new network

“Aw, c’mon, you never count out the Red Sox,’’ laughed MLB Network analyst Sean Casey, who spent the final season of his 12-year career as a reserve first baseman in Boston last year. “We know what Tampa Bay did last year, and Texas has come a long way.

Lineup shift creates confusion; format to resume today

Listeners to the debut of 98.5 FM heard a replay of the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over Philadelphia, sealed by Rodney Harrison’s interception. (Globe/File 2005)

WEEI, Sports Hub expand their rosters

By Chad Finn, Globe Staff | August 7, 2009

And in this week’s dramatic episode of Boston Radio Wars . . .

Actually, this is still the prologue, since WBZ-FM’s “98.5 The Sports Hub’’ doesn’t launch until Thursday. Nonetheless, there were two significant plot twists in the past few days leading up to the impending showdown for local sports radio supremacy with WEEI, the longtime and lone behemoth in the genre:

WEEI and the Globe have come to a truce, allowing the newspaper’s sports reporters and columnists to return to the station’s airwaves after an often-contentious 10-year absence.

The Sports Hub, trudging toward its launch, has yet to formally announce any personnel moves, but sources with direct knowledge of the talks confirm that the Globe’s Tony Massarotti will become Michael Felger’s permanent cohost on the station’s weekday show from 2-6 p.m. Massarotti will continue to write for the Globe and Boston.com multiple times per week.

Let’s look a little deeper at this week’s developments and the implications:

“The border war is over.’’ Those are the words WEEI’s Glenn Ordway, host of the drive-time program “The Big Show,’’ used Tuesday afternoon while informing his audience of the reconciliation while announcing that Globe columnist Bob Ryan was asked to call in later in the show. Ordway, who was parroting a phrase made famous by Bill Parcells to declare the end of the Patriots-Jets feud in the ’90s, essentially was correct in his assessment, though there are more guidelines this time around, at least for the time being.

The disagreement between WEEI and the Globe began in 1999, when Don Skwar, then the newspaper’s sports editor, banned writers from appearing on “The Big Show’’ because of what he considered offensive content. Shortly thereafter, the ban was applied to the ribald “Dennis and Callahan Show’’ in the mornings. WEEI responded by barring Globe writers from all programming.

Under the new agreement, the Globe permits its writers to be call-in guests on “The Big Show’’ and “Dennis and Callahan,’’ but only if the topic relates to sports. They are allowed as in-studio cohosts on the midday “Dale and Holley Show’’ – coincidentally, Michael Holley was a Globe sportswriter when the ban was first instituted – though WEEI program director Jason Wolfe said, “Right now, it’s all about being on the phone.’’

The primary impact of that decision could be on the contributors’ wallets: Globe reporters have not been paid for call-in spots thus far, while a source said certain cohosts receive upward of several hundred dollars for a four-hour show.

The timing of the renewed relationship is both curious and fascinating. After a decade of veiled and not-so-veiled shots over the airwaves, Globe writers were, without a hint of irony, greeted as long-lost friends during their appearances this week, and that includes columnist Dan Shaughnessy on “Dennis and Callahan’’ yesterday morning, which was hosted by fill-ins Steve DeOssie and Jon Meterparel. Later in the day, WEEI.com touted the audio of Shaughnessy’s appearance with the headline, “Guess Who’s Back.’’

Wolfe denied that The Sports Hub – which because of its strong FM signal and affiliations with the Patriots and Bruins (including game broadcast rights) figures to be the strongest challenger WEEI has faced – prompted him to extend an olive branch to the Globe.

“That didn’t have anything to do with it,’’ said Wolfe, adding that he has spoken to Globe editor Marty Baron and sports editor Joe Sullivan many times over the years about having Globe writers return to WEEI’s airwaves. “We’ve been successful, everyone has been successful, but the timing just felt right, it felt like the right time to make it work.’’

While offering similar sentiments, Baron said the policy with WEEI is essentially the same one the Globe has with other stations.

“It’s an arrangement that works for both sides,’’ said Baron. “It’s a normalization of the relationship. Our writers and columnists have the freedom to go on the air on a voluntary basis if they desire.’’

Wolfe said WEEI isn’t seeking exclusive deals with Globe reporters, while Mark Hannon, the senior vice president and market manager for CBS Radio Boston, said The Sports Hub is considering every possible contributor on a case-by-case basis.

Thus far, The Sports Hub has taken a below-the-radar approach as its launch date nears.

According to an industry source, former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak will fill the permanent cohost role alongside host Gary Tanguay during the midday program, similar to the Felger-Massarotti pairing in the afternoon.

Hannon said an announcement about on-air staff could happen today. He also noted the station has had “informal’’ contact with a few Globe writers, and it intends to air local evening programing.

“We expect to feature a full slate of local shows,’’ Hannon said.

While The Sports Hub assembles its roster, WEEI goes about preparing for its challenge. While he won’t confirm it, Wolfe’s recent actions to maintain or deepen WEEI’s roster of contributors, such as retaining former Sox utilityman Lou Merloni after he was vigorously pursued by The Sports Hub, strongly suggest he is taking the competition seriously.

The mutual conclusion of the WEEI/Globe ban stands as another indication.

“Ten years is a long time,’’ Wolfe said.“We’re just focused on what we have to do. The Globe has great writers and excellent reporters, and we’ve proven very good at we do, and we can benefit from each other. That’s what we all want.’’

Photo by Matt Stone

Former Boston Herald sports columnist Tony Massarotti, who went over to the dark side 11 months ago, is thisclose to fleeing the Boring Broadsheet for an afternoon gig on the all-new “98.5 The Sports Hub.”

Mazz, natch, refused to discuss the deal whereby he partners up with his ex-Herald colleague Mike Felger on WBZ-FM’s afternoon-drive shift that will compete with WEEI’s “The Big Show” powerhouse, hosted by Glenn Ordway .

But sources close to the negotiations told the Track it is “nearly a done deal.”

Coincidentally – or not – ’EEI yesterday issued a press release saying that all is forgiven and that Boston Globe sports scribes will return as guests on the sports station’s talk shows “effectively immediately.”

Back in 1999, the sports suits on the Boulevard banned their resident blowhards from appearing on “Dennis & Callahan” and the bombastic “Big Show.” In retaliation, Globies have been dead to the station.

While the ban has been lifted, our sources claim the Boring ones will only opine on the phone – not in the studio. That’s the deal.

“This isn’t coincidental at all,” said Someone Who Knows. “(WBZ-FM) is the first viable threat to them and they are running scared.”

WEEI’s programming veep Jason Wolfe, responded to the above comment by sending us a “LOL” (Laughing Out Loud) via e-mail.

As always, do stay tuned.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1189189

Lou Merloni picks WEEI in sports radio battle
/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1187417

David Ortiz Boston Red Sox

They count. For all the instant disillusionment and partisan morality, the Red Sox’ championships of 2004 and 2007 still stand.

What we saw in October 2004 — the eight straight victories by the Red Sox over the Yankees and the Cardinals — remains an epic run.

Johnny Damon really did stand up in the Sox clubhouse on the night they fell three games behind the Yankees and assert that his team was quite capable of winning four games in a row. Which it promptly did. Twice.

This history is worth recalling because the Red Sox are coming to Yankeeland for a four-game series, Thursday through Sunday. No doubt Yankee fans will remind current Sox players and their fans of the tests from 2003 that detected the use of performance-enhancing drugs by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

The results for Ortiz and Ramirez, which were part of what was supposed to be anonymous research into the extent of drug use, were first reported by The New York Times on Thursday.

Yankee fans will conveniently omit the fact that Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi and even good old Andy Pettitte have been connected to illegal stuff in recent years.

It is unfortunate that baseball — management and union — contrived to duck serious testing until finally forced by Congress and unavoidable evidence. Penalties came only later.

We all have to live with that. There is no going back, no asterisks. Barry Bonds hit his home runs with that magnificent short stroke of his, and, no doubt in my mind, enhancement from Balco. There are shadows over Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but their home runs count.

Fans should think what they want, but unofficial tests do not count. The same is true in cycling, which avoided credible testing for many years in the face of blatant cheating. But incomplete research tests from 1999 that suggested Lance Armstrong had used EPO for blood doping are meaningless. I believe journalists should reveal details like this when they can be verified, but the Ortiz and Ramirez tests from 2003 do not count.

Three things I know about sports and drugs.

One is that anabolic steroids and EPO are banned from almost all sports, for good reason. Young athletes have committed suicide from the effects of steroids; cyclists have fallen off their bikes quite dead because their altered blood was like sludge. That’s why certain substances are banned. Fans who blithely say they have no problem with sports doping are volunteering to be accessories to death.

Another thing I know is that athletes are almost always aware of what they are putting in their bodies. They may not be able to name one judge on the highest court in their land, or know the words of their national anthem, but they know the ingredients they are ingesting or injecting. It is their life, their livelihood. So I never believe it when athletes say their trainer or their buddy just handed them some stuff. Please.

The third thing I know is that sports fans have to give up this false expectation that athletes should demonstrate higher standards than politicians, bankers, mortgage executives or, for that matter, journalists. Stop expecting athletes to be role models. Caveat emptor.

Athletes can be as overpriced as the soggy and salty $13.25 processed pork sandwich I foolishly purchased at Throneberry Field Forever in Flushing the other night. The real question is, why do people pay outrageous prices for dreck, on the field and in the concession stands?

Still, sports can be a pretty good show. I am not downgrading the derring-do of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, both of whom I assume to be clean, nor am I erasing the memories of lumbering Papi and mystical Manny, back to back, making Boston the dominant team of this century, so far. It still counts.

In recent years, Ortiz has been the subject of many e-mail messages I have received from self-appointed physiognomists, phrenologists and physiologists, claiming that any fool could see Papi was doping. Just look at the bones in his face. The change in his body. The clutch home runs he was swatting. My response was, Got proof?

The floating suspicion about Ortiz has caused some readers to point out that The New York Times owns the Boston Globe as well as 17.75 percent of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Red Sox and 80 percent of the New England Sports Network. This tangle of interests could lead The Times to cover up evidence of doping by Red Sox players, readers have said.

One could tell readers that there has never been the slightest pressure to go easy on the Sox and that no matter how hard some of us criticize the Yankees, I have never once heard a Yankees official claim it was motivated by corporate interests. Fortunately, The Times says it is selling its share of the Sox by January, and not a moment too soon.

For now, the news is out that Papi and Manny were part of a dirty generation. I do not have much nostalgia for the singular home-run exploits by sluggers of the past age, but the collective success of the Sox in Fenway Park and elsewhere was dramatic and historic. Just guessing Yankees fans won’t see it that way.