The simmering feud between the city’s two sports radio powerhouses boiled over yesterday when a WEEI producer got slapped with a one-week suspension for texting “vulgar” messages to upstart rival the Sports Hub.

Andy Massaua, who works for Glenn Ordway’s “The Big Show,” was suspended yesterday and has been banned from texting anyone at WBZ-FM (98.5).

“Andy (has to) think about, and reflect, on his irresponsible and sophomoric actions that will not be tolerated by this station,” said WEEI-AM (850) program honcho Jason Wolfe.

Massaua never responded to repeated text messages seeking a comment.

Damon Amendolara, also known as D.A., the nighttime host on WBZ-FM, said he couldn’t even read about 80 percent of the WEEI producer’s texts on the air during his show Thursday.

The texts, he said, were aimed at several Sports Hub employees, including Amendolara and Chuck Perks, who does sports updates and used to work at WEEI.

Amendolara read some of the texts on-air, including one thinly veiled homophobic insult, “D.A., isn’t Chuck Perks’ strength spinning records . . . in P-town?”

Amendolara, who never identified Massaua by name, said the texter’s number was the first the station ever “red-flagged” as a problem. The station called the phone number and got the ’EEI producer’s voice mail, he said.

“We’ve got a pretty good sense of humor about ourselves, but you just can’t be vulgar,” Amendolara told listeners.

Amendolara said Massaua had been texting his station “constantly” for months, sending a barrage of 22 one night alone.

Mike Thomas, program director for the Sports Hub, said it’s the first texter to be blocked from messaging his station.

“There was a person that was sending very graphic, vulgar text messages, numerous text messages, and we did block his phone number,” he said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1235800

Boston’s first FM sports talk radio station is kicking off today with surprisingly little fanfare.

WBZ-FM, dubbed “98.5 The Sports Hub,” will debut at 6 a.m. with former WBCN [website] disc jockeys Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb of “Toucher & Rich” trying their hand at sports talk.

At 10 a.m., Comcast SportsNet New England’s Gary Tanguay and former New England Patriots [team stats] backup quarterback Scott Zolak will take over.

Veteran Hub sportswriters Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti, who is still writing part-time for the Boston Globe, will go head-to-head against Glenn Ordway’s “The Big Show” on rival WEEI-AM (850) at 2 p.m.

Their debut show will feature Red Sox [team stats] General Manager Theo Epstein and Bruins [team stats] owner Jeremy Jacobs, Felger said yesterday.

Normally, Felger and Massarotti will be on until 6 p.m. But tomorrow, Tanguay, Zolak and Andy Gresh will host the Pats pregame show starting at4 p.m. as the lead-in to the first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“The Sports Hub” has radio rights to broadcast Patriots and Bruins games.

Media watchers think the new station could represent the first real threat to ’EEI, which has enjoyed a local sports-talk radio monopoly in the sports-obsessed Hub for years. But Felger, who has been a guest off and on at ’EEI over the years, wasn’t in the mood to talk too much trash about his colleagues turned rivals yesterday.

“They’re very sensitive to criticism,” Felger quipped. “They tend to overreact. Some of those guys are getting older and we don’t need to upset them.”

Felger said his mission is to carve out a market share and build an audience.

“What we’re doing has nothing to do with ’EEI,” he said. “We’re just going to do a better show. We will be focused, opinionated and passionate. That’s a formula that works.”

Damon Amendolara, most recently from WQAM in Miami, will hold down weeknights at “The Sports Hub,” working from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/media/view.bg?articleid=1190691

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
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