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Tirrell Ready For August 2nd Return

Jason Barrett

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He is the Rasputin of central Iowa radio, although Marty Tirrell compares himself to a more common survivor.

“I’m like a cockroach,” Tirrell said. “You can step on me. You’re going to hear the crunch. But you’re going to lift your foot up, and I’m going to go for the daylight.”

The 54-year-old native of Greenfield, Mass., has spent nearly two decades running his mouth and hopping from station to station.

Along the way, Tirrell feuded with contemporaries, became entangled in an endless series of legal disputes and struggled with alcoholism.

Tirrell’s next move is coming Aug. 2, when he plans to bring sports programming to 104.5 FM, with an initial focus on high school football and basketball.

“Let’s face it, he changed radio in Iowa,” said Steve Deace, a nationally syndicated political pundit and former Tirrell protege. “He brought real, edgy, local talk radio to Des Moines. He brought sports talk radio to Des Moines. There is no doubt he has left an indelible impression on the media in our community.

“I hope the guy can get his life back in order, because I hate to see talent wasted.”

Tirrell’s abilities behind a microphone are enticing, like adding gasoline to a marshmallow roast.

Listeners tune in for the blaze and bluster, while some former business partners just want to hear him burn.

For the full story including some video Q&A visit the Des Moines Register where it was originally published

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Gregg Giannotti on Taylor Rooks: ‘Send in a 10’ to Get Players Talking

“I also thought, ‘Why don’t we use more attractive women in interrogation scenarios?'”

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Taylor Rooks; Gregg Giannotti
Taylor Rooks - Courtesy: Jason Hanna, Amazon Sports | Gregg Giannotti - Courtesy: Peter Ackerman, Asbury Park Press

This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers came off a record-setting week for Prime Video, according to an integrated streaming report by Nielsen Media Research. There were questions surrounding the impending contest off the field pertaining to injuries, and the TNF Tonight pregame show did its best to address pertinent information.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley headlined the team’s injury report after suffering an ankle injury last week, something the team publicly called a sprain. New information was divulged on Thursday night from Barkley himself after features reporter Taylor Rooks asked him about his injury. He then proceeded to reveal that he was dealing with a mild high ankle sprain, an impediment more serious than originally thought.

WFAN host Gregg Giannotti watched the entire pregame show and watched the desk discuss the state of New York football, including New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. The report from Rooks, a reputable source of information who formerly worked for SportsNet New York (SNY) occurred shortly thereafter. While she has a network of contacts and insider information about the league, Giannotti believes there was another reason she got the exclusive story.

“It’s funny because all we heard was, ‘It’s a regular ankle sprain; not a high ankle sprain,’” Giannotti explained Friday morning on WFAN. “Then Taylor Rooks gets over there and finds out it’s a high ankle sprain. I was thinking, ‘You know what? I’d tell her anything too. Whatever you need to know, Taylor, about me, I will tell you.’”

Giannotti watched the Giants lose the contest 30-12 and fall to a 1-2 overall record, but he also began to ponder over the manner in which Rooks was able to effectively do her job. It led him to make a proposition on the air that challenges the effectiveness of the team’s beat writers because of their collective age and appearance.

“I also thought, ‘Why don’t we use more attractive women in interrogation scenarios?,’” Giannotti said. “This is what I was thinking about after I saw this last night. Art Stapleton couldn’t get that out of Saquon Barkley – I love Art Stapleton, but there’s no way. Taylor Rooks got it out of him right away, so why don’t we send in some of these interrogation scenarios where people are just totally zipped up – send in a ‘10’ in there, [and the] next thing you know, ‘Yeah, it was him. He did it, and I did it. We did it together!’”

Giannotti’s co-host Boomer Esiason was surprised to hear Rooks get that information from Barkley, and has not seen anyone in the media react to the occurrence. The injury update changes the way in which people consider his timeline for a return and was a part of the Prime Video broadcast that Giannotti valued.

“Yeah, of course, great reporting,” Giannotti said. “I’m just thinking about all the Giants beat writers sitting around – old guys who look like me just stewing and trying to hide farts in the locker room.”

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Arizona Sports Extends Deal With Coyotes

“We look forward to an exciting season delivering Coyotes coverage on-air, online and on the Arizona Sports app.”

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Arizona Sports Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes fans can keep their presets the same. The team has extended its relationship with Bonneville in Phoenix.

The new deal is a one-year extension to keep the Coyotes on the company’s two Phoenix-area radio stations, 98.7 Arizona Sports and ESPN 620 AM and on the statiations’ website and app.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Arizona Coyotes and the Meruelo Group,” Bonneville Phoenix senior vice president and market manager Ryan Hatch said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting season delivering Coyotes coverage on-air, online and on the Arizona Sports app.”

As part of the extension, Burns & Gambo will welcome Coyotes president and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez and general manager Bill Armstrong for weekly segments. Wolfe & Luke will be joined weekly by head coach André Tourigny.

“We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Bonneville Phoenix and are thrilled to have Arizona Sports 98.7 and ESPN 620 broadcast all Coyotes games this season,” Gutierrez added. “There is a tremendous amount of excitement about our team, and we look forward to Arizona Sports 98.7, the Valley’s sports leader, providing our fans with outstanding Coyotes coverage all season long.”

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670 The Score Auctioning Off Producer Experiences for Charity

“The proceeds go to help patients suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia.”

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There is internal competition brewing at 670 The Score. A charity auction has items to entice bidders that will get the winner inside the station’s Chicago studios. One is a producer for a day role in afternoons with Parkins & Spiegel. The other is the same role in middays with Bernstein & Holmes.

The auction benefits Laugh Your Face Off, a charity event started by WGN sports anchor and comedian Pat Tomasulo. The proceeds go to help patients suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia.

On Thursday, Tomasulo joined Parkins & Spiegel to talk about the dueling auctions and stoke some competitive fire between the two shows.

“I will be hurt if theirs goes for more money,” Danny Parkins admitted.

Both packages include the chance for the winner to sit on on their show’s pre-show meeting and contribute to show prep. When the show goes on the air, they will then spend an hour in the producers’ studio observing.

Chris Tannehill, Parkins & Spiegel’s sound engineer, promised that if their offering earned more than Bernstein & Holmes, he would even let the winner do his job and contribute sound drops to the show. Executive producer Shane Riordan noted that the winner can also screen phone calls for the show.

“That sounds like 1500 to 2 Gs for [Bernstein & Holmes],” Parkins said. “Ours feels north of 3 Gs. I mean beers! You’re not having beers for breakfast.”

The bidding for both prizes opened at $1500. Offers can be made until 9 pm on Saturday.

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