Sports Radio News
John Dennis To Step Down From WEEI Morning Show
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Sports Radio News
Mike Florio: Can Taylor Swift Fans Save Sunday Night Football Without Aaron Rodgers?
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof.”
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Timberwolves & Lynx Take Radio Broadcasts to KFAN
“This is an exciting time for our organization as we launch a multi-faceted distribution partnership with one of the largest media platforms in the country.”
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Gregg Giannotti: ‘No Way in Hell’ New York Jets Do Not Get Flexed Out of Prime Time
“If they don’t start flexing out all of these Jets games, I would be shocked.”
Sports Radio News
John Dennis To Step Down From WEEI Morning Show
WEEI in Boston has announced that long-time morning personality John Dennis will step away immediately from his full-time co-hosting role to address health concerns. Along with partner Gerry Callahan, Dennis has been part of the highly-rated Dennis & Callahan Show since 1997. He made the decision on advice from his doctors that he reduce his workload but will continue in a moderated capacity with the station.
Entercom Boston VP/Market Manager Phil Zachary said “John is a Boston radio icon and will remain an important part of the WEEI family going forward. To that end, we have been working with John to define a new role for his considerable talents.”
In his new capacity, Dennis will work with station advertisers, act as an ambassador to sponsors and community organizations, and occasionally host WEEI programs. “Most important to him,” said Zachary, “is that John will continue his compassionate work with our annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and will appear in our live broadcasts from Fenway Park, August 29 and 30.” After that, the WEEI morning show will move forward with Gerry Callahan and Kirk Minihane, who’s been part of the Dennis & Callahan program since 2013.
Dennis said he and Zachary had been discussing a new role with WEEI that would allow him to follow his doctor’s orders but remain involved with the radio station. He said he’s excited about (what he calls) “this next chapter of my broadcast incarnation,” stating further “I’m glad, first and foremost, for my initial duties back to host the most favored two days of my entire year, the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon.”
Dennis went on to say, “Pardon the cliché, but like most morning radio people, I’m really looking forward to finally sleeping in.”
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Sports Radio News
Mike Florio: Can Taylor Swift Fans Save Sunday Night Football Without Aaron Rodgers?
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof.”
This week’s Sunday Night Football matchup was supposed to feature Patrick Mahomes against Aaron Rodgers, but that’s not going to happen.
Viewership of the game will probably suffer a little bit without Rodgers, but NBC’s Mike Florio thinks Taylor Swift fans can give the game a nice bump.
In an appearance on Bernstein & Holmes on 670 The Score on Wednesday, Florio expressed doubt that football fans will one day get to see a game featuring the Mahomes and Rodgers considering all the previous potential matchups between the Chiefs and Packers one quarterback or the other was hurt and wouldn’t be able to play.
But with tight end Travis Kelce now reportedly dating Taylor Swift, Florio said there’s great potential that there will be added interest in hopes of potentially seeing Taylor in another suite cheering Kelce and the Chiefs on.
“If all the Swifties out there decide they’re gonna descend on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night to watch Travis Kelce – and maybe catch glimpses of Taylor Swift in a luxury suite at MetLife Stadium – those numbers could go through the roof,” he said.
Florio added that he’s only been paying attention to and talking about Kelce and Swift since Travis saw a huge jump in jersey sales this week. Reports are that sales were up 400%.
Mike credited Rich Eisen for pointing out on Monday that while the league will undoubtedly stand to benefit further from the Swift effect, it wasn’t a good day for those who worked on announcing Usher as the halftime performer at the Super Bowl in February.
“The NFL had to be pissed that the day that they announced Usher was gonna be the Super Bowl halftime performer, Taylor Swift took all the oxygen out of the musical room as far as the NFL is concerned,” Florio said. He added that it’s possible Swift is trying to leverage herself into a spot on the stage in Las Vegas.
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Timberwolves & Lynx Take Radio Broadcasts to KFAN
“This is an exciting time for our organization as we launch a multi-faceted distribution partnership with one of the largest media platforms in the country.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves will have a new radio home from the 2023-24 season and beyond, the team announced on Wednesday.
The Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA will have all their games air on KFAN 100.3 in Minneapolis. This will be the first time since 2011 that KFAN is the flagship station of the T-Wolves.
Additionally, the T-Wolves and the Lynx will have a dedicated 24/7 streaming channel on the iHeartRadio app and website.
Earlier this month, the Timberwolves announced they were leaving WCCO, which had been their radio home since 2011. At the time, COO Ryan Tanke said the team had a new one-year partnership which he described as a “trial” and “super non-traditional”.
“This is an exciting time for our organization as we launch a multi-faceted distribution partnership with one of the largest media platforms in the country,” Timberwolves and Lynx CEO Ethan Casson said. “Welcoming KFAN 100.3 as our new flagship radio station, creating a 24/7/365 Timberwolves streaming channel on iHeartRadio, and producing cross-promotional opportunities with the entire portfolio of local iHeartMedia stations, will strategically grow our Timberwolves and Lynx fanbase.”
In addition to being a play-by-play hub, KFAN will also have regular appearances by Timberwolves players, head coach Chris Finch and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, among others, on local programming throughout the season.
Connelly and front office execs will chat with Dan Barreiro in the afternoons, while Finch will have regular check-ins with Paul Allen in middays. Players will make frequent appearances across the nine-station iHeart Minneapolis cluster.
Alan Horton will continue to call play-by-play of Timberwolves games. This year will mark his 17th season with the team. He’s called over 1,000 games in his career. Cal Soderquist will handle pre-game and post-game hosting duties.
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports Radio News
Gregg Giannotti: ‘No Way in Hell’ New York Jets Do Not Get Flexed Out of Prime Time
“If they don’t start flexing out all of these Jets games, I would be shocked.”
Prior to the start of the NFL season, the New York Jets were placed in the maximum six prime-time game slots and featured on the NFL Films and HBO Sports original series, Hard Knocks, largely due to the acquisition of star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Now that Rodgers is likely out for the season recovering from a torn left Achilles, major television networks could be looking to move the Jets out of prime time positioning to a regular Sunday game slot on CBS or FOX. The Jets will be featured on Sunday Night Football on NBC this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, and will then have four more appearances across ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video.
Flex scheduling can be used twice between Week 5 and 10, and at the discretion of the league during Week 11 until Week 17, as per previously agreed upon rules for Sunday Night Football. The Walt Disney Company’s Monday Night Football property can be used twice by the NFL from Week 12 to Week 17, marking the first time the property has had such an ability. Additionally, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video can be used up to two times between Weeks 13 and 17. Out of the Jets four remaining games in prime time, flex scheduling can be used three times. One of those occurrences would be for the league’s first Black Friday game on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 when they face the Miami Dolphins.
“This prime time situation – if they don’t start flexing out all of these Jets games, I would be shocked,” Gregg Giannotti said Wednesday morning on WFAN. “There is no way in hell that some of these prime-time games that the Jets have coming up later in the season are actually going to stay there.”
Giannotti’s co-host, Boomer Esiason, implored him to wait and see what happens with the season rather than jumping to conclusions. “Gang Green” currently sits at 1-2 and are considered underdogs against Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I know what you’re doing – you don’t believe in Zach [Wilson]; I know that,” Esiason explained, “and you don’t believe their defense is good enough to win some games for them, which it obviously is. Depending on what week you’re looking at will determine whether or not they’re flexed.”
The show then proceeded to take a call as they searched the rules for flex scheduling, honing in on the Jets’ matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 12 as a possibility. Since that game is in Week 9 and on Sunday Night Football, there is a possibility that NBC Sports may opt to change that game out for a more favorable matchup. The league will make the announcement no later than 12 days before kickoff pertaining to if the game has been moved or not.
