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The Return of Sports: What If People Die?

“As leagues rush to resume seasons, featured columnist Jay Mariotti asks if inevitable failures in testing and quarantine protocols will lead to outbreaks … and deaths.”

Jay Mariotti

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Axl Rose, back in the jungle, is selling t-shirts for charity these days. “LIVE N’ LET DIE WITH COVID 45,’’ goes the message, which has nothing to do with a Guns N’ Roses remake of a James Bond-inspired movie tune and everything to do with the rowdy singer’s damning political platform: He blames the 45th U.S. president, Donald Trump, for a pandemic that soon will kill its 100,000th American.

Live and let die. Wealth over health. Economy over mortality. Such are the oblivious, hellbent mantras of a country that, in ample swaths, doesn’t care about the ongoing death toll as long as some semblance of normalcy returns — and physical distancing restrictions can be flouted by creepy COVID-iots in crowded swimming pools. There is little regard for human life and a mind-numbing absence of responsible thinking, as Rose notes. Hence, his rock band, citing “an abundance of caution,’’ postponed its North American and European tours in lockstep with a wary music and theater industry, which sees no sense in hosting live performances before 2021 — particularly if fresh coronavirus tidal waves are preparing to assault the planet.

I wish the same medical logic was being used by the $200-billion U.S. sports industry. But trumpeting a need to heal the national condition and psyche — translatIon: a desperate pack of wealthy titans unaccustomed to   financial bloodletting are trying to recoup billions — the NBA and Major League Baseball are ready to live and let die themselves this summer. By that, I mean exactly how it sounds: Athletes, coaches and support staff will not be safe within various capsules of quarantine, regardless of self-serving assurances about advanced diagnostic testing and airtight daily protocols, assuming the leagues do execute their mad rush to resume live games. With no magical vaccine or mass immunity blanket in sight, even commissioners have been forced to acknowledge the health dangers and say they expect a number of in-season positive tests, increasing the risk of infectious breakouts and spread within the isolated frameworks and in greater communities beyond.

“Nothing is risk-free in this undertaking,’’ MLB boss Rob Manfred said.

“No decision we make will be risk-free,” NBA boss Adam Silver said in a teleconference with players, per the New York Times. “We’re going to be living with this virus for the foreseeable future.”

And you know what that means, given the potentially lethal impact of any COVID-19 trigger effect. People might die.

If anyone cares.

In the parlance missed by so many deprived fans, all of this feels like a hurry-up, no-huddle offense when sports should be in the ultimate prevent defense. The prudent, level-headed route would be a complete shutdown of the industry, NFL and college football included, until next year. Sports will have more answers then about the development and distribution of a vaccine and fewer worries about the bad optics of depleting the national testing supply, still very much a concern for extreme virus hotspots. Think I’m overstating a coronavirus death wish? Here’s what Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, told the Washington Post about the premature scramble to come back before the virus wants sports to come back.

“I think you’d end up with a lot of infected players and other personnel. If it isn’t done right, not only would people get sick and potentially die, but it would shut down the season,’’ Zuckerman said. “I don’t see a way around it. It would be a miracle if … it didn’t end up infecting people.’’

But the NBA marches on anyway, hopefully avoiding a Mickey Mouse setback as it explores a single-site proposal within ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World. The plan is to use three arenas and several luxury hotels on a “campus’’ where players will live, practice and resume competition in late July. As I’ve written, basketball is among the activities most vulnerable to an outbreak — players literally are dripping sweat on each other in an indoor environment, with every play involving close-up physical contact and a ball touched by as many as 10 players and at least one referee, not to mention incessant chatter that will discharge speech droplets for more than two hours. Then you hear Jared Dudley, a Players Association representative with the title-contending Los Angeles Lakers, say the so-called quarantine bubble won’t be as restrictive and secure as the NBA has led us to believe.

“You will be allowed to leave,’’ said Dudley, who has been on key group calls with Silver and union executive director Michele Roberts. “Now just because you leave, if we’re going to give you that leeway, if you come back with corona, you can’t play.’’

You can’t play? What about: How many people inside the bubble might be victimized by the one infected doofus — or doofuses — who needed to play golf or visit an Orlando strip club? And if family members or players are part of the social experiment … yikes. This cannot be anything short of an absolute, isolated lockdown involving as few people as possible. And the players need to know going in, from LeBron James to the last guy on the Brooklyn Nets’ bench, that the quarantine could extend for months, depending on whether the league tries to retrieve lost broadcast revenues and finish the regular season (bad idea) or immediately start the playoffs. And am I hearing this correctly? In a league where at least 10 players have tested positive for COVID-19, including three who faced each other in that instructive Utah Jazz-Pistons game in Detroit, players still prefer the less-accurate saliva test to the uncomfortable, full nasal swab test.

They aren’t taking this seriously, are they? They don’t grasp that 35 percent of virus carriers are asymptomatic, according to CDC studies, with the global number of infections jumping by a million-plus over the last 2 1/2 weeks. The thought process among millennials and Gen Zers, the NBA’s player demographics, continues to boggle the mind: They’re too young, strong and healthy to fall victim. They miss the point like an airball misses the rim. If someone has the virus, where else is he spreading it? And how many others are contracting it?

At least the NBA will need only a fraction of the 200,000-plus tests required by MLB, kits that could be used by sick patients who urgently need them. Even with such a massive inventory, baseball’s plan is to test players and personnel just “several’’ times a week when the sport’s best player, Mike Trout, has said he doesn’t see the season happening without testing every day. The strategy is beyond risky when Manfred says only those who test positive will be quarantined, never mind the possibility that the infected person already has spread the virus to others. The ballgames must go on, you see, with MLB preferring travel to existing ballparks to the NBA’s bubble concept. As for standard recommendation by health officials that an infected person stay isolated for 14 days? Dr. Manfred says otherwise, requiring a player — or, closer to the truth, a superstar — to pass only two subsequent tests in a 24-hour period to resume play.

Then consider the stifling restrictions within the daily MLB protocol. Players can live without handshakes, high-fives and clubhouse buffets, I suppose. But being spaced at least six feet apart at all times, wearing masks everywhere but on the field? No sunflower seeds or smokeless tobacco, which can be vices for players more than treats? No showers on the premises, a flashback to Mom picking you up from Little League? Hand-washing after every half-inning and every time equipment is touched (which is constant in baseball)? No saunas, pools or chambers to ease injuries? If social distancing is a mandate, can a runner still slide into home plate or a base if an opponent is tagging him? Can you still hold a runner? Attempt pickoff plays?

And that’s just at the ballpark. On road trips, no one can eat or drink in public. Preferably, you do not leave your room, and please use the hotel stairs to avoid elevator buttons. No one is allowed in the room but family members, so tell the groupie to stay home. When returning to personal residences after a home game, everyone is urged to isolate and not go anywhere — for months. Would a prison sentence be much worse?

None of which will happen, of course, if the owners and players can’t agree on a financial resolution. Never mind that baseball, already beset by numerous existential issues and lagging interest, could be committing long-term suicide if the season is canceled over a money dispute amid a pandemic. Per The Athletic, the owners have moved off a demand to split revenues 50-50 with players for an abbreviated 82-game regular season, but that is merely a starting point when players are the ones taking the life-and-death health risks. The union is disgusted, understandably, that owners would wage a public-relations battle amid a pandemic, when 40 million jobless Americans might not grasp why players wouldn’t return to lucrative gigs. But if I’m a player with a wife and children at home, I am assessing the laundry list of risks and having grave doubts. And if I’m Trout or another megastar with a nine-figure contract — and Trout’s wife is expecting their first child in August, remember — I’m not going anywhere near a field. And if I’m a player with an underlying medical condition — or a mental health issue exacerbated by the pandemic — the answer is simple: No, the virus risk is not worth it.

Ask golfers Adam Scott and Lee Westwood, who aren’t satisfied with PGA Tour protocols and won’t be traveling to the U.S. for events. If golfers are nervous in a no-contact, distance-protected sport, basketball players should be petrified, right? I can just hear the blowhard fan who doesn’t have empathy and wants athletes to “man up’’ and play. Please, try to get a life at some point. The wife of Oakland Athletics pitcher Jake Diekman, whose issues have included colitis, already has clapped back at critics.

“(Resuming the season) should not be coming at my husband’s expense,’’ Amanda Diekman tweeted. “No offense, but I really don’t care that Bob from wherever is bored at home with no sports and it’d be `good for him’ to watch.’’

Hell, every pro and college athlete should worry about protocol after Dana White showed the sports world how not to test for the virus, making a debacle of procedures at UFC 249 and forcing more stringent guidelines for the next event in Las Vegas. Two swab tests will be required of each fighter before competition, followed by self-isolation until the scheduled bout. “During this time, no athletes or cornermen will be permitted to leave the Athlete Hotel without express prior approval from the Nevada State Athletic Commission,” states a UFC memo to the fighters. “You also should not have physical contact with anyone other than the members of your camp.”

I’d say the Nevada commission just bombed White with a head kick.

So why do the leagues ignore common sense and power on? Ask Pink Floyd, the Notorious B.I.G., the O’Jays, Dire Straits, Donna Summer, the Steve Miller Band, Wu-Tang Clan, Cyndi Lauper, Ludacris, Randy Newman, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, AC/DC, Puff Daddy and the Beatles — MONEY!!!! When billionaire owners and broadcast behemoths see a way to stop drowning, any pangs of guilt and irresponsibility fade quickly. The NBA would lose more than $1 billion if the remainder of the season is canceled; the same applies to the NHL, which is eyeing a 24-team postseason in Vegas and a second hub city. MLB would suffer a $4 billion shortfall if its season is ditched. The NFL, which absurdly thinks its season will proceed with bodies in the stands, will lose $5.5 billion in revenue for a season without fans, or $14 billion if canceled altogether. College football would lose $4 billion — and that sport is a mess, with traditional Southern powers such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma prepared to march on without conference brethren. Ohio State is ready to do the same — in front of 50,000 fans if possible, says a hallucinating athletic director — as rival Michigan says it won’t play football at all if students aren’t on campus.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, sex dolls were placed in seats to make a soccer stadium seem less empty. If that isn’t a reminder of how far sports has strayed from normalcy, consider this jolt: The meatpacking plant that produces the legendary Dodger Stadium item, the Dodger Dog, was hit by an outbreak of 140 positive coronavirus tests among employees.

Not that sports addicts can’t find content to shoot into their veins: auto racing, UFC, professional bull riding, Mike Tyson in a wrestling ring — all without fans. None of it was half as fun as watching Tom Brady suck at golf in the Florida rain, playing so horribly that commentator/hopeless hacker Charles Barkley razzed him. Of course, Brady had a Hail Mary in him, holing out from from the fairway on No. 7 … as his microphone fell off. “Take a suck of that, Chuck,’’ Brady told Barkley, as a TV camera revealed Tompa Boy had split his pants. That was the coolest sports moment of our national shutdown, made better by the $20 million in virus relief raised by Brady, Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in an entertaining dude-fest called: “The Match: Champions For Charity.’’

We continue to venture into the unknown, the frivolity of games diving blindly into the poisoned pandemic pool. But this much is certain: I’m tired of mishmash that posits sports as a spiritual salve, a symbol of American rebirth, such as this from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell: “America needs baseball. It’s a sign of getting back to normal.’’ And this from prominent sports agent Scott Boras in a New York Times op-ed: “Time and time again, baseball has helped our country heal.’’

A pandemic is not an earthquake in the Bay Area, a bombing in Boston or even 9/11 in New York. A pandemic is invisible.

And the ghost lurks, furtive and dark, ready to end seasons that never should have been played and lives that never should have been risked.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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Andrew Salciunas Aims to Thrive in Morning Drive on 97.5 The Fanatic

“We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing.”

Derek Futterman

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Andrew Salciunas
Courtesy: Beasley Media Group

When 97.5 The Fanatic midday host Anthony Gargano agreed to a deal to contribute to PHLY Sports, a local digital venture within ALLCITY Network, he was promptly suspended by Beasley Media Group and subsequently sued for breach of contract. Although the two sides eventually reached a settlement and officially parted ways, the future of the daypart was still in question. In the interim time period, the station granted Andrew Salciunas the opportunity to lead a four-hour solo program with producer Ray Dunne. Salciunas had served as Gargano’s producer in the midday slot and still has a strong relationship with the sports media personality today despite no longer working together.

The onerous aspect of the situation, however, was in recognizing that Salciunas was being afforded a chance to prove himself as a host in the marketplace. In the past, he had filled in when Gargano took vacations, but it was not for an extended period of time. Although he was familiar with the flow of a midday program, achieving a successful, yet sudden assimilation into a regular timeslot without a partner was an invigorating circumstance.

“I knew that it was going to be a learning experience because it’s one thing to host a show on Saturday or it’s one thing to host a weekly podcast and you have a week’s worth of content at your disposal,” Salciunas said. “It’s another thing to [be] hosting every single day and needing to come up with new ideas and new angles and new twists on things, so it was a challenge knowing that I was going to have to do that for however long the process was going to be.”

Salciunas received help from program director Scott Masteller, a sports radio veteran who has helped elevate brands and nurture budding talent. Several months later, Masteller asked Salciunas how he would feel about working with morning program host John Kincade. Salciunas replied by saying that it was something he would be interested in doing, and he later added that he already wakes up early and could easily work in morning drive. Salciunas was somewhat nonplussed when he discovered that Masteller’s intention was to have him anchor the program rather than Kincade, who has been hosting in the daypart since January 2021.

In the weeks and months ensuing, Salciunas and Kincade were involved in meetings to plan the new program, which officially made its debut on 97.5 The Fanatic last week and is titled Kincade & Salciunas. Both hosts knew about the program for roughly two months, and Salciunas is surprised that it was kept a secret for as long as it was. Outside of their scheduled meetings, Salciunas was able to speak with Kincade between their shows since they occurred after the other as well. From the onset, he wanted to make his thoughts about the program clear to ensure a smooth transition amid a quest to inform and entertain the audience.

“The first thing I told John when they told us that this was the plan moving forward was that, ‘This is going to be our show,’” Salciunas recalled. “Yes, I might be the guy running the ins and outs out of commercial breaks. I’m the guy that brings on the guests; I’m the guy that brings on the callers, but this is our show. We both have ideas, we’re both passionate about Philadelphia sports teams, we’re both high-energy people, we’re both opinionated and we’re also respectful of each other.”

While there is natural disagreement between Salciunas and Kincade on a variety of sports topics, they make sure not to fabricate their discussions and engender debate for the sake of the show. Instead of feigning their contrarian discourse, there is a legitimate willingness to be genuine with their audience while continuing to put radio first. Salciunas, Kincade and show producer Connor Thomas all contribute ideas for the program to appeal to the audience and continue building the show as a whole. Thomas also had familiarity in working with Kincade since he served as an associate producer on his previous morning program.

“I’m not a former journalist; he’s not a former professional athlete,” Salciunas said. “We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing. Even though our opinions might differ on sports-related stuff, we see doing radio in a similar way.”

Upon Kincade officially joining 97.5 The Fanatic, he demonstrated his magnanimity and commitment to his colleagues by offering to take all of them out to lunch individually to learn more about them. It was a gesture that surprised Salciunas and something that stuck with him, ultimately helping familiarize themselves with one another and subsequently creating a viable on-air product.

“He’s one of those guys who likes getting to know people, and I think that’s helped a lot,” Salciunas said. “We already had that sort of knowledge of one another [and] we already had that relationship, and because we’re just both so bought in and both so hungry, that’s made it so much easier that we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the show work.”

Before arriving at 97.5 The Fanatic, Kincade had worked at sports radio both at the local and national levels while also hosting a podcast with Hall of Fame center and Inside the NBA studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal. Bringing him back to his home marketplace and realizing success in the morning daypart was valuable as the sports media ecosystem underwent stretches of change. Transitioning to the new morning show iteration without colleagues Bob Cooney and Pat Egan presented its challenges, but Salciunas has had no qualms that Kincade was invested to win. As a result, the transition has been relatively simple in terms of building palpable chemistry among the on-air team.

“He believes in anybody that he works with,” Salciunas said of Kincade, “and knowing that somebody has worked that long as long as he has in sports radio that he values the young person’s opinion, not just in sports but in terms of radio, that goes a long way.”

There is constant communication between the morning show team leading up to a program outside of typical pre-show meetings and twice-weekly conversations with their boss. Salciunas arrives at the station well before the start of the program and compiles ideas from the previous day into a document, along with ideas from others that come during their commutes. Additionally, they continuously monitor the news cycle and determine what to address on the air while also interviewing special guests throughout the week.

Effectuating a fully prepared show rundown by 6 a.m. EST has been marginally difficult, along with the fact that it can be difficult to book guests on short notice before sunrise. Because of this, the program frequently outlines its guests early in the week and makes adjustments as necessary while maintaining fealty towards conveying their true, authentic personalities.

“I’m a little bit more energetic on the radio because I understand the entertainment portion of doing what we do and having to properly express myself,” Salciunas said. “I’m probably not going to scream at a bar, but when I converse with callers; when I converse with John [or] producers… that’s who I am as a person. There’s just a microphone in front of me.”

When he first started working at 97.5 The Fanatic as an intern, Salciunas did not have a goal of eventually becoming an on-air talent. He was content with his role as a producer, which was borne out of an internship where he worked with Jon Marks and Steve Vassalotti. Both station members served as mentors that he utilized to gain information and advice, a fortuitous outcome after Salciunas impetuously applied for the opening.

While Salciunas was matriculating at Temple University, he needed at least three internship credits in order to qualify for graduation. Reflecting back on his education days, he does not regard himself as the best student and recognized that he needed to intern with the radio station to set himself apart. Honing his focus in sports media took time since he had varied interests in areas such as reporting, podcasting and play-by-play announcing, but he ultimately gravitated towards the sports radio format during his time in Philadelphia.

Salciunas made a favorable impression on those with 97.5 The Fanatic and ended up being hired as an associate producer where he learned more about the format and its programming. Eric Camille, a former executive producer at the station, is someone Salciunas regards as seminal to his professional development.

“He was the guy that hired me out of my internship, and then once I started working, he really helped me,” Salciunas said. “He kind of took me under his wing and helped me out a lot.”

Once Salciunas was hired as a full-time producer, he began to work with Mike Missanelli on his midday program, providing an invaluable learning experience to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the sports media industry. As a veteran host who has captivated Philadelphia sports fans and media consumers at large, Salciunas noticed that collaborating on Missanelli’s program was a different experience than the other shows he had done. Whereas a morning drive show is oftentimes one of the first points of reaction on a given day, Missanelli knew that he would need to approach his daypart differently and adopted a paradigmatic style implementing second-level topics.

“It’s not just going on the air and reacting to an Eagles loss,” Salciunas explained. “It’s reacting to a storyline within an Eagles loss or reacting to a storyline within an Eagles win that may generate conversation. Trying to figure out topics that generate conversation but are not just the, ‘Oh wow, I’m angry they lost today,’ and give out the phone number. It’s [trying] to find topics that make people think and make yourself think and make the audience think.”

When Missanelli left the station, Salciunas began his stint working with Anthony Gargano where he began occasionally hosting select programs. The rationale behind his decision to go behind the microphone was that when the Eagles won a Super Bowl championship, the station needed someone to host from 2 to 5 a.m. Salciunas decided to volunteer for the program, presuming that it sounded fun. From that shift on, he continued his work as a producer while also refining his craft behind the microphone in a major market. It deviated from a philosophy perpetuated by former program director Matt Nahigian of limiting the amount of time producers were on the air, assuming that consumers listened to hear the hosts.

“Now you have to be a producer,” Salciunas affirmed. “You look at both radio stations in Philadelphia – a lot of the hosts now were former producers, and so you learn so much of the craft and then you figure out your own role. You figure out how you handle yourself as a host, so I think producing first before becoming a talk show host should be the way to go moving forward.”

Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 The Fanatic shares the Philadelphia marketplace with Audacy-owned SportsRadio 94WIP, and both stations have had intense battles in the ratings over the years. Salciunas shared that most people between the two stations have worked with their competitors at some point in their careers, and there is an evident respect that exists between the two entities. With both outlets introducing new morning shows within the last two years though, Salciunas understands there is a chance to gain ground on the WIP Morning Show, which finished ahead in the four Nielsen XTrends quarterly ratings books last year.

“Clearly if somebody’s behind a microphone in Philadelphia, everybody’s talented, and we’re going to do whatever we can to try to bridge that gap a little bit, and we’re seeing some good strides already,” Salciunas said. “I think having a new show is a big part of that trying to grab that initial audience, but then it’s holding on to that initial audience.”

Being able to achieve this outcome, however, requires a commitment to showcasing talent and different personalities. Salciunas referenced how there was a point in John Kincade’s stint hosting mornings in the daypart’s previous iteration where he gained ground on his crosstown competitor Angelo Cataldi with WIP. Kincade, of course, used to work with Cataldi’s show as a contributor and received a chance to take the air while with the outlet.

“I’ve seen the turn of tides of ratings over the years for every show [and] every time slot, so there’s always an opportunity, but that means we always have to be on our game; that means we always have to be doing the best show possible,” Salciunas said. “We can’t go in the next day and say, ‘Wow, that show was really good yesterday. Let’s have some fun today; let’s make this a lighthearted show.’ No, we always have to be thinking about, ‘Alright, what can we do next to put on another great entertaining four-hour radio show?’”

Over the last several years, there have been several leadership changes at 97.5 The Fanatic responsible for overseeing the slate of programming and station operations. Scott Masteller currently leads the outlet, someone in whom Salciunas has confidence that he can continue to elevate the standing of the station. In his earlier years working with 97.5 The Fanatic, Salciunas had an innovative spirit but was discouraged from taking steps to align with the multimedia evolution. For example, when he offered to do a podcast several years ago, someone at the station questioned his judgment and the reasoning behind the idea.

“I was told by someone, ‘What’s the point in doing that? We’re a radio station,’ and I knew back then that that was a mistake to say,” Salciunas explained. “You shouldn’t say, ‘We’re a radio station;’ that was years ago, so seeing that bosses and market managers and hosts and producers all realizing, ‘Alright, we have to adapt,’ that excites me.”

Possessing the background as a producer lends shrewd and calculated judgment on how to include members of the audience into the program. While there are still open phone lines for callers to chime in, the program has introduced a text line and also engages with the audience through the live chat functionality of YouTube. Having Thomas as a producer of the show has helped in this area as well, with Salciunas sharing that he has a strong understanding of how to create and optimize content for various platforms of dissemination.

“We have a great YouTube audience where they basically have their own community all of a sudden,” Salciunas said. “They’re constantly talking about the show, and sometimes we grab what they’re saying on that YouTube feed because that’s another area of today’s new media where you have another avenue to communicate with people.”

As Salciunas grows accustomed to the early start on 97.5 The Fanatic and his new colleagues in morning drive, he is filled with enthusiasm and the prospect of possibility. The radio station has been the only outlet by which he has been employed since the start of his media career, and he hopes to work there for as long as possible. National radio and television intrigue him going forward, but his priority centers on thriving in the new role.

“I want to try to get 97.5 The Fanatic – because it starts in the morning – back up in the map; back in the top five of the ratings books – and that’s going to take some time,” Salciunas said. “We’re a new show – we’re going to have to figure each other out.”

Salciunas expressed that the last year-and-a-half has been “hectic” in the midday daypart, but there has also been excitement surrounding the ephemerality as well. Taking the microphone in a major market with a dedicated sports fanbase such as Philadelphia is a privilege he does not take for granted, and he aspires to continue excelling in the marketplace for years to come.

“I just started, so I’m not thinking about the next step just yet,” Salciunas said. “I want this to last for a long time – for a very long time. If I never have to leave, that would be great.”

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An Ode to the Heart and Soul of Barstool Sports — Frank The Tank

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right.

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A photo of Frank the Tank
(Photo: Barstool Sports)

I’ve written in this space in the past that Barstool Sports is often an enigma to me. Outside of some of the brand’s major stars — like Dave Portnoy, Big Cat, PFT, and Kevin Clancy — I struggle to figure out just who does what at the outlet. But there’s one role I don’t question, and that’s the role of Frank The Tank.

I’m a true believer in the “personality hire” theory. If you’re unaware, it’s the idea that, sometimes, you simply hire a high-energy, positive, great-personality employee who might be underqualified for a job, but will keep morale high inside the office.

And while Frank The Tank doesn’t exactly exude positivity — quite the contrary, most often — you can tell that he’s the heart and soul of the company.

If you’re uninitiated, Frank Fleming — obviously known as Frank The Tank — is an often-viral sensation that pulls off one of the most incredible feats you’ll ever see in modern-day sports media.

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right. And that, in a nutshell, is Frank The Tank.

Tank makes no bones about his feelings. Ever. If you ask a question, he’s got an answer, a strong take, and generally a well-thought-out one at that.

In fact, he was discovered by Barstool Sports for his now-infamous rant about the New Jersey Transit Commission and its “incompetence.” He shouted in anger inside a transit hub about the public transportation’s inability to properly inform passengers about updates, resulting in him missing a New York Mets game.

And yet, despite his unbridled anger, you can’t help but sympathize and relate to the man.

Maybe Frank’s most endearing quality is his complete and utter lack of what anyone thinks about him. To sound a bit country for a moment, Frank The Tank’s give a damn is busted. He says what he thinks, when he thinks it, and doesn’t care what you think about it. But it’s never intentionally malicious. It might be harsh, but it always comes with an air of honesty rather than venom. He’s never trying to harm whoever he’s criticizing, but just believes in the age-old “Honesty is the best policy” thought process.

I’ve long enjoyed the clips of Frank, whether it was future NFL Hall of Famer J.J. Watt sharing his admiration for the digital star, or the times he’s often ambushed in the office by the outlet’s digital team to ask questions like “Who are the five most overrated athletes of all-time?”, which results in him rattling off a list you can’t believe was concocted on the spot.

Others are hopping on the bandwagon, too. Late last year, Mike Francesa was introduced to The Tank, and you could instantly see the chemistry and connection between the two. (As a side note, I can’t tell you how invested I’d be in a Mike and The Tank sports show. It’d have to be about half an hour because any longer and Francesa might strangle Frank, but it sure would make for great radio.)

Frank Fleming has turned into a content machine at Barstool Sports. The consummate underdog, Frank The Tank really burst onto the scene with his acceptance speech at the company’s award show, shouting “Never give up your dream!” and sharing the story of his previous life as a court clerk before joining the digital outlet.

But his latest content endeavor might be one of the biggest in Barstool history. Frank Fleming used to weigh over 500 pounds. But now after a walking schedule, he has dropped more than 160 pounds.

The company has turned his walks into a content series, where he converses with sports and media stars, with sponsor attachments throughout the videos. Recent walks include Mike Francesa, Scott Van Pelt, and an upcoming episode with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

I began to realize what Frank The Tank meant to Barstool Sports after one recent walk with the outlet’s founder, Dave Portnoy, who admitted he had pegged the digital star all wrong.

“It’s probably one of the most wrong things that I’ve (said). When we hired you, I put you on an innings count,” Portnoy said, inferring he didn’t want Fleming included in much visual content. “I was dead-ass wrong on that one. Gladly wrong.”

You see, Dave Portnoy admitting he’s wrong about something is about as jarring as hearing a kangaroo order an Oreo McFlurry. It just doesn’t happen. And yet, there was, admitting that even he underestimated one of his biggest stars.

And in his response to that, Fleming shared an optimism and a belief in himself.

“I just wanted to go there, get involved, and show what I can do,” Frank The Tank responded to the company’s founder.

In addition to his walks, Frank The Tank also shares videos of his culinary exploits on his personal YouTube page, which now features nearly 50,000 subscribers. Even my wife enjoys sitting down and seeing what The Tank is going to whip up on each edition of Tank Cooks.

There’s a sense of protection around Fleming from other Barstool personalities. In a company that is often maligned for how it treats each other and those who criticize the outlet, you can tell those at the digital juggernaut look out for Frank.

When his personal phone number was leaked on the internet in 2022, most other employees inside the company would have been inundated with calls and messages because others at the outlet had encouraged the harassment as a practical joke.

But when it happened to Frank, a complete onslaught of messages from bloggers and video and podcast hosts begging those to stop messaging the digital star.

And that, to me, shows the role of Frank The Tank at the often-controversial outlet. He’s rarely, if ever, controversial. He’s humble, he’s honest, he’s angry, and he’s wholesome. Frank The Tank is a virtual walking conundrum, and that alone shows why he’s the heart and soul of Barstool Sports.

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