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Mike Missanelli Still Off Air At 97.5 the Fanatic

“Tuesday afternoon, Crossing Broad reported well-known caller, Bob from Tennessee attempted to ask midday host Anthony Gargano about Missanelli.”

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Mike Missanelli continues to be off-air from Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic following an incident which saw him launch his headphones and engage in an off-air argument with producer Tyrone Johnson. Without Missanelli, Johnson has sat in the host chair since last Wednesday, with update anchor Natalie Egenolf co-hosting and Andrew Salciunas stepping in as producer.

Last week, Kyle Scott of Crossing Broad received a text from Missanelli stating the host was using vacation time. While Missanelli didn’t say if the time off was scheduled, it seemed odd to return from a three day weekend, host one show on Tuesday, and plan to take the rest of the week off. Although no official announcement has been made, sources told both Crossing Broad and Philly Voice that Missanelli will not return this week.

Tuesday afternoon, Crossing Broad reported well-known caller, Bob from Tennessee attempted to ask midday host Anthony Gargano about Missanelli. Bob’s question appeared to get dumped, but Gargano did offer a vague response. 

“Listen, just stay tuned is all I’m gonna tell you guys, alright? Stay tuned, there’s nothing bad going on when it comes to the station,” Gargano said.

Last Tuesday’s headphone throwing incident stemmed from an argument where Missanelli attempted to play devil’s advocate while discussing video of a white woman calling the police, falsely claiming an African American male was threatening her life. Although unrelated to the discussion between Missanelli, Johnson and Egenolf, the last week has seen the issue of social inequality and police brutality highlighted as civil unrest and peaceful protests rise throughout the country. 

While Missanelli’s actions can certainly be categorized as immature, it didn’t appear to be a fireable offense or even worthy of a suspension, but it’s difficult to fairly judge the incident without knowing what was said off-mic. 

Crossing Broad has speculated about Missanelli potentially not returning to The Fanatic, also noting his contract with Beasley Media is up at the end of the year. Beasley, like many media companies, imposed personnel changes and salary cutbacks in recent months as they endure the negative impacts of a global pandemic. 

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Former 670 The Score Host ‘Big Papa’ Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was known for a decade as ‘Big Papa’ Tommy Williams on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Logo for Compass Media Networks

Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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photo of Charley Steiner
Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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