Sports Radio News
‘Shan and RJ’ Watch ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ For First Time: ‘Very, Very Choreographed’
They have these choreographed claps in there. It’s like all in sync going to the four or five guys behind the scenes. They have chants [they do] all at the same time.”
Published
2 years agoon
Football fans, specifically those of the Green Bay Packers, were tuned in to The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday for a long-awaited interview with quarterback and back-to-back NFL Most Valuable Player Award winner Aaron Rodgers amid speculation of his retirement or move to another team. Rodgers, 38, recently wrote a post on Instagram centered around gratitude in which he thanked his Packers teammates, leading some people to believe it was a farewell to the organization and perhaps professional football.
This only made Tuesday’s interview with Rodgers, his latest appearance on the McAfee show, even more of a focal point for viewers and listeners. Despite all of the anticipation and buildup to a long-awaited announcement, Rodgers immediately shut down the prospect of revealing his future intentions, stating that he had just returned from his annual 12-day Panchakarma cleanse.
“Let me just put this disclaimer out right away for the few people watching or tuning in just for a specific, maybe news or decision,” said Rodgers. “There will be no news today, no decision on my future… I’m just getting my head above the sand now and seeing what’s going on out there.”
For some people tuning in, it was the first time they had experienced The Pat McAfee Show in any capacity, and it is safe to say that they were bewildered at what they witnessed. Wednesday morning, Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Texas spoke about the unconventional style of McAfee’s program when reflecting on Rodgers’ appearance.
“I had never really watched that show for 15-20 minutes straight,” said Shan Shariff, co-host of the morning drive program. “I felt like I was back in college at the frat house – oh, my lord.”
Shariff honed in on the choreographed nature of the show – whether it be the choice of sleeveless outfits, timed clapping, or phrases used. Evidently, the scripted nature of the show and lack of spontaneity is something he found to be unusual in the realm of sports-focused audio content, in the sense that many elements were, in his view, planned ahead of time.
“They have these choreographed claps in there,” Shariff said. “It’s like all in sync going to the four or five guys behind the scenes. They have chants [they do] all at the same time.”
Co-host RJ Choppy concurred with Shariff’s first impressions of the show after watching it for an extended period of time.
“I’ve listened to it, I’ve never really watched it,” he added. “But you can tell they’re very choreographed. Very, very choreographed.”
Prior to his foray into the sports talk audio format, McAfee was a punter for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and two-time Pro Bowl selection. After stints with Barstool Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, DAZN and Westwood One, McAfee’s show has found a home on Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio satellite station, and Rodgers is one of his recurring guests.
It was on this program last November where Rodgers, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, blamed the “woke mob” for calling him a liar after he said he was “immunized” in a preseason press conference when asked about his vaccination status.
Despite some of the controversy surrounding Rodgers’ appearances on the show, along with McAfee’s distinctive hosting style, the show remains popular among consumers and a different way for sports fans to get their information and listen to opinions from a former athlete. With McAfee’s show recently landing a lucrative sponsorship deal from FanDuel, both Sharriff and Choppy admire the way he has made the transition from being on the field to going behind the mic (and in front of the camera).
“Props to Pat, he’s come on our show and he seems like a good dude and credit to him for his success and [the] blockbuster deal that he landed,” said Sharriff.
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
Sports Radio News
Jason Puckett Launches PuckSports.com
“I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”
Published
13 hours agoon
March 28, 2024By
BSM StaffJason Puckett, who decided to walk away from a contract offer from iHeartMedia’s KJR in Seattle after finding out his partner Jim Moore had been laid off, has launched a new venture – PuckSports.com. ‘Puck’ has a baseball opening day show posted on the Puck Sports YouTube page and also posted an introductory message about his new venture and what led to creating it.
“I wanted to talk to you guys, the listeners out there, the viewers out there, sorry for all of this,” an emotional Puckett said. “Sorry for what has happened and what has taken place. Thank you for all of the comments and the well-wishes and what you have said about myself and Jim.
“It has been a whirlwind of a last few days, for sure and I do want to say that I feel for the people that we used to work with. “I know it’s not easy to go through that, I have been on that side of it many, many times in this industry when someone is let go and you have to sit there and answer all the questions about them and for them…It’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be that way, but the reality of this business is it’s like that.”
Puckett then told his fans that PuckSports.com and YouTube are where you will be finding his content along with Moore. “I am going to take what I have learned over the years and apply it to a new age of media,” he said and noted this was a direction he had been thinking about for a while.
As for what took place that led to his decision to not sign his contract and talk away, he said, “I just want to take you briefly back to last week. I don’t want to get too much in the weeds, I’m not here to lay any blame or point any fingers at anybody…there’s too many good people that I have worked with that I don’t want to drag into this. It was a process that was at times handled fine, handled perfectly, and at other times it got to a point where it just went on too long. But that’s corporate media and that’s what happens.”
Continuing on Puckett said, “…I had been without a contract since about January…when I was away from the station that was something that we and the station agreed upon…to see if we could get something done and we were all hopeful that we would…I was only supposed to be gone a couple of days…unfortunately as these things sometimes happen, it just went a little bit longer…We received the deal and it was what we wanted, but unfortunately with that news a few hours later came the news from corporate that Jim had lost his job. Obviously there was a mix of emotions with that from me.
“I wrestled with that and the decision and what I would do. It was hard for me to move forward…I couldn’t fight the perception more than anything that I had received a new deal while at the same time, my partner and good friend, guy I love to death, who I grew up reading…it was a hard reality…The loyalty I have, I couldn’t live with myself even though Jim knew what the truth was.”
Puckett said he was aware Moore was planning to step away from the radio show at the end of the year and was looking forward to the nine months they would have left to work with one another. Then, when iHeartMedia made the decision to make Moore a casualty of their latest round of layoffs, Puckett knew he needed to revisit the idea of starting his own venture.
He said, “It has kind of changed my timeline as far as what I wanted to do and where I felt I was at…I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”
Puckett said several of the show’s regular guests would stay with the show and he thanked several sponsors who he said would remain supporters of the show with the new venture. ‘Puck’ noted that starting next week, “…We get underway in full force…I’m going to continue to try and make people laugh and entertain you and talk about sports…and all of the other things you have become accustomed to with this show.”
As he started to wrap up, Puckett said, “I’m jumping into the deep end of the pool and I am going to see if I can swim or sink.”
Sports Radio News
Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”
“It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful.”
Published
15 hours agoon
March 28, 2024By
BSM StaffAs the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”
On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”
Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.
“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”
Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”
WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.
Sports Radio News
Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died
Published
18 hours agoon
March 28, 2024By
BSM StaffTommy Williams, who was heard for a decade 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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