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If The Masters Can Embrace Innovation, Every Sports Broadcast Can

“McIlroy added that it was important to keep up with the times, even though Augusta has been known more for its history and tradition.”

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This isn’t your daddy’s sports coverage anymore. The major professional leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) are starting to come around in adjusting to today’s viewer and how they watch their favorite sports. Technology and innovation are now more important than some of the storylines in a particular game or event. Sports television broadcasts are supposed inform the viewer, keep their attention and be a marketing arm for the leagues. By that I mean, introduce us to the players, show the different personalities and grow the sport. 

As I’ve written before, in game interviews are now becoming the rule, rather than the exception. We saw it in the NCAA Tournament, NBA and NHL with coaches and in baseball during the postseason. It’s a great way to introduce players to the audience. These interviews help us to find out what they were thinking in certain game situations and what the feeling is on the field at any particular moment. It’s the access that today’s viewer is looking for. 

Some sports have even employed the ‘alternate’ screen, like the ManningCast for a more personality-driven flavor. These screens also allow viewers inside the numbers, and give them access to gambling information, which is a huge part of the industry these days.

Major League Baseball is making strides, but is usually the dinosaur in the group, resisting changes to ‘how it’s always been done’ in the previous 100 years.  They’re streaming services have only recently caught up to others. But, as mentioned, they’ve started to become innovative in the way the game is broadcast. K-Zone and animated replays of pitches coming into the hitter are really interesting things to see. You absolutely CAN teach an “Old dog, new tricks.” MLB is living proof. 

The PGA Tour is kind of an outlier when it comes to the major sports on television. I love to golf and am one of those people that will sit down and watch a round or two of a big tournament. Golf has always been broadcast in a certain way, pretty old school, with minimal interaction with the players. 

The sport has a reputation for being very resistant to change and being a bit stodgy. I’d like to welcome the sport of golf to 2023. Incredibly, The Masters, of all tournaments, allowed players to be interviewed in between shots and on the range. This was limited to the first two rounds, which actually bled over to Saturday due to rain. 

Players like Rory McIlroy, Max Homa and Justin Thomas took part, when they donned an “airpod” for the ‘Walk and Talk’, with various broadcasters. 3 pretty big names on the tour these days all agreed to take part, even after McIlroy balked at being mic’d up at the Waste Management/Phoenix Open a few weeks ago. The players seemed to enjoy the interaction and the audience benefitted by being taken ‘inside the ropes’ so to speak. 

McIlroy discussed his approach shot on the ninth, on which he made par. “Yeah I just eased off on it a little bit,” McIlroy told the audience. “I think just in the back of my mind — obviously you don’t want to go long on this pin. So, yeah, I just eased off of it — probably pitched it five or six yards shorter than I wanted to. So, I at least got that putt up the hill, hopefully, have a decent look at it. If I don’t hole it, then get it around the hole, you know start the back nine afresh.”

These interviews were a nice way to fill the gaps between the action with interesting visuals and sounds.  McIlroy got on board with the idea after wearing the earpiece in Austin at the Match Play event. 

“So, the club reached out to us last week and just inquired if I would be interested in doing it,” said McIlroy. “It definitely feels a little less intrusive with the ear piece rather than someone right up next to you with the microphone like they’ve been doing it in Europe for a couple of years. I thought it would be a cool thing to do. I did it in Austin and didn’t feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much. So, it’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here.”

McIlroy added that it was important to keep up with the times, even though Augusta has been known more for its history and tradition. Max Homa also indicated that importance after he was mic’d up during his round. 

“It’s like being on a phone call for ten minutes,” Homa added. “It’s not the end of the world. It might be a shade distracting, but I think if it’s 5 percent distracting and it’s 95 percent something positive for golf, I can get past that.”

When two higher profile players have the right attitude about an innovation, it will likely make it easier to approach others in the future about taking a shot at it. If golfers, baseball players and basketball stars want to continue being able to pull in huge money deals, it’s in their best interests to help the cause. This is sports today, it’s part of the deal, figuratively and literally. 

Sports television should be in a state of constant evolution. It benefits the viewer and the network to be at the forefront of new ideas and ways to improve the telecast. But, don’t 

innovate just to do it, make it mean something. 

Take some chances. Give the viewer something that is going to enhance his or her experience. Old dogs are reliable and faithful, but there’s something about that puppy. It’s new and unpredictable, just begging to be molded. Be the puppy, sports television. 

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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.”

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Jason 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.”

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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.”

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As 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.

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Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy 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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