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Buck Reising: Media Will Give Nick Saban Any Platform He Wants

“Because why? He’s Nick Saban.”

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Nick Saban
Courtesy: AP Photo

The media, particularly the college football media, loves Nick Saban. Buck Reising says it is a love that has been earned through seven career national championships. 

Fans are a little more polarized. If they love the Alabama Crimson Tide, chances are they love Nick Saban. If they aren’t Bama fans, they probably don’t like the guy as much.

Wednesday on 104.5 The Zone, Reising said he thinks that is part of what drove the reaction to Saban’s recent appearance on Joel Klatt’s podcast. The coach was complaining about not truly understanding the criteria for selection by the College Football Playoff committee and said that if everyone agrees his team would have been favored against 3 of the 4 teams that made the field, it seems like they should have been in.

“A lot of people are rolling their eyes when they hear Nick Saban, because what a lot of people are going to latch on to out of that audio is what sounds somewhat like Nick Saban still making the case for last year’s Alabama team making the College Football Playoff after going around and campaigning on every platform available to him, and all platforms were available to him. Because why? He’s Nick Saban,” Reising said.

Saban’s influence with the media cannot be rivaled by many in the college football world. Reising compared the Alabama using the media to get his message out to Trent Dilfer trying to do the same thing. 

Dilfer spent many years at ESPN and is now the coach at UAB. He told The Rick & Bubba Show in Birmingham that if other coaches try to steal his players, he can call old colleagues and get that information on ESPN’s College GameDay in no time.

“Dilfer has plenty of access to plenty of people in this world, no question,” Reising said. “But it does feel a bit different when you’re holding those two up against one another and the things that they’re trying to accomplish in kind of the same way.”

Reising said that all you need to do is look at where each one was. Dilfer was on a country radio station’s morning show saying that he could have a platform if he wanted it. Saban went much bigger by sitting down with Joel Klatt.

“Now, Nick Saban is going straight to the source, right? The lead analyst for college football on FOX and his platform on Fox Sports being blasted out everywhere.”

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92.9 The Game Enjoys Ratings Growth in Atlanta Summer Book

In weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), the station finished 2nd overall with a 6.8 share.

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A photo of the Atlanta skyline

The summer ratings book is out in Atlanta, and 92.9 The Game once again turned in a strong quarterly performance with Men 25-54.

In weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), the station finished 2nd overall with a 6.8 share for the book. For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid), the station remained 2nd with a 5.6 share.

Looking at the weekday shows, in mornings, the summer book represented the second ratings period for the station’s show helmed by Tiffany Blackmon, Mike Johnson, and Beau Morgan. The Morning Shift saw a slight drop from its first book, finishing with a 7.1 share for the quarter. That figure was an 8.4 share in the spring book. Nonetheless, the program remained in a strong position, 2nd overall in the market.

In middays, the station had a pair of shows finish 2nd, with The Steakhouse — featuring Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden –enjoying an uptick from a 6.9 in the spring to an 8.1 in the summer. Shapiro and Golden are heard weekdays on the station from 9a-11a.

Additionally, middays with Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael generated a 7.1 share, which was one tenth of a point off from its spring book. Similar to The Morning Shift and The Steakhouse, Bunker and McMichael secured 2nd place in their time slow.

The venerable 92.9 The Game afternoon duo of Carl Dukes and Mike Bell, which airs from 2p-7p, saw a slight dip this quarter to finish with a 6.6 share, good for 3rd in the market. In the spring book, Dukes & Bell were 2nd with a 6.9 share.

Ratings information for 680 The Fan was not made available for the summer book.

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Jon Ritchie: Joe DeCamara Deserves Credit from ESPN For Idea That Turned Phillies Season Around

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A photo of Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie
(Photo: 94 WIP)

Earlier this year, 94 WIP producer Jack Fritz received acclaim for sharing an idea that Philadelphia fans should give struggling shortstop Trea Turner a standing ovation. Morning host Jon Ritchie believes his partner, Joe DeCamara isn’t getting the credit he deserves.

During DeCamara and Ritchie Wednesday morning, the former NFL star argued that ESPN’s Karl Ravech got the story wrong in its retelling during the Phillies National League Wild Card Game Tuesday.

“This is good stuff. Last night during the during the broadcast, I started getting texts and tweets about this, but didn’t hear it live because I was at the game,” DeCamara said. “But during the broadcast, Karl Ravech and David Cone talked about what Fritz did and the Trea Turner thing.”

The show then played the clip of Ravech and Cone talking about Fritz’s idea of giving the standing ovation and how it helped turn Turner’s season around. Ritchie jokingly took issue with the fact that it was actually DeCamara’s idea.

“I guess (Fritz) did do the organizing, that is true, but the idea was hatched by Joe DeCamara on our show,” said Ritchie. “This was Joe’s idea. He hatched it. Let’s give him some credit here, and if Jack Fritz is gonna get a ring, why doesn’t Joe DeCamara?”

DeCarama joked Jon Ritchie just “wants to cause trouble”, before his co-host pushed him to say it was his idea.

“If I say yes, I seem like a bad guy. If I say no, I’m lying. So I will say no,” DeCamara said slyly.

Last week, during an appearance on the station, Turner thanked afternoon hosts Jon Marks and Ike Reese for helping turn around his year.

“Obviously, the whole thing happened and the rest is kind of history. Started playing a lot better and it was thanks to you guys and the crowd,” the Phillies star said.

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98.5 The Sports Hub Delivers Strong Summer Ratings But WEEI’s ‘Greg Hill Show’ Closes The Gap in Mornings

“98.5 The Sports Hub remained the top overall station in the summer book but WEEI’s Greg Hill Show made up significant ground in morning drive.”

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A photo of the Boston skyline

Boston has long been one of the hottest sports radio markets in America. With the latest summer ratings period now closed, we know it is also one of the most competitive between 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI.

In morning drive, Toucher & Rich still topped the market with an impressive 15.1 share. That rating is one that most shows would gladly take but after producing a massive 24.3 share last Summer, maintaining that performance was going to be a tall order. Though the show was 1st with a strong number, a decline of more than 9 shares year over year has to get the attention of the morning show and the management team. If anyone can rebound though and regain that past performance, T&R have shown they can.

Scott Zolak and Marc “Beetle” Bertrand continued to earn the number one spot in middays, garnering a 14.6 share for The Hub. That number was also down year-over-year but not as much as mornings. Zo and Bertrand turned in an 18.1 share in the 2022 Summer book.

Felger & Mazz — hosted by Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti — remains the best-performing show in Boston. The afternoon show held a 17.2 share to finish 1st in their time slot. The show did drop from a 19.7 share last summer but remains comfortably ahead of any market competition.

In weekday prime ratings, 98.5 The Sports Hub remained the top overall station with a 15.3 share. That number was down 25% year-over-year when it held a 20.4 share.

Meanwhile, WEEI rose more than 34% in weekday prime to a 7.4 share, up from a 5.5 in the same book a year ago. That placed them 3rd for the book.

WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show was the station’s biggest winner, more than doubling its share year over year. Hill’s program ranked 2nd with an 11.6 share this summer compared to a 5.2, 7th place finish last year. Only 3.5 shares now separate Hill from Toucher & Rich.

The midday pairing of Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria saw a slight increase for WEEI this quarter, moving to a 7.0 share. That figure was up from 6.3 last year. They were ranked 4th overall this quarter.

The afternoon pairing of Adam Jones, Meghan Ottolini, and Christian Arcand saw a noticeable drop, garnering a 3.9 share during the summer book. That put them in an 8th place tie during the summer book. Last year, WEEI’s afternoon show of Lou Merloni, Fauria, and Ottolini saw a 6.0 share in afternoon drive.

All numbers reported above are for sports radio’s target demographic of Men 25-54. The Hub did also have strong stories with Men 18-34 (1st for the full week, 2nd in prime), Persons 25-54 (1st for the full week, 3rd in prime), and Men 18-49 (1st for the full week, 1st in prime).

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