A Note from MutStack Owner Dave Portnoy
Two big races for Go Go Greys Stable today. Boston Grey in the 4th at Laurel and Naughty Nancy in the 9th at Belmont. I think they both should be highly competitive in these spots.
More importantly the Barstool College Football Show will be in Hartford on Friday Night for UConn vs UMass. I will take it as a personal insult if Mutt and his Locked on UConn fanbase doesn’t show up by the hundreds and thousands to support the show.
This is huge.
I was already planning to be there. Of course I will be there. I need any UConn fans reading this to be there, too. And if you're a UConn fan reading this, you know how important it is to show up and show out for a program that deserves more attention from the Daves, Big Cats, and Brandon Walkers of the world. Given the unreal start from our “rivals” at UMass, they’re going to be there. We will not be outnumbered.
Big spot for UConn and an even bigger spot for UConn fans.
Be there for Jason Candle. And for Jordan Todman. And Larry Taylor. And Locked On UConn. The show starts at 5:30 between gates C and D in the parking lot. I’m working on getting more info this weekend. Go Huskies!
One of the wildest media stories of my lifetime. And it’ll play out in public for the next six months.
On Wednesday, friend of the Kirk Minihane Show, Ryan Glassspiegel, had the juicy report that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman got into an argument before Bills/Rams on Monday Night Football. The two have worked in a booth together since 2002, and I don’t recall any other story like this involving them. With Buck recently inking a 6 year/$108 million extension and Aikman set to be a free agent at the end of the year, it seemed pretty obvious what the impetus might be.
Then Aikman went on Dallas Sports Radio the next morning and pretty much confirmed it all. Then he added to it by commenting to Jimmy Traina on his Substack last night.
“It just seems to be where they’re going - that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations. We’re in a Super Bowl year. The Super Bowl is Feb. 14. My contract ends in March. It just doesn’t seem logical that if they were gonna keep me, something wouldn’t be in place before that.” 👀👀👀
Media free agency is not uncommon. But for it to play out like this, in public, five months before Buck and Aikman are set to call the first Super Bowl ever on ESPN? Yeah, it’s a huge story.
Some lingering thoughts after writing a couple thousand words on the biggest story in sports media over on the Barstool Blog.
So how hard did Buck fight for Aikman when he signed his new deal last month? Was the former Cowboys’ QB blindsided by the news of the extension? Was Buck part of the reason he won’t be back? There are little details that will get out between now and Super Bowl 61.
And so how do the two of them deal with that in the booth? They still have 12 regular-season games, two playoff games, and the Super Bowl together. Does ESPN go to Aikman and his team and beg for a ceasefire?
Who replaces Aikman, and where does he go? I think Greg Olsen will be tabbed to join Buck on ESPN. He’s younger, and he can blend former-player insight with advanced analytics. He had already earned a No. 1 booth on Fox before Tom Brady came along and bumped him. Traina is a clued-in media guy, and he's been saying “100% Greg Olsen,” so I feel good about my pick. As for Aikman - why wouldn’t CBS pair him with Jim Nantz for the next five years? I guess Amazon could bring him in and rebuild that booth, with the legend Al Michaels now 81. Netflix only has a handful of games, so that doesn’t make sense. I don’t think Tony Romo will get the call. Former BC Eagle Luke Kuechly could be slotted in on Fox or CBS as the pieces play out.
I’m sure they thought about it, but I don’t think Buck would go along with Pat McAfee moving into the booth. McAfee denied it yesterday. I think it’s more likely that if ESPN stayed in-house, they’d go Buck + The Manning Brothers.
ESPN is basically saying as long as we have Buck, we can put anyone next to him.
The whole thing is an awful look for ESPN, which let Glasspiegel get this story by not handling this better on their end. I root hard for ESPN flubs, so I adore this, but the NFL can’t be enjoying it. Multiple reports say the league loves this Buck/Aikman booth. My friend Kirk says they’re the best booth in football. I have them #2 behind Tirico and Collinsworth. Either way, it’s a big gamble splitting up such a known and well-liked duo.
Have to wonder if Buck goes on, say Pardon My Take, and tries to spin this. Or will they just ignore it? How? Will Team Aikman go along with that? What happens when we start to hear who might replace Aikman? Or how his new landing spot might impact someone else? A ton of moving parts.
Such a big story. And the backdrop of ESPN having the Super Bowl, with Buck and Aikman on the call, looms over all of this. And it’s still five months away!
Meanwhile, Drake Maye is back from the dead. A deep dive on the summer Boston Sports Radio ratings. Week 6 NFL Picks and your weekly MutStack Notes.
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #193.
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On Boston Sports Radio 2026 Summer Ratings…
How many ways can I say that 98.5 The Sports Hub has once again destroyed Sports Radio WEEI in the Boston Sports radio ratings (first published by the Boston Globe)?
Among Men25-54, The Hub was #1 this summer (June 25 - September 16th) while WEEI came in #7 in that same demo. It’s the demo the industry uses to judge sports radio, even if WEEI staff and management try to convince people otherwise.
I like showing this chart every quarter to give some context to what we’re seeing. It’s worth going back to the Summer of 2024 for maybe the biggest headline of this book.
Toucher and Hardy - 16.6
The Greg Hill Show - 11.9
WZLX (with Rich) 1.8
That was the first summer of the post-Rich Shertenlieb version of The Hub’s morning show. WEEI got within five points of their main rival, and it looked like there might be a changing of the guard at the top of morning drive. Rich was actually over on WZLX doing a terrible show there and tanking their ratings.
Since then, Greg’s show has lost roughly half its audience. Brutal. Fred’s show is up 13%. Meanwhile, WZLX just did a 7.2 Men25-54 in AM Drive and has more than quadrupled its ratings since Rich’s disastrous stint there. There is little doubt they have stolen away much of Greg’s audience.
Yikes.
Again, that show and WEEI management will quickly point to other demos and numbers that tell a better story, but this one doesn't.
I wonder if Fred Toucher’s rant this week was tied to Rich leaving the show, Fred rebuilding it, and the ratings being better than ever. Does he feel like his bosses at Beasley Media - and the radio industry in general - are not giving him enough credit? He’s not totally wrong given the numbers.
And I keep hearing from my moles at The Hub that ratings seem to be de-emphasized these days. Per two sources, Beasley no longer subscribes to weekly reports. If his bosses are minimizing that ratings success, I get why he's annoyed. Could also just be the rantings of a very successful curmudgeon, IDK.
Back to the two stations. WEEI had a magical Red Sox run and saw just a .2-point bump from the spring. Woof. They can celebrate a small win at night, but if history holds, The Hub will once again dominate the all-important Fall Book.
AM Drive - See above.
Mid-Day - Zolak and Bertrand took the biggest hit of any show year-over-year, but the Patriots bump will help this fall. Jones and Keefe keep taking shots at Zo and his calls of the Pats’ game pretty consistently.
PM Drive - I guess for some people, the biggest headline of the book is WEEI’s new PM Drive crew. Rich, Ken, and ThreeTimeSuperBowlChamp Ted Johnson are a bad radio show. This was their first full book, and I suspect the bump came from some added audience from Red Sox games. At one point this summer, Rich basically admitted that Sox games were doing better than their actual show. Felger, Mazz, and Murray continue to collect #1 bonus checks quarterly. In fact, all three of these 98.5 shows ranked #1 in M25-54 this summer. #domination
Nights - Red Sox give WEEI the win over Joe Murray.
Will things change in the fall?
No. The Sports Hub will register a decisive win across the board.
Are there more changes coming?
I have not heard anything. Either station.
I see the complaints about 98.5 on social media, but it’s having little impact on ratings or relevance of the #1 sports station in town. There’s only one lever WEEI could pull that could change things. More on that below in the MutStack notes. And your WEEI/Hub comments are always welcome.
On the revival of MVP Drake Maye…
He’s back.
Also, Positive Vibes only for the diet (down 2 lbs).
On your Four-Pack of Week 6 NFL Picks…
Week 5 Record: 1-2
Season Record: 6-9
ATD Record: 0-5
Could really have used the Bears to show up- the Packers did their part for the over. Odds from the world’s best sportsbook, DraftKings, as of Thursday night. Make sure you check for updated lines.
The Side
BUCS (+2.5) VS. STEELERS (-108)
I did not expect to end up here. But when I started going through the numbers, I kinda can’t believe this line and the money coming in on Pittsburgh. 71% of the bets and 79% of the money on the Black and Gold, according to Action Network. Guys - the Steelers might stink. The beat Cooper Rush and an Indy team COMING BACK from London for two of their wins. Now they face a Tampa team that is, I admit, shockingly, 5th in DVOA on defense. They have the extra rest from playing last Thursday, and teams with a rest advantage are 13-4-1 ATS this season. Gross, ugly, disgusting game, give me the home dog against a team I saw the Patriots wallop a few weeks ago.
The Total
CHIEFS VS. CHARGERS UNDER 42.5 (-112)
History says this will be a low-scoring game. Action has Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes as a QB-coach duo 27-9 to the Under as home favorites over the last five seasons. As a team, KC 16-4 to the Under against the AFC West over the last four seasons. The Chargers are a disaster and have been passing at the second-lowest rate in neutral situations, per Sharp Football. The Chiefs have been content to pound MVP candidate Kenneth Walker, and that makes sense coming off the bye.
The Prop
KENDRICK BOURNE 40+ REC YARDS (+112)
Pretty simple stuff. Rams smash Cards. Cards have to throw. Bourne likely third in the pecking order behind Wilson and McBride here. Can ladder this too, up to 80+ (+790)…
The ATD
JALEN COKER +320
On your weekly MutStack Notes…
🎙️ No surprise Big O and Gerry Callahan combined for an excellent podcast this week. It brought up some tough-to-stomach memories of Mut and Callahan, but that’s for a different week. Go listen to Glenn and Gerry. A laugh-out-loud Eddie Andleman story…
🎙️ That’s the lever, and I agree. Will never happen, but he’d win.
🎙️ It’s early in the process, and Kirk said the next producer will not be someone previously connected to, or internal to, the KMS ecosystem, but give me Bobby Costa behind the glass.
⚾ They’re all good teams, I get it, but MLB getting the Brewers v. Guardians/Rays in the pre-lockout World Series is a brutal runout. ZERO buzz for this as baseball fans await the battle between players and owners.
🎙️ One more radio note, from Fred Toucher’s interview with Barrett Media.
For the last three years, Toucher has credited the chemistry he and Hardy share on and off the air as the foundation for the show’s continued success.
“At this stage in my career, that’s extraordinarily important for me. It’s a quality-of-life issue. I want to go into the station and enjoy doing the show with the person I’m with. I didn’t realize how much that mattered,” explained Toucher. “It’s been a lot of fun in a job that I’ve been doing for a long time. It can get tedious at times, but it’s been a great gift to have this change. It reinvigorated me in a lot of ways.”
Shots fired at Rich, obviously.
🏒 Made it to my first Chicklets Cup, and it will not be my last. The fans were awesome, and the hockey was legit. Harpoon on a nice fall day in a Seaport is an elite venue.
I want to end this week’s newsletter by sending prayers and well wishes to UMass guy and Lowell, MA native Jeff Howe. Jeff announced he’s been battling a serious health issue and will step away from his work at The Athletic. Jeff has been open about his health issues in the past, and that openness has helped others. We did some goofy segments on NESN back in the day, and he was great to work with here in Boston. Wishing him the best in his battle.
As always, I appreciate you. reading. And watching. Have a great and safe weekend…and plan on being in East Harford next Friday!
Does Portnoy's continued misspelling of "Mut" exacerbate your seasonal affective disorder like it does mine? #PositiveVibesOnly