Friday Four-Pack 1.17.25

Another new WEEI Afternoon show. News on the biggest name in Boston sports media. Big Cat's past a big story. NFL Divisional Round Picks!

Look at that 🔥🔥🔥 hair. Shoutout Matty Mut and the San Jose Sharks

Lets Rip The Old Band Aid Off Once And For All…

Yes, growing up on the mean streets of Pepperell, MA, for a few years I was a bandwagon Cowboys fan. And I was FOR SURE anti-Patriots for a stretch.

My grandmother - the late Sylvia Pellegrini - held a major grudge against the team because in her mind they mistreated her favorite player, Doug Flutie. She was a diehard Boston College fan (shoutout Uncle John and Coleman) and she insisted the team never gave Flutie a fair shake in New England. She used to cut out newspaper articles about Flutie’s success in the CFL and save them for me. I remember celebrating when in early 2000, the Bills lost to the Titans in the ‘Music City Miracle’ after Wade Phillips benched Flutie for Rob Johnson. She loved Doug Flutie. I digress.

So Sylvia was out. Add in the fact that the Pats sucked. And the games were not always on TV thanks to the NFL blackout rules. And my dad being a complete casual at best (Steelers fan at the time). And my older cousin Sean being a huge Tony Dorsett/Dallas fan at one point and yes - I jumped on the Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin-led bandwagon. Those teams were loaded and always on TV. I’ll admit - I rooted for the early 90’s Dallas Cowboys.

I also rooted for Michael Jordan and the early 90’s Chicago Bulls. And like most people who have followed the rocketship career of Barstool Sports’ Dan Katz - Barstool Big Cat - I assumed he did, too.

And maybe he did? But he became the biggest story in sports media this week because before he was the Chicago superfan, he was just like a lot of us in our early 20s here in New England -

…Rockin’ a Tom Brady jersey with the grey hoodie, jeans, and a pair of work boots: just a Masshole enjoying an ice-cold Sam Adams and rooting on the early dynasty Pats.

This all became public during the excellent Surviving Barstool - that Dan grew up in Massachusetts before moving to Chicago. It was a note of mild interest that was overshadowed by Big Cat’s role in Kirk Minihane’s exit from Surviving and the eventual fallout - until the picture above hit X.com. The next day, Dan wrote a lengthy piece about it and his reasons for doing his best to keep the Bay State roots under wraps.

I took a part time role blogging for Barstool and when it wasn’t working out for Neil, Dave offered me the full time job again. Dave knew my background and we talked about what the best plan of attack was for my start. We agreed the best course of action was to not mention my childhood or that I used to root for Boston teams and to just throw everything I had into Chicago, covering their teams, everything going on in the city and blogging about everything on the internet etc.Bay State roots out of the public…

Looking back on this moment it’s my biggest regret that consumed me for many years. Why didn’t I just explain myself from the jump? I think my talent would’ve shown through regardless where I grew up. But the best thing for Barstool was for me to throw myself 100 percent into the job and work my ass off to make Barstool Chicago work. And that’s exactly what I did.

It’s worth reading and shows how much Dan believed his ties to Chicago sports were part of his online personality - so much so that he asked people not to bring up his Boston past on social media.

So, the man who hates the Packers and has suffered through hundreds of hours of bad Bears football probably celebrated the Red Sox World Series in 2004 - does that matter?

For most fans, probably not. I didn’t find Big Cat through Chicago sports - I found him because my buddy Mike told me I had to listen to this podcast, Pardon My Take. And then Dan would talk about betting the horses…and losing. And he’d talk about betting on sports…and losing. As a lifetime losing bettor myself, it was easy to root for Dan and the stuff he was building at Barstool. Barstool vs. ESPN (RIP Barstool Van Talk) was great theatre and I ate it up. He worked hard to become one of the most successful podcasters on the planet. And it was great to see him support my friend Kirk when he got his own show at Barstool.

Is the whole thing a little weird? Yes. If it came out today that my pal and Red Sox megafan Jared Carrabis grew up in Cleveland and there was a picture of him rockin’ an Albert Belle jersey in 1994, that would be weird. I get it. Is it weird that Dan was so protective of his past? Also, yes. Reading his blog, it sounds like looking back on it, he might agree.

I wonder if die-hard Chicago fans take it more personally because they thought they had these shared experiences with Dan and it turns out they were wrong. Maybe, right? But he’s also one of them now—he’s actually a transplant who adopted their teams—so maybe knowing he’s been through their recent pain, it doesn't cut as deep. 

As long as he has fun with it, this is probably a great thing for him. And his own mental health. He looked like a WRECK once Kirk outed him on Surviving. Maybe now with that and the blog and eventually going on Kirk’s show to talk about it - he can be playful with it. Talk about going from rooting for Tom Brady to rooting for Jay Cutler. Maybe he’ll admit that Regina is better than any Chicago-style pizza. He could rock one of those football jerseys that’s half Pats/half Bears. (Update - Big Cat will be on with Kirk Friday morning)

Is all of this a little weird? Again, yes, as were his tactics in Surviving. But long-term impact on him and Barstool? Little if any. He’ll continue to be one of the biggest stars at one of the biggest brands in Amercia.

Unless a photo surfaces of him with 🔥 hair in an Apex One Dallas Cowboys jacket. Then all bets are off.

Meanwhile, it’s the best NFL weekend of the year and we have picks to tail or trash. We have another new afternoon show on Sports Radio WEEI. And a loaded notes section with news on the biggest name in Boston Sports Media.

All ahead in today’s Four-Pack.

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On another new afternoon show for WEEI…

“I don’t think they’d put a scare in Felger and Mazz, but I do think change is coming 2-6 at WEEI. A move like that also allows you to move Christian Arcand to nights/Red Sox. Something to keep an eye on.” - Friday Four-Pack 1.3.25.

The move was not surprising. The names involved were.

Sports Radio WEEI announced their latest lineup changes on Tuesday. Nick ‘Fitzy’ Stevens and former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson join Andy Hart on what they’re still calling WEEI Afternoons. Christian Arcand moves to nights and Red Sox pregame.

I’ve written about WEEI PM-drive changes since the summer when Adam Jones was flushed to middays with Rich Keefe. Last year, WEEI toyed with the idea of bringing in Rich Shertenlieb from 98.5 The Sports Hub. I reported here that management also reached out to The Boston Globe’s Chris Gasper about a role with the station, presumably for this afternoon spot. Within the last few months, they showed interest in bringing Cerrone Battle over from The Sports Hub.

In the end, the move here was to elevate Fitzy from weekends and fill-in work to pair him with his podcast partner Hart, and add Johnson to the mix. Some of the one-word text reactions I received Tuesday afternoon from folks in the industry were “Meh” and “Yikes.” “Underwhelming” came from someone close to WEEI.

My one-word reaction? Uninspired.

I’ve worked with both Fitzy and Hart. They’re very nice guys. But the message WEEI management seems to be sending with this move is, “Well, we had to try something,” after losing the PM-drive fall book 17.6 to 2.5. Fitzy and Hart have chemistry and will have no trouble busting balls on the show. Ted Johnson left The Sports Hub to be a big part of the failed Rich Sherternlieb Show on WZLX last year. As someone who listened to a lot of that show, I can tell you he loves talking about protein shakes. I am admittedly, not a huge fan.

Christian Fauria - who was let go by WEEI last summer - is much better on the air than Ted Johson: he was also a much bigger line item on the WEEI budget. And so while the show won’t have much impact on WEEI’s salary cap, it’s hard to imagine it having any real impact in the ratings battle against Felger and Mazz.

I don’t know if The Sports Hub will play this card, but the new show has a lot of ties to the Patriots and Kraft Sports + Entertainment. Fitzy does in-game stadium work at Gillette Stadium during Pats’ games. Hart worked for the team for a long time. And Johnson played for the team and called new coach Mike Vrabel one of his “favorite teammates.” We’ll see how it plays out, but how critical of the Patriots is the show willing to be? It’s also VERY football-heavy, even if they are critical.

Three other newsy nuggets on the new show

1. I had assumed that Fitzy would be the lead chair, but it sounds like Hart will host when the show starts on Tuesday.

2. Fitzy has mentioned this - he does not live close to WEEI’s studios. There’s a feeling he’ll do some shows via Zoom. For a new show battling for every quarter-hour, I’d hope it’s not more than once every few weeks. The listener can tell when it’s remote and on the radio, it just does not sound as good.

3. This one is more of a rumor so take it for what it’s worth - I’m told Johnson’s schedule on the show is “flexible.” I have no idea what that means. I assumed based on the press release he was a full-time member of the show. Maybe that’s not 100% accurate. I guess we’ll all find out together next Tuesday when the show launches.

Jones and Keefe have some momentum in the middays, but there was no way to push them to afternoons after just a few months…but I would not rule that move out down the road. One more WEEI nugget in the media notes below.

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On a Pats Edition of Stock Watch…

📈 Stock Up: The guys in their 40s who held on to their Mike Vrabel jerseys. Oh, so many Vrabel jerseys this fall at Gillette. If you tossed yours, you can buy a new one for $129.99 - it’s listed as a ‘Top Seller’ on the Patriots Pro Shop right now. Honorable Mention: Guy with the Wes Welker jersey - if the Pats hire the recently fired Welker as their WR coach.

📈Stock Up: Marc Bertrand and Kirk Minihane. Bertrand was the most honest voice on Mayo’s failures during the season. He also started talking about the next OC during the preseason - on the Pats pregame show. And he held the feet of front-office mouthpieces like Albert Breer to the fire. Minihane broke the Vrabel news first. Then this week, first reported that Robyn Glaser was out - which looks to be 100% accurate even with Breer and Ben Volin pushing back.

📉 Stock Down: Anyone who actually spends $129.99 on a new Vrabel jersey.

📉 Stock Down: The Krafts. It feels like they’re getting a complete pass for the Mayo miss. And not just the miss, but the way they rushed through the process a year ago to jam Mayo in. Great rant from The Sports Hub’s Joe Murray about this.

📈 Stock Up: Josh McDaniels fanboys…of which I am one. Looks like he’s back and if he can get Mac Jones to play well, I have faith he can help Drake Maye become a Top 10 NFL QB.

📉 Stock Down: Mike Felger for his booms take on Drake Maye missing Vrabel’s debut press conference. Even if he wasn’t getting engaged, a truly bad take. Please stay off social media, Drake.

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Wild Card Round: 1-2. Yuck.
Season Record: 26-31* (46%) 🤢🤢🤢
* - Total includes 8-1 ATTD winner on Foster Moreau Week 17

Those pair of Pick 6s AND 2-point play that went the other way in the Houston game were killer for an under that looked like a lock for 30+ minutes. I was very confident in the Bucs’ bet and placed some of my biggest wagers of the year around that game. The results were not awesome.

This week, the usual side/total/prop plus my thoughts on the rest of the games comprising the best NFL weekend of the year.

The Side 🏈
CHIEFS -8 VS TEXANS (ESPN Bet -110)

The Texans were not lucky last week, but they did get some INT and special teams luck in a win over the Chargers. Down 10-0, C.J. Stroud made a wild play on a ball that was snapped over his head, and all of a sudden the Texans were back in it.

Now they must go to Kansas City to face a rested and healthy Chiefs team starting their journey for the Super Bowl Trifecta™️. The Texans’ OL is not good, even if they get G Shaq Mason back. Stroud will have to make quick adjustments in a loud and cold environment - temps will be in the low 20s for this game. Stroud 0-2 SU/ATS in games colder than 35 degrees.

This game was 27-19 Chiefs a month ago and Kansas City is healthier now. The Texans are down to John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson as their receivers behind Nico Collins.

The Chiefs have scored 27, 27, and 42 points in these home divisional round games over the last three years. I see no reason they don’t get to 28+ here and think the Texans - without the INT luck from a week ago - will struggle to get to 14. I’d LEAN under in this game as well. But the bet is KC -8.

The Total 🏈
BILLS VS RAVENS UNDER 51.5 (Draftkings -110)

The weather will be a factor in this game - temps in the teens on Sunday night in Buffalo. And for all the hype (warranted by the way) of the Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson matchup, these two teams want to run the football.

Both teams (BAL 53.6% and BUF 48.8%) are Top 4 in the NFL in rush rate. The Bills were happy to put a sixth lineman out there against the Broncos and pound the ball. The Ravens acquired Derrick Henry to do the same against these Bills.

Two Top 11 DVOA defenses. Two teams that want to run. And a game in frigid temps. I know it’s Allen vs. Lamar and this handicap could look silly given the quarterbacking talent, but I’m betting under 51.5. I would LEAN BUF ML OR as a small dog because I will always bet Josh Allen getting points.

The Prop 🏈
DALTON SCHULTZ OVER 35.5 38.5 REC YARDS (FanDuel -113)

With only four games to price, these prop lines move faster than usual this time of year. This number was 31.5 yards on Monday…35.5 Thursday morning...and now Friday morning 38.5/-113 is the best number I can find. Still playable for me up to 39.5 yards. A second prop option below.

The Chiefs allowed 68.1 yards/game to opposing TEs this year - second most of any team. No Tank Dell (injured), Cade Stover (injured), or Diontae Johnson (cut) for Houston. There are just not many great options for Stroud here if the Texans fall behind and have to throw the ball. The Houston OL is bad and I could see Schultz getting peppered with targets - his O3.5 REC has been steamed up to -168 at FanDuel. Note that Schultz had 5-45-1 against KC when they met in December and that was the game Dell was injured.

LIONS VS. COMMANDERS 🏈 Austin Ekeler OVER 22.5 REC YARDS (-115, BetMGM). No interest in the side. LEAN OVER given how bad the Commanders’ defense is and the skill of Jayden Daniels.

EAGLES VS. RAMS 🏈 I have no feel for this game on Friday morning. The cold temps and wind potential would be a LEAN Eagles and LEAN under.

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On your sports media and sports betting notebook…

➡️ Michael Felger is the biggest sports media personality in Boston. And due to cutbacks at Comcast-owned NBC Sports Boston and NBC 10, you’ll be seeing much less of him in 2025.

Felger told a caller on his radio show, Felger and Mazz, that he would no longer be hosting Sports Sunday on NBC 10 - Or doing Boston Sports Tonight on Mondays. “Not all my call, by the way,” Felger told his audience.

The Boston Herald reached out to Felger about his ‘announcement.’

“After working weekends/Sundays in the fall for pretty much 35 years – starting as an intern there at the Herald in 1989 – I was ready to give that shift a rest,” Felger wrote to the Herald on Thursday. “But it doesn’t sound like it was going to be my choice anyway,” he added. “I don’t want to speak for the company on that. They’ve been great. Challenging times for the business.”

I was told that Comcast came to Felger and asked him to take a pay cut. He said okay, but I’m working less. Seems fair. He’s expected to just do a few days a week of BST as part of the new deal. Michael Holley is down to a few days a week on BST as well, again as part of the budget tightening.

In fact, two sources tell me Comcast is canceling Sports Sunday for the foreseeable future, with a final show scheduled for January 26. Phil Perry is expected to host the next few weeks.

The story here is not that they’re canceling a show that did not have a huge impact on the market in 2025. Or that they asked Felger to take a pay cut. The story is that even with the NBA Champion Celtics on the network in a sports-crazy market, Comcast Boston is dealing with the same financial issues that dozens of regional sports networks across the country are battling.

➡️ The Sports Hub’s Fred Toucher took issue with his co-worker Felger for talking about "rival’ WEEI. This is a VERY old-school radio idea - don’t mention the competition - and I’m shocked Toucher cares. Listeners sample every show back and forth. My gut feeling - Toucher was annoyed at Felger because Felger mentioning the other (struggling) station makes him look like the “nice guy” for throwing them a bone.

➡️ One more on WEEI - a tough spot for Christian Arcand having to make the big announcement about a new show that he’s not a part of. Arcand says he thought he was moving to nights “back in August,” and I’m working on trying to find out what fell through where that didn’t happen. Stay tuned.

➡️ Great job by the new Maryland racing communications director for Dan Illman for his part in the revamped handicapping page for Laural Park. Picks, free DRF PPs, and Horses to Watch. Looks awesome and is very player-friendly. Other tracks should take note.

And with that, we have said it all. Comments are open for all your media takes and winning bets. Go win all the money this weekend and enjoy the football. Just seven NFL games left this season. ☹️

And thanks for reading.

Good weekend.