Friday Four-Pack 4.17.26
Vrabel/Russini fallout. Celtics expectations should be sky-high. A wild youth baseball celebration. A big WEEI on-air fight and more!
Note from Owner of MutStack.com, Dave Portnoy:
No note from Dave this week. Big Go Go Greys update in tomorrow’s Kentucky Derby Prepping w/ Mut at the Barstool Blog. And a preview of the Saturday Showdown at Oaklawn between Sovereignty, Journalism, and White Abarrio. Can’t wait.
Busy week for the Mike Vrabel/Diana Russini story.
→ Russini resigns as the NY Times starts an investigation into the Sedona pics, saying in part, “‘I do so [resign] not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career. I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published.”
→ Nashville Radio Host and noted Mike Vrabel hater Jared Stillman tweeted, “A source close to Dianna Russini tells me that they believe Dianna and Vrabel were caught by a PI and that the PI was hired by Dianna's husband and that it isn't about money because the source says Dianna's husband already has plenty of it.”
→ Media waits for any comment from Vrabel on the issue
Look, I have no problem with what former Patriot and now radio host/radio color guy Scott Zolak said yesterday in the clip above - I appreciate his honesty. I personally did not find it pathetic at all - Mike Vrabel has put Zo and many others in a very tough position.
Because while yes, this is a personal issue, it’s also become a very public one. Zo has to work with Vrabel and the Patriots. He values those relationships enough not to jeopardize them by commenting on a topic that, a week later, we still don’t have all the details. Nowhere below do I claim to know anything other than what’s been reported.
I think Zo and many others in the Patriots/general media are waiting for Vrabel to say something here.
He has to say something. And once he does, the story will go away because the 2026 news cycle is so, so short. I’m surprised he has not made any sort of statement yet - he’s required by the NFL to meet with the media next week before the NFL Draft. It wouldn't be shocking if he released something (Friday news dump?) and then pointed back to it when he’s eventually asked about it. Whether those pictures in Arizona show two friends hanging out or signs of alleged “canoodling,” as My Boss Dave has put it, the coach has to address it.
There is no one else I’d want coaching this team, but there’ll have to be some sort of conversation with his players, too. I wonder if the team will have their own comment, maybe hand-in-hand with their head coach.
Zo’s show has talked about it plenty - his co-host, Marc Bertrand, along with Felger & Mazz, have been open and discussed every issue of this topic. I think they’ve been very fair. The Greg Hill Show - which interviews Vrabel every week during the season- has been less active on the topic. And just like the case of Zo, I sort of get it.
I get the sense there will be many media members ready to comment once Vrabel speaks; all eyes will be on the coach. And as I wrote here last week, I’ll be curious if the local Pats media is more critical of Vrabel, even by accident, if they believe he was giving the national reporter more info than the local beat guys.
I have no issue with what Zo said or how he’s handling this. I don’t get the sense his audience will have an issue, either. It’s awkward, it’s messy, we don’t have all the info, and we’re still waiting for the next comments from Vrabel. I’d much prefer Zo’s honesty to having him say nothing on a controversial topic, as one local announcer did this week. More on that below ⬇️ (What a big market tease)
Meanwhile, we have a ridiculous youth baseball celebration to discuss. The Celtics are in the playoffs. WEEI had a rare on-air fight. And the usual MutStack notes.
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #168
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On this perposterous travel baseball celebration…
The first time I scrolled past this on X.com, I just assumed it was fake. I’m an absolute boomer, so I keep getting burned online by fake and AI videos. But after doing a little research, it turns out it’s a real team that recruits players and plays in some of the biggest Perfect Game tournaments in the country.
And as boomer, you know I absolutely hate this.
The GoPro camera on the helmet…the insane bat spike…the basketball dunk… all of it. Hate, hate, hate it. And I get it, the guys behind this are a YouTube content factory. But at 12 years old, these kids are still very impressionable. It’s the wrong way to learn the game. You’re teaching them to go viral vs. good sportsmanship.
Does that make me sound old as shit? Good, I don’t care.
There is a very Bananaball aspect to this - I don’t like that either. But I’m also not a “hand the football to the official after a TD” truther. I like the NFL allowing these guys to celebrate more over the last couple of years. The energy in the World Baseball Classic was awesome. This just feels gross, given the kids’ ages.
As a father of two boys about this age, I view sports as fun, yes, but also as a way to learn about life. About failing and trying again. About being a good friend and teammate. About learning personal responsibility.
I was curious what my boys would think of the video, so I played it for them. Before I even started it, my youngest said, “That’s Pottstown.” Yes, the team is called the Pottstown Scout Team. Turns out they know all about them from YouTube. I hit play.
“That’s tough.”
“Yeah, so tough.”
I’m not so out of the loop that I don’t know that in this case, tough = cool. They were big fans of the “celly,” as they called it. I gave them my opinion.
“You’re just mad because you could never hit a home run like that,” said the oldest, as they both laughed in a very mocking manner at their father. If I could have hit with those loaded U-Trip bats they use now……But I digress. They ran off to play MLB The Show, so I didn’t go into some big lecture about sportsmanship and content vs reality - I’ll save that for the car rides to one of their six games this weekend.
And I bet it really is an age thing. Olds like me hate this stuff, while teenagers are watching every new Pottstown video and short.
I wanted one more opinion on this, so I reached out to a respected baseball coach in our district. He’s about my age and has coached every level, up and down, for a long time. I sent him this video and asked what he thought, acknowledging I might use it here today.
“This is obviously a gross example of this going way too far. Generally, I’ve mellowed over the last 10 years of coaching youth baseball. Ten years ago, I would have hated it completely. If a kid hits a home run, they should celebrate. But turning it into a ridiculous choreographed dance number is an entirely different issue. I try to steer kids towards celebrating with their teammates, rather than it being about themselves.
I have no problem with a team coming out in youth baseball to wait for the kid at the plate who homered - but in high school and college, the line can get crossed when they start chirping at each other.
A big thing I hate is the kids on defense giving an opponent a high five on the way around the bases. I hate that - your job at that point is to back up your pitcher because he’s your teammate, and that’s the last thing he would want to see. I could probably write 30K words on what I like and don’t like - I think it’s very subjective.
As a coach, I want it to be fun but positive and team-centered versus trash talk when it can be avoided.”
I had not noticed that the opposing third baseman actually does high-five the kid who homered - now I’m annoyed at the other coach, too!
It’s not 1992 - times have changed - it’s a whole different world now, I get it. But I have no love for this at all. Hopefully, there are enough coaches and parents out there who agree with me. This being the new norm would suck.
Comments are open below for your own takes on this - and plenty of space to call me a boomer, too.
On the playoff expectations for your Boston Celtics…
It seems pretty obvious, right?
On this real moment from WEEI Afternoons…
To easily sum up how different sports radio in Boston is today vs. 10 years ago, it took The Greg Hill Show almost three hours into their show on Wednesday to play this semi-viral moment that happened on their station’s afternoon show the day before. Greg Hill actually said, “Oh, I didn’t hear that.”
In 2016, Kirk & Callahan would have played it in the first segment of the show. In 1996, The Big Show would have had a Pete Gustin bit ready to go for 2:20 PM in that first hour. And the listeners would have eaten it up. Callers would have taken sides. Producers would have tried to get each guy on.
But those days of radio are long gone. No, in 2026, this gets buried at 8:55 AM, and the host of the show either pretends not to have heard it as an excuse not to play it earlier, or actually didn’t hear it. I’d believe either with Greg.
Fizty vs. Ted Johnson was a pretty good dust-up, as far as in-show sports radio dust-ups go in 2026. It’s clear some of the off-air tension on the show finally boiled over for whatever audience they have listening at this point; the numbers say not many. Maybe if they did this more, the audience would be bigger.
The way I’ve heard it, Andy Hart and Ted would be happy to do their show themselves, maybe with producer Dan Bahl. Fitzy is well aware of this - being on remote 60% of the time doesn’t help. I wrote here a few weeks ago about a Friday show where Fitzy said he wasn’t feeling well and just bailed on the last two hours, while on remote. The fact that no one on the show even mentioned he was leaving or had already left was another sign of the lingering tension.
That once Market Manager and now Program Director Mike Thomas has talked to Chris Gasper and Phil Perry about joining the station (and presumably that show) has probably not helped matters. “The shakup continues to loom,” texted a Boston radio insider this week.
I don’t blame Fitzy for this outburst, and I also don’t blame Ted for being bored at Fitzy’s droning on - he’s guilty of constantly repackaging something someone else on the show just said seconds later. It’s bad, and it happens a lot. Ted is a bore, and his “remember when” Patriots talk is a massive tune-out for me.
It won’t happen, but they should have it out like this more often. I’d much prefer this to some stupid list or boring guest…or Ted trying to monologue on anything. Mike Thomas allowing Ted to work a part-time schedule while also letting Fitzy be at home three days a week doesn’t help our chances of more in-show fireworks. Thomas also put more tension on the show by setting it up this way. I don’t blame Fitzy for being pissed or for his reaction here.
Will we get more of this? No, feels like Tuesday’s battle will be remembered as a one-off. The show will be revamped by Patriots training camp, and we’ll have another failed Mike Thomas production to add to the resume.
Additional Note: Sooooooooo, as I am about to publish here on Friday morning, there are some real rumblings that there could be an on-air shake-up at WEEI as soon as today. I am not reporting that yet, but it’s very much in the air. I will update this as I get additional info either way. 👀👀
On your weekly MutStack Notes…
⚾ We welcomed Ed Hand in as a new voice on this week’s Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast. Good win Wednesday, but at 7-11, it’s been a bad start to the season. How does it get better? Watch and subscribe on YouTube and then listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
⚾ Jarren Duran deserves a lot of credit for being so open about his own mental health issues on the Netflix Red Sox doc. And I’ll excuse him for flipping the bird to a fan in Minnesota after Duran said in the postgame that the fan told the player to “kill himself.” There’s a better way to handle it - like grabbing security, pointing the guy or gal out, and getting them ejected from the game - but I understand his response. This is his third or fourth incident with fans, so he’s clearly become a target. No one is condoning it, but the reality is the taunts are likely to get louder now that he’s given this reaction. We’ll see how he responds the next time.
⚾ To his credit, Red Sox TV voice Dave O’Brien brought up the incident the next day on the broadcast. He laid out the facts, stated his opinion, and left space more than once for his on-air partner and former Red Sox infielder Will Middlebrooks to respond - but Middlebrooks declined, choosing silence. Never gave an opinion or a take. Not a story about dealing with fans himself. No defense of Duran. Just…silence. Tough spot, I get it, but you have to say something. Eventually, Dave moved on to tell us he was going to the dentist on the off day. I wish Will had said, well, something, given he’s the former player in the booth.
⛳ My fix for golf coverage on TV is simple - more golf shots, and fewer interviews. Or crowd shots. Or human interest pieces. Or the Leaderboard. I’m a simple man, show me more golf shots!
🏇🏻 I talked to a few people around racing this week, and while it could happen, moving the Preakness back a week is no lock. I wrote about the impact here on the Barstool Blog when the report broke.
⚾ Got mine this week, these shirts are 🔥🔥🔥 Need to see these at Fenway this weekend.
That feels like enough Stack for this week. Will update if I get WEEI news later today.
Good luck with all your bets this weekend. And thanks for reading. And watching.
Still waiting patiently on the Mutstack gear to drop. The kids all think it’s fire.
Ted sucks. Always surprised by stories that happened days earlier. Another winning contract by Mike Thomas.