Friday Four-Pack 5.15.26
The Patriots' schedule is out and we know how many wins they'll get. Eric Church is the š. A radio profile rebuttal. Preakness! Notes!
Ownerās Note from MutStack Owner, Dave Portnoy:
No note from Dave this week.
Gotta say, these look pretty sweet ššš. More on the Red Sox below.
Iāll start this weekās Four-Pack by strongly urging and borderline begging you to watch Eric Churchās 2026 Commencement Address to the graduating class at the University of North Carolina.
Is this the best commencement address Iāve ever seen? Yes.
Am I biased because Iāve been to about 20 Eric Church shows, have a brick with my Church Choir Fan Club Number on it at his bar in Nashville, and the guy giving the address is my favorite artist of all-time?
Also, yes.
His address is like his music - Powerful. Authentic. Real. The things he talked about spoke to me as a 46-year-old husband, son, father, coach, and friend, among other things. I think when those UNC graduates get older, Ericās words will mean even more to them.
If youāre a fellow parent, maybe you can relate, but Iāve cried a lot more since my boys were born. This address brought me to tears on Thursday morning. But I also laughed. And it made me think. Those are three things his music has led me to do over the last, well, almost 20 years.
Without spoiling it, because you should watch the whole thing, I will say that of the six pillars of life that he connects to the six guitar strings, Faith. Family. Spouse. Ambition. Community. You - They all hit home in their own way. But Family hit home most on the first viewing, though I suspect it depends on how old you are and whatās going on in your life when you watch it. Same thing for his music. Sinners Like Me hits me differently now than it did in 2009.
But his words of Family were a good reminder not to roll my eyes when my mom makes an unannounced pop-in at our house. Or when one of the boys leaves a freeze-pop wrapper on the floor. Again. A good reminder to text my brother more.
Eric Church doesnāt win the most awards at the CMAs (thatās a great thing, by the way). And heās not the most commercially successful artist of his era - but heās the most creative and the most talented. Go to Amazon Music or Spotify and listen to Evangeline vs. the Machine from beginning to end. Better yet, the live version. The songs fit together from front to back. In 2026? Awesome stuff. Does it sound like the sound he was putting on in 2006? Nope, and thatās okay.
You really need to watch it. And ending his address withĀ CarolinaĀ was perfect. And the shots of the graduates singing along. Love it.
The speaker at my UConn graduation was the then-Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. A quick search says he spoke about personal responsibility. The address is actually online, so Iāll listen this weekend. Iām sure it was fine. I doubt it will have the impact of Churchās address here.
Iāve written some stuff about his music and its impact on me before, but it never left the draft folder. This was too good not to write about this week.
Did I mention you should watch it? I did? Oh, okay. Well, go watch it. Then dig into the rest of the Four-Pack.
Weāre talking Pats schedule. Weāre talking Preakness. Weāre talking Rich Shertenlieb. And weāve got some MutStack notes. It will not be as good as Eric Church. Trust me on that
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #172
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On the Patriotsā 2026 scheduleā¦
Shoutout Mike Francesa. Shoutout to my huge purple highlighter I bought in the Vegas airport.
On this PR profile of WEEIās Rich Shertenliebā¦
I mean, I really shouldnāt give a shit about this. I doubt more than 20% of the MutStack audience knows what Barrett Media is. And even fewer than that read this profile of Rich Sherternlieb this week.
But I canāt help myself.
Iām not the only one. Just here in Boston media, I had multiple people send me this before I even had a chance to read it. Once I did, I understood why.
It comes across as bullcrap. Well, a lot ot it, anyway. Itās pretend. Itās make-believe. For example:
That mindset also guided Shertenlieb during his morning show run on WZLX in Boston. During the six months the program lasted, he said he was proud of the growth the show experienced, something he hopes continues with WEEI.
āDuring that short time, we took that morning show from 14th place to 5th place. It was sad that it ended so soon because the trajectory over the last month was excellent,ā said Shertenlieb. āIām really proud of that time, but itās all for the better. Now, I get to work with Mike Thomas again. To me, thatās probably the best part of all of this.ā
For the summer of 2024, The Rich Sherternlieb Show on WZLX was 14th in the Boston market with a 1.8 rating with Men 25-54. That same summer,Ā Toucher and Hardy did a 16.6, and The Greg Hill Show did 11.9. Over a three-month period, full summer, Rich was 14th. Heās not lying about that.
But heās lying (fibbing?) about being 5th. His last weekly rating, which covered five days, not three months, was 5th. This was after the program director forced Rich to start playing more music on his show - something Iām told Rich fought against. But the music brought people back. WZLX finished second that fall, thanks in part to the cancellation of Richās show - the ratings for WZLX mornings almost doubled from the summer to fall once he was gone.
None of that is mentioned in this piece from Barrett Media. Thereās no note that the 5th-place rating is weekly.
āThat was embarrassing,ā said one current Boston sports radio personality RE: this profile of Rich. āSo predictable, yet still embarrassing.ā
That personal connection is something Shertenlieb has learned is vital to success. Just weeks after launching the program on WEEI, he has already developed an appreciation for his team and the station staff. He admits he is loyal to a fault with the people around him as he continues building what he hopes becomes a legitimate competitor in the daypart.
To hear his former co-host Fred Toucher tell it, Rich didnāt have much loyalty to him. Fred and his morning show have rolled along on The Sports Hub, racking up #1 ratings and bonus checks in the aftermath of Rich walking away from the station just over two years ago. Fredās show - along with mid-day host Scott Zolak - mocks Rich on an almost weekly basis. It ended poorly, and Rich will not really address it. Maybe thatās my issue with the story - it comes across as phony. Like Rich claiming his show at WZLX was 5th. Fairy tale shit. Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reported a few weeks ago that even after being canceled, Rich emailed him to make sure he knew the show was 5th in that weekly. He sent that email on Christmas night.
I get it, Mut and Callahan is right up there on the list. But Richās show at WZLX was one of, if not the biggest, failures in Boston radio history. I listened to a lot of that show, and I hear the same show happening now at WEEI.
āWhatever heās doingā¦Iāve heard it already. Itās all recycled,ā said another current Boston radio personality.
His show and the host come off as unlikeable. Rich 100% deserves a chance to bounce back from his WZLX flop. I just wish he were more honest about it. And it is crazy that the show heās doing now on WEEI is basically a more sporty version of that WZLX morning show that was 14th in his first full book and only did better when they added music.
This should not bother me. The show should not bother me. They both do. That probably says more about me than anything else.
The first weekly rating for Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson is due out next week. Iād be shocked if the show is as high as 5th. But if it is, Rich will be sure to tell or email someone about it.
On the 151st Preakness Stakesā¦
To loosely quote the great Mad Dog Russo, āThis Preakness has no juice.ā
The least anticipated Preakness of my lifetime. The media and social media folks who carry water for the sport canāt say that, but I can. Itās a great betting race on paper, but as far as quality, it feels like a Grade 2 raceā¦maybe a Grade 3.
As I finish this Friday morning, I donāt know who I would bet to win the race. I know Iāll be betting the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness Double that starts on Friday (Iāll use 2, 3,6 7, 10 to start #7 would be the top choice).
As for the Preakness, I think the most likely winner is #12 Incredibolt. Trainer Riley Mott entered him late here, and good for him. Ran fine in the Derby, but maybe a little closer to the pace than they wanted to be. Has done his best running at a pace, and heāll get a huge pace to run at today. Legit win contender and might go off favored here. Trainer is 2 for 11 running horses back in roughly two weeks. The might go off-favored thing is the issue.
The best value and the most talented horse in the field might be #10 Napoleon Solo. This guy has blazing speed early and used to wire the Grade 1 Champagne last fall. Was part of a WILD pace in the Wood and still held 5th there - much better effort than it looks on paper. Last two races came on tracks that favored closers. Can he rate off the other speed? Will he try to just wire this group? Do we trust jockey Paco Lopez? Workouts say he's primed for a big effort at 8-1 or 10-1; he offers awesome value.
My best longshot idea is #5 Talkin. Weāre not getting 20-1 on this guy. Gets the best jockey in America, Irad, and has some buzz coming into this race. There aren't many closers in the group, and you have to imagine the plan today is to take him back and make one run with him. Remember, he beat Further Ado on debut and ran a credible second in the Champagne. Pointed here after the Bluegrass defeat, and looks like a live horse at a price. Win chance, as I see it, and should be 12-1 or so.
Iāll be focused on those three. Full breakdown and betting ideas in tomorrowās racing blog on Barstool.
I love the Preakness and canāt wait til next year when they adjust the schedule and modernize the Triple Crown. Fingers crossed.
On your weekly MutStack Notesā¦
ā¾ A late-night edition of Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast. This team stinks. The offense is embarrassing. Thursday night was the low point of the 2026 season. Go watch and subscribe on YouTube, and then listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More about Thursdayās shit show here.
ā¬ļø As a follow-all-time idiot, this made me laugh. I think the ACL and Achilles are for sure different injuries.
ā¾ It has been tough to listen to Dave OāBrien these last few weeks on NESN. I worked with Dave for a few years in the Sox radio booth, and he is a GREAT guy. Funny. Smart. Critical. One of the best in the business. But as the Red Sox have circled the drain here, thereās not enough talk about the team and their struggles, and way too much promotion of whatās coming up. The schedule. Promotions. League leaders. Scores from around baseball. He mentioned at least twice and maybe a third time how much energy Fenway had the previous night. Lou had to point out that it was not until the 7th that things really got going.
People know the team is bad - embrace it and talk through how they can get better. I feel like Dave did that well on the radio. Thatās what I want now as a TV viewer, anyway. Like, this seems like a good topic to riff on with Lou or Will for a few innings.
šļø Itās worth noting here again that the owners of The Sports Hub, Beasley Media, seem like theyāre in real financial trouble. First quarter revenue was down 12% from a year ago. And from one industry publication. āThe improved bottom-line performance was driven largely by the completion of the companyās sale of its Fort Myers, FL radio properties.ā Selling those stations propped up their numbers, while revenue was still down almost 7%. That sale is a one-time bump.
In Philadelphia, the Beasley sports station has canceled local nighttime programming after 6 PM, unheard of for a major market with a good baseball team.
The Sports Hub is Beasleyās most successful station by far, and Tony Mazz has noted that they have to ācarry the rest of the stationsā with their success. Worth watching if this impacts 98.5's ability to retain talent, maybe cut salaries, secure local play-by-play deals, etc.
š Iām willing to admit the Knicks probably would have beaten the Celtics this round.
š¶ Top 5 Eric Church songs? Sure. Todayās version 1. Sinners Like Me. 2. Those Iāve Loved. 3. Drowning Man. 4. Where She Told Me Go. 5. Canāt Take It With You. Bonus- Mad Man
āļø I am headed to Chicago to be a small part of the next season of Surviving Barstool. Iāll be the referee/official for the challenges. I am very excited. Jeff D. Lowe and his crew pour their souls into this, and I hope I donāt suck. I wish Arlington Park were still open, and I canāt believe I never got there. Hawthorne does have live racing on Sundayā¦where else do I need to go in Chicago?
That feels like plenty of Stack for this week.
Good luck with all your bets this weekend. Enjoy the golf and Preakness bets. And thanks for reading. And watching.
Faith. Family. Spouse. Ambition. Community. Mutstack.
Eric Church missed a huge opportunity to plug the Stack during his commencement speech.