Friday Four-Pack 6.14.24

Thank you Big O. Banner 18 incoming. Bad horse racing picks. Notes!

I wanted to be Glenn Ordway.

There he is! The Big O! Yes, this is an old picture, but it’s the studio where I watched him ply his trade as one of the most skilled sports radio hosts in the country.

I was a summer intern at Sports Radio WEEI during my junior year at UConn. Admittedly, a lot of that internship was spent sitting between producers Brett Erickson and Andy Massua and just watching Glenn host his show. But occasionally I’d have to actually do some work.

This included helping with live remotes at the old Twins Souvenier Shop next to Fenway Park.

At one of these remotes, Steve Buckley (then of the Boston Herald) asked me to move his car. For whatever reason, I decided to be sarcastic with Buck.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I don’t know how to drive,” I deadpanned.

Buck started stammering for an answer, probably wondering why the hell this dumb college kid couldn’t drive. If Buck did give an answer, I don’t remember what it was. I just know I eventually responded

“I’m kidding Buck, where are your keys?”

And for whatever reason, Glenn thought it was hilarious and broke up laughing. He gave Buck shit for believing me, then eventually for being lazy for not moving the car himself.

To you, reading this 23-year-old story in a moderately successful newsletter, it might not seem like a big deal. But for me, I was able to make the Big O laugh, and that was a big deal! Because at that time - and for a decade-plus - Glenn hosted the most important sports radio show in Boston.

Glenn did much more than that in his 50-year broadcast career, but let’s focus on sports radio. Long before 98.5 The Sports Hub, Felger and Mazz and a million other talking-head sports shows on TV, we had The Big Show. I was not listening when Sean Grande was his flash guy, so vintage Big Show for me was Glenn, Pete Sheppard, and two co-hosts.

I loved that show.

I vividly remember planning lunch breaks at my other summer job (shoutout Donelan’s Supermarket) around the 2 PM Big Show open. I’d eat a chicken parm sub in my car and listen to the opening segment. Bob Ryan was in? Great. Bill Burt…why? I know I wasn’t the only one whose mood was impacted by that day’s Big Show co-hosts.

And then it was four hours of Glenn and Co. busting balls and at that time, talking a lot of Red Sox. It’s hard to imagine now, but there would be days when a bad Sox loss might mean four hours of baseball talk the next day. Brady v. Bledsoe and the Patriots’ run changed that, but at its peak, the Red Sox were the biggest talker on The Big Show and sports radio in Boston.

Every day the co-hosts on the show changed. Glenn played the role of point guard and Pete played the role of court jester. Those rotating players - Gerry Callahan, Michael Felger, Tony Massarotti, Scott Zolak - many of them went on to their own very successful radio careers. And they have Glenn to thank for that. Not just because he gave them a platform and made them memorable characters, but because his success in the ratings opened the door for other stations to go all sports.

Not just locally, but across the country. Stations started copying The Big Show format. Most major cities now have at least two local all-sports stations. It’s not crazy to say Glenn had a big hand in that happening.

The show’s signature segment, “The Whiner Line,” became the most listened-to segment on Boston radio for about 10 years running. It was a must-listen. You’d sit in your driveway after work and listen to it until it was over. You were PISSED if you missed it because remember, this was before ‘On demand’ and downloads. That all coincided with The Big Show being No. 1 Men 25-54 book after book, quarter after quarter, year after year.

In 2011, Michael Holley was moved to afternoon drive with Glenn. That opened up middays and I was given the chance to host with Lou Merloni. The first person to call with words of encouragement was Glenn. He didn’t really know me, and he probably wasn’t thrilled that some no-name weekend fill-in was going to be his lead-in, but he called anyway.

In one of the worst moves in the history of broadcast radio, Glenn was replaced in 2013 by Mike Salk. A year later I was out of middays, moved to late nights and Sox postgame.

Again, one of the first calls after the move came from Glenn.

The Big O would return to WEEI in that aforementioned mid-day spot, joining Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria. The show would do so well that it eventually ended up back in afternoon drive. Glenn retired from full-time radio in August of 2021. But he’s still active on social media and I get the sense he’s itching to get back and talking sports. Somewhere.

On Thursday, Glenn was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Not a surprise. He’s a legend.

What is surprising is the actual Radio Hall of Fame has not come calling yet. The Big O helped launch whatever sports radio is and or was in this country. Half of these talking head shows sound like Glenn yelling at Sean McAdam over a Red Sox game back in 1999. He was No. 1 in Boston for over a decade. He called hundreds of huge Celtics’ games alongside Johnny Most.

Mike Golic is in Radio’s Hall of Fame but Glenn Ordway isn’t? How is that possible?

When WEEI decided not to renew my deal at the end of 2022, again the call came from Glenn. I’m lucky that for whatever reason, he encouraged me before, during, and after my time at WEEI.

I don’t think we’ve heard the last from The Big O, but I wanted to take a few minutes and look back at his contributions to Boston and sports radio both here and across the country.

HEYYYYYY ORDWAYYYYYY…congrats. And thanks.

If you’re reading this Friday morning before 9:30, Glenn is going to be a guest of his former WEEI teammate Kirk Minihane on The Kirk Minihane Show at 9:30 AM. Watch live or check out the podcast.

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On the Boston Celtics’ imminent NBA Championship…

Speaking of those stars, they’re both better. Jaylen Brown is a better scorer than he was even last year. And Jayson Tatum is a better all-around player. He has the ability to impact the game even when he doesn’t score 30 points.

Wrote this last week and it’s even truer now as we sit on the cusp of the 18th NBA Title for the storied Boston Celtics.

Game 2 saw Tatum facilitate for his teammates, with a game-high 12 assists.

In Game 3, Tatum was the go-to scorer early and then deferred to Brown late. The starter and the closer.

It was brilliant to watch. Two stars playing off each other on the biggest stage, holding off a late surge by the home team Mavs, and taking a commanding 3-zip series lead.

They’ll either beat a deflated Mavs team Friday in Game 4 or complete the gentleman’s sweep Monday night at the Garden. This series will not see a Game 6.

The Boston Celtics will be your 2024 NBA Champs. It should be glorious for all Celtics fans.

But there are two types of Celtics fans I actually feel kind of bad for right now.

1. The ‘Tatum and Brown Can’t Play Together’ fan. I mean, what more do you need to see? You still hear these people call sports radio in Boston. The national media loves this one too and I get it, there is probably a shelf life for two stars playing together at a high level. And for the media, it makes for good drama. But one more win and this one dies. Hand-up - I was part of this group. It was led by Jeff Goodman, but when told us on WEEI a few years ago “Sometimes it looks like they have never played together before,” I agreed! But they have found a way to make it work and it’s one of the biggest reasons Banner 18 is a forgone conclusion.

2. The ‘Marcus Smart is great’ fan. Marcus Smart was a good player. He might have been a great defender. He was never a great player. And many of you massively overrated him and his importance to this team. I did a quick X.com search of ‘Marcus Smart, ring’ Thursday night, and the results make me sad.
   

   

   

   

   Jrue Holiday is a great player. Impacts the game on both ends. Clutch. Doesn’t try to tear apart the team’s two stars. Great.
   
   I was told by this group that trading the ‘heart and soul’ of the team would be a disaster. Instead, Smart out and Holiday in might have been the move that ultimately unlocked Banner 18.

Something to discuss at the championship parade next week.

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On an update on our friend Chuck Simon…

I wrote last week about Chuck and his noticeable absence from racing coverage since the Kentucky Derby. This week, his friend and At The Races host Steve Byk passed along that Chuck is dealing with an aggressive form of cancer.

He started chemo this week and he’s also set to undergo treatments that are not covered by his insurance.

As such, Chuck’s friends have set up a GoFundMe to help raise money to cover those treatments, in addition to in-home care for Chuck while he battles his cancer.

Many folks reading this were directed here because Chuck started promoting my writing on racing last summer, and we’ve had the chance to collaborate on race previews since. He didn’t have to do any of that, but like so many others in every aspect of horse racing, I have benefited greatly from his kindness.

Now he needs our help.

You can donate right here at this link. Everything helps. You got this, Chuck.

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On a quick audit of our Triple Crown plays…

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

When you spend hours handicapping to make bets and create content, you want to be right. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m betting my own money on these things so I REALLY want to be right. I want people to tail my picks, not trash them.

These picks were trash.

Coming off a great Derby Prep run, I had high hopes for the Triple Crown season.

The Derby
I thought Fierceness was the best horse. Maybe a generational talent. He hopped at the start and was part of a crazy pace, but he was not worth a 3-1 gamble in that spot. We’ve already had two next-out winners from that race and I’m looking forward to seeing Fierceness return in the Haskell. Our price play in that race, Domestic Product, had a brutal trip in the Derby and comes back Saturday in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth.

The Preakness
I was never going to bet Seize the Grey. I’d fund a federal inquiry into how and why Imagination didn’t show speed and contest the winner in Baltimore. Instead, he was able to go wire-to-wire. Our pick Catching Freedom clunked up for third but no excuse - he needs a faster pace to run at. When the winner cruised on the front end, we were in trouble.

The Belmont at Saratoga
I was never going to bet Dornoch. I didn’t like him going into the Derby and nothing I saw from various clocker reports suggested he was sitting on a big race. He sat a perfect trip off Seize the Grey and took advantage when that one faded. I’d argue Mindframe was best there. Sierra Leone still can’t stay focused in the lane. Our push, Resilience, he stunk. Ran last. Did not run to his big work.

Three races
0-0-1
Trash

It’s humbling to put the work in and not get paid, but that’s racing. I’ll probably toy with my process heading into Saratoga this summer. Thankfully, people got paid on all three Triple Crown weekends by listening to Jessica Paquette on the MutStack podcast. She carried us this spring.

As for The Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, great news the handle was up 10% from the previous record for the weekend. Local businesses in Saratoga thrived too, with one local restaurant/bar doing 3x the business they did on the Saturday American Pharoah ran and lost in the Travers.

But from friends who were on track Saturday, it was pretty crowded. “Too busy. Way more than 50,000. Would stay away next year on that Saturday.” That seems like a common theme on social media.

Hope you enjoyed our Derby Prep and Triple Crown Coverage. Thanks to Jess, Chuck, Matt Bernier and Dick Jerardi for their input.

Back in some form for Saratoga in July. Hopefully with better results than this Derby season.

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On your Friday MutStack Notes…

• Just because sports betting is now legal in the US, doesn't mean everyone has moved their action to legal books. Curaçao-based sportsbook Bovada is still a popular choice for bettors in Massachusetts and across the country, but the walls are starting to close in on where they can legally take action. Bovada is already illegal in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Nevada. Michigan has sent a cease-and-desist to the offshore book and says they’ll take legal action if they don’t stop accepting bets from Michigan residents. Connecticut is planning on sending its own cease-and-desist. And news comes this week that Massachusetts could quickly follow suit. These states, like Massachusetts, promised that legalizing sports betting would curb the use of illegal books. So it’s no surprise they’re starting to crack down. If you’re a Bovada player in MA or CT, keep an eye on this so you can withdraw from your account promptly. Here’s what that looked like back in 2021 when they stopped taking bets in NY.

• Golf coverage on TV continues to stink. Shot, putt, shot, leaderboard, commercial. Someone fix it. Please.

• I have heard WEEI’s Greg Hill do this a few times recently, where he reads a text or message into the station mentioning the ratings. “This texter wants to know about the ratings Curtis….” Then producer Chris Curtis mentions the last weekly or how much they’re up from last year. It’s a weird flex and seems forced when Greg does, it but he’s not wrong. Based on the numbers I’ve seen, that show continues to do well, but there is no indication other shows at the station have made any progress whatsoever. It has been very quiet on any potential changes. Greg might care about the ratings, but not sure his bosses do.

• It’s crazy embarrassing Red Sox management is okay with their ballpark being filled with opposing team’s fans every night. When Kyle Schwarber hit the first of his two home runs Tuesday at Fenway, it sounded like he was back in a Red Sox uniform. The Fenway Experience!

• Brady Night Highlights - Brady’s speech, Randy Moss's ovation. Brady Night Lowlights - Bill Burr “comedy” segment with Brady's hair and celebs. “This is dumb,” said Mrs. Mut as she walked out of the room. Did the Patriots advertise they were going to stream it? If they did, would people have actually gone vs. staying home and watching it?

• Are we going to pretend Bill Belichick not mentioning Jerod Mayo as one of the team’s defensive leaders over the years was an accident?

A very happy Father’s Day weekend to all the MutStack Dads, including my own. I’m lucky the senior Mr. Mut is still around to teach my boys how to golf and occasionally pitch in for pizza.

Hope you’re able to enjoy it with your family. Or maybe get some ‘Dad time.’ Maybe both.

With that, for sure, we have said it all.

Good luck with all your bets. Thanks for reading.

Good weekend.