Friday Four-Pack 6.26.26

The final days for Aqueduct. Brad Stevens testing our trust. Craig Breslow still doesn't get it. Tom Durkin wrote a great book A radio-heavy Notes

Jun 26, 2026

A note from MutStack owner Dave Portnoy:

I hope that MutStack doesn’t suffer with the recent falling out between Jeff D Lowe and Kirk causing Mut to pick up the slack on Minifan dick sucking at the expense of the MutStack

Yeah, Jeff D Lowe and Kirk. I was not expecting that after the Dozen playoffs.

My Minifandom, or any increase in it, as Dave points out, will not impact MutStack…I don’t think? That’s the goal, anyway, faithful subscriber.

As for Kirk and Jeff…yeah, no comment. Other than that, I hope the ice eventually thaws.

Jeff D Lowe is in Dave’s book, right? Kirk, too? Are they both in the MutStack Chapter? MutStack chapters, plural? We’ll all find out together next week.

BUY DAVE’S BOOK NOW.

As the doors to New York City’s only thoroughbred racetrack close forever this Sunday, I will be left with some awesome memories of Aqueduct Race Course.

I was not a fan (or alive) for some of its biggest and best moments. I never took the subway there. But I made a few visits to The Big A over the years. And I confidently say one of my favorite racing memories ever came there on Cigar Mile Day, 2015.

I was there with our usual Saratoga/King’s Tavern crew. I don’t know how or why, but we decided at some point during the day that it was a good idea to walk down the narrow path on the track apron to the Winner’s Circle after one of the races. It’s right on the track near the finish line, so the Winner’s Circle also provides a great view of the live race. I guess they weren’t checking for IDs that day in 2015, because we were able to move in and out of there as we pleased. And we did so for a few races.

As they got ready for the prestigious Grade 1 Cigar Mile, we decided to head back down, test our luck one more time, and watch the race from there. Worst they could do was say no, right?

I’m glad we did.

It turns out to be a phenomenal race. Tonalist was farrrrrr back into the turn, and with the half-mile in only 48 seconds, it looked like he had no shot to win.

But under the steady urging of Johnny V, Tonalist starts picking up steam. Johnny gets him out clear, and now he’s gobbling up ground. We’re right there on the rail, a couple of hundred yards away, and holy shit, he’s moving. Can’t he run them all down? Can he? No way. He was too far back. The pace was too slow.

And here he comes. We were so close that we could feel the track shake as he came thundering by. With the finish line lights on because it was already getting dark, the mighty Tonalist gets up in the final strides to win the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. To go along with his Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. And his Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. He finished third in the Whitney and second in the Met Mile, both times losing to the great Honor Code. He had a storied career - a career that ended with that Cigar Mile win.

And there we were, right next to his trainer, the late Christophe Clement, cheering our asses off for him in the Winners' Circle, as he ran a huge race.

I’ll miss big races at Aqueduct. I’ll miss the times when the inside speed bias would show up, and smart riders like Kendrick Carmouche would take advantage. I’ll miss betting on a few Aqueduct races before Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll miss (and I have missed) the image denoting the Inner Dirt track in the Daily Racing Form.

I get why NYRA is closing Aqueduct, but I don’t have to like it. I’m going to write more about this Saturday in my weekly Barstool racing blog. But for today, I wanted to end on a high note with The Big A.

If you’re a racing fan, you know that the sport gives you moments you won’t ever forget. Cigar Mile Day in the Winners Circle, watching close by as Tonalist capped his career with a Grade 1 win, is one of those for me.

Meanwhile, my faith in Brad Stevens is being tested. Craig Breslow remains the absolute worst. Tom Durkin wrote a great book. And a sports-radio heavy MutStack notes.

All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #178.

I bought the book. My mom bought the book. You should too.

Next Week! Perfect for summer vacation. Go buy My Boss Dave’s book - out June 30th!

Buy the book here

On Brad Stevens, The Celtics, and the Trust Tree…

S-P-O-R-T-S SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS!!!

Brad can’t be serious, right?

On the State of the Red Sox…

A legit layup question.

It came from Jermaine Wiggins on Friday morning. Making an appearance on WEEI, Craig Breslow was asked to grade his and the team’s performance so far in 2026. Saturday’s game will be the halfway point of the season, so I get it

And if you’re Breslow, you just say “F.”

Look at our record, look at us a year ago. Not good enough. That starts with me. Blah. Blah. Like, such an easy answer to show you get it, and also take some accountability for building a crappy, last-place team. EASY.

But he couldn’t. Either it was arrogance, trying to back his own players and staff, or just being oblivious to public sentiment. Whatever it was, he started his answer by saying that the on-field performance has not been good enough… and then listed all the positives of the team. The pitching. The better at bats. Whatever the hell else he said after that. I sort of blacked out. It was such a nauseating answer.

Seriously. He sat there and tried to spin what has been the worst Red Sox season of my lifetime. The team is 33-46!

Maybe he’s a poor communicator, in addition to being a poor baseball executive. There were reports that some people in the organization felt like he might need a ‘buffer’ to help him talk to others - like a Breslow Translator. You certainly get that sense every time he talks to the media. He sounds clueless and completely out of touch.

I thought for a hot second after the team lost two of three to the hapless Rockies this week that that was it for Breslow - that with the Yankees in town, the team would fire him Thursday and start the rebuild for 2027 and beyond.

Nope. Wrong again.

I hate to bring this up, but we’re looking at a Doomsday Scenario with Bres. Keeps his job. Makes a few moves at the deadline. Team plays better in September. He keeps his job for 2027. I think that’s 100% in play.

Even without the fake comeback in September, he’s giving off vibes that he’s been assured he’ll be here next year. I guess ownership could wake up and change their mind on that, but why have they given him this much rope? I’d love someone to ask the owner, but he has refused to take questions from the media for the last six years. We keep getting media reports that his job is not safe - what does Henry say? We’re left to guess.

Breslow looms over the entire season. As does finding a new manager - Chad Tracy has shown little in his six weeks at the helm.

So you’ll forgive me if I don’t go crazy over Red Sox 6 - Yankees 3 on Thursday night. This team has much bigger problems than the wins and losses on the field at this point.

And it starts with a Chief Baseball Officer who, despite being clearly bad at his job (and reportedly bad at human interactions), might be in line to keep it.

There is a moment in Arazi’s breathtaking move to take the lead and eventually crush the field in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where the NBC cameras zoom in on the race leader Bertrando. In fact, the video above starts right there.

Once they zoom back out to the wider shot of the field, Arazi has suddenly gone from the back of the pack to contention in just a matter of seconds. If it sounded like the move caught track announcer Tom Durkin by surprise, it’s because it did.

“There wasn’t much change in the running order, and I executed what is known in the race-calling profession as a bridge, which is a phrase like “As they continue down the backstretch.” That’s when I can momentarily take my eyes off the field and focus on the infield toteboard, where I can find the time for the opening half-mile and announce it to the crowd.
After that bridge, I got my glasses back on the field, which is now on the far turn, and there’s Arazi, who has passed nearly the entire field. I instantly say to myself, “That can’t be Arazi. How is this possible? Where did he come from?” But I memorized his head markings. The chestnut colt had a long white blaze that went down one side of his snout. I spotted that blaze and internally I said, “That has got to be Arazi.” I was stunned. Just two seconds ago this horse was behind. But boom, there he suddenly was in full flight, about to swallow up the entire field.”

You can hear the surprise in his call. You never see a horse move like that, especially on the dirt. Durkin captures the moment perfectly, as he did so many times during his legendary career.

In his new memoir, “A Life’s Calling - The Voice Behind The World’s Greatest Horse Races,” Durkin tells some great stories. Like how he started his illustrious career calling races at a country fair. About growing up in Chicago around Arlington Park. About the lavish parties he would throw after big horse races. About calling the biggest races in the world. About his time traveling in Italy. A great storyteller in the booth, it’s no surprise is book is more of the same.

He also does a great job explaining the process of preparing for a race. There is no doubt that it takes a certain skill set, and Durkin honed it to perfection over the years.

I’ve felt for years that horseplayers are drawn to other horseplayers. It’s comforting to talk to someone who has felt the pain of being alive to the top three choices in a big Pick 5, and still not closing it out. You can tell from reading this book that, indeed, Tom Durkin is one of us.

And like us, he has had his battles. He mentions multiple times in the book that he dealt with race-day anxiety as a race caller, to the point of using hypnosis, among other tools, to try and make sure it did not impact his legendary calls.

And if I had any minor nitpick of his excellent book, it’s that I would have liked to hear more about that. Hearing that someone as talented as Durkin has been able to overcome something so many people face can be motivating for a reader - Dan Hurley’s book had that impact on me. And the way Durkin talked about these lavish parties he’d throw… selfishly, more about those! And how do I get invited???

It’s an easy read, and if you’re a racing fan, you’ll love it. I mean, he has a chapter called “Saratoga Is Saratoga…” He gets it. And there are small sections written by his friends and colleagues throughout the book - those are a nice touch, in particular, a very funny story from former Suffolk Downs announcer Larry Collmus.

I was lucky to take the Racing Hall of Fame tour with Durkin as our tour guide years ago - it was fantastic. Once it was over, I told all my racing friends it was well worth it. I’ll say the same about this book. If you’re a horse racing fan, this book is well worth some time this summer.

I have heard rumors that Durkin might call a race on Sunday at Aqueduct, the track's official closing day….I hope that’s the case.

On your weekly MutStack Notes…

🎙️ This is not just about a terrible radio bit.

WEEI’s Rich, Ken & Ted Show produced this really bad AI-generated song last week. It’s gross. It’s lazy (more on that word in a second). The fact that it was promoted on air says a lot about the show and about how they feel about their audience. It’s awful.

BUT… there was a time, not too long ago, when this would have been great for WEEI or any radio station.

Because not too long ago, something like this would get mocked by other shows on a station. They would talk about how bad it was. Take calls on how bad it was. And guess what - you’d get calls on how GOOD it was, too. Get the creator (Rich, I assume) on another show, have him listen to it, and have him explain the process behind it. Or the nonsensical lyrics. Have a real musician try a version of the song. Would have made for a good few days of programming for multiple shows.

But radio has changed a lot over the last 10 or 20 years. And almost amazingly, this song did not get any run at all on WEEI, outside of the show that created it.

And Kirk is 100% right in his post - it is something that Chris Curtis used mock because it’s so mockable. And I’m sure he and countless others in that building had a lot of fun with it. But on air? Crickets.

WEEI is not the only station that has moved away from this. WIP in Philadelphia doesn’t do it. WFAN used to do it - Mike Francesa and Craig Carton had real battles over the years, and Craig mocked Mike at all times. Gio did some of that, too. But now?

Gio and Brandon Tierney got into it, but Tierney was gone from the station. And as I wrote at the time, these clips got millions of views, and it was great for both sides. And I don’t see much WFAN back-and-forth as I used to.

I’m told that WEEI boss Mike Thomas likes to brag about how everyone at the station gets along now and how toxic it was when he got there. Swell, Mike, but you’re getting drilled in the ratings across every daypart. So yeah, maybe station outings seem more friendly now. But you really do believe that, behind the scenes, hosts and producers aren’t still ripping on other shows as much as they EVER did? Come on, you’re smarter than that. And the audience is smarter than that. They want real. And ignoring a song as bad as this because you don’t want your shows to fight on air is as fake as it gets.

Maybe I’m in the minority on this. Comments are open for all your radio takez.

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?