Friday Four-Pack 7.17.26
Jarren Duran vs. a Red Sox podcaster. Ranking Drake Maye. Boston Sports Radio ratings deep dive. Kirk buries Cullen again. Notes and more!
A Note from MutStack Owner Dave Portnoy
As I mentioned last week, My Boss Dave’s ownership of MutStack has been a good thing. Did his decision to NOT return ownership of MutStack to me, as he said he would do if Cancel Me If You Can debuted at #1 on the NYT best-sellers list, fly in the face of his famous “A Portnoy/Lannister always pays his debts” proclamation? That’s for other people to say.
But this is a great owner right here.
The people (David in Maryland) have demanded MutStack Merch. The owner of MutStack has approved it. At least, in concept.
Do I have a design? No.
Do I know the process to get this started? Also, no.
Some work to be done, but the hard part is out of the way.
As far as keeping them in stock, I think we’ll sell more than four. David, myself, my mom, Alex in Saratoga…that’s four right there. Boom.
Big day for this little newsletter that could, that’s owned by the biggest name in media. Feels like the sky’s the limit here at MutStack HQ this morning!
Yes, Dave still owns MutStack. But of course, it remains free to subscribe and share. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Hopefully, more of an update here next week. #staytuned
Jarren Duran makes it really tough to root for Jarren Duran.
Tyler Milliken, best known for his sometimes shirtless work on the Section 10 Podcast (Shoutout Jared and Ellyn Carrabis), posted this on the show’s Discord last night.
The TL;DR version of this post is that Duran did not like it when Milliken posted a picture online of the very public middle finger Duran gave a fan during a game earlier this year. Duran went so far as to text Tyler’s boss, Carrabis (Jared, not Ellyn), and reportedly called Milliken “ a fat fuck” and said, “If he ever saw Milliken, he’d beat the fuck out of him.”
Milliken then tries to talk to Duran about it face to face at Fenway, to which Duran reportedly says Milliken is “the fucking worst” and just gets up and walks away.
A couple of things really bug me about this from Duran’s standpoint.
To his credit, Duran was very open about his own mental health in the Netflix/Sox doc last year when he admitted he had contemplated suicide. Chris Cotillo of Mass Live mentioned that “Jarren sharing his story publicly saved countless lives, and that’s real. I’ve heard that from so many people around the country.” Cotillo interacts with a lot more Sox fans than I do, so I’ll take him at his word.
So Duran, who admits he has battled his own mental health demons, decided to text Tyler’s friend/boss and call him a “fat fuck” and threaten violence because he posted a picture of something Duran did online? I wouldn’t call that bullying, but it doesn’t seem like a healthy or mature way to handle the situation.
Then, when Tyler tries to be the mature one and talk to Duran about it face-to-face, Duran just walks away.
Are these War Crimes by Duran? No. But it makes him extremely unlikeable. As does his yelling at fans, which he’s reportedly done as recently as last month. Though he refused to talk about it when asked by the media after the game. Just like he blew off the media the day Alex Cora got fired.
It’s no secret that players don’t like the media, especially when they say or write bad things about them. And I get that podcasts can blur the lines a bit, but Tyler is 100% media. Like, even if it’s not traditional, look how active he is on social media. Did Duran think he was his friend because he was a podcast guest on Section 10? Did he think Tyler should not post the photo because he is a fan? We don’t know what the player thinks because when Milliken tried to talk to him about it, Duran stormed off.
Trevor Story suggested in Spring Training that Duran was going to take a “big step” as far as becoming a leader on this Red Sox team. I really hope that’s not the case. This is the opposite of being a leader. This is being overly sensitive to someone trying to do their job. And rather than talk to them about it directly, you text their friend/boss. What is this, Mean Girls?
I don’t know if I would have posted this if I were Tyler. But since he did, I’ll add it to the list of reasons I find it hard to root for this player. I don’t think I’m alone in that feeling. There will not be a big outcry from Red Sox Nation if he’s traded before the August 3rd deadline.
And while I doubt he’ll comment on it, I hope Duran gets asked about it Friday at Fenway. I’d be curious to get his thought process on being so angry at a podcast host that you text their friend/boss.
Meanwhile, we have a deep dive into the 2026 Spring Book Boston radio ratings. A simple request for the Red Sox. The Official MutStack Drake Maye Ranking. And lots of links in the notes.
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #180.
On your Spring 2026 Boston Radio ratings…
First off, full credit to Boston Radio Watch on X.com, as he was once again the first to have all these numbers and post them late Wednesday PM.
I’ll get to the numbers and some thoughts on another Sports Hub pantsing of WEEI in a second. But I’ll say up front that what’s going on behind the scenes with these numbers is pretty interesting.
Beasley Media (which owns 98.5 The Sports Hub) has opted out of getting weekly ratings access from Nielsen, the company that tracks the ratings. So now, they just get quarterly numbers. Could be a cost thing. Could be they don’t love the way Nielsen operates. Could be because they have been No. 1 with Men 25-54 for so long that it just doesn’t matter. But it’s clear from talking to multiple sources at 98.5 that the access that many people had to the numbers no longer exists.
At least one person suggested to me this week that the company has internally really started deemphasizing the ratings to the on-air staff. I’d suggest that being #1 over and over and over should be celebrated. But maybe the suits there disagree. And maybe those same suits are sick of paying out ratings bonuses that are just automatic at this point. Sounds shitty, but I’d believe it.
I get why WEEI would want to deemphasize the ratings - once again, they’re getting bludgeoned by their main competition. But it’s a little weird to me that 98.5 is doing it. If I were on air and No. 1 over and over, I’d sure as shit tell my audience. And thank my audience.
Now, as far as the Spring Ratings go, “scoreboard is scoreboard.” This is another decimation of WEEI by the Sports Hub. Red Sox didn’t help. ANOTHER new afternoon show didn’t help. There were Harlem Globetrotters / Washington Generals games more competitive than this.
I don’t know why the hell I can’t find the overall winter number, but I believe both stations are down a bit. But year over year, one station is up 6%, while the other is down 14%. The station that's down 14% can point to its morning show being down 23% from a year ago at this time as a big reason.
The Greg Hill Show needs to be competitive with Toucher & Hardy if the station ratings are ever going to be close again. Losing by 10 points, I can confirm, since I’ve hosted shows that probably lost by that much, is not competitive. Going back to Spring 2024, Greg’s show is down 30% 👀👀
WZLX and The Chuck Nolin Morning Show continue to smoke WEEI, as they come in at No. 2 with an 8.8 for the spring. Fred Toucher said a few weeks ago he doesn’t really root against WEEI and only roots against WZLX, and you can see why, given how much closer they are in the ratings.
It’s boring to keep writing this, but Toucher & Hardy smashed again, and that 16.1 is the highest rating on either station.
I mentioned last week that I have been inundated with notes from people who claim they like Mego much more than Courtney Cox on GHS. Small sample size, but the numbers here would not back that up among a larger swath of listeners. Cox has been out on maternity leave all spring, and Mego has filled in for her most of the time.
Unless the weekly ratings (which I have not seen) tell a different story, Rich, Ken & Ted made little, if any, impact in their first few months on the air at WEEI. Rich Shertenlieb’s return to sports radio has strengthened my friend Kirk Minihane's claim that Rich would be a complete non-factor away from Toucher and the Sports Hub. The new WEEI afternoon drive show did not seem to draw any new-show bump, and as a listener, it remains the worst of the six “main” shows on the two stations. Rich making every rejoin some sort of talking point for a shitty band, movie or TV show I’ve never heard of is off-the-charts annoying and masturbatory.
Middays stayed about the same for both stations. Nice spring for Hub nights.
Will the summer book be any different? I doubt it. Fall? Nope. Maybe a small Red Sox bump? But that’s offset by the fact that people are ready for the Patriots’ season to start later this month.
Are the bad numbers getting to some very sensitive people at WEEI? The video below in the notes says 100% yes. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
On my wish for the Red Sox…
One or the other, please. Great lighting today.
On the Official MutStack Ranking of Drake Maye…
I am not an NFL executive. I am not an NFL coach. Nor am I an NFL scout.
I am a blogger/newsletter publisher who does not even own the very newsletter I publish.
All that being said, I present to you the
July 2026 Official MutStack Rankings of QBs I Would Take Ahead of Drake Maye If We Were Drafting For The Next Five Years
With no more than one sentence for each QB.
Josh Allen. He’s a stud, and he’ll be a pain in the ass for this Pats team in the AFC.
Patrick Mahomes. Even 35-year-old Mahomes will be Elite.
Lamar Jackson. Much better passer (check the numbers) than he gets credit for.
That’s the list - only three guys I’d take over Drake Maye if we’re talking about the next five years. He might not be the BEST QB right now, but he’s going to be in the conversation.
But Mut, Joe Burrow…always seems to get hurt, and Maye is much more mobile at this point
But Mut, Matt Stafford…Dude is 38. Elite, but 38.
Given his age, Caleb Williams might be my next pick on this list, ahead of Burrow, Stafford, or Dak.
Maye was not at his best throwing the ball in the playoffs, but he made up for it by rushing for 178 yards in four games.
I’ve heard from a few people that there's real Drake Maye buzz around Gillette this summer. That’s he’s added weight. That he’s going to thrive with the overhaul of the receiving core. I believe it.
Year 3 Josh Allen was 🔥🔥🔥 - 37 TD, 10 INTs, and inproved is QBR by 25 points from the previous year. Maye is coming off an almost MVP season, but another big step forward would not be shocking. The team will need it to avoid that classic Super Bowl losing hangover this season.
The ESPN list had Maye 8th for this year, and even that is a little low, in my view. I would have had him ahead of Herbert and Dak. But this MutStack list is much more important.
And his place on MY list is a reminder that the Patriots should be Super Bowl contenders again this year. And the next five, maybe 10 years, with Maye at the helm. No matter where the exes, coaches, and scouts rank him.
You can make your own list in the comments. Or go publish your own newsletter.
On your weekly MutStack Notes…
📫 Next week. Let’s open it up to some MutStack Mailbag questions for the Four-Pack. It just feels right. Comment here with questions, message me here, or DM on X/Twitter.
🎙️ A very funny takedown of the Globe’s Kevin Cullen from Kirk on Thursday. Well, funny until you realize that there are highly-paid people who work in journalism who were okay with Cullen keeping his job even after being suspended for three months without pay after a review found fabricated details and inconsistencies with his Boston Marathon bombing columns. Those inconsistencies were, of course, also uncovered by Kirk. Maybe Chris Curtis gets a producing credit on those? A must-listen.
😂 Also very funny - this Klemmer prank on Nate. Must-watch.
🎙️ Not funny, but just…sad. Or very weird. But he’s not wrong - Red Sox baseball will get more listneners than his show. Just wild to hear him call out the demo by name. Very weird dude, huh?
🃏 Shoutout Coleman. Off to Nashville. Good producer. Loyal Teammate. Can take a joke. Kamala Fan. Godspeed, Jack. And Dickens.
⚾ Very nice to talk to some great Minifans/Stoolies/MutSluts this past week in Freetown, MA, at the Cal Ripken State Baseball Tournament.
After Chelmsford High won the state high school tournament last spring, I am happy to report that the 10U team joined a select group from Middlesex County by capturing the Cal Ripken State Championship.
Amazing run for this great group of kids, including my son. Coaches did an outstanding job. Shoutout to the Freetown concession stand, maybe the best one I’ve been to for youth sports. Eight New England teams are battling in the Regional Final this weekend. I see lots of rain and fire smoke from Canada in the forecast. Sweet! Go Lions. 🦁
That feels like enough Stack for this week.
Good luck with the bets this weekend. Thanks for reading. And watching.
Question for next week's Mutstack Mailbag:
When you started out this humble blog back in 2023 did you ever envision a scenario where 3 years later Mutstack would become a global fashion brand?
Also like to point out that the Bomber would love a Mutstack shirt, so that makes at least 5.