Friday Four-Pack 8.30.24

A busy week. A new show. A podcast in today's newsletter. A Pats QB announcement.

So, yeah…interesting week.

If you’re a new subscriber, welcome.

A lot of new subs after getting the unbelievable chance to join the Barstool Sports guys live from the Travers in the backyard at Saratoga.

Forehead shiny as ever, but a winner at 5-2. Thank you Arro Smash and Joel Rosario.

I don’t think Dave scored on it. I think Big Cat did. Bradley Weisbord is one of the most influential guys in racing and he said it was a nice call. That was good.

There was some not-so-good. Pressed about taking a job with The Kirk Minihane Show (a show that is the only reason I was on Dave’s radar in the first place) or Barstool, I blurted out that I was involved in a project that would be announced on Monday. I had written that same thing in last week’s Four-Pack and assumed everyone had read it by that time anyway.

Turns out Dave had not yet subscribed. He probably has now. You should too. Reminder - STILL FREE.

It was very dumb to bring it up the way I did. I just went on there to give out a winner and have some laughs, not to promote anything. The guys were nice enough to talk about MutStack.

Fast forward to Thursday and The Unnamed Show.

Sitting in my basement the palatial MutStack Studios, wearing my best Miltons - The Store For Men suit, I tried to explain myself the best I could.

I’d say watch and decide for yourself, but based on roughly 99.5% of the public comments and private DMs (and some phone calls from family), the consensus is clear: I am the dumbest man alive.

And I’m okay with that.

Long before the Travers spot or Dave calling me the most boring person ever or the hypothetical job offer, I’ve been working with Mohegan Sun on a live show from their beautiful sports and racebook.

I’ve been doing events with Mohegan since 2010: before Mut and Merloni.

After I was fired parted ways with WEEI last year, they didn’t dump me and go look for a new host for their racing event. They stuck by me. Instead of a name on the radio, I was a guy with a newsletter. And yet they didn’t flinch at their commitment to having me host for Derby, Belmont, and Breeders Cup. They asked if I could do more. My work there helped me land other hosting and emceeing gigs. For a self-employed guy with inconsistent income, this was huge.

Fast forward to the last week. Unbelievable opportunity to go on at the Travers. An amazing hypothetical job offer at the best media company in the country. And the looming announcement of the new show. Some sleepless nights for sure.

But in the end, the loyalty Mohegan Sun has shown me - both financially and professionally - there was just no way I was going to walk away from it at the 11th hour. Most people seem to disagree and that’s okay. They’re passionate and that’s a good thing.

Dave tweeted a few years ago “You don’t win my loyalty when you’re hired. You earn it over time.” Mohegan Sun has earned that loyalty with me over almost 15 years.

We have a plan and vision for the show - Sportsbook Live from Mohegan Sun - starting next Thursday, September 5. I’m excited for people to come watch it live in the sportsbook or online. Once you see the place, you’ll want to reserve your seats for an NFL Sunday there. Or a college football Saturday. Or a bachelor party.

Mohegan’s Brad Bryant is one of the sharpest guys I know when it comes to betting on sports and horses and will deliver every week. My co-host Eytan is also sharp. Also kind of a moron. There will be yelling. Can’t wait.

I’m confident it will all work out. Others are calling it insanity. Delusion. Self-sabotage. Stupidity. Some other words with expletives before them. Maybe they’re right.

Either way, it will be good content for you. And maybe another eventful appearance on The Unnamed Show for me. I guess we’ll all find out together.

Meanwhile, we have a podcast as part of today’s newsletter. The Pats name their QB. And some fresh WEEI rumors.

All part of today’s Four-Pack.

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On a conversation with Greg Dickerson…

Former Celtics TV sideline reporter and Sports Radio WEEI host Greg Dickerson has had many posts like this over the last few years. He’s been open about his battles with both Tourettes and depression. And when he posts things like this, I wonder how he’s doing.

I had not talked to Greg in years. I reached out this week to see if he wanted to catch up in podcast form. Thankfully, he said yes. Some highlights:

• He does not like WEEI’s Greg Hill.

• He turned down shifts because of his health issues and depression.

• He has not talked to former TV co-host Gary Tanguay in almost 10 years! He was in Tanguay’s wedding! An usher!

He was great. Sounds great. I’m rusty as an interviewer, but Greg carried it. Follow Greg on X.com.

I appreciate him joining me and being so honest. I hope you’ll hit the play button below and listen.

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On an early review of WEEI’s lineup changes and rumors of what’s next…

As I mentioned with Greg above, I listened to a lot of the two new shows on WEEI this week.

Jones and Keefe
More than one person in Boston radio reached out asking the same question: why in the world did it take so long to put these two back together?

“Jones and Keefe should have been a layup,” said one Boston sports radio veteran to MutStack.com.

It is indeed crazy it took this long to get these two back together. If Audacy Boston Market Manager Mike Thomas had paired them 18 months ago, there might not have been so many changes at WEEI last week.

The new show is at least 100% better than Gresh and Fauria. Is 200% too aggressive? Immediate chemistry, laughs, making fun of each other. Show moves fast. Good energy.

And I think we’ve got some evidence that Thomas knew the show would be good right away and strategically put them after WEEI’s highest-rated show, The Greg Hill Show.

Tuesday morning at 10:45, they teased a story from the morning show and Courtney Cox. It might seem like a small thing, but by doing a segment tied to GHS (even a small one) each day in that first hour, maybe you found a way to keep that audience a little longer. And turn those fans into Jones and Keefe fans.

Gresh and Fauria were losing about 85% of the GHS audience every day at 10 AM - hard to do. If this is Thomas’ way of trying to capture more of them into later dayparts, it’s smart. And I think it will work: I will not be shocked when Jones and Keefe double the ratings of the old show in a few months.

But again, seriously, what took so long?

The WEEI Afternoon Show
Last weekend, new afternoon drive host Christian Arcand went on the air and called it “weird” that I had worked at WEEI and now I write about both it and sports media in this little weekly newsletter/column. I’m guessing he wouldn't have found it so “weird” if I hadn’t written last week that I believe both he and the new show are placeholders.

I get it. Sucks to read something like that. I read in the Boston Herald I was losing the middays at WEEI (shoutout Phil Zachery).

There’s every chance in the world I’m dead wrong and Arcand has a long run 2-6 PM. Unfortunately based on listening this week, my opinion has not changed.

Nothing stuck out about the Arcand-Hart pairing. Even Arcand admitted the two had not worked much, but that he “had read Andy’s columns on WEEI.com.” Neat.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in Chicago, Audacy sports station “The Score” is also going with “The Score Afternoon Show” after losing host Danny Parkins to FS1 television. Like WEEI, they’re trying to figure out what’s next.

On that end for WEEI, two names keep coming up as potential full-time hosts on that show.

1. Mike Giardi - I mentioned him as a flier last week because he’s a good friend of Andy Hart. And because he has a ‘name’ cache, having worked for the NFL Network. His name came up a few times this week, about as much as the next name on the list. Giardi is doing work for Boston Sports Journal and is a guest on The Rich Shertenlieb Show. Would make for a pretty football-heavy show. But friends doing radio together works.

2. Ryan Johnston - I guess his name has been out there for a few weeks? He’s a weekend host at rival 98.5 The Sports Hub and a candidate for the vacant Bruins radio job. The story goes that if Johnston does not get the B’s job, he’ll be in the mix for WEEI afternoons. Johnston and Flynn had a good weekend and a fill-in show for a long time. He would bring solid “hosting” credentials and hockey cred.

I would not rule out both guys coming aboard and freeing up Arcand to lead WEEI nights and Red Sox pre and post. Would that show compete with Felger and Mazz? No. And unless WEEI goes out and spends real money, I don’t think they ever will.

But as for the midday show, they might have found a way to keep their morning drive audience a little longer. They should be happy with that given how lopsided the scoreboard reads between them and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

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On the Patriots naming Jacoby Brissett their starting QB…

As the leader of the #MoreMaye movement, it was horrifying to watch Patriots No. 3 pick Drake Maye try to operate behind the team’s porous offensive line Sunday night against the Commanders.

Make no mistake, Drake Maye is ready to play now. But the team around him is not ready to protect him well enough to feel good about throwing the rookie out there in Week 1. You would be doing him and the franchise a disservice by asking him to navigate all the other issues a rookie quarterback has to face in his first year in addition to an O-line that sucks. And they sure look like they suck.

Sharp Football ranked all 32 offensive lines in the NFL this week. The Pats came in 30th.

Votes for the offensive line ranged from 24th to 32nd. Last year’s unit allowed pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on 25.2% of snaps on non-blitzes, which ranked 29th. Steelers castoff Chukwuma Okorafor and rookie Caedan Wallace are the only notable additions competing for a starting job. 

Compare that to the blurb on the Bears offensive line in charge of protecting No. 1 Pick Caleb Williams. They’re ranked 10th.

The only new addition to the Bears’ offensive line is center Coleman Shelton, who signed after spending the first five years of his career with the Rams. Shelton joins a unit that finished fifth and second in ESPN’s pass block and run block win rates, respectively.

Starting Brissett is a dullsville decision. But it’s the right one for this team, right now.

As for the way it was handled, what a shitshow.

Talked about Mayo’s missteps Thursday on Andrew Callahan’s Pats Interference Podcast. You can listen to me ranting like an idiot here.

But the sequence of

1. Mayo calling it an “open competition” at quarterback.

2. Suggesting Monday on WEEI that Maye had outplayed Brissett recently.

3. Announcing in a 75-second press briefing that Brissett would start because he gives the team the best chance to win games.

is MADDENING!

Mayo has been brutal with the media. Friendly, sure. But he keeps stepping in it by saying one thing one day and something completely different that next. He seems overwhelmed in front of the media, right? Hopefully, that’s not the case in the building or on the practice field.

Given Eliot Wolf’s history in Green Bay, it’s not surprising they want to give Maye time to learn on the bench. Add in that the team’s offensive coordinator runs an offense Brissett has already played in, and you can make the case it was always the plan to go with the journeyman over the rookie.

It’s just weird that Mayo kept calling it a competition rather than just, you know, saying less. He seems to have a hard time doing that. Unless he had no say in the final decision and it was Wolf’s call. Also possible.

I feel good about Maye when he eventually plays. My confidence in the team around him is low. The confidence in the offense being any good is even lower. As long as Brissett is at the helm, this will be a brutal offense to watch.

We’ll address how we’ll bet the team’s win total in this space next week. It will be about as surprising as the team naming Brissett the team’s starter this week.

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On your Friday MutStack Notes…

• One more nerdy Boston Sports Radio note - what a HUGE miss from 98.5 The Sports Hub Thursday. The news leaked at 8:15 that Brissett would be the Pats starting quarterback. Toucher and Hardy (Michael Holley in for Toucher) mentioned it briefly, then went into a 15-MINUTE FANTASY FOOTBALL SEGMENT WITH DAVE RICARD! Holley is asking Richard about trading up or down in the first round of your fantasy draft minutes after the news broke that the No. 3 pick in the draft would start the season on the bench. What a miss. Just bump Richard and talk about the move. WEEI probably won that quarter hour 5 to 1.

• We live in a much different time from when mobile sports betting was launched in Massachusetts back in March of 2023. Long gone is the avalanche of bonus bets offered by DraftKings, FanDuel, and others just for signing up. Ceasars is the most recent mobile sportsbook to launch in the Bay State and they’re offering a sign-up bonus in the form of a bonus bet of up to $1000 if your first bet loses. That bonus bet expires 14 days after issuance. Not awesome, but better than nothing. We’ll continue to remind you having money in multiple mobile books and shopping for the best lines, odds and promos is the only way to win long-term betting on sports.

• A reminder as you celebrate Kirk Minihane (and Dave Cullinane) solving a second murder - this time via The Case - Season 2 - that it was your humble newsletter author who first worked with the King of Crime Podcasts at WEEI. He ripped Jim Rice if I remember correctly. Now he’s 2 for 2 in solving murders. Impressive.
  

• Congrats to Cullinane for rejoining Kirk’s show. I hope he figures out the drops.

• Bill Belichick’s media gigs for the 2024 NFL season, in no particular order- Host of the Let’s Go Podcast with Jim Gray. Pat McAfee guest once a week. Host on Inside the NFL. ManningCast guest once a week. “Coach, with Bill Belichick” via Underdog Fantasy. And now a 30-minute show with Peyton Manning every Friday to preview Monday Night Football. That’s … a lot.

• I love to bet on golf. I love playing golf DFS. I love to watch golf. The PGA Tour has to fix this Tour Championship and make the last event of the year mean something. There is ZERO drama with Scottie having a seven-shot lead heading into play Friday. I hate it.

• Also if you can get Xander to be the winner excluding starting strokes at anywhere near 10-1 on Friday, I like that bet. He loves this course and will play better.

We have for sure said it all.

Back tomorrow for our final Saratoga Stack of the summer. Opinions on racing and picks for all 13 races. Let’s try to end the summer with some winners.

Good luck with all your bets this weekend. Thanks for reading. And listening.

Good (Labor Day) weekend.