Friday Four-Pack 8.9.24

Drake Maye barely plays. Zolak leads the broadcast booth. Another 'L' for horse racing in Massachusetts. Early Summer sports radio ratings for Boston.

One series????

We’ll get to the broadcast in a second…but one series for Drake Maye on Thursday against the Panthers?

Head coach Jerod Mayo said the game “turned into the Zappe Show.” Well yeah, because you went away from the No. 3 overall pick after one series! And it doesn't make any sense.

Selfishly, yeah, I turned into the game hoping to see as much of Maye as possible. And so did like 99% of Patriots fans. We all want to see what we have with the raw but obviously talented kid. We wanted to see him under pressure, making plays, making mistakes, WHATEVER. Fans always want to watch the franchise quarterback.

But the team…shouldn't the team want the same thing? Maye’s college career was spent in the shotgun. We’ve heard over and over how he has not taken snaps under center: how he’s only 21 years old and needs as much NFL experience as possible. Shouldn’t the idea be to get him reps against other teams, let him make mistakes, and then try and fix those mistakes after the game?

If he’s not going to get those game reps and those ‘under center’ snaps in the preseason, when the hell does he get them? Practice? Don’t the games - where the other team is not telegraphing what they’re going to do and the opposing players (and your players) are fighting for jobs, make more sense? The Panthers didn’t play many of their guys either, so it’s a perfect chance for Maye to get that much-needed experience.

Doesn’t that better simulate game action since it’s, you know, A GAME?

Instead, you just punted off one of your three preseason games with Bailey Zappe playing 2+ quarters after getting limited reps in practice. Most of the team’s reporters don’t think Zappe will even make the roster.

Maye’s bizarre lack of action capped off a bad week for the team that started with Brandon Aiyuk basically saying it doesn’t matter how much you pay me, I don’t want to play for your team. Reporter Mike Reiss called it a “suck tax” when he went on Felger and Mazz earlier this week. “When your team is not very good, you have to pay more to get a player to come here.”

The team tried to do that - the reported $28.5 million/year would have made him the fifth-highest-paid receiver in the NFL - and the second-team All-Pro still wasn’t interested. Adding Aiyuk would have been a great thing for the team and the development of Maye. Anyone spinning it as a positive the Pats didn’t land him is delusional.

It was a disappointing off-season for the team. It’s been a disjointed preseason, highlighted by the Matthew Judon contract mess. And in their first exhibition game, Maye got just one series.

It’s hard to feel good right now about the direction of New England’s football team or the folks who are guiding it.

The betting markets seem to agree.

Meanwhile, the team debuted a new broadcast crew on Thursday. Another defeat for horse racing in Massachusetts. And some early Boston sports radio ratings for the summer book.

All part of today’s Four-Pack.

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On the Scott Zolak-led Pats Preseason booth…

I give them credit for trying.

Kraft Sports + Entertainment and WBZ Boston revamped their booth for the Patriots’ two local preseason games this year. Former Pats QB Scott Zolak would run point while former Patriots Devin and Jason McCourty sat alongside in the booth. Another former Patriots QB, Brian Hoyer, would join from a different studio.

At one point early in Thursday night’s Pats/Panthers broadcast - which also got picked up by the NFL Network in other markets across the country - Jason McCourty defined the broadcast as allowing Pats fans to “sit at the bar and watch the game with them.” And hey, I’ve watched games at a bar where the sound was turned down. You could see the play but didn’t know who was exactly doing what.

That’s how much of the first half came across watching the game at home…with the sound up.

There was analysis before the play. Then plenty of reactions to what happened afterward. But while the play was going on? A lot of silence.

I did not expect Zolak to do Dave O’Brien-level play-by-play. But I also expected he would identify players while the action was happening.

Case in point, when Maye came in for his first and only drive, No. 21 came along at running back. And on third and long, No. 21 picked up the first down on a nice screen pass and catch. Except there was never a mention of who No. 21 was. You had to wait until the following play for a close-up of the GIBSON on the back of Antonio Gibson’s jersey. Gibson is part of the team’s offseason plan to “weaponize the offense,” and will probably get most of the third-down action this season. None of that was mentioned.

I felt out of the loop trying to keep up with new players who were never identified. As a viewer, that lack of identification combined with long periods of silence is where the broadcast ultimately fell short.

That lone Drake Maye drive also led all four Patriots on the broadcast (plus reporter Paul Perillo) to get involved in the breakdown of the No. 3 overall pick. You could tell the plan was to get Hoyer involved there, but it became way too much. Someone was talking over almost all of his limited game action. Less would have been more there.

Boston College Football voice Jon Meterparel seems to agree with my take on the lack of a true point-man on the broadcast.

The lack of a true play-by-play voice did not bother the man who ran point for The Big Show, Glenn Ordway.

He’s right - at one point Brian Hoyer even said “I don’t know if that was Jason or Devin who said that because I can’t see them in the booth.”

The silence was evident to fans watching in other markets.

Stats had a chance to weigh in with the Sox off Thursday night.

The best of both worlds would have been Marc Bertrand running point with Zolak and The McCourty Twins. But that’s probably one voice too many: it certainly felt that way at times on Thursday.

Bottom line is the broadcast needed a more defined voice to run the show and identify players and game action.

Some other mostly random thoughts on the broadcast:

• To their credit, the booth did not lack energy. The Joe Milton Magic in the fourth quarter helped, but the crew was high-energy all night. I’ll give Zo credit for that, he was into it from the start.

• Zo did seem a little sensitive to social media criticism, mentioning fans’ reactions on I assume X.com a few times.

• We were WELL into the game before anyone decided to mention who was actually playing quarterback for the Panthers. Jack Plummer stinks.

• Good on one of the McCourty Twins for calling out the Pats for not rushing up to the line to get a play off after a close catch towards the end of the first half. He suggested they rush to the line - they didn’t - and the catch was overturned and the Pats had to punt. Very good first guess.

• Good on Paul Perillo for calling the team out for their sloppy play early.

• Zo was good talking about the strong week for Kayshon Boutte culminating in some nice plays on Thursday night. That led to insight from the crew on how many receivers they might keep…which is a perfect preseason game conversation.

If the goal was good football conversation by some former Patriots, high energy, and additional buzz for the broadcast team, then mission accomplished. But if the goal was the best possible broadcast for the viewer, then Thursday night’s production from Kraft Sports + Entertainment fell short.

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On another defeat for horse racing in Massachusetts…

I called it a long shot chance for racing to return to Massachusetts when Bay State Racing, LLC attempted for a second straight summer to work with the City of Gardner to build an equestrian and racing facility there.

In the end, the long shot had no shot.

The Garder City Council voted unanimously Monday night to reject a proposal that would have permitted racing and the new equestrian facility in Gardner.

Councilors expressed various reasons for their rejections. The location, Bay State Racing’s LLC track record (or lack thereof), and “protecting the livelihood of the residents that live near the race track,” were just some of the reasons mentioned for voting ‘no.’

Last year’s attempt by Bay State Racing fell apart when it became apparent the land they wanted to use for “a year-round facility for thoroughbred horse breeding, training, racing, and retirement” could not be zoned for that specific use.

This year, the proposal’s opponents vastly outnumbered any supporters at every public meeting and the city council sided with those against it with a unanimous “no thanks.” From the Gardner News:

Judy Mack, councilor-at-large, said she believes the risk of allowing Bay State to build a horse racing facility on the Green Street property is too great and she hopes they respect the outcome of the council vote and move away from Gardner.

After two straight misses in Gardner and this unanimous rejection by the city council, it’s pretty clear that if Bay State Racing wants to move forward with this plan, it will not be in The Chair City.

Jessica Paquette is the race caller at Parx. As the former voice of Suffolk Downs, she called the last thoroughbred race run in Massachusetts and she cares deeply about the game and racing in New England. I asked her opinion about the future of racing in the Bay State after Monday’s defeat in Gardner.

“I worry that the folks behind these proposals may not have the best interests of the horsemen and woman and a true commitment to a viable, long term racing program.

The Racehorse Development Fund in the casino bill was created to support the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing and breeding industries here. And the MGC made it clear in 2016 that those funds could only be used for purses and not flow to the track owners or operators.

With no Thoroughbred track, that fund continues to grow. A small portion of it is allocated towards pensions and healthcare for jockeys, trainers and drivers - participants that deserve a safety net. That part is important to preserve but at this point, the bulk of that fund, and the prospect of accessing it, inspires Quixotic schemes and cruelly gives false hope to a small group of horsemen and women who would love nothing more than to come home and rebuild the lives they left behind.”

Does the voice of Parx see any scenario where racing returns to Massachusetts?

I don’t. You can’t unring a bell - what’s gone is gone.

With a diminishing horse population nationwide, established tracks struggling to fill races and a needed increase in safety standards thanks to HISA, there are insurmountable hurdles to overcome to start from scratch and get a facility accredited and then sustain racing.

I’m not as bearish as Jessica on the prospects of racing again in Massachusetts. Between the Racehorse Development Fund and the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association, there is money and motivation to try and get something done. But it will take a community that sees the benefits of the tax revenue and capital improvements that come along with the project. So far, Harwich and Gardner have not been interested.

What’s next for Bay State Racing, LLC? Not sure as they did not reply to an inquiry for official comment. From their communications director Mary Kate Feeny on Monday -

"We are disappointed with the council's vote. We will have to reassess and reevaluate. We plan to continue to work with the horse community to find a location for thoroughbred breeders."

For now, Saratoga Race Course - 300 miles from Boston - remains the home track for thousands of racing fans in New England. Based on another defeat in Massachusetts, that may not change anytime soon.

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On the biggest story in sports betting this week…

And it’s still the DraftKings surcharge on their customers winning bets, set to launch in multiple states in 2025.

After we posted last Friday, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said on an earnings call he did not believe the surcharge would push customers to other sportsbooks.

“A number of industries, from hotels to taxis, all have taxes in various states that get charged to the customer,” Robins said. “And people may gripe about it, but I don’t really see behavior change because of it.”

An X.com poll from ESPN’s David Purdum suggested a different attitude from consumers.

Both Rush Steet (BetRivers) and Penn (ESPNBets) said this week they have no plans to add a similar surcharge. That might push players to those books, as evidenced by the poll results.

The big question is FanDuel. If they were to add a similar surcharge, it might become an industry norm. FanDuel and DraftKings have about a 70% combined market share of all legal sports bets in the United States. Their actions have a major impact.

If FanDuel decides against a surcharge, they could use that as an aggressive marketing strategy against their main rival in 2025.

Fellow Substack author Steve Ruddock has been front and center on this issue in his newsletter, in particular his Monday edition. Well worth a read.

DraftKings On My Mind

When we wrote about this last week, I had someone much smarter than me reach out and say that Massachusetts would “for sure” be a state where DraftKings would try and implement this winning surcharge.

Bill Speros of Bookies.com tells me the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would have some major questions for DraftKings on this issue.

“In my opinion, it will be considered a change to the House Rules. And those have to be approved by the MGC. Commissioners will undoubtedly ask why others are not doing it and what does DraftKings do for losing bets. They are free to set any odds they want, but this is changing the payout after the price was set on a ticket.”

Maybe it won’t be so easy for DraftKings to push this through in Massachusetts. Or other states. But this whole thing acts as a good reminder.

A reminder that for all the commercials…the rewards…the promos...ALL the bells and whistles…as a sports bettor - serious or recreational - it is strictly you against them.

The them in this case are the sportsbooks. In this case, one of them (DraftKings) feels they’re being taxed too much in certain states and wants to pass some of that tax off to you, the winning bettor. They’re hoping you’re too stupid or lazy to stop betting there, even with the surcharge.

I’m curious to see if they’re right - or if the results of that X.com poll above tell the real story.

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On your Friday MutStack Notes…

• Boston Radio Watch went public with the details of the first monthly of the summer ratings book in Boston and it was once again a one-sided affair with WEEI on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
  
  Men25-54
  Overall: Sports Hub 10.8 (1); WEEI 3.8 (9)
  Morning Drive: Sports Hub 15.5 (1); WEEI 10.9 (2)
  Mid-day: Sports Hub 14.1 (1); WEEI 2.1 (18)
  Afternoon Drive: Sports Hub 12.7 (1); WEEI 1.7 (16)
  
  So yeah, more of the same.

• In morning drive, The Rich Shertenlieb Show on WZLX has failed to gain much any traction, coming in 11th for the month with a 2.4 rating. When I sample The Hub v. WEEI in the mornings, I often forget to flip over to WZLX. When I do, it’s usually music talk. Or Rich reminiscing about some story that happened while he was at The Sports Hub or in Atlanta.

• The Sports Hub has the Patriots games and WEEI will continue to have the coach and quarterback interviews. Audacy announced a multi-year extension with the Pats to continue “Patriots Monday” and “Patriots Friday” programming. Jerod Mayo will join the morning show on ‘Mayo Mondays,’ while the QB will appear in afternoon drive. Hopefully for them (and us), it’s Drake Maye sooner rather than later.

• I admittedly had a spotty view of Team USA’s comeback win over Serbia, but coming off his best game of the Olympics, it’s baffling that Jayson Tatum didn’t see the floor on Thursday. He can defend multiple positions, score almost at will and is a good passer. I don’t get it. Can’t wait for the real story behind Steve Kerr icing him.

• Why the spotty view? We took our now-annual trip to Canobie Lake Park on Thursday. Eight-plus hours of amusement park fun in Salem, NH. Yankee Cannonball still rocks. Not ready to ride Untamed. Thanks to Kirk Minihane Show producer Justin Trudell for pushing the BBQ place - the ribs were excellent. The highlight was dominating Skee Ball and taking home a plush Luigi.

  

• Gresh and Fauria v. Matthew Judon never really took off. Need an actual on-air (or in-person) conversation to keep it going.

• NESN’s move to replace Jack Edwards with Judd Sirott seems like a pretty safe one. Sirott has spent the last seven years calling the B’s games on The Sports Hub. Will not be surprised if The Hub now tabs Ryan Johnston to replace Sirott. Johnston works part-time there, has filled in on Bruins play-by-play, and called hundreds of games for the old Lowell Lock Monsters. There is no listing of the job yet on the Beasley Media website.

We have for sure said it all.

Tomorrow’s Saratoga Stack will handicap the entire Saratoga card in addition to some other horse racing opinions. Hope to have it posted after scratches around 11 AM.

Good luck with all your bets. Let’s see if Tatum gets any minutes against France in the Gold Medal game tomorrow. And thanks for reading.

Good Weekend.