Sports Radio

There isn’t a whole lot to like about the long morning commutes. One thing that makes it a lot easier is listening to sports radio. I love hearing exclusive interviews with local players, coaches, industry insiders, and other sports writers. I enjoy hearing the hosts and other fans ripping the other teams when our sports teams win. I also like sharing my misery with other fellow sports listeners after each tough loss.

So when I first heard last August that “98.5 The Sports Hub”, a new sports radio station was starting, I was incredibly excited. Up to that point, WEEI had a monopoly on the local sports radio market. Don’t get me wrong; I love listening to WEEI…most of the time. But sometimes Gerry Callahan goes off on one of his crazy rants. Though I’m pretty far right on the political spectrum, even Callahan can push my limits when he spouts his extreme rightwing agenda. Also, sometimes instead of talking some big sports news or a big game, Dennis and Callahan will continue to talk about stupid topics like Tiger Wood’s extramarital affairs. Who cares about that kind of stuff, really?

Then there’s “The Big Show” from 2 PM to 6 PM. I don’t usually get to listen to this show because I’m working. But sometimes when I get off of work early, sometimes I catch the end of it. However, this show drives me crazy because it sounds like they have five guys just talking over each other. They’ll sometimes let people call in but they just end up interrupting them before they can get their points across.

Anyways, let’s get back to “98.5 The Sports Hub”. I really was hopeful that this station would be a nice alternative when Dennis & Callahan were gossiping like little school girls or ranting about something else. But I am always left disappointed. Their morning show with “Toucher & Rich” sounds like a bunch of n00bs when compared to WEEI. The show always plays these long musical intros so it just feels like filler. When the hosts actually talk, they sound like immature boys with their brand of frat-boy toilet humor. The producers keep playing these really annoying sound clips when people say various buzzwords. It’s just an amateur production across the board.

I like listening to “Felger & Massarotti” but that’s at that 2 PM to 6 PM timeslot which I love so much (/sarcasm). Felger has a bit of an abrasive personality but I like his honest and sometimes brutal opinions. If a player or team is underperforming, he’s usually the first to point that out.

The only show that is any good is “The D.A. Show” with Damon Amendolara. He’s actually very knowledgeable and he’s is pretty levelheaded with his opinions. He’s also nice to the callers so that’s a plus. The only knock against him is he likes hockey a little too much so he’ll sometimes discuss pro hockey when most people would rather talk about the other major sports.

So anyways, the 2010 NFL draft took place over this past weekend and I was eager to hear what Dennis & Callahan thought of the new Patriot’s rookie class. Surprise, surprise…the hosts instead were complaining about the hypocrisy of Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen urging others to conserve energy and reduce their carbon footprint while they are building a $20M, 22,000 square foot mansion with 8-bedrooms and a 6-car garage.

Sigh…I guess beggars can’t be choosers. Maybe one day I could be the host of my very own sports radio station. And on the day after a Celtics playoff game and the weekend of the NFL draft, instead of talking about sports I can complain about how other sports radio stations are complaining about the hypocrisy of their favorite athletes.