98.5 The Sports Hub should dominate winter radio ratings, but WEEI might be closing the gap slightly
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▪ The Jones and Keefe Show is working: I've referred to the almost comically negative
Adam Jones
as 'JV Felger' and worse over the years, and he earned it. But being reunited with
Rich Keefe
, with whom he previously worked on the Sports Hub's evening show, has brought out his sense of humor, and the show is a consistently fun listen. They come across as real friends.
▪ No one argues both sides of a topic like
Michael Felger
: Hardly a news-flash there, but I couldn't help but laugh this week when Felger and co-host
Tony Massarotti
were talking about the Red Sox' trade of Triple A pitcher
Quinn Priester
to the Brewers. Felger, a Brewers fan who probably still has a
Jim Gantner
baseball card in his wallet, managed to complain about the Red Sox' decision to trade Priester, who threw five shutout innings in his second start with the Brewers, while also acknowledging he watched him pitch and wasn't impressed. Felger, and Massarotti too, are masters of telling you why someone or something stinks from all angles.
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▪ The Greg Hill Show carries WEEI, but it's not an easy listen: Sometimes, as the sports media columnist, I feel like I'm pulling off a gambit, getting paid to listen to sports radio. And then
Chris Curtis
speaks, and I think I should ask for hazard pay.
Channel 5 has it covered
Channel 5 always gives the Boston Marathon the thorough coverage it deserves, and that will be no different with the race's 129th running. The station's pre-race coverage Monday begins at 4 a.m. with reports from 'WCVB EyeOpener' anchors
Antoinette Antonio
and
Doug Meehan
and chief meteorologist
Cindy Fitzgibbon
, and continues through the race until concluding with a special edition of 'Chronicle' at 7:30.
Related
:
Anchors
Maria Stephanos
and
Ed Harding
will host the professional race from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. from the finish line photo bridge. They will be joined by ESPN's
Hannah Storm
, with the national, out-of-market broadcast airing on ESPN2.
John Anderson
, who retired as a 'SportsCenter' anchor in 2024 but still host's ESPN's marathon and track and field coverage, will call the race, along with 2014 winner
Meb Keflezighi
, former Olympian
Carrie Tollefson
, and Paralympic medalist
Amanda McGrory
.
A welcome return
It was a pleasant surprise this week to discover that
Paul Flannery
has launched a newsletter via Substack, named 'Hoopology.' Flannery, who covered the Celtics for WEEI when the station started taking its website seriously a decade and a half ago, was always a joy to read on the NBA. But after taking a buyout from SB Nation in 2020, he hasn't written about the league regularly, focusing on his Substack 'Running Probably' in recent years. Good to have him back just as the Celtics begin their postseason run … The Pawtucket Red Sox had a long history of sending excellent play-by-play broadcasters to the big leagues, among them
Don Orsillo
,
Dave
and
Will Flemming
, and
Dave Jageler
. The pipeline seems to be continuing since the Triple A club's move to Worcester, with
Cooper Boardman
sounding like another fine play-by-play prospect when he filled in on a couple of Red Sox radio broadcasts last weekend. Boardman, a Syracuse product (speaking of broadcasting pipelines), is in his fifth season calling WooSox games, and also has hosted pre- and postgame Red Sox shows on WEEI. He will call more big-league games along the way this season, including a couple on the next road trip … I have one request for ESPN decision-makers when it comes to 'College GameDay' once
Lee Corso
retires following the first game on the upcoming season on Aug. 30: please do not allow
Pat
McAfee
, who has the all the charm of a leaf blower outside your window at 7 a.m., to take over Corso's amusing schtick of donning the mascot headgear of the team he is picking to win. Consider this a thank-you for common sense in advance.
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Milwaukee Brewers' Top Prospect Jacob Misirowski Has 103-MPH Fastball
The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing up Jacob Misiorowski's 103-mile-an-hour fastball to face the ultimate test against MLB hitters. The Brewers don't even want the slender 6-foot-7 right-hander throwing that fast all the time. They would prefer he mix in his sharp curveball and slider while continuing to try and master a changeup, too. 'Part of maturing is understanding your level of effort,' manager Pat Murphy told Adam McCalvy of in spring training. 'Because you can throw it 100 mph doesn't really mean anything. It's being able to command what you can command. You might be better to command 98 and having your variety of pitches and staying ahead in the count, rather than being all heat and being behind 3-and-1 and having 30-pitch innings. You're not going to get to the big leagues having 30-pitch innings. 'He's a smart kid. He'll get it. I think he's got a great future.' MARYVALE, AZ: Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Cincinnati Reds at ... More American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images) Misiorowski 'got it' this season at Triple-A Nashville. He struck out 80 and allowed a measly 38 hits across 63 1/3 innings. He did it by throwing all his pitches, highlighted by the heater. When he fanned 11 in a masterful mid-May outing, however, Nashville manager Rick Sweet talked more about the changeup than other pitches. 'It just adds to everything he does,' Sweet told Ben Weinrib of 'When you get a power pitcher like that, in my career, you see guys, they get high pitch counts early because guys foul them off. You throw a changeup like he has now, that's a swing and miss pitch, and that finishes off.' Misiorowski already one of the longest names in the game at 11 letters. He's already the biggest name from Grain Valley. Mo., 23 miles east of Kansas City. There he was an all-state pick with a 9-2 record and 1.48 ERA as a junior for the Grain Valley High School Eagles. His senior season was wiped out by the Covid-19 outbreak and he signed to play at Oklahoma, then changed his mind. He went to Crowder College, 160 miles almost due south in Neosho, Mo. That put him on the Brewers' radar even before he compiled a 10-0 record with a 2.72 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 76 innings. MILWAUKEE: Aaron Ashby of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Colorado Rockies at American ... More Family Field on Sept. 6, 2024. (Photo by) The Brewers had selected left-hander Andy Ashby from Crowder in the fourth round in 2018. He recently rejoined Milwaukee's rotation from a stint on the injured list. Ashby got $520,000 to sign as the 125th overall choice. Misiorowski got $2.35 million as pick No. 63 four years later. That kept him from transferring to Louisiana State as planned. 'I'm just a kid from Grain Valley who always had a dream to play pro ball and here we are now!' he said then. In 68 games including 55 starts in the minors, Misiorowski has yielded only 138 hits in 233 2/3 innings. His ratio of 5.3 hits per nine innings is much better than what such notable stars as Max Scherzer, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Justin Verlander achieved before throwing a pitch in the majors. OAKLAND: Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Oakland Athletics at he ... More Oakland-Alameda County Colosseum during the 1993 season. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) His ratio of 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings, is better than anyone has achieved for a career in the big leagues. The one area where he needs to significantly improve is walks. He has walked 5.4 per innings as a pro (140 in 233 2/3 innings). It is doubtful that he would have a long career in the majors with such a ratio. It would rank second-worst all-time to 1958 Cy Young winner Bob Turley's, 5.6 for his career. Turley had only a 4.7 ratio when he went 21-7 for the New York Yankees and won the 1958 Cy Young Award. When he went 14-15 for the 1954 Baltimore Orioles, 'Bullet Bob' led the Al strikeouts (185) AND walks (181) Misiorowski did lower his walks to 4.4 per nine this year at Nashville. That's still in the range of what notorious wild men Sam McDowell (4.74) and Nolan Ryan (4.67) did in their MLB careers. Fans were excited to see the big prospect in Milwaukee's Spring Breakout game against the Cincinnati Reds on March 16, One look at him warming up showed the kid was something special. As did getting four strikeouts and a groundout. But the rest of the results were disastrous. MESA, AZ: Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in a spring training game against the ... More Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) He hit the first batter he faced, gave up a double and two-run triple in the first inning. In the second, he walked the first batter and sent him to second with a balk. After two strikeouts, he fired a wild pitch, gave up an RBI triple and was replaced. He didn't hang his head when reassigned to the minors. Misiorowski worked on all his pitches, which set up the fastball. On May 15, one of his offerings was timed at 103, the fastest in the game at any level this year. Misiorowski, 23, needs to refine his release point, something that such tall pitchers find challenging. Johnson struggled for years in that regard. It may take just as long with the Brewers' big fella. There are a lot of moving parts and getting everything in sync can be tough – but must be done to consistently throw strikes. He also needs a nickname. Frankly, typing Misiorowski. It's about as easy for me as it is for him to consistently throw strikes. 'Swing And Mis' sounds good, but just as long though not as challenging to type. 'Big Jake'? Maybe. 'The Miz'? Possibly. Anybody have a clue? Leave it in the comments below.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Red Sox ticket and merchandise sales see an immediate spike after call-up of top prospect Roman Anthony
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New York Post
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Rays vs. Red Sox odds, prediction: MLB best bets, picks Tuesday
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