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WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts. The station is simulcast on WEEI-FM (93.7 FM), and its local programming is heard on the "WEEI Sports Radio Network" that broadcasts throughout the New England region.

WEEI is the flagship station of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network. It is also the flagship station of the Boston Celtics, beginning with the 2007–2008 season. In addition, WEEI broadcasts games of the Boston College football and basketball teams in season. When local programming is not on WEEI, usually ESPN Radio will air. The station had been an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio from 2005 until November 2009, and was that network's highest rated station; WEEI had a prior stint as the ESPN Radio affiliate before switching to Fox.

The station is popular with fans of the Boston professional sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox. WEEI calls itself "the #1 rated sports radio talk station in America," in terms of the percentage of the area radio listening audience tuned-in. WEEI isn't alone in providing 24/7 sports radio in Boston; local competition includes WBZ-FM "98.5 The Sports Hub."

History[link]

WEEI's seven decades at 590 kHz[link]

WEEI traces its roots to its original owner, Edison Electric Illuminating (hence the call letters). Edison placed the station on the air on 590 kHz in 1924.^[1] In 1926, WEEI became a charter member of the NBC Red Network and remained an NBC Red affiliate until 1937, when the station was purchased by CBS and became an affiliate of that network. Until 1960, WEEI, through CBS Radio, was the last Boston radio station to devote a large amount of its program schedule to "traditional" network radio programming of daytime soap operas, comedy shows, variety shows, and similar fare.

For the remainder of the 1960s, WEEI was New England's first talk radio station and home of such hosts as Howard Nelson, Jim Westover and of Paul Benzaquin, one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in Boston history. In the 1960s, the daily WEEIdea feature presented cleaning and cooking tips from housewives.

Actor Pat O'Brien was a guest on the WEEI program "Hollywood Snapshots" in 1942.

By May 1972, WEEI had six full days of call-in talk programming. On weekdays, morning drive time from 6 am to 10 am was hosted by newsman Len Lawrence (Leonard Libman), followed by Ellen Kimball from 10 am to 2 pm. Kimball was hired from WIOD in Miami, where she had replaced broadcaster Larry King after he was arrested on December 20, 1971. Ellen is believed to be one of the first women to host a daily, four-hour, call-in talk show, six days a week.^{[citation needed]} Originally called Boston Forum with Ellen Kimball, the name was eventually changed to The Ellen Kimball Show. Later, newsman Ben Farnsworth took over the Saturday call-in segment from 10 am to 2 pm. Paul Benzaquin handled 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays.

Although its talk radio format was popular, the station went all-news in 1974, following the lead of several other CBS-owned stations. At first, WEEI was not 24/7 all-news; the station's late-night schedule featured the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an attempt to revive radio drama, as well as a local overnight talk show with Bruce Lee (no relation to the martial-arts actor), a holdover from the previous format. But by the end of the 1970s, WEEI was all-news around the clock.

On December 27, 1977, while engaged in traffic reporting, a Hughes 269B helicopter operated by WEEI lost power and crashed into an apartment building in Quincy while attempting an emergency landing, killing pilot Richard Banks and reporter Chip Whitmore. A fire developed in the building following the crash.^[2]

In 1982, CBS sold WEEI to Helen Broadcasting, which retained the all-news format. In 1991, the station was sold to the Boston Celtics, and became a sports station. Upon the change to all-sports, WEEI featured the Andy Moes show and Glenn (Ordway) and Janet (Prensky), a short-lived experiment in bringing a "Bickersons"-type format to sports radio. Also part of the roster was Boston sports talk pioneer Eddie Andelman.

WHDH at 850 kHz[link]

The original occupant of 850 kHz (and until 1941, 830 kilohertz), WHDH, had a long history.

WHDH could trace its history back to WEPS, a small radio station in Gloucester, Massachusetts, founded in 1929 by R.G. Matheison. Much of WEPS' programming consisted of broadcasts to, for, or about fisherman, given Gloucester's status as a major port for the fishing industry.

Within a few years, the station moved to Boston, and took the call letters WHDH. It was a daytime-only station broadcasting at 830 kilocycles (leaving the air at local sunset in Denver, about two hours after sunset in Boston, to protect the signal of KOA in the Colorado capitol city), and broadened its programming, but still included some reports for fishermen.

The 1941 North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement moved WHDH to 850 kilocycles, and allowed the station to broadcast on a fulltime basis. WHDH was able to increase power to 5,000 watts and go fulltime, but not without protests from KOA. For two years, from 1943 until 1945, WHDH was the local affiliate of the Blue Network, the former "NBC Blue", replacing WBZ as Blue affiliate.

Shortly after World War II, the Boston Herald-Traveler newspaper purchased WHDH, by this time again an independent station. In 1948, the station moved its transmitter site from Saugus, to Needham, west of Boston, where the station would be able to increase power to 50,000 watts with a directional signal aimed east to protect KOA and other stations on 850.

While not first in Boston to adopt a popular music and disc jockey format with hourly newscasts (WORL was the first), a combination of a powerful signal, top-notch personalities like Ray Dorey, Fred B. Cole, Bob Clayton, Norm Nathan, news anchor John Day, and a mid-morning woman's show hosted by Christine Evans (also billing herself as Chris); along with live coverage of Boston Red Sox baseball, Boston Bruins hockey, and Boston Celtics baskletball, made WHDH one of the most popular stations in the region in the post-World War II era. In the late 1950s, Jess Cain joined the station, first co-hosting the morning show with Dorey, then as solo host when Dorey moved over to television. Cain would remain at WHDH for 34 years. By the early 1960s, Hank Forbes and Alan Dary had joined Cain, Clayton, and Nathan on the WHDH staff.

In the 1950s and 1960s, WHDH, along with WBZ, had the strongest lineup of personality disc jockeys in Boston radio history. While the two stations for the most part programmed different kinds of music, both had very talented air personalities who were "household names" in the Boston area.

Perhaps the station's best-known on-air personalities outside of Boston were the legendary comedy team of Bob and Ray, who did a comedy-and-records show at WHDH before they departed for national fame in New York City. The station employed a popular MOR (what today would be called "adult standards") music format featuring artists like Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mathis, Nat "King" Cole, Ray Charles, Artie Shaw, Pat Boone, Perry Como, Connie Francis, Bobby Vinton, and others. By the end of the 1960s, the station also played soft rock songs by artists like Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Beatles, Buddy Holly, Petula Clark, Fifth Dimension, and others. The station also had specialty shows playing jazz and big band music.

While WHDH was never "all sports," it was easily Boston's top sports station during the 1950s through the end of the 1960s. It called itself "The Voice of Sports". For 30 consecutive years (1946–75), WHDH was the flagship station of the Boston Red Sox, featuring play-by-play announcers such as Jim Britt, Ford C. Frick Award-winning Curt Gowdy, Ken Coleman and Ned Martin. From 1946 through 1949, it also broadcast the Boston Braves, the city's National League baseball club (the Red Sox and Braves then only broadcast home games, thus the teams shared the same announcers and did not have schedule conflicts). After the Braves left WHDH for WNAC (now WRKO) in 1950, WHDH began broadcasting all Red Sox games, home and away.

During the winter months, WHDH and WHDH-FM (94.5 FM, now WJMN) were the flagship stations of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association and the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, employing such legendary announcers as Johnny Most, Fred Cusick and Bob Wilson. For a single season, Jim Laing was the announcer for Bruins games and brought unprecedented candor to the job. In the mid- and late 1960s, when both the Bruins and Celtics played, one of the teams (usually the one playing at home) was heard on AM; while the other (usually the team playing on the road) was heard on FM. WHDH also was the radio home of Harvard University football in the autumn, including 1968, the year of Harvard's famous 29-29 "win" against arch-rival Yale, considered one of the greatest college-football games ever played.

In addition, the original WHDH-TV (channel 5) was the flagship station of the Red Sox TV network from 1958 through 1971, while WHDH radio produced an early weekly sports roundtable show called The Voice of Sports, featuring sportswriters from the co-owned Herald-Traveler, various figures from Major League Baseball, and longtime WHDH-TV/WCVB-TV sports director Don Gillis. No calls were taken during the show, which featured lively debate among the writers. In 1972–73, The Voice of Sports became a daily, afternoon drive telephone-talk program hosted by longtime Boston sportscaster Leo Egan, but it failed to take root.

WHDH began to lose its valuable properties in 1969, when the Bruins and Celtics were wooed away by WBZ. Soon afterward, the Herald-Traveler Corporation's license to operate channel 5 was revoked by the Federal Communications Commission, and was given to one of the groups of businessmen that challenged its license (Boston Broadcasters); on March 19, 1972, channel 5 became WCVB-TV (Metromedia bought that station in 1982 and Fox Television Stations bought Metromedia in 1986, of at which time WCVB was spun-off to the Hearst Corporation). Stung by the loss of its highly profitable TV station, the Herald-Traveler Corp. was put on the market, and acquired by the Hearst Corporation in June 1972. Less than two years later, WHDH and its FM sister station (by this time called WCOZ) were sold to Blair Radio, a national radio station advertising representative. WHDH then lost the Red Sox after the 1975 regular season; it did not carry their games again until 1983–85. The station's last major sports property was the New England Patriots during the late 1980s.

By the early 1970s, WHDH evolved into more of an adult contemporary format playing artists such as Dionne Warwick, Elton John, James Taylor, Carpenters, Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkle, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel, Carole King, and even soft songs by rock artists. In a way the station played Top 40 without any hard rock and with more non current product. By the early 1980s, WHDH began to focus even less on music and more on personality, while playing more music and having less talk than rival WBZ. Air talent then consisted of people such as Dave Supple, Tom Kennedy (the DJ, not the game-show host), Jim Sands (who did a popular Saturday-night oldies show), and Tom Doyle (who by the early 1980s was Cain's co-host).

By the mid-1980s, WHDH was moving toward more of a talk format and in 1987 dropped music abruptly; although the station had been playing more music than WBZ, that station would gradually phase out music over the next few more years. During their talk radio days, programs hosted by Larry Glick (who moved from WBZ in 1987), Avi Nelson, David Brudnoy (who would later go to WRKO, and finally, to WBZ), among others, were featured.

David Mugar era[link]

On August 7, 1989, WHDH was sold to local businessman David G. Mugar, whose New England Television owned CBS affiliate WNEV-TV (channel 7). On March 12, 1990, WNEV's call letters became WHDH-TV to correspond with WHDH radio. Mugar was hoping to bring back a main competitor to WBZ radio and TV, with a renewed emphasis on a news and straight talk format with some political programming. Some sports programs remained, but news and talk were main priorities. Among the personalities to arrive in the early 1990s were mostly talents from within NETV, including TV newscaster Ted O'Brien. However, by 1993, NETV & Radio was already in trouble due to increasing debt incurred by the Channel 7 acquisition. When Mugar announced WHDH-TV was being sold to Sunbeam Television later that year, there was speculation that WHDH radio would also be sold-off. After WHDH-TV was sold off, the radio station remained the last property under Mugar's company, and remained such for one year. By the following spring, it was announced that WHDH radio would vacate the Boston airwaves entirely, and sell the 850 AM dial position & transmitting facilities to American Radio Systems. WHDH's final broadcast, in August 1994, was the death of a heritage radio station in Boston, but had its void filled by the eventual success of WEEI on 850 AM.

Sportsradio 850 WEEI[link]

In 1994, WEEI on 590 was acquired by Back Bay Broadcasting, which sold the call letters and all-sports programming of WEEI to American Radio Systems.^[3] American Radio Systems placed the WEEI callsign and intellectual property on the 850 kHz frequency that was previously home to WHDH. AM 590 changed its callsign to WBNW, and later became WEZE.

With the Red Sox coming to WEEI in 1995, they returned to the 850 kHz frequency.^[4]

In 1998, American Radio Systems was acquired by CBS. As a result of the merger, the combined company was forced to sell several of its Boston stations. In late 1998, Entercom announced plans to acquire WEEI, along with WAAF, WRKO, WWTM (now WVEI) and WEGQ (now WEEI-FM), from CBS for $140 million.

In April 2005, WEEI began streaming its broadcasts live online by way of a free membership at its official website. The exception is for Red Sox and Celtics games, as these are streamed only through the team and league websites as part of subscription packages.

WEEI was awarded its first Marconi Award in September 2006 for sports station of the year. WEEI was also named large market station of the year.

The station had an ongoing feud with The Boston Globe. In 1999, the Globe's executive sports editor, Don Skwar, banned the newspaper's sports writers from appearing on the station's afternoon The Big Show after columnist Ron Borges used a racial slur while on the air in reference to New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. Two weeks later, the ban was extended to WEEI's Dennis & Callahan morning show. WEEI retaliated by banning Globe staffers from all its shows. Nevertheless, WEEI host Michael Holley is a former Globe columnist.^[5] The ban came to an end on August 4, 2009, when Bob Ryan appeared on The Big Show, with host Glenn Ordway stating that "we have all come to our senses."^[6]

In September 2009 there was speculation that WEEI could move to one of Entercom's properties on the FM dial (such as the 93.7 FM facility then occupied by WMKK), with the AM 850 signal switching to ESPN Radio (which was being dropped by WAMG).^[7] Entercom did announce on October 7, 2009 that starting on November 2, 2009, WEEI would once again carry the ESPN Radio affiliation (though most programming would remain local). WEEI began to carry ESPN Radio's overnight programming, including All Night with Jason Smith from 1–5 a.m. and some weekend programming.^[8] In addition, WEEI began to simulcast on 93.7 FM, renamed WEEI-FM, on September 12, 2011.^[9]

Teams on WEEI[link]

Boston Red Sox[link]

Red Sox broadcasts are a daily feature of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network slate from March through October. Each broadcast consists of:

• "The Pregame Show" is recorded from an air studio inside Fenway Park next to gate C
• "The Inside Pitch", a segment with a member of the local sports journalism establishment;
• (optional) A pre-game interview with the general manager;
• The game intro itself, a compilation of great moments in Red Sox broadcast history;
• The game itself, with Joe Castiglione broadcasting with either Dave O'Brien or Jon Rish. Prior to the 2007 season, Castiglione was partnered with long-time co-broadcaster Jerry Trupiano.
• A post-game interview;
• Post-game statistics (called "totals");
• A highlights clip for those who missed the early part of the game;
• A roundup of out of town scores;
• and a signoff tag.

During game broadcasts, WEEI is also made available through the Major League Baseball web site (for a fee), and (for home games) on XM Satellite Radio (as part of the standard service) for those outside the Boston listening area. The entire 162-game Red Sox schedule also may be heard on an extensive radio network throughout the 6 New England states. Many of the smaller stations have always aired the Red Sox Network regardless of what Boston station originated those broadcasts.

The Boston Red Sox recently signed a 10 year radio deal with sister WRKO (also owned by Entercom) for the broadcast rights for the 2007 through 2016 seasons, worth a reportedly $13 million a season.^[10] About 30 Red Sox games a season, including all games on Wednesday nights and all weekly day games were heard on WEEI as part of the deal.

As of August 26, 2009, WEEI once again became the flagship station for the Red Sox.^[11] This occurred two weeks after the debut of competitor WBZ-FM "The Sports Hub" and was seen as a reaction, focusing all Red Sox games on one station, WEEI, rather than splitting them between the station and WRKO.

During a rain delay, Jon Risch hosts a show called "Sox Talk", where he takes calls and texts while the rain delay is in effect.

Boston Celtics[link]

Sean Grande hosts the Celtics Tonight pregame show before each Celtics game on WEEI in addition to providing the play by play for the game. Cedric Maxwell provides color commentary during the broadcast. The broadcast duo calls themselves "Grande and Max." Currently, John Ryder hosts the halftime show and the Celtics Rewind show following the game.

Programming[link]

Daily shows[link]

• Dennis and Callahan — Featuring hosts John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, flashboy Jon Meterparel, executive producer Steve "Chach" Ciaccio and producer Ian "Iggy" Meropol. Airs 6:00 am to 10:00 am on weekdays. It has featured a variety of special guests during different parts of the year including Curt Schilling every Tuesday and Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino every Thursday during the baseball season, as well as Tom Brady every Monday during football season. The show also simulcast from 6:00 am to 9:00 on NESN.

• Mut and Merloni — Featuring hosts Mike Mutnansky and Former MLB utility man, Lou Merloni. The producer of the show is Joe Zarbano and Mike Berger. Plays from 10:00 am–2:00 pm. This show replaced Dale and Holley, when Holley moved to the Big Show.
• The Big Show — Featuring hosts "the Big O" Glenn Ordway and Michael Holley. Until February 2011, Ordway was the only permanent host of the show, which took on a roundtable-type format with different co-hosts. Holley joined the show in February 2011 as a full-time host. The Whiner Line closes every show and is generally the highest-rated segment. The Big Show plays from 2:00 pm–6:00 pm.
• Planet Mikey — Featuring host Mike Adams and flashboy John Ryder. Plays from 6:00 pm–11:00 pm A Regular co-host on the show is Lenny Megliola from The MetroWest Daily News. Took the place of Ted Nation hosted by Ted Sarandis in 2005.
• Red Sox Review — Featuring host John Ryder. Program follows Planet Mikey on weekday nights (11:00 pm–1:00 am) when a Sox game is featured. During weekends Red Sox Review immediately follows the Red Sox postgame show.

Weekend shows[link]

• Butch Stearns — Former sports anchor Butch Stearns regularly hosts a Saturday afternoon show, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
• NFL Sunday — Runs on Sundays from 9:00 am to noon during football season. The show is hosted by Dale Arnold and Michael Holley and co-hosted by Christian Fauria, Christopher Price and Troy Brown.
• Real Postgame Show — Hosted by former NFL stars, Steve DeOssie and Fred Smerlas. Runs after each Patriot game during the NFL season.
• Mustard and Johnson — Hosted by Craig Mustard and Larry Johnson. The show was cancelled in 2008 but was renewed and the schedule will vary from week to week. The show is also nicknamed "Yankee Talk" because of the large number of Yankee fans that call in to the show.

Former shows[link]

• Andy Moes Show (September 3, 1991–September 1, 1992) — WEEI's first morning show following its switch to an all-sports format. It was hosted by Andy Moes, former co-host of the Joe and Andy Show on WROR-FM. The show was cancelled after one year due to low ratings.
• Doyle and Mustard Show (September 1992–July 1993) — Replaced The Andy Moes Show as WEEI's morning program. It was hosted by veteran radio personalities Craig Mustard and Tom Doyle. It was replaced by the syndicated Imus in the Morning in July 1993.
• The Janet and Glenn Show/The Glenn Ordway Show (September 3, 1991–June 25, 1993) — 1-4 pm show created as part of WEEI's switch to an all-sports format. Co-hosted by then-Celtics announcer Glenn Ordway and public relations executive Janet Prensky. Prensky was fired by WEEI on September 4, 1992^[12] and Ordway hosted the show solo until June 25, 1993.
• The Craig Mustard Show (June 28, 1993–August 1994) — Replaced The Glenn Ordway Show as WEEI's midday talk-show. Show ended after Mustard's firing from WEEI in August 1994.^[13]
• Ted Nation (1992–September 2005) — Aired weekdays 7 pmto midnight. Hosted by then-Boston College Eagles basketball announcer Ted Sarandis.^[14]
• Dale and Holley — Featuring hosts Dale Arnold, Michael Holley, producer James Stewart, nicknamed "Big Game James". Plays 10:00 am–2:00 pm on weekdays. Red Sox manager Terry Francona is a weekly guest during baseball season. Holley replaced Bob Neumeier in 2005 and the show was renamed Dale and Holley from Dale and Neumy. The final Dale and Holley show aired on February 23, 2011.
• The Baseball Show (formerly Red Sox Baseball Today) — Ran 9 am-noon on Saturday. Up until 2008, Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald and Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal served as co-hosts. In 2008, Buckley and McAdam alternated weeks co-hosting with Mike Adams. In 2009, the show began simulcasting on Comcast SportsNet New England with Mike Felger hosting with analysts Lou Merloni, Sean McAdam, and Steve Buckley.^[15] Greg Dickerson replaced Felger in July 2009 following Felger's move to WBZ-FM.^[16] WEEI dropped The Baseball Show following the 2010 season; it will continue to air on Comcast SportsNet.^[17]

On-air staff[link]

Hosts[link]

• Glenn Ordway – The Big Show
• Gerry Callahan – Dennis and Callahan
• John Dennis – Dennis and Callahan
• Michael Holley – The Big Show
• Dale Arnold – Weekend/Fill-in
• Mike Adams – Planet Mikey
• Mike Mutnansky – Mut and Merloni
• Rob Bradford – Weekend/Fill-in
• Jon Rish – Red Sox coverage
• Joe Castiglione – Red Sox play-by-play
• Dave O'Brien – Red Sox play-by-play
• Butch Stearns – Weekend host
• Sean Grande – Celtics play-by-play
• Cedric Maxwell – Celtics color commentator
• Lou Merloni - Mut and Merloni
• John Ryder - Planet Mikey; Celtics pre/post host
• Kirk Minihane - Weekend/Fill-in
• Lenny Megliola - Planet Mikey
• Pete Sheppard Former flashboy on The Big Show; now weekends and fill-ins

Flash anchors[link]

The flash anchors provide the sports updates heard at the top of each hour during the day and at the top and bottom of each hour on nights and weekends.

• Mikey Adams - The Big Show
• Adam Bagni - Fill-In/Weekend
• John Chandler – Fill-In/Weekend
• Rory Duyon – Fill-In/Weekend
• Jack Levangie - Fill-In/Weekend
• Jon Meterparel – Dennis and Callahan
• Mike Riley - Fill-In/Weekend
• John Ryder – Planet Mikey
• John Saucier – Fill-In/Weekend
• Dan Steven – Fill-In/Weekend
• Chris Villani – Mut & Merloni/Weekend

Former staff[link]

• Michael Andelman: SportsRap (1994–1995)^[18]
• Fred B. Cole — Carnival of Music host (1946–1967)^[19]
• Eddie Andelman: (1991–2001)
• Michael Felger: former Big Show co-host and fill-in host, now with WBZ-FM
• Bob Neumeier: Dale & Neumy Show (2002–2005) now broadcasts for NBC Sports
• Ted Sarandis: Ted Nation (1992–2005),
• Dave Shea: co-host on The Big Show (1995)
• Jon Wallach: Dale and Holley flashboy, now with WBZ-FM

WEEI/NESN Radio-Telethon[link]

Each year since 2002, New England Sports Network (NESN) and WEEI have teamed up to raise money for The Jimmy Fund by holding a Radio-Telethon. For two days every August the event is simulcast on WEEI and NESN. WEEI radio personalities conduct auctions and interviews with cancer patients and survivors, doctors, athletes and celebrities. Since 2002, this event has raised around $17 million for the Jimmy Fund and has received donations from all 50 states.

Simulcasts[link]

A number of other stations in the New England region carry most of WEEI's local programming. The stations are branded as "Sports Radio WEEI", and many carry call letters similar to the Boston flagship station.

WEEI's sports play-by-play broadcasts are distributed separately, though some games originated by WEEI may air on some of the other affiliated stations by way of a separate deal. Some of the stations have picked up play-by-play rights in concert with WEEI after their conversion to the simulcast. Most stations carry either ESPN Radio or Fox Sports Radio when the flagship station carries games or when WEEI is not airing local programming.

• WEEI 850 AM, Boston, Massachusetts (co-flagship)
• WEEI-FM 93.7 FM, Lawrence, Massachusetts (serves Boston, co-flagship)
• WEEY 93.5 FM, Swanzey, New Hampshire (serves Keene, also carries Keene-area sports, does not carry Red Sox games or Celtics games)
• WEII 96.3 FM, Dennis, Massachusetts (serves Cape Cod)
• WPEI 95.9 FM, Saco, Maine (serves Portland)
• WPPI 95.5 FM, Topsham, Maine (serves Portland)
• WVEI 1440 AM, Worcester, Massachusetts
• WVEI-FM 103.7 FM, Westerly, Rhode Island (serves Providence)
• WWEI 105.5 FM, Easthampton, Massachusetts (serves Springfield)

Entercom's initial plan to syndicate WEEI programming was to place it on stations owned by Nassau Broadcasting in 13 more markets, but the deal between the two companies ended up collapsing.^[20] The first of WEEI's eventual affiliates began airing its programming in September 2008.^[21][22] WPPI, one of the first affiliates, initially carried WEEI programming (as WGEI) from September 2008^[21][22] until April 2009, when it began simulcasting talk station WLOB; it rejoined the network in August 2011. Additionally, WAEI (910 AM and 97.1 FM) in Bangor, Maine carried WEEI programming from September 2008^[22] until January 2010, when Blueberry Broadcasting terminated its affiliation following a breach-of-contract dispute.^[23][24]

Quotes[link]

• "Havlicek Stole The Ball!" — Johnny Most's description of the play that allowed the Boston Celtics to win Game 7 of the 1965 National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Finals; allowing the Celtics to keep their streak of NBA championships alive (station was WHDH).
• "It's All Over! It's All Over! The Celtics Are Again NBA Champions!" — Most's frequently-used call when the Celtics won the NBA title; the station (as WHDH) carried the Celtics during their first ten NBA championship seasons, including eight (1959–66) in a row.
• "The pitch is looped towards shortstop. Petrocelli's back. He's got it! The Red Sox win! And there's pandemonium on the field! Listen!" — Ned Martin's call of the final out of the 1967 Boston Red Sox "Impossible Dream" regular season (station was WHDH)
• "You're just in time for the ballgame; you're just in time for excitement and fun. WHDH has reserved your place; so glad you could make it, so glad that you've come! Here's Ken Coleman standing by -- the Voice of the Red Sox, a real nice guy. You're just in time -- for the ballgame; you're just in time for excitement and fun. All the play-by-play is brought to you by, by the Voice of Sports on 85! WHDH...WHDH...Here's Ken!"-Jingle played before each Red Sox game ca. 1973 (station was WHDH)
• "The Red Sox win the pennant! They have beaten the Oakland A's three in a row!" — Martin's call of the final out of the 1975 American League Championship Series (station was WHDH)
• "The Red Sox have come from two games down to beat the Cleveland Indians!" — Joe Castiglione's final call of the 1999 American League Division Series
• "We are watching something special this year from Pedro Martinez: in the Era of The Hitter he is dominant on the hill." 1999 American League Championship Series
• "He goes. The pitch is a ball, here's the throw; Roberts dives and he is....SAFE!" Dave Roberts' steal of second base off Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in the 9th inning of Game Four of the 2004 American League Championship Series
• "The 1-0 pitch. Swing and ground ball to second base. Pokey Reese has it. He throws to first and the Red Sox have won the American League pennant! The Boston Red Sox have pulled the greatest victory in team history!"- Joe Castiglione calling the 2004 American League Championship Series in which the Red Sox came back from a three game deficit to win four straight against the New York Yankees.
• "Foulke to the set. The 1-0 pitch. Here it is. Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions! For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship! Can you believe it?!"-Joe Castiglione's final call of the 2004 World Series
• "Kyle Orton will be a Pro Bowl player. Mark it down." — Pete Sheppard
• "The Red Sox are the first team in the twenty-first century to win two World Series titles. Can you believe it?" —Joe Castiglione's final call of the 2007 World Series.

References[link]

External links[link]

• WEEI — official website
  • WEEI Network Stations — station map and list
  • WEEI 103.7FM Providence
  • http://www.weeifm.com/ — possibly out-of-date WEEI 103.7 FM homepage
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WEEI
• Radio-Locator Information on WEEI
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WEEI
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WEEI
• Radio-Locator information on WEEI
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WEEI

Suzyn Waldman
Suzyn Waldman
Birth name	Suzyn Waldman
Born	(1946-09-07) September 7, 1946 (age 65) Newton, Massachusetts
Show	New York Yankees baseball
Station(s)	WCBS-AM
Previous show(s)	YES Network WFAN

Suzyn Waldman (born (1946-09-07)September 7, 1946) is a sportscaster and former Broadway actress.^[1] Starting with the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator for New York Yankees baseball, working with John Sterling on radio broadcasts for WCBS-AM in New York City. She graduated from Simmons College with a degree in Economics.

Early life and career[link]

Waldman was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Prior to her broadcasting career, Waldman worked for many years as an actress and singer in musical theatre. Her most notable role was as Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.^[2] Her rendition of "There Used To Be a Ballpark" appeared on the 1995 WMHT-TV documentary Local Heroes: Baseball on Capital Region Diamonds. Also, she has performed the National Anthem at many Yankee home games.

Broadcasting career[link]

Waldman is noted for her early achievements in the male-dominated field of sports broadcasting. She is the third woman in Major League Baseball history to serve as a full-time color commentator on a regular basis. (Betty Caywood of the Kansas City Athletics served as a color commentator for a year in the 1960s, and Mary Shane served as a play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox in 1977.^[3]) In the mid-1990s, she was a play-by-play announcer for the Yankees' local TV broadcasts on WPIX, which made her the second woman to serve in that capacity on TV for a major league team. (Gayle Gardner was the first to do so in 1993 for the Colorado Rockies.)

She has worked in sports reporting for more than 20 years, as a former broadcaster for the YES Network as the reporter on the New York Yankees Pre-Game Show and the New York Yankees Post-Game Show and New York sports radio station WFAN. Her voice—on a live sports update—was the first heard on WFAN when it premiered on 1050 AM at 3:00 PM on July 1, 1987 (it moved to 660 AM a year later). At WFAN, she covered both the Yankees and the New York Knicks basketball teams and co-hosted the daily mid-day sports talk show.

In 2011, she and Sterling signed contract extensions to remain in the booth through the 2012 season.^[4]

George Bell/Jesse Barfield controversy[link]

At the start of the 1987 baseball season, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Bell wasn’t talking to the New York media, thinking they had cost him the Most Valuable Player award the year earlier. He broke his silence after a win at Yankee Stadium, and expectedly the regular beat writers hurriedly gathered around his locker. New on the beat (women had just recently been allowed access to the locker room), Waldman joined the group; Bell immediately started screaming at her in Spanish and English.

“There was a deathly silence. I think the other writers were shocked, but I also think they still resented me more than a bit, and they certainly didn't want to lose this interview,” she recalled on a radio show. “At the time I was a little less tough than I am now. Tears welled up in my eyes and I said I better get out of there.”

As she hastily gathered her tape recorder and notebook, she heard Bell’s fellow outfielder, Jesse Barfield, ask a fellow writer, "What's her name?" When told, he then called out to her: “Suzyn, I went three for four today. Don’t you want to ask me any questions?”^[5]

Waldman and Barfield, now a baseball announcer himself, became fast friends and have remained very close since.^[6]

Yogi Berra/George Steinbrenner feud[link]

In 1985, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner sent the GM to fire Berra, which greatly angered Berra because in all his other times being fired, the owner personally made the move. Yogi vowed not to visit Yankee Stadium and not to participate in any Yankee function as long as George Steinbrenner was still the owner of the Yankees. In 1999, Suzyn Waldman brokered a meeting between the two men that brought an end to the 14-year feud. Yogi's grand return was on Opening Day for the 1999 season, a day also designated as "Joe DiMaggio Day." During the 1999 season, Steinbrenner declared a Yogi Berra Day to honor him, to the thrill of Yankee fans everywhere. On that day, Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra, and David Cone pitched a perfect game against the Montreal Expos. Yogi was showered with gifts from the Yankees, including a trip to visit the Pope.^[7]

Criticism[link]

In an online poll by Newsday, Waldman was voted the worst commentator in New York by the fans.^[8][9] New York Daily News columnist Bob Raissman has given Waldman the derisive nickname "Georgie Girl", an allusion to her close relationship with Steinbrenner (and a play on the title of the 1960s hit song "Georgy Girl").^[10] WFAN-AM hosts Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Mike Francesa have poked fun at her over-the-top reaction to the Roger Clemens signing in which she exclaimed "Roger Clemens is in George's box, and Roger Clemens is coming back. Oh, my good goodness gracious! Of all the dramatic things I've ever seen. Roger Clemens standing right in George Steinbrenner's box announcing he is back. Roger Clemens is a New York Yankee."^[11] Suzyn eventually confronted the duo in a long expletive-laced tirade, in which she expressed her obvious embarrassment of the situation. After the conversation, Mike and Chris vowed never to play the clip again, only to play it repeatedly later on in the evening.^[12] The clip is also played to mocking effect on Boston sports radio WEEI^[13][14][15] and for comedy on Boomer and Carton in the Morning, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show, The Jim Rome Show, and ESPN Radio's The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

Waldman was roundly criticized for her breakdown on the air following the Yankees' 2007 Divisional Series loss to Cleveland.^[16] She openly cried on the air for WCBS 880 AM while reporting about the morose atmosphere in the Yankees clubhouse on the post-game show. Waldman made reference to her emotional nature, the sight of fellow coaches in deep emotion, and their collective realization that Joe Torre's tenure as manager was likely at an end as reasons for her tears.^[17] In response to the incident, Waldman stated:^[18]

Breast cancer[link]

In 1996, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.^[19] She eventually sued Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its pathologists for misdiagnosing her as being cancer-free, winning over $2 million in damages from the case.^[20] While her chemotherapy regimen limited (and eventually ended) her day-to-day role of broadcasting Yankees games on TV, she continued in her role at WFAN throughout her illness (now long in remission).^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• New York Yankees biography
• Suzyn's reaction to the Roger Clemens signing
• Suzyn Waldman at the Internet Movie Database

Dustin Pedroia
The Laser Show getting ready to bat.
Boston Red Sox – No. 15
Second baseman
Born: August 17, 1983 (Age 28) Woodland, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 22, 2006 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics (through May 25, 2012)
Batting average	.304
Home runs	80
Runs batted in	364
On-base percentage	.372
Runs	509
Hits	917
Teams
Boston Red Sox (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star selection (2008, 2009, 2010) Silver Slugger Award winner at second base (2008) World Series Champion (2007) 2007 AL Rookie of the Year 2008 American League MVP Fielding Bible Award (2011) 2× Gold Glove Award Winner (2008, 2011) AL player of the month Winner (July 2011)

Medal record
Baseball
Competitor for  United States
Pan American Games
Silver	Santo Domingo 2003	National team

Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983, in Woodland, California) is an American professional baseball second baseman. Pedroia has won several awards in Major League Baseball, including the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP award. He also won a Silver Slugger as a second baseman and a Gold Glove in 2008 and 2011. He finished second overall in the AL in batting average in 2008. In addition to his offensive performance, Pedroia has been a major defensive contributor to the Red Sox.

Pedroia is listed by Major League Baseball and the Red Sox as 5' 8" (173 cm) and 165 pounds. In 2003 a USA Today article gave his height as 5' 7" (170 cm),^[1] and when he was in college the NCAA and Arizona State University gave his height as 5' 8".^[2]

Early baseball career[link]

High school and college[link]

Pedroia attended Woodland Senior High School in Woodland, California. Pedroia batted .445 his senior year and was chosen as his league's most valuable player. Good childhood friend and high school teamate Frankie Vartuli gave him some inspirational words before he started his college season. What was said on the rainy Thursday night during the phone conversation was, "In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this." Vartuli used the famous quote from Willie Mays to inspire the 5 foot 7 phenom to excel in college.

Pedroia attended Arizona State University, where he was teammates with current Seattle Mariners left fielder Chandler Jennings and current Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier. Jennings and Pedroia competed for the shortstop position. Ultimately, Pedroia stayed at shortstop, while Jennings ended up at second base before transferring to the University of Washington, where he set numerous record in homeruns and stolen bases. In three years at ASU, Pedroia never hit below .347, and had a career average of .384, starting all 185 games. Furthermore, to help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship.^[3] He was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player; other winners have included Ike Davis, Willie Bloomquist, Paul Lo Duca, and Barry Bonds.^[4]

Minor leagues[link]

Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, with the 65th pick overall. Pedroia, the eighth shortstop drafted, received a $575,000 signing bonus.^[3]

In two years in the minors (2004–06), Pedroia batted .308 while playing second base and shortstop.

Major leagues[link]

2007 season[link]

Pedroia became the regular second baseman for the Red Sox in 2007 replacing Mark Loretta. His defense in 2007 was solid, with six errors and a fielding percentage of .990. Early in the season, though, his batting average was as low as .172 (on May 1); that average, combined with the hitting of teammate Alex Cora, hitting .316 through the end of May, left Pedroia in a platoon role. Pedroia's batting improved quickly, however: by June 18, his average was .322, aided by a 13-game hitting streak, and a five-hit game against the San Francisco Giants on June 15, 2007. Because of that production, he was named American League Player of the Week for May 28 – June 3, 2007, and AL Rookie of the Month for May 2007.^[5] His most notable play of the season, though, may have been a diving stop in the seventh inning of fellow rookie Clay Buchholz's September 1, 2007 no-hitter.^[6]

Pedroia won the AL Rookie of the Year award,^[7] and was selected to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.^[8]

2007 American League Playoffs[link]

Pedroia entered the 2007 American League Division Series batting .317 with 8 home runs and 50 RBI in 139 regular season games with the Red Sox. In the ALDS, Pedroia struggled, getting only 2 hits in 3 games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Though Pedroia struggled in the lead-off spot for the Red Sox, Boston cruised past the Angels 3 games to 0 to advance to the American League Championship Series, where they met the Cleveland Indians.

In the ALCS, Pedroia heated up, batting .395. In the 7th game, Pedroia hit a 2-run homer into the Green Monster seats in the 7th inning and had 5 RBI. He then hit a 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th to help the Red Sox secure the series and a spot in the World Series.

In the World Series against the Colorado Rockies, Pedroia was one of two rookies (with center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury) starting for the Red Sox. These two rookies jump-started the Red Sox offense. In the Series' first at-bat, Pedroia hit the first pitch from Rockies ace Jeff Francis over the Green Monster, making him only the second player (after Baltimore's Don Buford in 1969), and the first rookie, to lead off the Series with a home run. In Game 3, with the Red Sox up 2-0, Ellsbury and Pedroia combined for 7 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBI in a 10-5 Boston win. The Red Sox won Game 4 and swept the series for their seventh World Series title. Pedroia hit .278 with 5 hits, 1 home run and 4 RBI in the Series.

2008: An MVP season[link]

Pedroia ended the season with a .326 average with 17 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. He was tied for the MLB lead in hits with 213 and led the league in doubles (54), while leading the AL in runs scored (118), making him the first player to lead all three of those categories in the same season since Cal Ripken in 1983. Pedroia came in second in the AL in batting average (.326) behind Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer (.328), fourth in the AL in total bases (322), and seventh in the AL in extra-base hits (73). His 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts helped Pedroia lead MLB in stolen base percentage (.952). With only 6 errors following the season, Pedroia won the 2008 AL MVP (the first by an American League second baseman since Nellie Fox in 1959)^[9] as well as the AL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award for second base. He is the 10th player in the history of the Red Sox to capture the AL MVP and the 8th player in AL history to win the MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger awards in the same season. Pedroia became only the third player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons joining Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard. Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) are the only players to win both awards in the same season.

2008 playoffs[link]

Pedroia was hitless through the first three games of the 2008 ALDS. His sole hit was an RBI double that drove in Jason Varitek in the 5th inning of game 4. He batted 2nd in all 4 games in the series, behind Jacoby Ellsbury. Pedroia made one of the best defensive plays of the series with a diving throw to first base to retire Vladimir Guerrero in the third inning of game 4. The Red Sox went on to win in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 again knocking the Angels out of the playoffs.

The Angels contained Pedroia in the Division Series, but in the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Pedroia was red hot. In 26 trips to the plate in the ALCS, Pedroia collected 9 hits including three home runs and a double. However, his impressive line that included a .346 batting average and .731 slugging percentage wasn't enough to propel the Red Sox into the World Series as the rest of the team struggled to a .234 batting average against the impressive Tampa pitching staff.

2009 season[link]

Pedroia bats in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles.

On December 3, 2008, Pedroia signed a six-year contract extension worth $40.5 million, in addition to a team option for 2015 worth $11 million.^[10] Pedroia announced on December 15, 2008 that he would play for the United States team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

He also recorded the first Major League hit in Citi Field history when he hit a bloop double down the right field line in an April 3 exhibition game against the New York Mets. He hit a home run in his first at bat of the 2009 season. Pedroia was selected to the 2009 All Star Game on July 5.

Pedroia was selected to be the starting second baseman for the 2009 AL All Star Team. The weekend prior to the game, however, he withdrew from the team. Pedroia stated that he wanted to stay with his wife, Kelli, who was experiencing pregnancy complications with the couple's first child. The same issue had caused him to miss a regular season game prior to the All Star break.

Pedroia achieved his first multi-home run game on September 9, 2009, against the Baltimore Orioles.

For the second consecutive year, Pedroia led the American League in Runs Scored with 115 (2nd in MLB behind Albert Pujols who had 124 runs scored). He finished third in the AL / MLB with 48 doubles.

2010 season[link]

After MLB umpire Joe West made controversial statements regarding the speed of play between the Red Sox and Yankees, Pedroia responded by saying, "What he doesn't understand is that when we don't do well in these games against the Yankees, we get killed. If he doesn't want to do Red Sox and Yankee games, he should tell the umpires' union. Then when we're in the World Series, he'll be out of that assignment, too."^[11]

On June 24, 2010, Pedroia went 5 for 5, with 5 RBI, and hit three home runs in a game against the Colorado Rockies that the Red Sox won, 13–11, in the tenth inning.^[12] The next day, Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot in an at-bat versus the San Francisco Giants. MRI results the next day confirmed that he had a broken bone in his foot, and later was placed on the 15-Day Disabled List. Pedroia was so concerned about his fielding skills getting rusty (he was on doctors' orders not to put weight on his foot for two weeks) that he practiced fielding ground balls on his knees.^[13] On July 4, 2010, Pedroia was named to be a reserve player on the American League All Star team, but did not participate due to this injury, and had former Arizona State teammate Ian Kinsler replace him on the roster.

Pedroia returned to the lineup on August 17 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, only to be put back on the DL after playing 2 games.

2011 season[link]

On June 29, 2011, Pedroia started a 25 game hitting streak, the most for a Boston Red Sox second baseman.^[14] On August 16, 2011, Pedroia was involved in throwing a triple play, started by Jed Lowrie. He won a Fielding Bible Award in 2011 as the best fielding second baseman in MLB.^[15]

Controversies[link]

In an interview given to Boston, Pedroia criticized his home town of Woodland, California, calling it a "dump" and a city which never embraced him.^[16] This generated backlash from his hometown and his family received death threats.^[17] Pedroia later clarified his comments saying he was only joking and his comments were taken out of context.^[18]

Awards and distinctions[link]

• 2004 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
• 2004 First-Team Baseball America and USA Today All-American
• 2003 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year
• 2003 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year
• Red Sox ML Base Runner of the Month (April 2005)
• Red Sox Minor League "Quality Plate Appearances" Award (June 2005)
• 2005 Post-Season Eastern League All-Star
• 2005 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
• 2005 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 – No. 45
• 2006 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 – No. 23
• 2007 American League Rookie of the Month-May
• 2007 American League Player of the Week (May 28 – June 3)
• 2007 Players Choice American League Outstanding Rookie
• 2007 World Series Champion (Boston Red Sox)
• 2007 American League Rookie of the Year
• 2008 All-Star Starter
• 2008 AL Gold Glove Winner
• 2008 AL Silver Slugger award
• 2008 American League Most Valuable Player Award
• 2009 AL All-Star Starter
• 2010 AL All-Star Reserve
• 2011 Fielding Bible Award
• 2011 AL Gold Glove Winner

Personal life[link]

Pedroia is of Portuguese and Swiss (Maggia) heritage. Pedroia is the nephew of Eastern Michigan University defensive coordinator Phil Snow.^[3]

On January 9, 2009, Pedroia was named as the cover athlete of the baseball video game MLB 09: The Show, and appeared in several commercials for the game.

On August 18, 2009 Dustin's wife Kelli gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy named Dylan.^[19]

Dustin Pedroia is a fan of the NBA team, the Sacramento Kings, and NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Verducci, Tom (August 15, 2011). "The Muddy Chicken Hits It Big: Loud swing, louder mouth, even louder results: That's the story of Dustin Pedroia writ small. In a lineup of stars, nobody has played a larger role in the success of the Red Sox—or inspired better nicknames—than their 5' 8" second baseman". Sports Illustrated. p. 29. 

Born to Play: My Life in the Game by Dustin Pedroia with Edward J. Pelaney

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dustin Pedroia

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Minor League Splits and Situational Stats
• No. 45 – MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 – Minor League News – Situational Stats
• No. 23 – MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 – Minor League News