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Under The Radar – December 20, 2016

Jason Barrett

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The holidays are approaching, which means a slower news cycle awaits us. As a result, Under The Radar will go on hiatus until the new year. Sports media brands and employees who have news to share during the next two weeks can still send information along via email to [email protected]. If it’s urgent, please include that in the subject title.

In the meantime, here are a few stories that you might have missed.

670 The Score in Chicago has elevated Rick Camp to full time content producer. As part of his daily responsibilities, Camp will be working with Mully and Hanley, and Spiegel and Goff. Camp recently celebrated his five year anniversary at The Score.

Houston sports radio veteran Robert Henslee has been let go from Sports Radio 610 KILT after the station recently elected to eliminate its morning and afternoon headlines packages. Henslee will continue working as the network engineer on Texans radio broadcasts, but is looking for a full time opportunity. He’s spent the past 24 years working in Houston radio. 8 of those years were with KILT. The other 16 were at KTRH 740 AM.

Longtime talk show host Gerry Vaillancourt is out at News Talk 99.5 WRNO in New Orleans. The station is inserting “Walton and Johnson” into the morning slot which had been previously occupied by Vaillancourt. Gerry V, as he’s known to his audience, moved to New Orleans from Charlotte when the Hornets switched cities and became the Pelicans in 2002. He served as the team’s color analyst on radio broadcasts for twenty two years before being let go in 2012. Prior to relocating to New Orleans Vaillancourt spent a decade hosting in Charlotte on WCNT, WFNZ, and WBT.

Congratulations is in order for Joe Bell, who was recently named the new market manager for Beasley Broadcasting in Philadelphia. One of the sports radio brands which Bell will oversee is 97.5 The Fanatic. The station is programmed by Matt Nahigian. Bell is no stranger to working with successful sports radio brands. He oversaw WQAM in Miami for 10 years during a period of time when the station was under Beasley’s control. CBS acquired WQAM in 2015.

1010XL, the flagship radio station for the Jacksonville Jaguars, has hired Hays Carlyon as its Jaguars beat reporter. Carlyon most recently covered the Jaguars for the Florida Times-Union. She’s expected to cover the team across the radio station and its digital platforms, and contribute to the afternoon drive show with Frank Frangie.

Is former UFC fighter turned analyst Chael Sonnen blowing smoke or do his latest comments contain some degree of truth? During a recent podcast interview, Sonnen hinted that Jim Rome could be in play as the future lead announcer for UFC broadcasts, replacing Mike Goldberg alongside Joe Rogan. The UFC and Rome have yet to comment on the story.

ESPN has signed MMA analyst Brett Okamoto to a new contract. Okamoto, will continue as a breaking news reporter, feature writer and analyst, host of 5ive Rounds, ESPN’s weekly MMA-centric podcast, and a one-on-one interviewer, for MMA content across linear and digital platforms. He’s been a member of ESPN since 2010.

Former WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic on-air host Brian Startare has changed career paths and is now working as a multi-media account executive for Philly.com, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Startare started his new job in November.

WEEU morning host Mike Keller has been named the new in-arena host of the Reading Royals minor league hockey team. Keller makes his debut this Wednesday, December 21st.

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Jason Puckett Launches PuckSports.com

“I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

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Logo for PuckSports.com

Jason Puckett, who decided to walk away from a contract offer from iHeartMedia’s KJR in Seattle after finding out his partner Jim Moore had been laid off, has launched a new venture – PuckSports.com. ‘Puck’ has a baseball opening day show posted on the Puck Sports YouTube page and also posted an introductory message about his new venture and what led to creating it.

“I wanted to talk to you guys, the listeners out there, the viewers out there, sorry for all of this,” an emotional Puckett said. “Sorry for what has happened and what has taken place. Thank you for all of the comments and the well-wishes and what you have said about myself and Jim.

“It has been a whirlwind of a last few days, for sure and I do want to say that I feel for the people that we used to work with. “I know it’s not easy to go through that, I have been on that side of it many, many times in this industry when someone is let go and you have to sit there and answer all the questions about them and for them…It’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be that way, but the reality of this business is it’s like that.”

Puckett then told his fans that PuckSports.com and YouTube are where you will be finding his content along with Moore. “I am going to take what I have learned over the years and apply it to a new age of media,” he said and noted this was a direction he had been thinking about for a while.

As for what took place that led to his decision to not sign his contract and talk away, he said, “I just want to take you briefly back to last week. I don’t want to get too much in the weeds, I’m not here to lay any blame or point any fingers at anybody…there’s too many good people that I have worked with that I don’t want to drag into this. It was a process that was at times handled fine, handled perfectly, and at other times it got to a point where it just went on too long. But that’s corporate media and that’s what happens.”

Continuing on Puckett said, “…I had been without a contract since about January…when I was away from the station that was something that we and the station agreed upon…to see if we could get something done and we were all hopeful that we would…I was only supposed to be gone a couple of days…unfortunately as these things sometimes happen, it just went a little bit longer…We received the deal and it was what we wanted, but unfortunately with that news a few hours later came the news from corporate that Jim had lost his job. Obviously there was a mix of emotions with that from me.

“I wrestled with that and the decision and what I would do. It was hard for me to move forward…I couldn’t fight the perception more than anything that I had received a new deal while at the same time, my partner and good friend, guy I love to death, who I grew up reading…it was a hard reality…The loyalty I have, I couldn’t live with myself even though Jim knew what the truth was.”

Puckett said he was aware Moore was planning to step away from the radio show at the end of the year and was looking forward to the nine months they would have left to work with one another. Then, when iHeartMedia made the decision to make Moore a casualty of their latest round of layoffs, Puckett knew he needed to revisit the idea of starting his own venture.

He said, “It has kind of changed my timeline as far as what I wanted to do and where I felt I was at…I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

Puckett said several of the show’s regular guests would stay with the show and he thanked several sponsors who he said would remain supporters of the show with the new venture. ‘Puck’ noted that starting next week, “…We get underway in full force…I’m going to continue to try and make people laugh and entertain you and talk about sports…and all of the other things you have become accustomed to with this show.”

As he started to wrap up, Puckett said, “I’m jumping into the deep end of the pool and I am going to see if I can swim or sink.”

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Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”

“It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful.”

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Photos of Kirk Minihane and Rich Shertenlieb

As the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”

On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.

“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”

Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”

WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.

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Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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