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Travis Demers Isn’t Used To Everything Being So Quiet

“This is an international pandemic and not only is the distraction gone for a week or two or three, we have no idea when we’re going to get that distraction back and we’re going to get that entertainment back.”

Brian Noe

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Travis Demers became the full-time radio play-by-play voice of the Portland Trail Blazers at the beginning of the 2019-20 NBA season. The mother of all unforeseen circumstances caused the NBA to suspend its season on March 11 – a global pandemic. The impact of the coronavirus has been felt by the NBA as a whole — including broadcasters like Travis.

It’s a unique time for Travis to navigate through the hiatus as he has a two-year-old boy named Lincoln and another son due on July 3. While increased family time is enjoyable, Travis describes his helpless feeling in the work world. I’ve seen firsthand how Travis prepares and puts in the work. Any worker is going to feel strange while not being allowed to contribute like normal.

Travis Demers, Trail Blazers' New Radio Announcer, Has Paid His ...

In addition to his play-by-play duties, Travis also hosts a weekday radio show from 3-6pm on 620 Rip City Radio. COVID-19 has affected Travis’ broadcasting schedule, which in turn impacts his current talk show responsibilities with co-host Chad Doing. One of the most interesting parts of this piece is when Travis details a feeling of guilt he experiences occasionally. It’s a strange time in the world at large. The same can be said about the sports world. Enjoy.

Brian Noe: How would you describe the impact that the pandemic has had on you professionally?

Travis Demers: I’ve never really had a situation where I wasn’t working. Even when I got laid off from another radio station — I was out of work officially for about 10 months — I was still working. I still found plenty of other things to do. Yeah, I’m still working and doing the radio show at home but this is really unusual. I’ve never had a situation before where I felt helpless and I felt like there’s not a whole lot I can do.

I know a lot of other people are in this boat right now but for me it’s an unusual, quiet feeling of and almost helplessness in the work world. In terms of my home life it’s an opportunity to spend time with my wife and my son that I normally otherwise wouldn’t have, especially traveling and being on the road working as much as I do. I don’t know if and when I’m ever going to get this opportunity again to spend the time with my family so I’m making the most of it.

BN: That feeling of being helpless — has that caused you to approach your show differently at all?

TD: I don’t think it’s changed how I approach the show that much. The big difference is with not a lot of sports to talk about right now, we’re forced to come up with other things so it leads to more creativity. It leads to more reflection whether it be on past things in sports, favorite moments, trying to find a way to help the community and just having more fun. I’ve always been a little bit more uptight just in general than I’d like to be. I think in a lot of ways this has helped loosen me up because there’s no reason to be uptight right now.

BN: Outside of the obvious — not calling Blazers games — how does your schedule differ now due to the pandemic?

TD: The big difference obviously is just being at home. I’m much more involved in the family life now. Usually if it was a show day I would go in around 11 for a three o’clock show. Now I’m getting up and helping with my son. We have breakfast. We’ll watch a movie. We’ll go outside. I’ll put him down for a nap and then I’ll call Chad. We’ll get things set up for the show instead of doing that in studio and going in a couple of hours earlier.

On a game day I’m not doing prep at home. Usually I spend probably about a total of four hours of prep time per game, maybe a little bit more than that depending on the game. But I’m not doing that from home. Before when I was home I was still doing quite a bit of work in addition to when I was gone. Now there’s really not much work to do at home. When I’m home and when I’m with my family that time is focused on them.

Travis Demers (@travisdemers) | Twitter


BN: NBA players might have a tough time ramping up to play games after months off at home. On a broadcasting scale, is there some ramp-up time needed for you to get back into peak form?

TD: I’m sure there is. I’m sure there’s always going to be a little bit of rust. The first preseason game you feel like there’s a little bit of rust you want to shake off. In some ways the preseason is time for the broadcaster as much as it is for the players to get back into a rhythm. For guys who have been doing it for 10-20 years, I’m sure that turnaround time is a little bit less. But for me in my first full season after doing about half the year last year, yeah there’s a little bit of a warm-up time. Hopefully not more than just a couple of minutes or a quarter but I would imagine yeah it might take a little while.

BN: Are you doing the Joe Buck thing where you’re commentating about random things around the house?

TD: In my house, yeah. I’m not taking user submissions. I think Joe Buck proved why that’s probably not the best idea for everybody. But for me yeah I’m just doing it around the house especially with my son playing basketball, playing with his toys, and mostly that kind of stuff. I’ll do it for my wife a little bit when she’s making dinner and give her a good call when she makes a good meal. There’s definitely a little bit of that going on in the house.

BN: How do you think that first game back will feel for you when it eventually does happen?

TD: It’s tough to say because I don’t know what the situation is going to be. Is it going to be a playoff situation? Is it going to be a regular season situation? Will there be fans in the stands? Will it be the beginning of next year? Will it be sometime we pick it up this season? I think all of that plays into it.

If it is this year, do you have to pick up where you left off? If it’s next year how do you put into perspective that last year was cut short and now you’re starting new. Everybody’s going to have a different, unusual feel to a season that ended so abruptly. It’ll be different. There’s no question it’ll be different. I just don’t know exactly how different and I’m not going to know until I sit in that chair.

BN: There are some radio stations that are doing virtual games on PlayStation. It’s been mostly a baseball thing, but do you think something could work along those lines for basketball?

TD: Well we’re seeing it on TV. The NBA has this tournament with 16 players and they’re playing NBA 2K. It’s airing on ESPN. I think it’s a really cool idea because now you’re getting competition. It gives fans something to watch. It gives fans somebody to cheer for. Here in Portland, Blazers fans were cheering for Hassan Whiteside in his first-round matchup with Patrick Beverley. Unfortunately he lost, but even for a little while, it gave fans an opportunity to cheer for one of their own guys.

I think in the same context of fans looking for something to cheer for we’re watching all of these old games — the Blazers have been running a lot of them, MLB Network, NFL Network, the other night I was flipping between Super Bowl XLVII and Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. It was awesome. But watching in the ninth inning when the Twins had runners on first and second and nobody out, I knew the game went 10 innings so the drama wasn’t quite there. I think fans and people are looking for some kind of drama whether that’s on the radio or TV. I think something like that absolutely could work.

BN: Maybe that’s why marble races are popular. [Laughs]

In this time of no live sports, marble racing has become all the ...

TD: It’s something, man. People who have a serious gambling problem that look for really obscure things to bet on because they need their fix — it’s very similar.

BN: Would you enjoy a classic game if you were listening to yourself on the call?

TD: Yes and no. I would enjoy the moment. A lot of things would come back. I’ve watched some of the classic games that I’ve had a chance to call. I wasn’t on the TV call so I watched the national TV call of the four-overtime game between the Blazers and Nuggets. All of these memories keep rushing back. I’m my own biggest critic. I think if I were to watch myself in that moment call that game, I’d be picking apart everything that I had said. I could have done that better. I could have done this better. I guess I would use it more as a learning experience than just be able to sit back and enjoy it.

BN: Have you enjoyed being more present on your talk show or is there a void without play-by-play?

TD: I’m definitely enjoying it because it’s not like the games are still going on and I’m not getting to call them. Being able to be present — Chad and I have worked really hard on our show together. Being gone so often over the course of the season I feel out of touch. I feel like I’m out of the loop. Chad’s done a great job in my absence and there’s a reason why he’s in that spot. But it’s nice to be back in the mix and in the groove again every day. It can feel like it’s our show and I’m not just a guest on the program that Chad’s been working hard for. It has been good and I have enjoyed it.

BN: When you’re on the road doing Blazers games instead of your talk show, is it a feeling of guilt that you have?

TD: There is guilt. Yeah, because I feel like I’m not being there to help out my partner. Chad has been great and has done everything he can to not make me feel guilty about it, but at the same time it’s like hey, I’m on a 10-day road trip and I’m not doing my job so you’re left to pick up 100 percent of the slack. There is some guilt there.

Before Chad showed up I was doing that show by myself, so I’ve had to give up complete control. That was difficult to do at first. Now I’m just kind of going along with his program. It took me a while to accept that, but given how often I’ve been gone, sometimes I don’t feel like it’s right for me to challenge him on something or to say this or that because he’s the one that’s putting in the work every single day and I’m not.

BN: I hear you. Now that you’re back you can’t hit him with, “I don’t want to do that topic.” You’d feel bad for saying something like that, right?

TD: Yeah, exactly. It’s weird because your name is on the show and it just doesn’t feel like it’s my show sometimes. And that’s okay. That’s what it is, but Chad deserves a lot of credit because he has gone out of his way to make sure that I don’t feel that way.

BN: What does no Blazers basketball at this time mean to Portland as a community?

TD: The Blazers are Portland’s team. The Blazers are Oregon’s team. College sports are different. The MLS is different. The Blazers have been around for 50 years. That’s the team that people around here relate to and identify with. This time of year we should be in the stretch run getting ready for the playoffs. To have no sports and to not have your team that you’re used to either watching on TV, or going to the games, or making sure you plan your schedule around, for a lot of people there’s a sense of absence. There’s a sense of something missing. There’s a hole. I’ve talked to fans and I’ve read some things on social media from fans that there’s just a void right now. There’s no distraction.

Over the course of history there have been a lot of tragic things. There’s been a lot of terrible things for individual people that have things going on in their lives that are tough whether it be the loss of a family member or something like that, sports has always been a distraction. It’s always been there. This is really the only time in modern history that there is no distraction. There are no sports.

I think people now a few weeks into it have kind of gotten used to it but that void is still there. I remember living in New York on 9/11 and the NFL games were canceled that weekend. Major League Baseball was on hiatus for a little while, but it came back relatively quickly within a week or so.

That was a national tragedy. This is an international pandemic and not only is the distraction gone for a week or two or three, we have no idea when we’re going to get that distraction back and we’re going to get that entertainment back. There’s just a big void in that context.  

BN: They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you apply that to the sports world, what do you think the reaction is going to be like once sports are back?

Pamplin Media Group - What now for the Trail Blazers?

TD: I think in some ways it’ll make us appreciate things more. I would imagine the first game back for every team across America is going to be sold out regardless of the sport; especially if you have the NBA and NHL canceled the way that college sports have been. The next time the season rolls around, or if they do play later on in the summer, I’d imagine every single arena across the NBA is going to be packed.

I don’t know how long it’s going to last though because those warm feelings don’t last for a long time, but they’re there and they’re special and it makes people come together. That first couple of games, that first week, that first month, it’s going to be — in whatever arena — an incredible atmosphere. I can’t wait to see that. I can’t wait to experience that. Portland is a great atmosphere as it is, so just imagine that being notched up a few levels when people really appreciate what they didn’t have when it comes back.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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Andrew Salciunas Aims to Thrive in Morning Drive on 97.5 The Fanatic

“We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing.”

Derek Futterman

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Andrew Salciunas
Courtesy: Beasley Media Group

When 97.5 The Fanatic midday host Anthony Gargano agreed to a deal to contribute to PHLY Sports, a local digital venture within ALLCITY Network, he was promptly suspended by Beasley Media Group and subsequently sued for breach of contract. Although the two sides eventually reached a settlement and officially parted ways, the future of the daypart was still in question. In the interim time period, the station granted Andrew Salciunas the opportunity to lead a four-hour solo program with producer Ray Dunne. Salciunas had served as Gargano’s producer in the midday slot and still has a strong relationship with the sports media personality today despite no longer working together.

The onerous aspect of the situation, however, was in recognizing that Salciunas was being afforded a chance to prove himself as a host in the marketplace. In the past, he had filled in when Gargano took vacations, but it was not for an extended period of time. Although he was familiar with the flow of a midday program, achieving a successful, yet sudden assimilation into a regular timeslot without a partner was an invigorating circumstance.

“I knew that it was going to be a learning experience because it’s one thing to host a show on Saturday or it’s one thing to host a weekly podcast and you have a week’s worth of content at your disposal,” Salciunas said. “It’s another thing to [be] hosting every single day and needing to come up with new ideas and new angles and new twists on things, so it was a challenge knowing that I was going to have to do that for however long the process was going to be.”

Salciunas received help from program director Scott Masteller, a sports radio veteran who has helped elevate brands and nurture budding talent. Several months later, Masteller asked Salciunas how he would feel about working with morning program host John Kincade. Salciunas replied by saying that it was something he would be interested in doing, and he later added that he already wakes up early and could easily work in morning drive. Salciunas was somewhat nonplussed when he discovered that Masteller’s intention was to have him anchor the program rather than Kincade, who has been hosting in the daypart since January 2021.

In the weeks and months ensuing, Salciunas and Kincade were involved in meetings to plan the new program, which officially made its debut on 97.5 The Fanatic last week and is titled Kincade & Salciunas. Both hosts knew about the program for roughly two months, and Salciunas is surprised that it was kept a secret for as long as it was. Outside of their scheduled meetings, Salciunas was able to speak with Kincade between their shows since they occurred after the other as well. From the onset, he wanted to make his thoughts about the program clear to ensure a smooth transition amid a quest to inform and entertain the audience.

“The first thing I told John when they told us that this was the plan moving forward was that, ‘This is going to be our show,’” Salciunas recalled. “Yes, I might be the guy running the ins and outs out of commercial breaks. I’m the guy that brings on the guests; I’m the guy that brings on the callers, but this is our show. We both have ideas, we’re both passionate about Philadelphia sports teams, we’re both high-energy people, we’re both opinionated and we’re also respectful of each other.”

While there is natural disagreement between Salciunas and Kincade on a variety of sports topics, they make sure not to fabricate their discussions and engender debate for the sake of the show. Instead of feigning their contrarian discourse, there is a legitimate willingness to be genuine with their audience while continuing to put radio first. Salciunas, Kincade and show producer Connor Thomas all contribute ideas for the program to appeal to the audience and continue building the show as a whole. Thomas also had familiarity in working with Kincade since he served as an associate producer on his previous morning program.

“I’m not a former journalist; he’s not a former professional athlete,” Salciunas said. “We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing. Even though our opinions might differ on sports-related stuff, we see doing radio in a similar way.”

Upon Kincade officially joining 97.5 The Fanatic, he demonstrated his magnanimity and commitment to his colleagues by offering to take all of them out to lunch individually to learn more about them. It was a gesture that surprised Salciunas and something that stuck with him, ultimately helping familiarize themselves with one another and subsequently creating a viable on-air product.

“He’s one of those guys who likes getting to know people, and I think that’s helped a lot,” Salciunas said. “We already had that sort of knowledge of one another [and] we already had that relationship, and because we’re just both so bought in and both so hungry, that’s made it so much easier that we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the show work.”

Before arriving at 97.5 The Fanatic, Kincade had worked at sports radio both at the local and national levels while also hosting a podcast with Hall of Fame center and Inside the NBA studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal. Bringing him back to his home marketplace and realizing success in the morning daypart was valuable as the sports media ecosystem underwent stretches of change. Transitioning to the new morning show iteration without colleagues Bob Cooney and Pat Egan presented its challenges, but Salciunas has had no qualms that Kincade was invested to win. As a result, the transition has been relatively simple in terms of building palpable chemistry among the on-air team.

“He believes in anybody that he works with,” Salciunas said of Kincade, “and knowing that somebody has worked that long as long as he has in sports radio that he values the young person’s opinion, not just in sports but in terms of radio, that goes a long way.”

There is constant communication between the morning show team leading up to a program outside of typical pre-show meetings and twice-weekly conversations with their boss. Salciunas arrives at the station well before the start of the program and compiles ideas from the previous day into a document, along with ideas from others that come during their commutes. Additionally, they continuously monitor the news cycle and determine what to address on the air while also interviewing special guests throughout the week.

Effectuating a fully prepared show rundown by 6 a.m. EST has been marginally difficult, along with the fact that it can be difficult to book guests on short notice before sunrise. Because of this, the program frequently outlines its guests early in the week and makes adjustments as necessary while maintaining fealty towards conveying their true, authentic personalities.

“I’m a little bit more energetic on the radio because I understand the entertainment portion of doing what we do and having to properly express myself,” Salciunas said. “I’m probably not going to scream at a bar, but when I converse with callers; when I converse with John [or] producers… that’s who I am as a person. There’s just a microphone in front of me.”

When he first started working at 97.5 The Fanatic as an intern, Salciunas did not have a goal of eventually becoming an on-air talent. He was content with his role as a producer, which was borne out of an internship where he worked with Jon Marks and Steve Vassalotti. Both station members served as mentors that he utilized to gain information and advice, a fortuitous outcome after Salciunas impetuously applied for the opening.

While Salciunas was matriculating at Temple University, he needed at least three internship credits in order to qualify for graduation. Reflecting back on his education days, he does not regard himself as the best student and recognized that he needed to intern with the radio station to set himself apart. Honing his focus in sports media took time since he had varied interests in areas such as reporting, podcasting and play-by-play announcing, but he ultimately gravitated towards the sports radio format during his time in Philadelphia.

Salciunas made a favorable impression on those with 97.5 The Fanatic and ended up being hired as an associate producer where he learned more about the format and its programming. Eric Camille, a former executive producer at the station, is someone Salciunas regards as seminal to his professional development.

“He was the guy that hired me out of my internship, and then once I started working, he really helped me,” Salciunas said. “He kind of took me under his wing and helped me out a lot.”

Once Salciunas was hired as a full-time producer, he began to work with Mike Missanelli on his midday program, providing an invaluable learning experience to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the sports media industry. As a veteran host who has captivated Philadelphia sports fans and media consumers at large, Salciunas noticed that collaborating on Missanelli’s program was a different experience than the other shows he had done. Whereas a morning drive show is oftentimes one of the first points of reaction on a given day, Missanelli knew that he would need to approach his daypart differently and adopted a paradigmatic style implementing second-level topics.

“It’s not just going on the air and reacting to an Eagles loss,” Salciunas explained. “It’s reacting to a storyline within an Eagles loss or reacting to a storyline within an Eagles win that may generate conversation. Trying to figure out topics that generate conversation but are not just the, ‘Oh wow, I’m angry they lost today,’ and give out the phone number. It’s [trying] to find topics that make people think and make yourself think and make the audience think.”

When Missanelli left the station, Salciunas began his stint working with Anthony Gargano where he began occasionally hosting select programs. The rationale behind his decision to go behind the microphone was that when the Eagles won a Super Bowl championship, the station needed someone to host from 2 to 5 a.m. Salciunas decided to volunteer for the program, presuming that it sounded fun. From that shift on, he continued his work as a producer while also refining his craft behind the microphone in a major market. It deviated from a philosophy perpetuated by former program director Matt Nahigian of limiting the amount of time producers were on the air, assuming that consumers listened to hear the hosts.

“Now you have to be a producer,” Salciunas affirmed. “You look at both radio stations in Philadelphia – a lot of the hosts now were former producers, and so you learn so much of the craft and then you figure out your own role. You figure out how you handle yourself as a host, so I think producing first before becoming a talk show host should be the way to go moving forward.”

Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 The Fanatic shares the Philadelphia marketplace with Audacy-owned SportsRadio 94WIP, and both stations have had intense battles in the ratings over the years. Salciunas shared that most people between the two stations have worked with their competitors at some point in their careers, and there is an evident respect that exists between the two entities. With both outlets introducing new morning shows within the last two years though, Salciunas understands there is a chance to gain ground on the WIP Morning Show, which finished ahead in the four Nielsen XTrends quarterly ratings books last year.

“Clearly if somebody’s behind a microphone in Philadelphia, everybody’s talented, and we’re going to do whatever we can to try to bridge that gap a little bit, and we’re seeing some good strides already,” Salciunas said. “I think having a new show is a big part of that trying to grab that initial audience, but then it’s holding on to that initial audience.”

Being able to achieve this outcome, however, requires a commitment to showcasing talent and different personalities. Salciunas referenced how there was a point in John Kincade’s stint hosting mornings in the daypart’s previous iteration where he gained ground on his crosstown competitor Angelo Cataldi with WIP. Kincade, of course, used to work with Cataldi’s show as a contributor and received a chance to take the air while with the outlet.

“I’ve seen the turn of tides of ratings over the years for every show [and] every time slot, so there’s always an opportunity, but that means we always have to be on our game; that means we always have to be doing the best show possible,” Salciunas said. “We can’t go in the next day and say, ‘Wow, that show was really good yesterday. Let’s have some fun today; let’s make this a lighthearted show.’ No, we always have to be thinking about, ‘Alright, what can we do next to put on another great entertaining four-hour radio show?’”

Over the last several years, there have been several leadership changes at 97.5 The Fanatic responsible for overseeing the slate of programming and station operations. Scott Masteller currently leads the outlet, someone in whom Salciunas has confidence that he can continue to elevate the standing of the station. In his earlier years working with 97.5 The Fanatic, Salciunas had an innovative spirit but was discouraged from taking steps to align with the multimedia evolution. For example, when he offered to do a podcast several years ago, someone at the station questioned his judgment and the reasoning behind the idea.

“I was told by someone, ‘What’s the point in doing that? We’re a radio station,’ and I knew back then that that was a mistake to say,” Salciunas explained. “You shouldn’t say, ‘We’re a radio station;’ that was years ago, so seeing that bosses and market managers and hosts and producers all realizing, ‘Alright, we have to adapt,’ that excites me.”

Possessing the background as a producer lends shrewd and calculated judgment on how to include members of the audience into the program. While there are still open phone lines for callers to chime in, the program has introduced a text line and also engages with the audience through the live chat functionality of YouTube. Having Thomas as a producer of the show has helped in this area as well, with Salciunas sharing that he has a strong understanding of how to create and optimize content for various platforms of dissemination.

“We have a great YouTube audience where they basically have their own community all of a sudden,” Salciunas said. “They’re constantly talking about the show, and sometimes we grab what they’re saying on that YouTube feed because that’s another area of today’s new media where you have another avenue to communicate with people.”

As Salciunas grows accustomed to the early start on 97.5 The Fanatic and his new colleagues in morning drive, he is filled with enthusiasm and the prospect of possibility. The radio station has been the only outlet by which he has been employed since the start of his media career, and he hopes to work there for as long as possible. National radio and television intrigue him going forward, but his priority centers on thriving in the new role.

“I want to try to get 97.5 The Fanatic – because it starts in the morning – back up in the map; back in the top five of the ratings books – and that’s going to take some time,” Salciunas said. “We’re a new show – we’re going to have to figure each other out.”

Salciunas expressed that the last year-and-a-half has been “hectic” in the midday daypart, but there has also been excitement surrounding the ephemerality as well. Taking the microphone in a major market with a dedicated sports fanbase such as Philadelphia is a privilege he does not take for granted, and he aspires to continue excelling in the marketplace for years to come.

“I just started, so I’m not thinking about the next step just yet,” Salciunas said. “I want this to last for a long time – for a very long time. If I never have to leave, that would be great.”

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An Ode to the Heart and Soul of Barstool Sports — Frank The Tank

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right.

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A photo of Frank the Tank
(Photo: Barstool Sports)

I’ve written in this space in the past that Barstool Sports is often an enigma to me. Outside of some of the brand’s major stars — like Dave Portnoy, Big Cat, PFT, and Kevin Clancy — I struggle to figure out just who does what at the outlet. But there’s one role I don’t question, and that’s the role of Frank The Tank.

I’m a true believer in the “personality hire” theory. If you’re unaware, it’s the idea that, sometimes, you simply hire a high-energy, positive, great-personality employee who might be underqualified for a job, but will keep morale high inside the office.

And while Frank The Tank doesn’t exactly exude positivity — quite the contrary, most often — you can tell that he’s the heart and soul of the company.

If you’re uninitiated, Frank Fleming — obviously known as Frank The Tank — is an often-viral sensation that pulls off one of the most incredible feats you’ll ever see in modern-day sports media.

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right. And that, in a nutshell, is Frank The Tank.

Tank makes no bones about his feelings. Ever. If you ask a question, he’s got an answer, a strong take, and generally a well-thought-out one at that.

In fact, he was discovered by Barstool Sports for his now-infamous rant about the New Jersey Transit Commission and its “incompetence.” He shouted in anger inside a transit hub about the public transportation’s inability to properly inform passengers about updates, resulting in him missing a New York Mets game.

And yet, despite his unbridled anger, you can’t help but sympathize and relate to the man.

Maybe Frank’s most endearing quality is his complete and utter lack of what anyone thinks about him. To sound a bit country for a moment, Frank The Tank’s give a damn is busted. He says what he thinks, when he thinks it, and doesn’t care what you think about it. But it’s never intentionally malicious. It might be harsh, but it always comes with an air of honesty rather than venom. He’s never trying to harm whoever he’s criticizing, but just believes in the age-old “Honesty is the best policy” thought process.

I’ve long enjoyed the clips of Frank, whether it was future NFL Hall of Famer J.J. Watt sharing his admiration for the digital star, or the times he’s often ambushed in the office by the outlet’s digital team to ask questions like “Who are the five most overrated athletes of all-time?”, which results in him rattling off a list you can’t believe was concocted on the spot.

Others are hopping on the bandwagon, too. Late last year, Mike Francesa was introduced to The Tank, and you could instantly see the chemistry and connection between the two. (As a side note, I can’t tell you how invested I’d be in a Mike and The Tank sports show. It’d have to be about half an hour because any longer and Francesa might strangle Frank, but it sure would make for great radio.)

Frank Fleming has turned into a content machine at Barstool Sports. The consummate underdog, Frank The Tank really burst onto the scene with his acceptance speech at the company’s award show, shouting “Never give up your dream!” and sharing the story of his previous life as a court clerk before joining the digital outlet.

But his latest content endeavor might be one of the biggest in Barstool history. Frank Fleming used to weigh over 500 pounds. But now after a walking schedule, he has dropped more than 160 pounds.

The company has turned his walks into a content series, where he converses with sports and media stars, with sponsor attachments throughout the videos. Recent walks include Mike Francesa, Scott Van Pelt, and an upcoming episode with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

I began to realize what Frank The Tank meant to Barstool Sports after one recent walk with the outlet’s founder, Dave Portnoy, who admitted he had pegged the digital star all wrong.

“It’s probably one of the most wrong things that I’ve (said). When we hired you, I put you on an innings count,” Portnoy said, inferring he didn’t want Fleming included in much visual content. “I was dead-ass wrong on that one. Gladly wrong.”

You see, Dave Portnoy admitting he’s wrong about something is about as jarring as hearing a kangaroo order an Oreo McFlurry. It just doesn’t happen. And yet, there was, admitting that even he underestimated one of his biggest stars.

And in his response to that, Fleming shared an optimism and a belief in himself.

“I just wanted to go there, get involved, and show what I can do,” Frank The Tank responded to the company’s founder.

In addition to his walks, Frank The Tank also shares videos of his culinary exploits on his personal YouTube page, which now features nearly 50,000 subscribers. Even my wife enjoys sitting down and seeing what The Tank is going to whip up on each edition of Tank Cooks.

There’s a sense of protection around Fleming from other Barstool personalities. In a company that is often maligned for how it treats each other and those who criticize the outlet, you can tell those at the digital juggernaut look out for Frank.

When his personal phone number was leaked on the internet in 2022, most other employees inside the company would have been inundated with calls and messages because others at the outlet had encouraged the harassment as a practical joke.

But when it happened to Frank, a complete onslaught of messages from bloggers and video and podcast hosts begging those to stop messaging the digital star.

And that, to me, shows the role of Frank The Tank at the often-controversial outlet. He’s rarely, if ever, controversial. He’s humble, he’s honest, he’s angry, and he’s wholesome. Frank The Tank is a virtual walking conundrum, and that alone shows why he’s the heart and soul of Barstool Sports.

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