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Dan Le Batard Rehires Chris Cote Personally To Keep Him On Air

“Le Batard and the rest of the show made sure to thank the listening audience for their support as complaints have been sent to ESPN by this decision.”

Ricky Keeler

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Last week, the producer of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,  Chris Cote, announced that he was being laid off at ESPN. Today, on The Big SueyLe Batard addressed the situation with the local listeners and shared the pain that the people on the show have been feeling since the news. 

Amidst the pain that was felt at the beginning of the podcast, Le Batard told the audience that the crew had been trying to come up with a way to keep Cote on staff and with creativity involved, they were able to come up with a way to make it happen.

“I’m actually happy to report that I am going to hire Chris Cote as my personal assistant with a raise to fill the role vacated by Allyson Turner,” the host said. “I will cover the raise, the entire thing. It means that Chris Cote is still going to be on the show”

When the crew wondered if that move could happen, Le Batard took a shot at ESPN since the show has since moved solely to ESPN+ this week.  

“Since we are on ESPN+, I am not sure anyone is going to notice for 6 weeks. It’s going to be so confusing. This is a big sprawling corporation. The people who see us don’t understand what we do. We missed our big unveiling at ESPN+ because we were so wounded by all of this.”

Before the exciting news, Le Batard made it clear that he felt that ESPN had blindsided him by not having him be involved with the company’s decision. He understood that the recent layoffs have affected everyone, but it felt personal to him. 

“Chris Cote, we were blindsided by him being let go. It’s the greatest disrespect of my professional career that I got no notice. I would have loved to work something out if somebody had told me to protect him because anyone who knows, Stugotz, what we do around here understands that we are a family. 

“This time at the company has been horrible. So many people have been affected. We have been affected far less than anyone else…No matter how hurt I am about this, I very much understand that this is the product of a very dangerous and brutal time for the company. The part that makes it so hurtful to me is that you blindsided me”

The executive producer of the show, Mike Ryan Ruiz, mentioned how this isn’t the first time their show has dealt with ESPN layoffs and they feel the network is trying to change them, which adds to the frustration in their mind that the company doesn’t see why people like the show.

“You see the writing on the wall. The show is shrinking. We are now on ESPN+.” 

On the podcast, Cote made an appearance and talked about how his dad, Greg, had him on his podcast to talk about the layoff and let’s just say Chris was not too happy about that, but he was thankful for the support shown by the crew and the fans. He even mentioned he got a call from Tim Kurkjian. 

“My dad is the worst. He for sure made this weekend worse and more stressful for me. That’s just a fact. I’m so moved right now by the support from you guys and the rare, terrifying heartwarming weekend. I am so grateful for everything.”

Le Batard and the rest of the show made sure to thank the listening audience for their support as complaints have been sent to ESPN by this decision.

“I just want to tell the audience how grateful we are for your outpouring that has inundated and continues to inundate ESPN to explain to them that you don’t understand that this is a family. You don’t understand what Chris Cote meant to our entire group…The part that I was stunned by is that it is a producer on a radio show and ESPN has never been flooded with more complaints by anything they have done than this.” 

As the cast mentioned numerous times, the family aspect of The Dan Le Batard Show is what makes it unique. It was a great act by Le Batard to keep the show family together and a producer that people enjoy listening to employed. 

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Sports Radio News

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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Sports Radio News

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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Sports Radio News

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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