After Suzyn Waldman completed her three-game radio “partnership” with Craig Carton, did any Yankees suits thank her for participating in what easily, for the veteran baseball analyst, could have passed for a nightmare?
More likely they patronized her. They probably told Waldman how professionally she handled her interactions with Carton (hand-picked by Yankee brass) who gleefully had tormented her for about a decade on WFAN’s morning drive show. WFAN is the Yankees radio flagship.
Did any of the suits apologize to her? Did they say they were “sorry?” Sorry for purposely putting Waldman, in her 20th season in the radio booth, in an awkward, uncomfortable, no-win situation. After all, that’s what they did. And for what?
Were they looking for the play-by-play version of a highway wreck? Radio rubbernecking? Having some “entertaining” chaos to break out in the booth? No matter how uncertain the prospects were, Waldman would not allow anyone to force her out of her booth.
Two Yankee execs, COO Lonn Trost and president Randy Levine, see Carton as a magnetic personality capable of bringing a different feel and sound to the radio booth.
And with John Sterling, a personality-driven play-by-play voice unexpectedly retiring, at least these two Bombers suits (Trost and Levine) looked to double-down on his whacky side by having Carton parachute in to the Bronx to work with Waldman for the three-game series last weekend with Texas.
Think about it. Contrast all this gratuitous broadcast jive to the backdrop of the Bombers historic Wall of Sound, featuring legendary voices like Mel Allen, Red Barber, Bill White, Curt Gowdy, Phil Rizzuto and others.
Those who listened last weekend heard Carton mostly play it straight. He did decide to deliver some double entendres, including using the word “length” to get a reaction out of Waldman. The bit fizzled out.
The broadcast didn’t.
Don’t get too excited. It’s highly unlikely Waldman and Carton will be working together anytime soon.
TURN THE DIAL
After many years of being criticized by their competition, it was WFAN honchos turn to look over the rainbow and see the good ship ESPN Radio New York sinking.
But instead of letting the vessel go down, Audacy (FAN’s parent company) threw ESPN Radio NY a giant life preserver. If that doesn’t work for you, maybe this boxing analogy will: FAN was on the verge of knocking out ESPN, but suddenly stopped throwing punches, walked back to their corner and quit.
ESPN Radio New York was just a couple of weeks away from exiting the powerful 98.7 FM (which it had leased from Emmis Communications in a 10-year deal) to provide listeners the “opportunity” of accessing audio on the ESPN NY app, the YES “Michael Kay Show” simulcast, and 1050-AM, which has as much juice as two tin cans attached by a string.
This would have put ESPN NY at a distinct disadvantage in their competition with WFAN for the ever-shrinking pot of advertising revenue.
That’s where boxing and boating comes in. Audacy suits, already navigating choppy bankruptcy, decided it would be a great idea to lease its WCBS News Radio 880-AM signal (Audacy also owns all-news 1010 WINS) to ESPN Radio NY, a Good Karma Brands audio outlet.
So, instead of being at a distinct distribution disadvantage, ESPN NY suddenly found itself saved by the bell, leasing a powerful AM signal with a wide reach across the metropolitan area, courtesy of its chief competitor.
So, the unwashed masses will still actually be able to hear Kay’s pontificating and Don La Greca’s rants on a New York radio station with a signal they can actually hear outside Manhattan.
Why would Audacy make a deal with the “devil?” Money, of course. Some bills were likely coming due that Audacy needed to pay.
So, ESPN Radio NY, will now pay Audacy somewhere between $2 million and $4 million per year in a three-year deal to lease 880-AM signal.
To show how far down the toilet the radio business has gone, ESPN NY was paying Emmis Broadcasting $10 million per to lease 98.7 FM.
BRING THE DRONES!
The brainiacs who make the technical decisions for the NFL’s TV partners hopefully are working — overtime — on how to cover the new Dynamic Kickoff.
The kickoffs we watched during exhibition games were covered by a wide-angle camera. Trouble is only three of the 22 players are moving.
Maybe there would be a sense of action if drones were used to shoot from behind the end zone, but what do I know?
Mike Pereira likely has some interest in this stuff. The rules analyst will return to Fox Sports. He took last season off to undergo back surgery.
“I’m back [like it or not]!” Pereira said.
AROUND THE DIAL
While Sam Rosen created many memories calling Rangers games on MSG, the best of times were the 20 seasons he was teamed with John Davidson (beginning in 1986). This was not just one of the premier pairings in the NHL, but in all of sports broadcasting. For Rosen, it will be something to be proud of when he walks into the sunset following the 2024-25 season. Rosen recently said he will retire at the end of what will be his 40th year. … While he often came off as a blowhard, viewers could always count on something compelling out of Robert Griffin’s mouth when he talked football on ESPN. It was perplexing that ESPN suits booted him so close to the beginning of the NFL/College Football season. Was Griffin III too outspoken? Did he offend some of the more thin-skinned members of the Bristol Faculty? They said budget considerations were the reason he got the hook. That sounds like a convenient excuse for getting rid of such a talented voice. … Phil Simms will be back with SXM’s Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo every Friday during the NFL season. Simms also will chat with SXM’s Adam Schein every other Monday during the 2024 season. … So far, HBO’s “Hard Knocks” with the Chicago Bears has been lacking wow moments. One exception was in episode one when viewers got an inside look at Nick Saban schooling, in a closed-door meeting, Chicago coach Matt Eberflus on how to deal with his rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Saban brought much to the table including psychological stuff. … More and more often, when ESPN’s Joe Fortenbaugh speaks, we stop to listen.
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DUDE OF THE WEEK: STEPHEN CURRY
For sealing a golden deal. Curry’s four consecutive 3-balls in the closing minutes against France highlighted his clutch Olympic performance. No matter what the future brings it will be hard to forget.
DWEEB OF THE WEEK: JARREN DURAN
For letting his mouth run ahead of his brain. The Red Sox outfielder responded to a heckling fan with a homophobic slur, that was picked up by a TV microphone. This mindless bigotry is still way too common in the world. Duran apologized through a written statement. MLB let him off easy with a two-game suspension.
DOUBLE TALK
What Eric Mangini said: “He [Aaron Rodgers] doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about the other 10 guys. He cares about himself.”
What Eric Mangini meant to say: “In case you didn’t know, I don’t like Aaron Rodgers.”