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WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts. Satellite stations are WEEI-FM (103.7 Westerly, Rhode Island), WVEI (1440 Worcester, Massachusetts) and WVEI-FM (105.5 Easthampton, Massachusetts), which signed on October 26, 2006 . All have scheduled periods of independent programming. All four stations are owned by Entercom. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts.

History

The station can trace its roots back to its original owner, Edison Electric Illuminating (hence the call letters). Edison placed the station on the air on 590 kHz in 1924. In 1926, WEEI became a charter member of the NBC "Red" radio 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 1960's, WEEI was New England's first talk-radio station and home of such hosts as Howard Nelson, Jim Westover and of course, Paul Benzaquin, one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in Boston history. The '60s also saw the daily "WEEIdea" feature that presented cleaning and cooking tips from housewives.

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 wasn't 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 1970's, WEEI was all-news around the clock.

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 "Glen (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.

In 1994, WEEI was acquired by Back Bay Broadcasting, which sold the call letters and all-sports programming of WEEI to American Radio Systems. ARS then placed the intellectual property of WEEI on the 850 kHz frequency that was previously home to WHDH. With the Red Sox coming to WEEI, they ended up returning to the 850 kHz frequency which (as WHDH) was home of the Red Sox from 1946 through 1975. Ironically, although the Boston Celtics once owned WEEI, the station's talk hosts have made repeated remarks in recent years about conflict of interest in the ownership of 17 percent of the Boston Red Sox by the parent company of the Boston Globe.

In 1998, American Radio Systems was acquired by CBS. As a result of the merger, the combined company was forced to sell off several of their Boston stations to new owners. In late 1998, Entercom announced plans to acquire WEEI, along with WAAF, WRKO, WVEI and WEGQ, from CBS for $140 million.

The station is popular with fans of the Boston professional sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox. WEEI boasts of being "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 WAMG - ESPN 890 Boston and WWZN - 1510 The Zone. WEEI has been criticized by some fans, especially those of the New England Patriots and, to a lesser extent, the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics, who claim that they promote Red Sox and baseball talk to the exclusion of other sports and teams.

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.

WEEI is the flagship station of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network, where all Red Sox radio broadcasts originate. In addition to its biggest draw, the Red Sox, WEEI broadcasts games of the New England Revolution, and Boston College football and basketball teams in season. Sports talk shows such as Dennis and Callahan (6-10 a.m. Monday through Friday), Dale and Holley (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.), The Big Show (2-6 p.m.), and Planet Mikey (7 p.m. - 12 a.m.) cover the airwaves on a daily basis. On weekends the signature show is The Mustard and Johnson Show with Craig Mustard and Larry Johnson (9 a.m. - 2 p.m. in most cases). When local programming isn't on WEEI, usually Fox Sports Radio will air. WEEI is Fox Sports Radio's highest rated station.

In April 2005, WEEI began streaming its broadcasts live online at its official site (or at this link: http://wmc1.liquidviewer.net/WEEI ). The exception is for Red Sox games, as Major League Baseball rules prevent stations from streaming their broadcasts of MLB games through their websites.

The station has had a long running feud with the Boston Globe. In 1999, the Globe's executive sports editor, Don Skwar, banned the newspapers sports writers from appearing on the station's afternoon 'Big Show' after columnist Ron Borges appeared on it and allegedly used a racial slur to describe New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. Two weeks later, the ban was extended to WEEI's Dennis & Callahan morning show because of its perceived lowbrow humor. WEEI retaliated by banning Globe staffers from all its shows.

The Red Sox on WEEI

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

• A pre-game show; The Pregame show is recorded from a Air studio inside Fenway Park right next to gate c in WEEI air studio
• The Inside Pitch, a segment with a member of the local sports journalism establishment;
• (optional) A pre-game interview with the general manager ;
• A pre-game interview with the manager (currently Terry Francona);
• The game intro itself, a compilation of great moments in Red Sox broadcast history;
• The game itself, with Joe Castiglione and Dave O'brien and Glenn Geffner alternating as his partner.
• 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 page (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 for decades. Many believe the extensive network of Red Sox radio stations to be the main reason the feeling of a "Red Sox Nation" is so solid in places hundreds of miles from Boston.

A number of local businesses have literally made their names through huge ad buys on WEEI, to the point of their jingles becoming part of the local pop culture. Most longtime Boston residents can sing "1-800-54-GIANT" -- call Giant Glass, or the "Wonder of it all" jingle for Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, two perennial advertisers. Others, such as members of Sons of Sam Horn, deride the repetitiousness of the ads, which can become tedious over the course of a 162-game season.

The Boston Red Sox recently signed a 10 year radio deal with sister WRKO-AM for the broadcast rights for the 2007 through 2016 seasons, worth a reportedly $13 million a season radio deal. About 30 Red Sox games a season, mainly on Friday Nights (or when there are conflicts with Boston Celtics games), will still be heard on WEEI as part of the deal.

Daily shows

• "Dennis and Callahan" - Featuring hosts John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, and flashboy Jon Meterparel. Plays 6:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 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 and Boomer Esiason every Monday during football season. The program also features a daily news headline feature, in which Callahan, a conservative, often spars with Dennis, a liberal/independent.

• "Dale and Holley" - Featuring hosts Dale Arnold, Michael Holley, and flashboy Jon Wallach. Plays 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on weekdays. This show is known for its softer, more anylitical approach than for abrasive sensentionalism.

• The Big Show - Featuring host "the Big O" Glenn Ordway with two co-hosts and flashboy Pete Sheppard. Sheppard and Ordway are the only permanent hosts of the show. During the football season ex-NFL players Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie share co-hosting responsiblities. During baseball season the co-hosts have been The Boston Herald reporters Sean McAdam, Steve Buckley and author Tony Massarotti. The Whiner Line closes every show, and is generally the highest-rated segment. The Big Show plays from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

• Planet Mikey - Featuring host Mike Adams and flashboy Jeff Joyce. Plays from 7:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Weekend Shows

• Mustard & Johnson (often called "Yankee Talk") - Hosted by Craig Mustard and Larry Johnson. Mustard & Johnson can be heard from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday & Sunday. (Times may vary due to Red Sox broadcasts)
• Greg Dickerson - Usually the last local show of the day to air on WEEI weekends. Dickerson is joined by a sportswriter. Dickerson often receives the most "abuse" from the Big Show participants.
• Bill Burt - Bill Burt, a writer for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. Burt is sometimes heard on the weekends along with a fellow sportswriter.
• Red Sox Baseball Today (aka The Baseball Show)- Runs every Sunday morning during baseball season, generally starting a 9:00 AM, and running until the Red Sox pregame show comes on, which is normally anywhere from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. It is hosted by Mike Adams, who is most known for his outrageous- opinions, and cohosted by baseball writers Steve Buckley, and Sean McAdam, who serve as a check and balance system to Adam's crazy opinions. Buckley is most known for his historic knowledge of baseball, and is made fun of many hosts and callers on the station. McAdam is often made fun of by the station's hosts and callers because of his somewhat robotic voice, and lack of sense of humor.
• Jermaine and Everett- new show on WEEI Saturdays from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Two of WEEI's most controversial callers have regularly contributed to the "Dennis and Callahan" show and "The Big Show". First aired October 28th, 2006.

Flashboys

• Jon Meterparel
• Jon Wallach
• Pete Sheppard
• Jon Rish
• Jeff Joyce
• John Ryder
• Bob Leone
• Mike Mutnansky
• Chris Fama

Dennis and Callahan controversy

The station was home to a major local controversy in October 2003, when morning hosts John Dennis and Gerry Callahan had the following exchange about a photo of a gorilla that had escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo:

Callahan: "They caught him at a bus stop, right -- he was like waiting to catch a bus out of town."

Dennis: "Yeah, yeah -- he's a METCO gorilla."

Callahan: "Heading out to Lexington."

Dennis: "Exactly."

Initially, it was believed that Dennis had said the gorilla was "probably a Metco gorilla waiting for a bus to take him to Lexington" and Dennis was suspended for two days. The radio station attempted to immediately cover up the incident, claiming that recordings of the comments had been lost. However, after mounting public outrage, the two hosts were given longer suspensions, sent to multiple rounds of sensitivity training, and forced to apologize. WEEI also agreed to provide free advertising for the METCO program on the radio station.

Both the station and the hosts have tried their best to put the controversy behind them, going so far as to mute on-air callers who attempt to mention the incident. Regardless of the damage they have done to the hosts' and station's reputation, the comments by Dennis and Callahan don't appear to have had any long-term negative effect on the ratings of the morning show.

Famous Callers

Like many other sports talk stations, WEEI has a famous group of longtime callers.

• Frank from Gloucester: Frank is an avid New York Yankee fan, who the hosts joke is at least 1,000 years old. He is known for shouting and rambling incoherently into the phone, and making up a supposed celebrity status in Boston. At one point he wasn't allowed to call in due to health concerns. He still calls into all programs, although he mostly calls into the afternoon program, The Big Show.

Frank is also a born-again Celtics fan after the Celtics ownership group gave him free tickets to opening night 2006. His signiture tag-lines are, "Hello my good friend"...and he normally signs off with, "GOODBYE MEN!" He is also known for filling in doing sportsflashes on the Dennis and Callahan show. His sign-off for sportsflashes was, "I'm Foxy Lady Frank from Gloucester, and that's the sportsflash!" in reference to a strip club that he frequents. Frank is also known for having just a single tooth.

• Mike from Canton: Mike is another avid New York Yankee fan who frequently calls WEEI. He is most known for putting over everything the Yankees do, however he rarely acknowledges any of the Red Sox accomplishments. He calls into the Mustard and Johnson show on the weekends, which features many Yankee callers, and is nicknamed by other hosts on the station and fellow callers "Yankee talk radio."

• Jeff from Watertown: Jeff has a vast knowledge of baseball, and is always the first caller on Red Sox Baseball Today, which runs every Sunday morning during baseball season.

• Butch from the Cape: Real name Tom Speers, died in October 2001. He was a notorious New York Yankees fan originally from Connecticut who would often call to taunt Boston sports fans with their lack of a championship since the Celtics in 1986. Though considered abrasive and often condescending, Butch was a very popular caller on many of WEEI's programs. He was known for coining phrases such as "Nancy Drew Bledsoe" and "Pinocchio Pitino". In the Whiner Line a character has developed named "Butchie From Beyond The Grave". This character gives biting criticism of the Big Show in a rhetorical, sarcastic fashion.

• Jermaine in the car: Jermaine is a longtime caller who normally calls into the Dennis & Callahan morning show. He is an African American who always supports other African Americans. He has gone on record to say that he cheered the OJ Simpson verdict.

• Ray from Lynn: Ray is an intense follower and evaluator of the Red Sox farm system, with succinct and sometimes brutal assessments of player talent. Ray sounds like a pro scout, though it's likely he's not on the Sox payroll. Name any player in the system, from Instructional League to Pawtucket, and Ray will have an often gruff and poignant summation of that player's big league potential. Seems to know college players as well. He can be funny, but he's probably not someone who cracks a smile very often.

Quotes

• "Loop towards shortstop. Petrocelli's back, he's got it, and the Red Sox win it! And there is 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 AM 850)
• "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 AM 850)
• "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
• "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 eighty-six years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it? " -- Joe Castiglione's final call of the 2004 World Series
• It seems to me, a guy like Randy Moss, it seems...the way...your team is so professional in how they execute, I, I think can be taken out of his game very easily, because you don’t know at times if he’s going to take plays off if the ball isn’t going his way, and I think your guys – the veterans on defense are going to know this, and they’re just going to bump him all over the field much like they did to Faulk in the Super Bowl, I think he can be taken out his game early and I think you can frustrate the hell out of him. I really can. I really, I really believe that. And I...I do not expect him to have a big game against your defense because I think they can take him off and frustrate that guy early. Because I don’t think he’s very mature...football player. -- Pete Sheppard 'interviewing' Bill Belichick
• "The Sox rained out today at Comerica Park in New York" -- Pete Sheppard Comerica Park is actually in Detroit, Michigan.

External links

• Search the WEEI Audio Vault
• WEEI homepage
• WEEI 103.7 FM homepage
• Pete's Bits (Comedy Bits on WEEI)
• The Boston Radio Dial: WEEI (AM): for history of the 850 AM frequency
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• Radio stations in Boston
• Sports in Boston
• Radio stations in Rhode Island
• Sports radio in the United States