Media
Prior to now, Fred Toucher and Wealthy Shertenlieb have negotiated their contracts in unison. That was not the case this time.
The “Toucher and Wealthy” program operated as enterprise as regular Thursday, the morning after 98.5 The Sports activities Hub introduced that Fred Toucher had signed a contract extension in a 205-word press launch that by no means as soon as talked about co-host Wealthy Shertenlieb or referenced the present by title.
The radio silence for 4 hours on the standing and way forward for this system was not a complete shock. Whereas Toucher and Shertenlieb, who’ve labored collectively to huge success within the Boston market since arriving from Atlanta in 2006, have usually mentioned private issues on the air, the present state of affairs has led to a special form of stress that has the way forward for the ratings-dominating program hanging within the steadiness.
Prior to now, Toucher and Shertenlieb have negotiated their contracts in unison. That was not the case this time. Each offers had been because of expire on the finish of the yr, however now Toucher — who was cited within the press launch as “a foundational member of the launch of the station,” together with his “tenure” being talked about irrespective of his co-host all through all the time — has a deal.
Shertenlieb doesn’t, and whereas he has not responded to requests for remark, he has made cryptic, unexplained strikes, together with altering “Toucher and Wealthy” accounts on social media channels to his personal title. His resolution to do this has annoyed administration at The Sports activities Hub and dad or mum firm Beasley Media.
Toucher and Shertenlieb’s disagreements over the previous yr — many stemming from Toucher’s well being and private points — are effectively documented and require no rehash right here for a second time this previous week.
The underside line is that they’re distinctly expert abilities who convey out the very best in one another.
It could be a disgrace for his or her program, which deploys humor higher than some other sports activities present available in the market and is likely one of the uncommon few that doesn’t deliberately agitate its viewers, to come back to an finish.
Maybe everybody concerned will acknowledge that earlier than the tip of the yr. However proper now, it certain feels just like the ending has already been determined.
Yet one more from Gorman
Wrote concerning the introduction of Mike Gorman’s forty second and remaining season on Celtics broadcasts on this area final week, however managed to take action with out sharing one story about his longtime broadcast associate and buddy, Tommy Heinsohn. So let’s rectify that.
“The most effective factor that’s occurred in my profession is attending to work with Tommy,” mentioned Gorman, who proceeded to clarify how they acquired paired collectively. Gorman was working as a sports activities anchor at WPRI and the channel had just lately added some Windfall Faculty basketball video games. Gorman was set to deal with the play by play, however the first broadcast was arising towards Holy Cross and he didn’t have an analyst.
“I mentioned to my boss, ‘Why don’t we get Tommy Heinsohn?’ ” mentioned Gorman. “That is the fantastic thing about the outdated days. I referred to as the overall Boston Backyard quantity and a lady solutions the telephone and he or she goes, ‘Boston Backyard, Boston Celtics, can I assist you to?’ I mentioned, ‘Yep, Tom Heinsohn, please.’ She mentioned, ‘One second.’ Tom picked up, we agreed to satisfy someplace in Walpole, and over the course of dinner he bought me an insurance coverage coverage and agreed to name the Windfall video games.”
When PRISM — one of some forefathers to NBC Sports activities Boston — launched earlier than the 1981-82 season, Heinsohn was one of many cable channel’s first hires. “A bunch of individuals from the Boston market all had been form of hoping they’d be picked for the play-by-play job,” mentioned Gorman. “Tommy had a gathering concerning the choices. I used to be instructed by somebody that he mentioned, ‘I work with this man down in Rhode Island. He’s good. You gotta give him a shot.’ That’s the way it started.”
Throughout the broadcast of the Celtics opener Wednesday and in dialog, Gorman has reminisced about his time calling Massive East video games in the course of the convention’s heyday for ESPN. His frequent analyst was the affable Invoice Raftery, who additionally had his personal connection to Heinsohn.
“Raf had damaged most of Tommy’s scoring data in New Jersey highschool ball,” mentioned Gorman with fun. “So that they nonetheless existed so far as Tom was involved.”
Castiglione once more a finalist
Joe Castiglione, the radio play-by-play voice of the Crimson Sox since 1983, is one among 10 finalists for the Baseball Corridor of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. Castiglione has been a finalist three earlier instances (2010, ‘14, ‘23), with this counting as a 2024 nomination because the induction ceremony is in the summertime.
If Castiglione will not be the choice,he ought to have a chance once more in 2025 and ‘26. The Corridor of Fame determines the Frick Award winner in cycles of eligibility.
That is the second of 4 consecutive years through which the winner is chosen from a composite poll of nationwide and native broadcasters whose careers prolonged into or started after the beginning of the wild-card period in 1994.
In 2027, broadcasters whose careers concluded earlier than the wild-card period shall be thought of, which might be a superb time to lastly honor Ned Martin.
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