WEEI (AM)
WEEI is a sports-talk radio station broadcasting from Boston, Massachusetts. WEEI broadcasts on 850 kHz from Needham, Massachusetts. Satellite stations are WEEI-FM (103.7 Westerly, Rhode Island) and WVEI (1440 Worcester, Massachusetts); both have scheduled periods of independent programming. All three stations are owned by Entercom. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts.
The station is popular with fans of the Boston professional sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots. WEEI boasts of being "the #1 rated sports radio talk station in the country", although the lack of competition in the Boston radio market might be a greater factor.
WEEI is the flagship station of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network, where all Red Sox radio broadcasts are from. In addition to their 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 AM Monday through Friday), Dale and Holley (10 AM - 2 PM), The Big Show (2-6 PM), and Ted Nation (7 PM - 12 AM) cover the airwaves on a daily basis. As of April 2005, WEEI can now be heard online at its official site.
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 Inside Pitch, a segment with a member of the local sports journalism establishment;
- (optional) A pre-game interview with the general manager (currently Theo Epstein);
- 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 Jerry Trupiano on alternating play-by-play. These familiar voices of Red Sox Nation are often affectionally dubbed "Castig" and "Troop" by their fans.
- A post-game interview;
- Post-game statistics (called "totals");
- A highlights clip for those who missed the early part of the game;
- and a signoff tag.
During game broadcasts, WEEI is also made available through the Major League Baseball webpage (for an insignificant fee), and (for home games) on XM Satellite Radio (as part of the standard service) for those outside the Boston listening area
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, 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.
Dennis and Callahan Controversy
The station was home to a major local controversy in October 2003, when Dennis and 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"; Dennis was suspended for two days. After mounting public outrage, the two hosts were given longer suspensions, sent to sensitivity training, and forced to apologize.
Quotes
- "Loop towards shortstop. Petrocelli's back, he's got it, and the Red Sox win! And there is pandemonium on the field..." -- the final call of the 1967 Impossible Dream regular season
- "The Red Sox win the pennant! They have beaten the Oakland A's three in a row!" -- the final call of the 1975 American League Championship Series
- "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