In Baltimore, Jonas Shaffer notes a month after joining Fox as an NFL contributor, former NFLer Ray Lewis has "joined Showtime's weekly 'Inside The NFL' series," replacing Giants WR Brandon Marshall (Baltimore SUN, 7/27). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ben Koo noted it is "not clear how much this will impact Lewis’s work with Fox and FS1." The "smart thinking is he’ll continue to do some work for the network, but likely in a reduced role considering 'Inside The NFL' tapes in New Jersey and most of Fox and FS1’s operations" are in L.A. (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 7/26).
HOUDINI ACT: In Boston, Jessica Heslam noted Boston-based WEEI radio's Kirk Minihane has "disappeared from the airwaves after insulting the owners of his station’s multimillion-dollar partner, the Red Sox, on his morning-drive show Monday." However, Minihane’s bosses "insisted" that he "hasn’t been sanctioned and is instead taking some 'personal time.'" On Monday, Minihane "went ballistic on the Red Sox organization, blasting everyone" from Owner John Henry to his wife, Linda Pizzuti Henry, to co-Owner Tom Werner. WEEI "inked a seven-year deal last year to continue broadcasting" Red Sox games (BOSTON HERALD, 7/27).
RADIO HEAD: VULTURE's Nicholas Quah wrote ESPN's "30 for 30 Podcasts" is "very good so far." The first four episodes of the six-episode series all "drip with the enthusiastic energy that's vital to effective storytelling about sports." Each episode is "crafted with distinct verve and pep, which goes a long way toward building an immersive listening experience." But there are "some kinks with the series." It is "occasionally stiff, perhaps due to the aforementioned potential tension between visual and audio cultures." The "biggest hurdle" facing the series is that it has to "develop a new vocabulary, and maybe even new techniques, to tell these very visual sports stories" (VULTURE.com, 7/21).
