Another ratings period of the Kirk & Callahan show is in the books. For listeners of WEEI and the morning show especially, it’s hard to believe that the new show format featuring Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan has been in place for nearly two years after John Dennis bid farewell to the station.
As has become a seasonal tradition on WEEI.com, here’s the top Kirk & Callahan moments of the spring ratings book:
Who gets razzed on more than Mike Mutnansky? For the most part, Mut has taken the bullets in stride. He’s proven to not be super sensitive, which is really important when co-hosting with Kirk and Gerry.
As discovered throughout the course of this book, Mut is the king of the pregnant pause. When hosting solo, there are moments where one might think that Mut has gone off the grid or the show has ended. But alas, Mut will speak again a few seconds later.
“For the Red Sox … … Drew Pomeranz did not get it done last night.”
What gives the Kirk & Callahan show the prowess it has is that it’s not afraid to push boundaries and stray from the typical sports show. Anyone that has listened to the show over the last couple of years could tell you that.
But that reputation appeared to be shot after Kirk and Gerry were sent some mean tweets during a show a few weeks ago. Curtis read them aloud on the air to the guys, and both were unable to handle the heat – Gerry especially getting very hurt and upset by the tough comments sent to his Twitter. Give a listen, if your ears can handle it.
There isn’t much that will get a listener laughing more than Minihane doing his best Frank Caliendo, impersonating fellow media members.
You can make a case for any of them being the best. Everyone loves the original classic, Trennah. Another frequenter is Rob Bradford, and Kirk even ribbed producer Ken Laird when he battled a cold for what felt like two months.
But two of his specialties this book were Dale Arnold and Glenn Ordway.
Dale spent time this spring filling in for Joe Castiglione on the Red Sox play-by-play team, and Glenn was terrified of LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals. Kirk made fun of both throughout the course of the book, which may have been his best impressions yet.
No. 7 – Patriots beat reporter Ken Laird
There is no doubt Ken Laird is a renaissance man. He’s one of the best producers at WEEI - the drop master - and is the host of Sunday Skate, with an occasional Sox studio show mixed in.
But no one knew the kind of reporting expertise Ken had, not even Mike Florio, after Laird “reported” that Rob Gronkowski was going to be traded earlier this spring.
Florio saw the tweet from the Kirk and Callahan Twitter account that said Gronk would be traded, and ran with the story, giving full credit to “Kirk and Callahan senior producer Ken Laird.”
Florio later went on with K&C and let bygones be bygones, but he was pretty miffed when the story initially happened, saying Laird “abused the platform.”
No. 6 – Steve in Providence goes after Mut
Steve is the best caller on the station right now. It’s almost reached the point where when he calls in and it’s not a 10-level call, you’re disappointed. But that’s the bar Steve set for himself.
He’s made his bones railing against our friend Mut for anything and everything – his boozing, his kids, his gambling addiction, his Red Sox hosting duties. You name it, Steve has criticized him for it.
Steve took it upon himself to razz Mut again, this time about his wife taking a vacation to Spain, in what might be his best call yet. (Kirk and Gerry losing their minds in the background of every Steve call makes it that much better.)
No. 5 – ‘Hey, texter from the 410’
Marc James is an enigma. There’s no one at WEEI quite like him. We’re longing for the days when he finally wakes up at 5 a.m. to sit in with Kirk and Gerry on K&C, but until then, we can listen to him eviscerate texters.
Some IDIOT from the 410 decided it was a good idea to compare LeBron James to Tom Brady, and James was not having it.
“Hey moron, hey idiot, hey dumbass!” James said as he flipped out.
Mut and Kirk got in on the action and reacted to texts themselves.
A debate that truly divided the nation. Was Rob Bradford talking to his wife Jen during an Awaken 180 Weightloss commercial or was he saying Den? It can be tough at times to decipher what Bradfo is saying on the air.
The list of Rob Bradford drops that have been added to the system of late include “I know what is, and it sure is good enough,” “Jen?” “Elvin Drellich,” “Alice Guerrero,” “Yeah no.” The list goes on and on.
Feud with Glenn Ordway aside, Dave Portnoy has long been a friend of the Kirk & Callahan show. That could be in jeopardy after Portnoy went ballistic on Barstool Radio over our program director Joe Zarbano’s interest in Barstool baseball writer Jared Carrabis.
Joe “Zambrano” has quickly rose up on the Dave Portnoy enemies list.
Dave joined Kirk and Gerry to express his true feelings about our program director.
No. 2 – Boston Marathon hero Kevin Cullen
The demise of Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen has been well documented on this site and station over the last couple months.
Kirk, along with Chris Curtis, took it upon themselves to find inaccuracies in Cullen’s reporting on the Marathon bombing in 2013. After a review of Cullen found fabricated details and inconsistencies in comments he made in radio interviews and and public appearances about the Boston Marathon bombings, the Globe suspended Cullen without pay for three months.
Without Kirk, Cullen would be going about his business status quo. Regardless of how you feel about Minihane, the Kirk & Callahan show or WEEI, there was public good that came out of Kirk and Curtis’s reporting.
There is no doubt Steve in Providence is a great caller. But it’s not often that a legendary caller phones in to WEEI. That’s what happened when Sour Shoes dialed up Kirk and Gerry during a show earlier this spring. The pure joy in Kirk’s voice really symbolizes the weight of the moment.