Listening to Kirk & Callahan this morning reminded us of the point in the show where it once again became a ratings juggernaut a few winters ago.
"Whack-a-Troll" was back, this time with Dan Wolken from USA Today, who the guys brought on to discuss his piece on Tom Brady and Alex Reimer, where Wolken says he doesn't understand why Brady even associates with the station.
Among other things, Wolken characterized Boston sports talk radio as a cesspool, claiming Boston and many other markets across the country are a safe space for "men to engage in the kind of crude misogyny, sophomoric homophobia, veiled racism and downright cruelty that is no longer acceptable in any other setting."
Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan took issue with Wolken's piece, with Minihane specifically characterizing his piece as "lazy." It was evident from the top of the interview that Wolken, who lives in Atlanta, hardly ever listens to sports talk in Boston.
"I'm not the ones who should take heat here," Wolken said when pressed by the hosts. "It's worse in Boston, but I think most sports talk radio is bad.
"I wouldn't (listen) even if I lived in Boston."
Host Gary Tanguay attempted to defend the bulk of Wolken's argument.
"What he wrote is a fair characterization of Boston sports radio, but I think what you left out of the article is that Boston sports radio is the highest in the country," he said. "The ratings are through the roof, and while I think a lot of that is true and a lot of people criticize this show, it's the number one morning show, and people love it."
"The first thing I point out when reading this story is lazy," Minihane said. "You didn't do your job," taking specific issue with the lack of radio Wolken has actually listened to from Boston before crafting his story.
"The article speaks for itself. I think everything that's in there is accurate. The history of Boston sports talk radio is as its portrayed," Wolken said. "This is the sort of culture that gives rise to Alex (Reimer) who is a young kid who hasn't been doing this very long who feels like he can go on and say anything he wants without consequence. He went far enough to make fun of a kid which is obviously way out of bounds, totally unacceptable. But it's not the first time that you guys have said something that is unacceptable."
Minihane replied that when out of bounds, he has been disciplined and is missing the point of Wolken's claims, who shot back that the interview was "bully radio."
"I'm not saying you guys shouldn't be making a living doing what you do," he said. "I just don't know why Brady associates with you guys."
"You found an easy target and it's a very popular opinion," Callahan retorted. "But you don't listen. You don't know what we do."
