Some Monday Midday Stuff

Thanks to the guys at Boston Sports Media Watch for the heads up, WEEI’s Dale Arnold will be part of the Red Sox radio broadcasts. Dave O’Brien will work the majority of the season, 135 games, but due to his commitments with ESPN, he’ll be unavailable for 27 games. Dale will work a majority of the games, Jon Rish who hosts the pre and post-game shows will do the rest. This is a better combination than having Glenn Geffner in the mix

And here’s the press release from WEEI:

Entercom Announces Play by Play Plans for 2008 Red Sox Season

O’Brien to work 135 games as part of a four man rotation on The Red Sox Radio Network

BOSTON (February 11, 2008) – Entercom Boston today announced its radio broadcast team for the 2008 season. Veteran play-by-play man Joe Castiglione is set to begin his 26^th season of calling Red Sox games, and will be joined for a second year by Dave O’Brien. O’Brien, who is also a play-by- play announcer for ESPN’s Baseball Coverage, will work more Red Sox games this season calling a minimum of 135 games. WEEI-AM mid-day host Dale Arnold will fill in for a majority of the games missed by O’Brien, while Jon Rish, Entercom’s Studio Host for the broadcast, will take over on the others.

“Dave is an outstanding announcer, and I’m very excited to hear him take on a much larger role on our radio broadcasts this season,” said Jason Wolfe, Entercom Boston Vice President of AM Programming. “When we hired Dave a year ago, I knew that he would make an immediate impact in this marketplace and he’s done that and more. I’m looking forward to working with him for many years to come. He drew rave reviews from Red Sox fans during his first year, and with the additions of Dale and Jon, I’m excited to get the baseball season going.”

Wolfe continued, “I’ve worked with Dale Arnold for nearly 20 years. His professional play by play resume is lengthy, having spent 11 years with the Bruins and 4 with the Patriots. He is a truly professional announcer and will do an excellent job, and Jon Rish is one of our young stars. His addition as host of the pre and post game shows has made a significant difference in the quality of our overall broadcast. I’m very happy to give him this opportunity.”

The versatile O’Brien, a native of Quincy, MA, who split his time growing up between the Boston area and New Hampshire, has held a variety of broadcasting play by play roles since arriving at ESPN in 2002, including Major League Baseball, College Basketball, and the NBA. He was also the voice of the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament televised by ABC. Prior to joining ESPN, he was the voice of the Florida Marlins from the team’s inaugural year in 1993 through 2001. From 2003-2005, O’Brien was the television voice of the New York Mets on WPIX-TV. He has also done play-by-play for the Atlanta Braves and called college footballand basketball games for the University of Georgia and the University of Miami.

Dale Arnold brings a wealth of play by play experience to the booth, serving a seven-year term as a minor league hockey play-by-play announcer for the Maine Mariners of the American Hockey League. Arnold then went on to become the youngest play-by-play announcer in the National Hockey League when he was named the voice of the New Jersey Devils in 1986. Arnold also served as TV voice of the Boston Bruins on NESN for 11 seasons. He is also the only person inBoston sports history to call at least one game for all five professional sports teams in town.

Jon Rish has served as the pre and post-game host on the Red Sox Radio Network since 2006. Rish joined WEEI Radio in July 2005 after six years with ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. During that time he served as a Radio SportsCenter anchor and hosted studio programming for Major League Baseball, NBA, and Bowl Championship Series coverage. Rish has also been a play-by-play announcer for Boston College men’s hockey and women’s basketball.

The Red Sox Radio Network carries, 15 pre-season and every regular season and post-season game. The Red Sox and Entercom Communications announced a new 10-year agreement for 2007-2016 in May 2006. WRKO (680 AM) returned as the network’s flagship station, after previously carrying Red Sox baseball from 1983-1994. WRKO airs all regular season games except Wednesday nights and weekday afternoons, which can be heard on sister station WEEI (850 AM). A network of over 60 stations broadcast Boston’s games throughout the New England area.

Entercom is one of the nation’s largest radio broadcasters with operations, pro forma for pending acquisitions, in Boston, Seattle, Denver, Sacramento, Cincinnati, Portland, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Austin, Norfolk, Buffalo, New Orleans, Providence, Memphis, Greensboro, Rochester, Greenville/Spartanburg, Madison, Wichita, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Springfield and Gainesville/Ocala.

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Some Monday Midday Stuff

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper