We’ve have chronicled the giant Summer of Suck that is the Sewer known as Boston Sports Radio. It started with WEEI’s morning show personality Kirk Minihane who took a shot at Fox’s Erin Andrews which led to a non-apology from him to another WEEI show that also went down the Erin Andrews rabbit hole to Fox pulling its advertising from the station over said morning show to the network restoring its commercials after Minihane was suspended.

Well, WEEI and its competition, 98.5 The Sports Hub continue their path into the sewer. Sports Hub afternoon drive co-hosts Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti (Felger & Mazz) and WEEI’s Minihane (remember him?) decided to accuse former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez of taking steroids. Without any hard evidence (and why would you need any evidence when you can just throw anything at the wall to see if it sticks), Felger & Mazz and Minihane used the “everyone else was on steroids so he must have done it” defense.

Saying that Martinez’s numbers against steroids-laden hitters must have been helped by him using performance-enhancing drugs.

Boston Sports Media’s Bruce Allen says Felger used the 2002 season as his evidence citing that Martinez who has coming off a rotator cuff injury worked out at a gym where an accused steroid provider was working as a trainer and since Martinez came back muscular, he must have been juicing.

Felger has been known as a troll and contrarian often pushing buttons on the Patriots and Bruins to get fans to call in. It’s a formula that works as Felger & Mazz often dominates afternoon drive against WEEI. The show’s success has led to a local TV simulcast on Comcast SportsNet New England.

But it’s opinions such as his Martinez theory that makes one wonder why he has to go down this particular path to drive callers. Yes, August is often a dead period for sports and topics can be scarce, but making an argument just to push buttons and get calls can be a slippery slope especially if an accusation turns out to be false.

[Boston Sports Media Watch]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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