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On the surface, Boston-based and nationally known sports personalities Tony Massarotti and Dan Shaughnessy seem quite similar. Both men have parlayed print journalism popularity into television and radio stardom. Both men have achieved national appeal for their coverage of sports, and both men are highly talented and respected authors and raconteurs.
Still, despite similar resumes, Massarotti and Shaughnessy differ in one significant way – one is beautifully beloved while the other is dastardly detested. Massarotti who along with Michael Felger, hosts the ratings colossus Felger & Mazz show on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, is seen as a playful sports mite with a canary voice as high as his passion for the games. Conversely, Shaughnessy is viewed as a smarmy know-it-all with a palpable air of arrogance.
Massarotti is a non-stop, fireball of sports knowledge, a baseball writer by trade who has effortlessly delved into other sports. His trademark soprano voice belies the deep thinker within – outspoken, yet introspective, fearless yet thoughtful.
Like many media types, Massarotti parlayed a successful career as a Boston Herald columnist and baseball writer into national TV, radio, and Internet stardom. Once he made the commitment to the electronic media, he became a regular contributor to SportsRadio WEEI, ESPN’s First Take, and NBCSports.com.
Through it all, Massarotti remains one of the most candid gabbers in the business and has traveled a media road that has not always been smooth. After losing out to the late Bob Neumeier for WEEI’s midday cohost slot in 2002, he left WEEI and joined Boston’s AM 1510 as a regular guest. Eventually, he hit the jackpot pairing with Felger at 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Massarotti does not take himself or the games too seriously, while providing energetic and emotional takes on all topics. He often agrees with the volatile and sometimes vicious thoughts of his cohort Felger but has the gumption to consistently challenge Felger when warranted. In truth, there are few sports talkers with Massarotti’s depth of intelligence.
While Massarotti has fostered near universal appeal among his multimedia fans, one of his colleagues from the print and electronic sports scene has created quite a different personae. If there is a polarizing figure in Boston and national sports media, it is the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy.
My personal experiences with Shaughnessy are fairly brief, but give interesting insight into his personality. From 1997 until 2001, I co-hosted a New England sports radio show and always wanted to have Shaughnessy on as a guest. His controversial style was a good read, whether I agreed or disagreed with his viewpoints.
I called Shaughnessy at the Globe and began my usual intro. “Hi Mr. Shaughnessy, my name is John Molori and I have a sports radio show.” Before I could continue, Shaughnessy sarcastically shot back, “Yeah, you and everyone else!”
I knew right then that the rumors about Shaughnessy’s attitude were not far from true. He could be a bit prickly and unsettling. Shaughnessy agreed to the interview and, to be honest, it wasn’t great. He seemed to be put off by the whole endeavor. I never held it against him. We all have bad days.
When I started writing a syndicated sports media column, I mentioned Shaughnessy often and actually established a good rapport with him. He was regularly trashed by talk show hosts and other media commentators, but I developed an odd admiration for his antagonistic and alternative viewpoints.
With the success of Boston sports teams over the past quarter century, much of the Boston sports media have become all too sycophantic with the local franchises. Shaughnessy has no such desire.
He has been accused of being both a homer and a hater, and remains a much sought-after guest on local and national sports talk shows and documentaries despite being frequently criticized by sports talk callers and Internet media types.
Shaughnessy has no shortage of nicknames including ‘Curly Haired Boyfriend’ courtesy of ex-Red Sox malcontent Carl Everett, ‘Scoop’ courtesy of his terrific early career NBA coverage, and ‘Shank’ courtesy of SportsRadio WEEI, but no matter what you call him, you cannot ignore him.
Since joining the Globe in 1981, Shaughnessy has been a lightning rod in sports media. His work is marked by skepticism bordering on cynicism, but his longevity and vitality are indubitable.
This old guard writer is a constant in our new media world where the line between fans and professional journalists has become blurred. No one has ridden the writers-on-TV movement more effectively than Shaughnessy. He is pointed and sarcastic, elicits response from his audience, and is never boring. Shaughnessy is completely unafraid.
Like Massarotti, Shaughnessy is strongly opinionated and always willing to take an unpopular stand. His writing and chit-chat is informative and entertaining, and he lives by the credo that if people like or dislike him all the time, he is not doing his job.
In short, no one tells Dan Shaughnessy what to write or say except Dan Shaughnessy. His opinions are his, take them or leave them. You have to give him props for that.
For more than four decades, Shaughnessy has inspired a love-hate relationship with readers, listeners, and viewers. Massarotti is outspoken and controversial, but in a more passionate and emotional manner. Both men have their fans and foes, a credit to their often red hot takes on sports.
Markets like New York, Philly, Boston, and Chicago require toughness, thick skin, and straight up balls from its media. Audiences live and die with their teams. Criticism gets personal, and over-the-top agendas and campaigns against media personalities come with the territory.
When asked about Shaughnessy, Boston Globe writer and ESPN personality Bob Ryan once told me, “Dan knows he’s going to tick people off and he can live with it. I don’t think he deserves the kind of venom he has received. He’s a good person. I wouldn’t want what he takes on.”
Neither would Tony Massarotti, who has followed a similar career map, but has never ventured into Shaughnessyville, a town populated by angst, anger, and animosity. Don’t get me wrong, as part of the Felger & Mazz powerhouse, Massarotti takes his share of hits. The duo appears to seek out a negative or sarcastic take on most sports subjects – a knack that often angers listeners and viewers. Still, if you really listen, there is also a strange balance to what Felger and Massarotti do. With the aforementioned success of Boston teams since 2001, they expect greatness and expectorate on teams and individuals when it is not achieved.
It is easy for Shaughnessy and Massarotti to develop persecution complexes especially with a lot of the media becoming boosters, fans, business partners, and product pitchers with athletes. Certainly, they both feel the heat, but in truth, they crave it.
For decades now, Shaughnessy and Massarotti have been churning out opinions like Dunkin’s churns out coffee, and similar to that brew, they are visceral and varied, running hot, cold, sweet, strong, or flavored.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.