 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
John Adron Dennis is a former American broadcaster best known as the co-host of WEEI-FM sports radio's former Dennis and Callahan morning show.
Dennis is a 1974 graduate of Kent State University. [1] At age 22, Dennis served as sports director and weekday anchor for WDAF-TV, an NBC affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri.[ citation needed ] He later became a studio anchorman at WPSL radio. In 1977, he joined WNAC-TV Channel 7 (later WNEV and now WHDH-TV) in Boston. Over the next 21 years, he covered the Boston sports scene for the station holding the following roles: weekend and weekday sports anchor, sports producer, sports director as well as producing several sports features and investigative reports.
Dennis is involved with several Boston-based charities, raising money for the Jimmy Fund, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and he is on the board of directors for the Mutual Funds Against Cancer Organization. [2]
In April 2015, Dennis entered an inpatient rehab facility to receive treatment for alcohol abuse. [3] On August 18, 2016, Entercom announced that Dennis, under a doctor's advice to reduce his workload, would immediately leave the morning show but would still be at the station for fill-ins, relations with advertisers, and special events. Since his demotion, Dennis has sold his house in Florida and performs odd jobs in his spare time. [4]
Over his career, Dennis has made cameos in many of the Farrelly brothers' films. He has maintained an active Twitter presence as a supporter of Donald Trump and right-wing politics. [5]
In 1999, the Boston Globe's executive sports editor, Don Skwar, banned its sportswriters from the Globe from appearing on the Dennis & Callahan morning show because of its perceived lowbrow humor. This came two weeks after he banned Globe sportswriters from appearing on WEEI's afternoon The Big Show after columnist Ron Borges appeared on the show and used a racial slur to describe New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. After the ban, WEEI retaliated by banning Globe sportswriters from all WEEI programs. [6] [7]
On September 29, 2003, during a segment called 'headlines', where they read and comment about current news stories, Dennis and his morning co-host Gerry Callahan made racially insensitive remarks while discussing a story about an escaped gorilla. The gorilla had escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo and had been recaptured at a bus stop. Their on the air banter included these lines:
Callahan: "They caught him at a bus stop, right -- he was like waiting to catch a bus out of town."
Dennis: "Yeah, yeah -- he's a METCO gorilla." Callahan: "Heading out to Lexington."
Dennis: "Exactly." [8]
METCO is a state program that buses inner-city Boston students to nearby suburban schools. Many perceived the comments to be comparing poor, mostly African-American children to gorillas. [9]
WEEI general manager Tom Baker suspended both hosts for two days, then extended the suspension to two weeks after the Blue Cross-Blue Shield (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts) pulled $27,000 in ads and in turn donated that money to METCO. Dunkin' Donuts responded by ceasing all advertising that involved the voices of John Dennis or Gerry Callahan. Both hosts apologized, though in a way many thought was sarcastic and insincere, and were sent to sensitivity training. WEEI also agreed to provide free advertising for the METCO program on the radio station. In November 2003, WEEI General Manager Tom Baker was replaced by Julie Kahn. Station executives denied there was a connection between the METCO incident and Baker's replacement. [10]
Dennis had a personal conflict with Ryen Russillo, who at the time was a New England Patriot commentator at WBCN, during which he left Russillo a voicemail [11] following a conversation between Dennis's daughter and Russillo at a local Boston bar. Subsequently, Russillo lost that job. [12] Russillo subsequently worked for ESPN, which is heard in part on WEEI. The Russillo-Dennis feud continued in February 2012 when they encountered each other at an ESPN Super Bowl Party. [13]
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(September 2016) |
Scott Van Pelt is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of SportsCenter on ESPN, served as the co-host of SVP & Russillo alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various golf events for the network. In June 2015, Van Pelt left his radio show to become a solo anchor for a midnight edition of SportsCenter. For the 2023-24 NFL season, Van Pelt took over as host of Monday Night Countdown.
Robert P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe, and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons, and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published August 12, 2012.
WEEI is a commercial sports gambling AM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI is the Boston affiliate for the Audacy-owned BetQL Network and CBS Sports Radio, serving as a gambling-focused brand extension of its main sports radio station in the market, WEEI-FM. The WEEI studios are located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, while the station transmitter resides in the Boston suburb of Needham. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WEEI is available online via Audacy.
WKVB (107.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to serve Westborough, Massachusetts, United States, carrying a contemporary Christian format known as "K-Love". Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), WKVB does not broadcast any local programming but functions as the network affiliate for K-Love in Greater Boston and Worcester; a second K-Love station in the area, WNKC in Gloucester, serves the North Shore. The station's transmitter is in Hudson, with a backup in Paxton. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKVB broadcasts in HD Radio and is available online.
Ted Curtis Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He grew up in Carlsbad, California where he graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1991. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft with the 57th overall pick.
WEEI-FM – branded SportsRadio 93.7 WEEI-FM – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI-FM is the Boston affiliate for CBS Sports Radio, the NFL on Westwood One Sports, the flagship station for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network; and the radio home of Greg Hill, Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria and Jermaine Wiggins.
WWBX is a radio station with a hot adult contemporary format in Boston, Massachusetts. The format started at 98.5 FM on February 9, 1991, and moved to 104.1 FM, replacing WBCN on August 12, 2009, to allow for the launch of WBZ-FM at 98.5 the next day. Its studios are located in Brighton, and its transmitter is on the upper FM mast of the Prudential Tower.
Ron Borges is an American sportswriter for the Talk of Fame Network. He has previously written for The Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and was a regular guest on The Mike Felger Show, which aired on 890 ESPN radio until July 2008. Borges also was a regular contributor to the HBO.com's Boxing website until 2008. Borges also writes for The Sweet Science, a boxing website.
The Big Show is a former sports talk radio program hosted by Glenn Ordway on Boston's WEEI-FM 93.7 FM. Started in August 1995, the show was hosted by Ordway and former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley. The show ended on March 19, 2013.
Dennis and Callahan was an American morning radio show on WEEI-FM, a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. On November 16, 2010, a live three-hour simulcast began airing on NESN at 6–10 AM Eastern time each weekday. The show combines talk of sports and politics, along with current or "water cooler" issues. The show premiered in 1997 with sportswriter Gerry Callahan and former WHDH Sports Director John Dennis, and it received strong ratings until WEEI received ratings competition in 2009 with the launch of CBS Radio's sports station, WBZ-FM (98.5); the ratings began to fall from the peak.
Eddie Andelman is an American sports radio talk-show host. He has worked over 40 years in sports talk radio in Boston and has appeared on more than 100 sports stations throughout the country.
Toucher and Rich was a radio show hosted by Fred Toettcher, airing from 6 to 10 AM on WBZ-FM, in Boston, Massachusetts. Toettcher, along with co-host Rich Shertenlieb, debuted on alternative rock station WBCN on June 5, 2006. Beginning August 13, 2009, the show transitioned to sports talk station WBZ-FM.
Gerald "Gerry" Callahan is a radio show host best known for hosting a longtime morning program for WEEI-FM, a sports radio station in the Boston market. He began his career as a sports reporter for The Sun in Lowell in 1983, then the Boston Herald in 1989. From 1994 to 1997, he also wrote for Sports Illustrated, including coverage for the magazine's daily edition for the 1996 Summer Olympics. He currently hosts the Gerry Callahan Show, a podcast discussing politics, sports and media. Craig Acone is the most recent producer. Dave Cullinane and Matthew Carano were the first two producers in order of service.
Dale Everett Arnold is a New England sportscaster. He hosts Boston Bruins broadcasts on NESN and co-hosted talk radio shows on WEEI until his retirement from radio on March 12, 2021, announced the day before. He was the Bruins' play-by-play announcer on NESN and has called Boston College Eagles football. He is the only person to have done play-by-play broadcasts for all five of the Boston area's major professional sports franchises.
Steve Buckley is an American journalist and long-time sports writer who formerly wrote for the Boston Herald. In 2018, he joined sports website The Athletic.
Robert E. Neumeier was an American sportscaster for several Boston-area media outlets. He also appeared on NBC Sports, specializing in Thoroughbred racing.
Ryen Russillo is an American sports host who for many years hosted a popular radio show on ESPN. Russillo left ESPN in 2019 to join The Ringer.
The Ryen Russillo Show was a syndicated sports talk radio show hosted by Ryen Russillo. It was a part of ESPN Radio from 1 pm to 4pm, with all three hours also simulcasted on ESPNews. On April 26, 2017 Danny Kanell was let go by ESPN after a number of personnel were laid off, leaving only Russillo to host the show.
Jon Rish is an American former radio personality, best known for his work in the Boston area.
Fred (Toucher) Toettcher is a Marconi-winning sports radio talk show host on WBZ-FM in Boston. Toettcher is the co-host of Toucher and Hardy with Rob "Hardy" Poole. He previously co-hosted the The Toucher and Rich Show with Rich Shertenlieb from 2006 to 2023; their 17 year partnership ending in November 2023 when Shertenlieb decided to leave the program.
...the paper pulled its staffers from WEEI's morning program, too. Jack Thomas, then the Globe ombudsman, explained the decision in his column, writing that the paper realized "its sportswriters might do the newspaper, themselves, and common sense a favor by not appearing on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show as puppets strung among jokes about big penises, fat naked fags, and the banging of Korean whores." The paper caught plenty of criticism for the ban—after news columnist Eileen McNamara had a piece on the topic spiked, she appeared on Dennis & Callahan to blast the Globe for censorship...
Faced with searing criticism from parents and political officials, WEEI yesterday suspended prominent radio hosts John Dennis and Gerry Callahan for two weeks for comparing an escaped gorilla to a Metco student waiting for a bus. The suspensions were announced on the same day that one of the station's advertisers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, announced that it would pull $27,000 in advertising from the station and donate the money to Metco, the voluntary desegregation program that places Boston children in suburban schools.
There was something else that soured Russillo on Boston for a time. In 2005, he was added to the revamped Patriots pregame and postgame shows on WBCN, a promising gig. But not long after he started, he was finished. A conversation with WEEI host John Dennis's daughter in a Boston bar for some reason inspired Dennis to leave him a voice mail - the tone being either threatening or hilarious, depending upon your perspective. The message, in which Dennis sounded considerably less polished than he does on air, became a local Internet sensation. Not long after that, Russillo was relieved of his duties on the Patriots programming. He said he remains "100 percent convinced that Dennis, who is friendly with the Krafts, persuaded them to let him go.
