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Sunday, October 10, 2004
Boston sports talk has a Maine accent
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Also on this page: MAINERS ON THE BOSTON SPORTS MEDIA SCENE | |||||
BOSTON — Tune in to WEEI Sports Radio 850 any weekday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and you'll likely hear Dale Arnold speaking about the Boston Red Sox, or New England Patriots, or Bruins, or Celtics, or any of the big sports topics of the week. There's also a good chance you'll hear him talking about Maine. "It's my home," said Arnold. "My family's there, my heart's there." Arnold is a Brunswick guy. He grew up there before moving across the Androscoggin River to Topsham, where he became part of the first graduating class of Mt. Ararat High School in 1974. He is also one of three Mainers who are cultivating the Boston sports media scene. Gary Tanguay, from tiny Roxbury up near Rumford, is co-host of the nightly New England Sports Tonight on Fox Sports Net New England. He also hosts the Patriots' pre- and postgame radio shots on the WBCN Patriots radio network. Tom Caron, of Lewiston, works in a variety of positions for New England Sports Network (NESN), his most visible gig being host of the Red Sox' pre- and postgame television shows. Arnold does both radio and television. He is the home play-by-play announcer of the Boston Bruins on NESN. And his four- hour talk show, co-hosted by Bob Neumeier, on Boston's WEEI - the nation's top sports talk station, powerful enough to be heard in Maine - is a must-listen for any avid Boston sports fan. "What are the odds that a kid who went to Lewiston High and a kid who went to (Mexico High) would be nightly sports anchors in Boston?" asked Caron. "They've got to be pretty high." "Then again," he added quickly, "maybe they wouldn't be that staggering because if you're from Maine and you get into this business, and you love sports, you're going to do everything you can to get here, as opposed to Chicago, or Cleveland, or whatever." The 40-year-old Caron, who graduated from Lewiston High in 1982, is the only one of the three who didn't begin his broadcasting career in Maine, although his two-year stint as radio voice of the AHL Portland Pirates certainly led to his position at NESN. Arnold, 48, began his career with a seven-year stint as the radio voice (and public relations director and vice president) of the AHL Maine Mariners - the Pirates' predecessor in Portland. Tanguay, 40, was a junior at the now-closed Mexico High (which merged with Rumford to form Mountain Valley) when he started working at WRUM in Rumford. "An interesting twist to that job was that when I started, Dale Arnold was doing the Mariners and we were an affiliate of the team," said Tanguay. "So my job on a Saturday night was to play commercials for the Mariners' games. I always had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. When I was in the eighth grade, I did a book report on becoming a disc jockey and a sports announcer." Arnold left the Mariners in 1986 to do radio play-by-play for the New Jersey Devils. He returned to New England in 1988 as the play-by-play announcer for the Patriots and began his radio talk show in 1991. Tanguay worked at stations in Bangor, Biddeford and Exeter, N.H., before eventually heading to Massachusetts. His new po- sition, on Fox Sports Net, is part news, part commentary as he spars almost nightly with co-host Greg Dickerson, or with many of the guests they have. "We try to entertain or aggravate or irritate or strike a chord. By the time we go on (at 10 p.m.) people pretty much know what's going on," he said. "We show some scores and highlights but people want to hear debate and they want to hear ideas." And that's what they all do, engage the listeners, or viewers, in topical conversations, or debates, on their favorite teams. Arnold, in particular, will take on all subjects. "Let's be honest," he said. "None of what we do is difficult. My dad worked for a living, I'm not sure I do." That doesn't mean what they do is easy though. Each one often works 12- to 14-hour days and, during busy stretches, can go weeks without a day off. "People who think we just show up and do it don't have a concept," said Arnold. "A lot of people just don't know how much effort it takes to get this done." All three are proud of their Maine heritage and they like to think they give their viewers/listeners a glimpse of what it is to be a Mainer. "I know people like to make fun of the fact that I'm just a hick from Maine," said Arnold. "But that doesn't bother me a lick. I'm proud of where I'm from. I'm proud I got here and I'm proud to be in the major leagues." Coming from Maine, said Caron, makes their current positions even more meaningful because they know the histories of all the franchises. "That's why guys coming from out of town have a hard time here," said Caron. "If you don't understand what Johnny Pesky's double-pump means to (Red Sox') history . . . if you don't get that, (fans) are going to figure it out quickly and they're not going to put up with it." Tanguay says they are speaking to a very select audience. New England fans are among the most knowledgeable in the country. "It doesn't matter if you live in Andover, Mass., or Andover, Maine, you know what's going on," said Tanguay. That's what makes their jobs special. "Oh yeah, I have a great job," said Tanguay. "Are you kidding me? I have a phenomenal job." Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
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