Radio … and Me – 20

Baseball on Radio, Two Nations
The 2011 Baseball regular season is starting its final series.
On Summer / Fall evenings, I am lucky enough to capture broadcasts of most Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees games on radio (after the Blue Jays game is over, of course!).
I spent a year in Boston (during the long 'drought' years between their winning a World Series), and travelled through many cities, towns and hamlets across New England. I've listened to Red Sox baseball almost everywhere: on my car radio, in homes and in restaurants, over outdoor loudspeakers at shopping areas, and even at Fenway Park itself.
You’ll find that members of 'Red Sox Nation' are always up to date on their beloved team’s record and stats, and able – nay, eager – to discuss them in great detail, especially in relation to that team from New York, the “Evil Empire,” ... the Yankees.
They care and they listen!
The Red Sox Baseball flagship station is 50,000-watt 850 WEEI, Boston, and the broadcast is carried on some 67 (yes, that’s 67!) stations, from Northern Maine to Florida. I can usually listen on WEEI, or on 1370 WDEA (a 5,000-watt station), in the tiny market of Ellsworth, Maine), or on the Red Sox station nearest New York City, 50,000-watt 1080 WTIC, in Hartford, CT.
The Yankees flagship station is 50,000-watt WCBS 880, New York, which extends to 36 stations, as far away as Alaska!
Both broadcasts feature legendary announcers (who must also read a ton of commercials!), and both feeds are available for a fee on the Internet and XM Satellite Radio. All games can also be heard on Spanish-languge stations.
For more details, I refer you to Scott Fybush, a broadcaster based in Rochester, NY, who publishes the excellent weekly comprehensive radio blog: North East Radio Watch.
In the ‘NERW’ of July 11, 2011, he presented a review / discussion of an article called, Two nations, over the air: Portrait of a rivalry in radio waves by Tim Wallace, from the 'Boston Globe’ which even included coverage maps of stations which carry either Red Sox or Yankees games. It's an excellent read.
-- Today, the strong Yankees have clinched a playoff sport, but the Red Sox (who have a pitiful 6-21 win-loss record in September) are only ONE GAME ahead of Tampa Bay -- with 3 games to play -- for the A-L 'Wild Card' position!
My friends in 'Red Sox Nation' are bewildered and quite upset by their team's recent performance. How will they perform in the playoffs -- IF they can gain the 'Wild Card'?
Stay tuned.
UPDATE: The Red Sox failed to win the 'Wild Card' and the Yankees were beaten in five games in the first round by the Detroit Tigers.