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Neil Solondz Takes Over For Late Dave Wills In Rays Radio Booth

“Solondz has been the team’s pre-game and post-game host and producer of This Week in Rays Baseball for the last 11 seasons.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The Tampa Bay Rays are still mourning the loss of veteran radio play-by-play announcer Dave Wills, but with the 2023 season less than two weeks away the team needed to find a replacement.

On Thursday, the Rays announced that Neil Solondz will be promoted to play-by-play. Solondz has been the team’s pre-game and post-game host and producer of This Week in Rays Baseball for the last 11 seasons.

Solondz will call games alongside Andy Freed, who was opposite Wills the last 18 years.

“Dave and Andy have built an incredible tradition with Tampa Bay Rays fans on air and in the community,” Solondz said. “I’m humbled and honored to join Andy in the booth. While no one can ever replace Dave, the best way to honor his legacy is to continue to share the game with the fans who love it as much as we do.”

The Rays open the 2023 season on March 30.

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Sports Radio News

Evan Roberts: NFL Would Never Let Roger Goodell Talk To Craig Carton

“It’s because you aren’t going to climb in his derriere and make sure you don’t push him on anything.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Craig Carton would love to interview NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but the problem is that Carton isn’t going to play by the league’s rules for shaping the conversation.

On Monday’s edition of Carton & Roberts, Carton mentioned the fact that Goodell hadn’t appeared on WFAN airwaves in over a decade. Co-host Evan Roberts pointed out that the league usually limits what media appearances the commissioner makes.

“He doesn’t do a lot of interviews unless it’s NFL related, where you can kind of control what you’re being pushed on,” Roberts said.

Carton figured that Goodell typically will do a sit-down interview with each of the league’s media partners, but Roberts said the commissioner’s office wants to make sure Goodell is not caught off guard.

“There’s always gonna be restrictions on him. There just always is,” he said. “The league is partners with those networks. So they’re not gonna put Roger Goodell in a spot in which he’s getting pummeled with tough questions. He doesn’t put himself in that spot.”

Carton mentioned doing a commissioner’s summit with Gary Bettman, Adam Silver and Rob Manfred. He said he requested Goodell, and he was turned down because the preseason had already started and generally the NFL doesn’t want the commissioner in the spotlight when the focus should be on the games and the players.

Roberts responded that the league was just being protective of Goodell knowing full well that Carton would likely ask him some tough questions.

“It’s because you aren’t going to climb in his derriere and make sure you don’t push him on anything,” he said. “I’ve never seen Goodell pushed on anything. So when he does do these interviews, it’s usually like NFL Network’s putting him on.”

“Maybe if I start a podcast he’ll come on that,” Carton said.

Craig added that he wouldn’t agree to tipping his questions for the commissioner ahead of time or only sticking to certain topics. Evan said the unpredictability of a free-flowing interview wouldn’t be a good thing optically for Goodell.

“You also don’t know what it’s gonna lead to,” he said. “You don’t know what he says that’s gonna lead to a topic you never even thought that you’d talk about.”

Carton responded saying that’s why so many people are terrible at interviewing others, because they generate their list of questions and don’t actually listen to the conversation.

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Sports Radio News

Cameron Maybin Adds Radio to Tigers Broadcast Role

“Maybin will be behind the microphone for around 30 Tigers games on 97.1 The Ticket in 2023.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The Detroit Tigers have added another voice for their radio broadcasts this season in Cameron Maybin.

Maybin will be behind the microphone for around 30 Tigers games on 97.1 The Ticket in 2023.

Maybin is a former Tiger himself and will also do some TV work on team broadcasts on Bally Sports Detroit. Cameron has also contributed to Yankees broadcasts on YES Network and MLB Network.

Dan Dickerson will be on play-by-play for games on the radio this season.

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Sports Radio News

Phoenix Suns Radio Voice Al McCoy Retiring At Season’s End

“Well I don’t think it’s any big thing because I think everybody knew this was probably going to wrap it up for me obviously.”

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Longtime Phoenix Suns radio play-by-play announcer Al McCoy has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the current NBA season.

The 89-year-old McCoy has been the voice of the Suns for the past 51 years.

After joining the team in 1972, McCoy called games on both television and radio for the franchise until the NBA outlawed the practice in the early 2000s.

He scaled back his schedule in 2010, and called road games from a remote studio in Phoenix during the 2020-2021 season. The club’s road contests are currently broadcast by Jon Bloom.

“Well I don’t think it’s any big thing because I think everybody knew this was probably going to wrap it up for me obviously,” McCoy told KTAR News’ Gaydos & Chad on Friday.

McCoy was honored with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2007.

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