Baseball Player Takes 2 Days of Paternity Leave. Sports Radio Goes Ballistic.

New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy has been getting all sorts of flak on sports radio today for missing last night’s game against the Washington Nationals. Why? Because yesterday was his second (and final) day of paternity leave, which is apparently one too many.

Murphy got word late on Sunday night that his wife was in labor, and rushed to Florida to be with her. He was there for the birth of their first child the next day, Monday, which also happened to be Opening Day. The Mets had Tuesday off, and Murphy decided to stay with his wife Wednesday before flying back in time for today’s game, also against the Nationals, which he played in. Murphy told ESPN that he and his wife decided together that it would be best for him to stay the extra day. “Having me there helped a lot, and vice versa, to take some of the load off,” he said. “It felt, for us, like the right decision to make.”

For a number of sports commentators, however, Murphy’s decision seemed ludicrous. New York-based radio host Mike Francesa kicked off the outrage yesterday afternoon, devoting his entire WFAN show to asking, exasperatedly, why on earth a man would need to take off more than the few hours during which his child is actually born. “For a baseball player, you take a day. All right. Back in the lineup the next day. What are you doing? What would you be doing? I guarantee you’re not sitting there holding you’re wife’s hand.”

“You’re a major league baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help,” he said. “I don’t see why you need…What are you gonna do? Are you gonna sit there and look at your wife in the hospital bed for two days? What are you gonna do?

Repeating this question at least five more times over the course of a 20-minute segment, Francesa also continued to confuse maternity and paternity leave. Noting that it’s possible for the lucky few to stagger their paternity leave rather than using it in one chunk, Francesa was dumbfounded: “What do you do? You work the next day, then you take off three months, to do what? Have a party? ‘The baby was born…But I took maternity leave three months later.’ For what? To take pictures? I mean, what would you possibly be doing? That makes no sense. I didn’t even know there was such a thing.” (The full clip is above.)

Hosts of WFAN’s “Boomer & Carton” spent their morning show today piling on to the criticism. “To me, and this is just my sensibility: 24 hours,” Craig Carton said. “You stay there, baby’s good, you have a good support system for the mom and the baby. You get your ass back to your team and you play baseball.”

Cohost and former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason thought even 24 hours was too much time:“Quite frankly, I would’ve said, ‘C-section before the season starts. I need to be at Opening Day.’”

The Mike and Mike show on ESPN Radio also devoted tons of airtime to scrutinizing the nondrama. Cohost Mike Golic, a former NFL defensive lineman, weighed in: “If you wanna be there for the birth of your child, I have zero problem with it. That said, when the baby is born…The baby was born on Monday. And he didn’t play in a game [on Wednesday]? This is just me, I would have been back playing.”

Notably, the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players association allows for three days of paternity leave. That’s better than most jobs—only about 13 percent of workplaces offer paternity leave at all, and the United States is one of four countries in the world that doesn’t mandate leave for new moms and dads.

For his part, Murphy seems to be shrugging off the criticism: “We had a really cool occasion yesterday morning, about 3 o’clock. We had our first panic session,” Murphy told ESPN. “It was just the three of us at 3 o’clock in the morning, all freaking out. He was the only one screaming. I wanted to. I wanted to scream and cry, but I don’t think that’s publicly acceptable, so I let him do it.”

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Baseball Player Takes 2 Days of Paternity Leave. Sports Radio Goes Ballistic.

Red Ice Radio - Jeva Singh-Anand & Josef Wäges - Hour 1 - The Bavarian Order of the Illuminati

Media Roots Radio – Obama’s Weak NSA Retort & the Antidote to Defeatism

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Media Roots Radio – Obama’s Weak NSA Retort & the Antidote to Defeatism

John Birch Society"s New Radio Program: The New American Review

Waking Times Radio on The People’s Voice – Tonight 7:00pm GMT

Waking Times Radio on The People’s Voice – Tonight 7:00pm GMT
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Waking Times

Tune in tonight, Friday November29, 2013 at 7:00pm GST for Episode 1 of Waking Times radio, on The People’s Voice!

We are excited to announce our first audio broadcast ever. In this episode, host Dylan Charles talks with David Icke, founder of The People’s Voice,  about the nature of our world and the connection between this new network, the alternative media and Waking Times. Then we are joined by guest James Gilliland of ECETI to hear about his amazing work with extra-terrestrials and how that relates to everyday life.

Listen here… THE PEOPLE’S VOICE

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Category: Contributors, Evolution, Ideas, Revolution, Waking Times

Waking Times

Read more about Waking Times Radio on The People’s Voice – Tonight 7:00pm GMT and other interesting subjects concerning Health and Lifestyle at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Premiere spikes liberal radio show

The liberal talker alluded in October that ‘my ability to talk to you is going away.’

Premiere Networks on Wednesday announced it is dropping liberal talker Randi Rhodes’ radio show at the end of the year, the syndicator confirmed to POLITICO.

Rhodes, whose nationally syndicated show airs Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m., had suggested to her listeners since October that her days on radio were “totally numbered.” Premiere said today it will no longer carry her show after the year ends.

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“Premiere Networks will no longer produce and distribute The Randi Rhodes Show after Tuesday, December 31, 2013,” Premiere’s public relations director Rachel Nelson told POLITICO in an email.

Premiere began distributing Rhodes’ show in 2009. Previously, her show had been on Air America Radio, the failed progressive radio network, and she’d made headlines during her tenure there in 2008 for calling Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro “whores.”

While Wednesday’s confirmation from Premiere is the first official news about the end of Rhodes’ contract, the liberal talker had alluded to listeners in October that “my ability to talk to you is going away.”

“The only way you’ll be able to find me in a little while is if you have my personal phone number,” she said on her Oct. 18 show.

Rhodes’ regular guest host Nicole Sandler will fill in for Rhodes from Dec. 16-31, Sandler told POLITICO, making Rhodes’ likely last day on air this year Dec. 13.

POLITICO – Congress

Premiere spikes liberal radio show

Greene: Ads ruining baseball radio?

Chicago Cubs baseball announcer Harry Caray conducts fans singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from his television booth in 1996

• Bob Greene: Baseball radio play-by-play is working commercials into the announcers’ descriptions


• He says baseball on the radio is still special — it’s free and comforting commentary in summer


• At times, play-by-play can reach heights, as in description of Stan Musial’s last at bat, Greene says

Editor’s note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose 25 books include “Late Edition: A Love Story”; “When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams”; and “Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen.”

(CNN) — Baseball. The radio. Summer.

There is something about the connection between the three of them that nothing can tear apart.

If baseball on the radio sounds a little different lately, there is a reason. Richard Sandomir of The New York Times reported recently on the proliferation of “drop-in” advertisements on radio broadcasts of ballgames around the nation.

Drop-in ads are paid commercials that air not as traditional advertisements, but as part of the play-by-play. The first walk during a New York Yankees game is accompanied by “Just walk into CityMD’s six convenient locations”; the first run scored in a Texas Rangers game is described by the play-by-play man as “the First Financial First Run.”

It shouldn’t be surprising that this is happening. Baseball has always been a relentlessly and unapologetically revenue-seeking enterprise. Have you ever seen photos of the outfield walls in big-league ballparks in the early to mid-20th century? Even NASCAR’s marketing strategists would have been envious of the don’t-waste-an-inch commercial clutter.

Broadcast entities have to find a way to make back the money they spend for radio rights. According to USA Today the average salary of a Major League Baseball player this year — the average salary — is around $ 3.6 million, and everything from ticket fees to concession-stand prices is reflective of the sport’s runaway inflation.

The future of America’s favorite pastime

Baseball instant replay: A good idea?

So no one should be startled by the presence of the drop-in radio ads. Yes, they frequently can be an irritant to the flow of the play-by-play. But ours is a sponsor-and-advertising-driven culture overall; that’s not going to go away.

And baseball on the radio — distinct even from baseball itself — is durable and steady in ways that can’t be easily spoiled. Baseball on the radio is one part of the sport that somehow, despite everything, still manages to feel good.

On the radio, baseball is less literal than baseball on television. With the measured voices of the most skilled announcers accompanied by the resonant humming undertone of the crowd, the echo from down on the diamond of the crack of a bat against a fastball, and the occasional thump of a foul ball bouncing off the top of the play-by-play booth, there is a kind of romance in a radio broadcast.

The sports-page and sports-website coverage of the business of baseball may, of necessity, be dismaying and ugly lately. A visit to the ballpark in person brings on the sticker-shock of those prices on everything from hot dogs to souvenirs to parking spots.

Baseball on the radio, though, remains free. Unlike viewers of cable TV or subscribers to satellite radio, fans of home-team games on their hometown radio stations don’t have to pay a cent to listen. The sound of it all is very much what the sound has been forever. Because the pace of the game is leisurely, local play-by-play announcers, over a 162-game season, develop a relationship with their listeners unique in sports. They have to talk a lot, even when there’s not much going on down on the field, and the audience grows accustomed to, and comfortable with, their relaxed voices and their heard-but-not-seen personalities.

And that’s just during routine games. At certain moments, radio broadcasts of ballgames can become part of the very fabric of a town — the authentication of how sports can help define the meaning of community.

How good can it get? For a gold-standard example from the history of the sport and of the medium, listen to the KMOX radio broadcast of Stan Musial’s final at-bat for the St. Louis Cardinals before his retirement.

The date was September 29, 1963, at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis. On the play-by-play was Harry Caray, in the years before he moved to Chicago to broadcast the White Sox and then the Cubs. Some older residents of St. Louis recall a television simulcast of Caray’s call, but it is the KMOX radio version that is indelible in their memories:

“Here’s Musial. Listen to the crowd again.” (The roar is heard behind Caray’s voice.) “A base hit would give the Cardinals the lead.” (The noise sustains.) “First pitch. Oh, what a cut he had, and he fouled it back. Hey, he really had a swing at that one.” (The crowd begins to clap rhythmically in unison.) …”The stretch by Maloney. Low curve.”

And then, unforgettably, from Caray: “Take a good look, fans. … Take a good look. This might be the last time at bat in the major leagues. Remember the stance … and the swing.” (The rhythmic clapping in the stands grows more insistent.) “You’re not likely to see his likes again.”

The procession of the game: “Fast ball, low and away.” And soon: “The pitch to Musial.” (Caray’s voice rises to be heard above the mounting crowd noise.) “A hot shot on the ground into right field, a base hit! …The Cardinals lead, one to nothing, listen to the crowd! Listen to the crowd! Let’s see, now! Manager Johnny Keane is talking to Gary Kolb.

“Stan is at first base. He might be waiting for this applause on the hit to die down. … They’ll tear the joint apart when he trots off the field. … Now listen. Gary Kolb is going to replace Musial. …There he goes! The end of a great career. A standing ovation for Musial. …”

Could being in the stands have been any more memorable than listening to that?

I remember talking once with a woman in her 80s. She was residing in an assisted-living facility; her husband had died the year before, and the end of their lifetime of long conversations in the evenings had left a void.

She told me that, even though she had never been much of a baseball fan, she found herself tuning in, each evening, to the strong-signal WLW Radio out of Cincinnati. For three hours, she said, she would listen to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall broadcast the Reds’ games. Their voices — reliable, unhurried — became her companions. A part of life she could count on.

“Take a good look, fans. … Take a good look.”

It’s possible, on summer nights, to see most clearly with your eyes closed.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

CNN.com – Top Stories

Greene: Ads ruining baseball radio?

GONOB Radio - Jordan Maxwell Admires Alex Jones

GONOB Radio - Jordan Maxwell Admires Alex Jones

Radio, TV personality David "Kidd" Kraddick dies

Radio and TV personality David “Kidd” Kraddick, the high-octane host of the “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” show heard on dozens of U.S. radio stations in national syndication, has died at a charity golf event near New Orleans, a publicist said. Kraddick was 53.

The Texas-based radio host whose program is syndicated by YEA Networks, died at his Kidd’s Kids charity function in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna on Saturday, said publicist Ladd Biro in releasing a statement on behalf of YEA Networks.

“He died doing what he loved,” said Biro, of the public relations firm Champion Management, speaking by telephone with AP early Sunday. He said he had no further details on the death.

The “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” show is syndicated by YEA Networks and heard on more than 75 Top 40 and Hot AC radio stations and is a leader among most-listened-to contemporary morning programs, Biro noted. He added the program is also transmitted globally on American Forces Radio Network. The show’s cast is also seen weeknights on the nationally syndicated TV show “Dish Nation,” he added.

“All of us with YEA Networks and the “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” crew are heartbroken over the loss of our dear friend and leader,” the network statement said. “Kidd devoted his life to making people smile every morning, and for 21 years his foundation has been dedicated to bringing joy to thousands of chronically and terminally ill children.”

The statement said the cause of death would be released “at the appropriate time.” Many fans of the show posted condolences and messages of mourning on a Facebook page devoted to the show. One Texas radio station ran photographs on its website of Kraddick.

“Oh Man, I just heard Kidd Kraddick died! He’s my childhood dj. What a sad day. His poor family. He was always nice 2 me from the beginning,” tweeted singer Kelly Clarkson.

Richie Tomblin, the head golf professional at the Timberlane Country Club, described Kraddick as looking ill when he showed up Saturday.

“He came out and he borrowed my golf clubs and went out to the driving range,” Tomblin told AP when contacted by phone. “It’s kind of a freaky situation. He came out. He practiced a little bit. He hit the ball at the first tee and wasn’t feeling good and after that I didn’t see him.”

Tomblin said the event with hundreds of amateur golfers taking part went on without Kraddick present. He added he only found out afterward about the death and was still shaken and trying to come to grips with it.

“I’m still trying to figure it out. I really don’t know what happened. Everyone keeps texting me asking, ‘What’s going on? I really don’t know,” said Tomblin, adding he was even reluctant to touch the set of clubs Kraddick had borrowed earlier in the day.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

U.S. Headlines

Radio, TV personality David "Kidd" Kraddick dies

Radio, TV personality David "Kidd" Kraddick dies

Radio and TV personality David “Kidd” Kraddick, the high-octane host of the “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” show heard on dozens of U.S. radio stations in national syndication, has died at a charity golf event near New Orleans, a publicist said. Kraddick was 53.

The Texas-based radio host whose program is syndicated by YEA Networks, died at his Kidd’s Kids charity function in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna on Saturday, said publicist Ladd Biro in releasing a statement on behalf of YEA Networks.

“He died doing what he loved,” said Biro, of the public relations firm Champion Management, speaking by telephone with AP early Sunday. He said he had no further details on the death.

The “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” show is syndicated by YEA Networks and heard on more than 75 Top 40 and Hot AC radio stations and is a leader among most-listened-to contemporary morning programs, Biro noted. He added the program is also transmitted globally on American Forces Radio Network. The show’s cast is also seen weeknights on the nationally syndicated TV show “Dish Nation,” he added.

“All of us with YEA Networks and the “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” crew are heartbroken over the loss of our dear friend and leader,” the network statement said. “Kidd devoted his life to making people smile every morning, and for 21 years his foundation has been dedicated to bringing joy to thousands of chronically and terminally ill children.”

The statement said the cause of death would be released “at the appropriate time.” Many fans of the show posted condolences and messages of mourning on a Facebook page devoted to the show. One Texas radio station ran photographs on its website of Kraddick.

“Oh Man, I just heard Kidd Kraddick died! He’s my childhood dj. What a sad day. His poor family. He was always nice 2 me from the beginning,” tweeted singer Kelly Clarkson.

Richie Tomblin, the head golf professional at the Timberlane Country Club, described Kraddick as looking ill when he showed up Saturday.

“He came out and he borrowed my golf clubs and went out to the driving range,” Tomblin told AP when contacted by phone. “It’s kind of a freaky situation. He came out. He practiced a little bit. He hit the ball at the first tee and wasn’t feeling good and after that I didn’t see him.”

Tomblin said the event with hundreds of amateur golfers taking part went on without Kraddick present. He added he only found out afterward about the death and was still shaken and trying to come to grips with it.

“I’m still trying to figure it out. I really don’t know what happened. Everyone keeps texting me asking, ‘What’s going on? I really don’t know,” said Tomblin, adding he was even reluctant to touch the set of clubs Kraddick had borrowed earlier in the day.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

U.S. Headlines

Radio, TV personality David "Kidd" Kraddick dies

In Historic Victory for Community Radio, FCC Puts 1,000 Low-Power FM Frequencies Up For Grabs

In a major victory for the community radio movement after a 15-year campaign, the Federal Communications Commission has announced it will soon begin accepting applications for hundreds of new low-power FM radio stations in October. This means nonprofits, labor unions and community groups have a one-time-only chance this year to own a bit of the broadcast airwaves. It is being heralded as “the largest expansion of community radio in United States history.” We’re joined by two guests: Jeff Rousset, the National Organizer of the Prometheus Radio Project, which has led the campaign to challenge corporate control of the media and open up this space on the dial; and by Ramon Ramirez, the president of PCUN, the largest Latino organization in Oregon. In 2006, Prometheus Radio Project helped PCUN establish the low-power FM station “Movement Radio,” which has helped inform farm workers about labor rights, as well as the larger Latino community about immigration reform efforts, health issues, and other community-related topics. The FCC’s short application window for new stations will run from October 15 to October 29. “This is a one-shot opportunity,” Rousset says. “The work that we do over the next four months will really help shape the course of this country’s media landscape for the next 40 years.”

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In Historic Victory for Community Radio, FCC Puts 1,000 Low-Power FM Frequencies Up For Grabs