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Boston Globe
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
NESN's homage to the 1975 World Series, which included a look at the epic Game 6, was a home run
It was right in this 50-something's wheelhouse, and according to Amy Johnson , NESN's coordinating producer who oversaw the project, the feedback has been positive. 'Especially from those that remember the '75 team, that generation,'' she said. The inspired broadcast included a vintage score bug and simple-text graphics of the time. Play-by-play voice Dave O'Brien and analyst Lou Merloni dressed in gaudy jackets and ties that looked as if they were lifted straight from Gene Rayburn's wardrobe on 'Match Game.' (Look it up, kids.) Advertisement NESN went with a retro look for its broadcast of Tuesday's Red Sox-Reds game. NESN Reporter Jahmai Webster — wearing a shirt that looked as if it came from an exhibit on Studio 54 — voiced over some immersive flashbacks, including a look back at the epic Game 6 and a tribute to Luis Tiant , who should have been in Cooperstown long ago. Former Sox pitcher Rick Wise was an insightful guest in the booth. A graphic featuring wood paneling — ubiquitous in homes and on cars in the '70s — was a particularly nice touch. Advertisement The only disappointment was out of NESN's and the Red Sox' control. Rain, which coincidentally wreaked havoc with the schedule in the '75 World Series, forced Tuesday's game to be halted in the third inning, thereby interrupting the plan for the third and fourth innings of the broadcast to be fully retro. Related : I asked Johnson if there was more the NESN team wanted to add to the broadcast but didn't quite get to — a perm for O'Brien, or something like that, perhaps. 'I think it was almost the opposite, where we added more as we went,' she said. 'It started very basic and very simple and then as we talked about it more and thought about it more, we added more to it. This was so much fun to do because it was such a great team effort from everyone at NESN to everyone in our crew at Fenway. The buy-in is what made it a lot of fun and I think it came across on the air and with everyone involved.' Johnson said the plans to go vintage for this series had been in the works since March, with the network's sizable content-planning department involved from the get-go. Her own preparation included watching broadcasts of '70s baseball games on YouTube to be able to capture just the right groovy vibe. 'On the in-game graphics alone, we've been working for over a month trying to get those just right to make sure they were readable, accurate, and that we had enough different versions to accurately cover two whole innings of baseball — which we thought we'd have, before the rain arrived — without leaving people kind of wanting more information. Related : Advertisement 'There are very few questions unanswered on a screen in a baseball game these days, so we were trying to kind of find that middle ground. It's been really nice to hear from people who said we got it right.' NESN has more special Red Sox broadcasts planned, which are probably necessary given the underachievement of the team so far this summer. This coming week, NESN will pay tribute to the Green Monster, with Monday's broadcast originating from the Monster Seats. That's worthwhile — it will give the broadcasters a chance to see the Sox from a different vantage point. But should the Red Sox continue their mediocre ways for the next few months, who would mind another broadcast or two that takes a look back? In throwing it back to 1975, NESN proved it can do nostalgia just right. Forsberg knows his stuff A few years back, a Celtics executive gave me his impromptu scouting reports on the media members who cover the team on a regular basis. The word on NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg was one of respect for the effort he puts in to understand the financial aspect of the NBA. 'He really has a great grasp on the salary cap,' the executive said. That's always stuck in my mind, and it has been proven true time and again over the past few weeks as the Celtics have shed popular players because of the dreaded penalties for being over the second apron. Forsberg's insight has been a welcome contrast on NBC Sports Boston to Michael Felger's disingenuous, predictable, and misleading 'the owners are being cheap' narrative. Advertisement Chad Finn can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A fitting tribute to the 1975 Red Sox precedes the start of a season of hope at Fenway Park
The players who were on hand at Fenway for Friday's event were Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans, Rico Petrocelli, Cecil Cooper, Rick Burleson, Bill Lee, Bernie Carbo, Butch Hobson, Rick Kreuger, Jim Willoughby, Dick Pole, Buddy Hunter, Kim Andrew, Steve Dillard, Tim Blackwell, Rick Miller, and Bob Montgomery. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Advertisement As Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion' played over the Fenway Park loudspeakers, the '75 Red Sox emerged from left field and made their way to the mound — with Yastrzemski, 85, delivering the first pitch to Cora. They taught us to believe in miracles. Yaz & the 1975 — NESN (@NESN) As part of the ceremony, the Red Sox also memorialized the life of legendary pitcher and '75 ace Luis Tiant, Tiant was among those honored during the team's in memoriam video, alongside other Red Sox players who passed away during the offseason: Rickey Henderson, Charlie Maxwell, Bob Veale, Felix Mantilla, and Scott Sauerbeck. Advertisement A moment for those we lost ahead of the home opener. Forever in the hearts of — NESN (@NESN) 'I miss Luis. We all do,' said Evans, Tiant's teammate. 'But I try to take something from everybody I'm around and live around. And with him, just his love for people. ... He loved people. He really did.' Tiant endeared himself to Red Sox fans over eight seasons with his unorthodox corkscrew windup, desperado mustache, and cigar-smoking gusto making him a beloved player. The Cuban-born righty pushed Boston to the brink of a World Series title in 1975. After tossing a complete game shutout in Game 1 of the Fall Classic against the Reds, he threw a whopping 155 pitches in another complete-game effort against Cincy just four days later. Boston won all three of his starts in the '75 World Series, but still came up short in the seven-game series. One of the light stanchions rooted atop the Green Monster featured a custom 'El Tiante' sign — etched against a blue heart background — while Tiant's family was tasked with bellowing 'Play Ball!' to close out the event. For El Tiante... PLAY BALL!! ⚾ ❤️ — NESN (@NESN) 'Luis is a guy that we miss,' Cora said. 'Spring training was kind of empty in that aspect, right? He was always talking to the guys, teaching the guys how it used to be. And what it means to be a Red Sox. And we miss him. 'I actually miss him here the most because he was always joking around with [the players], kind of like when they were down a little bit, he'll go down there and talk [expletive] to them in a very unique way … He was a proud individual. He knew where he came from and it wasn't easy — the road to be in the big leagues. And for him to perform the way he did, I tip my hat to him. It's amazing.' Advertisement The event began with the entire Red Sox roster, coaching staff, and clubhouse personnel taking the field — with both newcomers and promising youngsters in Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell drawing the loudest ovations among this reworked roster. Related : As a giant U.S.A. flag cascaded down the Green Monster and enveloped the famed wall in left field, the nation's colors were presented by the 1st Battalion and 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard, the 66th Air Base Group out of Hanscom Air Force Base, and members of the 1st Coast Guard District. The Boston Arts Academy 'Treble Allstars' performed the 'Star-Spangled Banner' — with their rendition of the national anthem punctuated by a fly-over of two F-35 jets flown by the 134th Fighter Squadron, also known as the Green Mountain Boys of the Vermont Air National Guard, along with one KC-46 plane from the New Hampshire Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing. Another season at Fenway Park was officially ushered in at 2:20 p.m. with Sox starter Walker Buehler delivering a fastball against Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar. 'It's always a good vibe. It's always a good vibe when you come here and it's Fenway Park. ... It's a good feeling,' Cora said. 'Like I said in spring training, we have a good baseball team. We've just got to keep working hard to keep gaining momentum, playing better baseball. We're going to grow as a team. 'It's different in the clubhouse. It's a very mature team, in a sense. We brought some guys that have been around, from winning teams and playing in October a lot, so that's going to help the rest of the group. And we're going to keep getting better.' Advertisement The American flag was displayed during the national anthem on Friday. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Conor Ryan can be reached at
