THE NEXT STEP FOR MY CAREER

It’s not everyday that you get to write about achieving something that you have been working towards for 11 years but today is one of those days. First, thank you for all the interest, emails, twitter messages, and phone calls. It means a lot to me that people care what is happening with my career.  

Thanks to the pieces falling into place finally, I can now say that I’m going home to take a run at big time radio in New England.  

When I was 22, I was working in the basement of a news/talk station in Nashua, NH for my first professional radio job. I was the board op for a conservative talk show for 2 hours everyday and I got to host a sports talk show from 8 to 9 am every Saturday.  I did that for 3 months after I graduated college and my college buddy Brett reminded this week that I used to put him on as a guest so I had someone to talk to during the show.

Little did I know that I would be returning to that city over a decade later.  

In August of 1999, I left my newborn sister with my mother, stepfather and 3 brothers back in Massachusetts in order to get the experience needed to one day get to work on the radio in Boston. I went to Virginia, Alabama, Nebraska, and Iowa and had a blast covering some amazing sporting events and cutting my teeth in the sports talk business.

When my contract was not renewed in Omaha in 2009, I thought that I was going to have to start over from scratch because I wasn’t sure that I was going to reach my goal after being passed over by several major market jobs. I even thought I was going to Seattle right up until my contract expired in Nebraska but I lost out to someone who worked for ESPN in the final hours.

Then Ken Miller called me and asked me to join the afternoon show on KXnO.

A man named Joel McCrea runs KXnO. I didn’t know it at the time but he would become the second greatest boss of my career, behind only Bill Dunnavant who hired me with the sole purpose of turning me into a talk show host. Without Bill, there is no career but without Joel, there is no announcement right now.

Over the past 2 years, I have been allowed to fill-in on sports talk stations in St. Louis, Kansas City and most recently, my dream station of WEEI in Boston. Being able to show off my talents in major markets has opened so many doors for me and put me in the position to be coveted. I would like the audience of KXnO to know that I was not actively looking to get out however. From 25 to 30, I applied for as many jobs as I could but for the last 2 years, I have honestly not applied for a single position. Every opportunity was presented to me, not pursued by me and I turned down 2 job offers in just the last year.

And now the announcement:

I will now be hosting afternoon drive on WGAM in Nashua/Manchester, NH beginning in March. Being in the area will open so many doors for my career but I'm so excited to be joining an awesome organization. Mike Winn, my new GM, has been someone that I have wanted to work for for years and I can't wait to get going with him. 

It was the combination of working in market 11 while getting to talk Boston sports every weekday on a great station that was just too much to pass up when it was offered. Plus, I’ll be 20 minutes from my family after living over 1,000 miles away the past 11 years. My sister is now 11 and I've missed countless birthdays, plays and special moments. Now, I get to tape more "Matt and Maggie Movie Reviews"!!

This opportunity would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Joel McCrea letting me spread my wings and grow. I was not pushed out at KXnO. I was not told to find another job and I sure as heck was not fired. Anyone saying as much is lying and trying to take away from the hard work I put in to earn this opportunity. Yes, Joel has taken a ton of heat for me but he believed in me as a broadcaster and has tutored me through some very tough situations.   

There is more to this story too. Justin Bastinelli is co-host of the new show in New Hampshire. He and I went to high school together and Justin introduced my brother to his wife. Having him to work with everyday only increased the attractiveness of the job and I can’t wait to get started working with him.

However, I want to thank Ken Miller for telling KXnO that I was the guy he wanted to work with and going to bat for me to get the job. Without Matt and Miller, there is no way I ever get the chance to be on WEEI. I grew as a talk show host by working with Ken and learned a ton about football from him. His sports knowledge and ability to breakdown games is truly remarkable and I hope I stay in touch with him for years to come. It was truly an honor to get to work with him and he is first class all the way.

I’ll start on the air in March on WGAM but you can hear me this Sunday on WEEI from 4 to 7 Eastern Time if you want to hear some Boston sports talk from me before I head to New England officially. And for those wondering, the Rivals site (TheBluejaycafe.com) that I run will still be part of my day-to-day job.   

Thanks to everyone who has been a friend to me along as this journey. I have met so many amazing people. It’s been a wild ride but after a few more days ….

it’s time to go home.