What a time for NBC Sports Boston to overhaul its “Sports Sunday” show.
If you've wondered why Mike Felger has been MIA from NBC Boston's “Sports Sunday” in the immediate wake of Jerod Mayo's firing (Jan. 5) and Mike Vrabel's hiring (Jan. 12), it's not because Felger was on vacation like Drake Maye.
Felger is no longer doing Sundays and Mondays for NBC Sports Boston. His schedule went down to three nights a week at the start of the year.
“Not all my call,” Felger said on 98.5 The Sports Hub during Wednesday's show.
The Herald — where Felger started out when he went to Boston University more than three decades ago — reached out to Felger about the schedule change.
“After working weekends/Sundays in the fall for pretty much 35 years - starting as an intern there at the Herald in 1989 - I was ready to give that shift a rest,” Felger wrote to the Herald on Thursday.
“But it doesn't sound like it was going to be my choice anyway,” he added. “I don't want to speak for the company on that. They've been great. Challenging times for the business.”
His schedule change came up during “Felger and Mazz” on Wednesday after he had been hammering Drake Maye about not coming back from vacation when Vrabel was hired.
A caller, Matt in Braintree, told Felger that he “has no room to talk.”
“You're saying yesterday you're there on big days. Felger, there's nothing worse as a consumer than waiting until midnight to watch ‘Sports Sunday,' and you're not there on the big days,” Matt said on-air. “You weren't there on the big day when Mayo got fired. You weren't there on the big day after, you know, Vrabel gets hired. So it's just bad. You're just a hypocrite.”
Felger in response said he doesn't do “Sports Sunday” anymore.
“Although, I gotta be honest, the first Sunday when they fired Mayo, I felt like calling in and saying, ‘I'm gonna give you a freebie,' ” Felger said. “Because just my tug, I was here and I was able to do it, and my tug was like, ‘I want to get on the air and rip about it, you know, do the thing.' But I don't work Sundays anymore.”
Shoutout to @MikeMutnansky for alerting me to this clip of Felger addressing his schedule changes on NBC Sports Boston. He admits that these changes were not totally his decision. @bostonradio pic.twitter.com/6HNDqmsfua
— Boston Media Critic (@bostonmedia617) January 16, 2025
The Herald has reached out to NBC Boston for a comment.
This change at NBC Sports Boston comes as Herald alum John Tomase's contract was not picked up at the network at the start of the year.
“Some personal news: after six great years at NBC Sports Boston, I recently learned my contract will not be renewed,” Tomase wrote on social media. “Rest assured, I will remain annoyed about the Red Sox refusing to spend. In the meantime, this is the part where I say I'm available to write, edit, be a storyteller. I'm not limiting my search to sportswriting or journalism, so if you're seeking someone comfortable writing with passion and precision for a mass audience, give me a shout.”