June 01, 2022
Submitted photo /for PhillyVoice
Mike Missanelli, sports radio personality for the ESPN affiliate, 97.5 The Fanatic, in Philadelphia, preps for his morning radio show.
Mike Missanelli's on-air run at 97.5 The Fanatic came to an abrupt end when he announced on Tuesday's show that it would be his last.
It caught nearly everyone off guard.
Through tears and a cracking voice, the longtime sports radio host explained that his contract was due up in a couple of weeks and that he and the station's owners, Beasley Broadcast Group, have opted for a different direction.
He added that a replacement show is already locked in for the 2-6 p.m. slot, but details on that and what exactly led to Missanelli's sudden departure weren't immediately clear.
A day later, we have a better picture of where things stand.
Co-host Tyrone Johnson and producer Jen Scordo will run the show in the interim and it will continue to be simulcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia for the time being, per The Inquirer's Rob Tornoe.
As for what the replacement show is going to be, Johnson, Hunter Brody, and former Phillies reliever Ricky Bottalico are being lined up as the co-hosts for the next iteration of The Fanatic's afternoon show, according to Crossing Broad's Kevin Kinkead, though it isn't known if Scordo will stay put or move into a different role.
Missanelli's situation: He signed a one-year extension last December and then a short-term one that took him into this spring, also from Crossing Broad. With the deal expiring again, there didn't seem to be an agreement on the next step, though Missanelli did acknowledge on Tuesday's broadcast that the station did leave the door open for him to stay on board in a different role.
However, he seems set to move on entirely once his contract officially expires.
Through WIP, WMMR and then The Fanatic, Missanelli has been a longtime, albeit polarizing figure within Philly's sports media, though his departure adds to an already seismic shift of the landscape with the retirement of Hall of Fame scribe Ray Didinger and the impending retirement of longtime morning show host Angelo Cataldi.
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