Sox fans Downeast must look for team

Attention Boston baseball fans and radio listeners in Washington County. You can still put your Sox on, but you won’t find them in the same drawer each time.

A recent rash of complaints by Washington County Red Sox fans who couldn’t find their beloved Sox on the FM dial prompted a call to Calais radio station WQDY (92.7 FM, 1230 AM) to find out why.

“We’ve advertised it, handed out schedules… this and that, but some people still don’t realize why the games aren’t on FM,” said WQDY traffic manager June Gillespie.

The reason is fairly simple. WQDY has had to “split” Sox coverage due to scheduling conflicts with weekend programming it is obligated by contract to carry.

“Last week was unusual because they had evening games on the weekend which we usually don’t have. Games are usually around 1 p.m.,” said Gillespie, explaining the rash of recent complaints.

The formula, which was instituted this year to overcome scheduling conflicts, is this: Any weekend games starting before 3 p.m. are on AM only. Weekend night games are usually on AM, FM, and Machias sister station WALZ (95.3 FM).

“But there are some dates [Aug. 1,8, and 22, and Sept. 19] which are evening games which will only be on AM because of conflicts with our special programming,” Gillespie explained.

On those days, games will air on AM. If the games are still in progress after the special programs on FM have ended, the broadcasts will be joined in progress on both FM stations.

Gillespie said she can understand some of the confusion, since this is the first year coverage has had to be split. But she added that the station has been doing weekend day games on AM and night games on AM-FM for at least a decade.

“This is the way we’ve been doing it since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here 10 years,” she said. “Usually when they’re on the West Coast, we don’t split them, but because of programming, we’ve had to this year.”

WQDY and WALZ are owned by Michael Goodine and William McVicar.

Fox Sports Net will debut its first original game show, called Ultimate Fan League, this fall. The show will quiz contestants on a wide range of subject matter from sports and other areas.

According to Arthur Smith, Fox Sports Net executive vice president of programming and production, “This is not your father’s sports game show.”

The 30-minute show, organized like a sports league with separate divisions as well as regular and postseason play, will match up teams of sports fans representing all 22 FSN regional networks.

Those regional teams will be filled by nationwide contestant searches launched this summer. Fox representatives will be visiting restaurants, sports bars, and other establishments to find suitable sports fan contestants.

“I would think they’ll be combing the Boston major market because I’m sure they’ll be hitting all the major cities with their search, so I don’t think you’ll see them looking for anyone up here,” said Doug Finck, general manager of Portland Fox affiliate WPXT (Channel 51).

Once the teams are picked, each will compete in a 10-game “regular season.” Those with the best divisional records will advance to a championship series.

Ultimate Fan League will air Monday through Friday at 5:30 p.m. (local time) and will be rebroadcast weeknights at 12:30 a.m.