“You don’t realize how good we have it as Boston sports fans until you go to other cities.”
~ MHS Class of 2012 alum & Boston 25 news/sports reporter Michael Raimondi
Sports media and the television business in general is one tough road to travel. Methuen native Michael Raimondi has taken this quite literally. After stops in Duluth, Minn., Fort Myers, Fla., and Phoenix, Ariz., Raimondi, 32, has come home, living a dream as a reporter for Boston 25 News.
The versatile and talented journalist is doing some fine work in a challenging and competitive media market, so what inspired him to pursue this career path?
Raimondi worked with his wife, current NBC10 Boston news anchor/reporter Amelia Fabiano, while the pair were in Ft. Myers, Fla.
“From a young age, I always was interested in sports and broadcasting,” says Raimondi. “People in my family always said I had a knack for remembering stats and talking about sports.
“I always thought it was a pipe dream, but that changed my sophomore year at Methuen High School when I took a journalism class with Ms. Guthrie. I learned a lot in that class and it made me realize I could be a reporter. It was the first time my eyes were opened to a journalism career being a reality.”
Raimondi, the son of Jeff and Rosemarie Raimondi, has never forgotten his Methuen roots,
“I am a Methuen man to the core,” he relates. “I went to the Marsh Grammar School before going to MHS and graduating in 2012. I love The Country Kitchen, Thwaites and Royal House of Roast Beef,” he says. “My family sometimes makes fun of me for how many sports I tried as a kid in Methuen. Nothing was better than playing on a team with friends whether it was rec league, travel teams or just neighborhood pickup games.”
After graduating from Lyndon State College (now Northern Vermont University-Lyndon), Raimondi got his first media gig as a 22-year-old morning anchor and producer in Duluth. Two years later, it was onto Fort Myers where he found his niche as a news reporter and something even more important.
“The best part of my experience in Fort Myers was meeting my wife Amelia Fabiano. We were good friends and co-anchors for a couple years on a weekend morning show. She grew up mostly in Londonderry, N.H., and is now a fantastic news reporter and weekend anchor at NBC Boston,” he says.
Raimondi and Fabiano were married while working in Arizona. It was also in the Grand Canyon State that he had the chance to cut his sports-reporting teeth.
“I got some big sports opportunities,” he relates. “I covered the World Series in 2023 as the Diamondbacks played the Rangers. I also field-anchored from the WM Phoenix Open and Phoenix Suns’ basketball games.”
Today’s coverage of sports is dominated by sound bites, quick blurbs and hot takes. Raimondi discusses the impact of social media immediacy on his business: “It is so important. Some people have made careers as TV or radio personalities because of their posts online.
“Social media brings sports fans together whether to argue about a play call or rally behind a team during the playoffs. I enjoy posting and getting live reactions from real people. It’s a way to reach people who may not watch or read everything you write or put on TV.”
While Raimondi is squarely ensconced in today’s media world, he has had the chance to work with some of his boyhood idols.
He states, “I was sent to cover the first day of Patriots’ training camp last July and ended up doing a live report with (Boston 25 News anchor) Gene Lavanchy. I met him minutes before we would be on TV together. I didn’t say it to him then, but I grew up watching him. It was really cool to meet him and be on the same broadcast as him.
“There was a small issue and he was supposed to toss it over to me. He instead tossed to someone else. Realizing the mistake, he admitted he forgot about me, walked over to me and apologized. The realization was all on live TV. It was a really funny TV moment, and one I’ll never forget since I just met the guy.”
At 32 years old, Raimondi has witnessed the 25-year run of Boston sports excellence. He comments on now being able to cover the teams first-hand: “It’s the best. We are so lucky to be Boston sports fans. I grew up in the Golden Age for all the teams. I worried that by the time I gained enough experience to come back, the good days would be over, but I’m happy to see that’s not the case.”
Ever the objective reporter, Raimondi is still a fan at heart and knows that he is fortunate to be working in Boston.
“All the teams are relevant, and I love that the teams I cover are ones I can text my family and friends about. While I’ve had other cool sports experiences, it was never as big to me since they weren’t teams I knew as much history about,” he said. “It’s been an incredible experience covering the Boston teams. You don’t realize how good we have it as Boston sports fans until you go to other cities. Covering the teams I’ve watched since I was a child is the dream. Being a reporter in Boston was always the goal. This is my home market with the teams I grew up cheering.”
In addition to his television career, Raimondi can now also add the title of author to his resume. He recently published his first book, “American Gold, A Curling Comeback,” definitely a timely tome given the spectacle of February’s Milano Cortina Olympic Games. The book details one of the greatest Team USA Olympic comeback stories. The 2018 U.S. Men’s Curling Team, led by John Shuster, rose from near elimination to defeat the heavily favored Team Canada, make the medal round and eventually win the first-ever Olympic curling gold medal for the United States.
Raimondi explains, “My two years in Minnesota brought so many unexpected experiences. I made lifelong friends, learned a lot about the bold North and created friendships with Olympic curlers from the Duluth area. Those relationships led me to publish the book.
“This book takes you through the journey of Team Shuster, once labeled ‘Team Reject’ by some people in USA Curling. The U.S. Men’s Curling Team had their backs against the wall. They were destined to miss the medal rounds for the third consecutive Olympics. This collection of outcasts proved the doubters wrong as the typical, everyday guys united to go all the way to the top.”
Raimondi knows that the genesis for the book project was immensely personal. He states, “The relationship with the curlers has been my most unexpected professional journey. I never thought I’d write a book, never mind about curling. I had never even tried it until I went to Duluth.
“My book is the only one written about Team Shuster and the only Americans to ever win gold in curling at the Winter Olympics. That was a proud moment. Relationships I built as a young journalist turned into a published book. Never saw that coming.”
Raimondi has already staked his claim to multimedia success, but the TV game keeps moving. He talks about what is next.
“I’m excited to be a big part of World Cup coverage over the next few months,” he says. “I’ll be focusing on the teams coming to Boston and will start creating content to get fans ready for some of the best teams in the world coming to town. I’d love to be a sports reporter but I also love to anchor. I’m happy for now covering both news and sports.”
At Boston 25, Raimondi’s versatility has been clearly evident. He was the lead reporter covering the Brown University mass shootings Dec. 13, 2025 and did a live national report on Fox News Channel. The next day, he was covering the Bills-Patriots game in Foxboro.
He states, “When something is breaking or a big update happens, I want to cover it. It’s important to know as much as you can to bring educated perspectives and information to the table. I want to be well-rounded so I can report on any topic with confidence and clarity.”
Raimondi’s ability and opportunity to experience different things began at home in Methuen with parents Jeff and Rosemarie: “My parents always pushed me to try new things and take a chance. I was really nervous about going to Duluth and moving away from home. They said it’s too good of an opportunity not to go.
“There were times I was really homesick and wondering if going to the Midwest was really the right choice. Looking back, it certainly was. I’ve met so many great people and lived so many great experiences since. Going to Duluth was the difficult first step that eventually led me back home.”
In memoriam
Methuen lost a cherished member of the sports community and city at large when Ann Marie Pilat, the wife of longtime Methuen sports broadcaster and Athletic Hall of Famer Ray Pilat, passed away Feb. 7, 2026 at age 80.
Ann Marie fostered a 35-year career as an educator in the Lawrence school system, but in Methuen, she was best known as Ray Pilat’s omnipresent sidekick, a co-Pilat if you will. For decades, Ray has been in front of the camera interviewing players, calling games and hosting talk shows from the old Methuen Channel 27 to his work at MCTV/MCS.
At most of these events and productions was Ann Marie. Like the song says, she was indeed the wind beneath his wings. Ann Marie was a special person who always greeted people with a smile and kind words. To me, she will always be the First Lady of Methuen Sports.
When I first started covering sports at CTV-3 in Lawrence in 1987, it began a Golden Age of local media from television to radio to newspapers. Ray Pilat built a Hall of Fame Legacy with his voice and presence, and brought his grandsons Zachary and Harrison Chase in front of the cameras as well. Again, they got all the air time, but Ann Marie was a quiet constant providing support.
When I contacted Ray to offer my condolences, one of the things he said about Ann Marie was, “She left us surrounded by the love of us all and on her terms. Her independence was evident up to the end when she told the doctors, ‘I’m 80 years old, have lived a wonderful life so let’s get the show on the road.’ She did it her way!”
There is an old, and perhaps somewhat outdated, adage that says, “Behind every great man there is a woman.” That phrase did not apply to Ann Marie Pilat. She never walked behind anyone. Instead, she walked side by side with her husband and family for decades and was a familiar and friendly face to so many.
Ann Marie spent most of her life in education and in the local sports scene making the lives of young students and athletes better. Indeed, we are all better for having known her.
John Molori is an author, columnist, and a 2011 inductee into the Methuen Athletic Hall of Fame. Facebook: John Molori, Twitter @MoloriMedia. Email molorimedia@gmail.com.
Raimondi worked with his wife, current NBC10 Boston news anchor/reporter Amelia Fabiano, while the pair were in Ft. Myers, Fla.
Raimondi’s new book takes you through the journey of Team Shuster, once labeled “Team Reject” by some people in USA Curling, he says.
Raimondi has had the chance to meet and work alongside Boston media legends like Gene Lavanchy (left) and Butch Stearns.
Longtime Lawrence educator and familiar Methuen sports fixture Ann Marie Pilat passed away in February. She was the wife of Methuen Hall of Fame broadcaster Ray Pilat.
