Finn: Ordway gets the boot; Replaced by Salk

Corsi

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Ordway offered to finish the week, but definitely won't be around next week.
 

Rusty13

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He says he's "done on this radio station".  Sounds like a clean break then.
 

teddykgb

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Makes sense.  Just don't see Ordway accepting something like Arnold did, although Arnold was under contract and probably didn't have as much choice.  I'm assuming they're terminating Ordway's contract and paying him money.  Nonetheless, a very surreal thing to listen to, probably not the wrong thing to do, but still sort of hard to believe it's actually happening.  Will be interesting to see if he even does anything more and/or continues with some of the Pats related stuff he was doing
 

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Will be interesting to see if he even does anything more and/or continues with some of the Pats related stuff he was doing
 
He says he has some things lined up in what he considered the "media wave of the future." Whatever that means.
 

teddykgb

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SoxScout said:
He says he has some things lined up in what he considered the "media wave of the future." Whatever that means.
 
I look forward to probably not downloading the Big O podcast featuring Pete Sheppard
 

Rusty13

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I wonder if the producer, Andy, is still staying.  He seems pretty loyal to Ordway.  Although I doubt he would have many instant prospects.
 

Rusty13

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"If I'm gonna be here for 3 days, I'm gonna follow the rules for 3 days.  Then after that....."
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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So the last of the original EEIers is leaving.
 
I didn't dislike Glen Ordway the radio guy, I thought that when paired with the right guests his shows were entertaining (though never really informative). What I didn't like was Glen Ordway the program manager, the guy who made us listen to Steve Burton, Larry Johnson, Bill Burt, Fred Smerlas and other twits because they were his buddies. Back in the late 90s when Ordway would roll out Bob Ryan, CHB, Gerry Callahan, Charlie Pierce, Jackie MacMullen -- the A list of the Boston sports scene -- it was a great program. But once it devolved into the Ordway bunch, the whole show sucked.
 
Hopefully Dennis and Adams will join him, but honestly, I think that they fired the wrong guy.
 

Corsi

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SoxScout said:
 
He says he has some things lined up in what he considered the "media wave of the future." Whatever that means.
Big O Hologram!
 

RetractableRoof

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
So the last of the original EEIers is leaving.
 
I didn't dislike Glen Ordway the radio guy, I thought that when paired with the right guests his shows were entertaining (though never really informative). What I didn't like was Glen Ordway the program manager, the guy who made us listen to Steve Burton, Larry Johnson, Bill Burt, Fred Smerlas and other twits because they were his buddies. Back in the late 90s when Ordway would roll out Bob Ryan, CHB, Gerry Callahan, Charlie Pierce, Jackie MacMullen -- the A list of the Boston sports scene -- it was a great program. But once it devolved into the Ordway bunch, the whole show sucked.
 
Hopefully Dennis and Adams will join him, but honestly, I think that they fired the wrong guy.
I am so in agreement with this.  I think MacMullen is a blast to listen to, enjoy Ryan when he doesn't have to 'create' content and just gets asked questions he gets to answer from the encyclopedia he calls a brain, basically once they start being personalities instead of just playing it straight I start to turn it off.
 
There has been nothing worse for EEI in the last few years than listening to Smerlas and DeOssie (et al) i.e. the twit pack and that whole shtick.  Smerlas could do straight analysis and be interesting to listen to given his varied background and experience, but his on air 'personality' is the single biggest reason I stopped listening to EEI in the afternoons during football season.  I tried to catch the BB interviews, but beyond that, just shut it off.  Once Dale was dumped, I found I just stopped listening in general to the station.  Loved Ordway long ago as a Celtics voice, hung on every word when Reggie died... but that guy just doesn't get on the radio often enough anymore - replaced with the crap he produces on the air now.
 
In fairness, I think most stations and media is going down the same 'twit' path where most of the voices that were previously opinions or knowledge experts are being converted into entertainment generators, and many are just falling flat in that role.  Combine that with what seems like 28 minutes of commercials every hour and that formula has long gotten old for me.  Or maybe l I've gotten old for it...
 

Billy Jo Robidoux

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I have a bit of sympathy for Ordway to the extent that he seems to be a pretty decent guy off the air.  John Dennis, on the other hand, has proven himself to be an absolute racist asshole of the highest order.  When Dennis gets the axe, I will be gleefully dancing on his grave.
 

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the1andonly3003 said:
Don't think we would've heard this last week...
 
 
What do you mean? I think that Ordway wasn't EEI's problem. Personally, John Dennis is a bigger trainwreck than Ordway is. Mike Adams isn't funny or knowledgable. Mut and Merloni are okay, but are vanilla at best. If you were to make a list of talent at EEI, I'd say it goes:
 
1. Gerry Callahan
2. Michael Holley
3. Glenn Ordway
4. Lou Merloni
5. Mut
6. Gladys, the Groovy Mule
7. the janitor
8. - 99,992. anyone in the EEI building or who walks by the EEI building or is within a 25-mile radius of the EEI building
99,993. John Dennis
99,994. Mike Adams
99,995. Jason Wolfe
 
Am I saying that he was unjustly fired? No. Everyone has to go at some point and he's probably outlived his usefulness there. But Ordway wasn't THE reason why the station was sucking.
 

the1andonly3003

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
What do you mean? I think that Ordway wasn't EEI's problem. Personally, John Dennis is a bigger trainwreck than Ordway is. Mike Adams isn't funny or knowledgable. Mut and Merloni are okay, but are vanilla at best. If you were to make a list of talent at EEI, I'd say it goes:
 
1. Gerry Callahan
2. Michael Holley
3. Glenn Ordway
4. Lou Merloni
5. Mut
6. Gladys, the Groovy Mule
7. the janitor
8. - 99,992. anyone in the EEI building or who walks by the EEI building or is within a 25-mile radius of the EEI building
99,993. John Dennis
99,994. Mike Adams
99,995. Jason Wolfe
 
Am I saying that he was unjustly fired? No. Everyone has to go at some point and he's probably outlived his usefulness there. But Ordway wasn't THE reason why the station was sucking.
 
Digging through The Big Thread had many posters here call for Ordway's head
 

Corsi

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
 
 
What do you mean? I think that Ordway wasn't EEI's problem. Personally, John Dennis is a bigger trainwreck than Ordway is. Mike Adams isn't funny or knowledgable. Mut and Merloni are okay, but are vanilla at best. If you were to make a list of talent at EEI, I'd say it goes:
 
1. Gerry Callahan
2. Michael Holley
3. Glenn Ordway
4. Lou Merloni
5. Mut
6. Gladys, the Groovy Mule
7. the janitor
8. - 99,992. anyone in the EEI building or who walks by the EEI building or is within a 25-mile radius of the EEI building
99,993. John Dennis
99,994. Mike Adams
99,995. Jason Wolfe
 
Am I saying that he was unjustly fired? No. Everyone has to go at some point and he's probably outlived his usefulness there. But Ordway wasn't THE reason why the station was sucking.
I can't disagree with any of those. What does your Top-14 look like if you were to list all the hosts from EEI and TSH?
 

Trlicek's Whip

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SoxScout said:
He says he has some things lined up in what he considered the "media wave of the future." Whatever that means.
 
Podcast, right? Based on his age it's probably something the kids are telling him they are doing nowadays.
 

H78

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
What do you mean? I think that Ordway wasn't EEI's problem. Personally, John Dennis is a bigger trainwreck than Ordway is. Mike Adams isn't funny or knowledgable. Mut and Merloni are okay, but are vanilla at best. If you were to make a list of talent at EEI, I'd say it goes:
 
1. Gerry Callahan
 
What? If John Dennis is homophoblic, racist, non-sensical POS EEI host 1a, then this guy is certainly 1b.
 

RedOctober3829

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Ordway: We didn't talk about hockey because the Bruins were irrelevant.  We did focus groups and were told that they hated the Bruins and hated the ownership.  They wanted all Red Sox and all Patriots.  Imitated that Mazz did not want to talk hockey and that he hates hockey and the Bruins.
 

H78

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RedOctober3829 said:
Ordway: We didn't talk about hockey because the Bruins were irrelevant.  We did focus groups and were told that they hated the Bruins and hated the ownership.  They wanted all Red Sox and all Patriots.  Imitated that Felger did not want to talk hockey and that he hates hockey and the Bruins.
 
He's talking about Mazz.
 

H78

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Ordway hasn't taken any real shots at Felger from what I've heard.
 

Gambler7

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I find it highly amusing Ordway is still talking over everybody that is calling this show trying to thank him. It's the first time I have listened in a while, and I was quickly reminded why.
 

H78

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Yeah, Felger truly loves the sport of hockey. When he and Mazz are talking about it, just tune into Felger because he actually enjoys and knows the sport.
 

steveluck7

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And I think Ordway is missing the point on the hockey talk. (i'm not listening) but I think the backlash over WEEI's handling of hockey was that most hosts would openly mock hockey callers and ignore the Bruins and their fans. It's one thing to not include hockey on your show sheet but to dismiss callers and openly mock it (Holley's Hockey minute) is what alienated them when the Bruins were revitalized.
 

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RedOctober3829 said:
Ordway: We didn't talk about hockey because the Bruins were irrelevant.  We did focus groups and were told that they hated the Bruins and hated the ownership.  They wanted all Red Sox and all Patriots.  Imitated that Mazz did not want to talk hockey and that he hates hockey and the Bruins.
 
 
And when the Bruins went on a Cup run and the town in fact turned out to love them passionately, you got caught with your pants down and got killed in the ratings because you had been shitting on the team and their fans for years. 98.5 recognized that and took full advantage of your myopic approach.
 
So fuck off, Ordway, You reaped what you sowed. You fossilized dickhead.
 

H78

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Ordway's biggest shot to Felger is that his contrarian thing is an act, but then Ordway admitted all radio personalities are an act. He really is playing nice and showing Felger a lot of respect (so far); something tells me in a way he's proud of what Felger's become because he knows he was a big part of it.
 
And I'm not trying to give Ordway too much credit here, I've never cared for him or his show. 98.5 was a blessing the day I found out it had started.
 

teddykgb

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steveluck7 said:
And I think Ordway is missing the point on the hockey talk. (i'm not listening) but I think the backlash over WEEI's handling of hockey was that most hosts would openly mock hockey callers and ignore the Bruins and their fans. It's one thing to not include hockey on your show sheet but to dismiss callers and openly mock it (Holley's Hockey minute) is what alienated them when the Bruins were revitalized.
 
Plus the absurdity of it all is that they had Arnold on air at the time who is the only guy in market that I'm sure loves hockey as much as if not more than the listenership.  Dale was doing the games and on the radio, had crazy access to players and the management, plus loved the topic.  That they somehow parlayed this into getting their ass kicked predominantly on the back of hockey's renaissance in Boston is absolutely mind boggling.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I'm loving the show so far. There's been at least 4-5 shots over at Felger & Mazz in the last hour. Always prefaced with "They're friends of mine..." then a shot at them about being frauds, unoriginal or whatever comes to mind.
 
he's an even bigger fraud than I thought. In the 2:40-3:00 segment his whole "We thought everyone thought this show was just a big bit and we didn't believe any of it and would do anything to drive ratings, I mean entertainment. We hung up on people cause we thought everyone thought it was fun!"
 
I understand that it needs to be entertainment, being controversial etc. digs up ratings but admitting the entire thing was a fraud? That's a bit much. Fuck him.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I can't disagree with any of those. What does your Top-14 look like if you were to list all the hosts from EEI and TSH?
 
1. Michael Felger (He's the top of the heap)
 
2. Rich S. (He's the glue that holds the T&S show together)
 
3. Gerry Callahan (I think that he has a lot of potential if paired with the right co-host, but maybe there is so much stink on him from the last 15 years, it may not work)
 
4. Fred Toucher (I like him a lot more than Callahan and I find him insanely funny but if we're talking sports talent ... I'm not sure what he brings to the table. Sports talk isn't rocket science and he has passion, but there are times when his rants go nowhere. The only thing that separates him from Callahan is that he's self depreciating. This was a tough one, to be honest. )
 
5. Mark Bertran (Once given a show, he will do really well for himself. Bertran and Gasper is really good.)
 
6. Scott Zolak (I thought he was an idiot ex-jock, and he is to an extent. But he doesn't take things too seriously and can break down a football game with the best of them.)

7. Michael Holley (Holley is a great straight man and if paired with the right co-host could be really good. He's a thoughtful sports host, which is very rare. Sometimes people mistake that for vanilla, I think.)
 
8. Glenn Ordway (His time has passed.)

9. Lou Merloni (I'm glad that his ratings haven't gone up because I have a feeling he'd be completely insufferable. But he's pretty decent when he doesn't big time anyone.)
 
10. Adam Jones (I haven't listened to his show much, but I remember liking him on Felger's old show.)
 
11. Jon Wallach (He gets a lot of crap and some of it is deserved and he really struggles to keep up with T&R, which hurts him. But he seemingly knows his stuff in his brain, it just gets lost on its way out of his mouth. Which is a bit of a problem when you're on the radio four hours a day, five days a week.)
 
12. Tony Massarotti (I completely forgot about him. I used to defend him all the time, but he's so lazy and boring and just, I don't know the right word here, but it seems like he's stealing money. He just doesn't do a good job.)

13. Mut (I don't think Mut knows who he is yet. I really don't. He seems very smug, but in a boring and inoffensive way.)

14. Gladys, the Groovy Mule

15. the janitor at TSH
 
16. the janitor at EEI

17. - 99,991. anyone in the EEI building or who walks by the EEI building or is within a 25-mile radius of the EEI building
 
99,992. Andy Gresh (for someone that is so loud, he has very little to say. And URI is not a football factory, no matter what he wants you to think.)

99,993. John Dennis (he just needs to play golf and go far, far, far away.)

99,994. Mike Adams (he's the personification of a DUI.)

99,995. Jason Wolfe (how he has a job, I will never know.)
 

H78

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Is it fair to say the Bruins' success ultimately killed EEI?
 
Not the Patriots, or the Red Sox, or the Celtics...but the BRUINS may have been the club most responsible for taking them down.
 

H78

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I agree with the high ranking on Bertrand. If he sticks with it, I really think he will eventually be the prominent voice in Boston sports radio. He has a lot of great thoughts and articulates them well. The only thing he needs to be careful with is I've noticed he's picked up and started using some of Felger's delivery and mannerisms on air. While that's not a bad thing right now (honestly, I love listening to Felger), he needs to make sure he doesn't try to come off as Felger 2.0.
 

steveluck7

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H78 said:
Is it fair to say the Bruins' success ultimately killed EEI?
 
Not the Patriots, or the Red Sox, or the Celtics...but the BRUINS may have been the club most responsible for taking them down.
Partially that and the NBA lockout happening on the heels of the B's resurgence put a dent in their armor
 

pdaj

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I've listened to Orway a couple times per week when in transport and generally like him. IMO, he was always balanced and logical; he operated from the middle and was skeptical of extreme positions.

I will agree, however, that he surrounded himself with a lackluster cast (aside from Holley); and besides Belichick/Ainge, he rarely had a guest on that I cared about. I think it's fair to say that he got a little cozy.

Lastly, I think at times he came across as an average-fan-basher, "know it all" ... but considering the average WEEI caller, I can understand how that sentiment can develop.  

So, yeah, Ordway could have been better. His program could have been better. But he was rock solid. Part of me is sad to see him go.
 

NortheasternPJ

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teddykgb said:
you're leaving out Mike Flynn, who should crack that top 10 if he's serious about this as a career
 
I agree, I'd put Flynn, Johnston and Gasper above The Big O.
 
I wish I could find it, but the segment T&R did a few years ago ripping Ordway to shreds after he dismissed them was fantastic. The whole "We're just guys you want to come over and have a beer with, play some cards, smoke some cigars...."
 

teddykgb

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i'd move both Zolak and Bertrand behind Ordway who is pretty damn good as a radio guy.  I'd also move Holley back behind all of them, there's a reason why he's done two of these shows in a few years, he's contributed.  He seems capable of being really interesting and fresh but never seems to make it there. Slot Flynn and I agree about Johnston as well somewhere behind Zolak and that'd be my list (as if anyone cares)
 

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I agree, I'd put Flynn, Johnston and Gasper above The Big O.
 
I tried to keep it to people who have a daily slot on either station. Because while I know (or have a general idea) of who's on the weekend on TSH, aside from Mustard and Johnson, I have no idea who is on EEI and I didn't want to forget anyone.
 
But Flynn and Johnston are very good. Gasper can get a bit whiny sometimes.
 

steveluck7

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Of the full-timers on both stations, is Holley the youngest?  He sure seems like it.  I would like to see him get his own show.  Holley and Bertrand would be good
 

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JMOH sort of covered this for me, but what really killed the The Big Show for me is when they were banned from having Globe writers like Ryan, Mullen and CHB (before he had devolved into self-parody). Sure they would still have MacAdam on (why isn't he in your rankings, Byron?, but they would talk over him constantly, and kill the flow of conversation.

Then they started the phase where at least one of DeOssie, Burton, LJ, or (worst of all) Smerlas were on every day, rendering the show unlistenable.
 

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Did JMOH just make a list of radio personalities and not put Larry Johnson on the bottom?
 
I'm glad to see all these cocky WEEI loudmouths get their comeuppance. It's easy to be king of the hill when you're the only person on said hill.  They all got full of themselves and let the programing devolve rather than constantly thriving to improve and get new talent.  Mustard and Johnson have a show, but they couldn't get a gig for Felger? I agree Wolfe is the sorriest of the bunch, I agree.  He let the shitshow that the station has become happen under his watch.
 

H78

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Here's how I'd rank Boston sports radio right now (for whatever that's worth):
 
The Best
1. Felger
2. Rich
 
Good
3. Bertrand
4. Toucher (Doesn't know sports, but is entertaining as hell. My concern with him is in five years his act may be tired.)
5. Flynn
6. Zolak
7. Holley
 
Listenable
8. Merloni
9. Adam Jones
 
Needs work, but good every now and then
10. Mazz
11. Wallach
12. Gresh
13. Mutt
 
Unlistenable
Dennis
Callahan
Mike Adams