Michael Holley's Revolving Hostatorium

Patriot_Reign

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I would think there's zero chance Minihane leaves the morning show given how he's saved their ratings.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Is it crazy to think this has got to be Holley's last chance?  Guilty or not, everywhere he goes turns to poison.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Patriot_Reign said:
Is it crazy to think this has got to be Holley's last chance?  Guilty or not, everywhere he goes turns to poison.
 
It's been said before, but it wasn't really poison when he was paired with Dale Arnold.  That was a solid show and I believe also the last show that regularly beat its Sports Hub counterpart in the ratings.  That ended because Holley priced himself out of the mid-day slot.  I'm not sure it can be blamed on Holley that the Entercom people decided to completely blow up the show rather than just replace Holley with Merloni (and keep Dale).
 

NortheasternPJ

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Red(s)HawksFan said:
 
It's been said before, but it wasn't really poison when he was paired with Dale Arnold.  That was a solid show and I believe also the last show that regularly beat its Sports Hub counterpart in the ratings.  That ended because Holley priced himself out of the mid-day slot.  I'm not sure it can be blamed on Holley that the Entercom people decided to completely blow up the show rather than just replace Holley with Merloni (and keep Dale).
 
I liked Dale & Holley, but as you said, he priced himself out of the Mid-day slot, killing that show. Then he can't carry the drive time slot with two different programs. 
 
So is Holley really the high priced talent he thinks he is? 
 

lostjumper

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Did anyone listen yesterday? Holley was chairing, and he was terrible. Andy Hart was on and someone else and they were discussing The Pats. Holley was terrible! They were actually mocking him by the end of the segment he was so bad. First he tried to argue that Vince is more valuable than Revis, and then he couldn't understand why the nose tackle isn't a premium position in the NFL. He didn't know that the Pats played a ton of 4-3 last year. I know he gets a ton of credit for writing Patriot Reign, but he was exposed yesterday as a guy who seems to still be living in 2003.

Just as a personal preference, I think Holley is incredibly bland and boring. I thought he was as big a problem with the show as Salk was.
 

RoyHobbs

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lostjumper said:
Did anyone listen yesterday? Holley was chairing, and he was terrible. Andy Hart was on and someone else and they were discussing The Pats. Holley was terrible! They were actually mocking him by the end of the segment he was so bad. First he tried to argue that Vince is more valuable than Revis, and then he couldn't understand why the nose tackle isn't a premium position in the NFL. He didn't know that the Pats played a ton of 4-3 last year. I know he gets a ton of credit for writing Patriot Reign, but he was exposed yesterday as a guy who seems to still be living in 2003.

Just as a personal preference, I think Holley is incredibly bland and boring. I thought he was as big a problem with the show as Salk was.
 
I heard the whole thing on my commute home. Holley moves the goalposts all the time; he's one of those annoying folks (we all know at least one) who's always right, and who'll always squirm his way into being right by getting into semantics, etc., as witnessed in this particular exchange.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Holley isn't a career killer, his bosses put him in places where he can't succeed though.
 
For some reason they thought that Dale and Holley was the reason why EEI was floundering so they broke up the only show that was worth listening to. Then they shifted Holley to drive time and paired him with aging dinosaur, Glenn Ordway. That went terrible because there wasn't much chemistry and Holley is a very good second man, don't expect him to do the heavy lifting. Of course, Ordway is an older guy and doesn't want to do the heavy lifting, so Ordway was jettisoned. Enter Mike Salk. He was okay, but measured and unremarkable. Holley is measured and unremarkable (and I like Mike Holley a lot, but he doesn't have a ton of "hot sports takes", which I like, but unfortunately in a two-man show someone has to have some HSTs so that the other can chill him out), it's like having a comedy with two straight men. Again, not Holley's fault (and not Salk's fault either).
 
EEI management has to do a better job of recognizing what their talent's talents are and playing to them.
 
Holley needs a Michael Felger type in order for his show to be any good. It can't be two guys pretending to be outraged, it can't be two guys being reasonable, and one of these guys has to drive the show. For whatever reason Salk would not drive; I don't know if he felt that Holley should do it since he was there first or if he didn't want to step on Holley's toes. Maybe Salk isn't that type of person, I don't know (and that's not a criticism). When you listened to the Big Show, for better or worse, it was Glenn Ordway's show. When you listen to Felger and Maz, Felger is driving that bus. Toucher and Rich and Dennis and Callahan are a bit different since both shows thrive on an equal partnership (though Minnihane is quickly eclipsing them). Even on Dale and Holley, Dale pretty much set the tone and Holley went along for the ride (as did Neumier before him).
 
I hate cliches, but you really do need an Alpha Dog. For EEI management not to realize this shows why they are where they are.
 

richgedman'sghost

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
Holley isn't a career killer, his bosses put him in places where he can't succeed though.
 
For some reason they thought that Dale and Holley was the reason why EEI was floundering so they broke up the only show that was worth listening to. Then they shifted Holley to drive time and paired him with aging dinosaur, Glenn Ordway. That went terrible because there wasn't much chemistry and Holley is a very good second man, don't expect him to do the heavy lifting. Of course, Ordway is an older guy and doesn't want to do the heavy lifting, so Ordway was jettisoned. Enter Mike Salk. He was okay, but measured and unremarkable. Holley is measured and unremarkable (and I like Mike Holley a lot, but he doesn't have a ton of "hot sports takes", which I like, but unfortunately in a two-man show someone has to have some HSTs so that the other can chill him out), it's like having a comedy with two straight men. Again, not Holley's fault (and not Salk's fault either).
 
EEI management has to do a better job of recognizing what their talent's talents are and playing to them.
 
Holley needs a Michael Felger type in order for his show to be any good. It can't be two guys pretending to be outraged, it can't be two guys being reasonable, and one of these guys has to drive the show. For whatever reason Salk would not drive; I don't know if he felt that Holley should do it since he was there first or if he didn't want to step on Holley's toes. Maybe Salk isn't that type of person, I don't know (and that's not a criticism). When you listened to the Big Show, for better or worse, it was Glenn Ordway's show. When you listen to Felger and Maz, Felger is driving that bus. Toucher and Rich and Dennis and Callahan are a bit different since both shows thrive on an equal partnership (though Minnihane is quickly eclipsing them). Even on Dale and Holley, Dale pretty much set the tone and Holley went along for the ride (as did Neumier before him).
 
I hate cliches, but you really do need an Alpha Dog. For EEI management not to realize this shows why they are where they are.
Hey i tuned in today and there was Dale and Holley together again.  Could EEI possibly go back to their one show that was successful against the SportsHub? The brief time I listened today they sounded pretty good. Do you think a reconfigured Dale and Holly show would make a dent in the ratings against Felger and Mazz?
 

richgedman'sghost

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Chad Finn said:
That's what they're going to do for the foreseeable future, with a third voice added daily. It's in tomorrow's column.
Thanks for the heads up :love:  I sincerely mean it when I say that you are the best and only reason I look at boston.com, Chad. Anyway I personally think this is a good decison in particular on days that Felger is not around. How does the rest of SOSH feel?
 
ps. Could a mod please change the thread title? Salk has left the building.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Fauria is a real goofball. Sort of like listening to two adults and a 12yo, but I've been entertained when he's been added to the Dale-Holley mix.
 

soxfan121

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Dale claims not have been drunk in "30 years". When pressed, he could not recall the circumstances of said 30-year old bender. Holley following up with "well, maybe if you got drunk on the air, it might help you get the full-time gig" was funny. Because I have no doubt that drunk Dale Arnold would be absolutely hilarious for about an hour.
 

Merkle's Boner

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Holley just seems so much more comfortable with Dale.  I really hope they give it some time, and the addition of a third man could appeal to the mouth breathers.
 

Harry Hooper

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Chad Finn said:
That's what they're going to do for the foreseeable future, with a third voice added daily. It's in tomorrow's column.
 
 
Nice timing. In addition to Dale & Holley doing a decent job, having Dale on board for the Bruins playoff run will be a plus for WEEI.
 

Granite Sox

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Harry Hooper said:
 
 
Nice timing. In addition to Dale & Holley doing a decent job, having Dale on board for the Bruins playoff run will be a plus for WEEI.
 
They just need to tie his hands down to keep them from flopping all over the desk (see: Bruins telecasts) and making distracting 'fap fap fap' background noises.
 

Bleedred

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For the record, "Patriot Reign" was very poorly written.  I remember being fired up to read that book, then kind of stunned at how poor a writer Holley is.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Harry Hooper said:
 
 
Nice timing. In addition to Dale & Holley doing a decent job, having Dale on board for the Bruins playoff run will be a plus for WEEI.
 
i wonder if they'll bring back The Hockey Minute?
 
I' m excited for this. I used to really like D&H middays. It'll be nice to have a good alternative to F&M when they're being especially awful.
 

inJacobyWeTrust

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I was a huge fan of the Dale and Holley show, they had great chemistry and worked well off of each other.  Used to be appointment listening for me.  I really hope they pair D&H together on a permanent basis again, I would gladly listen to them over the crap that Felger and Mazz now spew daily.
 
Holley can be frustrating at times but the show never devolved into a neanderthal shouting match like many others.
 

Youkilis vs Wild

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They are more or less directly ripping off the 10 questions with Wiggy bit with Fauria currently, outlandish questions and all.
 
Still, I do enjoy listening to D&H. I hope they just keep them together. There will be days I'll be more inclined to getting trolled on 98.5, but having a levelheaded counterbalance would be very refreshing indeed.
 

Chad Finn

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There was some legitimacy there. Smith and Holley have both said they dream of working together. Great friends. And things haven't always gone the way Smith hoped at ESPN, though they are now, from what I believe. The money would have been an issue, but it's definitely something that was considered.
 

Dalton Jones

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They would absolutely kill it here. Smith has a podcast with Jamel Hill that is okay. Just okay.

I would give anything to listen to two really intelligent guys who like each other and think outside the box on the radio for four hours. I'm convinced they wouldn't pander to the lowest common denominator. But I suppose Smith would consider it a step down from the worldwide leader.

They would expose Felger and Mazz for the sell out trolls they are.
 

richgedman'sghost

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the1andonly3003 said:
what happened to the old Salk & Holley thread?
This is it. Salk left to go back to Seattle so the thread got renamed. Why keep Salk in the name of the thread if he is not around? It makes no sense.
 

the1andonly3003

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richgedman'sghost said:
This is it. Salk left to go back to Seattle so the thread got renamed. Why keep Salk in the name of the thread if he is not around? It makes no sense.
the original one that started a year ago...this is cut out from the end of the original thread
 

j-man

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put me in boston and i could sacre fegler and mazz on ratings but i do have a problem with speaking too fast and i know very little on hockey but i wanted to be a pro coach or broadcaster but my chronic fatigue syndrome ended that but i am 1 of the smartest people in arkansas on sports 
 

Marbleheader

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They need a good, interesting 3rd host. Neither has much personality. When they had Mut on with them and it was boring as hell.
 

mabrowndog

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minischwab said:
Dale is officially back with Holley full-time.
 
Chad Finn
 
 
Less than two weeks ago, Entercom Boston vice president and market manager Phil Zachary confirmed WEEI would reunite Michael Holley and Dale Arnold in afternoon drive for the foreseeable future.
 
That remains the case, though the positive response to the show has enhanced, if not yet guaranteed, the chances of that future to be measured in years rather than weeks.
 
While some details still need to be finalized -- including the addition of a third host, which could come as soon as this week -- Arnold will remain in afternoon drive alongside his former midday partner Holley.
 
"We're going forward with Dale and Holley,'' Zachary said this afternoon. "We will continue to evaluate and enhance the program as we start to get some Nielsen feedback."
 
Zachary said the station has offers out to two "Number Threes" -- meaning third hosts -- for its midday and afternoon drive programs.
 
Christian Fauria and Chris Mannix have been particularly prominent on the station since Salk's departure and are believed to be prime candidates.
 
Based on his solid work when subbing for Dan Patrick, I would think Mannix is too vociferous to serve as a 3rd wheel. I think he'd ultimately drown out Holley.
 

BoSoxFink

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Dale taking shots at Felger in the opening. Saying they don't just say things for the sake of calls and they aren't trolls.

I gotta admit I am so happy Dale and Holley are back. Bye bye Felger and Mazz and their trolling for me.
 

HomeBrew1901

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I think this could be some legit competition for Felger and Mazz.  I think Dale learned a few things during his hiatus, what I wonder is if this will be any better than Salk and Holley for an afternoon drive show.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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To be honest, I think the only pairing I'd be more happy to see reunite is Mike and the Mad Dog.  It's not the most dynamic show in the world, but amongst the Boston sports radio landscape, I can't think of a show that is less likely to become unlistenable.  I'm sure there will be people that will quibble with that, but to me "boring" isn't necessarily unlistenable.  Boring is what happens when there's just nothing interesting to talk about.  I'd rather be bored than pissed off about hosts manufacturing drama, controversy, and panic out of nothing.
 

SidelineCameras

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It also gives 'EEI a legit hockey guy, and does so right before the playoffs start. I can't see Dale moaning for a week about the Bruins not doing more at the deadline this year, or claiming that Montreal is hungrier because it's been longer since their last Cup.
 
Strong competition 2-6 could really make for great radio around these parts.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Kinda surprised they're searching for a permanent third host.  I would think rotating the third spot based on season would be the way to go.  Mannix gives them a basketball guy.  Fauria gives them a football guy.  Presumably they could bring in Jack Edwards to give them more hockey knowledge.  Merloni is in today, but any number of writers (Bradford, Speier, etc) could fill the baseball spot.  That was always where the old Big Show was strongest...when they had knowledgeable guys in to talk about the in-season sport(s).  And unlike the old Big Show, when the good guests are unavailable, D&H can carry the show as a duo so there's never a need to bring the Larry Johnsons and Butch Stearns of the world just to fill the seats.