Toucher and Hardy: The new 98.5 morning show

rowinthevine

New Member
Feb 14, 2024
18
Well I decided to tune in for a listen today at 7am, and boy do I now regret it. A full 30 minutes of Fred rambling incoherent hatred toward Belichick and taking shots at Rich. All with Hardy not saying much and Wallach pathetically trying to do a “yes man” routine during this. I now remember why I stopped tuning in. Back to podcasts for me a while I guess!

EDIT: also this. Fred is probably right though.

Start calling him Fredstradamus, I guess.
 

Andy Merchant

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2010
2,055
Heard Fred blasting Rich again at the top of the 8:00 hour. Rich is dishonest, has lack of humility, nobody likes him, mocked his ratings, etc. He was happy when he heard about Rich getting fired yesterday and is also prepared to give details about everything that went down at 98.5 if need be.
 

NDame616

will bailey
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
2,563
Heard Fred blasting Rich again at the top of the 8:00 hour. Rich is dishonest, has lack of humility, nobody likes him, mocked his ratings, etc. He was happy when he heard about Rich getting fired yesterday and is also prepared to give details about everything that went down at 98.5 if need be.
Did he really say "if need be"?
 

hube

New Member
Apr 4, 2010
284
He said there was more to air if Rich decided to "get cute" and that he hated him. Fred really went in hard, and it was a bit surprising that Hardy and Jon backed him as vocally as they did, even with the "hate to see anyone lose their job, especially in this industry" caveats. They've traditionally stayed quiet around the subject.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,761
No, that's on me. I don't remember his exact words but I took it as Fred would air all of their dirty laundry if Rich started talking smack.
That's the thing. Rich has never once -- that I've heard -- talked any kind of "smack" about Fred or aired any dirty laundry. At least not publicly. Fred, on the hand, has talked about Rich NON STOP since he left the show.
 

thestardawg

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2005
974
Section 38, Row 13
That's the thing. Rich has never once -- that I've heard -- talked any kind of "smack" about Fred or aired any dirty laundry. At least not publicly. Fred, on the hand, has talked about Rich NON STOP since he left the show.
Probably because when someone goes out of their way to cost you their job you hold a grudge.
 

sharts

New Member
Dec 22, 2023
82
That's the thing. Rich has never once -- that I've heard -- talked any kind of "smack" about Fred or aired any dirty laundry. At least not publicly. Fred, on the hand, has talked about Rich NON STOP since he left the show.
One of them is in a position to talk smack and the other isn’t. What is it rich would even say?
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,761
One of them is in a position to talk smack and the other isn’t. What is it rich would even say?
I don't know. But Fred seems to be suggesting he will. And up to this point: he hasn't.

In fact, I would be surprised if we ever hear from Rich again in this region. Unless say maybe EEI takes a flier on him. Otherwise: He's done.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,761
The first part of this clip is interesting. Fred and Wallach are clearly referring to Mike Lockhart et. al. there.

 

sharts

New Member
Dec 22, 2023
82
I don't know. But Fred seems to be suggesting he will. And up to this point: he hasn't.

In fact, I would be surprised if we ever hear from Rich again in this region. Unless say maybe EEI takes a flier on him. Otherwise: He's done.
Nantucket house already on the market
 

Hal Waffid

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
160
He said there was more to air if Rich decided to "get cute" and that he hated him. Fred really went in hard, and it was a bit surprising that Hardy and Jon backed him as vocally as they did, even with the "hate to see anyone lose their job, especially in this industry" caveats. They've traditionally stayed quiet around the subject.
I don't think Wallach and Hardy were backing him as much as they were just letting him cook off and politely distancing themselves from the rant. Of all the guys on that show, only Hardy (who I think hates Rich the least if I had to guess) has provided a concrete example of Rich being a jerk, which was the leaving early from the Vegas thing.
Probably because when someone goes out of their way to cost you their job you hold a grudge.
It made perfect sense to me at the time if Rich was indeed "trying to get Fred fired" - I remember how often Fred was missing parts of shows, ruining his voice by smoking cigarettes, lying about his coworkers on twitter, blaming Nick on air for Dan's screwups, etc. The problem is, it's all management's job who to keep, who to let go, who to reprimand. The Lockhart thing was also management's job and Rich forced them to reverse it (Lockhart seemed to be a bit less than grateful for the opportunity later on, which may be a testament to how crappy Rich seems to be off the air).

The big on-air meltdown they had makes more sense now - it was Fred trying to tell Rich that Rich was trying to do station management's job and he'd be better off just working with what they give him. Later on when Fred said "management loves me" I think he meant that Fred works with management whereas Rich fights with them.
 

Patriot_Reign

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2011
1,229
It was interesting to hear Hardy talk about how that even if you sign a non-compete clause it's basically unenforceable (at least in this state).
And Fred going scorched earth on how Rich had six months off between shows to come up with new ideas & bits and then just recycled bits from T&R.
 

Xen0Magus

New Member
Nov 4, 2024
3
It wasn't so much about his appearance on McAfee. Fred went way beyond that and called Belichick a "miserable" person numerous times (which is kind of funny coming from Fred) and taking shots at him about his 23 year old girlfriend blah blah blah. I don't know: Belichick seems happier than he's ever been for a long time and is very likely about to become a head coach of the NFL team of his choosing next year -- assuming that is what he wants to do.
He's 72 years old, couldn't get a job last year, has a losing record without Brady, was 4-13 in his last season and left the Patriots with the worst roster in the NFL. It will take the Patriots YEARS to undo the mess he made. The only way he gets a job is if one of the dumb trust fund brat owners insists on hiring him.
 

getoffmylawn

New Member
May 28, 2023
46
The first part of this clip is interesting. Fred and Wallach are clearly referring to Mike Lockhart et. al. there.

"He could've approached me at any time instead of printing out all my stuff and giving it to management."

"I'm saving a lot of stuff in my pocket for a rainy day, in case he gets cute, then I will REALLY tell you what happened."

Anyone else hope Rich "gets cute"?
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
44,431
South Boston

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,761
Illegal as a term of employment, post-termination, but maybe not if they continue to pay him for the duration under the contract, and probably even less so if it’s part of a settlement agreement and release of claims.
Right. I was under the assumption that he likely signed some type of release and was paid during the time period before he signed with ZLX. Rich may have mischaracterized it as a "non-compete", but I'm sure he had a good lawyer actually negotiate the terms. Just guessing though.
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
44,431
South Boston
Right. I was under the assumption that he likely signed some type of release and was paid during the time period before he signed with ZLX. Rich may have mischaracterized it as a "non-compete", but I'm sure he had a good lawyer actually negotiate the terms. Just guessing though.
Likewise. You and I are aligned in a vague: “This is probably directionally what happened, given how the world works,” way (which is the best way to be aligned, of course). I just didn’t want everybody to think that the citation to the General Laws was definitive of the possible, or even likely, universe on this one.
 

Hal Waffid

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
160
Likewise. You and I are aligned in a vague: “This is probably directionally what happened, given how the world works,” way (which is the best way to be aligned, of course). I just didn’t want everybody to think that the citation to the General Laws was definitive of the possible, or even likely, universe on this one.
Rich's original post before starting the show was "boy oh boy there are a lot of things we need to talk about the least of which including how non-competes are the worst and should be totally illegal..."

It seems to me that Rich was strongly hinting at a non-compete clause being the reason he couldn't get back on the air sooner. Non-competes are in fact "totally illegal" as far as he's concerned, so it wasn't a non-compete clause that was keeping him off the air. I don't know if he was being dumb or deceptive; the latter would square with what Fred says about him.

Bear in mind I would take a lot of what Fred says about lying with a grain of salt. He did lose a defamation suit in GA for falsely claiming his former coworker got fired (No Witness, LLC v. Cumulus Media Partners, LLC)
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
44,431
South Boston
Rich's original post before starting the show was "boy oh boy there are a lot of things we need to talk about the least of which including how non-competes are the worst and should be totally illegal..."

It seems to me that Rich was strongly hinting at a non-compete clause being the reason he couldn't get back on the air sooner. Non-competes are in fact "totally illegal" as far as he's concerned, so it wasn't a non-compete clause that was keeping him off the air. I don't know if he was being dumb or deceptive; the latter would square with what Fred says about him.

Bear in mind I would take a lot of what Fred says about lying with a grain of salt. He did lose a defamation suit in GA for falsely claiming his former coworker got fired (No Witness, LLC v. Cumulus Media Partners, LLC)
What I was gently telling you is that a “non-compete” may not be “totally illegal” in certain contexts that are not accounted for in the statute that you cited.
 

Andy Merchant

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2010
2,055
FWIW, Fred and Hardy threw cold water on the claims of a non-compete. I'm assuming that's based on the deals that they signed with 98.5.
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
44,431
South Boston
Which probably didn’t include a release and settlement of claims with a departing employee that could be in play here, and which two of us (who play in similar sandboxes) referenced above?
 

Hal Waffid

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
160
What I was gently telling you is that a “non-compete” may not be “totally illegal” in certain contexts that are not accounted for in the statute that you cited.
I assume what you're talking about is that Rich made a deal not to work for a certain amount of time past his contract end date, presumably for some extra money. Is that right?

If so, Rich turning around and talking about that as though it's a "non-compete" and then saying it should be "totally illegal" is not exactly on the level.
 
Last edited:

NewInTown

New Member
May 16, 2023
71
Said it before but Adam12 is such an asset to this show. Custom rejoins in every break that tie into the conversation, he redid all the lead-in promos, the whole thing feels so much more intentional and funny
 

sezwho

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
2,437
Isle of Plum
Said it before but Adam12 is such an asset to this show. Custom rejoins in every break that tie into the conversation, he redid all the lead-in promos, the whole thing feels so much more intentional and funny
Completely agree. Somewhere up thread I had commented about the overall improvement in feel and energy and someone made the connection for me to Adam12 coming on board. Yeah I can be obtuse, but for sure Big Ups to him it’s huge
 

Hal Waffid

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
160
I thought it was interesting how Adolfo referred to Rich as "Voldemort" when they had him call in today.
Their management might have told them not to talk about it too much or something.

Clearly everyone there actually hates Rich, but only Hardy has ever mentioned anything specific (agreeing to do the Vegas thing and leaving early) and Hardy doesn't hate anybody. This is baffling me.
 

NewInTown

New Member
May 16, 2023
71
Their management might have told them not to talk about it too much or something.

Clearly everyone there actually hates Rich, but only Hardy has ever mentioned anything specific (agreeing to do the Vegas thing and leaving early) and Hardy doesn't hate anybody. This is baffling me.
Felger said as much on the off air show, they were told not to say much
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
20,553
Some great stuff this week. The JStew Heel or Heal was great.

I know the narrative was Toucher / Hardy was oil and oil, but I think it's working great now. Hardy's tales of cutting down trees with a Sawzall was entertaining. I loved the interview today with the guy who found the guy at a yard sale with some super rare Babe Ruth / Joe Jackson cards and helped him and didn't screw him was a great interview.

As I said before Adam 12 is a breath of fresh air from commentary, rejoins etc. This IMO is vastly better show vs T&R since COVID. This isn't a Rich sucks, Fred's great. Fred was a real big problem for a long time, but I think this is vintage 2017-2019 T&R level show.
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
28,210
Unreal America
I don't usually care for Fred airing the show's dirty laundry regarding Rich, but that clip was actually great. It wasn't a bit or vague or passive aggressive, it was just honest and revealing.

Also, I think I get Fred and John's connection now. When Fred said "she's always hated him" and John responded "I know", I realized that those 2 must have been commiserating about Rich for quite some time.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,761
He said it was her in the video above.
Right. He corroborated it's her. Otherwise, it would be a pretty dumb move for Fred to blatantly lie and bring his ex-wife into this discussion on live radio. There clearly is something there.
 

sharts

New Member
Dec 22, 2023
82
Right. He corroborated it's her. Otherwise, it would be a pretty dumb move for Fred to blatantly lie and bring his ex-wife into this discussion on live radio. There clearly is something there.
or it’s a joke that he n everyone on the show knows it’s not her and he just wanted to say look even my ex-wife hates rich