RIP Toucher and Rich Show ... It was fun while it lasted

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
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I've always assumed that, but I don't really gamble so I wasn't sure.

I just don't understand bringing them on as if they're sports experts. The perspectives on the Pats forum here are 1000X smarter than the slop than Lipshatz was slinging today. And I'm sorry but if you're gambling on the NFL Draft you have a problem.
Breer took a not subtle shot at them the day after the draft. He essentially said the gamblers/Vegas knows NOTHING about the draft and who is going where and you shouldn't bet on the draft. It's clear that he, as a guy with actual sources on teams, was irritated at guys screaming "THE LINE ON PLAYER X MOVED! VEGAS KNOW HE'S GETTING DRAFTED BY TEAM Y!!!"
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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I honestly can’t tell what’s a bit with Fred anymore, but I’ll give Rich the benefit of the doubt here. Unless his radio persona is all BS, he seems like a guy that takes care of people. Giving Fred some space to get better and telling him to drop dead are not the same thing. Don’t get bitter, Freddy.
 

Haunted

The Man in the Box
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Aug 23, 2006
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I'm going to stick up for Freddy T a bit here. The dude has been through absolute hell the last couple of years, and I'm sure doing radio was his outlet. And then the voice thing came in on top of all his personal life issues. And he can't even do the thing he loves. I'd feel pretty isolated too. Maybe I wouldn't lash out like this were I in his shoes, but maybe I would.

Get better Freddy T. Much love from this anonymous rando.
 

Andy Merchant

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Aug 2, 2010
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Fred was similarly wounded that Nick didn't reach out when he was out on paternity leave. I realize Fred's been through the ringer the past couple of years, but man he needs to chill out a bit.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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The Granite State
He‘s workshopping a bit to test the waters. Upon his (eventual) return, we’ll get at least a week’s worth of Hour 1 belly-aching about the lack of support and there’ll be all sorts of phony, awkward tension with the rest of the guys. Mike Gorman will come on and Fred will say, “I heard you wishing me a speedy return… too bad my own co-host wouldn’t contact me.” Billy Jaffe will come on and Fred will say, “Thank you for wishing me a speedy return, Billy. It’s more than I got from my own cohosts.” I mean, c’mon. All week he’ll solicit callers to scold Rich and Wallach et al.

It’s so pathetic I refuse to believe it’s real.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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He‘s workshopping a bit to test the waters. Upon his (eventual) return, we’ll get at least a week’s worth of Hour 1 belly-aching about the lack of support and there’ll be all sorts of phony, awkward tension with the rest of the guys. Mike Gorman will come on and Fred will say, “I heard you wishing me a speedy return… too bad my own co-host wouldn’t contact me.” Billy Jaffe will come on and Fred will say, “Thank you for wishing me a speedy return, Billy. It’s more than I got from my own cohosts.” I mean, c’mon. All week he’ll solicit callers to scold Rich and Wallach et al.

It’s so pathetic I refuse to believe it’s real.
We’re now doing T&R fan fiction? We’ve hit a new low.

Wishing Fred the best. This thread has turned into a disaster.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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I’m sure it’s real. Sadly, because that’s who Fred has become.

It’s really gotta be exhausting for everyone on the show who’s been killing themselves to generate literally record ratings. Meanwhile Fred seems oblivious to that, and whines constantly.

Lots of people get divorced, and deal with personal and medical stuff. Not all of them act like asses to their friends and colleagues.
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I saw his video saying he's back in a week if all goes well at the doctor. Great news.
Yeah there wasn’t much to it. Only about 5 minutes. Although he did mention and reaffirmed his Tweets and how Rich barely speaks to him outside of the show.Things definitely don’t sound good. But his voice sounds a thousand times better.
 

sezwho

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Jul 20, 2005
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Isle of Plum
I usually listen via podcast (no commercials and skip most of the callers :)….but they haven’t updated the feed since 28th on Overcast. Anyone know if they still supporting that distribution platform?
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

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This has all the feels of O&A circa 2014. This feels like the point of no return has been passed. Unless this is a work, which if it is, kudos, but this is really starting to sound personal
 

NortheasternPJ

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This has all the feels of O&A circa 2014. This feels like the point of no return has been passed. Unless this is a work, which if it is, kudos, but this is really starting to sound personal
It’s Fred, so it could be a work but if it’s not it’s sad that this is the point it reached.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Yeah, sounds like T&R may not survive beyond their current contract if this is true.
Well it was a good run. I’ve listened for 2+ hours a day for the last 15 years. This is like watching the Get Back Beatles documentary with Chachi narrating it via Twitter posts.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

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JCizzle

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I don't know shit about the business side of things, but I can't imagine either guy will do better without the other. Maybe EEI throws some money I guess, but I'm not sure either have the built in, national draw that a radio guy like Russillo had to make it with a podcast.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

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I don't know shit about the business side of things, but I can't imagine either guy will do better without the other. Maybe EEI throws some money I guess, but I'm not sure either have the built in, national draw that a radio guy like Russillo had to make it with a podcast.
We’ve all heard the show when one guy isn’t there. It’s a pretty hard listen on the best of occasions. This is why I keep hammering on the O&A comparisons: we have a show that flows smoothly when both guys are present and engaged but suffers greatly when one guy gets run of the show for a day. Look what they’re up to when left to their own devices. It’s sad to say but I can 100% see the same outcome for T&R and it’s all because of one man’s demand for attention
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I work from home and have listened to them since TSH debut, not sure what I'd do if they move on.
Same here. I’m a morning person and usually the 6-6:20 break is my favorite part of the show since Fred is very candid and real before what happened last night.

I’d be crushed if they are gone but Fred seems like he’s going through a rough patch. Hope he’s ok and the show can go on!
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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What the hell is Fred doing? Rich has had to run the show basically by himself (with a small crew, of course) for 8 months. More? And now Fred’s all mad? After being mentally, and often physically, checked out of the show for well over a year. Insufferable.

If it’s a work I hate it even more. These guys are supposed to be better than that garbage.
 

NortheasternPJ

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What the hell is Fred doing? Rich has had to run the show basically by himself (with a small crew, of course) for 8 months. More? And now Fred’s all mad? After being mentally, and often physically, checked out of the show for well over a year. Insufferable.

If it’s a work I hate it even more. These guys are supposed to be better than that garbage.
It’s been over two years of this and Rich is paying for Lockhart out of pocket. I’m not shocked Rich is separating work and personal relationships. I can’t say about Fred’s cancer scare what rich did or didn’t do but I’d hope he’d be there for Fred.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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Unreal America
It’s been over two years of this and Rich is paying for Lockhart out of pocket. I’m not shocked Rich is separating work and personal relationships. I can’t say about Fred’s cancer scare what rich did or didn’t do but I’d hope he’d be there for Fred.
I have no clue, but it sounds like Fred knew fairly quickly that the cancer scare wasn’t cancer. Like a week or 2. And his voice is back. I’m giving Rich a break. He’s clearly been there for Fred for a long time. He sounds utterly exhausted and overwhelmed.
 

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
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What does anyone thinks Fred and Rich make a year?

Maybe Beasley is seeing the ratings and how insane they still are without Fred and thinks "well, Fred makes X. We can sub RJ in for Fred and bump everyone up and save Y, and still have the same ratings!"

Fred hasn't been a constant on the show in how long? How many ratings books have been done with him there 25% of the time? Maybe Beasley has made it known to Rich they want a show centered around him and the misfits they pair him with, and they still think the show will kill.

(rereading what I wrote I feel like F&M..."MAYBE BILL DIDNT DRAFT A TACKLE BECAUSE HE HATES MAC AND WANTS TO HANG HIM OUT TO DRY!!!!")
 

Andy Merchant

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What does anyone thinks Fred and Rich make a year?

Maybe Beasley is seeing the ratings and how insane they still are without Fred and thinks "well, Fred makes X. We can sub RJ in for Fred and bump everyone up and save Y, and still have the same ratings!"

Fred hasn't been a constant on the show in how long? How many ratings books have been done with him there 25% of the time? Maybe Beasley has made it known to Rich they want a show centered around him and the misfits they pair him with, and they still think the show will kill.

(rereading what I wrote I feel like F&M..."MAYBE BILL DIDNT DRAFT A TACKLE BECAUSE HE HATES MAC AND WANTS TO HANG HIM OUT TO DRY!!!!")
Man, I hope not. That's WEEI-level hubris that gave us: "Welcome to the Big Show! Joining the Big O today: Butch Sterns, Fred Smerlas, and Larry Johnson!".
 

Bigdogx

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Jul 21, 2020
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Eh, those numbers will decline rapidly if Fred is permanently off the show.
Wow i mean i know the late afternoon drive on WEEI was a dead zone but yikes. Getting beat out by local college stations with those numbers....
 

Andy Merchant

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I got the shakes just reading that sentence.
That was really awful radio, and Ordway was insufferable when he would tout his ratings. They used to make fun of Michael Felger on EEI, but he ended up costing Ordway a lot of money (and ultimately his job) when there was a decent alternative to Ordway's show.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Apr 12, 2001
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Seriously that should be spoiler tagged and listed as NSFW.
Absolutley.

That was really awful radio, and Ordway was insufferable when he would tout his ratings. They used to make fun of Michael Felger on EEI, but he ended up costing Ordway a lot of money (and ultimately his job) when there was a decent alternative to Ordway's show.
That was thing that used to drive me nuts about Ordway's bluster. He always used to say, "We're the guys down the end of the bar just talking about sports and you get to hear it." And I was always like if Larry Johnson, Ted Smerlas and Butch Stearns are talking really loudly about sports at a bar I'm at, I'm pounding my beer and I'm fucking leaving. At the end of its run, The Big Show was a disaster. Smerlas, Johnson, Stearns, Ted DeOssie, Steve Burton; a roster of talentless in articulate buttholes outyelling each other for four hours. And DeOssie was among the worst, "Did you ever play football? Did you ever play in the league?" Fuck off Ted. JFC.

Now I'm all wound up again.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Absolutley.



That was thing that used to drive me nuts about Ordway's bluster. He always used to say, "We're the guys down the end of the bar just talking about sports and you get to hear it." And I was always like if Larry Johnson, Ted Smerlas and Butch Stearns are talking really loudly about sports at a bar I'm at, I'm pounding my beer and I'm fucking leaving. At the end of its run, The Big Show was a disaster. Smerlas, Johnson, Stearns, Ted DeOssie, Steve Burton; a roster of talentless in articulate buttholes outyelling each other for four hours. And DeOssie was among the worst, "Did you ever play football? Did you ever play in the league?" Fuck off Ted. JFC.

Now I'm all wound up again.
I tried to find it, but Fred went off on this like 15 years ago about how they just are just a bunch of guys sitting around smoking cigars! It was one of Fred's best rants and echos your narrative.

I will say, I like Steve Burton.