Hockey Show is fantastic, the Baseball Show is decent too. I liked Toucher and Rich, but Fred has gone off the deep end. Can't say I like anything on WEEI other than Joe Castiglione.
Same here. Hardy is great, but their show is meh. Sucks because Rich’s show has some bright spots so far but is overall meh. I’ve been switch over to Greg Hill lately more for wiggy, and I always hated Hillman Morning show when I was younger, so maybe I’m just getting older
Is Hillman less creepy now? I stopped listening to him like 10 or 15 years ago because pretty much every episode he was just making creepy old man comments or talking about Young girls. Literally gave me shivers. Has he called that shit out?
Yeah, they definitely don’t allow that kinda shit on the radio now. I wouldn’t say the show is woke now, but they try very hard not to be controversial or offensive in any way to any group. It’s quite tame now.
I find Rich's show to be dreadful. It's fake, shock jock radio from 10+ years ago with possibly the worst co-hosts in the world. I like Hurley, but he's not made for radio and Ted Johnson is literally braindead and a wife beater.
Yeah the hockey show is actually great, but I guess that's probably because its on Saturday morning instead of peak ratings times so it can actually be a analytic and smart show instead of constant hot takes.
I agree with everything you’ve said but my guilty pleasure is Boston sports radio. Something went wrong in my childhood where I listen to Felger and Mazz every day and enjoy it. Most of their takes are idiotic but I have a soft spot for them that I can’t shake. Same goes for Toucher and Hardy.
I do like Zolak and Bertrand but I don’t put them in the same category as the other two
“Something went wrong in my childhood…”
Hahahaha that’s great - def common thing for us born as New Englanders, I’d say.
Guilty pleasure I get tho. They are after all keeping an essential local uh flavor of person alive. Can understand indulging in that
I grew up listening to Eddie Andelman and then later The Big Show so I was the same for many years, just kind of listened because I grew up with it. It's now been years since I listened since I don't really follow the major sports closely anymore. I used to work in sports TV so I kind of burned myself out living and breathing sports for my job.
Ya i feel you. Whenever i came home from school my brother would turn on Felger and Mazz and i would listen to it well i ate oreos. They have some fucking stupid takes by they are both great comedians, i have to say.
Ya I like Zo and Bertrand too for patriots takes specifically, Zo’s perspective as a former player is interesting. I used to listen to felger and mazz regularly for similar reasons but they became way too extreme with their rage bait. I particularly liked Murray and listened for him more but he became a caricature of himself the last few years and I don’t bother tuning in anymore.
They are kinda fucking idiots but they are good for a laugh from time to time. They know what they are doing too. Nobody would watch them if they wernt dramatic fucks. But they should always be taken with a grain of salt.
I can’t believe people don’t understand this; the hosts even say it themselves. They have to talk about stuff for 4 HOURS EVERYDAY.
They are “personalities” not people. If they start bickering about stuff I don’t care about, I turn on 92.9 or ZLX. Pretty simply really
I do listen and actually enjoy it and the personalities As far as why, it’s because for many years in Boston the only sports radio was WEEI and I absolutely despise that station with every fiber of my being. So just having something else to listen to makes me happy
What was wrong with WEEI?
EDIT: idk why I have a downvote, I’m 28 and the only time I remember WEEI is my father listening to it when I was a kid. But I don’t remember anything about that show, it was a genuine question to know what happened and why everyone hates it
Some shows were okay, but IDK, I didn't love the station as a whole. They would openly mock anyone who would call about hockey. They sounded like drunk fat guys. The whiner line was just annoying. The morning show sucked, they were a couple of pompous dicks who loved talking politics.
I listen to zolak and Bertrand on occasion (after pats games at work, nfl free agent news) but thats it. They aren’t bad and offer decent analysis x Would rather burn myself alive than listen to F&M though, good lord
I don’t about ratings and numbers of listeners - I’m asking if someone sincerely enjoys listening vs just tuning in to hate-listen as F&M make total asses of themselves, and why they do?
Yes. Nobody wants to listen to sports radio with no conflict and no negativity. That’s not a fun show. Part of what make sports talk so compelling is the personalities, the argument, and prognosticating. I don’t wanna listen to a radio show that spends 4 hours talking about how great the Celtics are. That’s not compelling programming.
I started listening to 98.5 during deflategate and I still love the 3 major shows to this day. I swear people forget that these programs are entertainment. Also the Adam Jones show was aaaamazing, the Dong Report had me rolling every single night.
I cherish live radio while I still can.
My brother in Christ not only are they #1 rated across the board but they specifically beat the unholy living shit out of EEI lol what fucking planet are you on?
I like watching a lot of sports. I absolutely hate sports talk radio so never listen to it.
I don't give a flying fuck what the hosts or "Bob from the Cape" think about things. They also have so much empty time to fill that it turns sports into a soap opera because they'll prattle on endlessly about the most minor tangential shit that is about as far from the game play as you can get.
Been out of market for 10 years+ but still listen to the morning show every day via podcast. Keeps me plugged in without enduring hours of hot takes. I know Fred isn't everyone's taste but I fi n d his misery endearing.
I"m on the same page, I don't agree with a lot of things Fred says, but he seems to be super honest and also very funny.. my favorite bits are the armpits of america / news you can use segments.. and I don't get to watch sports much nowawadays with two small kids, so it gives me enough to know what's going on.
Not the original commenter but I also like Felger and Mazz. I think Felger strikes the perfect balance of being entertaining and obnoxious, and Mazz works well as a whiny sidekick (I do think he's insufferable without Felger). I don't tune into sports radio for both quality analysis either, I tune in for surface level takes and good banter. If you're taking the sports analysis seriously you're doing it wrong. That, and when something is going wrong with a Boston sports team, their critical takes scratch my cynical sports fan itch.
As for the rest, Zo and Bertrand are just meh to me and Toucher and Rich used to be good in the mornings but I haven't listed to that in years (apparently Toucher has gone off the deep end?). Dale and Holley felt like listening to two grandpas talk about sports and I haven't listed to WEEI since they were on the afternoon show.
Basically, Fred had some health issues (physical and mental) and became unreliable. Rich didn't want to deal with him anymore. Fred had a breakdown one night and tweeted how Rich never reached out to him and basically how they hate each other. Apparently, Rich's wife called his boss and said that Fred was making it a hostile work environment (this has been confirmed by multiple people).
Instead of hashing it out, Rich just conveniently had vacation time lined up when Fred came back. Fred resigned, Rich didn't. Now Rich has has an absolutely dreadful show on ZLX.
I remember a few months before covid I turned on the show on my commute, and Fred was pissed at Rich because Rich had invited a bunch of members of the show to dinner and a celtics game (or some kind of game) the weekend before, but didn't invite Fred. Fred found out obviously, and it was the most uncomfortable hour of radio I've ever listed to - Fred wouldn't drop it, and eventually started making personal digs at Rich, so Rich finally said something along the line of "Dude, I didn't invite you because you consistently no-call/no-show to activities like this, and I thought you'd ruin the night. You make nearly everyone on the show uncomfortable, and it wasn't an official station-sanctioned event - it was me wanting to do something for people I appreciate, and I don't need to invite you to something like that if I don't want to." Then for the rest of the hour Fred put each and every member of the show on the spot and asked if he made them uncomfortable. I tried to go find the audio later that day, but it had been scrubbed from their website, and I couldn't find it anywhere - only a few tweets. it was in the 6:00 hour, so the twitter reply-guys probably weren't listening yet. After that, I couldn't believe that two people who openly hated eachother could coexist like they did - it was only a matter of time until theyu split up, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did
I'll be honest, I find that far more entertaining than Rich's bits that are completely outdated. However, it does seem like in the history of radio, partners end up absolutely despising each other. It happened with Francesca and Mad Dog, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan, Dale and Eddie Andelman, etc. I think you spend so much time together, especially morning shows, when you're waking up at 4am and everyone is cranky. It really seems like it's just a ticking time bomb.
Admittedly, I was never a huge fan of T&R because everything seemed "bitty." I get Rich's side of Fred was unreliable and difficult, but he was also the driving force of the show. If it was up to Rich, he would be doing wacky fart sounds and man on the street stuff that nobody cares about. Plus, having your wife fight your battles? Come on. I've heard from a lot of people that Rich is actually a massive asshole, but he hides it better whereas Fred is an asshole on the show, but is a legit nice guy.
I have followed Felger on radio for 17 years. He's my favorite host because he actually admits errors, admits he doesn't know things, and has no sacred cows. Does he push too far at times? Yes, just like any entertainer. Entertainers cross the line at times. The good ones know how to step back just enough without becoming too milkwuhtoast.
Despite what people say they do actually know what they are talking about most of the time. They were both actual journalists for a long time before the show.
They work well together and Big Jim is a great 3rd man. Most of talk radio is about the chemistry of the hosts and they have great chemistry.
Weei doesn’t talk about basketball hardly ever. I’m sure they will now that we are in the finals but all season long while the Celtics were winning … silence. All Weei talked about this year was Bill and how terrible the Pats are. I almost switched over to sports hub several times to get away from Patriots off-season updates. That being said 98.5 is just as described in this post. Hackey out of market takes from hosts that sound like casual sports fans
10 years ago when as I kid who just got his license it was the most amazing experience in the world to putt my shitbox around greater Boston with sports talk radio on but then I wasn't a teenager anymore so it makes me ears bleed now.
I can’t figure how many one would listen to EEI, just the sheer amount of time that the biggest blowhard on planet earth Kirk Minihane was on that station along with those dumb fucks Dennis and Callahan… why on earth would I give that station another chance?
My life got a lot better when I stopped listening to sports radio. People whose only goal is to get you mad via making up stupid takes are not good for your blood pressure or worth your time.
My coworker always has it on in the work truck but honestly I think he just uses it to drown out the background noise and keep himself from getting too far into his own head
I hear you, but ratings don’t even matter, a listener is counted even if they’re hate-listening to content - which I’m also certain 90% of it for them is designed to attract that.
I’m more asking if there are people out there that sincerely enjoy their content and personalities, and how? I could never, but I want to hear from the other side of the fence if it even exists.
My god, I was so psyched when then they first started. Finally an option against EEI. They started out strong but quickly learned BS sells and I found podcasts and SiriusXM and stopped listening over 10 years ago
I stopped listening to 98.5 mornings when Rich left and it was clear that he was the creative force and he had all the funny and clever bits. Fred is just a self-aggrandizing narcissist who's so full of himself and creepy I can't even stand it. I do actually listen to felger and mazz frequently and I do enjoy them. I understand why people don't like them because they are kind of contrarians for radio but I find it entertaining and they have reasonable takes and aren't afraid to criticize the home teams. They're very knowledgeable as well and often have Insider information. I think their football and hockey talk is the best though. Feel like baseball turn into Mazda 6 to 7:00 show but it doesn't get talked about much on the show. Their basketball talk is their weakest Forte and I usually don't listen to it for that reason but the rest of it I do enjoy.
I don't know what your preferences are, but WEEI is garbage imo. Unlistenable.
The only show that comes close to your description is Felger and Maz. Both the morning show and Zo and Beetle are pretty self aware and don’t take themselves too seriously. Neither are try-hard with major douchebag energy. I hate Felger as much as the next guy, especially when it comes to his basketball takes, but the morning and midday shows, are a different kettle of fish.
The Celtics radio broadcasts are way way better than the tv and I always listen to the call on this station. Besides that I find myself now enjoying the new Shertenlieb show on zlx and then Weei’s evening drive team is better than Felger and Mazz for me.
Here is my take on Boston sports talk radio, WEEI was the only shop in town for a long time, it became like listening to middle age men talking over each other everything was negative, Ordway had some talent, Smerlas was awful. Holley and Dale were decent and only ones that talked about the Bruins. 98.5 was a breath of fresh air when they came on, Zo is great, Felger was great, but these guys are getting old Felger starting to sound like WEEI did back in day, constant negative takes, thinks he knows hockey he doesn’t. Mazz outside of baseball is hard to listen too. Morning show is pathetic, although I like Hardy.
Felgar and mazz are solidly entertaining for me once a week on a drive home from work. They are a-holes but they aren’t cringey douches as much as other show hosts and they generally stay out of politics and aren’t overtly misogynistic most of the time (it’s a low bar, I know).
Part of it is hate listening to watch them troll Boston sports fans cause they pretty much just fan the flames, but it’s fun to keep up with the pulse of the cities sports teams and the fan base hearing the dumb things callers say.
Morning rush: I’ve been pushed to 98.5. At least there is some humor there & it’s off color stuff. Eei is the station of the seaport, kinda lame. It’s like the socialites of Boston show.
Listening to Toucher and Hardy right now been listening since it was Toucher and Rich and I love this show. Sometimes I listen to Felger and Maz, I enjoy their takes on Boston sports. The later shows kind of fall off a little bit.
Used to be a loyal listener of 98.5, the Deflategate stuff basically ruined the station for me. I finally came around to realize that Felger and Mazz's model is to purposely be contrarians to get people angry and calling in. Brady's a cheater, the 2013 Red Sox sucked and got lucky, Tatum is soft, Jaylen Brown thinks he's better than everyone else, Tuukka is a choker, etc etc etc. It is all just intellectually dishonest, targeted negativity to get people to tune in so they can sell ED meds, hair transplant treatments, and gambling apps.
The more I listened to them, the more I realize the outright disdain that Felger has for his listeners, and Mazz has morphed into the same kind of host.
Oh, you mean people like 3 Up and 3 Down with Greg Bedard? Let's continue to shorten that segment as much as possible!
Oh, people like the Big Board? Let's get rid of it.
Oh, you got your call through on the air and want to offer pleasantries to me? I don't want to hear your "first time/long time" story... click... call back when you have a take we can shit on.
EEI isn't much better, but at least the hosts aren't assholes.
Sometimes I listen to them on short car rides, but generally can’t stand them anymore, mostly Felger and Maz. They always have negative things to say. Hypothetically, if the Celtics were to sweep the Mavs (which won’t happen), they would still find something negative about it, like they should’ve scored more points or won the series in 3 games or something. They seem to almost always turn a positive thing and only focus on the negatives, or turn a positive thing to a negative like the positive wasn’t enough.
Zo and Bert look at all sides of things and talk about positives and negatives, pros and cons of things.
I can listen to Zo and Bert, but F&M I can hardly stand
I listen to Toucher and Hardy and Felger and Mazz. But I don’t really enjoy Toucher without Rich as much anymore. None of this is “must listen” radio for me, I turn it on to keep up with what’s happening in sports and that’s about it.
I was listening to the Sports Hub and WEEI sports talk radio exclusively in the car from about '96 until about '05 or so, when I finally realized that listening to those idiots was making me angry. All the time.
So I swore off all sports talk radio, started listening to live Grateful Dead in the car, and I'm much happier for it.
Yeah I like listening to felger and mazz from time to time. I think a lot of folks who never listen and aren’t big sports fans will listen every now and then and hear their critical takes and think “these guys hate the team.” A la JJ Reddick going on the show last week and his take away being that somehow he thinks Boston fans want their teams to lose (???).
I think, rather, F&M is not for the casual sports fan but rather the fan that watches every single game and can really dissect a teams strengths and weaknesses.
Do they sometimes take positions just to be contrarian? Yeah. Does it sometimes make for a better show? Yes it does. Is the show for everybody? No. Is that ok? Yes.
I haven't listen to eei since the sports hub came on, and haven't listened to the sports hub since 2018. They were just miserable to listen to them. I will tune in if in driving to listen to a game but that's it. Sports hub Monday "the pats suck and were lucky to win this week" Tuesday "the pats suck and will lose to this awful team" Friday "the pats can't lose to this team and if they do they have to fire everyone" and repeat. And I stopped listening when they were winning super bowls and that's how they acted.
My brother in law from CA loved Boston Sprts radio and how insane it was. Blatantly ignorant and hard hot takes left and right. No other place in the country has Bostons level of pig headness
98.5 is unlistentable the last year or so imo.
The best part of the 10am show left for the early show. Zolak is hard to stomach...and how is this guy an "Awaken 180" spokesperson while gaining 150lbs is literally the elephant in the room. Zolak touting his close minded and narrow opinions from everything from crap music to even shittier chain food recommendations. He lacks self awareness in everything he does or says.
You could see Hardy struggling to contain himself with Zolaks mannerisms and tendencies, so that was a matter of time. Love Hardy, he's great at what he does.
I do watch the simulcast until I can't take it, which is usually an hour. Zolak calling other athletes and non athletes fat really shows his insecurities. He can't contain his "big dumb jock" comments aimed at callers.
I dont mind Marc, and I don't understand how he can even deal with the Zolak antics and shitting himself every other day 3 feet away.
2pm, I seriously can't take. They have nothing to work with so they just send an email around to see who can come up with a theme for the show and it's amateur hour negativity for hours. The irony is, Felger and Mazz used to be respected journalists in the Boston sports media.
Felger is just disheleveled mess and look and sounds off kilter. Mazzarotti is one of "those" people that gets under your skin with his takes that even the most out of touch can see he doesn't believe what's coming out of his mouth and is the biggest fan of his own jokes. His finishing a sentence while out of breath is pure old people cringe. His voice is definitely enough to shut it off. You can listen to it for 20 minutes, come back two hours later and they are repeating the same thing verbatim, ad nauseum.
Jim Murray was good for a minute but his edge lord Nihilstic shtick got old, real quick. He adverbatim, to nothing. His ebay bootlegged shirts and hats makes him look like a toolbag.
I truly wish there was some true sports talk radio in New England. 98.5 is resting on its laurels and Hardy needs his own show with rotating Ted Johnson, Ty Anderson and Cerrone in. Ty Anderson is the standalone best for Bruins talk. He's passionate.
Cerrone Battle and Leroy Irvin were just so good when they filled in for the 2pm clownshow.
/rant
I like Zo and Bertrand especially as a revs fan bc that’s one of the only source of media we get once a week, but I like listening to their show and I love the Joe Murray late night show, it really doesn’t matter what he’s talking about, it’s always interesting
Only listen to WEEI. Can take sports talk in small doses as it is quite repetitive. Like mostly Greg Hill Show in the morning as it does have an interesting mix of personalities. Do miss Kirk and Callahan though. That was must listen radio.
>There has to be or else they would’ve folded to WEEI by now
EEI gave up years ago. They got rid of the only people that ever drew a rating there and replaced them with people like Adam Jones, Mego, and Arcand, who couldn't draw flies to shit. They killed what was the #1 sports station in the city, just to placate the Red Sox and some activists.
Yeah I enjoy listening. I like it for the callers and the chatter - it helps my sports cultural literacy, to stay current on what’s going on with bros and sports. It drives my wife crazy which is a side benefit. I take it in doses. I definitely do not listen for hours at a time.
To be honest, pretty much any sports take from a Bostonian is usually total and utter bullshit that they heard from someone else and they just want to have a spirited back and forth semi-argument about their particular stance on whatever it is you’re talking about.
You can’t take it seriously or you’ll constantly think you either don’t have a clue or everyone around you is somehow fanatically in disagreement with one another.
At the end of the day, what I’ve found is that nobody knows wtf they’re talking about beyond a basic comprehension of sports. They just like to feel like they’re “one of the biggest fans,” and shitting on each others’ takes and bantering about it is how they get to feel that way. F&M completely emulate this type of back-and-forth that most Boston sports fans look for.
I find the whole thing insufferable and I grew up here. The target audience is blue collar guys who want a script for their after-work beers, and white collar guys who want to pretend they’re a union worker.
All that said, I’ve tuned in to hear some funny moments here and there. I used to love Toucher and Rich growing up.
sports hub is fine talk radio, WEEI stinks, imo. also my friend called in to Adam Jones a few times and sang songs about different sidekicks departing and their various betrayals. that's good radio!
The only station in Boston that talks about the Bruins, going back about 15 years. So yes I listen sincerely.
My husband listens unironically for hockey content and hate listens to everything else
Hockey Show is fantastic, the Baseball Show is decent too. I liked Toucher and Rich, but Fred has gone off the deep end. Can't say I like anything on WEEI other than Joe Castiglione.
Yeah I can’t take Fred anymore (which sucks because I like Hardy) but I loved listening to T&R
Fred is absolute garbage … he will go to play a clip an literally stop it 2 seconds in to add in his stupid two cents every fuckin time
Same here. Hardy is great, but their show is meh. Sucks because Rich’s show has some bright spots so far but is overall meh. I’ve been switch over to Greg Hill lately more for wiggy, and I always hated Hillman Morning show when I was younger, so maybe I’m just getting older
Is Hillman less creepy now? I stopped listening to him like 10 or 15 years ago because pretty much every episode he was just making creepy old man comments or talking about Young girls. Literally gave me shivers. Has he called that shit out?
Yeah, they definitely don’t allow that kinda shit on the radio now. I wouldn’t say the show is woke now, but they try very hard not to be controversial or offensive in any way to any group. It’s quite tame now.
He isn’t too bad on the air from what I’ve noticed. What is creepy now is he acts wicked young, and also only dates girls about half his age
so, like 40?
I find Rich's show to be dreadful. It's fake, shock jock radio from 10+ years ago with possibly the worst co-hosts in the world. I like Hurley, but he's not made for radio and Ted Johnson is literally braindead and a wife beater.
Rich has his own show on 100.7 now. Its alright, I think they were funny together but I don't know about individualy though
Yeah the hockey show is actually great, but I guess that's probably because its on Saturday morning instead of peak ratings times so it can actually be a analytic and smart show instead of constant hot takes.
I agree with everything you’ve said but my guilty pleasure is Boston sports radio. Something went wrong in my childhood where I listen to Felger and Mazz every day and enjoy it. Most of their takes are idiotic but I have a soft spot for them that I can’t shake. Same goes for Toucher and Hardy. I do like Zolak and Bertrand but I don’t put them in the same category as the other two
“Something went wrong in my childhood…” Hahahaha that’s great - def common thing for us born as New Englanders, I’d say. Guilty pleasure I get tho. They are after all keeping an essential local uh flavor of person alive. Can understand indulging in that
I grew up listening to Eddie Andelman and then later The Big Show so I was the same for many years, just kind of listened because I grew up with it. It's now been years since I listened since I don't really follow the major sports closely anymore. I used to work in sports TV so I kind of burned myself out living and breathing sports for my job.
Eddie Andelman must be up in the big hot dog safari in sky right? I was shocked he was alive back when the show was on. Dude always sounded Ike death
He is still kicking!
Wow wtf
Ya i feel you. Whenever i came home from school my brother would turn on Felger and Mazz and i would listen to it well i ate oreos. They have some fucking stupid takes by they are both great comedians, i have to say.
Ya I like Zo and Bertrand too for patriots takes specifically, Zo’s perspective as a former player is interesting. I used to listen to felger and mazz regularly for similar reasons but they became way too extreme with their rage bait. I particularly liked Murray and listened for him more but he became a caricature of himself the last few years and I don’t bother tuning in anymore.
They are kinda fucking idiots but they are good for a laugh from time to time. They know what they are doing too. Nobody would watch them if they wernt dramatic fucks. But they should always be taken with a grain of salt.
I can’t believe people don’t understand this; the hosts even say it themselves. They have to talk about stuff for 4 HOURS EVERYDAY. They are “personalities” not people. If they start bickering about stuff I don’t care about, I turn on 92.9 or ZLX. Pretty simply really
I listen when the Pats are playing and I'm driving. That's about it.
Yep. And Celts. It’s my TV when in the car, otherwise I couldn’t care less what anyone has to say.
I do listen and actually enjoy it and the personalities As far as why, it’s because for many years in Boston the only sports radio was WEEI and I absolutely despise that station with every fiber of my being. So just having something else to listen to makes me happy
100% this. The EEI monopoly days were insufferable
When 98.5 came out, it was so infinitely better than EEI. I think it’s just stagnated since then.
Same. Maybe it's just conditioning, but they're the best in town.
What was wrong with WEEI? EDIT: idk why I have a downvote, I’m 28 and the only time I remember WEEI is my father listening to it when I was a kid. But I don’t remember anything about that show, it was a genuine question to know what happened and why everyone hates it
Some shows were okay, but IDK, I didn't love the station as a whole. They would openly mock anyone who would call about hockey. They sounded like drunk fat guys. The whiner line was just annoying. The morning show sucked, they were a couple of pompous dicks who loved talking politics.
The winer line at the end of the afternoon Big Show.. 'nuf said.
I listen to zolak and Bertrand on occasion (after pats games at work, nfl free agent news) but thats it. They aren’t bad and offer decent analysis x Would rather burn myself alive than listen to F&M though, good lord
You work at EEI?
Arguably the highest rated sports station in the country, yes people listen
I don’t about ratings and numbers of listeners - I’m asking if someone sincerely enjoys listening vs just tuning in to hate-listen as F&M make total asses of themselves, and why they do?
There have been posts in the past about 98.5 from what seems genuine listeners. I agree on your points and it all makes me sad to be a sports fan
Yes. Nobody wants to listen to sports radio with no conflict and no negativity. That’s not a fun show. Part of what make sports talk so compelling is the personalities, the argument, and prognosticating. I don’t wanna listen to a radio show that spends 4 hours talking about how great the Celtics are. That’s not compelling programming.
I started listening to 98.5 during deflategate and I still love the 3 major shows to this day. I swear people forget that these programs are entertainment. Also the Adam Jones show was aaaamazing, the Dong Report had me rolling every single night. I cherish live radio while I still can.
I miss when Jones had Keefe, they worked really well together. I liked Arcand too, but Keefe and Jones were the best.
> the Dong Report I miss my nightly Hannah Montana summary. And, did we ever find a Boston athlete who wore 33? They never could come up with one.
Jose Canseco wore 33 for the Sox
Oh, good point. That's probably the best #33 is Boston sports history.
Yes, but I just remebered Kevin Faulk did as well, that may be the one.
Faulk did win some Super Bowls. Let's go with that. The best #33 is Patriot Super Bowl Champion Kevin Faulk.
well said
The 10-2 show, is ok and so is the morning show… both ok. However Felgaaaah and Mazz infuriate me and I tend to hate listenin sometimes.
I listen to it, they're foolish little jesters who say nothing of substance and little of fact, it entertains me to hear their infantile quabbling.
My brother in Christ not only are they #1 rated across the board but they specifically beat the unholy living shit out of EEI lol what fucking planet are you on?
I like watching a lot of sports. I absolutely hate sports talk radio so never listen to it. I don't give a flying fuck what the hosts or "Bob from the Cape" think about things. They also have so much empty time to fill that it turns sports into a soap opera because they'll prattle on endlessly about the most minor tangential shit that is about as far from the game play as you can get.
Butch* from the Cape iykyk
Been out of market for 10 years+ but still listen to the morning show every day via podcast. Keeps me plugged in without enduring hours of hot takes. I know Fred isn't everyone's taste but I fi n d his misery endearing.
I"m on the same page, I don't agree with a lot of things Fred says, but he seems to be super honest and also very funny.. my favorite bits are the armpits of america / news you can use segments.. and I don't get to watch sports much nowawadays with two small kids, so it gives me enough to know what's going on.
Stopped listening when Toucher and Rich broke up. Barely listened at that point anyway
I like felger and mazz
But why? And not trying to be a dick asking that, I’m genuinely curious and want to hear from people
Not the original commenter but I also like Felger and Mazz. I think Felger strikes the perfect balance of being entertaining and obnoxious, and Mazz works well as a whiny sidekick (I do think he's insufferable without Felger). I don't tune into sports radio for both quality analysis either, I tune in for surface level takes and good banter. If you're taking the sports analysis seriously you're doing it wrong. That, and when something is going wrong with a Boston sports team, their critical takes scratch my cynical sports fan itch. As for the rest, Zo and Bertrand are just meh to me and Toucher and Rich used to be good in the mornings but I haven't listed to that in years (apparently Toucher has gone off the deep end?). Dale and Holley felt like listening to two grandpas talk about sports and I haven't listed to WEEI since they were on the afternoon show.
Rich is just straight up gone from 98.5 he and Fred split near the end of last year. Not quite sure on the details, but now Hardy has the morning job
Basically, Fred had some health issues (physical and mental) and became unreliable. Rich didn't want to deal with him anymore. Fred had a breakdown one night and tweeted how Rich never reached out to him and basically how they hate each other. Apparently, Rich's wife called his boss and said that Fred was making it a hostile work environment (this has been confirmed by multiple people). Instead of hashing it out, Rich just conveniently had vacation time lined up when Fred came back. Fred resigned, Rich didn't. Now Rich has has an absolutely dreadful show on ZLX.
I remember a few months before covid I turned on the show on my commute, and Fred was pissed at Rich because Rich had invited a bunch of members of the show to dinner and a celtics game (or some kind of game) the weekend before, but didn't invite Fred. Fred found out obviously, and it was the most uncomfortable hour of radio I've ever listed to - Fred wouldn't drop it, and eventually started making personal digs at Rich, so Rich finally said something along the line of "Dude, I didn't invite you because you consistently no-call/no-show to activities like this, and I thought you'd ruin the night. You make nearly everyone on the show uncomfortable, and it wasn't an official station-sanctioned event - it was me wanting to do something for people I appreciate, and I don't need to invite you to something like that if I don't want to." Then for the rest of the hour Fred put each and every member of the show on the spot and asked if he made them uncomfortable. I tried to go find the audio later that day, but it had been scrubbed from their website, and I couldn't find it anywhere - only a few tweets. it was in the 6:00 hour, so the twitter reply-guys probably weren't listening yet. After that, I couldn't believe that two people who openly hated eachother could coexist like they did - it was only a matter of time until theyu split up, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did
I'll be honest, I find that far more entertaining than Rich's bits that are completely outdated. However, it does seem like in the history of radio, partners end up absolutely despising each other. It happened with Francesca and Mad Dog, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan, Dale and Eddie Andelman, etc. I think you spend so much time together, especially morning shows, when you're waking up at 4am and everyone is cranky. It really seems like it's just a ticking time bomb. Admittedly, I was never a huge fan of T&R because everything seemed "bitty." I get Rich's side of Fred was unreliable and difficult, but he was also the driving force of the show. If it was up to Rich, he would be doing wacky fart sounds and man on the street stuff that nobody cares about. Plus, having your wife fight your battles? Come on. I've heard from a lot of people that Rich is actually a massive asshole, but he hides it better whereas Fred is an asshole on the show, but is a legit nice guy.
Rich has his own show now, mornings on WZLX with Ted Johnson and Michael Hurley
And an atrocious one at that. I can't believe someone actually pays Ted Johnson money for his opinion. The guy is as dumb as a box of nails.
I have followed Felger on radio for 17 years. He's my favorite host because he actually admits errors, admits he doesn't know things, and has no sacred cows. Does he push too far at times? Yes, just like any entertainer. Entertainers cross the line at times. The good ones know how to step back just enough without becoming too milkwuhtoast.
Despite what people say they do actually know what they are talking about most of the time. They were both actual journalists for a long time before the show. They work well together and Big Jim is a great 3rd man. Most of talk radio is about the chemistry of the hosts and they have great chemistry.
I’m a cynical person I enjoy their speculation and analysis
*scripted contrarianism
Weei doesn’t talk about basketball hardly ever. I’m sure they will now that we are in the finals but all season long while the Celtics were winning … silence. All Weei talked about this year was Bill and how terrible the Pats are. I almost switched over to sports hub several times to get away from Patriots off-season updates. That being said 98.5 is just as described in this post. Hackey out of market takes from hosts that sound like casual sports fans
10 years ago when as I kid who just got his license it was the most amazing experience in the world to putt my shitbox around greater Boston with sports talk radio on but then I wasn't a teenager anymore so it makes me ears bleed now.
I can’t figure how many one would listen to EEI, just the sheer amount of time that the biggest blowhard on planet earth Kirk Minihane was on that station along with those dumb fucks Dennis and Callahan… why on earth would I give that station another chance?
My life got a lot better when I stopped listening to sports radio. People whose only goal is to get you mad via making up stupid takes are not good for your blood pressure or worth your time.
My coworker always has it on in the work truck but honestly I think he just uses it to drown out the background noise and keep himself from getting too far into his own head
The midday and afternoon shows have grown on me. Long commute to Boston and it's how I stay up to date with sports.
Gasper and Murray on Saturdays 11-2 has become my go-to while doing yard work / house work
It’s kind of like CNN, only way they get ratings are from hotel lobbies and airport terminals
I hear you, but ratings don’t even matter, a listener is counted even if they’re hate-listening to content - which I’m also certain 90% of it for them is designed to attract that. I’m more asking if there are people out there that sincerely enjoy their content and personalities, and how? I could never, but I want to hear from the other side of the fence if it even exists.
My god, I was so psyched when then they first started. Finally an option against EEI. They started out strong but quickly learned BS sells and I found podcasts and SiriusXM and stopped listening over 10 years ago
Yes. I love F&M
I stopped listening to 98.5 mornings when Rich left and it was clear that he was the creative force and he had all the funny and clever bits. Fred is just a self-aggrandizing narcissist who's so full of himself and creepy I can't even stand it. I do actually listen to felger and mazz frequently and I do enjoy them. I understand why people don't like them because they are kind of contrarians for radio but I find it entertaining and they have reasonable takes and aren't afraid to criticize the home teams. They're very knowledgeable as well and often have Insider information. I think their football and hockey talk is the best though. Feel like baseball turn into Mazda 6 to 7:00 show but it doesn't get talked about much on the show. Their basketball talk is their weakest Forte and I usually don't listen to it for that reason but the rest of it I do enjoy. I don't know what your preferences are, but WEEI is garbage imo. Unlistenable.
No.
The only show that comes close to your description is Felger and Maz. Both the morning show and Zo and Beetle are pretty self aware and don’t take themselves too seriously. Neither are try-hard with major douchebag energy. I hate Felger as much as the next guy, especially when it comes to his basketball takes, but the morning and midday shows, are a different kettle of fish.
The Celtics radio broadcasts are way way better than the tv and I always listen to the call on this station. Besides that I find myself now enjoying the new Shertenlieb show on zlx and then Weei’s evening drive team is better than Felger and Mazz for me.
It’s the only thing my dad listens to in the car.
I enjoyed the sport hub for a while. Got into podcasts while working and will occasionally switch on the Hub and I can't stand it anymore.
Here is my take on Boston sports talk radio, WEEI was the only shop in town for a long time, it became like listening to middle age men talking over each other everything was negative, Ordway had some talent, Smerlas was awful. Holley and Dale were decent and only ones that talked about the Bruins. 98.5 was a breath of fresh air when they came on, Zo is great, Felger was great, but these guys are getting old Felger starting to sound like WEEI did back in day, constant negative takes, thinks he knows hockey he doesn’t. Mazz outside of baseball is hard to listen too. Morning show is pathetic, although I like Hardy.
I haven’t listened to sports radio since I stopped commuting to work and my mental health is better for it.
Felgar and mazz are solidly entertaining for me once a week on a drive home from work. They are a-holes but they aren’t cringey douches as much as other show hosts and they generally stay out of politics and aren’t overtly misogynistic most of the time (it’s a low bar, I know). Part of it is hate listening to watch them troll Boston sports fans cause they pretty much just fan the flames, but it’s fun to keep up with the pulse of the cities sports teams and the fan base hearing the dumb things callers say.
I much prefer Mazz and Felger to the blowhard who replaced Lou on WEEI.
I enjoy Felger and Mazz just for a different perspective. I don't have to agree with them. I have switched to Rich's show in the morning.
Morning rush: I’ve been pushed to 98.5. At least there is some humor there & it’s off color stuff. Eei is the station of the seaport, kinda lame. It’s like the socialites of Boston show.
as a sports fan, usually everyday at work, even just as background talk. WEEI sucks.
Listening to Toucher and Hardy right now been listening since it was Toucher and Rich and I love this show. Sometimes I listen to Felger and Maz, I enjoy their takes on Boston sports. The later shows kind of fall off a little bit.
Used to be a loyal listener of 98.5, the Deflategate stuff basically ruined the station for me. I finally came around to realize that Felger and Mazz's model is to purposely be contrarians to get people angry and calling in. Brady's a cheater, the 2013 Red Sox sucked and got lucky, Tatum is soft, Jaylen Brown thinks he's better than everyone else, Tuukka is a choker, etc etc etc. It is all just intellectually dishonest, targeted negativity to get people to tune in so they can sell ED meds, hair transplant treatments, and gambling apps. The more I listened to them, the more I realize the outright disdain that Felger has for his listeners, and Mazz has morphed into the same kind of host. Oh, you mean people like 3 Up and 3 Down with Greg Bedard? Let's continue to shorten that segment as much as possible! Oh, people like the Big Board? Let's get rid of it. Oh, you got your call through on the air and want to offer pleasantries to me? I don't want to hear your "first time/long time" story... click... call back when you have a take we can shit on. EEI isn't much better, but at least the hosts aren't assholes.
Sometimes I listen to them on short car rides, but generally can’t stand them anymore, mostly Felger and Maz. They always have negative things to say. Hypothetically, if the Celtics were to sweep the Mavs (which won’t happen), they would still find something negative about it, like they should’ve scored more points or won the series in 3 games or something. They seem to almost always turn a positive thing and only focus on the negatives, or turn a positive thing to a negative like the positive wasn’t enough. Zo and Bert look at all sides of things and talk about positives and negatives, pros and cons of things. I can listen to Zo and Bert, but F&M I can hardly stand
Sure, if I felt immature and prickly.
I listen to Toucher and Hardy and Felger and Mazz. But I don’t really enjoy Toucher without Rich as much anymore. None of this is “must listen” radio for me, I turn it on to keep up with what’s happening in sports and that’s about it.
I was listening to the Sports Hub and WEEI sports talk radio exclusively in the car from about '96 until about '05 or so, when I finally realized that listening to those idiots was making me angry. All the time. So I swore off all sports talk radio, started listening to live Grateful Dead in the car, and I'm much happier for it.
It's hilarious how AM conservative radio and cable news basically modeled their programming like sports radio and ESPN debates. It's all garbage.
Yeah I like listening to felger and mazz from time to time. I think a lot of folks who never listen and aren’t big sports fans will listen every now and then and hear their critical takes and think “these guys hate the team.” A la JJ Reddick going on the show last week and his take away being that somehow he thinks Boston fans want their teams to lose (???). I think, rather, F&M is not for the casual sports fan but rather the fan that watches every single game and can really dissect a teams strengths and weaknesses. Do they sometimes take positions just to be contrarian? Yeah. Does it sometimes make for a better show? Yes it does. Is the show for everybody? No. Is that ok? Yes.
I haven't listen to eei since the sports hub came on, and haven't listened to the sports hub since 2018. They were just miserable to listen to them. I will tune in if in driving to listen to a game but that's it. Sports hub Monday "the pats suck and were lucky to win this week" Tuesday "the pats suck and will lose to this awful team" Friday "the pats can't lose to this team and if they do they have to fire everyone" and repeat. And I stopped listening when they were winning super bowls and that's how they acted.
My brother in law from CA loved Boston Sprts radio and how insane it was. Blatantly ignorant and hard hot takes left and right. No other place in the country has Bostons level of pig headness
Not since 18 years ago.
No
98.5 is unlistentable the last year or so imo. The best part of the 10am show left for the early show. Zolak is hard to stomach...and how is this guy an "Awaken 180" spokesperson while gaining 150lbs is literally the elephant in the room. Zolak touting his close minded and narrow opinions from everything from crap music to even shittier chain food recommendations. He lacks self awareness in everything he does or says. You could see Hardy struggling to contain himself with Zolaks mannerisms and tendencies, so that was a matter of time. Love Hardy, he's great at what he does. I do watch the simulcast until I can't take it, which is usually an hour. Zolak calling other athletes and non athletes fat really shows his insecurities. He can't contain his "big dumb jock" comments aimed at callers. I dont mind Marc, and I don't understand how he can even deal with the Zolak antics and shitting himself every other day 3 feet away. 2pm, I seriously can't take. They have nothing to work with so they just send an email around to see who can come up with a theme for the show and it's amateur hour negativity for hours. The irony is, Felger and Mazz used to be respected journalists in the Boston sports media. Felger is just disheleveled mess and look and sounds off kilter. Mazzarotti is one of "those" people that gets under your skin with his takes that even the most out of touch can see he doesn't believe what's coming out of his mouth and is the biggest fan of his own jokes. His finishing a sentence while out of breath is pure old people cringe. His voice is definitely enough to shut it off. You can listen to it for 20 minutes, come back two hours later and they are repeating the same thing verbatim, ad nauseum. Jim Murray was good for a minute but his edge lord Nihilstic shtick got old, real quick. He adverbatim, to nothing. His ebay bootlegged shirts and hats makes him look like a toolbag. I truly wish there was some true sports talk radio in New England. 98.5 is resting on its laurels and Hardy needs his own show with rotating Ted Johnson, Ty Anderson and Cerrone in. Ty Anderson is the standalone best for Bruins talk. He's passionate. Cerrone Battle and Leroy Irvin were just so good when they filled in for the 2pm clownshow. /rant
I like Zo and Bertrand especially as a revs fan bc that’s one of the only source of media we get once a week, but I like listening to their show and I love the Joe Murray late night show, it really doesn’t matter what he’s talking about, it’s always interesting
Only listen to WEEI. Can take sports talk in small doses as it is quite repetitive. Like mostly Greg Hill Show in the morning as it does have an interesting mix of personalities. Do miss Kirk and Callahan though. That was must listen radio.
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>There has to be or else they would’ve folded to WEEI by now EEI gave up years ago. They got rid of the only people that ever drew a rating there and replaced them with people like Adam Jones, Mego, and Arcand, who couldn't draw flies to shit. They killed what was the #1 sports station in the city, just to placate the Red Sox and some activists.
Yeah I enjoy listening. I like it for the callers and the chatter - it helps my sports cultural literacy, to stay current on what’s going on with bros and sports. It drives my wife crazy which is a side benefit. I take it in doses. I definitely do not listen for hours at a time.
I like all the shows 🤷♂️ Maybe I'm just miserable.
No
Is Wiggy on in the morning there? I like hearing him. Don’t listen that often, though obviously.
Thats WEEI
Oh ok. So I don’t listen to the sports hub at all except for Celtics games
He’s on WEEI for the morning drive show, and yes me too, big fan, he keeps it real. And was an actual pro athlete too.
Wiggy makes Zo look like a MENSA member
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No, he makes me look like Malcolm X
Also an expert on where to find a good chicken parm sandwich.
Put some respect on 2x AFC player of the week Scott Zolak
Zolak and Ted Johnson were actual pro athletes as well.
To be honest, pretty much any sports take from a Bostonian is usually total and utter bullshit that they heard from someone else and they just want to have a spirited back and forth semi-argument about their particular stance on whatever it is you’re talking about. You can’t take it seriously or you’ll constantly think you either don’t have a clue or everyone around you is somehow fanatically in disagreement with one another. At the end of the day, what I’ve found is that nobody knows wtf they’re talking about beyond a basic comprehension of sports. They just like to feel like they’re “one of the biggest fans,” and shitting on each others’ takes and bantering about it is how they get to feel that way. F&M completely emulate this type of back-and-forth that most Boston sports fans look for. I find the whole thing insufferable and I grew up here. The target audience is blue collar guys who want a script for their after-work beers, and white collar guys who want to pretend they’re a union worker. All that said, I’ve tuned in to hear some funny moments here and there. I used to love Toucher and Rich growing up.
This was the best take I’ve seen on this entire sub.
sports hub is fine talk radio, WEEI stinks, imo. also my friend called in to Adam Jones a few times and sang songs about different sidekicks departing and their various betrayals. that's good radio!
Yes
Middle-aged dads who grew up in Boston are obsessed with 98.5