Holley and Keefe with Dale

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I've enjoyed the addition of Keefe over to WEEI. I pretty much swore off WEEI once TSH launched, but I would occasionally flip over in the afternoon.

Felger and Mazz have become the arrogant, lazy 4 hour program that the Big Show had become years ago. Murray has taken the show to new levels of suck. It's a shame because they were such a breath of fresh air at first.

It seems Holley finally has someone that works really well with him on the air. When the two of them are on like today, the show has a really nice flow to it. They don't take themselves too seriously, sometimes do a little off topic banter.

My only problem with the show is Dale. The show is much better when he's not on. When he is, he'll interject something awkwardly or take an interesting exchange and step over it. He's pretty clearly the odd man out on the program and I don't know that a third chair is necessary.

Overall, I'm enjoying listening and not missing F&M.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Today's been great since Dale's not there. I really don't mind Dale, but he's really not necessary.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Today's been great since Dale's not there. I really don't mind Dale, but he's really not necessary.
I am willing to swallow the poison pill of Dale for the show-- to me he doesn't make the show unlistenable, unlike some other hosts in the market. And hopefully the Bruins will go on a deep playoff run, which will keep him tied up with his NESN duties.
 

Kliq

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I have said before I have pretty low standards for sports talk radio. I think Dale and Holley with Keefe is easily the best show on WEEI (I don't listen to TSH) and Keefe has been good. What I like about the show is that it is very even with the amount of coverage they give. Right now there is a lot of Bruins talk (like Dale or not he is undisputedley the best WEEI guy on hockey) because well, the Bruins are in the playoffs. They also do really well with basketball and of course talk a ton about the Pats and the Sox.

OMF basically just sticks mainly to the Sox and Pats (FWIW I actually like OMF). Kirk and Callaghan obviously don't talk about sports very much at all.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I have said before I have pretty low standards for sports talk radio. I think Dale and Holley with Keefe is easily the best show on WEEI (I don't listen to TSH) and Keefe has been good. What I like about the show is that it is very even with the amount of coverage they give. Right now there is a lot of Bruins talk (like Dale or not he is undisputedley the best WEEI guy on hockey) because well, the Bruins are in the playoffs. They also do really well with basketball and of course talk a ton about the Pats and the Sox.

OMF basically just sticks mainly to the Sox and Pats (FWIW I actually like OMF). Kirk and Callaghan obviously don't talk about sports very much at all.
I vastly prefer Beetle & Zo to OMF, but OMF is generic and fine. K&C is beyond horrible. I turned them during a T&R break and the topic, once again, was Alex being a gay and how his wrists are strong from jerking himself off and his gay friends.
 

Kliq

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I vastly prefer Beetle & Zo to OMF, but OMF is generic and fine. K&C is beyond horrible. I turned them during a T&R break and the topic, once again, was Alex being a gay and how his wrists are strong from jerking himself off and his gay friends.
So I grew up listening to the Sox followed Ted and later Planet Mikey while I fell asleep on school nights. I always listened to WEEI since then and I'm really just stubborn about making the switch over to TSH. I really only listen to two stations, WEEI and WZLX. If I'm on a long car trip I'll plug in my phone and listen to Spotify or a podcast while I'm driving. In the morning I listen to ZLX so I don't have to listen to K&C which doesn't really count as radio, but then listen to WEEI pretty much the rest of the day.

Is TSH better? Probably, but I like OMF and DHK and I like Arccand and I don't even dislike Mutt. Like I said I have very low standards, so I don't really care about making the switch.
 

GammonsSpecialPerson

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Truth, and to the dismay of the Adam Jones show which was good with Keefe but is now just ordinary.

TSH bet, and bet BIG, on Adam Jones and he has fizzled out. In addition to nights, he also had a weekend day program with which to "get at bats" and it has proven a miserable failure. The time invested in Jones is time they could have given to Keefe, or Trennie - both of whom grew frustrated with the lack of first team and fill-in reps as TSH rolled out Jones as the "guest"/replacement with Mazz or Felger or even T&R. (In the same way, TSH's investment in Mike Flynn has also been a failure, and he's gotten many of the #2 reps - along with Ryan Johnston who is perfectly average in his fill-in role).

But backing Jones and letting Keefe walk is, or should be, a fireable offense. Keefe has done what no other had been able to do - successfully partner with Michael "Partner Killer" Holley. That Dale is somewhat an anchor is a short-term problem; contracts run out, Dale will amiably shuffle off to a "weekly guest" role within the next two years, and Keefe & Holley will eventually challenge F&M for ratings supremacy. Letting Keefe go - and keeping, and force-feeding Jones - was a huge mistake. Keefe could be the primary nighttime guy, plus TSH's #1 fill-in guy, and he'd be doing it way better than Jones. Instead, he's taking over a drive time slot for "the competition". That's a big failure by TSH management.
 

NortheasternPJ

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TSH bet, and bet BIG, on Adam Jones and he has fizzled out. In addition to nights, he also had a weekend day program with which to "get at bats" and it has proven a miserable failure. The time invested in Jones is time they could have given to Keefe, or Trennie - both of whom grew frustrated with the lack of first team and fill-in reps as TSH rolled out Jones as the "guest"/replacement with Mazz or Felger or even T&R. (In the same way, TSH's investment in Mike Flynn has also been a failure, and he's gotten many of the #2 reps - along with Ryan Johnston who is perfectly average in his fill-in role).

But backing Jones and letting Keefe walk is, or should be, a fireable offense. Keefe has done what no other had been able to do - successfully partner with Michael "Partner Killer" Holley. That Dale is somewhat an anchor is a short-term problem; contracts run out, Dale will amiably shuffle off to a "weekly guest" role within the next two years, and Keefe & Holley will eventually challenge F&M for ratings supremacy. Letting Keefe go - and keeping, and force-feeding Jones - was a huge mistake. Keefe could be the primary nighttime guy, plus TSH's #1 fill-in guy, and he'd be doing it way better than Jones. Instead, he's taking over a drive time slot for "the competition". That's a big failure by TSH management.
At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter though. With Entercom owning in the future 98.5 and WEEI the decisions really don't matter. I'm hoping this all shakes out for the best but I'd love to see two stations going forward with different agendas.

Mornings: T&R and K&C (although I'd love something less terrible than K&C who are getting worse by the show)
Midday: Beetle & Zo and something a better than OMF (they're basically playing the same agenda and the shows are interchangeable)
Afternoons: Keefe & Holley, Felger and Mazz (F&M are a ratings machine and play to a different audience than K&H, no need for Dale)

I'm hoping Entercom doesn't blow everything up and go back to a single station.

Jones is a complete waste, but at the same time Keefe can't run a solo show. He's even said the Rich Keefe Project was rough. He needs to be the second chair to succeed. 98.5 has made some bad moves with not giving Beetle the night show, which then worked out for them because he's good on middays, bringing back Jones, having anything to do with Jim Murray, letting Trenni go to WEEI and others.
 

Dotrat

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Holley and Keefe--two relaxed, well-informed guys who love basketball--talking about the Celtics trading the #1 pick and the NBA overall. No yelling, no bitching, no straw men--just a pleasant and interesting listen.
 

the1andonly3003

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Holley and Keefe--two relaxed, well-informed guys who love basketball--talking about the Celtics trading the #1 pick and the NBA overall. No yelling, no bitching, no straw men--just a pleasant and interesting listen.
If you are looking more of this, I recommend Scal and Frank Isola in the morning on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Pretty good NBA listen
 

NortheasternPJ

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Just that they have an infinitely better show than their higher-rated competition, especially when it's just the two of them.
The show is so much better when Dale isn't there. Dale adds some value during the Bruins season, but the rest of the topics he's just not needed. Keefe's been a huge addition to this show. He works way better than Thornton did for comedy, he's way more knowledgable and can handle running a show.

Years of doing solo shows over the weekends and trying to fill six hours a night with Adam Jones probably makes this gig easy for him and be more natural.
 

Dotrat

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No, I meant what was their take on the proposed Celtics trade?
Sorry!

They were as stunned as most of us have been by the decision to trade down and were trying to figure out who (or what) Ainge likes best as #3--Jackson, Tatum, or a trade for Butler, Paul George, or (the biggest happy surprise) Anthony Davis. It was entertaining in part because, while neither liked the decision, they gave Ainge enough of the benefit of the doubt to assume that he knows what he's doing and has a plan to improve the team.
 

Snoop Soxy Dogg

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Agreed. I was surprised he was that emotional.

Can't imagine it's been easy for the guys on this show in particular to be associated with WEEI over the past year. It's like working at a porn shop. With all due respect to porn shops..
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Is it too much to believe that Holley just simply didn't want to be associated with that shit-show anymore? Gotta think he's giving up a significant paycheck, if that statement from EEI is somewhat true.

I really enjoy listening to him, and I thought he and Keefe had genuinely good chemistry. I laughed out loud in the car often on the way home. I think he's a guy who loves sports and who may not be the most knowledgeable about every single sport, but he at least always understood they were entertainment first and foremost and he is great at supplementing that entertainment value.

Big blow to EEI, I think.
 

Dotrat

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It’s interesting because at one point he alluded to all the recent attention the station has been getting and went on to talk about how many truly good people work at EEI, many of them behind the scenes.

He apparently is taking on an expanded role with NBC Sports Boston.

I’ll really miss him with Keefe—together I thought they were easily the best duo in Boston radio
 

bluefenderstrat

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I'll miss Holley--the various shows he co-hosted (other than with what's his name from Seattle) were generally the most reasonable & sports-focused on WEEI. For me, it was the only listenable show on the station in recent years.
 

dcmissle

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Agree. A big loss. And I’m out of market, so NBC Sports Boston won’t do anything for me.

Classy, reasonable, knowledgeable, hard working and above all, decent.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Is it too much to believe that Holley just simply didn't want to be associated with that shit-show anymore? Gotta think he's giving up a significant paycheck, if that statement from EEI is somewhat true.

I really enjoy listening to him, and I thought he and Keefe had genuinely good chemistry. I laughed out loud in the car often on the way home. I think he's a guy who loves sports and who may not be the most knowledgeable about every single sport, but he at least always understood they were entertainment first and foremost and he is great at supplementing that entertainment value.

Big blow to EEI, I think.
Holley seems like a good guy. This sucks. Holley & Keefe was awesome in the afternoons.

I wouldn't be surprised if the stuff last week was the last straw.

I hate to see who they bring in due to the toxic environment at WEEI. Seems like the afternoon show escaped a lot of it.
 

RedOctober3829

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Holley seems like a good guy. This sucks. Holley & Keefe was awesome in the afternoons.

I wouldn't be surprised if the stuff last week was the last straw.

I hate to see who they bring in due to the toxic environment at WEEI. Seems like the afternoon show escaped a lot of it.
The release said he had an option to renew his contract and he didn't do it. Maybe the sensitivity stuff with Kirk pushed him over the edge, but I don't think so. He's going to have a bigger presence at NBCSB which is probably more profitable.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Is NBCSB even profitable? I'd imagine Holley is making way more on WEEI than he is on NBCSB which has the ratings of a UHF station.

T&R ratings are like a 0.1 on TV even though they have a 10+ share on radio.
 

MN_GOAT#12

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Fucking hell, man. Holley was one of a kind. Will be missed immensly. I've loved enjoyed listening him for his entire 13 year run. Followed him from every timeslot and every co-host.
 

steveluck7

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No way. For what?
Considering the amount of crossover that happens between the 2, it can’t be discounted. NBC sports Boston has virtually no non sports hub simulcast programming until 6:00pm so even a heightened TV role would leave time for him to appear and promote whatever that heightened role would be
 
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Ugh. The only show I still listened to. Some of his qualities that come to mind are thoughtful, rational, positive, genuine, and just a nice guy. A refreshing break from the typical sports radio personality. I'll miss him.
 

Kliq

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I didn’t think Holley was outstanding but DHK stands out on WEEI as an actual sports talk radio show; where they have rational discussions about the local teams and are not focused on promoting idiotic feuds or dishing out mindless hot takes. The fact that he was basically the only person of color on a station that is rapidly descending into the Brietbart of sports talk radio; and conducted himself like a professional and never really played into the games other hosts were playing speaks volumes about him as a person.

Replacing him is going to be tough; if you were a promising talent or an experienced veteran; why exactly would you want to go to WEEI? Especially when management doesn’t seem interested in improving the quality of the station.
 

dwhogan

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I didn’t think Holley was outstanding but DHK stands out on WEEI as an actual sports talk radio show; where they have rational discussions about the local teams and are not focused on promoting idiotic feuds or dishing out mindless hot takes. The fact that he was basically the only person of color on a station that is rapidly descending into the Brietbart of sports talk radio; and conducted himself like a professional and never really played into the games other hosts were playing speaks volumes about him as a person.

Replacing him is going to be tough; if you were a promising talent or an experienced veteran; why exactly would you want to go to WEEI? Especially when management doesn’t seem interested in improving the quality of the station.
What strikes me is that I actually enjoyed the Minihane podcast where he had Holley on as a guest. The two of them seemed to have great rapport, and discussed some really personal subjects. I was disappointed to witness the kind of pettiness that would follow in the subsequent year. Holley showed a tremendous amount of patience and tolerance, welcoming voices that I imagine were utterly abhorrent to him. While WEEI has rapidly descended into what is essentially the "Tiger Beat" of sports reporting, Holley remained a voice of calm. I, like man, found Dale and Holley's chemistry to be lacking. I found Felger and Mazz to be a welcome alternative over the past few years. Recently, I have found myself tuning to EEI on my drive home a bit more often. I think Rich's addition has created an excellent blend of old school and new school perspectives, stayed away political extremism, and became enjoyable to listen to. Michael has always been an engaging storyteller with a trustworthy perspective. This is a real loss to the station, and the local media. Whether it was officially due to the circus that we've witnessed recently or not, I can't imagine that it wasn't a part of an overall climate that made it unbearable.

Good luck MH.
 

RoDaddy

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Very disappointed to see him go. The 2 o'clock 'EEI slot has been my favorite for years, and I thought that he and Arnold with Jerry Thornton was the best Boston sports radio show of the last 25 years.
 

joe dokes

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Is NBCSB even profitable? I'd imagine Holley is making way more on WEEI than he is on NBCSB which has the ratings of a UHF station.

T&R ratings are like a 0.1 on TV even though they have a 10+ share on radio.
I think the longish-term draw might be the NBC part of NBCSB.

No way. For what?
To get away from an employer whose business model -- financially successful or not -- requires Holley to admit to friends and family that, yes, he works at the same place as Gerry Callahan and Kirk Minibrain.
 

BigJimEd

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One of a few good sports hosts on Boston radio.

Be interesting to see how they replace him. Not sure who WEEI has in the pipeline. I don't think they'll have a tough time finding someone despite their recent issues. It is a pretty coveted time slot on a station that gets good ratings.
 

Salem's Lot

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If I ran 98.5 I would offer Holley a huge contract to pair him with Felger and dump Tony Mazz. It would be the best sports radio show in the market.
 

Carmine Hose

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The thread about this version of the show is 10 months old and had 16 posts before the announcement. Seems to indicate the engagement level people had. In comparison, during the same time period, the Kirk & Callahan thread had 501 posts. Most people likely agree that Kirk's Stern-extra-lite stunt radio is bad, but he knows what he's doing on engagement, at least in the short term.

I can't think Holley walked away because he didn't like what was happening with the other shows. They have arguably been more offensive in the past and he stayed. I have to think the money was not enough to keep him there since he's stuck on TV until midnight with the BST show. He effectively was running a 1p - 1a work day. Not great for someone with a family.
 

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The thread about this version of the show is 10 months old and had 16 posts before the announcement. Seems to indicate the engagement level people had. In comparison, during the same time period, the Kirk & Callahan thread had 501 posts. Most people likely agree that Kirk's Stern-extra-lite stunt radio is bad, but he knows what he's doing on engagement, at least in the short term.
I don't think that you can read too much into the engagement level of a show based on how many posts are in a thread. Most of the people in the Kirk-Callahan thread (like me for example) don't listen at all but are commenting on Kirk's latest antics. So good on him and his plan, I guess?

The reason why, I think anyway and I might be wrong, that not a lot of people discuss H/A/K is because it's a good way to pass the time and nothing they say is incendiary. I mean, if Holley wanted to play the "angry black commentator" character (ala Steven A. Smith) and wanted to be Farrakhan to Callahan's David Duke, I'm sure that this thread would have a lot more posts. But Holley didn't want to do that because he's not an asshole.

And that's the main reason why Michael Holley is going to be missed. On a station full of assholes, no-talents and retreads, Michael Holley (as well as Keefe and Arnold) seemed like good guys that didn't lower themselves to sewer radio. If that doesn't get people flipping out and posting on SoSH, so be it. That says more about Holley than Minihane, frankly.

Glenn Ordway always said that the guys on the Big Show were like the guys you sit next to at a sports bar. If Fred Smerlas or Larry Johnson or Steve DeOssie or any of those nitwits sat next to me at a bar, I'd move. But if Holley or Arnold or Keefe sat next to me, I'd stick around.
 

dcmissle

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The post immediately above is awesome and explains why people like me spent their time enjoying rather than posting about the show.

I do agree with Carmine’s point that the early morning hours on that station have been rancid for years, and yet Holley stayed. Chad Finn, I believe, reported that the departure was not driven by the recent toxic waste spill.

But does anyone know what accounts for the suddenness of all this? He leaves on a Wednesday with no notice to the listeners. I am not assuming anything bad, but it’s a bit strange.
 

shaggydog2000

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There are also a lot of pro-Holley/Keefe posts in both the F&M and Kirk and Callahan threads. I will miss Holley in the afternoons. I get frustrated quickly by the "create worst possible conjecture, then treat as fact" approach F&M have been presenting.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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The post immediately above is awesome and explains why people like me spent their time enjoying rather than posting about the show.

I do agree with Carmine’s point that the early morning hours on that station have been rancid for years, and yet Holley stayed. Chad Finn, I believe, reported that the departure was not driven by the recent toxic waste spill.

But does anyone know what accounts for the suddenness of all this? He leaves on a Wednesday with no notice to the listeners. I am not assuming anything bad, but it’s a bit strange.
His contract ran out as of March 1, probably. Perhaps he was negotiating right up until he came to the decision to leave, which might have been yesterday morning for all we know.
 

Dotrat

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I don't think that you can read too much into the engagement level of a show based on how many posts are in a thread. Most of the people in the Kirk-Callahan thread (like me for example) don't listen at all but are commenting on Kirk's latest antics. So good on him and his plan, I guess?

The reason why, I think anyway and I might be wrong, that not a lot of people discuss H/A/K is because it's a good way to pass the time and nothing they say is incendiary. I mean, if Holley wanted to play the "angry black commentator" character (ala Steven A. Smith) and wanted to be Farrakhan to Callahan's David Duke, I'm sure that this thread would have a lot more posts. But Holley didn't want to do that because he's not an asshole.

And that's the main reason why Michael Holley is going to be missed. On a station full of assholes, no-talents and retreads, Michael Holley (as well as Keefe and Arnold) seemed like good guys that didn't lower themselves to sewer radio. If that doesn't get people flipping out and posting on SoSH, so be it. That says more about Holley than Minihane, frankly.

Glenn Ordway always said that the guys on the Big Show were like the guys you sit next to at a sports bar. If Fred Smerlas or Larry Johnson or Steve DeOssie or any of those nitwits sat next to me at a bar, I'd move. But if Holley or Arnold or Keefe sat next to me, I'd stick around.
Absolutely. It would be sort of pointless to post that DHK had another series of engaging talks about Boston sports on a daily or weekly basis.
 

NortheasternPJ

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There are also a lot of pro-Holley/Keefe posts in both the F&M and Kirk and Callahan threads. I will miss Holley in the afternoons. I get frustrated quickly by the "create worst possible conjecture, then treat as fact" approach F&M have been presenting.
This is really the reason I'm sad about this. Holley and Keefe was a refreshing break compared to what F&M are doing. I'd put Felger and Mazz in the same sewer as Kirk & Callahan. They're not racists and I think are generally not awful people like the morning guys, but their show is horrible now. Mazz is useless and Murray is probably the worst person on either station and that's saying a lot. I'd put him worse than Wallach, which is saying something.

I hope the can find someone who fits into the show well and they don't go find another Kirk Lite to spice things up!