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

allstonite

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Heh. Fred has so much internal hatred for the Pats. Refuses to give them any real credit for last night.
Yeah it's tough to listen to during football season and especially bad this year. Did you know Belichick doesn't like talking to the media? Because they'll let you know
 

allstonite

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Oct 27, 2010
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I only caught a bit of it before I had to head in to the office so I don't know if they've taken calls or touched on it but I think they'll need to call the "hot take police" on themselves about Brady's Italy vacation.

Basically Fred said it was "weird" that Brady was in Italy so close to coming back then Rich took that and ran with it saying he wasn't being a team player and fans would feel different if it was another player.

1) He LITERALLY cannot be a team player. He can't practice or even have the slightest contact with anyone on the team for 6 more days. I believe he's already back in the states the way he talked about it past tense with Jim Gray.

2) The team has been off since Thursday night anyway so I'm sure a bunch of active players went on mini vacations themselves. I also have no idea what Blount did during his suspension last year or what Nink is doing right now and I could not care less as long as they show up ready next week.

It was really bizarre and I hope they dropped it because it was a very Felger and Mazz argument for them to have.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Things are good in T&R Land:

Interesting that Kirk on the Podcast said that KfC's advertising rates were 2x what T&R was, especially considering their ratings
 

NortheasternPJ

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Its really amazing how bad Kevin Can Wait is. I watched it 2 weeks ago because of this bit and it's extremely bad. I can't believe anyone watches it.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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I generally don't listen any longer since my work schedule allows me to sleep through the bulk of their show (not rubbing it in, just giving some context) but I've noticed this thread got bumped only a handful of times in the last 5ish weeks. Were they on vacation or am I not missing much these days?
 

Rusty13

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I generally don't listen any longer since my work schedule allows me to sleep through the bulk of their show (not rubbing it in, just giving some context) but I've noticed this thread got bumped only a handful of times in the last 5ish weeks. Were they on vacation or am I not missing much these days?
Probably not missing much? They've gotten into a bit of a routine this fall with their regular bits and segments. Nothing controversial, but also nothing really new or exciting either. Although, as I stated upthread, I do really like the "Kevin Can Wait" bit. The new Wednesday interviews with Brandon Merriweather are funny.

IMO, Intern Nick has been a big improvement over Adolfo for their "drunken recaps" etc. bits. He can speak in clear sentences and is also kind of funny in his approach. The "Bird" bits, on the other hand, are a train wreck. And not in an enjoyable/entertaining way. Oh and Wallach is still is a drag on the show and could (and should) easily be replaced.
 

Riconway3155

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Oh and Wallach is still is a drag on the show and could (and should) easily be replaced.
I don't hate Wallach as much as everyone else, but I was disapointed to hear that Keefe was going to WEEI because I loved listening whenever he was third mic on T and R. Those three would have been great together.
 

4 6 3 DP

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Oh and Wallach is still is a drag on the show and could (and should) easily be replaced.
He was appallingly bad during the Kevin can Wait stuff today, the whole bit is about Fred and Wallach just wouldn't shut up, he should be muzzled during those segments. I can't believe that someone isn't addressing this, it makes listening painful with him interrupting.
 

Rusty13

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He was appallingly bad during the Kevin can Wait stuff today, the whole bit is about Fred and Wallach just wouldn't shut up, he should be muzzled during those segments. I can't believe that someone isn't addressing this, it makes listening painful with him interrupting.
Agreed. That's part of the reason the Boomer segments have worked well (and continue to get better). You wouldn't even know Wallach was there.
 

TheWizard

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Agreed. That's part of the reason the Boomer segments have worked well (and continue to get better). You wouldn't even know Wallach was there.
It's because i don't think he is! They tape that before the show even starts, as Boomer has a show at the same time....and they figured that time works best for all.
 

Rusty13

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More butt hurt bits about Gruden having no chemistry with McDonough effectively killing their old "THIS guy!" bits. Yawn.
 

Rook05

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More butt hurt bits about Gruden having no chemistry with McDonough effectively killing their old "THIS guy!" bits. Yawn.
I've been a fan since f McDonough for a long time but I don't think he's working on MNF. T&R are absolutely right that he has no chemistry with Gruden. Now part of that could be Gruden's fault as he's not doing Sean any favors. Take the Will McDonough tribute; how awkward was that? Sean could have used something--anything--from him but got silence. I think it's actually affecting him too as I was surprised by how much stuff he was getting wrong during the last couple of drives.

We know Sean's a capable play-by-play guy. But the MNF games I've watched this year haven't let his dry humor shine.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I loved McDonough when he was with the Sox and other ventures. MNF just isn't working at all. He really is robotic.

The awkward fist bumps were a perfect example. I'm not sure if he's under direction from ESPN to just let Gruden go but he didn't sound like this when broadcasting other national things as well. I was very happy when he got the MNF gig and thought he'd be good, he's just not. Plus he saw a fake Malcom Butler and said Tom Brady was the 198th pick. Small things but I'd expect better from him.
 

BS_SoxFan

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I noticed that I've enjoyed the show much more this week than I have in a while and couldn't figure out why. Then I realized Wallach wasn't there stepping on every joke and derailing every bit. It's exponentially better without him.
 

Rusty13

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Sounds like they ended the CSNE simulcast today? I heard Fred mention they "weren't on tv anymore" at the end of the show. The ratings must have been brutal.
 

steveluck7

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It still listed on my menu for tomorrow morning. You might have heard the crossover with Zo. He usually comes in and does a few minutes with them while they are still on TV. Maybe they were just referencing being off the simulcast for the day?
 

Rusty13

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It still listed on my menu for tomorrow morning. You might have heard the crossover with Zo. He usually comes in and does a few minutes with them while they are still on TV. Maybe they were just referencing being off the simulcast for the day?
Ah, you nailed it. My bad.
 

54thMA

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Quick question for anyone who is a fan of this show; today I had an early appointment to go on so I felt like listening to some sports talk radio on my commute, something I rarely do, I listen mostly during afternoons.

I started with 93.7, they were insufferable babbling non stop about how Boston is/isn't a racist city, so I switched to 98.5 and listened to these two.

One of them read an article where the writer ripped Boston/Patriots sports fans to shreds, the other two were howling and rolling on the floor soiling themselves with how they thought the article was hysterical (barstool sports maybe?)........then comments began about how true the article was, how Patriots fans will now find something else to bitch about now that Deflategate is basically dead, they beat that drum for ten minutes, enough is enough, so I tuned out.


My question is; is this their angle, they rip on Boston fans in a Boston market, or do they hate the Patriots?

Just curious is all.......................is this seriously entertaining to anyone?
 

Chainsaw318

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I'm not the biggest listener, but I get a few minutes daily in the car. It's not generally a theme they hit constantly, but neither host suffers whiners all that well, I would say. I generally feel they call it pretty straight.

The bit I heard today included the Mark Davis impression, which is so dumb, but damn do I find it funny.
 

GeorgeCostanza

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From your description it sounds like they were reading Drew Magary's deadspin piece.

I generally find them enjoyable when I get the chance to tune in. Any time they are riffing on Ray Lewis is must listen radio.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I really like Magary a lot, aside from Joe Pos, he's probably one of my favorite writers. But he seriously has to dial it back with the Pats hate. It's not that he has to like the Patriots or anything, I don't care if he does, but he literally writes the same article every time he rips on the Patriots. Every. Single. Time.

It's played out. Bigly.
 

ifmanis5

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I really like Magary a lot, aside from Joe Pos, he's probably one of my favorite writers. But he seriously has to dial it back with the Pats hate. It's not that he has to like the Patriots or anything, I don't care if he does, but he literally writes the same article every time he rips on the Patriots. Every. Single. Time.

It's played out. Bigly.
Totally agreed. Also, most of Deadspin's Super Bowl coverage looks like a tire fire.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Totally agreed. Also, most of Deadspin's Super Bowl coverage looks like a tire fire.
The more that I think about the more that "XXXX state is racist!" was the overarching reason for every single one of his "Why Your Team Sucks" pieces for like the last three years. Which if that's the point, bravo. But if that's the joke, it's kind of dumb to make the same jab about literally every single fan base in the NFL.

Like I said, I like Magary and think he's a good and honest writer who's really improved over his career (his "Men With Balls" book was atrocious). But he has a few writing ticks that pop up in his stuff, but always show up when he talks about the Pats.
 

Rusty13

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Quick question for anyone who is a fan of this show; today I had an early appointment to go on so I felt like listening to some sports talk radio on my commute, something I rarely do, I listen mostly during afternoons.

I started with 93.7, they were insufferable babbling non stop about how Boston is/isn't a racist city, so I switched to 98.5 and listened to these two.

One of them read an article where the writer ripped Boston/Patriots sports fans to shreds, the other two were howling and rolling on the floor soiling themselves with how they thought the article was hysterical (barstool sports maybe?)........then comments began about how true the article was, how Patriots fans will now find something else to bitch about now that Deflategate is basically dead, they beat that drum for ten minutes, enough is enough, so I tuned out.


My question is; is this their angle, they rip on Boston fans in a Boston market, or do they hate the Patriots?

Just curious is all.......................is this seriously entertaining to anyone?
That's all Fred. He clearly hates Pats fans (although never flat out says it.) He pretty much takes a contrarian view to everything when it comes to the Pats, but he's not an ass or troll about it like say Volin. He will usually try and mask his clear hatred and resentment by citing how awful and boring the Deflategate stories are etc etc. For he and his listeners' sake, I'm glad there is no longer a reason for him to whine about it anymore.
 
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54thMA

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That's all Fred. He clearly hates Pats fans (although never flat out says it.) He pretty much takes a contrarian view to everything when it comes to the Pats, but he's not an ass or troll about it like say Volin. He will usually try and mask his clear hatred and resentment by citing how awful and boring the Deflategate stories are etc etc. For he and his listeners' sake, I'm glad there is no longer a reason for him to whine about it anymore.
Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

I'll never understand how a guy who gets paid to talk about sports in a certain market hates one (or more) of the teams he gets paid to talk about.

Sometimes I wonder if listening to the fans talk/bitch/complain/whine about their teams causes these guys to circle around and end up hating the teams as a result.
 

allstonite

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Fred is a Jets fan so it's understandable but he's never obnoxious about it. He's way better than Felger in that respect. The only time he's bad about it is DFG. He'd talk about how stupid it was and how he didn't want to discuss it unless there was news but he'd always get some shot in usually hinting about how they probably did it then not take calls. It was really frustrating.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Fred is a Jets fan so it's understandable but he's never obnoxious about it. He's way better than Felger in that respect. The only time he's bad about it is DFG. He'd talk about how stupid it was and how he didn't want to discuss it unless there was news but he'd always get some shot in usually hinting about how they probably did it then not take calls. It was really frustrating.
I think he is a lions fan?
 

Ralphwiggum

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I agree Fred doesn't hate the Pats, and I don't think he hates all Pats fans either, just a certain segment of them (particularly the ones who look for any reason to be offended about anything). And he got very tired of DFG, but he's not alone there.

In terms of him being paid to talk sports in Boston, remember Toucher and Rich weren't sports guys when they came to Boston. They were on WBCN and just had one of those goofy morning shows that was pretty funny. CBS radio moved them over to TSH when they moved to an all-sports format and at first they were clearly pretty unhappy about it. They've sort of grown into the role, but they still do a fair amount of non-sports stuff.

I like T&R and I like Fred's grumpy rants and don't mind that he doesn't fawn all over Boston teams. I'll take his honest takes over Felger's naked trolling all day long.
 

TFP

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Let's not forget that Fred also hates people in general. He's a pretty grumpy misanthrope overall, which plays into it too.

Agreed with most folks comments on it.
 

Rusty13

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Both. He's a Jets fan first but he clearly pulls for the Lions from growing up in Michigan.

And I don't think he hates the Pats. It's that he finds Pats fans ridiculous.
Yes it's the fans. Not the team.
 

8slim

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T&R not being life-long sports commentators is exactly why they're great. They put sports in the proper perspective and find the humor in it. It's so damn refreshing since just about every other sports personality treats things as life or death.

Fred's grumpiness and cynicism is great 90% of the time. Sometimes he can be repetitive and annoying but that comes with the territory.

Honestly, I have found that since I became a regular listener of T&R a couple years back it's been hard to listen to a lot of other shows. And Felger and Mazz are the absolute worst* (*acknowledging that I don't listen to EEI ever).
 

dirtynine

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Fred is a cynical curmudgeon and very self-aware He's almost impossible to criticize because he'll beat anyone to the punch in doing so, do it better/funnier, and shut it all down in the process. Check out his twitter feed (in addition to calls on the show) for examples of this. He has a great comedic relationship with what might be called typical WEEI New England fans.
 

8slim

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I didn't listen to every hour of every day, but when I tuned in I generally liked Rich and Hardy this week. I mean, Fred is still the heart & soul of the show and I want him back. But it was a ton better than having Flynn in there. And more Roche is always good, IMHO.
 

MizzouJackass

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I didn't listen to every hour of every day, but when I tuned in I generally liked Rich and Hardy this week. I mean, Fred is still the heart & soul of the show and I want him back. But it was a ton better than having Flynn in there. And more Roche is always good, IMHO.
I don't think Flynn contributes much. He just seems to repeat points that have already been made.
 

NDame616

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Jul 31, 2006
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I don't think Flynn contributes much. He just seems to repeat points that have already been made.
Flynn seems to think he'd paid by the word. Every word out of his mouth is word vomit. He's an easy listen when he's talking about drinking beers and eating steak...but analyzing the Red Sox farm system? No thanks.