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

Granite Sox

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 6, 2003
5,055
The Granite State
Backing up the timeline just a little bit, everything got started when Fred complained about his wife. Apparently Fred left a light on in the house when he departed yesterday morning, the puppy woke up, started barking, and woke up the rest of the house. His wife sent him a text saying, "Thanks for waking up the whole house this morning..." and that set him off for the rest of yesterday's show. Lots of mopey "nobody understands what I have to deal with" crap leading into Bird yelling at him when he got called out for failing to wake up Fred with a call (I was already up but that's not the point... you don't do anything else well, you're supposed to call me as a fail-safe, and you didn't do it. You suck, blah, blah, blah).

I'm guessing either management and/or his wife crabbed at him post-show yesterday for being a jerk, so he doubled-down this morning with the Surly Silence routine.

Just not necessary and horrible for listeners.
 
Last edited:

hube

New Member
Apr 4, 2010
230
I vaguely recall Fred being up for an NYC market job last fall/earlier this winter, and his descent seems to be tied in with that. I could be completely off base with this memory, but we can all relate to how that situation has the potential snowball into misery. He used to be an affable crank. There was a bit a few weeks back while Rich was out that Fred defended himself as being an everyman, but I don't get that vibe from him anymore, at least not while he's in character on the show.

It just hasn't been good radio in a long time. I despise the townie stuff and I'm just not a hockey fan (and I hate Joe Haggerty on general principle), so the intersection of those worlds amplified by the playoffs is like nails on a chalkboard to me (this morning, Nicky Knuckles, for example). I find myself switching away a lot more than I used to.
 

JohnnyTheBone

Member
SoSH Member
May 28, 2007
36,331
Nobody Cares
Fred has sucked for a while. I used to be a fan, but he's lost me. He provided a glimpse into his mindset a few months ago when Felger and Hurley were having some sort of beef. Fred kept saying stuff like, "How much does Hurley make compared to Felger?" and "Who holds the power in that relationship!?!?"

Who cares? Felger is not infallible just because he makes more money and wields more influence than Hurley. Fred kept harping on the power dynamic, and I thought that was really unfortunate. It seems he carries that mentality into his own interpersonal relationships at work, which is a pity.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 12, 2015
1,885
Quincy
I listened to the full first hour and maybe 15 minutes of the 2nd. He's just getting insufferable to listen to. Just a stubborn, petty bastard. Maybe it's time for old Freddy T to take another vacation, because at this point the dullest of Roche appearances sounds infinitely more palatable than this crap.
 

redsoxedmunds24

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 11, 2006
881
NH
It’s pretty common that Bird doesn’t call him and Fred went right in on calling him an idiot which is probably why Bird snapped. He’s tired of being made fun of and called an idiot. It’s obvious Bird’s not good at the job and if Fred is tired of and wants to fire him he should just do it instead of the childish name calling. If he wants Bird to call him and is upset when he doesn’t that’s fine. As ridiculous as it is that he expects it. What does he expect for a reaction when he routinely calls the guy an idiot among other things.

In general Fred has become more and more miserable. Between the weather, traffic that he over exaggerates about and his distain for “fan boy” Boston fans. He originally bet Wallach a massage if Tatum averaged over 13 ppg which Wallach didn’t even want. Felt like Fred was just throwing it against the wall because he was highly annoyed about Rich and others hyping about Tatum. It seems like whenever someone gets confident about a Boston team or player he gets extremely annoyed. He’s great when he’s joking around about topics and has great chemistry with just about every guest but at this point a change of scenery is what he needs. He’s just going to become more and more negative and miserable otherwise
 

yep

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 3, 2006
2,465
Red Sox Natin
Much like Howard Stern or Rodney Dangerfield, Fred’s put-upon, working-schlub persona goes from endearing to insufferable the instant he starts punching down.

That was true even in the Adolfo days, but Adolfo had an ability to hold his own, and to be his own personality, that could make ego contests with Fred entertaining.

Fred as loser-turned-bully is not good radio.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,347
I was almost in tears hearing about all the volunteers, media and fans that were cheering them on at 12:15.

I hope the BSA sends her her medal
Co-sign. I also hope she is feeling ok in the days, weeks and months ahead after this. Those conditions would take a toll on anyone, but particularly someone with a very susceptible immune system.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 12, 2015
1,885
Quincy
This "pasta" clip is not now, nor has it ever been or ever will it be, funny. Fucking lose it!

I actually enjoyed Rock n roll Mike yesterday. Was actually funny how sober he sounded next to Codsey.
 

jcd0805

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
3,959
Florida
Rich's wife is something else, really moving story.
Wow, I knew she was running and had been wondering how she did, I had NO idea that Rich ended up joining her and finishing it with her. I legit had tears reading WBZ's article about all the people cheering them on, Rochie being there at the finish was perfect. Well done Mary and Rich, that is true love right there.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,090
Tuukka's refugee camp
Wow, I knew she was running and had been wondering how she did, I had NO idea that Rich ended up joining her and finishing it with her. I legit had tears reading WBZ's article about all the people cheering them on, Rochie being there at the finish was perfect. Well done Mary and Rich, that is true love right there.
That is the most Dan Roche thing ever. And I mean that in the best way. He’s like Shank, only the complete opposite.
 

HomeBrew1901

Has Season 1 of "Manimal" on Blu Ray
SoSH Member
Codsie is the best new find that they've had in a while, even if he just makes me long for the days of The Gunner calling into the show...
Opinions may differ but for the most part I can't stand when they find and latch on to these guys. The Codsie with Rock and Roll Mike had to have been the worst bit of radio I've heard in a long time. I love the "Guy from Machine" though ... HELLO!
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
19,271
HELLO!

As long as it's in moderation I don't mind any of them. I get they bother people, but it only really bothers me when they go to the well too many times. If Codsie wants to call in once a month it doesn't bother me, same with R&R Mike. If it's all the time, i turn it off.
 

BS_SoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2005
2,230
Merrimack Valley
Opinions may differ but for the most part I can't stand when they find and latch on to these guys. The Codsie with Rock and Roll Mike had to have been the worst bit of radio I've heard in a long time. I love the "Guy from Machine" though ... HELLO!
As soon as I hear Rock and Roll Mike, the radio gets shut off.
 

HomeBrew1901

Has Season 1 of "Manimal" on Blu Ray
SoSH Member
Codsie was on again this morning and they are having him back again on Thursday for Townie Jeopardy and I realized what I dislike about having guys like this on but not others.

Assuming it's not an act, I find it distasteful that they are using the homeless, deranged, and alcoholics to drive ratings and for their own entertainment with minimal if any benefit to them. Folks like the guy from Machine, the tattooed woman (Nina?) and Bird's friend know what's going on and I don't see them as being used. Codsie on the other hand admitted to them that he doesn't think he's funny if he's not drunk so basically he needs to get drunk to get attention.

To me, it's not very different than having a douchebag friend that likes to throw a few dollar bills at a drunk homeless guy and have him dance or whatever to make the douchebag and his friends laugh. Hey everyone, let's laugh at Codsie because he's a drunk, and laughing at drunks is funny.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,347
Codsie was on again this morning and they are having him back again on Thursday for Townie Jeopardy and I realized what I dislike about having guys like this on but not others.

Assuming it's not an act, I find it distasteful that they are using the homeless, deranged, and alcoholics to drive ratings and for their own entertainment with minimal if any benefit to them. Folks like the guy from Machine, the tattooed woman (Nina?) and Bird's friend know what's going on and I don't see them as being used. Codsie on the other hand admitted to them that he doesn't think he's funny if he's not drunk so basically he needs to get drunk to get attention.

To me, it's not very different than having a douchebag friend that likes to throw a few dollar bills at a drunk homeless guy and have him dance or whatever to make the douchebag and his friends laugh. Hey everyone, let's laugh at Codsie because he's a drunk, and laughing at drunks is funny.
It's basically a lame attempt to try and get a Stern-like "Wack Pack" bit(s) for the show.
 

Rook05

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
3,115
Boulder, CO
What do people make of Fred crapping all over Bill Simmons every chance he gets? They were very friendly with him a few years back, and then there was the time Adolpho didn’t connect him when he called him. Is it because Bill had Minihane on his pod?
 

PC Drunken Friar

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 12, 2003
14,540
South Boston
Fred- I couldn't watch the 3rd period last night. I didn't turn it on until there was 5 minutes left.

Two minutes later-

Rich- Rask came thru in the 3rd period. There was some pressure and he did a good job.

Fred- No way, No he didn't. He wasn't tested in the 3rd!
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
I will say, Fred doesn't sound as horrifically miserable as he did a few weeks ago. Show was getting unlistenable but it seems to have come back from the brink, IMHO.
 

blueline

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 23, 2012
383
Well, he spent a segment this morning ribbing Wallach because he was excited to potentially call a game 7 over the weekend. Thrilling radio the morning after a Bruins series clincher and the morning of a potential Celtics clincher.
 

Haunted

The Man in the Box
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2006
6,196
Well, he spent a segment this morning ribbing Wallach because he was excited to potentially call a game 7 over the weekend. Thrilling radio the morning after a Bruins series clincher and the morning of a potential Celtics clincher.
I heard that too and wasn't interested, but it was all of one short segment and not exactly indicative of the show.

Fred was on Instagram last night freaking out about the game and how as soon as he got pissed and switched to Family Guy, they scored, so he felt like he couldn't go back to the game without jinxing it.

I'm not too proud to say that I've had exactly the same scenario play out for me as well.
 

HomeBrew1901

Has Season 1 of "Manimal" on Blu Ray
SoSH Member
What do people make of Fred crapping all over Bill Simmons every chance he gets? They were very friendly with him a few years back, and then there was the time Adolpho didn’t connect him when he called him. Is it because Bill had Minihane on his pod?
I forget the details but I vaguely recall that the reason Simmons went on the show was to crap all over D&C/EEI after they made fun of his book and all he did was piss and moan about them. I could be way off base but Simmons came off as such a thin skinned prick I don't think Fred wanted to deal with him again.
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
19,271
I could listen to them make fun of Jim Gray all day. Jim Gray is a complete train wreck and the Brady & Gray stuff for a decade has been awful.

I'm shocked Jim didn't suggest that Tom go down to that great store, Macy's, and get BB a gift so they're better friends and then go down to Morton's after.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,537
For the first time in a while, I had a bit of a commute today that was long enough that I listed to T&R but not long enough to listen to a podcast and good lord, does Wallach suck. He pontificates and sermonizes about the obvious things. I think he has some sort of deficiency because Rich (you know, one of the guys whose name is on the show) is trying to get a word in and Wallach just steamrolls over him.

I know that a lot of people didn't like him back in the day and I kind of sluffed it off, but man, he's fucking terrible. Just such boring radio from a boring dude.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,347
For the first time in a while, I had a bit of a commute today that was long enough that I listed to T&R but not long enough to listen to a podcast and good lord, does Wallach suck. He pontificates and sermonizes about the obvious things. I think he has some sort of deficiency because Rich (you know, one of the guys whose name is on the show) is trying to get a word in and Wallach just steamrolls over him.

I know that a lot of people didn't like him back in the day and I kind of sluffed it off, but man, he's fucking terrible. Just such boring radio from a boring dude.
He's awful. He loves to hedge with his many long-winded points by exclaiming "BUT!!!" as if we REALLY need to listen to the apparent flip side of his own argument. There is a reason they don't let him sit in a "main chair" and bring someone else in when Fred or Rich are away. He's fortunate to still be the flash boy for the show quite frankly.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,347
I forget the details but I vaguely recall that the reason Simmons went on the show was to crap all over D&C/EEI after they made fun of his book and all he did was piss and moan about them. I could be way off base but Simmons came off as such a thin skinned prick I don't think Fred wanted to deal with him again.
Fred just BURIED Simmons and the Ringer going into the break. Called him a “terrible writer” etc. He can’t stand him.
 

Rusty13

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 3, 2007
5,347
Why? What was the context?
Wallach brought up some recent Ringer article, which ranked the top 50 Super Hero movies of all time. Fred kept interrupting to say how "awful" the Ringer is and how long all the pieces are etc.

He had to back off a bit when Rich reminded him that Kevin O'Conner is one of their regular guests, so Fred hedged with "he's the exception". Rich also tried to bring things down a bit more by saying that he likes a lot of the stuff on the Ringer, but jokingly referred to how wordy/long Simmons articles are. That segued into Fred simply stating "Bill Simmons is a terrible writer" directly into a hard break.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,537
Gotcha.

I jumped off the "Bill Simmons is writing voice of my generation" a long time ago. But I think that he's actually really good on Twitter. He's a solid follow and is funny and makes some pretty good observations. I like him in that medium.

But Fred is right, Simmons has devolved into a really shitty long-form (anything over 140 characters) writer. And that's too bad because at one point, he was really good.
 

Haunted

The Man in the Box
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2006
6,196
I only caught the very end of the show today. What prompted Fred’s rant about Kirk?
 

Haunted

The Man in the Box
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2006
6,196
Ah. Thanks. I did not flip over to Kirk and Callahan to listen for a response and Fred and company didn’t give context when I started listening.

I will say it was a pretty enjoyable rant
 

Patriot_Reign

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2011
1,150
think it started with t&r doing a new promo for a bit and as part of the promo there's a proclamation that 'listen to us because unlike other morning shows we don't talk politics or in-fight'
which caused kirk to launch into his usual schtick about how they've been number one for 14 months and proceeded to play some audio of fred bashing one of his producers for some stupid thing (ie infighting)
and they both call each other howard stern ripoffs, which to be fair they do parrot some of stern's schtick

the ratings thing is so fucking annoying now. how both shows proclaim they are the one true winner, and crap on the other show for being losers. it'd be easier to digest if one or the other were winning by big numbers, but it seems like each month the winner has a decimal point win - not the total ass kicking they make it out to be.
 

HomeBrew1901

Has Season 1 of "Manimal" on Blu Ray
SoSH Member
think it started with t&r doing a new promo for a bit and as part of the promo there's a proclamation that 'listen to us because unlike other morning shows we don't talk politics or in-fight'
which caused kirk to launch into his usual schtick about how they've been number one for 14 months and proceeded to play some audio of fred bashing one of his producers for some stupid thing (ie infighting)
and they both call each other howard stern ripoffs, which to be fair they do parrot some of stern's schtick

the ratings thing is so fucking annoying now. how both shows proclaim they are the one true winner, and crap on the other show for being losers. it'd be easier to digest if one or the other were winning by big numbers, but it seems like each month the winner has a decimal point win - not the total ass kicking they make it out to be.
And by extension both companies pick and choose the data they feel is important to make sure they come out on top.

Edit: I do find it hilarious how thin skinned K&C are and how obsessed they seem to be with T&R
 

MN_GOAT#12

New Member
Feb 2, 2018
39
Minneapolis, MN
I think you have that backwards. T&R lie about ratings and Kirk has so much real estate in their heads, especially Fred, it's hilarious. Fred was unhinged this morning. He's really stroking himself over being a speaker at the Talkers convention? Ranting about all the "people he knows in the industry"....good lord. Fred is the most thin-skinned person in Boston radio. Yet he hangs out with Kirk at Super Bowl? Huh. Weird.

Beating somebody by a rating point isn't an ass-kicking but 12 out of 14 books is. And don't pretend T&R wouldn't brag about that, because they sure did when they were beating D&C.
 

OurF'ingCity

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 22, 2016
8,469
New York City
I think you have that backwards. T&R lie about ratings and Kirk has so much real estate in their heads, especially Fred, it's hilarious. Fred was unhinged this morning. He's really stroking himself over being a speaker at the Talkers convention? Ranting about all the "people he knows in the industry"....good lord. Fred is the most thin-skinned person in Boston radio. Yet he hangs out with Kirk at Super Bowl? Huh. Weird.

Beating somebody by a rating point isn't an ass-kicking but 12 out of 14 books is. And don't pretend T&R wouldn't brag about that, because they sure did when they were beating D&C.
Guess we know Kirk's handle now...
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,537
I think you have that backwards. T&R lie about ratings and Kirk has so much real estate in their heads, especially Fred, it's hilarious. Fred was unhinged this morning. He's really stroking himself over being a speaker at the Talkers convention? Ranting about all the "people he knows in the industry"....good lord. Fred is the most thin-skinned person in Boston radio. Yet he hangs out with Kirk at Super Bowl? Huh. Weird.

Beating somebody by a rating point isn't an ass-kicking but 12 out of 14 books is. And don't pretend T&R wouldn't brag about that, because they sure did when they were beating D&C.
I am very happy that you’re back.
 

allstonite

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 27, 2010
2,472
It’s absolutely insane that K&C have villainized Chad Finn to their listeners simply because he’s the local media reporter. He’s a great writer and completely fair and uncontroversial.
 

MN_GOAT#12

New Member
Feb 2, 2018
39
Minneapolis, MN
It’s absolutely insane that K&C have villainized Chad Finn to their listeners simply because he’s the local media reporter. He’s a great writer and completely fair and uncontroversial.
You're really hoping he reads this, aren't you?

It would be really cool if you posted in ANY other forum or in ANY thread not about WEEI/Sports Hub.
Why?

I ain’t seen you round Burger World lately. So, where you been?
Oh, you can do better than that, Johnny boy. It's funny to me how triggered you people are whenever I post something. I'd hoped you'd work on better insults than what is said in the halls of any elementry school in America. It's funny cuz....ya know.....fast food workers! Get it?!

No, stupid. Nobody gets it.