The Big Show (sports radio show)

The Big Show is a sports talk radio program on Boston's WEEI 850 AM. Started in August of 1995, the show is hosted by former Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Glenn Ordway. The show is known for its round table format with Ordway sharing air time with several co-hosts, guests and callers. The Big Show airs weekday afternoons from 2:00 to 6:00 EST/EDT.

Personalities and Frequent Guests

Hosts & Co-Hosts

• Glenn Ordway - Came to prominence when he was teamed with legendary Boston Celtic radio announcer Johnny Most, Glenn was a part of radio broadcasts for 13 years. After Mosts' retirement, Glenn was paired with former Celtic Jerry Sichting. In 1991, (then aired on 590am) WEEI adopted an "all-sports radio format", part of the original lineup Glenn joined Janet Prensky for the afternoon slot "Glenn and Janet Show". After several co-hosts (Prensky and Dave Shea and time slot changes, the station needed a new direction. Glenn was named Program Director of Sports Radio 850 WEEI in June of 1995 and created his current format in the afternoon drive slot. This is also the period in Glenn's life when he became "The Big O".
• Pete Sheppard - Regular contributor and primary flashboy of the show; fills in as the host of the Big Show in Ordway's absence. Although generally good-natured, he clearly has little respect for any listener. He can be frequently heard belittling the careers and sex-lives of those who call in and criticize him. The listeners usually respond in-kind and with more information backing up their accusations. Sometimes referred to as "Big Sexy" by others on the show, a mocking reference to his imposing girth.
• Steve Buckley aka "The Old Time Baseball Legend"- Another regular co-host, Buckley also writes for the Boston Herald.
• Fred Smerlas - Former NFL All-Pro player and regular co-host who often sides with Sheppard on issues discussed on the show. Smerlas appears on "The Big Show" Monday & Friday during the NFL season. Fred has also become a regular contributor during NFL Draft and Training Camp periods.
• Sean McAdam - Regular co-host and baseball writer for the Providence Journal and ESPN.com. Sean is also a co-host for "The Sunday Baseball Show" which airs 9am - 1pm on Sunday's during the baseball season.
• Tony Massarotti - Regular co-host, Massarotti is Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Herald. He is referred to as Tony Mazz or Evil Tony on the Big Show. He is probably considered evil because of his argumentative style, notably in a May 2004 incident where he defended Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez only to be called out by CBS4 personality Steve Burton; is also mocked for his absurd defenses of former Red Sox manager Grady Little after the collapse of the Sox in the 2003 ALCS.
• Butch Stearns - Main sports anchor for WFXT Fox 25 News (Boston). Also fills in as host in the absence of both Ordway and Sheppard. Often mocked by callers for being irrelevant and misinformed, particularly on baseball matters.
• Paul Perillo - Editor of Patriots Football Weekly
• Steve DeOssie - Former Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New York Jets, and New England Patriots Linebacker. DeOssie can be heard on The Big Show Mondays and Fridays during the NFL season. Steve's sports back ground includes serving as an analyst for minor league hockey. He has also become a regular daily fill-in for absent/vacationing co-hosts.
• Steve Burton - WBZ-TV Sports Anchor/Reporter. Burton is known for his distinctive, squawking laugh. Fans and co-hosts refer to him often as "Big Time," a nickname coined in an on-air interview with Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon. Former quarterback at Northweastern University.
• Larry Johnson - Editorial Sports Cartoonist and a practicing preacher.
• Bill Burt - Sports Editor of the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. Burt is regularly mocked for forgetfulness; in 2001 he wrote a column on Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and an appearance on David Letterman's television show, in which Bettis predicted a Steelers Super Bowl win. Burt wrote as though it were a live appearance, not learning until later that it was a rebroadcast from before the NFL season.
• Rob Bradford - Former sports writer for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, now works for the Boston Herald . Is often nicknamed "Fred Flintstone."
• Tom Curran - Football writer for the Providence Journal - Is considered almost as argumentative as Tony Maz.
• Cedric Maxwell- Former Boston Celtic, LA Clipper and Houston Rocket Power Forward. MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals. Radio Color Analyst for the Boston Celtics since mid-90's. Has worked with several play-by-play broadcasters...Spencer Ross, Howard David, and with current Celtic radio voice Sean Grande. Maxwell was one of the original guests when WEEI introduced the "Big Show with Glenn Ordaway". His contributions ended when the Celtics switched to "1510 The Zone". Once the Celtics returned to Entercom (WRKO 680 and in 2007-08 to WEEI 850) Maxwell was welcomed back to "The Big Show".

Flash Boys

• John Rider
• Jeff Joyce
• Bob Leoni
• Jamie Parker

Producers

• Brett Erickson
• Andy Massaua

"The Big Show" Format

On most sports talk radio shows, issues of the day are discussed amongst the show's hosts, and listeners are invited to call in and express their opinions on the air. On The Big Show, however, the on-air personalities are the subjects of the show, with sports merely a sideline. A recent AMTron Consumer Watch study analyzed the content of The Big Show over a ten-day period in May, 2007 (before the "stars" of the show left for their extended vacations) and found that sports was discussed, on average, only 7 minutes in each hour. The hosts talked about themselves or each other for 28 minutes, and the rest of the hour (25 minutes) was given over to commercials. ["AM Week", Radio Magazine, June 7, 2007, p. 12.]

Guests

During the course of sports seasons, the Big Show often has weekly conversations with players, coaches, and executives. Among the current weekly guests:

• Bill Belichick - Coach of the New England Patriots, appears on "Patriots Monday" during the NFL season.
• Danny Ainge - Former Boston Celtics player and NBA coach, and the current Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Celtics.

Boston Globe Feud

WEEI has had a long running feud with The Boston Globe that started in 1999 after an appearance on this show by Boston Globe sportswriter Ron Borges. During his appearance, Borges allegedly used a racial slur to describe New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. Glenn Ordway, host of the show states that Borges was only trying to 'recall Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's infamous description of Irabu as a " fat, pussy toad."'. Ordway says he corrected Borges on the air and was surprised two days later when the Boston Globe's executive sports editor Don Skwar banned Globe sportswriters from appearing on the show. Two weeks later, the ban was extended to WEEI's Dennis and Callahan morning show because its perceived low brow humor. WEEI retaliated by banning Globe staffers from all its shows.

Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons, a popular columinst for ESPN The Magazine, has been a longtime critic of the big show. Simmons says that the show is only filled with fat people who belittle the callers and yell so that they can have their opinion heard. Simmons has also commented on Pete Sheppard, one of the co hosts, saying that he is the worst of the worst on the show.

Regular Callers

Dakota From Braintree - The on-air handle of Braintree investor Steve Happas. Happas/Dakota is a regular critic of Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona and frequent critic of the New England Patriots; his arguments rarely go without lengthy and detailed rebuttal by Big Show hosts (in contrast, his calls to other shows such as WEEI's football season show "NFL Sunday" go off without comment from hosts), and growing animosity between Dakota and the show's hosts led in December 2006 to a famous on-air meltdown between Dakota and Steve DeOssie in which Dakota mocked DeOssie for having gone through divorces and DeOssie responded with an attack pointing out arguments between Happas and his wife. Dakota is a frequent target of "The Whiner Line."

Al From Everett - A caller whose schtick is an often grotesque man-love of former Giants/Patriots/Jets/Cowboys coach Bill Parcells - in a November 2004 call he loudly proclaimed, "I'd marry (Parcells) tomorrow!" - and deranged hatred of Patriots team owner Robert Kraft and former Patriots/Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Al in essence blames Bledsoe for any struggles of teams he played for (even though Bledsoe had only four losing seasons in his 14-year career) and blames Kraft for taking control of football operations from Parcells during his time with the Patriots, perennially ignoring that Parcells had compiled a losing record (21-27) in his first three years during which he in fact had full control of football operations. Arguments between Ordway and Al often last ten minutes on-air, and a particularly bitter on-air argument occurred the night after Super Bowl XXXVI won by Kraft's Patriots.

Frank From Gloucester - An elderly caller who frequently visits WEEI studios in Brighton, MA. A mad fan of the New York Yankees, Frank routinely praises the Yankees despite periodically leaving Whiner Line messages proclaiming to have given up on the team at times of struggle.

Alison From Cambridge - A Red Sox fan who despite rapid fire delivery and historical references, is often confused about the subtleties of managing the team.

The Whiner Line

"The Whiner Line," consists of listeners calling in and leaving messages on a voice mail system that is replayed at the end of the 2-6 p.m. show. Listeners complain and mock everything from sports teams and stars, the hosts, other listeners, celebrities, current events and local politicians. The whines often include impersonations of celebrities and local figures and making fun of the hosts for being overweight.

Popular Recurring Whines

• Tom Menino impersonator - Always starts whine with "Hey guys, it's the mayor (pronounced ma-yah)" and tends to end with "Give me the tools, and I'll make it happen!" followed by his signature signoff "Thank you all for comin'." Is known for making absurd comments regarding the Red Sox and local current events. A similar sounding Bob Kraft impersonator calls in to discuss the Patriots and local current events.
• Glenn Ordway impersonator - A satire of the host, usually ends with the line "you're making my point" mocking Ordway's notoriety for flip-flopping on subjects.
• Mikey Adams impersonator- A takeoff on the Planet Mikey show host, usually tells a joke ended with a "Voices in my head-gotta go".
• Patriot Bob - A Robert Kraft impersonator who imitates his voice and talks about the Patriots, usually confusing words and names, and asking his son Jonathan for advice. He had become the most popular Whiner by 2007 with routines such as a June 2007 parody where Bob Kraft hosts a dog fighting match with Michael Vick.
• Johnny Damon- a parody of the former Red Sox outfielder, usually teasing his speech impediment using lots of "Um"s
• Al From Everett impersonator - A takeoff of regular caller Al From Everett, spoofing Al's speech patterns, his love-Parcells/hate-Bledsoe/hate-Kraft schtick, and his signature snarling laugh.
• Top 10 List - A caller who compiles top ten lists a la David Letterman. Topics include Red Sox and Patriots themed lists.
• Beavis and Butthead parody - A caller who supplies voices for both popular MTV characters. He applies the cartoons' crude humor to Boston sports.
• The Five-Dollar Guy, aka Mole #9 - A regular caller who would leave whines as "Mole #9," but who drastically changed his schtick when Steve DeOssie joined the show in May 2002. He would relate tales that DeOssie "and two of your jock-sniffing buddies" would regularly extort $5.00 from him when they were at Dom Bosco Tech HS in Boston in the late 1970s, and he would threaten revenge on DeOssie with the line, "Five dollars, DeOssie, five dollars." It appears he is merely busting DeOssie's chops, as one of his best lines of the schtick came in January 2003 when he related an elaborate description of his preparations to beat up DeOssie that included twenty miles of road work, hitting the weight room for over half an hour, "popping steroid pills like they were M&Ms" and swearing off sex "to keep myself (ticked) off. In fact I'm so out of control I'm afraid I'm gonna kick my own ass."
• Carson Kressly impersonator - Became "popular" after members of the Boston Red Sox appeared on the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Usually ends call with "ta-ta".
• Bob Neumeier impersonator - Caller who does an impression of the former midday 'EEI host as a randy ladies' man of 1960s and 1970s celebrities, with occasional crude jokes, such as "What does a gynecologist and a pizza deliveryman have in common? They can both smell it, but can't eat it" and a bit where he relates that a date ended with a game of "intimate ring toss."
• Borat impersonator- take off on the movie character.
• Shannon Sharpe- During the NFL season, the skit starts with Harry Kalas introducing the show called "Sharpe as a beach ball". It than goes to Sharpe who speaks about current matchups (usually the Patriots) almost incoherently and always ends up picking either the Denver Broncos or Baltimore Ravens (both his former teams) .
• Jimmy Tingle parody - A whine that tells a series of bad jokes followed by a "King of Comedy"/DeNiro laugh track in the manner of the Boston area radio commercial.
• Grady and the Champ - Frequent whine that involve impersonations of former Red Sox manager Grady Little and current manager Terry Francona. Plays on the theme of Francona's methodical style of speech compared to Little's incoherent mumbling. During the hockey season, the whine will add an impersonation of Dave Lewis and Zdeno Chara. The whine will go under the name, "Coaches Dictations, with Dave Lewis."
• Digital Dan Duquette - computer-generated voice that repeats Duquette's phrase "more days in first place" over and over again. Referencing Duquette's famous statement in 2001 that 'the Red Sox spent more days in first place than the Yankees last season'.
• The "Di-Da-Di" Guy - A frequent if unpopular whiner. Has stopped call due to imitators and bashers. His calls were parody songs based on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer."
• Eddie from Lynnfield - An impersonation of former WEEI radio host Eddie Andelman, complete with his uniquely awkward phrases. He used to have the USC fight song playing in the background but due to what he claims is a 'restraining order' from USC, he now uses calliope music (Barnum and Bailey's Favorite) instead.
• Bill from Chappaqua - Frequent whine that makes fun of former president Bill Clinton. Often makes jokes about his wife Hillary or young interns.
• The Fat Bastard Guy - A frequent whine that will either make fun of Ordway or Sheppard and usually ends with the phrase, "YOU FAT BASTARD!!!"
• Jim the Wrestling Goon - A frequent if unpopular whiner. Usually makes references to WWE or the former WCW.
• The Other Dick Radatz - A former regular who would complain about the supposedly cushy time modern ballplayers have today compared to the past; to illustrate he would cite examples of blood-curdling (and always exaggerated) hardship from the past and punctuate the examples with "And that's the way it was AND WE LIKED IT!" The bit was voluntarily ended following the death of the real Dick Radatz.
• Fred Smerlas parody - Imitation of Fred Smerlas, exaggerating slowness of speech for Smerlas.
• Allah From Everett - Imitation of Al From Everett, but with a poor Indian Accent.
• Butchie from Beyond the Grave - Imitation of Butch from the Cape, who was a frequent caller to Boston Sports Radio until his death in October of 2001.
• Don Imus Impersonator - Caller who imitates Don Imus calls frequently apologizing to anyone he made fun of in the past, then says what he meant to say with another insult.
• Bill Walton Impersonator - Caller who imitates Bill Walton professes Bill's love for the Boston Celtics, National Basketball Association, and his broadcast career. Although he only played for the Celtics for three seasons, he feels he is remembered most for the 1986 "Sweet 16" Championship. Included in every impersonation is Bill's appreciation for Glenn Ordaway and all they time they spent together traveling around the country during Bill's time with the Celtics. The bit always plays on the reallife Walton's propensity to talk endlessly and go off on unrelated tangents.
• Cardinal Egan Impersonator - Caller who impersonates the Cardinal Egan character from the defunct Imus in the Morning show. He always makes fun of the hosts and asks them "What doesn't belong and why?" about 3 distinct things while continually making fun of them.
• Bill from New Hampshire - Frequent if unpopular whiner who's complains about the Red Sox and the hosts of the show. His most notorious conflicts are with Sean McAdam and have led McAdam to blow his top more than once; after one particularly exasperating call from Bill, McAdam cut him off by yelling, "Bill! Bill! SHUT UP! How's that for being direct?"

The Whiney Awards

The Big Show hosts an annual event known as "The Whiney Awards," a tribute to the best Whiner Line callers of the past year. The awards have been held every year since 2002 towards the end of February at the TD Banknorth Garden.

External links

• "WEEI 850 AM Boston"
• "The Big Show"
• "WEEI Audio Vault"