The Big Show (sports radio show)

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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.

Contents

[edit] Personalities and Frequent Guests

[edit] Hosts & Co-Hosts

  • Glenn Ordway - voice of the Celtics for 13 years, was named Program Director of Sports Radio 850 WEEI in June of 1995. More commonly referred to by listeners as "Big O". Given the jokes referring to his cutthroat business practices and other sinister dealings, he is likely pure evil. This is not a commonly held belief.
  • Pete Sheppard[1] - 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. [2]
  • Fred Smerlas - Former NFL 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.
  • Sean McAdam - Regular co-host and baseball writer for the Providence Journal and ESPN.com.
  • 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 irrelevent and misinformed, particularly on baseball matters.
  • Paul Perillo - Editor of Patriots Football Weekly
  • Steve DeOssie[3] - 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. Is periodically mocked for his baseball knowledge. Despite frequently proving his critics right, he still attempts to talk baseball.
  • 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. Is sometimes criticized for his baseball knowledge.
  • 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 - Sports Writer for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. Is often nicknamed "Fred Flintstone."
  • Tom Curran - Football writer for the Providence Journal - Is considered almost as argumentative as Tony Maz.

[edit] Flash Boys

  • John Rider
  • Jeff Joyce
  • Bob Leoni

[edit] Producers

  • Brett Erickson
  • Andy Massaua

[edit] Guests

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


[edit] 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."'[4]. 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. [5]

[edit] 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. This is the highlight of the show and should be a majority of the show since the callers apparently have more talent than the hosts/co-hosts and guests.

[edit] Popular Reoccurring 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.
  • Johnny Damon- a parody of the former Red Sox outfielder, usually teasing his speech impediment using lots of "Um"s
  • Top 10 List - A caller who compiles top ten lists a la David Letterman. Topics include Red Sox and Patriots themed lists. Frequent guest Tony Massaroti believes the list should be cut down to 5 (if not eliminated altogether).
  • Beavis and Butthead parody - A caller who supplies voices for both popular MTV characters. He applies the cartoons' crude humor to Boston sports.
  • 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."
  • Borat impersonator- take off on the movie character.
  • Shannon Sharpe- During the NFL season, the skit starts with Harry Callas 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 very slow and thought-out style of speech compared to Little's incoherent mumbling. During the hockey season, the whine will add an impersonation of Dave Lewis and the whine will go under the name, "Coaches Dictations, with Dave Lewis."
  • Dan Duquette impersonator - computer-generated voice that repeats Duquette's phrase "more days in first place" over and over again. Referencing Duquette's famous statement in 2002 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 Andelman - 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 Clinton impersonator - Frequent whine that makes fun of the former president. Often makes jokes about his wife Hillary.
  • 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 the WWE or the former WCW.

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

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