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. WEEI became an all-sports station in 1991

Contents

[edit] Personalities and Frequent Guests

[edit] Hosts

Glenn Ordway, the main host of the show, performed radio announcements with Boston Celtics announcer Johnny Most for 13 years; after Most's retirement, Glenn was paired with former Celtic Jerry Sichting. In June of 1995, Glenn was named Program Director of Sports Radio 850 WEEI and created the current format in the afternoon drive slot.

Pete Sheppard is a regular contributor and primary flashboy of the show. Sheppard fills in as the host of the Big Show when Ordway is absent.

[edit] Co-Hosts

  • Steve Buckley, columnist for the Boston Herald
  • Fred Smerlas, former NFL All-Pro player. Smerlas appears on "The Big Show" Monday & Friday during the NFL season, as well as regularly during NFL Draft and Training Camp periods.
  • Sean McAdam, baseball writer for the Providence Journal and ESPN.com. Sean is also a co-host for "The Sunday Baseball Show", which airs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays during the baseball season.
  • Tony Massarotti, Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Herald. He is known for his argumentative style, notably in a May 2004 incident where he defended Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramírez (only to be called out by CBS4 personality Steve Burton). Massarotti is also known 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). Stearns fills in as host in the absence of both Ordway and Sheppard. He is often mocked by callers for being irrelevant and misinformed (particularly on baseball matters).
  • Paul Perillo, editor of Patriots Football Weekly.
  • Steve DeOssie, former NFL linebacker and analyst for minor league hockey. DeOssie appears on The Big Show Mondays and Fridays during the NFL season. A regular daily fill-in for absent/vacationing co-hosts, DeOssie is often mocked for his multiple divorces and his penchant for dating much younger women.
  • Steve Burton, WBZ-TV sports anchor and former quarterback at Northwestern University. Burton is known for his distinctive, squawking laugh and friendship with former baseball player José Canseco. Burton has on several occasions featured Canseco as a co-host, notably on October 21, 2007 during the New England Patriots' game at Dolphin Stadium against the Miami Dolphins; callers questioned Canseco about burgeoning accusations of widespread steroid use in baseball amid pregame preparations. Fans and co-hosts often refer to Burton as "Big Time," a nickname coined in an on-air interview with Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.
  • Larry Johnson, editorial sports cartoonist and practicing preacher formerly employed by The National and The Boston Globe.
  • Bill Burt, sports editor of the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.
  • Rob Bradford, former sports writer for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. Bradford now works for the Boston Herald.
  • Tom Curran, current football writer for NBC Sports. Formerly a football writer for the Providence Journal, Curran appears regularly on Comcast Sports Net New England as a football analyst.
  • Cedric Maxwell, former NBA Power Forward and MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals. A radio color analyst for the Boston Celtics since mid-90's, Maxwell has worked with several play-by-play broadcasters (including Spencer Ross, Howard David, Sean Grande). Maxwell was one of the original guests when WEEI introduced The Big Show. His contributions ended when the Celtics switched stations. Once the Celtics returned to Entercom, Maxwell was welcomed back to "The Big Show". In November of 2007, Maxwell was the subject of negative feedback when he claimed Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki were better NBA players than Larry Bird.
  • Lou Merloni, former infielder with the Boston Red Sox. Merloni joined the Big Show in March 2008.
  • Scott Zolak, former NFL quarterback. Zolak regularly covers home and away Patriot games.

[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. Weekly guests include Bill Belichick, Danny Ainge, Boomer Esiason, and Vic Carucci.

[edit] Boston Globe feud

WEEI has had a long running feud with The Boston Globe that started in 1999 after an appearance on The Big Show by Boston Globe sportswriter Ron Borges in which Borges used a racial slur to describe New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu.[1] Two days later, the Boston Globe' executive sports editor [[Don Skwar] banned Globe sportswriters from appearing on The Big Show. The ban was later extended to WEEI's Dennis and Callahan morning show. WEEI retaliated by banning Globe staffers from appearing on any of its shows.[2]

[edit] Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons, a popular columinst for ESPN The Magazine, has been a longtime critic of The Big Show, claiming that it is obnoxious and lacks sophistication. Ordway has stated that while he disagrees with most of Simmons' opinions, he [Ordway] believes that Simmons is a "great columnist".[3]

[edit] The Whiner Line

"The Whiner Line" is a regular feature which consists of listeners calling in and leaving complaints on a voicemail system, which is played at the end of the show. Complaints cover a wide range of subjects, including sports teams and stars, the hosts, other listeners, celebrities, current events and local politicians. The messages often include impersonations of celebrities and local figures.

There are numerous running jokes on the Whiner Line, which include impersonators of Tom Menino, Glenn Ordway, Mikey Adams, Robert Kraft, Johnny Damon, Carson Kressly, Bob Neumeier, Borat, Grady Little, Dave Lewis, Roger Clemens, Eddie Andelman, Bill Clinton, Fred Smerlas, Don Imus, Bill Walton, Edna Jacobson, Dale Arnold, and Dick Radatz as well as a caller who compiles Red Sox and Patriots-themed top-ten lists, a Beavis and Butthead parody, Shannon Sharpe, a caller whose comments were parody songs based on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer", a caller with an Irish accent who recites poetry, and a caller known as "Mole #9" who frequently threatens co-host Steve DeOssie with revenge for supposedly stealing $5 from him [Mole #9] in the late 1970s. Also, recently a caller by the name of Johnny "holla at ya boi" Dominico has been calling in wondering why the New England Revolution don't get enough on-air talk. [4]

The Big Show hosts an annual event known as "The Whiny Awards," a tribute to the best "Whiner Line" callers of the year.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Baseball Library - April 1999
  2. ^ Dan Kennedy. Hush-hush In its war of words with WEEI, the Globe learns that silence isn't necessarily golden. Boston Phoenix. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  3. ^ Bill Simmons (2001-09-19). Strange Days Indeed. ESPN. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  4. ^ Whiner Line

[edit] External links