If there’s blood in the historic Charles River today, as it wends its way through Brighton and upstream to Waltham, trace it to 98.5’s Fred Toucher’s latest competitive rantings.
Touchebag has again become unglued, this time over his former sports radio pal Rich Shirtenlieb’s partnering with arch-nemesis WEEI Sports Radio.
Shirtenlieb’s new afternoon drive-time show premiered Monday on WEEI, much to Toucher’s unbridled disgust.
“I hate him so much,” Toucher told his listeners Monday. “I just hate him.”
Toucher anchors the early-morning drive-time show at 98.5 in Waltham, a relatively short paddle downstream in the Charles to the WEEI studio in Brighton.
Too close for comfort judging from what Touchebag apparently feels today.
Toucher is still livid at Shirtenlieb, even though it’s been nearly two years since the two radio love birds swam in opposite directions, after breaking-up their almost 20-year sports radio union.
The Touche’s wish, after he and Shirtenlieb separated at their 98.5 microphones, was for Shirtlenlieb to simply disappear, like Toucher did for a while when he went postal at 98.5 from drinking too much of the Charles.
Shirtenlieb never vanished – triggering Toucher’s despondency – but tagged on to a brief hitch at WZLX.
Toucher’s hopes that Shirtenlieb wouldn’t last at WZLX proved prescient.
Shirtenlieb’s poor ratings at WZLX pulled him under and sank his boat.
It almost seemed like Toucher planned Shirtlienib’s demise, for which Toucher and his predictions would gladly take the credit.
“I hate him,” Toucher said in November 2024, just after Shirtenlieb failed at WZLX. “So I was happy when I heard about this.
“But I was a little disheartened that he still carries none of the responsibility and takes none of the blame and still just can’t be honest.”
Toucher repeated that same line on the air Monday – word for word – in a crescendo that brought his cackling co-hosts to their knees.
Contrary to Toucher, Shirtenlieb has consistently been civil in his comments about the Touchebag and 98.5.
Much to Toucher’s probable distaste, by all measures Shirtenlieb sounded confident and self-assured on his inaugural WEEI show Monday.
Callers responded, wishing him well.
Meanwhile, will the well that Toucher hopes Shirtenlieb drowns in, instead rise to engulf Toucher’s hate?
Keep those dials set on The Maine Wire’s continuing coverage of New England broadcast shenanigans.
