Ranking The Boston Radio Shows

Considering that Boston is widely considered the greatest sports city in America, it’s safe to say that the media plays an important of that sports culture. The pinnacle of that Boston sports media of course starts with the radio talk shows. The two main sports stations (93.7 WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub) have 4 main weekday shows and I am going to rank them here. Once again, this is strictly my opinion as I can imagine that this list will vary from person to person.

8 Kirk and Callahan- While their show has high ratings, to me they are nothing but garbage. They only seem to actually talk about sports half of the time. The other half goes to one sided politically driven conversation; something I don’t want in my sports talk radio. Considering these two have been suspended in the past for stupid comments; that should tell you all you need to know about their show.

7 Mut At Night- Mike Mutnansky has a hard job. Considering that WEEI covers the Red Sox, they have to broadcast a game every night for 6 months. So Mut’s show gets taken up a lot over the year. I do like Mut, but he isn’t on the air enough to move up the list.

6 The Adam Jones Show- Like Mut, Adam Jones faces a similar problem. The Sports Hub broadcasts both the Celtics and Bruins so Jones doesn’t have a show for half of the year. But when his show is on, it’s a solid one. Yes, Jones is extremely negative (nicknamed the sports bustard), but he’s also very funny.

5 Dale, Holley, & Keefe- Dale Arnold and Michael Holley are a well-balanced duo. Dale focuses more on the Bruins and Michael specializes in the Celtics. But during the NFL season, they interview Bill Belichick once a week and during the baseball season they interview John Farrell once a week. Rich Keefe is a step down from Jerry Thornton, but Keefe still gets the job done as the 3^rd wheel.

4 Zolak and Bertrand- There may not be a single sports personality more beloved in Boston than Scott Zolak. He’s loud, proud, and outright hilarious. Plus his Patriot analysis is the by far the best. While Marc Bertrand is also a very good host, the reason that they aren’t higher on the list is that they tend to fall off topic a lot. Not to mention that they have a lot of awkward pauses when discussing a topic.

3 Ordway, Merloni, & Fauria- In the current media market, everyone seems to agree that the Godfather of Boston Sports Radio is Glenn Ordway. Back in the day, Ordway starred in the Big Show and paved the way for what all current shows look like today. Going along with Ordway are two former players. Christian Fauria is the former Patriot and Lou Merloni is the former Red Sox player. They both give great insight to their respective sport, making for one of the best shows.

2 Toucher and Rich- One thing that I love about sports talk radio is that I feel that I am part of a real conversation. Toucher and Rich feel like they are made for the common man by the common man. They are funny, knowledgeable, and can talk about a number of topics other than sports. Considering that they won the Major Market Personality of the Year by the National Association of Broadcasters in 2016, it’s safe to say that they are good at their job.

1 Felger and Mazz- They are the most popular talk show in Boston and in my opinion, they are the best. They may be negative, but they are better at the one thing than anyone else; talking sports. They have great interactions with their callers and they cover all angles about the topics for the day. Not to mention that Tony Mazz is my favorite sports personality. Throw in Jim Murray’s hilarious bits and you have yourself the best show in Boston.

Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)