Boston Sports Radio Co-Workers Resort to NSFW Name-Calling On Air over Silly Conflict

An argument broke out between Boston sports radio show hosts on Friday. Shocking, I know. But they weren’t arguing over sports on 98.5 The Sports Hub. They were arguing between themselves over a stupid inside joke.

During the crossover time, the morning show and its staff transitioned to the afternoon show. The yelling started.

Before you dive into the audio and video of the fight, here’s the backstory. Morning show hosts Fred Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb, from “Toucher and Rich,” created a comedy bit with their callers, where those callers came on to tell Mike ‘Sarge’ Riley, a host who often acts as the show’s third leg, that he stinks at radio. The bit became pervasive, with callers joining other shows on the station before invading local and national radio shows to share their thought: Sarge stinks at radio. It left most hosts around the country puzzled. What were these callers talking about?

That influx of useless calling didn’t sit well with one of the afternoon show hosts, Marc Bertrand, who is a host on “Zolak and Bertrand.” Bertrand found the bit distracting during his show. So Bertrand talked some trash about the morning show on Thursday afternoon. Then on Friday, they all tried to air out their grievances during the crossover. It didn’t go well.

If you’re confused and feeling like this is all pretty ridiculous, then you’re not alone.

You can watch some of the confrontation here, though the video is trimmed to eliminate the most NSFW parts of the argument.

If you’re looking to hear the full fight (when the name calling got ugly), you can listen here by starting this audio at 36:30. It’s a long segment, but you’ll get some cringes and some laughs.

These are the sorts of confrontations that have been commonplace at WEEI, the competitor for The Sports Hub. WEEI hosts have made a habit of speaking negatively about their co-workers, with many of the station’s hosts apparently not getting along. The Sports Hub, meanwhile, had a more laid back vibe. This moment seems like a significant stylistic shift for the station.

I, for one, don’t really see what everyone’s mad about. But sports radio isn’t about letting rational minds prevail.