Each Glenn Ordway vacation day that goes by this summer that results in WEEI’s Big Show being hosted by Mike Adams or Butch Stearns (although Bob Neumeier is an improvement) leaves me asking the same thing – what happened with Pete Sheppard, and why hasn’t he gotten another job yet?

I wasn’t always the biggest fan of Pete (and vice-versa), but the guy did bring something to the Big Show and WEEI – the perspective of a fan.  He didn’t hide the fact that he was a fan of the teams, especially the Patriots. I didn’t like the bully act, or the year he became a “Yankee fan”,  but I liked that he genuinely was a fan as well as a radio host. And I miss it.

On the occasions that Ordway was out, and Sheppard was his main backup, the Big Show still worked. Now, when I hear Adams or Stearns in the Dale & Holley crossover, I know that a full afternoon of Felger and Massarotti is on tap.

Since Entercom let Sheppard go earlier this year, he has yet to surface on another radio outlet. Chad Finn’s media column has reported a couple of times about interest between Sheppard and 98.5-FM, but to this date, nothing has happened.

Sheppard’s Facebook account  (which I believe is genuine) lists his current profession as  Professional Poker Player(for the moment)  and his wall lists out the tournament’s he’s been competing in. He also occasionally gives updates on his search for work in the radio field. He posted this last week:

I also wanted to update everyone on my next gig…Things are still being worked on right now, I can tell you all this, I won’t be going to 98.5 The Sports Hub any time soon…I am not going to get into any details because things could change in the future, but as of right now, it’s not happening….In broadcasting, timing is everything lets put it that way..

With so many ex-WEEI personalities (Jon Wallach, Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti, Jerry Trupiano, Ted Sarandis) already on their airwaves, is 98.5 hesitant to put another on?

Pete was strongly associated with WEEI. Could that tie be too much for 98.5 at this point? It would seem to be a silly hangup, but the radio business is a strange one.  

Sheppard would be entertaining as a third man in with Felger and Massarotti as the latter two prepare to spend the next six months trashing everything Patriots. He could also be part of the station’s Patriots broadcasts before and after the games.

Whether he ends up on 98.5 or not, Sheppard’s total disappearance from the sports media scene is pretty interesting. With so many TV and Radio outlets, you’d think he’d have appeared somewhere to keep himself in the public eye, but to my knowledge, he hasn’t been around at all.

I do hope we hear Pete Sheppard on the local airwaves again, and soon.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

45 thoughts on “Where In The World Is Pete Sheppard?”

  1. Any chance that he had a "no compete" clause in his contract and that it just hasn't expired yet?

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    1. I don’t think so. His agent has confirmed to the Globe their negotiations with 98.5 in the past…

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  2. "I do hope we hear Pete Sheppard on the local airwaves again, and soon."

    That makes one of us!

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  4. cound not agree more…..I guess I was in the minority but I always liked Pete…..I used to go round and round with our old buddy "Scott's Shots" about it……(he HATED Pete)…..but like you said he did seem like he actually ENJOYED SPORTS as opposed to just everybody else in the sports media……he came as across as a regular guy to me……even the "bully act" came across as just "ball busting " to me…….anyway, I hope he gets another job

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  5. Either station could use Pete on weekends. The two baseball shows are good on 'EEI but the rest ………..Mustard & Johnson, Butch Stearns, Mike Muttnansky, are all (especially Mustard & Johnson) pretty bad. Hardy and Trup, Teddy the Humorless Ghoul, Bertrand and Gaspar are equally bad. I never thought I'd say this but Shaughnessy is the best show they have.
    A lot of people felt Pete bullied callers. He did to some extent, but some of them deserved it. Steve from Fall River, John from the Cape, et al. Pete is/was, by far, the best fill-in for Ordway

    The latest ratings have 98.5 taking a substantial dip. Maybe they'll hire him.

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    1. Any consideration of ratings has to include the whole CBS cluster and how the stations are after the switch. Is MIX doing better on the new signal? How have WAAF, WFNZ, and WZLX done after 'BCN dropped out? If CBS is doing better with sports on 98.5 and MIX on a better signal with listeners migrating to 'ZLX instead of 'AAF, then it was a good move. Going from memory, 98.5 is doing better than BCN was doing at the end, which is a plus move for CBS. It might not be beating WEEI, but the company is doing better with this configuration.

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    2. Regarding the ratings can I see them somewhere?

      I figured the hiring of Andy Gresh would have driven them thru the roof. He played o-line at URI you know, but he doesn’t like to tell people about it.

      Meanwhile, Jonathan ThanksDad Kraft pats the crosseyed clipboard holder on the head as the tumbleweeds blow thru Patriot Place.

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  6. Isn't the timing reference to the signing of Andy Gresh. Aren't they the same type of personality? My guess is that you don't need of these types.

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  7. Chad Finn had something in his chat about how Pete rubbed people the wrong way at WEEI because he had an inflated sense of his value and that people at the station have not bothered to help him out because of his attitude.

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  8. It's not just Stearns or Mikey as a host, it's having a Colorless Lou Merloni alongside that makes it unbearable. You absolutely know that you will not miss a thing if you don't tune in. Please come back somewhere Pete – you are fun to listen to. Let's not forget that talk radio should have an entertainment component. Then when you come back Pete we can start bashing you again; a win-win?

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    1. Completely agree about Merloni. He comes off like a guy who went to Broadcasting Talk Radio 101, sounds "smooth", talks forever, and says absolutely, completely nothing of interest. He avoids saying anything critical, yet goes on forever. And he's on EEI almost every day!

      I don't get the fascination with Merloni. He's utterly bland and I agree, once I hear his voice I know I can tune out and not miss a thing.

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      2. good point–merloni is an ordway lap dog, unoriginal, bland and a mile wide and an inch deep

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  9. The only way I want to hear Shepherd's voice again is coming out of a speaker asking me if I want fries with that.

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  10. Why was Pete dumped by EEI? He's not perfect, as noted earlier, but he'd be much better than Mustard and Johnson.

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    1. Reminds me of the time Sheppard was “interviewing” Bill Belichick prior to the Patriots 2005 season opener when they were going to play the Raiders and Randy Moss:

      It seems to me, a guy like Randy Moss, it seems…the way…your team is so professional in how they execute, I, I think can be taken out of his game very easily, because you don’t know at times if he’s going to take plays off if the ball isn?t going his way, and I think your guys – the veterans on defense are going to know this, and they’re just going to bump him all over the field much like they did to Faulk in the Super Bowl, I think he can be taken out his game early and I think you can frustrate the hell out of him. I really can. I really, I really believe that. And I…I do not expect him to have a big game against your defense because I think they can take him off and frustrate that guy early. Because I don’t think he’s very mature…football player. – Pete Sheppard, WEEI ‘interviewing’ Bill Belichick, 08/22/05

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  13. While I agree that "the voice of the fan" is a perspective missing from the radio these days,my problem is that Pete Sheppard's radio skills are terrible. He has a problem annunciating his words, he talks too fast, makes too many mistakes, gets caught up in his "um's and ah's," struggles to find a rhythm and is entirely too egotistical for my taste. With so many talented young professionals trying to make it in radio, it doesn't seem right that Sheppard, with his numerous flaws, had one of the cushiest jobs in town. If I were him, I'd be using this time to refine my skills and make himself better,

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    2. I agree he had one skill, playing the loudmouth there are only so many places you can peddle that.

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  14. Pete certainly could be abrasive but he's much better than the anorexic douchebag flashboy that works on the morning show. How that loathsome sycophant is still employed by Entercom is beyond me.

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  15. Butch Stearns is completely unlistenable. I would rather have a non-essential surgical procedure than to listen to him for five minutes.

    I can't explain why, but Pete was the opposite. He's a jerk, he's obnoxious, but I actually preferred him as the host to Ordway

    if they put Pete on middays at 98.5, I'd never listen to 'EEI again

    Just tell him not to play online poker during work hours this time

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    1. I agree. I enjoyed Pete filling in for Ordway. Merloni is dull and is like watching paint dry. Pete used to make me laugh. After all, this is entertainment. I think Theo's Red Sox have the same problem. They are a dull team; give me the "idiots" any day; they were entertaining. I used to listen to the Big Show everyday. Getting rid of Pete was the final straw. I don't listen that much anymore.

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  16. Yeah, I don't get all the Pete love. Inarticulate (great when you talk for a living), baffoonish, cartoonish, uninformed, took a special delight in bullying teenaged callers, was a drooling sycophant when Belichick or any major sports figure was being interviewed. Keith Foulke was painted as an out-of-touch millionaire ballplayer when he refered to "Johnny from Burger King" (or whatever he said) yet Pete was a man of the people despite saying similar things on a regular basis.

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    1. All you say is true. I wouldn’t describe this post as “Pete love” – just noting that his perspective is somewhat missed, and he could be a good foil to the Felger/Massarotti duo. I’m also wondering why the guy just completely dropped off the media scene…no more CSN appearances, nothing.

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      1. I hear you, Bruce. No one else seems to disappear completely. To wit: I recently stumbled upon Eddie's Sunday night show on TKT(?).

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    2. I was at the 2005 "Johnny from Burger King" game at Fenway. Foulke came into the 9th with a lead. He got 2 outs, then walked the bases loaded after getting everyone to 2 strikes, then gave up a Grand Slam to lose the game. We booed him as he walked off the field, and he took exception in the post-game by stating that he didn't care what Johnny from Burger King thought of his game. Nevermind we were all on our feet cheering every time he got the 2nd strike on a batter, booing his Grand Slam was simply unacceptable to Foulke. He's lucky no one threw stuff at him for that tease.

      Foulke's comments basically lambasted all the fans at Fenway, and more or less every Red Sox fan by extension, for daring to boo the multi-millionare. Pete Shephard, OTOH, only insulted individual idiot callers with his "Burger Flipping" comments. That's a slight difference. You can get away with calling someone an idiot…but calling everyone who pays to see you an idiot is contra-indicated for a happy stay at Fenway.

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      1. Glad to hear from the tough-guy fan contingent. I guess that Foulke essentially blew out his arm shutting down three opponents in the 2004 playoffs is beside the point. I actually think the people who booed him are, in fact, idiots.
        But you are making a distinction without a difference. Both insulted the little guy and minimum wage jobs. I frankly don't care that they did but Pete's schtick was being a regular guy fan, which in reality was just another role he played.

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        1. An idiot tough guy? Because I booed an epic fail appearance of a professional ace closer? Fer cryin' out loud, he pulled a Ricky Vaughn! It'd be one thing if he simply blew a save. Stuff like happens to all closers. But to walk the bases loaded then give up a Grand Slam to lose the game? What do you want fans to do? Clap politely? Be silent? It's not like these are little kids and we don't keep score. We're fans who collectively pay millions to watch them play and get emotionally involved in the outcome. We cheer. We boo. Get used to it.

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  17. All I have to do is refer to the post not to long ago when we rated every media talking head/writer in New England. Pete was in the Top 5 most reviled category. I don't understand why anyone would want his interrupting, stammering, and overall childish behavior back on the radio. Why not bring in a random dude from the street (like the cameo Danny from Quincy did, for example)? The skill set is the same.

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  18. I like the dig at Felger and Mazz. Nothing wrong with being critical, but man, those guys are depressing to listen too. For once, "the negativity in this town sucks" rings true. Those dudes need to lighten up a little.

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  19. Anyone with Ordway sooner or later ends up with a shiv in his back. Pete must have thought he was The Show, just like Johnny did.

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  20. To Lobstersauce etc., I saw the ratings in a post on Radio-info.com/Boston Radio Grid. I've never been sure how those charts work, but if you go strictly by the numbers, 'EEI is in 8th place overall and 98.5 is in 17th. I believe that "cume" means total listeners, so it looks like 98.5 lost 121;000 while 'EEI gained 37,300, from May to June..

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    1. I don't see anybody put much stock in those numbers. Everybody crows about specific demographics, usually men 18-34 or something like that. WBZ-AM wins overall but it does not do well in sought after demographics.

      What I have read in the past in the Herald and heard on the air is that WBZ-FM is much closer to WEEI in the desired demos than the overall numbers indicate. T&R hinted at beating D&C in the past. What demographic they measured themselves with is unknown.

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  21. I miss Pete. All in all he was just plain funny and entertaining the majority of the time. I'm a big fan of EEI because they are funny and informative. Despise Mazz because he is the most bitter, negative, fan hating weasel in all the media. And a closet Yankee fan. Remember, Mazz the brain surgeon endlessly defended Grady Little for leaving in Pedro in 03. Real baseball genius, that's Tony the rat. Pete was no genius, but always gave me a good laugh.

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  22. I actually thought Sheppard did a better job of hosting the Big Show than Ordway. It seemed like the talk was crisp and pretty well flowing. Pete seriously covered all topics being thrown at him and he and the co-hosts never seemed to step on each other. As far as his faults, I agree with those who say his interviewing skills were dreadful. He played a bullying buffoon when he was a flash guy. Finally the Real Post Game Show was awful.

    That being said there seems to be much more to this story than meets the eye. You would think that he could be a guest on CSNNE or NESN. He can't even get a holiday/vacation guest gig on tv or radio. It seems like Pete maybe blackballed. As Rick said when talking about the Chad Finn chat that Pete may have burned a lot of bridges.

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    1. Excellent point. Despite his "burger flipping" and "turd" comments, he ran that show very show in Ordway's absence.

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  23. Pete had an inflated sense of self personally and professionaly he is not humble and it came across loud and clear. He also is numb to anothers misfortune. People are tired of this kind of person, they are all around us. Maybe he will reinvent himself and become a better person anyone can be a sports enthusiast.

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