Friday Four-Pack 6.2.23

This made me laugh. PSA on a Boston sportsbook. Trading Jaylen Brown. Fred Toucher back.

This made me laugh.

The first voice you hear is WEEI’s Chris Curtis.

The second is Red Sox Chairman Sam Kennedy.

The “UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM” is WEEI’s Greg Hill.

I love the 49-second question.

I love Curtis buttering Sam up (best ownership EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) before shitting on the team’s approach to this season.

I love Sam’s smarmy answer. And the tone.

Love the awkward silence.

Love the UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

It’s too hot out to go all-in on a Red Sox conversation today, but Curtis is right. This was always a “bridge” season where the best you could hope for was to sneak in via the wild card and make a run. Chaim Bloom would admit that behind the scenes, but the team can never say that in public. The team in 2023 was ‘playoff driven.’ Not ‘Championship driven.’

I mean…they banked a big chunk of their rotation on Chris Sale being healthy. Then Thursday night - to no one’s surprise - Chris Sale left the game with an injury. Because Chris Sale is always injured. A left shoulder injury. MRI results pending. Doesn’t sound good.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Hopefully some awkward radio made you laugh, too.

Now the rest of today’s Friday Four-Pack.

On the latest in the Toucher and Rich drama…

Another week, more Toucher and Rich news.

After being back for a few weeks - this after being off with a throat/voice issue that doubled as a cancer scare - Fred Toucher once again was not part of his highly-rated morning show this week.

According to Barrett Sports Media (full disclosure I never saw the original tweets), over the weekend Fred tweeted “You ever wish to die” and “I want to die baby.”

There are responses from people to these tweets still visible, but the original tweets were deleted.

Additionally, there was an IG photo of Fred in an ambulance, also now-deleted.

After not talking about it on Tuesday, Rich Shertenlieb addressed the situation with his co-host on Toucher and Rich on Wednesday. From Awful Announcing

“I do want to mention something real quick,” Shertenlieb said during Wednesday’s show. “As you know, Fred wasn’t here [Wednesday]. He wasn’t here yesterday. He most likely won’t be here [Thursday]. And a question I’ve gotten a few times is, ‘Why aren’t you talking about Fred?’ That is more than a fair question. It’s something that if you’ve been fans of the show for years, you like to know what’s going on.

“And the best answer I can give you is that I can’t unfortunately not talk about Fred, because any statement that I make right now has to be approved through management. The last time he was out for an extended period of time, I gave an update and was gently asked, for a lot of different reasons, that any statement about him has to be approved by management. There have been statements that have been submitted and some have been approved, some haven’t been… No one wants to be in this position. Fred doesn’t want to be in this position. The station doesn’t want to be in this position. I certainly don’t want to be in this position. But as of now all I’ve been approved to tell you—because you’re such great listeners and we love you—is that he’s not here…I don’t know exactly when he’ll be back, but I’ve been a friend of Fred’s for years and I hope the best for him.”

The people I talked to that have had info on this situation over the last few months have been silent this week. Kirk Minihane and Dave Cullinane of The Kirk Minihane Show for Barstool Sports have had better info on this than anyone. Maybe they’ll have some news on Friday, when Fred may potentially be back on his own show?

Friday Update: Fred is back on Friday … and now Rich is out. And so it continues.

Fred opened the show explaining that he “relapsed” over the weekend - in part because of the “dark place” he’s in thanks to the issues referenced above - as well as a divorce. That all led to those tweets, according to Fred.

He ended up in detox after self-admitting himself Sunday. He spent five days there and called it the “worst five days of his life.”

Fred was in rehab back in 2020 for alcohol dependency.

He told his audience Friday morning he had no intention of doing any harm to himself and that it was a “dumb joke.”

“For those who reached out in the audience, thank you. I apologize to the show and the station.”

Sounded clear-headed and focused. Great he’s getting help and realized over the weekend he needed to do something.

RE: the show. At this point unless the contract is really part of the equation (there is some talk he’s up at the end of the year) why not just give Fred the entire month of June off? Go get healthy. Figure things out at home and with Rich. Even after hearing Fred this morning, I’m kind of surprised he was allowed on the air.

It would be that easy if these guys were getting along but we know they’re not based on the last two months. Well, Beasley Media would have to pay him too. That might be an issue.

Again, it’s weird Rich is not there today right? Listening live Fred mentioned he was actually able to talk to the guys this weekend.. named four guys from the show he talked to…and Rich was not one of them? Plus he’s not there? Weird. (A show producer said in the Sports Hub Twitch broadcast this was a scheduled day-off for Rich. “Radio boot camp.”)

Does Rich push for some sort of ultimatum? Is he willing to let Fred sit for a few months to get healthy? Was today a planned day? Fred did not directly address why Rich was not there in the first segment of the show.

Still feels like a very fragile situation, even with Fred getting himself healthy.

Fred said Friday he’ll address the audience again at 8AM.

On the future of the Celtics…

Enjoyed yapping about the Celtics here last week - so I’m doing it again.

On Joe Mazzulla being back back and me being squarely on Team Trade Jaylen Brown.

Like the audio in the MutStack? Hate it? Let me know in the comments below

On the beta launch of Fanatics in Massachusetts…

This week Fanatics Sportsbook launched for beta testing in Massachusetts. Simple process - you entered your email and waited to get a notification that you’ve been selected. I was - as were a lot of people. You can still apply now I believe.

But if you have not, I’d wait. Do not sign up now.

Based on playing around on the app the last few days it seems while in beta testing you’re not getting a full menu of bets. There’s limited props, limited (if any) live betting, no NFL futures etc.

This REALLY limits how you an use your bonus bets.

Because it’s about the bonus bets for most people, right?

In the case of Fanatics, you bet $5 and you get $200. BUT…that $200 comes in the form of 10x separate $20 bets.

And you have to make those 10x separate $20 bets within a week of that first $5 bet.

So for me - I have 10x $20 bets to make and as of Thursday afternoon- no futures markets I can bet (which I love for these free bets). Limited live betting for golf (winner only once the round started on Thursday).

The lack of options kinda sucks.

So my advice is wait on Fanatics until they have a full menu of betting available. I’m sure they’ll have this same offer into the football season.

Well, unless you want to fire off $200 in bonus bets on the NBA/NHL Finals, WNBA and MLB. Maybe a Solheim Cup future I guess.

I don’t but that’s what I’m stuck doing.

On some various horse racing items…

• We’re now at 12 deaths over the last two months on track at Churchill Downs and the racing industry is taking notice. This week in Lexington, HISA (Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority) launched an emergency summit to try and figure out if there is a common connection between this cluster of deaths. The deaths (and the injuries that have led to multiples horses being euthanized) have been on track for racing and training, as well as on the turf and dirt surfaces.
  
  Thursday afternoon, Churchill Downs released a statement detailing new safety initiatives in place effective immediately.

I read that as blaming the horseman for running bad horses. And by taking away bonuses involved, removing incentive for trainers to run those bad horses at CD. Fewer bad horses, few fatal injuries? Is that the gist of it?

Without diving headfirst into a subject I know only little about…how can it not be the track surfaces? They installed a new turf course last year … is there a chance it led to a different surface? Different base or drainage?

HISA and Churchill are saying that’s not the issue, for now. And they have incentive to say that as the home of the most important race in America. It would be a HUGE story if the host the Kentucky Derby was killing horses with a bad track.

It’s expensive and it’s bad PR - but why not shut down down for a week and really evaluate that? Two weeks. Just make 100% sure it’s not the track.

As just some guy who likes to bet on horses and talk about betting on horses, that would be my plan.

They decided against that and held live racing on Thursday. We’ll see if these new measures have any effect. Not a good scene.

• We’re a week out from, in my opinion, the best of the three Triple Crown weekends. The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival looks loaded starting Thursday and through the Belmont Stakes Saturday at 7PM. No Triple Crown on the line but the fields will be big and the betting opportunities a plenty.

  

  
  I’ll once again be hosting Mohegan Sun’s Belmont Bash in the FanDuel Sportsbook alongside “The Big A” Anthony Stabile.
  
  Derby Day sold out fast - if you want to be there for Belmont Day on June 10th, you’ll want to get your seating this weekend. You can do that by navigating to the “Reserve a Seat” tab in orange right here.

  
  Another carryover in the Mohegan Sun Alive to Five contest - a contest that sounds like is going to be a big part of Mohegan Sun’s Saratoga summer. If you’re in the area Saturday, you have to play. There is a juicy $14k carryover looming. Details can be found here. Tell Bomba and Zak I said hello.

• If you’re playing Belmont Friday, I like the #5 Jungfrau in the 6th race. Bred for turf. Has speed to be involved early. Win/place bet for me and a key in the late multis.

As always thanks for reading and listening.

Full coverage of the Belmont here all next week.

Good weekend.