Fred Toucher is back on the air at 98.5 “The Sports Hub.”
But his co-host, Rich Shertenlieb, is absent.
Last month, Toucher took medical leave from his No. 1 morning show, “Toucher & Rich,” due to a severe throat issue. During his absence, he posted multiple tweets about Shertenlieb not reaching out during what he described as a “cancer scare.”
Show personnel learned Wednesday afternoon that Toucher would return to the show Thursday, according to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn. A couple of hours later, they were informed Shertenlieb wouldn’t be there.
During the third hour of Thursday’s program, Toucher addressed his absence. He said he was diagnosed with leukoplakia, a disorder associated with smoking.
Toucher, 48, said he’s quit smoking (he says he started smoking when he was 11 years old).
“Smoking, 90% of the time, you do it just to do it,” he said.
Later in the segment, Toucher talked about his antagonistic tweets towards Shertenlieb and other members of the show. He claims he was in a poor state of mind, and that Shertenlieb actually reached out and offered assistance.
“I unfortunately tweeted something that at the time seemed right in my mind, but now in retrospect, I had called out the show for not being there, which was completely unfair,” he said. “I had talked to [sports anchor] Jon [Wallach], Rich had offered his connections at Dana Farber, he had offered his things. In retrospect, it was a stupid thing to do. What are you gonna do? I was sitting at home, scared of all this happening. Not that that’s an excuse, but there you go.”
“The Sports Hub’s” program director, Rick Radzik, told Finn that Shertenlieb took a sick day Thursday. “Pleased to have Fred back, his voice sounds so much better, though it will still require monitoring in the coming weeks,” he wrote in an email.
Shertenlieb also wasn’t on the show Friday. Toucher briefly mentioned his partner’s absence at the top of the show, and hinted at the reported tension between them.
“Since it’s in the paper and things, Rich is not here today,” he said. “But [WBZ sports anchor] Dan Roche is here. Rich will be back on Monday. I will not be here, but that’s no grand statement.”
Toucher said he will be hosting a friend, which he called a rare occurrence.
With or without the palace intrigue, “Toucher & Rich” is enjoying the best ratings of its 14-year run on “The Sports Hub,” most of which has been spent at the top of the ratings book. Over the winter, they beat their chief competition, WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show,” by nearly 20 points among men 25-54.
