Sports Hub officially announces ‘Toucher and Hardy’ morning show

Sports Sports Hub officially announces ‘Toucher and Hardy’ morning show Hardy, the third voice on the “Zolak and Bertrand” show, replaces Rich Shertenlieb, who left the station in late November. Fred Toucher and Rob ‘Hardy’ Poole were each part of the group that departed rock station WBCN for the Sports Hub prior to its launch in August 2009. BEASLEY MEDIA GROUP
The Sports Hub officially announced its new “Toucher and Hardy” morning show Tuesday morning, following Monday’s report that Rob “Hardy” Poole will move from the station’s midday show to join Fred Toucher in morning drive.
The new show begins Jan. 4, with Jon Wallach remaining as the third voice. Poole replaces Rich Shertenlieb, who left the station in late November after working with Toucher in the Boston market for 17 years — first at WBCN, and then at the Sports Hub upon its launch in August 2009.
Toucher and Wallach were joined by Poole in the 9 a.m. hour.
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“In all honesty, I’m humbled, I’m very, very grateful, and thank you to everybody at 98.5 The Sports Hub . . . who believed this will work, and believe it will work, and I think it will be great,” said Poole, who has been with the station since its start and has worked more than 25 years in Boston radio.
“Well, I know it’s going to work,” said Toucher. “It was a great 17-year run before, but we’re starting something new, new ideas coming in, new attitude, and it will be fantastic. It’s certainly been exciting for me, I’ve enjoyed having different people come in, but we all know that we needed someone to be in and be a permanent part of the show. This is what I wanted, and I’m very happy that management got it done.”
BREAKING NEWS; @HardyRadio named new morning show co-host, set to join Fred Toucher on ‘Toucher & Hardy’ debuting January 4th! (click below)https://t.co/KgDcQwn3cShttps://t.co/KgDcQwn3cS — 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) December 19, 2023
Following Shertenlieb’s departure, the Sports Hub used several fill-ins from inside and outside the building alongside Toucher on the morning show, including Kendra Middleton, Ryan Johnston, and Ch. 4′s Dan Roche.
Toucher was quick to praise the fill-ins, particularly Middleton.
“I think that Kendra is going to be a huge star, and I think it’s going to happen soon,” he said. “So someone had better scoop her up.”
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But he acknowledged that Poole, a longtime friend with a similarly caustic sense of humor, was his first choice from the beginning of the process.
“As soon as I found out that there might be a problem with Rich, when I found out things weren’t going great in that direction . . . to be honest with you I had one name in mind,” said Toucher.
“I said to my agent, ‘Why don’t you tell management, if something happens [with Shertenlieb], I would like this gentleman to be the person.’
“Now, why? I’ve known him for almost as long as I’ve known Rich. I consider him a good friend. He’s someone that I talk to who makes me laugh in my personal life. He’s extremely talented with production. And he’s been, quite frankly, underutilized here at the station.”
Poole had been the third voice on the midday “Zolak and Bertrand” show, while also hosting on rock-station 92.9 and SiriusXM’s Lithium channel. It is to be determined whether he will continue in those roles.
Even though both Middleton and Johnston acquitted themselves well, Toucher said there was never any consideration to shaking up the show further.
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“I don’t know if this is bittersweet for a lot of you because so many of you complain about him constantly, but Jon Wallach is still here,” he said. “His job was never in jeopardy.”
With Poole’s move, the Sports Hub has an opening for the third voice on “Zolak and Bertrand.” There are no indications about who that might be.