Pete Sheppard fired from WEEI

Pete Sheppard, who spent more than 10 years as a contributor and fill-in host on sports-radio WEEI's "The Big Show," has had his position eliminated by Entercomm Communications, which owns the station.


"As we continue to operate in challenging economic times, it is with regret that we announce today that we have eliminated Pete Sheppard’s position as sports anchor on "The Big Show," said Entercom New England vice president and market manager Julie Kahn and vice president of AM programming Jason Wolfe in a press release. "We’d like to thank Pete for his outstanding work . . . [and wish him] the best of luck in his future endeavors and remain extremely grateful for all his contributions over the past decade."

Sheppard, 42, had been at WEEI since 1994, when he joined the station in a part-time capacity. In 1999, he began co-hosting a weekend show with Jon Wallach, and in '99 he moved to the highly successful "The Big Show," where he provided sports updates during breaks, bantered with host Glenn Ordway and the rotating co-hosts, and generally served in the role of a boisterous if occasionally buffoonish everyman with a genuine passion for sports during the drive-time program. Alongside ex-players Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie, he also hosted the "Real Postgame Show" following Patriots games.

The news of Sheppard's departure comes as a surprise. The native of Narragansett, R.I., signed a three-year contract with the station in May 2007.