A Swing, And A Miss

Fat Albert and a wide receiver doubling as a (somehow) crappier version of America’s Got Talent host, Nick Cannon? To our beloved Patriots? The same team that subscribes, better yet invented, the “Patriot Way.” This is everything local media should be salivating over. Content that, for all intents and purposes, writes itself.

Or so we thought.

Sitting at work, after the Albert Haynesworth deal was announced, I was left with a choice to make. WEEI or The Sports Hub? I went with the latter, because I was interested to hear what Mike Felger had to say. As I’ve written before, the dude’s analysis of the Moss trade was soothsayer-esq, and he had earned the right to have my ears this time around.

The program opened with co-host Tony Massarotti fearfully saying, “This is a bad guy, Mike.”

(A phrase Mazz would repeat roughly 17 times….in the first hour of the show. He reminded me of Michael Myers’ doctor/caretaker trying to warn whatever town the killer was roaming of his lunacy. Relax Tony. Fat Albert isn’t going to break into your house and eat you.)

Felger then put on an exposition from the school of blowhards.

(And to answer your question, yes, Dean Ordway founded the institution in 1987.)

He read the same laundry list of transgressions on the behalf of Big Al that were reiterated to his audience all day. Then he went on to say that he liked the move, and the Patriots should use Haynesworth for one season – then dump him.

My question is if you like the move, presumably, you believe Haynesworth is going to have a good year. And the goal is to win a Super Bowl, correct? So, if the Patriots win it all, we’re supposed to dump Haynesworth?

Felger’s analogous was the mal-content (and out-of-shape) Corey Dillon who – after a ginormous year in the Super Bowl run during ’04 – got fat and happy, never regaining previous form.

In retrospect the comparison works, but in retrospect a lot of decisions look different. The verity of the circumstance is it’s a specious argument. Dillon broke the single-season rushing record for New England that year. If the front office decided to part ways with him, the backlash would have rivaled the Kendrick Perkins trade.

Moreover, Felger incessantly cited the risk that if Fat Al makes it to opening day the Pats are on the hook for his salary. This is the same guy who has killed New England’s frugality in the past, so why does he care if the Kraft’s foot the bill?

This opened up the wounds of a criticism Bruce Allen has noted in the past of Felger – his tendency to talk out of both sides of his mouth. A habit the host ascertained at the lap of his adversary, Glenn Ordway.

Speaking candidly, I’ve never felt that way. I always felt Felger’s strength was his clear-cut takes, whether true or not, and his accountability for mistakes.

(He freely admits being wrong about Julien and the Bruins, just as much as he reminds us about being vindicated in his Branch/Moss prediction.)

But Thursday afternoon this ambiguity was at the forefront of his four-hour show. I still think he’s throwing 98 MPH right now, and though his detractors will disagree with me [and I know there are many of you], if ESPN were to host a special PTI: City vs City – who would represent Boston over Felgy?

You’ve Changed Things And There’s No Going Back

(The Joker, The Dark Knight)

I’ve noticed Fred Toettcher getting more air-time on CSNNE’s Sports Tonight. In fact, the network gave the radio host a segment entitled “Get In Touch”, where hosts ask him rapid questions pertaining to each of the four major professional sports franchises.

I’m happy to see the success from Toettcher’s morning radio show – Toucher & Rich – translate to television. From “Rad Marchand” to “New-Jack Edwards”, it’s clear 98.5’s Toucher & Rich have given this market a shot in the arm that it’s never had before – no, not HGH – but quality sports talk predicated on humor.

Critics will point to the stereotypical “Morning Drive Zoo Radio Formula”. And that would make sense if T&R were two hosts yelling over one another playing obnoxious sound bytes. This is not the case though. The show’s ingenuity focuses on the ideology of grasping an evanescent event in sports, and yielding a comical skit.

It’s easy to argue the show’s lack of credibility since it derived from the now defunct alternative rock station, WBCN. However, the reason T&R has taken off has to do with the previously discussed innovative comedic talents and, more importantly, the duo’s willingness to out-work its competition.

It’s palpable how much both host’s, Rich Shertenlieb and Fred Toettcher, have improved their sports knowledge. That takes work. Shertenlieb attending a late-night Charlie Sheen performance, and convincing the crazed star to come on the show takes work. In the same token, Toettcher getting out of bed at 2 AM to do the show takes work. The two have hit their mark.

On the other hand, I think Dennis & Callahan didn’t expect worthy competition at this stage in their career. I don’t think the WEEI hosts want anything to do with it either, especially considering the unorthodox style T&R is broadcasting. D&C seems to impose the opposite strategy that T&R employs. While T&R produce comedy on the ephemeral, D&C harp on serious issues over LONG periods of time, to the point of exhaustion.

Adding to the Rap Sheet

In what feels like a month ago, Ian Rapoport was castigated by fans and peers this week after he tweeted inside the temple of Myra Kraft’s funeral. Rapoport defended himself in multiple mediums.

First, on his Twitter page – the origin of the scandal – he denied using his phone during the actual service:

So everyone debating has the facts: There was no tweeting during the service. Only before and after. All were respectful.

Later on, the beat reporter for the Boston Herald appeared on WEEI’s The Big Show to further address the situation and his intentions.

While I was there to pay respects to Myra Kraft, I was there as a reporter going to write a story on the funeral, on the service, which I did. So you know, what I want to do every time is bring timely newsworthy information to readers and followers and whoever else, basically in every way that’s available, and so i tweet a lot.

Rapoport did show hesitation in regards to his actions, alluding to things he could have done differently.

I didn’t tweet once [the service] began. The only thing that I’m sort of still thinking about that I think is difficult for some people to wrap their head around is I was inside the building. I was physically in the temple. …Maybe it might have been better to step outside in the reporter area, communicate the news that way and then go back in. I just didn’t want to lose my seat. So maybe that’s something if I could do it again I would consider physically where I was. I was in my seat. Would it have been better if I was in the hallway, in the doorway? I’m not sure, but those are the kind of things I’m thinking about.

Aggregate reaction was predictably harsh, before calming down. Boston.com’s Chris Gasper seemed perturbed initially, but then backed off saying “It’s a personal choice. Just not something I would have done.” Gerry Callahan said he read his colleagues tweets and thought they were interesting.

What do I think?

Well, I hate to play the middle (it’s cop-out, to a degree), but I have to here. Rapoport’s tweets isn’t an exemplar of desecration, but I’m not going to go as far as Callahan and say, “They were worthwhile and provocative.”

I love Twitter. I think it’s a great forum for everyone (Players, Fans, Media) to interact. He was “doing his job” and letting the masses know who was in attendance. Strictly from a utilitarian point of view, Rapoport’s ‘scandal’ is not really a scandal – it’s just natural runoff from covering an event.

Although, hearing that Curtis Martin came to Myra Kraft’s funeral can wait. And, like with anything in life, there’s a sense of discretion and autonomy in play here. I doubt his editors were demanding a play-by-play of the timeline in which players appeared at the service. That’s not an attack on Rapoport. He is simply a conduit for this social media debate.

So I ask you, readers, did Rapoport go to far? At what point is the line separating immediacy of information being disseminated and humanity superseding intersected?

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

34 thoughts on “Sports Media Musings: Felger & Mazz Drop the Ball, Toucher & Rich’s Rise, Rapoport’s Infamous Tweets”

  1. I don't think Rapoport needs to apologize to anyone. He didn't do anything wrong. Once the service began, he stopped tweeting. I was kind of surprised with the reaction that this generated. We see TV broadcasts from churches/temples so many times. Would that be considered disrespectful? For example, Princess Diana's funeral was broadcasted DURING the service. I don't remember any uproar then. Just because the medium of broadcasting (twitter vs. TV) change, why should our reaction?
    One thing that Rapoport did do, is handle any criticism he received (whether warranted or not) with class and respect. Kudos for that!

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  2. "if ESPN were to host a special PTI: City vs City – who would represent Boston over Felgy?"

    Bob Ryan.

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  3. Another solid column Ryan, which should arouse quite a few comments today, at least from myself. Here are some thoughts:

    -I think Felgers point about dumping Haynesworth if they would have 1 season of success hinges on the fear of complacency setting in for Haynesworth, which could poison the lockeroom (ie Adalius Thomas, Derrick Burgess, and the rest of the 2009 team that had chemistry issues). Haynesworth is the Ron Artest of the NFL. The talent, when focused and giving effort, is clearly there (see Haynesworth's last season with Tenn and Ron-Ron with Indiana, Houston 1 year). The problem does come after success, the production will slip as well as motivation. Money is suddenly guaranteed and why put forth more effort, you already have 1 ring. The athletes don't have the desire like Bill Russell. If Albert followed the same path as Ron-Ron, in about three years we would be talking about "Remember when Fatso World Famine was named Albert Haynesworth and Metta World Peace was Ron Artest?

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  4. -Tony Mazz is becoming intolerable. Does he really think that repeating how Haynesworth is a bad guy is necessary. You know what, he did affect me. I thought Albert was peaches and cream, until around 3:23pm yesterday where, for the 29th time, Tony said "Mike, this is a bad guy." Then it finally hit me. I realized that Albert Haynesworth is a bad guy.

    -T&R work tremendously hard for their show. Not everyone is going to like it, but for those who do, I look forward to every new idea they have. They are contstantly looking for new ways to entertain, and we should appreciate that. When they have a segment that doesn't work, they scrap it, and continue to look for new ones. As opposed to those across the street that just roll in and roll out. Although they come create the Meter Minute, which lasts about 25 mins, and I feel we can all thank them for that (sarcastic clapping).

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    1. – My initial opinion of Rap's tweets was that it was a bad idea. I think this is a case where work should wait. However, I don't agree with those that want him in the coffin. He made a "debatable" decision to tweet about who was there. Any we also don't know what pressures were from his higher ups. I think the fact that he has shown some doubt about whether what he did was right, shows that at least he thinks it couldve been a bad decision. He isn't brazenly defending his stance, like any WEEI host, refusing to admit one ounce of regret, or that he was wrong. This is a minor case of debatable decision making. We shouldn't let this define this guys career, I'd much rather attack the likes of Borges, Shaunessy, or Callahan. Put it in context people !

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  5. Great column Ryan, though I can't believe you've never noticed this in Felger's shtick before. This is how he operates — any opportunity he has to bash or belittle one of the local teams, he takes it. Even though he occasionally said "I like this move," 99% of the time he spent going through Haynesworth's rap sheet. Instead of engaging Mazz in a discussion about whether it's a good move or not, he instead bashes Haynesworth's character and says there's no way the Patriots ought to ever re-sign him (an utterly baffling statement should he have a big season like you said).

    As far as the worthless Mazz goes, you knew it was going to be one of "those days" when he leads off with "this is a bad guy, Mike" and then repeats it over and over for the next 4 hours.

    The other issue yesterday was at 10am. As bad as Gresh and Zo can be (with the emphasis on the former), they know football about a million times more than "Mutt and Merloni." I couldn't envision even trying WEEI at 10am on a day when big football signings are happening….that vacuum from 10-2 has got to be killing WEEI. If it's not Sox talk (something Merloni can at least discuss), there's no reason at all to even think about listening to that show, especially when it comes to the Patriots.

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  6. Yeah, reading my own column over, I don't think I was specific enough with my gripe in regards to Felger…

    I got Felger's point. I guess my retraction is if he has a great season, a-la Moss/Dillon, it'd be really HARD to just cut ties. Moss broke NFL records in '07. The Pats brought him back. Dillon broke team records in '04. The Pats brought him back.

    In hindsight, neither (Moss is debatable) worked out the way mgmt planned, but you can't just ties with players that produce that well. If Albert is as dominant as those two were – in those antecedent seasons before the large contract – I can't see how the Pats could just say "C-ya!". You can't call it a good risk, then abort on the risk after one season if you're dealt a black jack. Though, if his performance is somewhere in between, I suppose there's something to be said for quitting while you're ahead.

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  7. T&R had some issues transistioning from the high of the B's run to the dog days of summer, but have seemed to find their sea legs again. My favorite part of the workday is the commute in because of their content (though, that could just be a commentary on how I feel about my job).

    I'm actually having Rich on my podcast in a few weeks, date TBD. And I really want to get his thoughts on the information vs entertainment debate in sports media. I look forward to his thoughts.

    Rapoport is solid. And this won't blacklist him or anything. He gets scoops consistently (broke the Stroud release just yesterday), and is a great follow on Twitter (very interactive). Found it a little disingenous that Felger called Curran (who he works with at CSNNE) the best Pats writer in town on Sports Tonight with Rapoport right in the room. (I agree with Felger, just felt bad for Rapoport who retorted making a joke about Felger's infatuation with Tebow)

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  8. Ryan, I enjoyed the post but I was startled at one of the things you said. This line, "As I’ve written before, the dude’s (Felger) analysis of the Moss trade was soothsayer-esq, and he had earned the right to have my ears this time around." You could not be more wrong. Felger was wrong in every aspect of Moss as one could possible be with the exception of the end which was Moss would shoot his way out of town. But I would not call this genius. You, me, my dog and my vacuum cleaner knew this was eventually going to happen because we all knew Moss was going to want a new contract. Here is a post I wrote last year on BSMW. If you can get around the awful grammar and poor math, Felger was one for seven in Moss proclamations, then have at it. http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2010/11/does-any…

    Felger did say he was wrong about the Bruins. He had to, they won the Stanley Cup. But two weeks later he is saying that we should not trust Bruins GM, Peter Chiarelli to make the right decisions. He also said that the Bruins style of winning was anomaly and if not for some luck (Penguins injuries) and matchups (playing the Canucks vs. the Red Wings) the Bruins would not have won it all.

    Finally, Ryan, you are right, Felger does take a strong stand but when he is wrong 90% of the time should he still receive praise? He should be chastised as someone who shoots from the lip without any clue about what he is talking about. Just because Felger makes a loud stance does not make him smart, it makes him Gary Tanguay.

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    1. I'll go take the journey there with you on some of those points. I think Felger's "a goalie isn't important to win a SCup" is off (obviously), but with the Moss/Pats stuff I think it's hard to argue that he wasn't ahead of the curve on the impact it would have.

      He said diva WR's, and deep balls don't win championshihps. Ball control & good route running does. The team went 13-1 during the regular season last year. Felger was the first to say the move would make the Pats a better team. I'm not giving him credit on Moss shooting his way out of town, which I think you think I'm doing…

      (Anyone who watched the Cinci post-presser could have told you that).

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      1. Ryan I think we may be miscommunicating. I was talking about the original trade to acquire Moss while you are talking about the deal to get rid of Moss.

        That being said, yes, the Patriots went 13-1 after the Moss trade and were immediately eliminated in the AFC Conference Semi-finals. The team's first playoff game. The Patriots were eliminated in their first playoff game the previous year with Moss. Felger's general statement that WR's and deep ball don't win championships is baloney. To win a championship a team needs to have everything working well in all three phases of the game. The reason the Patriots did not win a Super Bowl from 2007-2009 does not lie squarely on the shoulders of Moss. Felger, who must have had his lunch money stolen by Moss, will try to make it seem like Moss was the main reason for the Patriots failures.

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    2. The backlash he gets is almost comical here. It reminds me how NFL teams sometimes mis-diagnose their own talent because they're exposed to their flaws on a regular basis. We're, perhaps, exposed to much to his contrarian ways. Felger has a 4 hour primetime radio show, is on Sports Tonight, and Sports Sunday — is this the cause of the ire? I'm not sure.

      I think at some point everyone has to come to terms that these guys are paid to have opinions. The way they present these thoughts dictates how well we like them, but I can't kill a guy for being wrong. As Belichick says, "You can make a lot of money if you in the sports industry if you know what's going to happen".

      I just want him to care, be somewhat entertaining, and Felger – above everyone else – seems to emit both those qualifications. But hey, to each his own.

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      1. Ryan, I get what you're saying. It's true companies are in the business of making money and the local media ones will hire Felger if he brings in the money. I don't begrudge Felger for that.

        A couple of reasons (to me) why I think he gets it here. When he was on ESPN I occassionally listened to him and whenever anyone emailed a criticism of him he'd give out their email address. That's douchy. And I remember listening to his audience (callers) and they would remind me there are a few people in this world who flunked kindergarten. Being pseudo smart isn't the same as being smart or insightful even if you think so.

        The guy throws a ton of crap against the wall and inevitably something sticks and he trumpets those things louder than the Mormon temple guy. Tits and outrageousness sells to the lowest common demominator. Real sports media people work hard (like Reiss) without the general recogniztion and M.F. seems to have realized he could make more money turning in his real media credentials and becoming a "personality." No chance he was ever going to become Simmons Jr. which I think was his initial pursuit.

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        1. This Reiss point is a great one. He's great and does an admirable job reporting all information pertaining to Patriots football. Though, I often find myself yearning for more opinion from Reiss.

          A little more gusto would be nice. Even in his mailbag he doesn't have much to say besides, "Taylor Price could be a big addition. He was basically red-shirted last year." It's only discouraging, cuz I RESPECT his knowledge and work so much, and I want to see it flourish a little outisde it's current realm.

          But not to the effect where his opinions compromise his information-gathering ability – because he's the best in the business right now at that (in my opinion).

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      2. The "cause of the ire" is because Felger basically went from being anti-Ron Borges to BECOMING Ron Borges, at least as far as the Patriots go. He's biased, holds obvious grudges, and is completely unhappy if things are going well — if the teams are losing, he's like a kid on Christmas morning because he's happy when he can bash or belittle the teams that he feels every one "worships" in this town. In many ways his act is just bizarre given the amount of titles that have been won here over the last 10 years — in any other market, most sports talk would be positive or constructive. Instead you'd think we were in Kansas City based on how angry he is, day in and day out.

        Yes every one is paid for their opinions and they're on the radio, TV, in print, etc. for hours at a time, every day. That's no excuse for him. Felger is capable, as many have said before, of raising his game, being balanced and informative — when he first came on the scene in Boston he was a breath of fresh air compared to the likes of Will McDonough and Borges, etc. His reporting and writing were actually really good — but that Felger has been replaced by Felger the "multi-media personality" who is a clown compared to how he started out.
        Instead of coming off like a normal human being, he puts on this stupid "contrarian" act every day, dredges up arguments that many times don't even exist, all in a transparent effort to get people to talk about him. And it works to a degree, obviously (look, here we are again!), but it doesn't mean you have to respect him or what he has to say.

        At some point, when things actually do start to decline, people are going to tune him out because he's like the boy who cried wolf, and his rants are just hollow. Entertaining at times, yes, but I don't think he even believes what he's saying all the time.

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      3. Lance and Doc both of you are spot on with your Felger takes. The only thing I will add is I believe Felger should give a little bit of his paycheck each week to Glen Ordway. I firmly believe that Felger's meteoric rise to the top of the sports media pyramid has nothing to do with talent, knowledge or charisma. It has everything to do with Ordway's complete ineptness as a host. The Big Show has become a complete disaster. By the way, Dale Arnold is in for Ordway today making it the Dale and Holley reunion. If Wolfe and Kahn were smart they would cut Ordway a check and tell him to just stay home.

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      4. Ryan…I will give you another argument Felger got wrong. He has been saying that the jets aren't in cap hell (not that anyone was arguing the point) and that people wanted to go and play for Rex Ryan. In the last 24 hours they have been out bid on Nnamdi Asomugha, lost Brad Smith to Buffalo of all teams, had Drew Coleman go to the Jags, and have Antonio Cromarte wasting in the wind with him most likely going to SF for more money than the Jets can offer. Ditto on trading for Asante Samuel. So they went from a potential, dream team, defensive back field to short two quality players while the Pats have added Chad 85 and bolstered their DL with the Haynesworth trade. So simple question to Mike Felger…where are the free agents dying to play for the Jets and where is the money for all these players they are losing?

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  9. I personally am not a fan of T&R because I hate the wacky FM DJ shtick, but I understand why a lot of people do like it. It is much lighter fare than the "get off my lawn twins". I agree with the work ethic. The Charlie Sheen example was perfect. D&C sent a couple of producers to tweet the event while Rich Shirtenlieb actually went there and set up an interview at 2:00am. That is an example just wanting it more.

    With regards to Ian Rapoport, since Chris Gasper was the most vocal critic then Rapoport was 100% right.

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    1. Just kidding on Rapoport, I think he could have waited to tweet. It's just that I have almost no tolerance for Gasper.

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  10. I'm going to make a prediction regarding Felger today. I bet he or tony, will somehow start the belief that New Englanders would mock Haynesworth and say he sucks, but now praise him and say he will turn it around cuz of the system. I haven't heard much on this topic, other than people saying it could be a good signing if he actually tries. Just going out on a limb with this one, I feel I am thinking of Felgers stances before he does.

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  11. Ryan…thoughtful and insightful column…kind of like Billy Reynolds old 3 for the price of 1 column. I disagree with a lot of what your wrote…here we go.

    1) On Felger and Mazz's treatment of the Haynesworth trade…what other position could they take? Think about it. if they laud Belichick for taking a shot on a guy who regardless of his prior issues off and on the field committed the one cardinal sin the "Patriots Way" defines…then they are called Belichick Fanboys…Haynesworth quit on his team. He stopped playing, literally laid down on the field and stopped chasing McNabb. After that he stopped coming to practice and stopped talking to his coaches. He took $68 mill from Dan Snyder and that was how he thanked him. In any other industry Snyder would have had just cause and perhaps even recourse for recovery. I think Mazz was right in harping on the "He's a bad guy" angle. Until Haynesworth comes out and says something to the contrary, about how he is misunderstood, I don't see where the other side of the story is. Same with Felger. Felger acknowledges that Haynesworth might have a great season…playing for a coach he should respect, Floyd Reese in the organization, and Pepper Johnson as his position coach he should get structure, support and a chance to win. Felger was wrong twice…once you picked up…the whole keep him for a year then cut him…the second time I am surprised you did not pick up came when he said the Pats should restructure the contract to make sure there is no guaranteed money in it during the season therefore once the season starts and they have to Pay him Haynesworth somehow has power. First off they can't do that. Right now Washington has accounted for all the bonus Money given to him in their cap. He is due a salary this year of $5 mill. Come the first day of camp if he is on the roster he gets it all. They could in theory cut him and bring him back after week two but I don't see how that will work. They could negotiate that number down for cap purposes but that would mean more years and some sort of guarantee. But that is not where the leverage is…it is for next year when he reportedly is due $29 mill. He will not see $29 mill in NE…but if he acts up and is cut he gets nothing..no renegotiation…nada. At that point, who will take a flyer on him at anything over league minimum? The Pats have the Hammer this whole year. I thought Felger and Mazz took the only angles that were really available to them yesterday. What they do today with Chad 85…that will be a different story.

    2) T&R's morning show. Its not a sports show. Spin it any way you want, they don't know sports, they don't know Boston sports…it is definitely clever and entertaining but it is not a sports show. Its great that they work hard and are getting rewarded for it but those of us who want sports can't listen to them and their FM morning men's show schtick for more than 5 minutes. By the way D&C don't do a sports show either…although lately they have been much more sports oriented…they have gotten rid of a lot of the politics…but then they spend a segment on Amy Whinehouse or Whitey Bulger and I have to throw my hands up in disgust.

    3) Ian Rappaport should have been disciplined for tweeting at the funeral inside the temple because he should of known better. I am assuming he is Jewish, therefore he should have recognized what he was doing. He is a fine reporter, but he confused his role, the story and the event. If he was covering the event, then he should not have been inside the temple sitting (by his own admission he did not want to lose his seat), being part of the minyan (not that he was needed). Once he sat down he was now at the funeral. There is a certain solemnness prior to a Jewish funeral, it is a time for pensiveness not tweeting. Once he became part of the even he had no obligation to report on it. He could have written a recap after. If he was covering it then he should not have been taking up a seat. Either he was there to pay his respects to the Late Mrs. Kraft or he was working. If he was working then he should have been outside the temple, observing like a camera, and reporting. Don't let him off the hook…he was completely wrong, there is no middle ground, what he did was reprehensible to the Kraft family. What's next a play by play…."And in comes the casket…are those the weeping grandchildren….yes I see white Kleenex brand tissues (product placement)…the Rabbi is speaking about the life and times….there was a wailing yell from a women dressed in black at the side of the schul…" Time and place…knowing Tom Brady or Jerry Jones was in the Temple could easily have waited…or could have been reported from the outside. Ian Rappaport was clearly wrong.

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    1. What if Rappaport was sent by his boss to cover/observe the funeral? They couldn't justify disciplining him, asking him to bite their bullet. While I don't agree with tweeting before/after a funeral, I think your take is a little extreme. We (the public) seem to enjoy getting outraged by anything not remotely PC. Again, please don't respond by attacking me for supporting Rappaport. I don't agree with the actions, but to go to the lengths of criticism that some have it extreme.

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      1. Winning I would not attack you personally for supporting Rappaport…but to answer your question…had the Herald sent him to cover the funeral he should have stayed outside the schul. I doubt the Herald sent him there to Tweet the event…at most they wanted a story…who was there, who eugolized her, what did they say. As a Jewish person I am offended that he was Tweeting inside the Schul prior to the funeral. Its a sacred space and he, being Jewish, should know better. Once he is outside…have at it. As for disciplining him…media outlets discipline reporters all the time for the “methods” they use when covering a story. I doubt his orders from the Herald were…”go sit in the schul and tweet who is in there for us.” The people in charge can clearly see it is inappropriate and should call him to task….have him write an apology to the Kraft family. Don't send him out there to defend his actions which are indefensible. Look at it another way, had he tweeted from inside an open casket wake he would be getting killed. All I am saying is there is a time and place. Rapp admits that he was there to pay his respects and report on the funeral…he can't have it both ways. Either say Koddesh and respect the sanctuary and service or be a reporter. I think he made a bad decision that has no defense. By the way this all goes away if he immediately says afterwards “I WAS WRONG, and I APOLOGIZE TO THE KRAFT FAMILY”.

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        1. @latetodinner: Well said. The one thing we are forgetting is there were hundreds of attendees in the synagogue that day who came to pay respects to Mrs. Myra Kraft and her family; many of whom were also media people with twitter accounts but nobody else tweeted while in shul but Rapoport. Everyone else seemed to understand the reverence of the moment and environment. I got his tweets and he appeared to be giving a blow by blow account of what was happening – ("Jerry Jones just got up and said blah, blah, blah.) I was blown away. Someone even tweeted him right back and told him to respect the moment and quit tweeting. IDK, seems disrespectful to me too.

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  12. On Haynesworth but not regarding Felger and Mazz. A few minutes ago Mike Reiss had the following quote from Tom Brady:

    Brady on Albert Haynesworth and a big preseason hit he absorbed two years ago: "I saw him this morning and I told him, ‘I still haven’t forgiven you for that.’ He said he’s got a lot of friends up here and they’ve given him a lot of grief over the years. He’s a big guy and there’s a lot of competition at the d-line position. Like I said, Chad’s in the same situation, hopefully [Haynesworth] can come in and fill a role, be a big part of the success of this team. I think that’s what we’re all trying to do."

    The first sentence is Brady saying…"I saw him this morning…." How is no one in the Boston Media reporting that Haynesworth is here? How does Reiss let this quote just slide by? I went to 5 other Pats blogs (WEEI, CSSNE, Patsfan, Herald, Globe) no mention of it other than in Reiss' posting.

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  14. It's been a good week of guest columns (two good ones by Ryan the last two Fridays), so good I'm still trying to catch up through them along with all the well-thought-out comments. Hope to follow up more over the weekend.

    One quick thing I'll say about Felger – like him or not, he's gotten so good at pumping up the one or two predictions he gets right that the younger short-attention-span listening demo is convinced that he's always on the money.

    Have found myself listening to a little less of F&M this week and actually feel better for it. No matter their ratings, too large a dosage of them can be lethal.

    Ryan, you're spot on about T&R's work ethic compared to D&C. Only way EEI's morning show improves is if the producers/behind the scenes people come up with the ideas – no way the on-air talent will.

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    1. Go figure, I predict Felger with say douchy things today and he's out, only to be replaced by ……… DANNY BOY! from bad to worse

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    2. Jason I agree, the guest columns have been outstanding. I completely agree with you on Felger. He is correct in his analysis very rarely, but when he is correct, he likes to yell from the rooftops. He screams, " I am the blind squirrel and I have found a nut."

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    1. Whitlock's column is another in a long list of why i don't bother reading national pundits when they comment on local teams. They are not immersed enough in them to know what they are talking about. Whereas I think there may be some risks to the Haynesworth signing, the fact was when Floyd Reese was in Tennessee Haynesworth played. I don't believe Belichick thinks he is deluded enough to believe he can "fix" anyone. I do believe that Belichick collects football players with talent and Haynesworth, he believes, is better than an injured Ty Warren at this point.

      As for the contention that Chad 85 is the same…all accounts are he is a hard worker, good teammate and wants to win. It seems to me Whitlock made up things about Chad 85 just to make his argument. Palmer, since his injury problems has not been accurate or confident. To blame it on Chad 85 is just ignorant.

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      1. I could not agree with you more. Belichick is taking a shot on a guy with tremendous talent who is more often then not a pain in the rump. If Haynesworth does not work Belichick will say adios. At the price Washington wanted it was very much worth it. As far as Johnson goes, I have never seen a time where he looks like he hates playing football. There is no question the issues with the Bengals lied on the shoulder (pun intended) of Carson Palmer. A quarterback is no different than a pitcher who has reconstructive shoulder surgery. It is very hard for them to come back from it. Jake Del Homme is a perfect example of this.

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  16. Re: WEEI–for a time they were also on the HD3 signal of WMKK 93.7 (antenna in Peabody nr jct of Rtes 1, 95, 128). Now apparently WEEI is on the HD2 signal of WKAF 97.7 (main signal simulcasts WAAF; antenna on Great Blue Hill in Milton). 93.7 "Mike FM" has Funkytown on an HD 2 and that's it. From here in Beverly, no HD signals on 107.3…well while WEEI isn't tech. on a reg. FM in the Boston area, if you have an HD radio (like the $40 portable I got at Best Buy) you can now near WEEI (Sox game on now as I type this) on the HD2 of 97.7 FM..
    and an HD2 is a bit easier to pick up than an HD 3.

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