Tom Brady and Pedro Martinez have brought New England sports fans some of their greatest moments over the last 17 years or so. Pedro was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame this week, and Brady is already a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame whenever it is that he decides to hang it up.

In the span of four hours this week, the achievements, integrity and character of both stars was openly brought into question by the top rated show on local sports radio.

The accusations are veiled under the disingenuous the guise of “Hey I’m just asking the question,” but in reality there is no attempt here to “speak the truth”, as some lackeys of the show would claim. There is no claim of actual knowledge by the hosts – that would take actual work and effort – and they are even too cowardly to make an direct accusation.  The one and only object is to lob innuendo-loaded bombs over the fan base to rile them up, and then sit back and laugh and collect a paycheck.

It was suggested – though in reality portrayed as fact – that both Martinez and Brady benefited from from performance-enhancing drugs. In addition, Brady was called a “prima donna” and the image of Martinez is that of a punk.

The show continues to gather huge ratings. My question is why?

Is this enjoyable? To whom?

At what juncture do we reach a tipping point, where the trolling and negativity just becomes weary? We clearly haven’t reached that point yet, and I’m not sure we’re even close.

It may actually take a few years of all of these teams actually being as bad as they are portrayed to be for this to wind down. If the Patriots are actually 4-12, week after week of saying how much they suck might be as grating to the same people who currently make that claim about week after week of saying that a 12-4 team is good. (Which in reality isn’t happening now, despite claims that it is.)

It used to be fun to listen to sports radio during the week-long buildup to big games. Now it is something to be avoided at all costs by the true fan.

At this point, there are really only 2 1/2 local shows that I would recommend listening to with any regularity. Dennis and Callahan and Minihane can be very good when the topic is actual sports, not hotsportztakes. The best thing Kirk Minihane has done has made me like Gerry Callahan again. Minihane has taken over the full-time contrarian role, allowing Callahan to just be the guy who actually likes sports and the local teams.

Gresh and Zo are the best program on the air locally for Patriots and NFL talk. They are definitely worth a listen. Dale and Holley is the other show that I recommend. People tend to hate on Dale, which I don’t fully understand. They can be critical of the local team without purposefully dumping on them just for attention. They work well together, and add Jerry Thornton to this show was the best fit for him.

Inevitably, I’ll get the “Oooooh, you just want the media to be positive all the time about the teams, Bruce.” comments, tweets and emails from the select few who send me that same crap all the time.

That notion is ridiculous. I have no issue with legitimate criticism of the local teams. There is certainly enough of it to go around, despite all the winning that has taken place around here.

I draw the line at local hosts impugning the character and achievements of Hall of Fame athletes simply to rile people up and draw attention to themselves. It’s shameful.

But it’s not going away anytime soon.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

64 thoughts on “Is There A Tipping Point To Sports Media Trolling?”

  1. I could not agree more, and moreover, don’t understand what happened in the past few years that made sports radio go from sports talk to being a form of moronic entertainment, a-la Opie and Anthony. Yes, Denis and Callahan veer off the sports tracks from time to time, but let’s face it, the dialogue is intelligent and provides a counterpoint to the typically liberal media that is overloaded in Boston. It is hard not chuckle at their view of things and their quips, which are far more cutting now with Minihane, a welcomed addition. Felger is smart to cash in while the getting is good, he has burned every bridge imaginable with the athletes around here. Mazz surprises me, he chased the cash. He was once the most credible baseball guest on The Big Show, and was a pleasure to listen to. Now he just agrees with the Mike Bombs. I disagree about Zo and Gresh,it is mumbles and the yeller, and I don’t see how a career as a lineman at URI translates to NFL commentary. But at least they talk sports and do know their stuff. I am just dumfounded by the existence of Toucher and Rich on sports radio, it’s like having two guys that clearly HATE sports talking about it, and throwing in popular culture quips like inside jokes only they and their stoner buddies get. The sound of Fred Toucher trying to muddle through an interview with an athlete is like the sound of a car refusing to start on a cold morning. You hear it and just have to say “Oh shit, this sucks.” I miss the Big Show!

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    1. I agree with you about Gresh & Zo: I think they’re very knowledgeable when it comes to football, but I can’t stand Zo’s on-air persona for long enough to get much of what they have to say. I prefer listening to Gresh during the Patriots pre-games with (God help me) Tanguay. I never heard the Gresh & Tanguay Show before Zo took over, but I don’t imagine I could have taken that combination five days a week.

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      1. God, Tanguay. Does anyone like the guy? Or even respect him? I’d love to hear unfiltered opinions from his colleagues. I’ve heard him clowned on by guys, but I feel like there are hilarious stories and personal feelings to be shared that go way beyond the obvious jokes. And the strangest thing about his career is that he has a great voice. He should have a radio or (real) television gig. But he’s just so bad in every other respect that I totally get why he doesn’t

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        1. Tanguay had a real TV gig about 20 years ago when he was on Ch 4 with Lobel and Steve Burton. I don’t remember him being the tool then as he is known now.
          As to Bruce’s main post, stuff like Felger’s latest stunt is why I stopped listening to sports radio altogether about 2-3 years ago.

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        1. I don’t know if they had the top rated show in their timeslot, but they did indeed out rate D&C by, I believe, a little less than 2 shares. Nevertheless. T&R will be gone by the end of 2015.

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  2. You’re probably right about the tipping point for the public at large, but I reached mine a few months ago. Only time I’ve listened to F+M since the start of the football season was Christmas week when Keefe and Roche/McAdams were filling in. I know opinion of Keefe is mixed, but I’d actually listen to a show led by him; unfortunately, I can’t take Adam Jones for long enough to listen to Keefe as his sidekick. And unlike Bruce, I used to enjoy Minihane on weekend/fill-in/Hot Stove Show duty, but he’s been lost to me since there’s no way I’d tune in to D+C.

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    1. I kind of like Keefe. He’s not the most compelling character out there. He’s odd. He’s different. But he doesn’t sound like he’s mining the next big #hotsportztake and he does sound like he actually enjoys sports. That counts for something.

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      1. Those are more or less my feelings about him. I’ve heard him referred to as one of the “Felger Youth,” but I’ve rarely if ever heard him taking on the contrarian/trolling role just to get callers going. I also think he’s a genuine basketball resource, which might make him more important if the Sports Hub talked a bit more about the team whose games they broadcast and the NBA in general.

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  3. I honestly can’t even imagine what Felger and Adam Jones shows would be like if the city’s teams were all simultaneously irrelevant in their respective sports.

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    2. I’d love to ask a sports talk host in a market like Atlanta just that. Apparently, they have 4-5 “sports talk stations” there (I heard this from someone), which I failed to comprehend with the market.

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      1. college sports (principally football) dominates the media there year round including recruiting. While Atlanta itself is home only to G Tech – it is also at the crossroads of ACC/SEC country with chatter year round from all the transplants.

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  4. I assume you are talking about Adam ‘I’ve said all along’ Jones. I couldn’t believe the Pedro PED suggestions (allegations is probably the better word). He’s the worst and I’ve gotten pretty good about switching stations when I stumble across his program.

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    1. great monicker – and if you want to host a Jones drinking game – take a taste every time Adam tells you what he’s NOT saying.

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  5. I only listen to DB&YARM to see if I was correct in my “predict the #hotsportztakes.” It really is pretty fun. After about an hour or so, I switch to either music or Dale and Holley.

    I agree with Dale and Holley being a much more balanced and enjoyable show than DB&YARM, except in one area — Bruins criticism. It’s something that’s plagued Dale ever since he got the gig as play-by-play man for the B’s. Whenever anyone calls up to rip anything Black and Gold — whether it be mismanagement of the cap or personnel moves or structure of the lines or coaching — Dale either 1. dismisses the caller or 2. deflects to “what do you want them to do?” It happened when they were on in the middays, and it still happens today. It stinks because they are otherwise a much palatable show than DB&YARM.

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  6. Hard to imagine Felger hitting a new low but this week was just that. His appearance on Comcast with Shank and Holley was the most hilarious of all. “Of course I’m not going on the record to say that, I could get sued” was his defense when Holley challenged him, yet it IS what he was saying — he just wants to dance around it, inflame the fan base and get people to call. “But that’s not what I’m saying, I’M JUST ASKING THE QUESTION” is always his reply.

    There was a time when I felt some of Felger’s shtick was an act, but frankly, he’s clearly too thin-skinned and sensitive when it comes to anyone criticizing him that it’s obviously his MO. And speaking of that — outside of your column Bruce, where’s the blow back from the rest of the sports media? So what if they have the #1 show, they’ve single handedly dragged down the level of conversation in this market — even with things like a Hall of Fame induction and an NFL Divisional game happening this week. That’s another egregious part of this.

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  8. “There is no claim of actual knowledge by the hosts…” is spot on and I am bemused by the ways this allows them to slip around the arguments. Why do people bother calling in? Sometimes I do luck into an interview or something informative/entertaining for a couple of minutes.

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  9. So again I am forced to defend Felger…ugh…here goes. Bruce I think the questions Felger asks about both Brady and Pedro are not only pertinent but extremely timely. The fact that Pedro’s “trainer” has been banned from baseball, while Pedro changed his physical appearance completely after the 2001 season warrants questions being asked. The fact that no one in the BBWAA was then or is now willing to ask those questions is not a reason to fault Felger rather it is a reason to fault all the beat writers and commentators who have man crushes on Pedro that last even to today. I love Sean McAdam but his comments about Pedro being the most interesting on and off field player he ever covered had my blood boiling because he accepted the PR persona without looking deeper. Pedro may be clean. Because of the era he played in, because of who he played with, because of who he associated with back in the DR and because of the lack of any critical examination of his associations, training practices or performances we will never know what Pedro did or did not do to stay healthy. What Felger is doing is asking questions and at some level insinuating answers that should have been asked 14 years ago. I don’t think he was wrong. I thought the show was pretty fascinating. Lastly I thought you would have problems with it :-).

    As for Brady and his associations. I think asking the questions and pointing out the association with a trainer who was definitely involved in PED issues is fair game. I love Tom Brady. I love the Pats. Rodney Harrison got caught red handed and got a pass. There is some (not a lot) of smoke around Brady and I think asking the questions is fair game. He is the most competitive athlete I have seen in my time in Boston (and I watched/remember clearly Bobby Orr, John Havlicek, John Hannah, Jim Rice and Larry Bird. To think he would not do anything and everything to come back from that knee injury, or to make sure he was in the correct shape to play well into his 40’s I think is naive. I much prefer to listen to that conversation than one telling me that Baltimore can’t be run or passed on and that Joe Flacco is the second coming of Joe Montana when he plays in the playoffs. More importantly, I think Felger to make his show relevant does at times play the contrarian, however I also think at times he raises very relevant, very thought provoking topics that should be looked at and discussed (it is why F&M is on top of the market). Knowing when he is trolling versus actually being provocative is a problem but to me in these two cases he is clearly being provocative and I do not think he should be faulted for it.

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    1. You feel the need to defend Felger because you have an obsessive bug up your ass about PEDs that many other sports fans simply don’t share.

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      1. And yet many more do share it because they, like me, believe that there should be honor in sports. But whatever.

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        1. Many maybe, but still a minority. I saw Barry Bonds hit a walk-off at Petco in front of his dad two days before Bobby died in 2003 and I don’t care if he was on bug juice, it was thrilling. I remember 1997 with McQuire and Sosa hitting bombs all summer and thought that was alot of fun after the disaster of 1994. I don’t care if my favorite Rock bands use drugs, I don’t care if many of the artists whose work I enjoy used banned substances when they were creating said pieces and I apply the same filter to the athletes I support as a fan, If the leagues they work in have rules and they are not found to be in violation of those rules, however imperfect the enforcement may be, then I am fine with that. I hold in complete disdain the congressmen, journalists and and other attention seeking dimwits who want use the PED subject to gain PR. PED’s are certainly not a national emergency and are far below of the top of the list of issues that Western Society should be dealing with right now.

          Then to have a Dickhead like Felger make accusations without any proof. Like legally sustainable evidence that backs up his claims.Instead of the defamatory collection of opinion as fact such as those in your post above is criminal in my opinion.

          And by the way, let; discuss Harrison. When he we was caught he was taking a steroid to heal an injury (a shoulder I believe). Yes he broke the rule and was caught and he paid the prescribed price. But, Look up the generally prescribed treatment for tissue injuries and you will find steroidal treatments prescribed as a standard of practice in recovery. (I had a steroid prescription last year to help me recover from knee surgery) Yet, on this holier than though little world of PED obsessed assholes, we deny the best standard medicine to athletes while the rest of us can avail of the standard. That is ridiculous and far from honorable.

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          1. We applaud (at least I do) a golfer who takes a stroke when his ball moves ever so slightly as he is about to putt. We cheer a basketball player who raises his hand announcing the foul was on him, we bet on sports believing that the playing field is even and that the competition on the field will decide the victor…not who had the better chemistry.

            You might be entertained by obvious cheaters…I am not. I find the lack of sportsmanship coupled with the lack of integrity for the game these “athletes” play disdainful. I did not find McGuire and Sosa interesting…I found them to be making a mockery of the game. I loved Lance Armstrong until the day I realized I had been duped. Then I felt like a fool for wasting that time cheering for a falsehood.

            I am sure there are people who feel the way you do. I am not one of them…therefore I appreciate when Felger starts asking the questions that he is asking. To me, that is the sign of the real inquisitive pursuit journalism and to some extent talk radio is supposed to be pursuing.

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          2. I surmise that the overwhelming majority of professional athletes engage in behavior that is technically outside the rules in order to try to get an edge when it comes to substances/training. In small ways or large ways. New ways every day. A small percentage of “obvious” ones are caught.

            If you aren’t comfortable with this state of affairs (which will never change going forward), I suggest you simply stop watching professional or major college sports. You’re wasting your time.

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          3. So your answer is don’t talk about it, just accept it or move on. To me that just seems like giving up.

            There is such as a thing as right and it opposes wrong. Sports are supposed to be noble battles…at least Homer told us such all those years ago in Book 23 of the Illiad. At heart I am both an optimist and a romantic. As such I believe that there are good people who want to compete against each other fairly. I think if we the fans demand clean, we will get at least cleaner than we have now. Without guys like Felger at least willing to ask questions that the embedded reporters won’t ask. Then you are right. I should stop watching…heck we all should…it would not be about sport any more it would be about the pursuit of the best chemistry.

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          4. My answer is to accept it as it isn’t going away, athletes will always look for competitive advantages in training methods no matter what. Uppers or caffeine before a game to keep me alert is a competitive advantage if my opponent doesn’t use them. It’s a matter of degree, not kind.

            If a huge number of athletes are using them, you simply have one PED athlete competing against another, and if almost all of them are doing something in that area, then they’re in an arms race with a level playing field.

            Your solution is to level the playing field by banning substances and punishing offenders. My solution is to level it by letting athletes use whatever they want. Your solution is unreasonable, unworkable and doomed to failure as athletes and trainers develop methods to always be ahead of the testing methods. With millions at stake, this is never going away. I am of the opinion that the various leagues shouldn’t be banning these things in the first place.

            Most fans simply aren’t willing to demand “clean” like you want to. They don’t care about it as much as you do, therefore it won’t happen.

            For every obvious PED athlete that has been caught and has earned a fingerwag from you, there are ten others who are using and have never been caught, who you are still probably rooting for right now.

            Felger trolled on your pet issue, so you’re happy. I’m not – he’s a hypocrite who would troll any issue for a buck. How is that different from an athlete who takes PEDs to recover from an injury faster so he can earn his next contract?

            YOU can stop watching if this bothers you. That’s my suggestion. I’ll continue to watch, because I’m not bothered by this stuff at all.

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        2. You can be sure “honor in sports” isn’t where Felger is coming from in bringing up the subject.

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    2. LTD,
      The reason I feel that all the PED questions/accusations are worthless is due to the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a logical cutoff on where it begins and ends. Like, some people take it as fact that Ortiz is on steroids because he is putting up very good numbers for a guy his age. OK, fine. But where do you stop? What age is the cutoff for having a good season? Can you have a career in any sport year at, say, 34? That would be unusual, but it’s possible.

      I guess my point is that you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out if a guy is taking something, because outside of a failed test there is only speculation to fall back on, and IMO, speculation sucks.

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      1. Alex…I understand where you are coming from. To me sports are all about honor. Its no more complicated than that. So I suspect that Ortiz currently takes PEDs because he has failed a test in the past, promised to explain the test failure, and then never did.

        Its possible to have a career year at 34. It seems impossible to have one at 34, 35, 36, 37, and 39 without some help. I could be wrong. The problem is there is enough circumstantial evidence that I believe the conversation is both warranted and legitimate. That is what I am arguing. Felger should be asking these questions. The media should be asking them. Let them search for answers. They may come back with nothing…which is great. Unfortunately there seems to be smoke around a bunch of these guys.

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  11. Question: Does anyone feel as though there is any overall “excitement” leading up to this Saturday’s Pats-Ravens game, based simply on what one reads or hears via most media outlets? The answer, of course, is no. It’s mostly doom-and-gloom accompanied with blatant and contrived contrarian “takes” by miserable SOBs. Thank goodness for TEC, Mike Reiss, and the team at the Herald.

    In the not-so-distant past (Pats’ 1996-97 and 2001-02 playoff/Super Bowl runs), it was actually enjoyable – gasp!! – to read a newspaper, listen to sports radio, or read something online leading up to a playoff game. Now? It’s something to mostly be avoided; especially the “highly-rated” Metrosexual and YARM show, by anyone with any sense of self-respect . . . and brains.

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  12. The thing that has ALWAYS bugged me the most about F+M is that they don’t talk about the GAMES. It’s all about the story line, the “macro” view. There’s next to no analysis of the game, or individual plays, EVER on their show. Never has been.

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    1. But that takes knowledge and effort. Why bother when you can rile people up and get ratings without bothering with all that?

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  13. Agree, Jason. Toucher sure sounded like he cared about his Lions this morning when he went off on a hilarious diatribe about game being fixed.

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  14. USOC picked Boston over every other city? Anyone care to guess the bribe that one took? Likewise, enjoy the disaster that entire thing will be.

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      1. Think 10x the “Big Dig”. Just look at the (laugh) estimates of cost and things they’d need to build.

        I feel sorry for Mass and its residents.

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        1. Outside of the stadium — which is obviously a huge, huge deal — this notion that they’d need to construct all kinds of facilities to hold the Olympics in Boston is just off the mark. Unlike Atlanta or some European locale, we have all kinds of world-class colleges and facilities already in existence where smaller events could be held. Events like gymnastics, etc. would be at the Garden. The Charles is there. The Stadium would be the big hang-up — obviously, and it’s a major one — but construction of other facilities really shouldn’t be a big obstacle in holding it here. Transportation and all of the practical angles involved, IMO, is the bigger argument against it, but if they actually have private money — which is what they’re saying — then it may not be such a pipe dream. You just know the Krafts will be involved one way or another for one thing.

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          1. Quick note. They cannot have the scull or crew races on the Charles…I believe there is not a long enough straight. They were looking at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester/ Shrewsbury.

            Personally I do not think there is any down side to the Olympics coming to Boston if it can be privately fund except for infrastructure. The city needs a major outdoor stadium although after the games if the Pats do not move there I wonder if it can be remade into a baseball facility. As you noted a lot of the rest of the events can be held at the Garden, in Newport or at the Cape (Sailing) or at the many universities. Athlete villages can also be made from existing dorms.

            I think it is a great idea and definitely doable. However people will find a reason to oppose it because they are people.

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          2. I’m pretty sure that the IOC doesn’t like preexisting facilities to be used. That’s why these things cost billions of dollars to put on — because building everything from scratch is what gets you votes. So, the idea that all Boston needs is to build an Olympic stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies and that everything else is pretty much in place for the rest of the events — well, that’s not going to get it done. In no way is Boston, or Greater Boston, or the state of Massachusetts anywhere near prepared for this on any level. The IOC is not going to be okay with using college dorms to house the athletes. They’re going to want an Olympic village built. They’re going to want an Olympic stadium built. They’re going to want facilities built for the various events. And most if not all of it will be completely useless after the 2 weeks that it was intended for. The only good thing that would come out of Boston getting the Olympics would be the improvements to infrastructure that are much needed regardless of whether or not the city hosts the games. But why spend $10+ billion dollars when you could spend a fraction of that do something necessary and not have a bunch of useless crap left over afterward? Look, Boston isn’t going to be “awarded” (HA!) the Olympics anyway. NYC was passed over for the 2012 games and Chicago was passed over for the 2016 games. Why would anyone think that Boston would ever get them if those two cities couldn’t?

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    2. Anyone think that now this will be the driving force to get a new baseball stadium and soccer stadium? The Olympics drives big projects because obviously you need the proper facilities to host so many big events.

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  15. I used to love Felger on WEEI. Now I agree completely with Bruce on the 2 1/2 listenable shows. Although Minihan doesn’t have nearly the thin skin Felger does. He plays the contrarian well but I think he also isn’t afraid to go with the popular opinion when he feels it’s right. Felger ALWAYS has to be “that guy” and it’s really f’ing annoying. Beatle used to go at both DB and YARM and now he’s been sucked into the black hole and is just as bad as the two of them.

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  16. I like it. Felger is “that guy”. Kind of like how he always derisively refers to Red Sox,Patriots and Celtics as “that team”. The Bruins he doesn’t say that because he’s a footy pajama wearing fan of them.

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        1. HEY, sorry it took so long, but I don’t have a Channell 88. I had been search for NFL coverage forever, this explains why I couldn’t find it. My sat. radio goes from 87 to 89 when I move “channel up.” Huge bummer, I might actually have to all XM. I’d rather spend an hour or two at the RMV.

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  18. You should add the Lego theme song to the site when it’s opened. Everything’s is Awsome….and rename the site ‘ESPN’, wait, that’s taken?

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    1. By the way, Captain Troll, what does “everything is awesome” have to do with ESPN? If ESPN runs “spygate” stories every time someone associated with the NFL mentions “spygate”, than you must truly being living in another reality from the rest of us here on Planet Earth.

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      1. Seriously? Espn is the king of ‘there is no bad news’. Chris Berman? Anyone on the baseball or basketball shows. Get a clue. Troll? No I have a fairly regular opinion on this site.. Because I disagree with most on it (Mmm sounds familiar) it does not make me a troll.

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        1. I’d demand that you stop lying to yourself, but it’s great entertainment for the rest of us, Troll.

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  19. Can someone please put Bob Ryan out to pasture, where he belongs? Felger brought up Don Shula’s “You mean Bill Beli-Cheat” comment last night on his Comcast show. Felger said, “even if they win another Super Bowl, this thing is never going away.” Dan Koppen basically reiterated the logical, common sense view that at least half the teams in the NFL were doing what the Pats were doing with the video cameras, that all teams try to steal signals by more conventional means, and that as a player, he “didn’t need to know the hand signals” to know what defense was called most of the time; all he had to do was see how certain players lined up. But Ryan, sticking to the Globe’s anti-Pats mantra, basically chose to poke Patriots fans by saying, “Let’s face it, too many people around here don’t want to hear this, but…..” Um, Bob, you know why we don’t want to hear this Spygate nonsense anymore? Because we’ve already heard far too much about it. Far, far more media ink has been spilled and hot air released bloviating on this subject over the past 7+ year than was ever necessary. Why is Shula even bringing this up again? The notion that Shula, who was Mr. Competition Committee before Bill Polian, and who skipped out on his Colts’ contract in order to sign with Miami–forcing Pete Rozelle to award Baltimore with Miami’s first round pick as compensation–did everything “clean” during his career is ludicrous. For the umpteenth time, Mr. Ryan, Spygate was a minor, minor offense that was blown up into a capital crime by a moronic commissioner’s complete bungling of the situation, and then blown up into a scandal for the ages by a Belichick-hating media that finally saw their opportunity to twist the knife into the side of a guy they dislike. Is Ryan even aware that multiple Super Bowl-winning coaches, including some, like Cowher, who were alleged “victims” of Belichick’s “cheating,” have completely dismissed “Spygate” as a non-factor and a non-issue? God, I wish basketball and baseball guys like Shank and Ryan would just stick to talking about basketball and baseball. When they venture out of their safe zones, it’s painful for everyone involved.

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    1. It would be like someone in Pittsburgh reminding Steelers fans over and over that your Steel Curtain defense was built on massive amounts of steroids. Totally discounts that obviously they weren’t the only ones and you still needed talent and good coaching and a little luck to get you over the top. Other teams of that era just weren’t as good as them.

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      1. Correct. The hilarious thing about the Steelers and steroids is that their fans always reply with: “Steroids weren’t illegal/banned back in the 70s.” Well, OK, if that’s your response, then I’d respond with: Apparently, videotaping from the sidelines is also not illegal as long as the camera guy is wearing a green vest. In other words, the Patriots were docked a 1st round pick, BB was hit with a $500K fine, and their reputation was smeared from coast-to-coast by a vengeful media over what amounted to a wardrobe malfunction. (Am I the only one who remembers how quickly the Jets-cameraman-on-the-sidelines-in-Foxboro-with-the-green-vest story was dismissed as “much ado about nothing” by the media a few years ago? And how none of the media hacks bothered to ask the league why the original, sacred rule that the evil BB violated in 2007 didn’t contain a single green vest reference?)

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  20. Gee hot topics that I missed this week since I wanted to enjoy the build-up to two good games on Saturday. I booked it with my boo from 4 to 12 I’m busy , she can join me for the patriots…..About Mazz screaming or bitch boy fleger. Thank you everyone for for filling me in to crap on a stick sports radio this week.. M&F. I stopped listening to them for a a long while now… .. About Fleger I wish Pedro catches up to him and punches him in the mouth…. How do you like my peds now lol…. and Ms Brady bitch slaps mazz. …. Grand pa Shula missed that completely…. must be smoking crack found in an old gym bag owed my Mercury Morris

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  21. I see headlines like this, Report Not Win For Goodell, on espn . com and have to laugh.

    How is this not a win for Goodell? Remember the outrage expressed by people on Twitter, TV and the radio for week or two after Ray Rice was arrested? It’s not being repeated and probably never will be. The owners backed their man, Goodell, then and they are now. So yes, it’s a win for Goodell.

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  23. When D&C talk sports they’re very good unless they’re carrying Schilling’s water. (Always be thankfull as a player that he helped break the curse but as a person he’s kind of a phony. But that’s just my perspective not here to debate that.) When T&R talk sports it’s cringe worthy sometimes. But I still like them better overrall because they make up for it with their lighthearted humor and that they don’t come off as slimeballs like the D&C show.

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  24. I’m with you bro. Once Mazz started all he time screaming. I had enough.. Your right about it creates a bad mood

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