“I have come to appreciate the strength of Roger’s character that causes him to rise higher than the ethics of the current environment that all to often seeks to justify and defend indefensible acts.”

Troy Vincent on Roger Goodell

“Somebody has to protect the integrity of the game,” Vincent said. “That’s my responsibility, to protect and preserve the competitive fairness of professional football. That’s why our game is so great, because we protect the integrity of the game.”

Vincent on his job.

 

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

82 thoughts on “Mind. Blown.”

  1. NFL Security has Vincent’s family in some sort of hostage situation. Only logical conclusion I can come to after reading that.

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  3. Integrity of the league starts with clear policies and procedures for, lets say, making sure game balls are legal. Keeping record of measurements, using consistent equipment to measure that has been properly calibrated while understanding what the Law of Ideal Gas will do to a ball’s PSI over time. That’s where the integrety starts!

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  4. When you put these kind of corrupt, yet also clueless and delusional people in charge of an entity this big and powerful, this is what you get. A six month, millions-costing investigation about maybe slightly deflated footballs, but we’re not sure. That didn’t effect anything, assuming it happened. Which we don’t know if it did, and can’t really tell. And the science guys we hired are ethically challenged, but don’t bother about that. But we’re punishing you really harshly anyway, because it’ll look bad if we don’t. Now take your medicine and shut up.

    The owners made a gigantic mistake in their choice to replace Tags in 2006, and are either unable or unwilling to fix it.

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  5. Unbelievable. No really. Troy Vincent is worried about players who “can’t identify a financial advisor”, as being a better use of spending $10 – 12mill than undoing harsh punishments that are either unfair, incorrect or both. The players who can’t find these financial advisors are hurting according to Vincent. Delusional is not the right word. I don’t think he is. I think he is enunciating a modern day plantation mentality (please do not call me racist)…I mean it as the literal definition…those that work on the plantation should do what they are told without question…the fact they were slaves was irrelevant to plantation owners in the 1840’s south. He is not suggesting players are not well compensated. On the contrary he knows they are…but for that money they should just accept the NFL commissioner’s offices decrees.

    I wish I lived a life like that.

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    2. I disagree with this premise (and not because of the politically incorrect analogy that would get you shamed on Deadspin). Vincent is a striver of questionable ethics. As Bruce’s post indicates, he did some shady things in the NFLPA and, when it caught up with him, he jumped at the next big opportunity. I’m sure landing a top NFLPA exec was a good get for the league for a number of reasons. He is a calculating guy who is doing and saying these things not out of obligation but out of ambition. I bet he thinks if he can stick around long enough, make some friends among the owners (bashing Pats a good start) and remain Goodell’s loyal #2 (at least until there’s an opportunity to throw him under the bus) he will sit in the big office some day.

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      1. I can see your perspective and I don’t disagree Vincent is an opportunist however I am not sure our points of view have to be mutually exclusive. I think Vincent and others in the home office actually think that they know what is best and they should not be questioned. They think the franchises, owners and players work for them not the other way around. Vincent in his defense of Goodell seems to be suggesting there are other problems the NFL needs to tackle and that these discipline issues and then the contesting of them by the parties involved are getting in the way. If they just accepted their punishment and moved on we could get back to the real work of counting money, ignoring player safety and being arbitrary and capricious all while arrogantly standing behind the walls of our ivory tower.

        By the way, I am sure Deadpan would hate my analogy which is why I explained it in the same sentence…but the words, tone and tenor of Vincent’s comments reminded so much of what I have read in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and other books.

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  6. I remember this SI story from years ago where Troy Vincent came off as a scumbag.

    http://www.si.com/nfl/2009/03/05/terriupshaw

    Quick version: shortly before he passed, Gene Upshaw planned to expose Troy Vincent for leaking confidential information about Player Agents to his friend and business partner, as well as trying to tear down Upshaw’s reputation behind the scenes so that he could become NFLPA President. Upshaw’s wife passed this information along to SI before the NFLPA election in 09 and effectively ended any hope of Vincent becoming Union President.
    Like a true weasel he found his way to the Corporate Offices..

    They say “Character is what you do when no one’s watching.”

    Terri Upshaw: “I know he’d want to say to the players, ‘Really take a look at the issues and take a look at the candidates and the qualifications of the person going into that position. Look at someone’s core values. Take it seriously. It’s a serious job. And you need a serious person with the experience and the background to do the job that’s needed.’ ”

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  7. “We have always been at peace with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eastasia.”

    – Troy Vincent on the Eastasian conflict

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    1. Like that 3rd round draft pick they shipped off for Zac Rinaldo!

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      1. “So Don, other than salary relief, what does Rinaldo give you that Lucic did not?”
        “He’s in the penalty box a lot more.”
        “Anything else?”
        “He scores a lot fewer goals.”
        “So…. nothing, then?”
        “Excuse me — I’ve just been told that the Lucic deal probably means Tukka Rask won’t start 71 straight games next season. I need to call the Sharks.”

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      1. Well, we’ll see. It was a fair deal, at least. Jones was viewed by some in the Kings organization as a potential franchise goalie, something they didn’t need and therefore were more than willing to deal for value. The Sharks wanted him, but organizationally didn’t want (obviously) to give the Kings any draft picks, potentially, by giving him an offer sheet. The Bruins weren’t going to give him the $3m a year the Sharks gave him to back up Rask. So basically, the Sharks gave up a 1st instead of a 2nd, plus rights to an unsigned prospect, in order to guarantee that they’d be able to match an offer made to him. The Bruins get more than they would have by letting him walk via an unmatched offer sheet. Everyone wins.

        It’s not necessarily a good deal, though. If Jones could have performed at Rask’s level for, what, a third of his cap hit?, AND if Sweeney had a taker for Rask out there, then the B’s aren’t as well off as they could have been. We’ll have to see. The trade will look awful poor if Jones winds up being the next Dominick Hasek or something….

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  11. The very vocal and angry minority of stupid Celtics fans that are actually much bigger fans of Felger and Mazz than they are of the Celtics are represented very well by these two tweets:

    The Heat traded for Dragic and then Bosh suffered a season ending medical condition. They still had a .500 (12-12) record in March and April.

    When the Celtics are good again, I hope ALL OF THESE nitwits are banned from buying tickets and subscribing to CSNE.

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    1. Some of these people crack me up. It’s not like “tanking” has ever done anything for the C’s in the past. They’ve never won a draft lottery and never been awarded higher than the 3rd pick overall, if I recall correctly. The one lottery they were “certain” to win (the Tim Duncan Sweepstakes) because they had more Ping-Pong balls than anyone and two picks in the top 6, ended up a total disaster when the balls were pulled out of the hopper. Moreover….it’s not 1984 anymore. There are no guaranteed great players coming out of the college ranks these days. Very few of these kids bother to stay even three years in college, learning how to play the game and maturing both physically and emotionally, before they hit the NBA. Gone are the days when having a top 3, 4, or 5 pick meant that you were probably drafting at least a long-time starter, if not a certain perennial all star. How many of those kids drafted in the Top 6 or 7 last week will play in an all star game? Thirty years ago, the answer to that question probably would have been, “about 80 percent of them.” Now? I’d lay even money that only half, if that, turn out to be that successful as pros.

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      1. If free agents don’t want to come here unless they’re forced, what else are you supposed to do?

        This puts the franchise at a serious disadvantage.

        And, yes, no matter what pick you have, 1-15, it’s still a gamble. You have to get lucky that year. I’d rather have a better pick, though.

        What they did last year is known as NBA Purgatory.

        aka: the Atlanta Hawks of old. You’re either a perpetual 8 seed, only to get drummed in 4 or 5, or the first one out.

        I can’t tell you if that’s better than tanking.

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        1. Ask anyone even remotely connected to the NBA and they will
          tell you that playoff experience is key. Now the Celtics are mostly a young team made up of guys who had never been there before. I truly believe that even the quick 4 games will pay dividends for the team in the future. Perhaps next year when the Celtics are a 4th or 5th seed, don’t laugh with the right FA’s totally possible in the East, the lights won’t be too bright and the experience that this young team got last year will be an advantage for them.

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          1. I’d love to be that optimistic and see it.

            It sucks that the team isn’t some “destination location”, and that seemly is based off of either a city having good weather or being traditional to stars (NY/LA).

            It also seems to be that unless you’re SA, or have one of the Top 3 players, chances of winning are none. I’d rather a deep playoff team than none, but I’m a completely pinkhat/casual Celtics fan.

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          2. If you flip a coin 3 times and it hits heads each time, does it change the odds of the next flip? The “They’ve never won the Lottery” point of view is so dumb its mind boggling. Also, the Free Agent thing is overblown. How many big ticket FAs are there each year? How many offseasons were the Celtics making a pitch to those guys? If Houston, Orlando, Chicago can bring in top FAs the Celtics should be able to. I may be one of few who feels this way.

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          3. Houston and Orlando (and Miami and Dallas, for that matter) don’t have a state income tax. People forget that.

            Chicago…. yeah, I’m not sure how they attract free agents, to be honest.

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          6. I think with Chicago, it’s the fact that a lot of these kids in the NBA today grew up with the Jordan Bulls as the gold standard in the league. They were the team which dominated the league during their formative years. Give it time, though. The Bulls winning tradition is already 17 years (and counting) in the rearview mirror, and soon it will be as antiquated as the Celtics’ traditions are in the minds of NBA free agents. Right now, however, I think the residual effects of the Jordan Era are still hanging around. That’s got to be the answer, because no one will ever convince me that Chicago is a more attractive location for a pro athlete than Boston.

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          7. That has always been the case in the NBA. There are maybe two or three examples in the last fifty years of a team winning it all without a true superstar.

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          8. Trip…I sooooooo want to agree with you but the problem I have is that the NBA is not only a players league but it has become a superstar league. We can argue why…my theory is that starting in AAU coaches have star players develop 1 or 2 specialized skills that allow them to clear out, penetrate and go to the basket (regardless of their size). This carries over into the college game where the top players maybe stay for a year and as such the college coaches don’t bother developing well rounded games, instead they play to the natural talent of the blue chippers they have, knowing they will be one and done (Calaparri and Pitino are both huge practitioners of this theory) and then they get to the NBA, few can play defense (because they were never asked to) few can make space and create their own shot away from the basket. You have big men who don’t want to play in the post because there is no glory in the pick and roll or the assist stat…and god forbid they get physical rebounding. So you end up with a team like Cleveland, three perimeter players who penetrate some, not a lot of defense, and the inability to control the defensive boards. Scoring is down but 3 point shots are up.

            The NBA introduced the 3 point shot because they wanted to get away from the dominance of inside big men (Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Cowens, Walton, Parish). What they now have is a game that looks like the play ground. No ball rotation, no defense and no face up shooting. You get a team like the Celtics and they are doomed to 20 years of mediocrity. Every year they are going to pick around 15. Every year they should be getting team players who can spread the offense and defensive load. Every year they will get angry players who think they were under valued and should have the offense run through them like it did in AAU, High School and College. Because there is no superstar to establish a pecking order they won’t change.

            We can blame Danny but I don’t think it does any good. It is the way the league is constructed. There is little to no hope with the way things are. You can’t buy a player…there are too few worthy of buying. You can’t draft one unless you get extremely lucky. You are stuck.

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          9. Maybe I’m playing the role of optimist here, but I don’t think the Celts have to get stuck in purgatory. I think a couple of moves this year; I really like the idea of signing Tobias Harris, and if we can get rim protector, all of a sudden this team is maybe the 3 or 4 seed in the East. And IF the Celts can make a little noise in the post season then I could see them being able to attract an even higher class of free agents or get some quality veterans through trades.

            My biggest fear is that we lose out on any quality FA’s this year, and are unable to do anything interesting at the trade deadline, then next year when the cap goes up we don’t have anything to attract the big names. Then we would be stuck in purgatory. Back to praying for ping pong balls.

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          10. Trip…the real problem is that being the 3/4 seed in the East is purgatory if not outright hell. If there is anything that the Antoine Walker/Paul Pierce era should have taught us it is that being good is not the same as being great. I am not optimistic because i don’t see the NBA changing to a team league any time soon. As such getting a bunch of good but not great players means you tread water.

            As for Free Agents coming to Boston. Its tough. Forget the weather/club scene. Why would a player want to come to a rebuild. There is no difference in money any more…a mix contract is a max contract. Take Kevin Love…he should be a perfect Celtic (temper tantrum from the playoffs aside). There is a huge need for his type of play. Love like players have always been embraced/idolized in Boston. He is young and would definitely make the Celtics better. All of a sudden there are questions. Can he stay healthy? DO the Celtics want to pay that kind of money to the Love who played in Cleveland? It goes on. The real issue…let’s assume the Celts get Love…now what….they ascend to that 3/4 spot in the East with no hope of ever getting better. It is a catch -22.

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          11. LTD, from what I’ve seen so far from Adam Silver, I think that maybe, just maybe, the “Stern Model” of promoting players over teams could be coming to a close. I’m hopeful. He did a lengthy in-game interview with Mike Gorman during a C’s telecast last season, and he repeatedly mentioned that he was interested in making all NBA markets relevant — that was sort of a backhanded slap, I thought, at his predecessor. I could be wrong, but what he said to Gorman that night did encourage me (and remember, it was a local telecast, so only the Boston/New England market heard it, so my guess is that he was being genuine and not just peddling lip-service to a mass, ESPN-type audience).

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          12. Tony…Let’s say Silver is genuine in his comments … how does he accomplish it? The NBA brought back the zone because Phil Jackson made a joke of it with the triangle offense. They are not going to get rid of the 3 point shot because it “adds drama” and to be honest without it we go back to a pound it inside and see who scores most league. I only see two possible solutions: the first one and it is one that is absolutely never going to happen in my lifetime is raise the basket to 12 feet. Put the game completely under the rim again. Force teams to shoot which in turn puts a premium on rebounding passing and maybe the fast break. Assuming that is not going to happen… I don’t see how there are enough stars to balance the talent. The only other possible option is to do away with the max contract and then go to a hard cap…no Bird exception, no going over. That might be a way for a team like Milwaukie or Boston or Toronto or Portland to entice a player because they in theory could have money. But I can’t see the players agreeing to it.

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          13. I like the idea of a hard cap. The NBA’s cap, in fact, has never made any sense and it’s been harming the C’s chances ever since they used the “Bird Rule” to lockup the Original Big Three to long-term, cap-clogging deals back in the mid/late 80s. Let’s face it, the NFL is led by morons, but at least they got the cap right. It’s the hard cap which enables the fan bases of all 32 teams to believe that a turnaround is just one, maybe two offseasons away. The NBA doesn’t offer its fanbases that same hope. Eh, the NBA started going downhill — I think we can agree — when the “hardship” rule became antiquated. Prior to the first major expansion (Miami and Orlando) in 1988, it was that rare, special talent (Magic, Isaiah) who left college after just two seasons. By the mid-90s. Then came Rex Chapman, a mediocrity if ever there was one….and more and more. By the mid-90s, the high schools of America were sending players to the pros. They did try to address that problem with the “must be 19 or older rule,” but that’s weak sauce. That, combined with too much expansion, has forever changed the game. The level of play we were fortunate enough to witness back in the 80s is never coming back, sadly.

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          14. He’d accomplish it by:

            1) re-instituting the palming violation;
            2) tightening the travel to + 1 1/2 steps, as it was back in the day;

            This would eliminate much of the one on one and ridiculous voyages into the paint while forcing teams to run movement to pass guys open. For starters. Efficient shooting and strong post play would increase in value.

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          15. Well no worries on Love. I can’t believe that after last season he went back to Cleveland. Although I chastised Revis for not going for rings so how can I blast Love? I never really thought he would come to Boston, but I’m shocked he went back to CLE.

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        2. What seed was Golden St the last few years? Indiana before they made their Conference Finals run? Orlando got smoked by Detroit int he first round a few times before they made the Finals in 09.

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        3. I agree with you that picking where they picked this year IS akin to NBA purgatory. However, I was OK with it because I know just how many potentially very high draft picks they have coming to them from other teams over the next few years. The C’s don’t need to tank because it’s likely that other teams will be tanking for them over the next few years. It’s not just the Brooklyn picks either; don’t sleep on that Dallas pick they got for Rondo…where is that team going to be in two or three years, playing in the west? And the Top-7 protection on that pick eventually expires. I was OK with the C’s making the playoffs this year and giving the young guys some post-season experience. But, yes, it’s very, very frustrating that this newer breed of NBA player has no interest in signing as a FA agent unless the city is warm, the club scene is hot, and/or the media exposure is ubiquitous. VERY frustrating.

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      2. I would add that in some way a pick, no matter where in the NBA draft is more akin to that in the NHL draft, than say the NFL draft. How many first round guys spend time in the d league or over seas now? You don’t get to see them for a few years if at all. Last year’s draft steal, James Young, was totally over matched in the NBA and there is talk of moving on from him already. Yes, playing time is good for them, but too many expect it to be like it was in the 80’s and 90’s when rookies entered the league and made huge impacts right away.

        Go back twenty years and the celtics, picking in the 20’s, were coming away with key contributors almost every year, Dee Brown, Rick Fox, etc. they didn’t need those guys to be special. They rolled in and contributed. When I watch old games (80’s and 90’s) on NBA tv, I am always amazed at how many rookies came into the NBA and got serious minutes immediately because they were physically ready. Today, half of the first rounders won’t see 20 minutes a night in the league. That is where the NBA is but the media doesn’t view it that way, they think anyone picked in the top 20 should have a Tim Duncan type of impact. Love ok at guys like Noah Vonleh, picked 9th last year out of Indiana. He’s already been traded and spent the majority of his rookie season bouncing between the NBA and the d league. Imagine if that was a Celtic? WEEI and TSH would explode.

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  12. I’m just going to go ahead and assume that barring some big news event, radio for the rest of today and most of tomorrow will be “All Porcello, All The Time”.

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    1. I’m not usually a reactionary type, nor am I deeply religious, but after today, I think Cherington should be forced to say 80 million “Hail Mary’s”….one for each dollar he’s pledged to pay Porcello over the next four years (after this season’s $15M, or so, is paid out). What was he thinking? Lock him up and keep him away from the open market for a few years — that part I understand; but, the money made no sense when the deal was announced, and after this train wreck of a first three months this season, it makes even less-than-zero sense now. The guy had one 15-win season playing in a LARGE ballpark in Detroit. You don’t pay a guy like that more than you were willing to offer Jon Lester — who helped you win 2 World Series — just 18 months ago, all because Porcello is 26 and Lester is 30-plus years old. Insane.

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    2. I could be wrong, but couldn’t the sox have not traded Cespedes for Porcello, not had to find a left fielder (only sign one of Ramirez/Sandoval to play 3rd), and signed Max Scherzer? I ,as have my events out of order.

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      1. Scherzer was available for months….literally, for months. Teams were either “waiting for the market to be established” or were simply terrified of his asking price. Washington finally decided to pay it…wise move. I think the Sox could have had him any time they wanted. Even if they’d still made the Porcello/Cespedes deal, they could easily have flipped Porcello for prospects (or bullpen help) after signing Scherzer. But, you know, Scherzer’s “too old” for the Sox to be giving him a long-term deal. I’d be all for establishing such a philosophy, as long as they stick to it, but I think we all know if this team finishes last again (three times in four years), the spending spigot will be thrown wide open again come December, and the age of the player will matter not; his “star power” will be the only intangible concerning Henry, Werner and Co.

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        1. Their philosophy changes based on NESN Ratings and Bill “Sandusky Truther” James breakfast. And when they win it all it is boost tickets slash payroll all day.

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    3. The way things are going, the two sports stations are content to talk about the bad moves the Celts and Bruins are making. The Red Sox are so bad right now that no one really cares what they do. They can’t even win four games in a row and are dead last in one of the worst divisions in baseball.

      There’ll be plenty of time for complaining about the Sox when the heat from B’s and C’s draft and free agency dissipates.

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  13. Amir Johnson for 2 Years $24mil is a joke. Is anyone tuned into the Celtics cap? Why not make a run at Thad Young (4Yr/$50mil) or Brook Lopez (3Yr/$60mil)? Not only would they help the team down low but you would weaken BK and improve your odds of receiving higher picks down the line.

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      1. Thanks for providing the link. I don’t like Amir Johnson as much as the experts seem to. Next year non guaranteed makes it not as bad.
        On the other hand love the 5 yr 35 mil for jae crowder

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  14. Olbermann.. no doubt you usually love or hate him.

    I’m not a big fan, but I appreciate that he at least seems to want to speak his mind.

    Didn’t ESPN pay him to do the same? And, it’s why people tune in, right?

    So today’s story from the Hollywood Reporter
    about ESPN’s negotiations with Keith Olbermann will be closely
    scrutinized within the sports media. According to the report, ESPN has
    told Olbermann that if his contract is going to be extended, the network
    wants Olbermann to stop engaging in commentary.

    And that request is the result of the fact that Olbermann’s
    commentaries regularly rip the NFL in general and Commissioner Roger
    Goodell in particular. Olbermann called for Goodell to lose his job over
    his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case, and Olbermann has
    regularly been a thorn in Goodell’s side.

    via PFT.

    Hilarious.

    As noted.. if you work in any mainstream media, you’re basically a PR firm for whatever interests your overlords are part of.

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  15. This seems to be making rounds:

    http://national.suntimes.com/national-sports/7/72/1347335/radio-host-calls-holly-sonders-bimbo

    Basically, Mazz called Holly Sonders something the Twitter Mafia would normally go after you for (germane to what Minihane did to Erin Andrews). No Richard Deitsch scorning and rallying of a Twitter Mafia? No Deadspin/AwfulAnnouncing/The Big Lead going frontpage/masthead on what a sexist said host is? What?

    Have to credit Ordway here since this is his. He mentioned that if Minihane was the 3rd guy in on F+M, if he called EA what he did, would the reaction be the same? I don’t think it would. What’s the difference? Ordway went on to say it has to do with “politics” (yeah those horrible things), and I think he’s right.

    Sorry to introduce that but this is quite the double standard.

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    1. Richard Deitsch is the world-class swimmer who’s never stepped foot in a pool. I can’t stand that guy. What was his successful radio show, column, or anything again? He gauges which way the wind blows and goes with it. Chris Berman hate is the cool thing to do now? Dietsch is on it.
      Minihane shouldn’t have been suspended and neither should Mazz. People say idiotic things when they have to talk for 4 hours a day.
      Holly Sonders is serving pancakes

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    2. I think the difference is in the language. Minihane twice used the word “bitch.” which is far worse than “bimbo.” He also wished Andrews would “drop dead.” His rant was angrier, and much more personal and misogynistic. Still, he was only suspended (and not just “on vacation;” this guy has good timing, eh?) after Fox pulled ads from WEEI.

      People use bimbo much more freely and typically get away with it. In fact, per Chad Finn, Callahan used it during the very same discussion of Andrews.

      http://www.boston.com/sports/touching_all_the_bases/2014/07/weeis_kirk_minihane_issues_apology_wont_be_suspended_or_fire.html

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      1. I have no idea how a guy like Minihane got a job like that. I know “controversy” sells, but that guy just comes off as a totally nasty punk. Regarding Sonders: I thought her choice of attire for a staid event like a major golf championship was a tad questionable, but I also realize that most women who cover sports on TV, regardless of their knowledge level and expertise, are in front of the camera because of the way they look on camera. I’d say the camera angles (“presentation” for lack of a better term) which emphasized her entire ensemble rather than just focusing on her and her interview subject from the neck up was another questionable production choice. Still, absolutely no reason for Mass to go where he went with those comments, and I am a bit surprised that it didn’t become a bigger story.

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        2. So to understand how a guy like minihane has a job all you have to do is listen to the interview Steve Buckley did this morning with Larry Lucchino. Larry L explained how the team takes the long view of Hanley Ramirez and that it has only been 3 months yada yada yada. What struck me was that in any organization it is possible to rationalize any decision because of either finances, gut reactions or an inability to admit you made a mistake.

          I think that is what happened and continues to happen at WEEI with Minihane with one caveat. His schtick seems to have had a calming effect on the ratings so I think management is willing to put up with the aegina he creates as long as the ratings stay stable or improve.

          Having said that I think WEEI has far bigger problems than Kirk Minihane. The Sox broadcast ratings are going to kill them as this summer continues. Couple that with the mess that is the mid day show, the lack of Patriots rights and the continued strength of Felger and Mazz, WEEI has more decisions to make.

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      2. I’d agree bitch is more acerbic than bimbo, if you had to rate the terms, but im just wondering. I don’t endorse either’s politics (I think both sides suck), but aren’t both terms something that’d either get you some social media buzz? And, once that buzz turned into pitchforks and torches, a suspension?

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    3. For the record I love media on media crime. It is pretty much what I live for. Give me two classy media organizations getting down in the mud belittling each others’ talent and I will forgo the Little League World Series and Women’s World Cup every time just to keep clicking the refresh button on my twitter feed to read the next volley in the flame war. Imagine my joy when I heard Tony Mazz make his comments about Holly Saunders I was whooping and hollering…here we go boys…righteous indignation and an old fashioned slobberknocker as the Kings of Boston radio would be getting down and dirty with Fox Sports. I mean when WEEI’s Kirk Minihane called Erin Andrews equivalent names Fox threatened to pull all their advertising from all Entercomm stations across the country. So when Tony Mazz did not take the 15 seconds it took me to learn that Sonders plays to a 7 HCP now, played to a 3 when she played on the Michigan team, has a degree in communications, has covered golf for the Golf Channel, was lured away by more money and exposure that Fox Sports offers and is smoking hot I figured Fox sports would pull its affiliation with CBS radio right away as well as threaten to do no advertising with them across the country. I mean fair is fair, right.

      *crickets, crickets*

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      1. “We hired Holly [insert hot female who has a ton of Twitter followers]” for her journalistic prowess and abilities”.

        Love to get some media execs drunk, right?

        Proven tactic. Fox/News Corp. might have claim to the copyright but everyone else is doing the same (Picasso)

        Like

  16. Antonio Gates gets 4 games for taking PEDs. By taking the PED he allowed his body to recover faster and stay healthier, which in turn improved his performance thereby not allowing another younger up and coming player a chance to earn more playing time at his expense. Imagine if he had let 1psi of air out of the football? Then not only could he have gotten 4 games but his team could have lost 2 draft picks and $1 mill. Thank god he did only did something that is a direct violation of the rules, where there is actual evidence against him, that effected both the games he played in and his fellow teammates ability to earn a better living otherwise this would be a real problem for the NFL.

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    1. Rosie Colvin, ladies and gentlemen:

      Like

      1. I always liked Rosie when he was here. Smart. Savvy. Well prepared for life outside of football. And a terrific player. I’ve always believed that if he hadn’t suffered that season-ending foot injury in Week 11 of the 2007 season, the 19-0 thing would have happened. He had a knack for making big plays when the defense needed him, especially that year. He was playing great. Good for him for tweeting that.

        Like

    2. With the usual “NFL suspends X important player 4 games” they have to peddle out right around now so Congress doesn’t investigate the league for NFL ped usage, I was surprised they didn’t snipe Gronk or some other important player on the team.

      Like

    1. It is more probable than not that Exponent and Ted Wells think this is a brilliant idea.

      Seriously.. I’d rather stick my junk in a trash compactor and chug a gallon of hydrochloric acid.

      Like

    2. 7:30 am cleaning pool and put the radio on…here these two and switch to some country music on Pandora….my god they suck…Brady should take the 2 games if offered…why??? Stooges.

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      1. Not that they would ever put me on the air, but the next time I hear some imbecile say “just accept (this or that) reduced punishment and move on,” I would love to call in and ask them if they would “just accept six months in jail and move on” if they were unjustly accused of a crime, then tried and convicted on falsified evidence, and then had their stiffer penalties reduced to six months on appeal. Would they? Would they allow their lives to be disrupted and their careers threatened/legacies stained, just to “move on” from the whole thing? Or, would they fight the injustice? Bottom line: they want Brady to “accept” whatever deal Goodell offers him, because that, in their minds, would confirm their “guilty as charged, despite the lack of evidence” narrative that most of them have been pushing since January, and would allow them to haughtily wag their fingers in the faces of Patriots “fanboys” and Ideal Gas Law “truthers” all across the region. Actually doing their jobs and researching this case has proved too difficult for most of these media morons — certainly has been too difficult for Volin. Then again, he works for the Globe, and the Globe simply wants the Patriots to go away and suck again so that the Sox can assume their “rightful place” at the top of the Boston sports heap — it’s forever 1967 on Morrisey Blvd.

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    1. I’d say he pulls his punches too much for my liking, but then, I couldn’t really find any punches (except for criticizing Thornton for his “column”). Methinks he really needs to read Mushnick more to get a hang for this media critic thing.

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      1. I enjoy Finn’s sports columns and chats, but as a media critic he is wanting. The only memorable stand he took was to call for Gino/Gil’s heads days before Christmas 2011. While I agreed with the premise that their sale dates had expired, geesh, talk about going after soft targets. There are many, many more people who have deserved his long knife for gross incompetence, chronic laziness and disreputable behavior, including many of his hackish colleagues in the Boston.com newsroom.

        http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2011/12/23/gil_santos_and_gino_cappelletti_need_to_go_as_patriots_radio_broadcast_team/

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  19. Just thought I would pose this question on what is likely a holiday Friday for most of us: Any word on what the hell is happening with that Cardinals computer-hacking scandal? I know it’s not as important as three footballs being 0.03 PSI below where they were expected to be under Ideal Gas Law, based on pre-game measurements that no one recorded and that were either done with the logo gauge, or with the non-logo gauge, because no one is quite sure about that either; and I know that no one in the St. Louis organization ever sent out text messages calling himself the “the hacker”, which probably would have been casually passed off as a reference to his golf game and quickly believed and reported as such by the media (whereas the “deflator” text is apparently the smoking’est of all smoking guns per the Knights of the Keyboard…h/t Ted Williams). But, still, we’re talking Federal crime here. The FBI is investigating. That is a baseball team that’s won multiple championships over the last several seasons. Where’s the media coverage/outrage? Why did the story sort of die off, and quickly? Yes…those are rhetorical questions, and I know the answers to them. Carry on.

    Like

    1. [vomits all over self] CHEATRIOTS!!!!!!!!! CHEATERS!!!!!!!!!! ARGGGS [again vomits all over self and types a bunch of really dumb things] ARGGG SPYGATE..
      BALL PRESSURE.

      Oh, you weren’t talking about the Patriots cheating?

      Whoops. Wrong team.

      Like

    1. He has all the answers on anything NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, or FIFA related…just ask him.

      His NFL stuff is pretty good and well researched. Unfortunately he doesn’t use the same diligence in the other areas. Emotional hot takes are more his order.

      Like

  22. He has all the answers on anything NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, or FIFA related…just ask him!

    His NFL stuff is pretty good and well researched. Unfortunately he doesn’t use the same diligence in the other areas. Emotional hot takes are more his order.

    Like

    1. This is great news. I am serious. After Fox went out of its way to bury what turned out to be a fantastic coronation and a very interesting tourney being played at a time when nothing else was going on (May sweeps were done, NHL and NBA were done, Masters and US Open were Done, Tour De France had not started yet, no football and it was early in the MLB season)…people still found the finals and tuned in in droves. I make no pretense that the USA can support a Women’s professional Soccer league. The LPGA makes some money, Women’s tennis makes a little more and that’s it on the professional side. Gymnastics, figure skating, WNBA, softball, beach volleyball…none of them have found a large enough audience to monetize their product. Having said that…the Women’s world Cup was a lot of fun (as was the Men’s World Cup last year in Brazil). FIFA for all its problems puts on a good show.

      Having said all this…can someone please tell WEEI that Gary Tanguay is freakin’ brain dead. He adds absolutely nothing to any conversation. If you need a specific example…his ludicrous explanation as to why the US Women’s Soccer team is successful on the world stage when the mean’s team is not (although the men have been improving) shows just how uninformed and poorly researched he is. It is not as he said because Europeans nations do not support female athletics. (I cannot even begin to understand where he got that ridiculous idea) but rather it is because the best women athletes in the USA play soccer because that is where the most NCAA scholarships are found. As such they can trade soccer for an education because they realize there is not a professional paycheck at the end of their college career in virtually any sport (Golf and Tennis are the US exceptions, track and field pays in Europe but in the USA). On the men’s side the best athletes are pushed into football, baseball, hockey and basketball because that is where all the scholarships are and where there is a definite chance these people can make money post college. It was very difficult to listen Tanguays utter idiocy…it was so bad Bradford was growing more and more frustrated with him and Tanguay was growing more and more quiet as the show progressed because it was clear he knew he was being exposed as the moron he is.

      Look some people should read the news, others are equipped to talk about it. Tanguay as a flash guy would be great. As a host he is death.

      Like

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