The Celtics began their march to 82-0 last night with an opening night win over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Garden.

Isaiah Thomas, Celtics go deep in opening win – Steve Bulpett has the scoring guard coming off the bench to drop 27 points in 27 minutes of play.

Opening-night rout fuels Celtics’ optimism – Adam Himmelsbach has the Celtics digging themselves out of an early hole to post the win.

There’s quite a bit of optimism around this Celtics team – no one legitimately expects that they will contend for a championship – but the building of a team, the journey to contention is always fun to watch.

FiveThirtyEight’s 2015-16 NBA Forecast – Nate Silver’s crew at 538 actually has the Celtics posting the second most wins in the Eastern Conference this season, behind Cleveland.

The Patriots have a quick turnaround, playing the surging Miami Dolphins tonight at Gillette Stadium. The Dolphins come in under interim coach Dan Campbell, who has already captured the fancy of the sports media, who love the Rex Ryan aspect he brings to coaching. To wit: If Bill Belichick is General Patton, then Dan Campbell is William Wallace.

What is it with media just falling in love with these types? On the other hand, we heard last week how refreshing it was that the Jets had “an adult in charge” – a slight towards Rex Ryan and his tenure with the Jets, yet that came from the same folks who lauded Ryan’s approach earlier on, and even this season after his opening day win with the Bills.

Yesterday was a rough day for poor Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, who whined about a Tweeter “inciting the masses” against him.

After spending the morning Tweeting/trolling about how the Patriots clearly did something wrong in Deflategate and comparing Brady’s legal victory to O.J. Simpson’s, Volin then starting crying on Twitter when people came after him.

I guess I don’t understand the logic that if you’re going to put #hotsportztakes out there, you shouldn’t be called on it.

This was another Tweet from five years ago that emerged yesterday:

https://twitter.com/GregABedard/status/12343909225

Some people came to Bedard’s defense on this one, but they’re missing the point. The point here isn’t merely “internet gotcha,” after someone was wrong – it’s a callout on the absolute certainty which was put on this. It doesn’t seem to be referring to Gronk’s history of injuries in college, but to his abilities. The “At all” on the end just seals the deal.

Again, if you’re going to have a “strong take” – especially putting that “At all” on the end – don’t be surprised when it comes up again. Or maybe tone down the declarations of certitude.

On the other hand, I loved this bit of Twitter gotcha:

What world is John Skipper living in? After ESPN went all-in with the NFL on Deflategate, calls blowback “ridiculous?” Then he has the audacity to claim that people are creating “false narratives” about ESPN?

My God.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

86 thoughts on “Celtics Start Season Right, Patriots Facing Newest Media Darling Coach Tonight”

  2. Is it wrong for me to say that Dan Campbell, in the few press conference clips I’ve seen of him, reminds of “PC Principal” — the new principal of South Park Elementary? I’m always expecting the next word out of his mouth to be “Bro” or “Brah..”

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    1. The image, when he kept being built-up and the media comments on how he lifts 10 times a day, runs Oklahoma Drills on his wife when she’s out of line, makes his dog do situps when he don’t fetch the paper in the morning, etc. was this:

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    2. Every single time the camera panned to him he was standing there, hands on his knees or arms crossed, spittin’ some chaw, and his headset mic pulled way down. He looked like a fan and not a coach. I never once saw him talking into a headset or even talking to another coach or a player. He’s a comic book character.

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  3. Seriously when it comes to the Patriots you have slowly lost your mind since the start of last season. There is absolutely zero perspective. If the media doesn’t grade everything A+++ and isn’t 100000% behind them then THEY ARE EVIL!!!!!!!

    You need to take a deep breathe and relax. It is okay for some criticism and different opinions. So Bedard was wrong about a draft grade, it happens, but if this was the opposite and Bedard called out Bill for any of his busts the conversation turns to “BUT HOW MANY PICKS HAS HE GOTTEN RIGHT!”

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    1. So you miss the point Bruce is making. It is not that Bedard questioned the pick. It was the “At All” that he ended the comment with. It was definitive. It was sanctimonious. The issue Bruce and others of us have is not with criticism…I read Tom Curran daily, he criticizes much but he does so in a differential tone that is apart of a conversation, not a pedantic, condescending holier than thou tone that hacks like Volin and Bedard use regularly.

      Perhaps you should take a deep breath and actually realize what the conversation is that you are responding to.

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      1. It really is such a big difference saying “I don’t see it” and “I don’t see it, at all”. Really two completely different meanings to the tweet.

        Seriously, It is the same exact sentiment. Bedard didn’t like him and was wrong, most people are wrong evaluating talent. But we are going to get on him for saying he “didn’t see it, at all”. Please we are adding tone to tweets… that is crazy. And i am sure Bedard still stands by his evaluation and doesn’t see Gronk as the best tight end in the game. Even though he has said it 100000000 times in the past 3 years, his tweet from draft day supersedes everything since because he ended it “At all” in April of 2010.

        My guess is that Bruce has his favorites in the media and he doesn’t like Bedard because he has this opinion that the Globe hates the Patriots and Bedard was the beat writer for the Globe for a couple years. So rather then just chalking up to, wow what a mistake but he is a good football writer (which he is) this becomes “WHAT AN IDIOT” because he ended the tweet “at all”.

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          2. I was one of the people who defended him for the Gronk “evaluation,” since the draft is such a total crapshoot and Gronk did miss pretty much his entire senior season; and, I knew media guys weren’t going to, in 2010, go back and watch film of Arizona games from the 2008 season. So, his not feeling that Gronk was a good prospect at the time is understandable. However, Bruce is right. The use of the words “at all”, especially as they were used, does give off a “Hear me now; I have spoken and therefore there is nothing more to say on this subject” kind of vibe.

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          3. I would have a problem if he pulled a Tony Mazz and still can’t admit he was wrong about the 2013 Red Sox. Bedard has done more then enough to “atone” for his mistake.

            As i wrote earlier, i disagree with the “at all” part of it but if Bedard said “Gronk is the best tight end ever, not even a discussion, at all”. I don’t think Bruce is writing about it.

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          4. I agree. There are plenty of real examples of media idiocy to write about…this isn’t one of them

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        2. @mgar6577 If Bedard still stands by that assessment, he shouldn’t be covering football……but I digress.

          There’s a certain sanctimoniousness* that has pervaded coverage of sports around here where Curran and Reiss are the outliers instead of the norm.

          So cheering any opportunity to further prove that a bunch of Emperors have no clothes is welcomed by this reader until further notice.

          * triple word score

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        3. You keep phrasing it with a comma. He said with a period. TWO periods. That’s as emphatic a statement as your can put in print. Punctuation matters. That’s why we have it.

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          1. Okay, so now I’m on board with Bloom County 2015, Opus and Bill the cat are running on a platform of 2 spaces after a period. Punctuation matters. Sorry I couldn’t find a good pic. (find on facebook)

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  4. I think Bruce is totally wrong about Bedard’s criticism of Gronk as a college player. First of all, his tweet posted on April 17, five days before the 2010 draft started. There was some speculation that the Pats may be eyeing him but that was by no means a forgone conclusion. Bedard was still covering the Jets at that point before coming to the Globe midway through the next season. So, this was not an example of a local (or national) reporter criticizing a Patriots’ selection to further an agenda or give a hot take; this was not Borges mocking the Seymour pick b/c Belichick didn’t “take the receiver.”

    While Bedard’s opinion on Gronk is certainly wrong in hindsight, he was a player with significant injury history who missed the entire 09 season. Bedard’s surprise that teams were “high on” Gronk could be based on overall production or injury risk, not talent. In fact, he never says anything about Gronk’s talent and it’s a leap to assume that’s what the tweet is referring to. And sometimes an “at all” is just an “at all.”

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    1. This is why I don’t, and never will, use Twitter. 140 characters lacks context and invites someone to ex post facto read whatever they want into your words.

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      1. Excellent point. I really think Twitter is a net-negative for society, but I don’t want to get all philosophical here, especially since I’m not drunk given that it’s 7:30 in the morning 🙂

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  5. Re gronk/injuries in college. BB picks 87 now best t.e. EVER. Picks Easley. Pompous ass who thinks he’s smarter than everyone. Point is the media wants it both ways/their way to fit their agenda and needs at the moment. The earlier comments about the attitude of the media is spot on, even if the context is a tweet from 2010. Most media are condescending to the reader while shitting on people they don’t have to meet face to face.
    BTW, the reason I use my real name and pic is because it keeps me honest here and elsewhere. I do not want to lower my standards and be lumped in with today’s media.

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    1. Doug as an aside…I spent years posting under my real name on the old Patriots USENET board…that stopped because someone from the board started calling my house, uninvited. I have daughters. I am not telling you what to do…I am only saying there are some crazy people out there! Besides integrity is integrity…you either have it when you post under your own name or a pseudonym or you don’t. Posting under his own name certainly has not kept Tomase honest.

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      1. that’s a good point, I have considered that . . . and spot on about tomase and plenty of other media members . . .

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      2. Had that once, myself, doing the same.

        I’ll say it again that they’ve got their right to post and write what they want. We’ve got ours here, right? There’s definitely rights and wrongs on this.

        But, the “going after someone” in a true form or bringing their wives/kids, that’s disgusting.

        Also, with so many who do that, you can’t even engage people like Tomase in a civil discussion. Part of them assumes you’re a bad one but many also don’t want to be questioned.

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      3. The internet can be a scary place. I’ve pretty much “dropped out”, other than posting my thoughts here, which is a pretty “safe” place, for lack of a better term. It’s funny how, in real life, most of us try to avoid coming into contact with nutjobs and unstable people, if at all possible. Sometimes it’s unavoidable….you’ll get the drunk guy on the Orange Line who feels like telling his life story to the entire subway car. That happens once in a while. The internet is like 500 Orange Line cars filled with drunk or mentally imbalanced guys who can’t control their baser instincts. No thanks. I’m done with that.

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    2. BTW, the reason I use my real name and pic is because it keeps me honest
      here and elsewhere. I do not want to lower my standards and be lumped
      in with today’s media.

      The sad thing is, as I am sure you know, is that people abuse that.

      I think we’re a bit different here. We’re civil. We can joke with each other. Having a disagreement is a discussion, not a flame war. The really bad stuff that you see elsewhere doesn’t seem to happen. Sadly, that’s the minority. I like to act like a kid and call people names like I’m five but I think there’s a clear lesson between this and saying something vile, making threats, etc.. Hell, even people using their real names on Twitter do it.

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    3. I agree with you that the local media (in particular) is completely disingenuous when addressing Belichick’s draft record. Despite all of the great players he’s drafted, the fact that the team has has a winning record for the past 14 (soon to be 15) years, when no other team is even close to that, and all the playoff wins and titles, some in the media still make the argument that Belichick the GM has consistently let down Belichick the coach. Or even further, that he is so arrogant that he actually picks worse players to show how good a coach he is, which is the dumbest assertion in sports.
      However, Bedard’s tweet has nothing to do with that: he wasn’t covering the Patriots nor was he commenting on a Patriots draft pick because he tweeted before the draft. Bruce is generally excellent at holding the media accountable for their stupidity, laziness and hypocrisy, but I think this site loses a bit of credibility when motive and intent are applied, without any evidence, to a tweet from 2010.

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    4. That’s the thing…..BB is willing to take risks other teams won’t. It’s not because he thinks he’s “smarter” than everyone. It’s partly because the team is always picking at the end of each round, and sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope to strike previously un-mined gold. Drafting players with injury histories in college is one such area: it worked great with Gronk, and it seems to be working with Easley; it didn’t work with Terrence Wheatley, Brandon Tate or Ras-I-Dowling. The latter three, of course, are the only examples the naysayers ever mention.

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  7. Our weekly check-in with Fail Simms:

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    1. Once Shank picks a narrative, he sticks with it until the bitter end. No doubt he views every October 27th as his personal Halloween, since that was the day the “Curse of the Bambino” was officially lifted 11 years ago and that was one narrative he finally had to drop. I would seriously like to know if he’s actually come around to accepting the fact that the Patriots don’t make the schedule and, no, Kraft’s relationship with his “buddy” Goodell has nothing to do with it, either. It’s determined by a formula that the league applies every year, to every team, based on certain criteria that never change. Does he know that? Does he care? Of course, it would be too much to ask of Shank to acknowledge that Kraft and BB have built the model franchise in the NFL together, and maybe THAT’s why half the Patriots’ opponents appear to be “tomato cans” every year—tomato cans in comparison to the Waterford crystal gravy boat that BB and his “enemy,” Bob Kraft have created in Foxboro.

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  9. Because I had so much fun doing this last time. Here are some story lines that unbelievably the majority of the media covering this team has not mentioned post game:

    – Malcolm Butler was NOT a liability in pass coverage, as a matter of fact he was pretty good. The team only let up 7 points. Miami trailing all game had 255 yards in the air and yet Miami’s receivers were not running around uncovered or wide open.

    – Logan Ryan played a solid game. The pick, several good pass defenses where is the Logan Ryan love!

    – Sure they gave him help…but unlike Mike Reiss I thought Cameron Flemming played a heck of a game. Wake had 1 sake and 1 hurry before he was injured. His replacement got no where near Brady. The whole line did well. Who knew Suh could be handled by an undrafted rookie Free Agent.

    – I really want to see Stork back at Center starting next week. But my question is can Andrews play guard? I know he is small…but he has not been out leveraged at Center. With Tre Jackson now hurt they need a guard.

    – In the broadcast last night the discussion revolved around Jones leading the league in sacks. The assumption is if he finishes the season as the league leader in sacks and does not sign an extension in season some team will offer him $110 mill to leave NE. I would like to see a writer question whether Jones realizes staying in NE offers him the best chance at long term success. If so perhaps he is willing to take a little less to continue be awesome in a system that is perfect for him.

    – There are two ways of looking at the Pats victories…1) The Pats opponents are weak 2) The Pats are so much better than everyone that it is a fluke when they lose. Maybe the press can stop being fixated not he first explanation.

    – I am not a huge fan of Josh McDaniels at least I had not been one until about 3 weeks ago when it was clear that he was going back, finally, to the Charlie Weis principles of offensive play calling. If he continues not his path…the Pats will not lose again this season. Much should be made of how McDaniels has been changing who he is and how he does things to fit the Pats better. The dividends have been huge.

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    1. Couldn’t agree more about McDaniels. Obviously it worked out in the end last year, but I’ve definitely gotten the “Look how smart I am” feeling with the playcalling sometimes since he’s been back. Hopefully he’s really seen the light and will stick with “Do what works”

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    2. I’ve been critical of Logan Ryan and I have to admit he’s been playing really well. Oops.

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    4. We got our first (I think) extended view of Jordan Richards last night after Chung left with the injury.

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    5. I lurk on some Pats fan message boards — I don’t join, because I’d go insane trying to respond to or counter some of the negative idiocy. There were posts last night, still, about how they “need to trade for a #1 corner by the deadline next week.” And how “Butler is no better than a #2!” UGH. Yes, OK, he’s no better than a #2 now. This team also won a Super Bowl in 2004 with a bunch of #3’s playing corner after Ty Law’s foot injury (Samuel was only in his second year and was nowhere near the player he would later become). The key that year was very, very good safety play from Harrison and Wilson, and an very, very good Front 7. Sound familiar? There is more than one way to skin a cat–or play pass defense in the NFL. I know he’s kind of a scumbag, but Little Ricky Pitino was 100% right about the negativity in this town…

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      1. Tony:

        Pitino was wrong. The fans are not negative. We don’t tolerate incompetence.

        In the case of posters to message boards complaining about Butler…they don’t understand what they are seeing. Landry had 6 catches for 71 yards in a blow out. Miami threw virtually every play in the second half and Landry did virtually nothing. If someone watched that came and came away thinking Butler was the problem then I suggest that person knows nothing about football.

        TO add to your point about the secondary…they won a SB with 34 year old Troy Brown playing corner.

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        1. I understand what you’re saying. I agree that it’s mostly the media. Unfortunately, I think some fans (perhaps too many) take their cues from the media at times. Draft night is a classic example: the whining and wailing on the internet when BB drafts a guy that Mayock and Kiper don’t like — or say should have been taken three rounds later — is incredible.

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          1. Ahhh…instant analysis of the draft. One of my most favorite topics. So fantasy football has kind of destroyed most lay fans actual understanding of team football. I was having this exact conversation earlier today with an employee of mine today. If you were building a fantasy team you would want Hooman instead of Mike Williams because he has better hands and runs more routes. However, the Pats don’t currently need that player because they have Chandler and Gronk. WHat they need is a blocking TE. Enter 304lbs of 6’5″ blocking TE Mike Williams. He can catch…but he is not Hooman. He keeps defenses honest but his real strength is he is effectively a 6th OL. That is what the Pats needed and so the roster spot is more valuable within in it than Hooman. The point is Belichick looks at a drafted player significantly different than some analyst or fan. He is looking for parts to make the whole stronger. He takes Logan Mankins in the first round because he believes Mankins gives him more value than a WR who stretches the field. He does not value a WR who stretches the field….he has done the cost benefit analysis and figured the lineman contributes more. So what is the point in questioning the draft until you see how the pieces fit. When you do see how they fit you learn that Belichick and his team hit on far more than they miss. So why gnash your teeth over it. The fan who says the Kiper said …. does not understand long term team building. If he did he would not listen to Kiper….AT ALL.

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    6. I would put Stork at guard and leave Andrews at center. Andrews has been a beast at Center and better than Stork. I wouldn’t touch that for now.

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    7. On McDaniels: I think it’s important to remember (in good times and bad) that there is play calling (the in-game decisions as to what you run) and game planning (the out-of-game decisions as to what plays to include in your offensive/defensive strategy). I actually don’t think McDaniels’ play calling — as in, what he goes to when confronted with specific on-field situations — has changed that much.

      What’s changed — and it changed after the Chiefs game last year — is that the offense is now structured almost entirely around short-drop quick passing — middle slants, crosses, picks, and isolations. Previously, it had been mainly focused on gap/seam exploitation — plays that take a second or two longer to develop. I think this is a collaborative change (i.e. not attributable to just JMD) that was designed to (and has) mitigate the team’s weakness against strong, fast defensive ends. It is much easier to block a Suh-type DE for three seconds than it is to block him for six or seven. This change was possible because the team now has three quick-slant threats in Edelman, Amendola, and Gronk who can be utilized in this sort of game plan, and Brady excels at quickly identifying the open receiver (and has a super-quick release).

      So tl;dr I don’t think McDaniels has gotten better at play calling — I think he’s got better plays to call now.

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      1. I think we disagree. McDaniels spent years trying to prove he was not Charlie Weis. A cornerstone of his offensive philosophy both as the OC in NE and as HC in Denver was 5/7 drops and pushing the ball long outside the numbers. He had not embraced the short game Weis was so famous for. As a matter of fact had he not been so stubborn in the 2007 Super Bowl the miraculous catch by Tyree probably is not the game decider. He could have neutralized the Giants pass rush with screens and passes to the Flats but instead he was forcing the ball to Moss.

        Fast forward to this year. For the first time ever in his coaching career McDaniels is looking to the short passing, TE in the slot passes as the underlying structure of the offense. I have no idea why McDaniels has seen the light. I am just thrilled they are back to the offense they played when Brady was throwing to Coates, Brown and Patten.

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        1. Agree about SB 42. That entire night I thought I was watching a re-run of SB 36, only McDaniels was playing the “stubborn Mike Martz” role, and it was killing the team’s chances, much like Martz killed the Rams’ chances in New Orleans. The funny thing is that Heath Evans, who was on that team, once said years later that the Pats’ game plan for the Super Bowl was to establish the run early and then run play-action, which Brady was, and remains, the best at in the NFL. However, the Giants then went and held the ball for a 10-minute FG drive after the opening kickoff, and McDaniels apparently switched gears before the offense had even run a play. Very odd. I was hoping for a lot more Maroney that night: he had rushed for something like 240 yards in their two playoff wins going into that game, and if they’d fed him the ball 20+ times, I think the passing game would have been more effective. Of course, losing Stephen Neal early in the game didn’t help, either. He was a road-grader at right guard. Eh….so, so, so may things went wrong that night. That team was so good it took an evening full of odd occurrences and bad breaks to finally bring them down.

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    1. Dungy is milquetoast and very measured when being interviewed. There are other undefeated teams. Is it so crazy he won’t say the Pats are the best?

      Are my fellow Pats fans so insecure that they can’t handle the fact that people may consider the Packers or the Bengals better than the Pats?

      Lastly I’m not sure why people worry about this. It’s like getting bent out of shape about “Power Rankings”. What’s the point? The best team in the league will be decided in the playoffs.

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      1. He normally says absolutely nothing is what I think you mean.

        Patriots / Packers are the best. I’m not sure how you make a case otherwise. How you rank them is up to you.

        Nope, I don’t care about him not wanting to say something. I just
        think that if it were a 50/50 flip on dealing with the Patriots, he’s glass-half-empty. Call it insecurity if you want to, but this is also a Boston market/Patriots-fan-centric board.

        And, yup, playoffs settle all.

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        1. Until the playoffs hit Cincy has to be in that discussion. They are a very good team. Marvin Lewis will screw it up when the poo hits the fan in the playoffs but right now they are every bit as good as the Pats and the Packers. The Broncos are a fraud. Carolina I can’t figure out. Newton has got to revert doesn’t he?

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    1. Meh. Don’t understand Pats fans getting mad at this when we all have a laugh at the stuff Brady posts on Facebook.

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      1. Several differences – first, Brady actually plays. This guy is a back-up LB/special teams player who was a healthy scratch. Secondly, Brady posts a lot of stuff making fun of himself and has never targeted a specific player. I mean you seriously can’t compare the two. Like, at all.

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  13. Good quip from Jerry Thornton this morning:
    “Thursday Night Football really is a terrible idea. The human body simply is not built to play two pro football games in 96 hours. The defensive linemen all have their hands on their hips. The ends are gasping for air. Offensive linemen are slow to get up just so they can catch their breath. It looks like every cardio class in America on Jan. 2.”
    I couldn’t agree more with him. Player safety and the integrity of the game are so important to Goodell’s NFL that, under his “leadership,” they’ve added a mandatory Thursday night game to the weekly schedule — something that used to be a 2 or 3 times per year novelty, including Thanksgiving. If I were in charge, the “weekly” Thursday night games would be the first thing I’d dump. Thursday football on Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving only, please.

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    1. If the concussion narrative was bigger, they’d back off the 18 game and redo the Thursday Night games so BOTH teams are coming off a bye.

      It’s big now but needs to get bigger.

      All PR at this point.
      Or, players make sure this is off the table and get a better NFLPA

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      1. An 18- game schedule would be insane. I, personally, have no desire to see that. The 16-game slate works just fine. No need to tinker with it. But, hey….integrity!!!

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        1. Its all relative. I like the idea floating around and gaining some steam among owners to look at a 17 game schedule where the 17th game is played at a neutral site overseas so that owners do not have to give up a home gate. In exchange the preseason would be made shorter…maybe 2 games maybe 3 but more hitting would be allowed during training camp and in most likely you would see more joint practices…

          I will be the skeptic. I do not think the concussion thing is or should effect any part of these decisions. To me this is like people who choose to smoke in 2015. You are aware of the risks, you are aware of the rewards, take some responsibility for your decisions, take some responsibility for your safety. If someone decides to play because the money offsets potential long term issues…so be it. I do not mean that to be callous. Playing football has a high probability of causing long term medical issues, everything from CTE to arthritis to back problems to ALS. Its all linked. However the league and the players so far have not looked at the concussion issue as a hinderance to adding or subtracting games. They have adjusted and will continue to adjust the practice rules.

          80000 people keep showing up in London to see a neutral site game. I bet the NFL could draw the same regularly in Cologne, Berlin, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, Shanghai and Tokyo without breaking a sweat. Tampa averages 38000 per game. San Diego does not sell out. Jacksonville has problems filling the stadium. The NFL knows it has huge untapped potential worldwide. Felger and Maz spent 2 weeks discussing putting a franchise in London. Adding games to tap this revenue makes a lot of sense and the integrity of the product on the field will not suffer or be part of the equation.

          Lastly while I am on my high horse…I don’t think the quality of Thursday night games is a problem because of a short week. i think it is a problem because the NFL has gotten to the point where there are only 8 good teams at most. Inevitably the Thursday night matchup has to be between two teams that I do not care about and more importantly are between poorly coached teams (and who isn’t compared to the Pats) where the players use the short week excuse to phone in a poor performance. The game the Pats played against Miami was cleaner and better executed than the one they played 4 days earlier against the Jets. Yet everyone is yapping about the Thursday night games being atrocious. They are atrocious because unless you are a fantasy player or a degenerate gambler…you don’t really care about out of market match ups…no matter what the NFL’s pr machine tells you.

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  14. Hmmmm….have you guys seen this? The part where Florio talks about the Patriots’ fears of bugs being planted by opponents (to ostensibly set up another frame job) is VERY interesting (and I don’t blame them at all for being paranoid about another frame up being hurled at them by the NYJ-FL). And, of course, the league has refused the Pats’ request to sweep the visiting locker rooms — Kensil probably issued the refusal. (Yes, Deflategate has made me completely paranoid, I’ll admit it).

    “From the Patriots are in their opponents heads department: We knew about the Indianapolis Colts fears in the past that their locker room at Gillette Stadium was bugged.

    Now, comes a report that this past Sunday, the Jets, before playing and losing 30-23 to the Patriots in Foxboro, asked the NFL to sweep their locker room for listening devices.

    Did the ny jets asked the #NFL to sweep their locker room for listening devices before last weeks game? YES THEY DID— Craig Carton (@cc660) October 30, 2015

    The report comes from Boomer Esiason, the former NFL quarterback and current CBS “NFL Today” analyst, and Craig Carton of the “Boomer and Carton” morning show on WFAN in New York – yes, the guy that reported that there was “no doubt” Tom Brady would serve a Deflategate suspension this season, So, there is that.

    Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football Talk reported that the Jets wouldn’t comment on the situation, but a source told PFT “the Jets did not request that the locker room be swept for bugs; however, the source did not deny that the locker room was swept for bugs” and “no listening devices ever have been found in any locker rooms in the Patriots stadium.”

    More from the Florio report:

    The Patriots likewise had no comment on the situation, and the NFL could not immediately be reached for comment.

    As one source has explained it to PFT, the Patriots have become concerned that a team eventually will plant bugs on its own and claim that the Patriots put them there. This has prompted the Patriots to ask the league to certify before each game that the visiting locker room is clean before an opposing team enters. Per the source, the NFL has declined to do this.”

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    1. When it comes to the Pats I’m 100% on board with Otter from Animal House:

      “I’ve got news for you, pal. They’re gonna nail us no matter what we do, so we might as well have a good time.”

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          1. I Gave My Love a Cherry, That Had No Stone. I Gave My Love a Chicken, That Had No Bone. I Gaaave………….”Sorry.”

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      1. Wow. I mean, that’s unreal. As the old saying goes: just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. This league office clearly is out to get BB and the Pats. What cracks me up is that since last January’s frame job (really, since Spygate, as BB said in his Mona Lisa Vito presser) they have to know that BB, Kraft, et. al. are quadruple-crossing every T and quadruple-dotting every I at this point to make sure that every single rule, no matter how obscure, is being followed with 100% compliance. Do they really think BB is that stupid? Does the media, who will once again attempt to carry the NFL’s water for it the next time they try to frame the Pats? If this happens again, it’s time for Kraft to bring out the lawyers or at least publicly threaten to take down Goodell and his ex-Jet minions on Park Avenue. And if the other 31 invoke bylaws to try to take the team away from him, so be it: It makes it a LOT easier for him to sue the NFL for billions if he’s no longer part of the Billionaire Boys Club.

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    1. Excellent observation. But, you know, Van Fluffer ‘Nutter won a Pulitzer, so other journalists tell us we’re not allowed to question his motives or integrity (oh damn…there’s that “I” word again).

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  17. Jim Murray – “Please lose! You guys, please….stop winning! Don’t go 16-0 again. Plllease!”

    Tony Mazz – “I’m done. I’m not watching any more games. Why bother? I know the result. It’s a waste of my time.”

    That’s 2/3 of your #1 rated sports show, Boston. Felger has become the best part of that show now. Amazing.

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    1. Yeah the last few times i’ve listened to F&M, Felger has been measured and very reasonable.. It’s his way of staying ahead of the curve I guess. When everyone else is doing #hottakes, he needs to separate himself

      I’ve always felt Felger is very intelligent and just wish he would use his powers for good..we could have some great sports talk.. Not holding my breath on that though

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    2. It get’s really cringe worthy when Murray rips off Felger right in font of him. Can you say pathetic? Bertrand was 1000X better than Murray. Murray should be relagted to bartending and maybe doing some dj work at night. Sports radio is not his calling. sorry not sorry.

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      1. He’s on weekends (12-5 or depends on the schedule) usually up against Arcand/Picard, it’s basically a radio version of the “Best Of Felger and Mazz.”

        At least Beetle used to challenge them when they went off on something dumb and he was 3rd billing on the show.

        That’s why I’ve said before that the bullpens between each of the stations can’t even be compared.

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  18. Curran weighs in on the Jets’#sweepbuggatesomething stuff:

    http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/nfl-s-sideline-shakedown-patriots-very-big-deal

    Because the recent record of the NFL’s Operations guys shows they are capable of taking an accusation and assembling what turns out to be flimsy evidence. And that said flimsy evidence can then be bastardized, sensationalized and passed along to the media. And that a multimillion dollar bag-job investigation can be joined, thanks to that initial flimsy evidence, and historic penalties can be handed down in the wake of that investigation. Penalties that result in tarnish applied to people’s reputations, airing of private e-mails, embarrassment for the league’s hierarchy and losses in Federal Court, which threaten the league’s hold on discipline in its collective bargaining agreement with the players.

    Yup.

    I’d really like to know if the Krafts think this is over? Or, are they cool with the money rolling in so, whatevs? Every right as owners but you’ll lose the good will among fans pretty quickly.

    If you want this to stop, something has to change. If they/Patriots aren’t clear on how and what this entails, then you need to get a fu[king clue real quick.

    Said it before but I’d be having some firm that has an impeccable reputation (legit, not Ted Wells-credibility) sweep before every single game. That way, if there is a plant or some garbage comes up, there’s something to go to and the NFL can’t start this bullsh1t narrative again.

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    1. I honestly think it’s time for the Pats to hire some very expensive, very good private investigators to tail the Kensil’s of the world all around that freakin’ stadium whenever they play a home game, from now until the day that the league offices are purged of Jets fans and ex-Jet employees. The good P.I.’s know how to keep a low profile and not let on that they’re tailing you. This is a must at this point, because the next frame job seems to be coming down the pike fairly soon, and the Pats can’t expect the media to do its job in exposing it….they’ll just help lead the lynch mob, as they’ve done during the last two “scandals” involving the team.

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    2. “I’d really like to know if the Krafts think this is over?”

      It is over for them. Their date to file an appeal (an appeal that had no shot at getting heard fairly since the guy who handed out the punishment is the guy you’re appealing to) has long since past. The picks and money are gone. There’s nothing for them to fight for.

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    1. Nauseating. It’s like they get five bucks from the Webster’s Dictionary people every time they say it.

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