Just another Friday wondering when Brad Stevens is going to unleash Jordan Mickey on the NBA.

Have you made your choice yet?

Apparently, you’re only allowed to root for the Bruins OR the Celtics. You can’t do both. You have to adore the one and despise the other.

The voice of Boston sports has spoken. (He’s the bravest, too, just ask his boss.)

Is there is a bigger fraud than Dan Shaughnessy in the entire media world? Had Bill Belichick been having a relationship with a reporter twenty years his junior, would Shaughnessy have completely ignored the topic in his columns as he has with John Farrell?

Shaughnessy instead went with the compelling Bruins/Celtics column about nothing. A topic that found its way onto sports radio this week as well.

Why the relationship between John Farrell, reporter matters – The story may not matter to Shaughnessy, but Chad Finn explains why it is important to legitimate journalists.

What you don’t know about David Price – Peter Abraham has a good look today at the Red Sox new ace, and why he may actually live up to his contract.

Roenis Elias risked 20-30 years in prison defecting Cuba; Boston Red Sox pitcher brings ‘disciplined’ style to Fenway – Christopher Smith looks at the pitcher who risked everything to come to the United States.

Could Hogan Tire have a new Patriots spokesman?

Bruins won’t make a big deal out of being in first place – The Bruins are in first place. THE BRUINS ARE IN FIRST PLACE?

 

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

39 thoughts on “How Long Until Opening Day???”

  1. In Finn’s column, McMullen nails the real problem with sports journalism (and it actually has little to do with the Farrell/Moran dalliance):
    “I’m a journalist,’’ she said, “and sometimes I wonder if people know what that means anymore. I know when I became a journalist, you had to be objective. That was the rule. That was what you were supposed to be. Sometimes you really liked somebody and they were lousy at what they do, and you had to be willing to be write that they were lousy at what they do. And sometimes, someone could be a real idiot, a real jerk, but perform at a very high level. You had to do that, praise them, as well.”

    She is speaking in the context of this relationship, but isn’t that the problem overall? It’s why Parcels always got a pass (for anything) and why Belichick is hammered for everything, real and perceived. They are both Hall of Famers (or will be) but Belichick is clearly the better coach, and yet Parcels was more chummy (at least to the right people) and quotable so he gets fawning coverage. Or Brady/Bledsoe. Or Brady/Manning. (for more examples of this read any Nick Cafardo piece). I get that Moran was being unprofessional here but these type of relationships are much more of a byproduct than the root cause of the problem.

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    1. Physician, heal thyself, Ms. McMullen. Go ponder your anti-Belichick agenda and then get back to us, Jackie.

      (Admittedly, she’s not as bad as most of the Boston mediots.)

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  3. The Bruins and Celtics fan way is hilarious.

    As a Celtics fan first and foremost and a fairweather Bruins fan, I am obviously biased, but the idea that one fanbase is more “blue collar” than another is one of the funniest things I’ve heard this week. I mean, have you seen the people in the balcony at Celtics games? We’re not up there drinking tea and reading the Wall Street journal. Give me a break.

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    2. Heard a little bit about this on Friday. So silly. Whatever team is doing well at the time they call the wine and cheese crowd. Felger says the 80’s Celtics were that way. Which going back and looking at the games I don’t agree with. Look at the fan reaction shots, everyone’s wearing those God awful painters caps that were so popular. Not buying it. Plus while I was a kid, I was still there at some of those games and it was wild in the old garden at times.

      What it comes back to is if the team is successful then more people want to go driving up the ticket prices so that it’s easier for wealthier people to go to the games. And those are generally not the hard core fan base. We have seen it happen to every team in this market over the last 15 years.

      Yeah it sucks that less people want to stand and cheer at Gillette, but I’d rather have a successful team with a mildly noisy stadium, than be like the Chiefs setting decibel records and going to the playoffs every 4 years.

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      1. There was a bit of a “wine and cheese” element to those 1980s Celtic crowds at the old Garden, but it was a small contingent, and nothing like the phony array of jock-sniffing celebrities populating the Forum (and later the Staples Center) whenever the Lakers had a championship-caliber team, or the celebrity-dotted crowd at MSG for Knicks’ games during the 90s Pat Riley era. And for sheer loudness, I don’t think any Boston crowd has ever matched the volume inside the Garden for those last two home games of the ’84 Finals against LA: the infamous “heat” game in Game 5, and the title-clinching Game 7 four nights later. Game 7 against the Sixers in the ’81 East Finals, when the C’s completed what at the time was considered an impossible comeback from a 1-3 series deficit, was another legendary “noise” game during the Bird era. There’s no question that the Garden could rock like no other building in sports during that era — crowds full of “wine-and-cheese’rs” don’t make that much noise.

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  4. Shaughnessy wrote the same column about 20 years ago but basically did it for all four sports teams, made the same comments about Celtics fans being from Metro West and Bruins fans coming from the North Shore and being better tippers at the Garden beer stands. Pats fans (this was in the pre-BB days) came from the South Shore and RI and drove 4×4’s and pickup trucks, while the Red Sox were the only team in his mind that could claim a universal fan base.

    I thought Chad’s column was spot-on as was Jackie Mac’s comment about the lack of objectivity. Farrell seems to be getting less flack than Moran but I agree that if it were Belichick it would be a completely different story.

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  5. The poll needs an “all of the above” option, though I voted CHB because for some bizarre reason the national media treat him as the voice of Boston sports, which is puke-inducing.

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  6. As you’ve heard, the Patriots updated their “wellsreportincontext” site with new stuff. I’m with some others on Twitter: Do something. Posting updates to the site does nothing. Demand the picks back. Go rogue.

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  8. I think a bigger issue is the fawning coverage the Red Sox receive versus the Patriots. I have no doubt that if Bill Belichick were having an affair with a much younger woman the Globe would run a front page story telling him to resign. Look how negative their coverage of Tom Brady has been with issues that have nothing to do with football.

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    1. Over on SoSH a ‘Minihane Podcast’ thread started three weeks ago has had exactly, hold on now, zero replies. Smart people on that board.

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  11. #IRONY

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  14. So I am driving along listening to the Big Show with the other two guys who I wish would go away (that is the name of the show now…or at least it should be) around 12:40pm today when they started discussing the “You killed Jesus ” chant that Catholic Memorial kids thought an appropriate response to the Newton South’s chant of “Where are your girls?”. For the record I think the principal of Catholic Memorial with the banning of the kids from the game tonight and other disciplinary actions has handled this situation about as well as could be done. Christian Fauria on the other hand is a complete and utter moron. I used to think Merloni was the clueless one on the OMF show…I was wrong. It is Fauria.

    Why, you ask? Assuming you did not hear the segment, Fauria argued there was nothing wrong with the comments. That in this PC world that is looking to Trump to fight back against the sensitivity of PC life…comments like this are a joke. At this point I had expected Ordway or Merloni to jump in and shut him down before he said something even dumber…but no. Fauria did not understand why the Jewish people in the audience were silent and shocked by the comments. So let me explain why the comments are offensive, divisive and worthy of the reaction given by the Jewish people in the audience.

    It took 1600 years to get the Catholic Church to change its teachings. For 1600 years (up until Vatican II) the official church teaching was Jews and not the Romans killed Christ. As you may expect this caused a millennia of tension between the two faiths. In reality it was the Romans. I am not going to get into a religious battle about the complicity of Jewish leadership who informed the Roman legion as to where Christ was hiding. Individuals and their specific actions are not representative of a religion and its teachings…another idea it took the church 1600 years to recognize. So when the Catholic Memorial kids started chanting “You killed Jesus” one of three things was going on.

    1) Someone or some group of someones at Catholic Memorial is not teaching the catechism correctly.

    2) Someone or some group of someones at Catholic Memorial is not correcting mistruths and instead is allowing antisemitic ideas to be believed because there is “no harm in that”.

    3) These kids who have been pampered their whole lives and who live in sheltered suburbia have never really had to face consequences for expressing hateful ideas and have never really been confronted when they are in the wrong. They are used to communicating anonymously and therefore did not and could not see how what they were doing is offensive; after all…how could someone else take offense when they FEEL their idea is true.

    I found Sauria’s position reprehensible. I think the Jewish community of greater Boston is owed an apology from Entercomm for putting this nitwit on the air. The fact that Ordway and Merloni did not immediately shut him down when it was clear Fauria was wrong is problematic…but I am willing to accept that they were also probably shocked by the idiocy and the ignorance of Fauria’s remarks. Its 2016, there is no defense for what the CM kids did. This is not political correctness run amuck. Offense taken had the Newton South kids been called girls or wimps or wusses…that would be political correctness run amuck. This was out right anti-semitism. Because Fauria did not see that…he should not be on the air, and Entercomm should be apologizing.

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    1. I’m surprised anyone on that show/station could spell ‘C-M’. Why do companies rehire people they fired?

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        1. And so asking a prestigious all male school where are their girls is ok?….sounds to me there was a little gay bashing going on by the good old Newton crowd…if you are going to dish it out you had better be able to take it…….smh…LTD in one post you have showed why Trump is a factor….people are tired of the PC whiny ass bitch BS that you just displayed. I hope a CM parent sues because their kids freedom of speech rights were violated. Or better yet if one of the gay students files a civil rights lawsuit against Newton.

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          1. Painter…there is no room for antisemitism in High School sports or anywhere else. If the CM kids felt threatened by the chants of Sausage Fest and Where are the Girls then there were appropriate ways of lodging a complaint and getting the chants stopped. Instead this future rocket scientists or burger flippers (take your pick) decided that starting and following along with an obvious antisemitic chant was the appropriate response. This is not about free speech. My rant was about an on air personality and the position he took (why was the chant a problem?). In a private school (my oldest daughter attends one in Providence) you accept that your behavior is all representing the institution. The CM kids forgot that. Luckily their principal understood. He handled the situation perfectly…from the hand shakes to the denial of attendance at the finals. The players did not deserve to be punished and they weren’t. The issue as I see saw it was Christian Sauria and his stupidity. But if you want to argue the behavior of the Newton North Kids that precipitated the CM chant…

            As for the comments and how they may offend a gay student. At no point did I suggest that the Newton North comments were acceptable. They are also repugnant…but they are not MORALLY equivalent to the antisemitic comments chanted by the CM kids. That is the problem with a lot of the discourse in the country right now. There are no degrees. There is no gray. A subtle gay slur is equivalent to a blatant antisemitic one…therefore both are justified. I disagree…that is the PC crap that has given rise to Trump. There is right and wrong. There are degrees. Most importantly things are not always morally equivalent. Should the Newton North kids have chanted what they chanted…NO…should the CM kids reaction be antisemitic…ABSOLUTELY NOT.

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          2. How were their freedom of speech rights violationed. We they arrested? Made to pay a fine? Punished in any way by the government of the state of mass or the united States? No the private school they attend and in most cases pay to attend punished them. As is the right of the institution to do .

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          3. Late to diner is a moron. It’s ok for the NN students to spew homophobic chants and not accept their responsibility. Also late to diner, CM students are not burger flippers but perhaps you are your self centered pompus ass.

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  16. I know the radio is going nuts w/the Chandler trade but this is interesting:

    The move represents a recognition that terrestrial radio is no longer a growth industry, particularly as major advertisers shift their spending to digital platforms.

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  17. I had to start a new thread because we seem to be not able to reply more than 5 deep: I copied the post I am replying to below:

    Clearly CM Parent you can’t read. I am assuming your antisemitic child gets their ignorance from home which is an interesting admission I did not expect you to make so publicly. Congrats on being honest…you have that going for you. In the mean time let me correct and educate you on what I was saying because clearly you do not understand.

    This is all about personal responsibility. The Newton North kids were wrong. I said that in my original post and my follow up post. However the CM kids escalation, going to antisemitism were more wrong by greater degrees…something the CM principal understood immediately and took great steps to correct/use as a teaching moment but something that you in your quest to feel better about the stupidity of your pampered child’s lack of understanding for what they did don’t understand. Implying someone might be gay who isn’t is not the same as deliberating chanting the words Nazi concentration camp guards said as they pushed Jews into crematorium ovens. If you can’t see the difference then you are obtuse.

    Further, I said “future rocket scientist or burger flipper…take your pick” when describing CM students. You, of course, glommed onto the burger flipper comment because again you did not read and understand what I was saying. The point of that comment was who knows how smart or dumb these kids are…intelligence does not overcome learned ignorance. Clearly your child is learning ignorance at home if you actually think defending the actions of the CM kids by pointing at the provocations of the Newton North kids is a legitimate justification for chanting ‘You Killed Jesus” at a basketball game.

    The stupidity of your posts proves my point. Thank you. I hope calling me a moron made you feel better because the idiocy of your conclusion is still making me laugh.

    CM Parent says
    March 16, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Late to diner is a moron. It’s ok for the NN students to spew homophobic chants and not accept their responsibility. Also late to diner, CM students are not burger flippers but perhaps you are your self centered pompus ass.

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    1. Late to Diner – Both sides were wrong but it seems the NN kids did not take the same level of responsibility as the CM kids did. Further, NN has a tradition of making offensive taunts to other schools who are not deemed to be in their elite status and class. But those students are protected in their everyone gets a trophy, my kid can do no wrong cocoon. Finally inferring CM kids are destined to be burger flippers is offensive – go back under your bridge you troll.

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      1. I’m not a Gawker commenter, so can anyone explain to me how “where are your girls?” is homophobic? I sort of see misogynistic but that’s a big stretch. And, BTW, great irony of supporters of a Catholic institution whining about homophobia (I am a confirmed Catholic before anyone gets offended).

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        1. I am still waiting for an explanation for how the term is morally equivalent to “You killed Jesus”. I guess we will both wait a long time. Thank god I brought snacks…would you like some?

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      2. Calling me a troll is almost as funny as your poor parenting. So what you are really upset about is the Newton North kids seemed to get away with chanting “Where are your girls” and “Sausage Fest” while the CM kids got in trouble for chanting “You killed Jesus”. Through this whole conversation you have not suggested that the CM kids did anything more wrong than the Newton North kids. Even though I have pointed out to you twice that the degree of antisemitism in the CM chant was far greater than the alleged homophobic chants…you still want to equate them morally. I suggest you go read Ayn Rand and learn about individualism and personal responsibility. When you are done with that go read Hannah Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem: The Banality of Evil” so you can maybe understand how truly horrific the “You Killed Jesus” chant really was.

        This is also the second time you have objected to me suggesting a CM kid might turn out to be a burger flipper while again ignoring my comment about being a rocket scientist. I suggest you read the whole text that you are commenting on, make sure you understand all of the words…including the big ones…and then engage in the a conversation on this board. We expect posters to come here prepared, to make coherent arguments and not say stupid things. So far you are two for two in idiocy. Maybe you could try and break that streak by actually understanding that my original post condemned Christian Fauria’s on air comments while praising the principal of CM for the way he handled the situation. In my post I condemned CM for escalating an insult war from perhaps unacceptable homophobic comments to completely unacceptable antisemitic comments. Your need to defend the CM kids and I am assuming justify your own parenting…all while calling me names (moron in the first post, troll in the second)…illustrates to all of us why the CM kids behaved as they did. They learned the behavior at home. For the record, if either of my daughter’s were involved making equivalent public chants like the one’s the CM kids made the least of their problems would be how the principal handled their discipline. Furthermore, I would not be looking for a way to morally equate it with the actions the other side took, instead I would be wondering where I went wrong as a parent such that my kid thought it acceptable to publicly chant something so horrific without fearing the consequences at the time the made the chants.

        Continue to think the sides are equivalent. Continue to think the CM kids are persecuted victims. Continue to think I do not know what I am talking about. I will continue to expose you and your parenting while piting your poor child for having been raised in such a misguided environment. Or maybe…just maybe you could read each word I am saying…realize how wrong you are learn from this experience. I am not holding my breath.

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  18. Holy moly. I step away for a day and the comment section goes to sh*t. The Newton North – Catholic Memorial story was over days ago. This back and forth between commenters getting ridiculous. This site and particularly the comment section used to be the one… ONE… place left in the Boston market where things stayed civil and everyone was focused on the on-field sports and the media that covers them. Now this comment section is no better than any other sewer comment section where people have no respect and blast each other with personal attacks.

    I’ll get off my soapbox now, but not before a plea to Bruce to clean this up. I hate to sound like a cliche we all tend to mock on here, but can’t we stick to talking sports (and media).

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