en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1170248 Comments by latetodinner http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment304064518 I type a response or a post sometimes, click on submit comment and then I get a message that says deleted by moderator. It happens unpredictably. All that I typed is then lost. I then go and retype the post and it posts. But it is frustrating because I do not know if both comments will post which I don't want to do. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:52:58 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment304064518 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/bruins-stock-up-celtics-back-in-action#IDComment304060577 On Wiggins presentation point are you referring to his inability to speak English clearly? Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:46:58 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/bruins-stock-up-celtics-back-in-action#IDComment304060577 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303233718 We disagree. I don't know what to tell you. BSMW is all about talking about how the media perceives the teams and how the teams perceive the media/fans. I do care how the product is packaged...more importantly the Sox ownership desperately cares about our perception otherwise they would not spend so much money on marketing. I know that if we say nothing and do nothing as you propose then there will be no incentive for ownership to continue to try and win. All they will try to do is field a competitive team like the Bruins were for 30 years. Heck its already started this past offseason. As for this being the best owners in our lifetime...well compared to the racist Yawkees and the caretaker/pocketliner John Harrington I would agree with you. Compared to the Krafts or Steinbrenners I would disagree. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:47:21 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303233718 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303077175 Last media point for today is the coverage of the combine. I understand football is king. I understand that marketing of some sort of hot stove football has been on the NFL's agenda for a while. But the wall to wall coverage of the combine has been a bit crazy this year. Over 750 press credentials to watch the equivalent of a livestock auction. Each player is measured, weighed, teeth checked, measured some more this time doing stuff, reweighed, interviewed (we do not get to see those) and finally measured again. All so draft geeks can maybe have an idea about which player their team might pick...yet be wrong in their projection. I bet they could sell 50,000 tickets to the workouts. Its nuts. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:53:00 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303077175 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303072335 BSMfan stole some of my thunder when he mentioned that Liverpool won the Carling Cup. I was all set to retell of how we rioted in the streets of Providence celebrating the Carling Cup and Liverpool's victory over 92 other teams all of whom were playing younger players and bench guys to get them valuable experience. Of course in Liverpool's case they needed the victory to Qualify for the UEFA Championship (I went checking to see if they had qualified based on standings and could not find it so I might be wrong). Still it was awesome to see the trophy hoisted. It was just like popping the corks and breaking out the champaign, hats and shirts after winning the wild card! Its nice to see the FSG's lack of commitment to excellence extend to their English Soccer team as well. I wonder if NESN will show rebroadcasts of the game? Its all pretty exciting that this is happening right around spring training..."move along, nothing to see here, that's in the past...it's a new year". Golly gee I am so excited. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:46:05 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303072335 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303064294 This weekend Jermaine Wiggins filled in for Jerry Troupiano during the Hardy and Troup show Sunday afternoon on 98.5. Aside from learning about Wiggins favorite way to ingest THC the show was painful. Serves me right for driving from Bow NH to Providence when WEEI had the NBA all star game preshow on. When Wiggins is not making everything about race, he is completely clueless about hockey, basketball and baseball...the three things he and Hardy discussed for 2 hours. You would think Combine talk would come up but it didn't. I can't believe I am going to type this but Wiggins makes Smerlis look competent. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:34:26 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303064294 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303061272 Liverpool winning the Carling Cup was going to be my third point but i have had a hard time posting. I keep getting a "deleted by moderator message. Point 2 was all about Jermaine Wiggins and his fill in stint Sunday afternoon. Train wreck radio that was. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:29:59 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303061272 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303059983 First off I like my high horse...the view from up here rocks. Second...far more than just me cares. I agree drinking in the clubhouse did not cause them to have an epic collapse. Poor management, lack of attention to details, lousy effort and poor preparation caused them to fall apart. What you fail to see is that team management/ownership, specifically John Henry and Larry Lucchino think you are a lemming, than no matter what they do you should just blindly follow their lead and that no matter how the season turns out, what the play on the field looks like, or the reasons for it you should just accept management's position of \"Move along, nothing to see here, its a new year, all is well\". That works in Kansas City or Milwaukee it doesn't fly here in Boston. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:28:03 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment303059983 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302990574 Comment 2. Jerome Wiggins on 98.5. I had the misfortune to be driving back from Bow NH yesterday when Wiggins was filling in for Jerry Troupiano during the Hardy and Troup show. Aside from the fact that it is clear Wiggins is a racist and he is incapable of looking at any topic without coloring it with Race...even hockey....the fact that he was bragging about how he smokes pot on the air was just stupid and mindless. But even after I got beyond that inane stupidity I was subjected to 90 minutes of Wiggy on hockey trades, the NBA Allstar game and Baseball. Nothing on football or the combine. I never thought I would type this sentence but he makes Fred Smerlis look competent. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:51:50 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302990574 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302987847 Comment 2. Jerome Wiggins on 98.5. I had the misfortune to be driving back from Bow NH yesterday when Wiggins was filling in for Jerry Troupiano during the Hardy and Troup show. Aside from the fact that it is clear Wiggins is a racist and he is incapable of looking at any topic without coloring it with Race...even hockey....the fact that he was bragging about how he smokes pot on the air was just stupid and mindless. But even after I got beyond that, why would 98.5 want this guy discussing hockey, potential trades et al, the all-star hoops game and baseball. In the 90 minutes I was listening (WEEI had on pre all star game ESPN crap) there was no football talk even with the Combine. He might be worse than Fred Smerlis and I never thought I would type that sentence about anyone. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:48:00 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302987847 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302984351 So much to discuss where to start. I think each point deserves its own little thread so I will break each different point out into a different posting. Sorry if it looks like I am over posting but there is a lot I want to discuss. Starting with Peter King's moralizing. Bruce...King is not saying anything that a few of us have been saying now for 5 months. He just has a larger pulpit to say it from but that does not make him wrong. Sox management refused to accept responsibility for what happened last year. They refuse to apologize for it. They refuse to get the players to own up to it. They think they are ENTITLED to our support regardless of the product they put on the field and how it performs. They do not think they need any ACCOUNTABILITY. As such they have continued to compound the PR problems with yet another stupid move. Banning alcohol in the clubhouse and announcing it now does not explain how they lost control last year. If they did not lose control last year as they seem keen not to admit, then why the ban? Is a Mea Culpa that hard for these people? Honestly, John Henry has to think we are all morons and that telling us to move on and all will be fine and dandy is the way to handle this. Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:42:35 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/nhl-trade-deadline-daytona-500-and-a-dry-sox-clubhouse#IDComment302984351 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/january-numbers-see-98-5-still-riding-high#IDComment300801236 Seeing as they never should have had the job in the first place...let's fire the moron who put them on the air. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:47:48 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/january-numbers-see-98-5-still-riding-high#IDComment300801236 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/thinking-about-the-patriots-radio-situation#IDComment300800510 Several thoughts. 1) I still think Dave O'Brien is the best football play by play guy in the country. I see no reason why the Patriots can't throw enough money at him letting him do both Sox and Pats games. I would much prefer him to either Tanguay or John Rooke. 2) Speaking of Rooke...god no. Its bad enough he is the in stadium voice of the Pats. He is so immature for someone in his mid 40's I can't take him seriously. Hated him when he had his show of the old WSKO (heck I could not take him seriously when he filled in on calling all sports back on wpro-am). 3) Its clear none of us like Tanguay. I am not sure 98.5 is getting the message. His exposure of CSSNE continues as well. My fear if he ever were to get the play by play gig is that he would say not just stupid things but insulting things. For example I could easily see him making the "chink in the armor" comment about J. Lin and then wondering what is so bad about it. 4) Zo to the booth in place of Cappeletti seems like a good move. He seems to have grown up some since his days in Providence. He can still be a bit of a 'yahoo/frat boy" when not talking football but he has gotten better. 5) Adding Mike Flynn to the pre and post shows would be fine. I don't have any real feelings about Ryan Johnson. I would like to think there is someone better than him available but who knows until he gets the gig and either succeeds or fails. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:46:39 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/thinking-about-the-patriots-radio-situation#IDComment300800510 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298530952 And this is why some of us are so critical of the Red Sox ownership and PR staff. They could not even get the players to tell us what we wanted to hear correctly. They are so arrogant they can't even pretend to be humble. This is why they are getting crucified and the story won't die. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:10:01 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298530952 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298491163 These things have shelf lives if there is closure. Without it there is none. I suggest that spygate had no closure. However look at Andy Petite and the PED scandal. He admits to it...it goes away. Clemens fights it and it is still a story 3 years later. All Beckett had to do was be humble. He can't so it stays a story. All john Henry had to do on the F & M show was be humble...he couldn't...he stays the story. John Lester was humble...his part in this mess is already forgotten. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:19:37 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298491163 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298377731 But it would end and then 2012 would be separate. Without the apology 2011 lingers...and this story goes on and on...always a backdrop to be brought forward is the team slides. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:49:01 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298377731 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298281536 George... Do you mean they should apologize for the way they cover the team and whitewash the negatives to make sure they continue to have access? If so, it won't happen and it is completely irrelevant to this story. It is a good argument for another day however. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:35:51 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298281536 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298262792 Well we are usually close...so this being the most we have ever disagreed since the old USENET group does not mean there is that much of a chasm and you know I still think you rock! We do disagree on whether the players need to be accountable. It goes back to an argument I have made many times. These guys do not make tremendous amounts of money because of how well they hit a baseball. They make the money because of the fame industry. Baseball is just the tool they use to enter it. I think because the fans fund the fame industry we are owed accountability. It is difficult for some to accept this because some people are only concerned with what happens inside the lines. But others of us look at the totality, see how the players represent us the fans and expect a certain degree of accountability to offset the ticket prices, merchandise prices, concession prices and cable tv costs we are willing to endure to follow the team. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect Josh Beckett to say "I was wrong and it won't happen again". When he doesn't I think it is perfectly fair game for the sportstalkers. At some level I think it is their duty to keep this subject in front of the fans because we don't always demand excellence and we should. So if Carl Crawford has to address it over and over again, that is his penalty for not addressing last year while it was happening behind closed doors. If Bobby V does not want to talk about it because he was not the manager last year...maybe he should take a long hard look as to why he IS the manager this year...its not because the team lost a 10 game lead. If Josh Beckett wants to remain above the fray because he does not think he did anything wrong, he does not have to say anything but we don't have to stop asking the questions. Its a two way street. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:11:23 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298262792 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298245480 Bruce... Very seldom do we disagree more than we do on this topic. I think the way the Red Sox and their PR staff have handled these issues from the get go has been horrible. I can't think of an organization in any sport (including the Harry Sinden led Bruins) that took a fan base more for granted than these Sox have these last two years. What is truly amazing to me is that the media has actually woken up and started covering this story. For 100 years the Globe has shielded the Sox organization from any type of critical scrutiny. Heck they are a part owner of the team. WEEI their flagship for the past 12 years has also protected them. The Herald has been a little more critical of on field stuff but never really took a critical eye to management. I can't believe I am going to say this but it took Mike Felger screaming that the emperor (the BBWA) had no clothes on to get the other's in town to actually look at the Sox with anything remotely approaching the critical eye they look at the Pats with on a daily basis. As a fan of the Red Sox I feel the ownership is not dedicated to winning championships. I feel they take my support for the home town team for granted. Allowing Josh Beckett to go out 45 minutes before his announced time for whatever reason is another in a long list of PR moves that tell me the Sox organization thinks it is above answering critical questions. I think we, the fans, are owed an explanation and apology as to why well paid players decided that conditioning, preparation and performance were not important to them during a playoff run. I think a record breaking collapse deserves more than "that was last year we are moving on...new coach and 35% new players"...thank you Bobby V for stating the obvious. Josh Beckett brought all of this on himself and his team when he he ate the chicken, drank the beer, gained weight and lost games. The media is not the enemy for reporting it. Beckett is an immature diva for not owning up to it and allowing this story to fester, linger and continue. Bruce you might think winning cures all...and it might...but there are no games for another 45 days, however there is access for the first time. I, for one want to hear how this year will be different than last year. I want accountability. I want apologies. I felt cheated. I don't think I am in the minority. I believe those who want to just whitewash last year and not think the problems won't carry over are. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:47:33 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/accountability-responsibility-and-apologies-oh-my#IDComment298245480 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/bruins-come-through-in-shootout-celtics-lose#IDComment294864177 bsmfan...to me the issues of editorial control of talent are by far and away the most controversial in town. under the guise of freedom of the press editors and station managers in this town have willingly and gleefully allowed their employees to unfairly savage business partners/advertisers without any recourse. I am not suggesting that negatives not be printed or discussed. I am suggesting that if you are going to press with one then you should have an obligation to at least consider the other side of the story. When the Globe or Herald editors or the WEEI or 98.5 station managers allow straight out bias to replace investigation or facts there is a problem. The fact that there is no accountability tells me they are at best lazy or at worst driving the agenda. If it is the latter then what does that say about their respect for Boston Sports Fans? I made the argument before the SB that if I were Bob Kraft I would be furious with 98.5 that their flagship show was flogging my brand day in and day out leading up to the SB. That, as the grantor of radio broadcast rights and significant advertiser with the station, I, at least, deserved fair coverage from the station during a successful run. I would ask management to talk to Felger and Mazz and ask them to be more objective or at least open minded. I have no idea what actually happened but about 2 weeks before the SB the tone and tenor on the F&M show changed. I doubt it was because of a comment in a blog but I don't doubt that someone somewhere said something and some self scouting happened. My point is in the end the editors and program managers are responsible for content...not the writers and talkers. Bruce's whole raison d'etre for this site is to discuss the motives, agendas and competency of the writers. I wonder if more space should be devoted to the editorial boards and station managers. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:46:23 +0000 http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2012/02/bruins-come-through-in-shootout-celtics-lose#IDComment294864177