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Celtics Prep For Game Four In Philly, Sox Also In Philly

May 18, 2012 By

The Celtics look to keep things going in Philadelphia tonight as they take on the 76ers in game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Tonight’s game is on ESPN at 8:00 p.m.

The Red Sox are also in Philly tonight as they get ready to take on former teammate Jonathan Papelbon for the first time. (NESN, 7:10 p.m.) See all of Friday’s Viewing Picks.

A few of the big stories today:

Wideout says no progress in long-term talks – Karen Guregian had the quotes from Wes Welker yesterday that negotiations with the Patriots are not going well. Mike Reiss attempts to insert some context into the story, and says that Welker’s stance isn’t likely to help him at the negotiating table.

Shame on Curt Schilling – (subscription required) – It’s shocking that Dan Shaughnessy would go after Curt Schilling, I know. One nugget that Shaughnessy drops in this “pieces” column that I hadn’t seen before was that Mike Lombardi’s son Mick, works in the Patriots scouting department.

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Phillies and Ben Franklin – I’m not exactly sure how to describe this piece from Brian MacPherson, other than it has a lot of quote from Ben Franklin.

Kevin Garnett: The unselfish superstar – Paul Flannery says that out of necessity, KG has become unselfishly selfish in this postseason. Jessica Camerato also puts KG’s play in perspective.

Celtics’ local TV team better for viewers – (subscription required) Chad Finn’s media column looks at the dropoff in Celtics broadcasts when Mike and Tommy aren’t calling the games. One tiny item – he gets on Dick Stockton for referring to nine-year veteran Marquis Daniels as a “third year player” – I immediately knew that Stockton meant it was Daniels’ third year with the Celtics, but it was a clumsy reference. Still, as a note at SB Nation, (below) I’d much prefer Dick Stockton than anyone over at ESPN.

Media Roundup: Scal Returns, Mike Felger’s Celtics Bashing And Curt Schilling’s Blunders – My SB Nation Boston media column applauds Brian Scalabrine for calling out Mike Felger, and has me dreading the return of Mike Breen to Celtics games.

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • Mike

    Weird. I’m not a subscriber but I can read both articles listed here that need a subscription. 

    • bsmfan

      The easiest, without Google tricks used similar to the WSJ (you get a special link to the full article even if you’re not a sub), is to get some type of cookie remover (I have one for FF + Chrome). I delete cookies after/before each article.

      • Mike

         Good points…thanks!

    • Alex

      I read them both as well and I’m not a subscriber either.  I assumed the Globe gives you access to a handful of free articles per month similar to what the NY Times does…

  • Mike

    It’s amazing, listening to Ordway fall all over himself defending Shilling. Amazing. 

    • bsmfan

      Caller to F+M:

      caller, “So, Felger, was Schilling a fraud when he had his pulse on the clubhouse and called them a Titanic? You called him a genius then. Or, is he now a fraud because his politics don’t align with yours.”

      Felger after the call “But, I thought he was a fraud first because he would say anything to back his guy Tito..”

      Right..

      Pretty much sums it up.

      • Collis Jones

        Schilling is a fraud regardless of politics.  It’s okay for me but not for thee.  He’s the perfect distillation of everything wrong with this country.  That 75million could have been used to actually help people instead it goes to a rich fat asses vanity project.

        • bsmfan

          I’m not defending it at all. To take a risk that big, on someone who had never done this before, in such a high risk venture, was silly. I really hope that my state, New Hampshire, would never do such a thing. Furthermore, if he’s rolling in the money from his career and can call up friends from MLB who are also wealthy from playing careers, why didn’t he fund more?

          I’m not looking at or asking for a right/wrong, but looking at the media coverage toward this in the sports world.

          Also, Schilling has made his politics well known, most of which are obviously against anything of the sort, so he’s doing himself no favors.

          My point on the coverage is that you’re going to get into politics. I don’t think the majority (making an assumption here) of us, if not almost all, listen to sports talk for politics.

          From what I understand, Ordway has similar views as Schilling does, and it is no secret that D+C do as well and are friends of him. Beyond some quick comments, do you want to tune into whatever your favorite show is for an hour-long segment on the politics here? I don’t.

          To me, I’m not going to stop listening to whatever host because their politics aren’t mine, but I’m not tuning into sports talk for hour-long diatribes on this stuff, regardless of the side. On a previous post, I quoted Bruce who said that this is best left to the political-talk stations out there, and I agree.

  • Mike

    It’s amazing, listening to Ordway fall all over himself defending Shilling. Amazing. 

  • HighWireNickEsasky

    That is interesting about Lombardi’s son.  How long before Felger or someone claims he is pumping up the Patriots to help his son?  On Simmons recent podcast, Lombardi essentially said that Welker was valuable to the Pats but that they were right to view him as a slot receiver and not an elite guy like Calvin Johnson.  While that is a reasonable stance I wouldn’t be surprised if someone wails about a conflict of interest and that he is trying to undercut Welker’s negotiating position.  

  • bsmfan

    And, on last night, a 15pt lead.. gone.. man

    Talk about going from talking about the Celtics being one of the better teams here to just dropping an absolute egg and vomiting all over their chances. 

  • bsmfan

    Here is the Ken Rosenthal article making rounds this morning:

    http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/boston-red-sox-philadelphia-phillies-mlb-on-fox-notes-david-ortiz-051912

    ”
    Designated hitter David Ortiz, the team’s longest-tenured member, called the meeting, and apparently it was a doozy.

    “Heated,” was the adjective one player used.

    The hitters challenged the pitchers to “step it up,” according to two
    sources. The overall theme was that each player needed to take
    responsibility.

    The effect was immediate, and positive.

    The Red Sox won their next five games, and since the meeting have won seven of nine overall.
    ”

  • toncy66

    Regarding the Welker situation, Felger was at it again on the Sunday night Comcast show. He repeated his twin recurring false themes that, A) “nobody” has ever gotten anything out of the Pats contract-wise unless they’ve pushed them as far as possible; and B) that Welker needs to be given his big money, long-term extension because “the cap has been proven to be meaningless.”

    OK, where to begin?

    First of all, that he’s still pushing the “cap is crap” false narrative simply because he’s unwilling to admit that he’s been proven completely wrong about it is totally childish. There’s really not much more to say about that one.

    Second, the Patriots have given out long-term extensions–with little or no public acrimony–several times since BB and Kraft have been paired together. Seymour in 2006; Brady twice during his career (again, Felger’s false narrative that #12 had to “beg” for a contract in 2010 was never close to being true); Randy Moss in 2008; Wilfork last year (the “acrimony” was largely media invented, since the NFLN’s “A Football Life” episode showed that as far back as September 2009 the Patriots were talking about extending Wilfork); Jerod Mayo last year; and many other examples.

    Yes, they’ve had a few public spats with guys like Samuel, Vinatieri, Mankins and now Welker, but the bottom line is that the Pats typically pay their players according to how much they value their position on the field, and then according to their production on the field.

    For example, it’s clear that they (rightly) view the WR position as overvalued, even in today’s Polian Rules version of the NFL. As good as Welker is, Tom Brady is the reason he’s been the most productive WR in the NFL over the last few years. Welker was a good player before coming to NE; after joining the Brady Bunch, he’s become a great one. Great QBs make receivers, and not the other way around. Who was Pierre Garcon before he was teamed with Peyton Manning? What will Pierre Garcon be in Washington–for all the money they gave him–without Manning throwing the ball to him? Even great WRs like Larry Fitzgerald may be able to put up big numbers without a great QB, but the numbers are basically meaningless without a great QB also being there, because those numbers are no longer helping the team win games.

    If the local media still don’t get that the Pats pay players based on how much they value their position, more than anything else, then they’re never going to get it.

    And if I have to hear the Wisconsin Faux Tough Guy say the “cap is crap” one more time, I’m going to lose it. Memo to Felger: just because YOU believe it doesn’t make it true.

  • Homer Nixon

    I like Doris on ESPN and Webber on TNT.  The rest of the play by play and color guys on both channels are awful.

    Bruce, you’re killing me, STOCKTON IS THE ONE OF THE WORST.

    Stockton, Kevin Harlan, Reggie and Mike Breen have got to go. I can’t stand the Laker ass-kissers.

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