If you’ve had the unfortunate experience of listening to any sports radio the last few days you now know that Rajon Rondo is a punk, a terrible human being, and essentially responsible for anything bad that may have happened since he’s been alive.
People like Michael Felger, Tony Massarotti, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan hate Rajon Rondo. They call him names, question his motives for passing the ball to his teammates, field calls from lunatics who insist that Rondo yells at his teammates for getting rebounds HE wanted to get so he could pad his stat line (and agree with those callers) and makes statements that if Rondo is the leader of your team, you’re in big trouble.
These people don’t realize that Rajon Rondo is the closest thing the Celtics have ever had to Larry Bird, both in skill and temperament. Rondo is clearly not the shooter Bird was, but his all-around game and ability to see the floor and diagnose the action around him has not seen around these parts since Bird retired. Bird got into scuffles on and off the court, and cost his team at times. A bar fight, in the playoffs? I can’t even imagine the outcry if that happened now.
The fearsome foursome listed above don’t watch a whole lot of the Celtics. Gerry Callahan used to know the game pretty well, but he is now too busy working up his whiny indignation over the Patriots poor sportsmanship to actually digest what’s happening in the game. Michael Felger openly hates the Celtics, and unabashedly trashes them incessantly. Tony Massarotti goes along with anything Felger says, and adds in his own unintelligible, angry rantings to Felger’s amusement. You’ve got Donny Marshall on the CSNNE telecasts taking shots at Rondo, and realize that this guy was very close to Ray Allen, and the whole picture there suddenly becomes clearer.
To them, Rondo is an easy target. People who don’t follow the sport knowledgeably agree with their surface assessments. Rondo is surly. He loses control of his tempter. He can’t shoot very well. Sometimes his intensity isn’t as high as it is at other times. They somehow take his recent streak of double-digit assist games and make it in to a selfish thing, as if it is even possible to selfishly pass the ball to a teammate so they can score. It is typical of sports radio in the this era, and it is terrible.
As with most topics however, they’re off base. I’ve had my moments of frustration with Rondo, even at one point declaring myself “done” with him. I’ve changed my opinion, mostly because I’ve learned more about him and what he does with his teammates behind the scenes, and his ridiculous ability to show up in big games and completely outshine the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Here’s an example.
An inside look at Rondo: To play with him is to know him – Read this Jessica Camerato feature and contrast it with what you’re told on sports radio all week. Is it even the same guy?
A guy like Christopher L. Gasper clearly only sees the surface. He’s not looking into the backstory stuff like in the Camerato piece. To him, and many others, leadership is only on the court. It’s what they can see. What he’s doing on the court, and most important of all – how he interacts with the media.
The Celtics have a lot of issues right now. Rondo is pretty low on the list, if he is there at all.
Get all the Celtics coverage at CelticsLinks.com.
The Patriots will visit South Florida this weekend for a game with the surprisingly tough Miami Dolphins. Bill Belichick gave as detailed a scouting report on the Dolphins as you’ll read this week – unasked – and it hardly even warranted a mention around here. They notice in Miami though – Belichick breaks down Fins personnel.
This game has been officially designated as a Trap Game. It’s also a Hat and T-Shirt game, as with a win, the Patriots can wrap up the AFC East on the 2nd of December. So which is it?
Debunking myths: Why Patriots won’t be trapped by Miami – Christopher Price isn’t buying the trap game tag, and a few other things about this one.
“It’s great and all that the Patriotsdefense keeps getting turnovers, but you can’t expect to get those every week. If they ever run into a good quarterback, they’re doomed! I know they won, but did you see how many yards (blank) threw for against them last week?! We’re screwed!”
Matt Chatham successfully captures the thinking and cries of the sky-is-falling crowd, and looks at the real important stat – the lack of turnovers by the Patriots offense.
Dont’a Hightower fits in on defense – Jeff Howe has the rookie linebacker already acting like a veteran leader.
Get all the Patriots coverage at PatriotsLinks.com.
MEDIA
Broadcasters found their voices at BC – Chad Finn talks with a number of well-known national broadcasters who got started together at WZBC in the late 80′s and early 90′s.
Boston’s Most Cerebral Football Columnist – Alan Segal has a Q&A with Greg A Bedard, who explains his approach to covering the Patriots and NFL.
Media Roundup – My SB Nation media column isn’t up quite yet, but when they do publish it, it will be a look at coverage of baseball’s winter meetings which start on Sunday, and how they’ve evolved into an event worthy of 24/7 coverage.
