Felger and Mazz - Creating False Naratives one day at a time

SidelineCameras

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Jan 13, 2011
1,813
Oh thank goodness. My grievance list with the man who helped bring historic success to my favorite football team knows no bounds.

No one is above criticism, of course, but not from this group of disingenuous clowns.
 

Ferm Sheller

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Mar 5, 2007
20,404
Or even listen to sports radio at all. What the Christ could they possibly say that would be of interest to anyone?
 

TheRooster

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Aug 3, 2001
2,483
Embarrassing and predictable for the 45 seconds I tuned in yesterday and today. They seem to have found the 10% (?) of writers claiming the Pats are dumb/done. So glad I'm no longer stuck in a car for 60+ minutes every evening during their show (and no I didn't listen all that much, but some days I just wanted to think about the Boston teams while driving).
 

Phil Elliott

New Member
Aug 12, 2020
144
Embarrassing and predictable for the 45 seconds I tuned in yesterday and today. They seem to have found the 10% (?) of writers claiming the Pats are dumb/done. So glad I'm no longer stuck in a car for 60+ minutes every evening during their show (and no I didn't listen all that much, but some days I just wanted to think about the Boston teams while driving).
They're an absolute, 100% clown show. The station should be embarrassed by them. But, it won't be.
 

double4life

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Sep 13, 2015
60
They're an absolute, 100% clown show. The station should be embarrassed by them. But, it won't be.
They're number one in their market and have been for years. Businesses are paying out the wazoo to advertise during their time slot. The heck are you talking about? So sick of people bitching about how much they hate this show yet constantly commenting on the day's topic.
 

eddiew112

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Sep 7, 2005
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They're number one in their market and have been for years. Businesses are paying out the wazoo to advertise during their time slot. The heck are you talking about? So sick of people bitching about how much they hate this show yet constantly commenting on the day's topic.
Thanks for checking in J-Stew!
 

Phil Elliott

New Member
Aug 12, 2020
144
They're number one in their market and have been for years. Businesses are paying out the wazoo to advertise during their time slot. The heck are you talking about? So sick of people bitching about how much they hate this show yet constantly commenting on the day's topic.
I certainly didn't intend to offend or upset anyone with my opinion. I'm just not a fan of contrived conversations and positions that are clearly not genuine. I've never questioned the show's popularity but I don't think there's any causal connection between its popularity and its quality.
 

amRadio

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Feb 7, 2019
798
They're number one in their market and have been for years. Businesses are paying out the wazoo to advertise during their time slot. The heck are you talking about? So sick of people bitching about how much they hate this show yet constantly commenting on the day's topic.
So sick of it? Then don't read it. Felger and Mazz haven't analyzed sports in years, they just talk about sports adjacent drama. Some sports fans are sick of it and we bitch here. Get over it.
 

Humphrey

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Aug 3, 2010
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Nothing to me will ever top Ron Borges' national column where he said the pick of the free agent crop that year was Adalius Thomas.

During the next week, the Pats signed him. On that Sunday, in the Globe, he went out of his way to say what a stiff the guy was.

Now Thomas was a decent signing for a couple years, then fell off a cliff. However, I don't think that's the point I'm trying to make.
 

Quiddity

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Oct 14, 2008
237
Nothing to me will ever top Ron Borges' national column where he said the pick of the free agent crop that year was Adalius Thomas.

During the next week, the Pats signed him. On that Sunday, in the Globe, he went out of his way to say what a stiff the guy was.

Now Thomas was a decent signing for a couple years, then fell off a cliff. However, I don't think that's the point I'm trying to make.
They did the same thing with Darius Butler. He gets brought up all the time for what a massive bust of a draft pick he was. Well, here's the thing. Before that draft, the local media elite (including if I remember correctly, Borges himself) were saying the Pats should draft Butler, and had him slated as the Pats' first round pick that year. The Pats instead got him with a second round draft pick. The Pats did exactly what the media elite wanted and predicted, and they still got blasted for it.

I listened to a decent amount of the show on Monday (first 2 hours or so), I don't think they were as terrible as the comment above implied, but yes, there was a segment in the show where they specifically found a couple of media members attacking the signings. Overall, their take at the start of the show was that the Pats were signing some free agents, but were purposely only doing so at cheap positions and wouldn't do so at expensive positions like DE (which they promptly got proven wrong on). Felger also went on a diatribe about how the Pats don't pay big money at corner, before a caller clearly pointed out that they gave Stephon Gilmore a top of the market deal.

Here's the big issue you're always going to have with Felger & Mazz regarding free agency. For years they have pretended that the salary cap doesn't exist (Felger ranted on this yet again on Monday) and that the Krafts are really cheap. Why are the Pats doing things differently this year? Because they have tons of cap space this year. They rarely do. It's not a new philosophy, it's because as has happened with many other teams in the past, they had to undergo a reset, went through a down year as a result, and are coming out of it with a lot of cap space to rebuild. Felger & Mazz want to proclaim that this is the Krafts/Bill suddenly changing from their super cheap ways, or admitting how bad they were when it's neither. Ask me when the Pats have ever had this massive amount of cap space during the Belichick era and any knowledgeable fan will easily explain that they haven't had that much space until this year. And if they had tons of cap space in past years they would have spent it.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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The Granite State
Felger was being an epic jerk. Par for the course. I've gone in and out on the show with it playing in the background since Wednesday. Their general thinking is that it's great that the Patriots are spending their cap money, but the Pats and Belichick are a total failure for being in this position to begin with and are begging/overpaying players to come play there. Cap is crap. All the same old boring takes and "Hypotheticals in Order to be Outraged" (hat tip to @NoXInNixon). Re-visited the grudge with KVN. Mocked Patricia's weight. Bill only does business with his buddies (Rosenhaus). Having fancy TEs and WRs is great, but there's no one to throw them the ball. They are only marginally better than before free agency.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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May 25, 2008
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Yeah, Bedard really hates the 10 Questions segment. You really have to watch the NBC simulcast to appreciate it. He just sits there with his arms folded and puts minimal effort into his answers. It drives Felger crazy.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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The Granite State
Felger opened today’s show by rhetorically asking why he should be interested in the Red Sox this year... he doesn’t want to criticize them every day “because that’s no fun”... so someone should tell him what positives to look for...

Then he proceeds to crush Martinez, ERod, Bloom, the pitching staff en masse, the young players, the nerds, blah blah blah. He can’t help himself. Followed by screeds on the B’s, C’s, and Pats. Total loser.
 

Quiddity

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Oct 14, 2008
237
A rare instance where I'd agree with him. Dare I say it, the Red Sox deserve the criticism after a last place finish. It was very hard for me to have much interest in them last year and like him, I really hope they get off to a strong start and we'll have a season to be excited about. The show's Patriots coverage has been horrific for a great many years because they treat the best team in the history of the NFL like they're a last place finisher. The Red Sox were... a last place finisher.
 

CantKeepmedown

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Jul 15, 2005
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Is it normal for local sports media/radio to constantly remind you how much they hate the local teams? Jim Murray, Adam Jones, and some other names from that station are constantly telling people how much they dislike the local teams. I understand in today's day and age, it's the only way to get interaction and clicks. But damn, who wants to hear that all the time? I can't believe the ratings this show gets.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Sep 10, 2017
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A rare instance where I'd agree with him. Dare I say it, the Red Sox deserve the criticism after a last place finish. It was very hard for me to have much interest in them last year and like him, I really hope they get off to a strong start and we'll have a season to be excited about. The show's Patriots coverage has been horrific for a great many years because they treat the best team in the history of the NFL like they're a last place finisher. The Red Sox were... a last place finisher.
What, were even the most rose colored glasses wearing fans here saying great job after last season?

And the show will then also slam the Sox also if they win the division then lose in the first round of the playoffs. "Not clutch", "Choked", etc etc. The goalposts will continue to move so F, M & M can continue to deliver their "enlightened" negative sports takes ad infinitum.

What's the saying , blind squirrel, nut, yadda yadda
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Sep 10, 2017
5,959
Is it normal for local sports media/radio to constantly remind you how much they hate the local teams? Jim Murray, Adam Jones, and some other names from that station are constantly telling people how much they dislike the local teams. I understand in today's day and age, it's the only way to get interaction and clicks. But damn, who wants to hear that all the time? I can't believe the ratings this show gets.
Well the numbers indicate a LOT of people want to hear this all the time. I was parked in a shopping plaza yesterday while waiting for my wife to run in for something, and this guy pulls up in a compact car next to me with F&M blaring loud enough I can hear it through both of our closed windows. The pitch of the voices during this discussion was grating (think squeaky Mazz) and I tried to ignore the content and was sure it wasn't much better than the voices made it sound. Like who is attracted to listening to this? Do these listeners go home later and start pedantic arguments with their significant others for the hell of it?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Jan 23, 2009
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Well the numbers indicate a LOT of people want to hear this all the time. I was parked in a shopping plaza yesterday while waiting for my wife to run in for something, and this guy pulls up in a compact car next to me with F&M blaring loud enough I can hear it through both of our closed windows. The pitch of the voices during this discussion was grating (think squeaky Mazz) and I tried to ignore the content and was sure it wasn't much better than the voices made it sound. Like who is attracted to listening to this? Do these listeners go home later and start pedantic arguments with their significant others for the hell of it?
Nah. They usually come here to do that.

<ducks>
 

Cotillion

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Jun 11, 2019
4,926
Is it normal for local sports media/radio to constantly remind you how much they hate the local teams? Jim Murray, Adam Jones, and some other names from that station are constantly telling people how much they dislike the local teams. I understand in today's day and age, it's the only way to get interaction and clicks. But damn, who wants to hear that all the time? I can't believe the ratings this show gets.
No... no it isn't, but apparently the Boston market laps it up cause it keeps ending up as the dominant format of the leading shows.
 

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
2,312
I wish I was listening to them during the Sox today. I can't imagine their reaction when the 2nd batter of their season had a ridiculously long review to see if he was picked off first or not. (their opinion would also be correct, the reviews take insanely long and kill any potential flow of the game. And watching Cowboy Joe West spend 2 minutes alone waddling over to his headset made my blood boil)
 

Patriot_Reign

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Apr 21, 2011
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Someone on Twitter posted a photo of a TV somewhere in the right field seats that was tuned in to F&M during Friday's game. Was mildly comical, and would think almost a fireable offense in the eyes of some.
 

shawnrbu

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Jul 14, 2005
39,690
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Absolutely unloading on Garrett Richards for his postgame quotes and leaving the dugout after his inherited runners scored.

“The nerds upstairs don’t actually watch the games. They get the report on the spin rate and that’s how they decide who to sign.”
-Felger
 
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54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
10,154
Westwood MA
Is it normal for local sports media/radio to constantly remind you how much they hate the local teams? Jim Murray, Adam Jones, and some other names from that station are constantly telling people how much they dislike the local teams. I understand in today's day and age, it's the only way to get interaction and clicks. But damn, who wants to hear that all the time? I can't believe the ratings this show gets.
I wouldn't say it's normal, but it's how they operate.

I think their mentality is they are not honk cheerleaders (I recall one caller was getting on Felger about the very same point you brought up and his reply was something to the effect of "No, we don't do that here, you need to tune in to this station between 10:00am and 2:00pm, a direct shot at Zolak and Beetle).

That's fine if that is your mantra, but they take it way to the extreme, even when I used to tune after a great sports day previously/winning a WS/Super Bowl, they still harp on negatives.

After the flurry of free agent signings by the Patriots, all they harped on was these were mostly clients of one agent and they have a relationship with him, that's why they signed all those guys.......or they rail on the Patriots for being desperate, poor drafters, etc, etc............

In short, even when the local teams win, they lose according to those three bozos and I lump Murray in there with them as well, he's become super negative too.

I can't be bothered listening to them, but apparently many people in this area do not feel the same way.

If they want to tune in day after day and have these three shit all over their teams, good for them.
 

Phil Elliott

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Aug 12, 2020
144
I wouldn't say it's normal, but it's how they operate.

I think their mentality is they are not honk cheerleaders (I recall one caller was getting on Felger about the very same point you brought up and his reply was something to the effect of "No, we don't do that here, you need to tune in to this station between 10:00am and 2:00pm, a direct shot at Zolak and Beetle).

That's fine if that is your mantra, but they take it way to the extreme, even when I used to tune after a great sports day previously/winning a WS/Super Bowl, they still harp on negatives.

After the flurry of free agent signings by the Patriots, all they harped on was these were mostly clients of one agent and they have a relationship with him, that's why they signed all those guys.......or they rail on the Patriots for being desperate, poor drafters, etc, etc............

In short, even when the local teams win, they lose according to those three bozos and I lump Murray in there with them as well, he's become super negative too.

I can't be bothered listening to them, but apparently many people in this area do not feel the same way.

If they want to tune in day after day and have these three shit all over their teams, good for them.
It's a cult following.
 

yeahlunchbox

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Jan 21, 2008
764
I wouldn't say it's normal, but it's how they operate.

I think their mentality is they are not honk cheerleaders (I recall one caller was getting on Felger about the very same point you brought up and his reply was something to the effect of "No, we don't do that here, you need to tune in to this station between 10:00am and 2:00pm, a direct shot at Zolak and Beetle).

That's fine if that is your mantra, but they take it way to the extreme, even when I used to tune after a great sports day previously/winning a WS/Super Bowl, they still harp on negatives.

After the flurry of free agent signings by the Patriots, all they harped on was these were mostly clients of one agent and they have a relationship with him, that's why they signed all those guys.......or they rail on the Patriots for being desperate, poor drafters, etc, etc............

In short, even when the local teams win, they lose according to those three bozos and I lump Murray in there with them as well, he's become super negative too.

I can't be bothered listening to them, but apparently many people in this area do not feel the same way.

If they want to tune in day after day and have these three shit all over their teams, good for them.
I would argue Murray has made everything on Felger and Mazz worse. Before they'd have Beetle pushing back on the constant negativity and it would keep things in check or at least give a dissenting voice, but Murray is so negative himself and has been since he joined the show that the show has become a death spiral of suck to see who can hate everything the most and who can make the other two laugh the most with their negativity.
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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Westwood MA
I would argue Murray has made everything on Felger and Mazz worse. Before they'd have Beetle pushing back on the constant negativity and it would keep things in check or at least give a dissenting voice, but Murray is so negative himself and has been since he joined the show that the show has become a death spiral of suck to see who can hate everything the most and who can make the other two laugh the most with their negativity.
Yes he has.

He must be a lot of fun at parties.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Absolutely unloading on Garrett Richards for his postgame quotes and leaving the dugout after his inherited runners scored.

“The nerds upstairs don’t actually watch the games. They get the report on the spin rate and that’s how they decide who to sign.”
-Felger
Speaking of "spin rate," one could say the same about sports "talk" radio.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Apr 21, 2011
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I would argue Murray has made everything on Felger and Mazz worse. Before they'd have Beetle pushing back on the constant negativity and it would keep things in check or at least give a dissenting voice, but Murray is so negative himself and has been since he joined the show that the show has become a death spiral of suck to see who can hate everything the most and who can make the other two laugh the most with their negativity.
Used to enjoy Murray as he had more of a 'common man' touch, but over the last couple of years he's taken on this schtick of "Once again Jim's right" that is super trollish. Really got obnoxious during Brady's superbowl run this year with the 'full baby diapers' crap but has also taken off on his Twitter feed with how whatever place he decides serves the best type X of this meal or type X of this drink is the only correct choice.
To boot, he's 45 and when promoting his other ventures calls himself "The Kid". Seriously, wtf.
 

Quiddity

New Member
Oct 14, 2008
237
You'd think the first day after one of the best WRs in franchise history retires they'd show at least some respect and let us celebrate his career. Nope. Mazz tearing to shreds his retirement video. Felger claiming the Pats will NEVER again be successful and that all of their success, 100% of it was due to Brady throwing to slot receivers. And its all due to Brady, the receivers had nothing to do with it either. Neither did Gronk, Randy Moss, or any running back they've ever had either. And since he just had to go there, he also used it as an opportunity to rip Belichick and the Krafts as cheap, that's the only reason they kept Edelman.

It's my own damn fault for listening to them at all.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
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Needham, MA
What's to trash about the video? It was great. Im generally pretty cynical when it comes to sports but as a Pats fan what is not to like about Julian Edelman’s story? I don’t listen, but man these guys suck.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Sep 21, 2007
46,767
Hartford, CT
I’d avoid them unless you’re looking for a seminal moment in your fan experience like Edelman’s retirement to get shit all over. It’s hard enough to avoid the HOF debate - which has operated to minimize Edelman - as it is, without seeing what these guys have to say. They are both genuinely jaded observers of the sports landscape and are financially incentivized to shit all over everything.

I mean, Edelman‘s video is FOUR minutes of him announcing his retirement, the reason, and thanking the team, coaches, teammates, and fans with a sight joke at the end. This wasn’t the year long Jeter retirement tour, which, while I didn’t personally mind it, I could understand it if someone was fatigued by it or thought it was too much. But I’ve heard Felger go on his ‘shut up and dribble’ rants before, so I can’t say I am surprised.
 

changer591

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Jul 19, 2005
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Hi Vandalman, my name is changer591, and I just hit my one year anniversary...one of the benefits of the pandemic. No listening to the radio while driving to work since I now work remotely.
 

BlackJack

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Oct 11, 2007
3,456
What's to trash about the video? It was great. Im generally pretty cynical when it comes to sports but as a Pats fan what is not to like about Julian Edelman’s story? I don’t listen, but man these guys suck.
I don't have the same level of hate as many here do. I'm not a fan of a lot of the shit they pull, I lasted all of about 10 seconds yesterday but it happened to be just after 2 when they were gearing up to trash the video.

Apparently it was corny and self serving and he should have let other people celebrate his career. It was pathetic and resulted in me switching very quickly.

I enjoy listening to sports talk and so I generally give each station a chance when I'm in the car before switching to music. Not a fan of faux controversy or trashing the local teams without cause so I often don't last long.