Felger and Mazz - Creating False Naratives one day at a time
- Thread starter HomeBrew1901
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Spent the entire first hour ignoring yesterday’s game. No way that happens if Buffalo had won.
Only if you start from the premise - and no one can or has claimed to know anything about his contract until now - that his contract must have run through 2023 or some future year (eg, 2024) that made him expendable or at least wasn’t a factor worth discussing, and the Rapoport report - which also doesn’t specify the expiration date of his current contract - now makes Bill not expendable, or at least potentially not expendable. Did anyone even raise the cost of eating Bill’s contract as a relevant factor in weather Bill will be here past 2023 before yesterday? Kliff Kingsbury got shitcanned the same year he signed a lucrative extension. Why does this matter so much now when it didn’t on Saturday?
The real answer is that they think they can milk the BB contract red herring for months, so they’ll force feed the viewership early and often to see how it affects ratings/engagement. It’s a long play.
I disagree. If the team loses out or otherwise goes to the shitter, Kraft will eat the contract or buy it out if he really wants to fire him. The contract will not be a barrier to ditching BB if he wants to do that.
Don't agree with this take at all. Was also listening at 2pm and was surprised they led with the contract and not the game. Yesterday was an old fashioned quality win including a game winning drive down the field with just a couple minutes left. That's the immediate story. It doesn't matter that they're still not playoff bound but it does matter that they appeared to find themselves, at least for one game.
They have plenty of time to milk the BB contract situation during the rest of the week and with nothing known about it (length/ $s) what is their really to talk about.
But of course negativity sells. Turned it off at 2:20.
They haven’t cared about the games for years, they’re not going to start now.
They have not cared about the actual games since they got on the air. There were several peak-Brady seasons where they would talk about anything except what happened in between the white lines. A few distractions off the top of my head:
- Deflategate (self explanatory)
- Brady/Jimmy G succession plan
- Every other team sucks, they'll go 14-2, win the Tomato Can game, talk to me when they're in the AFC Championship Game
- Pats are soft, finesse, can't win a "rock fight"
- TB12 and Alex Guerrero stuff
- The AFC East sucks and the Pats don't face any real competition
- General dismissal of most regular season games
The list goes on. I think they understand that most people who tune in can only take so much X's and O's talk per day. During the Brady Era, it actually did make sense to be contrarian. Most Patriots coverage was very positive because the team was really flippin' good. There was a negativity vacuum, and they filled it.
Things will be interesting going forward. I am not sure how you stop people from becoming apathetic to a bad on-field product.
- Deflategate (self explanatory)
- Brady/Jimmy G succession plan
- Every other team sucks, they'll go 14-2, win the Tomato Can game, talk to me when they're in the AFC Championship Game
- Pats are soft, finesse, can't win a "rock fight"
- TB12 and Alex Guerrero stuff
- The AFC East sucks and the Pats don't face any real competition
- General dismissal of most regular season games
The list goes on. I think they understand that most people who tune in can only take so much X's and O's talk per day. During the Brady Era, it actually did make sense to be contrarian. Most Patriots coverage was very positive because the team was really flippin' good. There was a negativity vacuum, and they filled it.
Things will be interesting going forward. I am not sure how you stop people from becoming apathetic to a bad on-field product.
Mazz was talking in the 5:00 hour about how he used to get into fights with Dale Arnold. One fight is when Tomase “broke” the Patriots taping the Super Bowl walkthrough which turned out to be bullshit. Dale said Tomase, who was at the Herald, should be fired immediately.
A couple years later Arnold supposedly had a list of players who had tested positive for steroids and announced that Varitek was one fo the guys popped. Turns out taht wasn’t the. Sticking up for his Herald colleague, Mazz said that Arnold should be fired.
As he told this story one of the engineers said, “And Dale ran to Sons of Sam Horn to tell everyone he was right …”
A couple of things:
1. I’ve been on this board since 01 (what a life I lead!) and I don’t remember Dale being on the board.
2. If he was on, what was his name?
3. Does anyone remember this?
A couple years later Arnold supposedly had a list of players who had tested positive for steroids and announced that Varitek was one fo the guys popped. Turns out taht wasn’t the. Sticking up for his Herald colleague, Mazz said that Arnold should be fired.
As he told this story one of the engineers said, “And Dale ran to Sons of Sam Horn to tell everyone he was right …”
A couple of things:
1. I’ve been on this board since 01 (what a life I lead!) and I don’t remember Dale being on the board.
2. If he was on, what was his name?
3. Does anyone remember this?
Was cooking dinner and turned on the radio and heard this segment. Juicy sports media gossip, but not giving jimmy stewart any credibility with regards to his SoSH reference.
While I'm confident that many sports media people have smurf accounts here so they can read what people are saying about them, the only people I can remember actually posting here are Chad and Freddie T. edit: wouldn't be surprised at all if Sheppard posted here as I've seen him on other team's forums. And Ordway with that whole "battle" with sosh decades ago where his phone number got released here.
Stewart has long said Dale was an absolute dick to work with at 'eei, which doesn't surprise me at all.
(btw, Jimmy's handle here is 69_Cat_Lover_4_U )
Stewart has long said Dale was an absolute dick to work with at 'eei, which doesn't surprise me at all.
(btw, Jimmy's handle here is 69_Cat_Lover_4_U )
I have to say that Felger is a master at finding the shitty side of every sports story. Yesterday he and Mazz were talking about the Bruins, they're 6-0 and they look really good. Felger brought up how they've allowed seven goals in six games and the next closest team has let 18 in (or something like that). He then proceeded to go on a rant about how the Bruins might be good now, but they'll suck in the playoffs and that the goalie rotation is dumb and it'll never work in the postseason. Not only that but going 6-0 isn't anything to be excited about because of last season's choke job.
I get that it's his schtick and it's his job and everything, but I couldn't imagine being so myopic and so miserable that even a 6-0 start with only giving up seven goals is somehow not good enough. I hope the dude can turn it off when he's at home because good lord, that can't be good for your sanity.
I get that it's his schtick and it's his job and everything, but I couldn't imagine being so myopic and so miserable that even a 6-0 start with only giving up seven goals is somehow not good enough. I hope the dude can turn it off when he's at home because good lord, that can't be good for your sanity.
I find it borderline amazing that there are as many people who take sports talk radio seriously as they do – paging @Chad Finn (who I love btw). It’s so much work just to find things positive to say about it – “If you overlook the negativity, toxicity, falsehoods, misogyny and periodic racism …”
It’s just a miserable way to experience something that is supposed to be entertaining.
It’s just a miserable way to experience something that is supposed to be entertaining.
Last night on BST, Holley was giddy about the Celtics win, more so about the performance of Porzingis.
Felger immediately comes back with "I have no faith that he'll stay healthy all season long, guaranteed he gets hurt at some point."
He must be a lot of fun at parties.
I give a ton or respect to Chad. If I had to listen to sports radio all day, I’d be a miserable prick. Finn seems like a good dude who hasn’t lost his love of sports.
I mean, I understand that all of this posturing is a work designed to get callers and people to listen to or watch their program but having to tell yourself that over and over and over must be difficult.
That being said Michael Holley is picking up the “sports is actually kinda fun, you guys” optimism banner that Bob Ryan used to fly. He’s the perfect remedy to Felger.
Other cities sports radio is not always this miserable. They are down on the team but also are up with the team when the team is up.
I don't think we have an all-purpose 98.5 thread so I'll whine here. I listen to some shows through the app and if I hear the 'ch ching ch ching ch ching' ad again for Shopify, I'm going to go full Milton and burn their business to the ground. It truly boggles my mind that a station would purposefully play obnoxious noises on the radio and this commercial fills me with overwhelming rage. I hit stop/restart about about a thousand times this morning and I can't imagine I'm alone. Or maybe I am. Oh well.
They say they never have guests on, but I heard a little of their interview with Ty Anderson. I realize that it was fabricated theater, but man, F&M shitting all over Ty’s takes got to be a little much. I really hope they know more about hockey than what they let on during that interview.
I think their issue went back to last year. Felger is an "old school" reporter at heart who waves his fists to the clouds and doesn't like the new "reporters" like Ty who may have a more informal relationship with some guys and uses them as sources.
If true, that is funny in a town where Will McDonough before him trafficked in a metric fuckton of intel due to personal relationships.
Since when is it ok to throw around the words ‘bitch‘ and ‘p****’ on this show? Felger and Murray have both been using them the last few shows I’ve watched to describe the Patriots and Mahomes.
I listened a bit last week after the Steelers game when they had Bedard on. I like Bedards' insights, but man, he does have thin skin when they push back on his analysis.
Anyway - good point was brought up re: Zappe. Does not sound like there was an actual QB competition this past summer. Zappe must be REAL bad in practice, because in games he has shown to have more poise and presence in the pocket. Should they have gone to Zappe sooner? Did they put him in the best position to suceed?
Again, I don't know. When Felger isn't being a troll on purpose, he can raise some good points about how the team is run. There was a brief moment there where he was giving legit commentary on the QB situation and not simply trolling. Wish we got more of that.
Anyway - good point was brought up re: Zappe. Does not sound like there was an actual QB competition this past summer. Zappe must be REAL bad in practice, because in games he has shown to have more poise and presence in the pocket. Should they have gone to Zappe sooner? Did they put him in the best position to suceed?
Again, I don't know. When Felger isn't being a troll on purpose, he can raise some good points about how the team is run. There was a brief moment there where he was giving legit commentary on the QB situation and not simply trolling. Wish we got more of that.
Wasn't there a story regarding Jerry Jones a few years ago where he said "pussy" and it was widely reported. That's when everyone is radio realized it wasn't a censored word
Jim Murray's 1-year options was picked up.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/10/jim-murray-says-98-5s-beasley-is-picking-up-his-option-mike-felger-comments-on-audacy-bankruptcy/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=fb-bostonherald&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR269_LtcjvbY6bErluYmhIANxndkmm51OZdgiVZlDA6hti38GxxspTqzwI
https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/10/jim-murray-says-98-5s-beasley-is-picking-up-his-option-mike-felger-comments-on-audacy-bankruptcy/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=fb-bostonherald&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR269_LtcjvbY6bErluYmhIANxndkmm51OZdgiVZlDA6hti38GxxspTqzwI
I dont hate Murray as much as most folks on this board, but he does get a bit "cringy" from time to time.
Honestly I feel that the show has been pretty good recently. Team conflict is good for sports radio. There has been a lot to chew on with this Patriots situation.
To be clear - I would rather have all the teams be good.
Honestly I feel that the show has been pretty good recently. Team conflict is good for sports radio. There has been a lot to chew on with this Patriots situation.
To be clear - I would rather have all the teams be good.
I’ve been very disappointed (moreso than usual) with them this week. I get it that their schtick is negativity, but it’s been appalling that their treatment of the end of an era that will never be seen again in American professional sports is to focus on the bullshit gossipy stuff and to do an absolute carve job on Robert Kraft. Execrable.
20 years of excellence, with four (more) duds at the end.
Twenty. Years.
20 years of excellence, with four (more) duds at the end.
Twenty. Years.
They had a segment on Tuesday where they Zaprudered a half phrase from Belichick’s Monday PC. Felger and Bedard used it to push some idea that it was a 4D chess maneuvering to absolve himself of blame for anything. Only Mazz pushed back at all, saying it was different words than what the other two wanted to hear.
Believe he had run his course or not. Reasonable people can do just that and not necessarily be wrong. But that show didn’t want debate, they wanted pitchforks and torches.
Bashing Belichick to death and having no appreciation whatsoever of what he, Brady and the team as a whole has provided them, both personally and professionally fits exactly what the show has done its entire time on the air. Don't forget that their attitude year after year as the team was winning Super Bowls was that until the AFC Championship game, every single game they won was because the opponent sucked and was a tomato can (often retroactively saying this after hyping up the opponent the week prior). Their behavior this past week didn't surprise me in the least. Expect demands for Mayo to be fired before the season even begins.
It blows my mind that 98.5 actually thinks Murray is valuable enough to sign to a contract in the first place. As much as Felger pisses me off at times I will not deny that he provides a lot of value to the station. Murray is a below replacement level sports flash guy.
We don’t know the terms of the contract. They probably got him to sign for short money.
I'm sure they're not paying him much. But even then a contract isn't really needed for someone who provides so little value and is so easily replaceable. If another radio station tries to scoop Murray up, they easily replace him with someone just as cheap.
I'm not much of a fan of Murray or his "Jim was right again" takes but his salary is 100k minimum. And with regards to value he does F&M M-F, then a Saturday show, then Pats pre-game.
the pats were the golden goose for everyone at the station. I can only imagine all the sponsors they are losing now that they suck. It’s also really exposing all the lack of talent / effort people were putting in.
Not everyday you get a guest and Felger calling each other an idiot to their face.
View: https://youtu.be/7LRb1GtA_O0?si=ljbVtMaPUFufFi9Y
View: https://youtu.be/7LRb1GtA_O0?si=ljbVtMaPUFufFi9Y
They've been dissecting that interview on multiple shows today. Kinda scary that I thought Felger was the more reasonable combatant.
the part towards end when Lombardi tells Felger that Belichick never thought about him made me dream of a world where Bill tells him that to his face, DD style. That was some pretty bad radio though, mostly just two stubborn guys talking over each other.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqF_A6bsyEw
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqF_A6bsyEw
Lombardi is defending a personal friend/former colleague, whereas Felger literally has no connection/dog in the fight except generating controversy and getting off on the interaction.
I don’t really care to listen to almost fifteen (!) minutes of them bickering, but Lombardi getting his hackles up defending BB to Felger of all people is the least surprising thing ever.
Mazz sheepishly saying "I'm just a baseball guy" at the end was great. Like he hasn't been banging that drum along with Felger for years.
I did not listen live, but it popped up on Youtube this morning so I gave it a listen. Not very compelling radio in my opinion, would have fit in great with the early '00's Big Show with all the yelling and talking over each other. If Felger had not been so flustered he may have been able to really put Lombardi in his place.
I did not listen live, but it popped up on Youtube this morning so I gave it a listen. Not very compelling radio in my opinion, would have fit in great with the early '00's Big Show with all the yelling and talking over each other. If Felger had not been so flustered he may have been able to really put Lombardi in his place.
Felger was friends with BB on Nantucket until BB got mad at him over an article about a players contract. Lombardi couldn't have looked worse and repeatedly told Felger that BB would never speak to someone like him and they're beneath King BB. Anyone saying BB or the Patriots didn't know what the media saying is a complete idiot, hence Lombardi.
I can't stand F&M, but Felger was absolutely the winner here, Lombardi was terrible.