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Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Leave Shank Alone!

At least that's the battle cry from local political reporter Jon Keller, who for some unexplained reason comes to Shank's defense after the latter's Sunday rip job / bulletin board material for the Houston Texans.
BOSTON (CBS) – I knew when I read Dan Shaughnessy’s column in the Globe the other day that it was going to have ugly repercussions, and I was right.

...

Shaughnessy is taking heat from some fans right now for supposedly “jinxing” the Pats with what he wrote, but I have to side with him on this one.

For most, if not all sports fans, trash-talking an opponent – as long as it doesn’t cross basic boundaries of taste – is an integral part of the fun.

And for many Boston sports fans, trash-talking comes naturally as an extension of the art of the “rank,” the pointed but essentially-friendly insult shared between friends. I know some folks get upset when Red Sox fans chant “Yankees Bleep,” but they don’t understand that it’s really a sign of respect for their most-feared opponent.

So, leave Dan Shaughnessy alone. He’s just doing what comes naturally.
Which is pissing people off; this isn't exactly a news flash around here.

The question I would pose to Mr. Keller - is it, or should it be, the columnist's perogative to engage in 'trash talk'? And I don't mean criticising a team's abilities (for instance, their QB is untested in playoff games, etc.); the snide use of 'tomato cans', 'fraudulent', etc. is what I'm getting at.

It used to be in the old days that a columnist could write something like this and not be held accountable; the advent of the internet and blogs allow for a generous amount of pushback for us to point out when a columnist is writing like an asshole, as Shank did with decent amounts of Sunday's column. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Keller's plea to leave Shank alone. Shank asked for it; let him enjoy the consequences.

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