DHL Dan CCLXXXVII - The Never Ending Feud

In this week's Picked Up Pieces column, Shank manages to get some more mileage out of Bill Belichick's recent Hall of Fame snub:

Bill Belichick’s reputation was actually helped by Hall snub, but his feud with Krafts will never end, and other thoughts

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Picked-up pieces on the trail from San Francisco to the Gulf Coast of Florida . . .

⋅ Bill Belichick had a strong two weeks after it was learned that he’d been dissed by voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When news of the ridiculous snub broke, Bill got a ton of support, even from longtime rivals and haters. Without making any comment, Belichick’s reputation was renewed and enhanced. It was the Hall that was embarrassed, not the coach. And folks in Canton, Ohio, will probably fix the voting process to make sure Belichick is enshrined in the summer of 2027.

The Patriots’ awful performance in Super Bowl LX was also good for the Hoodie. It was a reminder of how hard it is to win a championship. Lack of halftime adjustments made by Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels featured a sharp contrast to Belichick’s work with the Patriots in nine Super Bowls. The Pats lost three of those nine games, but were never blown out and could have gone 9-0. Bill somehow pulled out a game after trailing, 28-3. The 2025-26 Patriots, on the other hand, were almost historically bad in the Super Bowl — the first team in 51 years to go scoreless for the first three quarters — no threat to overcome a puny, 9-0 halftime deficit.

All in all, despite the Hall snub, Belichick quietly restored his image and reminded all that he’s one of the greatest coaches of all time.

I think people are inclined to forget the most recent things when evaluating a person's professional career. I don't think Belichick got any sort of boost from this, and this Hall of Fame rejection was little more than other folks in football delivering a righteous 'fuck you' to Belichick, who was a dick to pretty much everybody, and that might be soft pedaling things.

Low Hanging Fruit

The more wins John Calipari racks up with the Kentucky Wildcats, the more chances Shank gets to take a dump on the guy, this being the second one of the year:

Here we are. Kentucky, the No. 1-ranked team in the country — coached by John Calipari — is on the cusp of NCAA history, 31-0 after Saturday’s win over Florida. Meanwhile, the folks at UMass have decided to retire Coach Cal’s “number,” and this weekend marks the 20th anniversary of him refusing to allow a Globe reporter to visit his home for Selection Sunday (nope, no animosity here! - ed).

Sometimes there is not enough space in our newspaper to articulate all the thoughts, and state all the points, that need to be made.

Let’s start with this: John Calipari is a magnetic figure, undoubtedly the greatest college basketball recruiter of the 21st century. He works the NCAA’s cesspool system better than any man alive. He is charismatic. He came to Amherst more than a quarter of a century ago as a Rick Pitino wannabe, but now he has vaulted over Pitino, and created the Brand of Cal. He is probably going to win a second national championship with Kentucky this year and is no doubt a swell dancer and would make for a fine dinner companion.

But as a Massachusetts taxpayer, I have a problem with UMass “retiring” Coach Cal’s number.

The only time Shank pretends to give a rat's ass about sports at UMass is when he can use it to take shots at John Calipari. That said, there's little to debate with respect to Calipari's tenure at both UMass and Memphis, where he and / or the team were hit with NCAA sanctions both times. He's not exactly Coach K in the ethics department.

What's interesting here is the italicized part above. When the New England Patriots played in their second Super Bowl in 1997, the Patriots threw a party and Shank was not invited. We believe this to be the point where Shank became a lifelong bête noire of the Patriots. If he disliked the Patriots at that point (or, more specifically, owner Robert Kraft), this snub was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

In much the same manner, if Shank disliked Calipari in 1995, this snub of a fellow Boston Globe reporter pretty much sealed the deal from that point until now.

Singing A Different Tune Now?

Shank's feigning outrage over Bill Belichick not making it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

What’s the point of the Pro Football Hall of Fame if Bill Belichick doesn’t get in on the first ballot?

Ridiculous.

Also petty, embarrassing, unprecedented, stupid, and preposterous.

In his first year of eligibility, Bill Belichick failed to get enough votes for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It’s a farce.

The election process is somewhat complicated. Belichick was rejected by a Hall panel of 50 voters comprised of veteran media members, plus a handful of Hall of Famers, including Bill Polian, Tony Dungy, Dan Fouts, and James Lofton. Belichick needed at least 40 votes to gain admission, but according to an ESPN report, the Hoodie came up short and was informed of the snub by the Hall last Friday.

According to ESPN, in response to the rejection, Belichick asked associates, “Six Super Bowls wasn’t

Among all NFL head coaches, dead or alive, Belichick ranks first in Super Bowl wins (six), conference championships (nine), and playoff wins (31). His 333 total wins places him second only to the late Don Shula, who won 347 for the Colts and Dolphins. As a head coach and assistant, Belichick coached 49 NFL seasons, winning eight Super Bowl rings — six with the Patriots and two as an assistant under Bill Parcells with the Giants.

Count me out as someone believing this new change of heart by Shank towards Belichick. Do any of you remenber this one (links go to the DSW column we wrote at the time; old Boston Globe links are 404'd now) from September 2015?

Let's review a few other positive Shaughnessy columns about Bill Belichick, shall we? We all remember last year's Kansas City Massacre, right?

By the end of the night, the darts and arrows were coming from every direction. Bill Belichick was grilled about his musical-chair offensive line and the notion of starting two rookies in front of Brady in a loud enemy theater. The coach was asked if he might have to “evaluate” his quarterback position; the question from CSNNE’s Mike Giardi elicited a smirk with no comment.

There were hysterical calls for out-of-work Charlie Weis to replace Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. Darrelle Revis was compared to Carl Crawford (OK, that one was me). It was noted that no Belichick defense had ever surrendered 300 yards in a first half. There was a television graphic explaining that the Patriots offense ranks last in the NFL, averaging 4.6 yards per play. We were told that Brady has missed his target more than 25 percent of the time.

“I’ve never seen a team so unprepared,’’ former Patriot Rodney Harrison said on WEEI.

And who can forget the infamous '4th and 2' column?

This was as bad as anything the Red Sox ever did. Had it been a playoff game, it would be right up there with Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, Aaron Boone, and History Derailed in Glendale, Ariz.

And Bill Belichick played the part of Grady Little.

...

Even the legions of zombies who say “In Bill We Trust’’ and the formidable pay-for-play Patriot media machine will have a hard time defending the brilliant coach on this one.

As we noted at the time, this is the column Shank has been waiting nearly a decade to write. He hates the Patriots (and Bill Belichick) so much, he wrote another column about that loss the next day.

The Patriots spin machine was in overdrive yesterday (speaking of spin, nice try by the Red Sox - raising ticket prices on the day after Belichick channeled Grady Little).

There are New England football fans who’d support Belichick if he pledged to eradicate indoor plumbing. And the Kraft family’s media partners do a nifty job spreading the gospel of Bob, Bill, and Tom. But the blind loyalty was put to the test on the day after the disaster at Lucas Oil Can Boyd Stadium.

And now Shank is singing Belichick's praises, probably from the wrong end of a gun. Who's buying this? We sure as hell aren't, and this insincerity will be amply demonstrated if the Patriots lose big this season.

You can read about Shank's columns with respect to Spygate here, but as these columns make clear, Shank was no friend of Bill Belichick when he was coaching the New England Patriots.

This Will Be Good For A Few Shank Columns

Due out in a few months - The Two Bills, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on NFL coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick:

When Parcells stepped down as Jets coach after the 1999 season, he planned to have Belichick succeed him, but the day after Parcells announced his departure as coach, Belichick surprised the team by promptly announcing his resignation to a shocked media. He went to the Patriots and the rest is history.

“The Two Bills” trailer aired during the “Nature Boy” film and will premiere sometime this winter. With the cooperation of NFL Films, “The Two Bills” includes interviews with Giants legend Harry Carson and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who said Belichick should have followed Parcells as Giants head coach.

The documentary brings Parcells and Belichick together in one room for a rare interview. We’ll see how cordial the two Bills are after all of the history between them.

I'm guessing 'next to none'!

There's one question I think we agree ought to be asked - which Bill ordered the disinvite to Shank on that Patriots / Green Bay Packers Super Bowl Party?

What's interesting here is the italicized part above. When the New England Patriots played in their second Super Bowl in 1997, the Patriots threw a party and Shank was not invited. We believe this to be the point where Shank became a lifelong bête noire of the Patriots. If he disliked the Patriots at that point (or, more specifically, owner Robert Kraft), this snub was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

DHL Dan LV / Let The Whining Commence

The Boston Globe ran a fair but unflattering column on Tom Brady's charity, Best Buddies, in late April of this year. Yesterday this charity held an event and kicked a Boston Globe photographer out of it. Personally speaking, I'd have kicked the son of a bitch down a set of stairs, but that's just me.

Naturally, Shank has a problem with this as he squeezes this latest New England Patriot atrocity into his most recent Picked Up Pieces column:

Picked-up pieces while waiting for the Cleveland Cavaliers to neutralize Kevin Durant and get themselves back into the Finals . . .

■ A thoroughly researched report on the relationship between a local star athlete and his favorite nonprofit charity does not constitute a “hit job.’’ Tom Brady is doing nothing illegal in his high-profile role for Best Buddies International. Brady’s considerable work for Best Buddies generates millions of dollars that the charity would not acquire if not for the currency of Tom’s fame. In exchange for his efforts, Brady — like many celebrities who work with charities — asks that a portion of the proceeds (in this case, $3 million since 2011) be paid toward Brady’s own charitable trust. Some folks are bothered by this. Most Brady fans are not. But let’s not shoot the messenger. It’s called disclosure. That’s what public charities are about. Folks who donate have a right to know where their money is going. Best Buddies does itself no favors by escorting a Globe photographer to his car when he shows up to cover Friday’s Brady Best Buddies event at Harvard Stadium. No credential? Please. A credential has never been requested because Best Buddies annually inundates every media outlet seeking for coverage of the event.

Go read the original Boston Globe column. That distinction I bolded above is not mentioned anywhere in Bob Hohler's article from seven weeks ago. This is why many people correctly perceive this article as a 'hit piece' now that another Boston Globe employee is attempting to blunt its impact by mentioning a very salient fact, and now they're trying to backpedal in a most passive - aggressive manner. I'd also like to point out that, in typical leftist Boston Globe fashion, Bob Hohler constantly mentions Tom Brady's personal wealth as well as citing others doing the same as a cudgel against him, the clear implication being 'why isn't he giving his money away?' I thought David Nyhan retired years ago?

Now for the massively hypocritical part:

There is no indication Brady was aware of this Nixonian maneuver. Nevertheless, it was hostile and petty and put a bad light on a good guy and a great charity.

Translation - Tom Brady very likely had nothing to do with it, but I'm going to devote part of my column to slam him and his charity anyway. Remember this the next time Shank professes not to hold grudges. It's human nature, but don't try to con the rest of us by saying it doesn't affect or influence your writing.

And we all remember another famous time a Boston Globe employee was not invited to an event - it shaded that employee's reporting / columns for over two decades:

What's interesting here is the italicized part above. When the New England Patriots played in their second Super Bowl in 1997, the Patriots threw a party and Shank was not invited. We believe this to be the point where Shank became a lifelong bête noire of the Patriots. If he disliked the Patriots at that point (or, more specifically, owner Robert Kraft), this snub was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

Also, as a commenter pointed out a few weeks ago, David Ortiz came out with a book on his career as a member of the Boston Red Sox and said an unflattering thing or two about the CHB. This afternoon, Shank fires back:

■ Ego-maniacal David Ortiz makes himself the hero of all of his stories in his entertaining autobiography “Papi,” written with Michael Holley. He tells us that Grady Little told him that the Sox’ everyday lineup “comes from upstairs.’’ Though he made more than $159 million in salary during his baseball career, Ortiz remembers only the contract slights, calling Theo Epstein “a real [very bad word] when it came to negotiating my contracts,’’ adding . . . “Sometimes I just wanted to shout, ‘Yo! Wake the [expletive] up. I’m the best-paid weapon you have. And I should be’ . . . I was the most underpaid player the organization ever had.’’

Ortiz on the Boston media (read - his Assholiness, Dan Shaughnessy - ed.): “Not every player wants a [expletive] in his face every single day, asking why he’s struggling. I can put up with the pressure and the doubt because that’s been my whole life, but some players don’t want the hassle of Boston when the game itself is hard enough.’’

Papi has never forgiven Terry Francona for pinch hitting for him in Toronto in April 2010. He claims Tito made a last-second decision and disrespected him. Here’s what Francona said in his book (co-authored by yours truly): “Everybody on the bench knew what was going on. There wasn’t a lot of sympathy for David because he didn’t look. We had that policy the whole time I was there. If we’re going to pinch hit for somebody, we’d ask ’em to just give us a look before going up to hit . . . everybody saw us tell David that night in Toronto, and everybody knew Mikey [Lowell] was ready to hit.’’ I was honored to be mentioned on page 193 when Ortiz wrote, “Shaughnessy was crushing me and that [very bad word] still walks around like he owns the team.’’

It's really amusing to note Shank's jihad against the New England Patriots for two decades because of a perceived / actual slight, only to have Shank criticize Ortiz for the same thing and try to squelch his response because he made $159 million, as though that's supposed to be the price of silence on the recipient's part.

Also fun to note - Shank criticizing Ortiz for having Michael Holley help him write a book... so why didn't Terry Francona write his book by himself?

This website exists because of the Richter scale hypocrisy and world-class bullshit of people like Shank.

Weekend Roundup

Shank has rare back to back columns, the first on the android disguised as Tiger Woods press conference, the second on Red Sox spring training.

The Tiger column was a decent read. The Red Sox column was a bit more entertaining:

It was all about the baseball, and it made me miss the bad old days of players arriving late, out of shape, and disgruntled. It made me long for the days when the Rocket would go AWOL and Pedro would snub the franchise to stay in the Dominican for dad’s birthday.

That's Theo's way of saying "No more easy columns for you, Dan."

I've also noticed trace amounts of self-deprecation in recent articles:

Some of us (the same nitwits who worry about offense) question the reliability of modern defensive statistics.

...

But can you jazz things up down here, just a little?

“We’ll try,’’ he said. “I could light my hair on fire . . . or yours.’’

Come on baby, light my fire!

Major Embarrassment

Celtics legend Bob Cousy is not too happy with US Basketball coach Steve Kerr:

Bob Cousy speaks out about Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum: ‘This is an embarrassment’

Celtics legend Bob Cousy turned 96 Friday and had a lot to say about US Olympic men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum in Thursday’s critical 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia in Paris.

“This isn’t just a snub,” Cousy said from his Worcester home Friday morning. “This is an embarrassment for that poor kid all over the [expletive] world. The Olympics have gotten that big. Everyone’s going to think that there’s something wrong this this kid.”

Thursday’s benching vs. Serbia — a game in which the US trailed by as many as 17 points — marked the second time Kerr has chosen not to play Tatum for a single minute in the Olympics. The US plays France Saturday in the gold-medal game.

“Somebody from Boston should stand up for this kid,” Cousy said. “In my judgment, this is going out of your way to embarrass one of your players.

Make that two players, as Tyrese Haliburton got fucked over as well.

Do Three Data Points Make A Trend?

Probably not, but that doesn't stop Shank from making the attempt:

The Patriot Way: Quit on your old team. Get released. Join Patriots. Blount. Bennett. Now Harrison.

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) December 27, 2017

When I was growing up in Manchester, I remember running through the back yard, stepped on a rake at full running tilt and smacked myself right in the face, hard enough for me to fall down hard, just like Wile E. Coyote used to do. This tweet is the online equivalent of the rake faceplant:

Did Harrison really quit on his team? They didn’t play him and then released him. He wasn’t supposed to sign with another team? Guy didn’t have a job.

— Katie Morrison (@KatieMo61) December 27, 2017

Facts are stubborn things, Katie! You know Shank isn't going to pay much attention to that sort of thing when he's pushing his scorched-earth agenda.

The Patriot Way: Run an orginazionenvied by the best players. Attract disgruntled players with the opportunity to win and be respected. Have even their small role be highly valued. Good coaching brings out the best in them. Everyone wins.

— ZacYork (@zacpme) December 27, 2017

He's still not over that snub by the Patriots from twenty years ago, Zac.

Except that the Steelers signed Harrison last March, refused to play him, then they cut him.

What do you think he was supposed to do then? Quit looking for a job?

— TheSplitScreen(@TheSplitScreen) December 27, 2017

This one will leave a mark:

Sort of like some of the sports reporters that quit the Globe and went elswhere..

— NE FAN (@stomlin64) December 27, 2017

...and the winner:

pic.twitter.com/f5PZ29ZLxO

— NYC Pizza Rat🍕🐀 (@realNYCPizzaRat) December 27, 2017

The One Where Shank Lectures Pats Fans, Again

Now we have our answer as to why Shank wasn't tweeting all the usual crap during the first half of tonight's Chiefs / Patriots game:

FOXBOROUGH — OK, Patriots fans. You can let it go now. You had your fun. You won the Super Bowl with the greatest comeback in NFL championship history. You got to shout down the commissioner with a spontaneous outburst of booing when he tried to speak on the postgame stage in Houston. You got to insult Roger Goodell again Thursday night at Gillette with shirts and towels bearing the commissioner’s clown-altered image. You got to see the unveiling of championship No. 5 and then you got to see the Patriots kick off their inexorable quest for No. 6 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s probably time to release the ghosts of Deflategate and get on with your lives.

This, from a guy who still bears a grudge that he held for years and still continues to this day with the Pats' second Super Bowl appearance, against Green Bay.

Shaughnessy’s digs are predictable…and despicable. That breakfast snub 15 years ago or so really burns him up so much to this day?

More Shank:

Except for one parking lot photo with some Patriots fans (who should have their Fan Cards revoked), Goodell in August pretty much got in and out of town without anyone noticing.

Didn't he just tell Patriots fans to give it up?

You get the gist of it - more Nurse Ratched at the link.

DHL Dan LXIII - Hot Stove Whining

It was announced about nine hours ago that the New York Yankees have acquired top free agent Giancarlo Stanton. About two hours ago Shank's already complaining about the Red Sox not responding to it:

■ Giancarlo Stanton is about to become a Yankee. This is big, people. The Yankees now have two guys who combined for 111 homers last season. It’s back to Mantle-Maris, circa 1961. The addition of Stanton gives the Bronx Bombers a lineup that includes Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, Greg Bird, and Aaron Hicks. The Sox will need more than electronic devices to beat that team. Stanton’s popups to right will be homers in Yankee Stadium. With Derek Jeter helping his old team, the deal is already being compared to Kevin McHale sending Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. Meanwhile, could the Boston baseball winter be any more boring? With the Patriots headed to Minneapolis for the Super Bowl and the Celtics off to a near-historic start, the local baseball team does nothing day after day. And it’s trouble that both Shohei Ohtani and Stanton put Boston on the no-fly list. Guess not everybody wants to play here anymore.

First thing - I continue to be amazed at Shank's ability (and his complete unreasonableness) to whine and bitch about stuff like this. Second thing - I checked a few news stories about this trade (see here and here and here), and I'm unable to verify Shank's hyperbolic statement that "Stanton put Boston on the no-fly list". That's just Shank throwing gas on the fire that he started. Some rational thought on Boston's response can be found here.

From there, it's more baseball stuff and yet another unprofessional criticism of Robert Kraft. Why does he continue to call him Amos Alonzo? Probably because he's still pissed at that Super Bowl breakfast snub from 1996, that's why.

Things that Shank has already written about two dozen times:

■ The AFC has only two good teams and it’s hard to believe the Patriots will be tested any time in January. Most likely to challenge New England is probably the not-so-talented Ravens, because they have two things no one else has: a coach (John Harbaugh) and quarterback (Joe Flacco) who don’t lose their minds at the sight of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

He didn't notice when McGwire and Sosa were hitting all those home runs but he notices it now:

■ Adderall is on the list of banned substances in major league baseball, but according to Sports Illustrated’s L. Jon Wertheim, a 2013 report stated that 119 major league players had obtained “therapeutic use exemptions,” allowing for a prescription and absolvement from any tests detecting the banned substance. That’s almost 10 percent of the MLB workforce with a permission slip allowing a banned substance. Hmm.

Bonus - Larry Bird sighting!

DHL Dan CCXLVIII - Joined At The Hip

That would be Shank and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, and their apprarent shared disdain for Patriots owner Robert Kraft:

Bill Belichick shows no love for Patriots owner Robert Kraft in new book, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if anybody else is worried about Jaylen Brown’s knee . . .

⋅ Bill Belichick’s new book, “The Art of Winning,” arrived in the mail this past week and I could not wait to pore through it.

Imagine. Two hundred and eighty-nine pages of Bill telling us about the secret sauce of 24 seasons at the helm in Foxborough. I couldn’t wait to read what he really thinks of Bob Kraft and how he’d explain Malcolm Butler not playing in the February 2018 Super Bowl against the Eagles in Minneapolis.

Sorry, it’s not in there.

As an author of many books, I’d estimate this one’s about 80,000 words.

Two words not in the book: Robert Kraft.

OK, this is somewhat predictable, I guess. The obvious snub is yet another demonstration that things often end badly here on the Boston sports scene.

That's right, and sometimes Shank helps out to make that happen.

DHL Dan CL - Conflating Dates

I'm not sure what muddled message is being delivered here:

Oct. 3 could be notable not just for Tom Brady’s return, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering why needy “Mr. Kraft” needs to commute to Patriots practice via helicopter …

Maybe because he can? Sounds like someone's still butthurt about a certain snub from decades ago.

▪ Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, was one of the great days in New England sports history. As fans filled Fenway Park for a critical evening playoff game with Dave Dombrowski’s Tigers, folks watching TVs at the ballpark saw the Patriots rally from a 27-23 deficit in the final minute against Drew Brees and the undefeated Saints at Gillette Stadium. With no timeouts left, Tom Brady marched the Patriots 70 yards, winning the game with five seconds remaining on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins.

A few hours later at the Fens, with the Sox trailing, 5-1, in the eighth, David Ortiz crushed a tying grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen as Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter went ass-over-teakettle in a futile quest for the catch. The Sox went on to square the AL Championship Series with a 6-5 win and ultimately won the World Series.

Fast-forward eight years and circle Sunday, Oct. 3, on your calendars.

I'm pretty sure one of these dates is not like the other. I see crap like that and it makes me not want to read further; your mileage may vary.

This Was Not A Difficult Call

Dan Shaughnessy Watch, April 12, 2021:

My final point - you and I know that at some point down the road, say when Calipari steps in some dog crap again, he'll go right back to 'disrespecting' the school. It's tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

Dan Shaughnessy, a few hours ago:

Honoring John Calipari and Marcus Camby with statues is not a good look for UMass

There have been some bad ideas in our New England sports universe in recent years. There was the push for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Red Sox signing of Pablo Sandoval, and the Patriots’ estimation that it was not worth keeping Tom Brady around for another few years.

And now we have folks at the University of Massachusetts — our State U — breathlessly announcing Monday that they are going to “immortalize four basketball legends” with a dedication of statues to Julius Erving, Jack Leaman, Marcus Camby, and John Calipari outside the Mullins Center Sept. 11.

That’s right, ladies and gents. Our State U plans to dedicate statues to Camby and Calipari, two hoop talents who won big, then brought disgrace to UMass when the Minutemen’s 1996 Final Four appearance was vacated because of NCAA violations. UMass was officially erased from Final Four history and ordered to return $151,000 in tournament money.

I'm wondering if John Calipari killed any of Shank's pets, or did the old Kraft Super Bowl Snub on him, but I think the best explanation for the animosity is it's cheap grandstanding at Cal's expense, and that's notable to me because I don't see a lot of evidence of Shank doing the same to Marcus Camby with any regularity.

I'm, more amused by a) the utter predictability of this column and b) some of the Twitter crowd going to town on him:

I cannot imagine thinking something is disgraceful based on the moral standards of the NCAA. Save your outrage for people who actually deserve it, @Dan_Shaughnessy.

BTW, I’m thankful we were spared another Joe Burris & Desmond Tutu reference. 🙄

— Marc Bertrand (@Marc_Bertrand) June 14, 2021

Your employer brought back a field manager who won two championships by cheating to the top. I digress. https://t.co/2p6eNRMUDs

— Boston Radio Watch, Part 2 (@bostonradio2) June 14, 2021

Taking the moral high ground while working for a company where men in their 50’s held an “intern draft” of 19 yr old college girls based on their looks is some real pretzel twisting

— marC (@Zig2K) June 14, 2021

You Mad, Bro?

Shank, who rarely covers the New England Patriots in the capacity of a beat reporter, takes offense at Bill Belichick's 1,456th effort to piss off / troll the local media:

Another step toward patriot goal of having zero independent media covering team https://t.co/8mqjx8C9VH

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) June 6, 2017

Reader reaction decisively called out the obvious double standard:

How independent are you when you are employed by owners of Red Sox? Don't ever see a negative column on Sox from anyone at the Globe.

— Gino Spagnuolo(@spagl) June 6, 2017

Such a tough job! Asking questions in the rain. I feel sooooobad for your ilk. 🙄

— Theresa (@PatsFanGarb) June 6, 2017

pic.twitter.com/33SytSKnnw

— Charlotte Marks (@Vladdiefan)

Shank, you work for the owner of the Red Sox. Glass houses, bro.

— Frank Coppola (@Coppola603) June 6, 2017

Still pissed at that BBQ snub decades ago?

— Brian Johnson (@popjohnson19691) June 6, 2017

And So It Begins

Longtime readers will be familiar with the following themes raised in this post, but I'd like to put it out there for some of the folks who are not familiar with Shank when it comes to his treatment of the New England Patriots during the NFL playoffs. The Patriots will be hosting a divisional round game next week with three possible opponents; the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans (corrected, sorry! - ed.) or the Kansas City Chiefs. We've been waiting for this column since Sunday, and we say this as a guide / warning to the fans and sports media of those three franchises:

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS CRAP FROM DAN SHAUGHNESSY!

Contrary to his opening sentence, he does the same tired shtick just about every god damn year as he's done with his latest column. It's as predictable as the snow that lands in my driveway every winter. He's done this to the fans of the St. Louis Rams, the Houston Texans (twice!) (sorry - make that thrice!), the Indianapolis Colts, and this style of column even extends to other sports, like the Boston Celtics against the Cleveland Cavaliers and others which I won't bother with because it's overkill and I'm tired from getting rid of snow for two hours. Regardless, the above links demonstrate a clear and consistent pattern - write columns that are designed to piss of as many people as possible, and the best way to do that is to antagonize both / all fan bases and the media that covers the teams. Let me borrow from the words of Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch (written four years ago):

...
This resistance to change is apparent in his work, where he provides a mad-libs series of column templates, which are used over and over again. Within these recycled columns, he even recycles elements and references, (tomato cans, Animal House, Warren Zevon, Amos Alonzo Kraft, etc etc etc) most of which are terribly dated, but as mentioned, Shaughnessy’s not big on change.

Where’s the genius part, you ask?

Somehow, Shaughnessy has managed to continually pull off the exact same Jedi mind-trick over and over and over. He gets not only Boston, but opposing cities, and national networks to fall for his schtick and give him the attention (and yes, money!) that he is looking for.

Let’s run through the last 48 hours, so that you can see what I’m talking about here.

On Tuesday, Dan’s horrendous column on Patriots/Colts is published. It’s written in such a way that it will make both sides angry. In a nutshell, the theme is The Patriots suck, but the Colts still can’t beat them.

Patriots fans who read the column – and that number dwindles by the day – were furious. Just another hackjob on the Patriots, and this time he included among the usual drivel, the jab that Gerry Callahan suggested he should use – the one about the life guard chairs.

Even though the column is decidedly anti-Patriots, the title is Colts won’t be a challenge for the Patriots.

And what are we reading today from Shank?

Many of you are tired of me hammering the same old themes (not me! - ed.), so today I’ll leave it to former Patriots general manager Upton Bell to characterize the field of candidates in the NFL’s 2017-18 postseason tournament, which kicks off with four wild-card games this weekend.

“It’s the worst group of playoff teams I’ve seen in 40 years, maybe ever,’’ said Bell. “It’s truly the March of the Tomato Cans.’’

Couldn’t have said it better myself. And I’ve tried, believe me.

That, dear reader, is an understatement!

If you've read those links to his most recent 'work', Bruce Allen's concise analysis of Shank's columns before that time frame, and his most recent column, the pattern should be obvious and jump right out at you.

The words may or may not change, but the story is always the same, every single time. And the bonus? If the Patriots lose, he gets to take a major shit on them, because he's hated Patriots owner Robert Kraft for the past two decades:

What's interesting here is the italicized part above. When the New England Patriots played in their second Super Bowl in 1997, the Patriots threw a party and Shank was not invited. We believe this to be the point where Shank became a lifelong bête noire of the Patriots. If he disliked the Patriots at that point (or, more specifically, owner Robert Kraft), this snub was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

So, what you're seeing is another chapter in a long, long review of the Book of Shaughnessy. Read at your peril!

And Why Shouldn't He?

A lazy, lethargic Boston Globe sports columnist takes nearly a full day to deliver his take on last night's Patriots / Colts game. The entirety of Shank's column is so chock full of lies, bullshit and borderline slander that the only effective remedy is for this blogger to deliver the required Fisking of the column in its entirety, or close to it.

Angry Tom Brady is force to be reckoned with

Once again after the Patriots’ 34-27 victory Sunday night in Indianapolis, Tom Brady was quick to brush aside the media.

By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff October 20, 2015

Tom Brady is an angry man. This is probably a good thing for the Patriots and Patriot fans.

No more Mr. Nice Guy. Brady is captain of the Revenge Tour and he no longer cares about hurting anybody’s feelings. He’s not going to go out of his way to help, or be nice to folks who weren’t nice to him after the air was taken out of the balls last season. After Sunday’s 34-27 win in Indianapolis, Brady blew off NBC’s Michele Tafoya, then issued three terse answers when asked about keeping a souvenir football or two.

Please explain the rationale for being nice to a group of people who, on a collective basis, called you a cheater or worse and doubted your integrity for the past nine months, Mr. Shaughnessy. Naturally, that rationale is not provided here.

Q: “Did you keep the football after the game, and if so, I was curious what that meant to you and what make you want to keep that football?”

A: “I didn’t keep it.’’

Q: “I saw you kept two balls for a keepsake, one after LeGarrette Blount’s touchdown run, and then at the end of the game you put the football in your helmet. Why two footballs? Are you giving it to somebody else?”
A: “I didn’t keep them.’’

Q: “Are they going to somebody else?”

A: “I don’t know.’’

Deflate that.

Whatever that's supposed to mean!

But wait - it gets better:

Brady has been brief and joyless in his mandated weekly and postgame sessions with folks who cover the Patriots. He is doing the minimum and nothing more. He will take a few questions, move his lips, then wrap up abruptly with, “Thanks, guys.’’

Any reason why this might be the case, Einstein?

It doesn’t matter, of course. All that matters is what Brady does on the field and the results are thus far unimpeachable. Brady no longer has Randy Moss or a veteran line, but he is more precise than ever. He has one interception in five games and that was a ball that bounced off Julian Edelman. Not Tom’s fault.

Brady was clearly angry at the end of the game. A lot of that anger comes from his insistence on perfection.

You're sure about that?

He can’t stand leaving points on the field. He knows that the Patriots’ offense could not shut the door Sunday night. They could not put the game away the way they wanted. Like coach Bill Belichick, Brady wants to finish strong every week. When he doesn’t finish strong, he’s angry.

The most telling statement he made to the local media last week was an acknowledgment that “I’m human.’’

He’s human and the fallout from Deflategate has made him angry. After the AFC Championship game, Brady was hung out to dry by just about everyone except his dad.

And including a certain Boston Globe sports columnist! Eager to keep the fires of DeflateGate burning, in an impressive display of passive / aggressive behavior, Shank goes on:

First his coach said, “Ask Tom.’’

Shot at coach Belichick? check.

Then his owner, ever hungry to keep his seat at the NFL’s Big Boy table, played footsie with the Commish and the other owners and accepted the largest punishment in the history of the league. This made it open season on Tom, his legacy, his honor.

Except that this 'open season' on Tom Brady by the NFL league office exceeded / violated their own rules on this sort of thing.

Then it was leaked that Brady destroyed his cellphone on the day he was called to testify before Ted Wells.

It's of questionable legal or NFL precedent / requirement whether Brady was required to turn that data or phone over to Ted Wells. This is just further evidence into Shanks lack of knowledge of the situation.

When the starry-eyed judge ultimately lifted Brady’s suspension, the haters (a.k.a “realists”) were quick to remind everyone that Brady was not cleared of guilt as much as he was allowed back on the field because of the bungled procedures by the league.

So we're supposed to believe that the NFL's appeals process, clearly lacking in the due process department and clearly stated as such by Federal judge Berman, was overturned on a mere technicality?

Tom is human so he’s no doubt wounded that so many were quick to brand him as a liar and a cheater. Longtime Patriot watchers know that Brady’s greatness and his honors are owed to talent, hard work, and a magical coach-player relationship unseen since Messrs. Auerbach and Russell ruled the basketball world.

We don’t really know Tom.

Jesus H. Christ, where have we heard this disingenuous tripe before?

But we have seen him grow and mature in his 16 seasons in Foxboro. We have seen him cultivate and polish an image as a man of wealth and taste. We have seen him marry a woman more wealthy and famous than himself. We have seen him applaud one president at a State of the Union address, then snub another president when the Patriots were invited to the White House. We have seen him demonstrate more emotion and anger on the sideline.

Meanwhile, we are hearing him say less in almost every public forum.

This year, he’s done a couple of friendly sitdowns with former Patriot quarterback Scott Zolak on “Patriots All Access”, but that’s about it as far as television goes. On the radio side, Brady’s remained loyal to WEEI’s “The Dennis & Callahan Show,” which promises to feature Tom again Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Again, why should he appear on hostile media shows after the beating he's taken over the past nine months? Inquiring minds might need that answer.

Is this misdirection?

Last week’s Brady segment on WEEI was revealing, and at times, disturbing. Brady was neither terse nor angry. When effectively cornered by host Kirk Minihane regarding Brady’s disgraced training guru Alex Guerrero, Brady spoke passionately and at great length. Brady correctly reminded us that his good health and great play is the best advertisement for Guerrero’s alternative methods, but also sounded like a man who has come under the spell of manipulative forces. There was a Tim Thomas/Tom Cruise level of discovery in that interview that made some of us wonder who’s pulling the strings behind Brady’s iron curtain.

Brady’s personal health choices are his and his alone, and worthy of great respect, but he gets into a dangerous area when he promotes his body coach/business partner with statements such as, “What I want to provide to athletes — so much of it is being pro-active — not wanting to get sick, not wanting to get injured. Lifestyle choices are very important to your health and wellness.’’

It appears to the casual observer that Brady has done just fine in this department as it concerns personal health. But hey, Shank's just asking the question!

Swell. But there’s a hint of blaming victims in all this. Let’s not suggest that everyone who gets cancer or a concussed could have prevented it with better eating habits. Please don’t try telling us that “when you get hit the head,’’ you should ask yourself, “What have you done previously to try to prevent those things?’’

Brady is taunting the sports god when he suggest that avoiding NFL injuries is a “lifestyle choice.’’ What’s the magic potion that saves any quarterback from the Bernard Pollard hit?

This is disingenuous in the extreme - you need to read into that and draw false conclusions to conclude otherwise. From this standpoint, Tom Brady has taken care of himself physically and, aside from that Bernard Pollard hit, has largely avoided serious injury. This blogger is pretty sure this angle is not subject to debate.

But by all means, let's bring up something from thirty fucking years ago!

Something tells me that the Patriots hierarchy is not pleased that Guerrero is traveling with the team and working with multiple players. It reminds me of a situation with Celtic scorer Scott Wedman and his personal trainer when the C’s played the Lakers in the epic 1984 NBA Finals. Wedman’s guy, Steve Krischel, was banned from the locker room after he worked on Robert Parish’s shoulder. (”I thought the guy was a plumber,’’ said Celtic trainer Ray Melchiorre.)

That’s not going to happen to Guerrero. The Patriots are going to let Brady do anything he wants. He’s the ticket to Super Bowl 50.

Tom can say whatever he wants. Or say nothing.

Terse or talkative, an angry Tom Brady is good for the business of winning another Super Bowl.