Tomase's tortured take on Rodney's return

[MoLewisrocks]

I guess this is a piece you write when the answers you got don't jive with your perspective on a situation.

"Can an admitted rule-breaker really expect to be accorded the authority to police the locker room?

“Of course,” said fullback Heath Evans [stats]. “He’s Rodney Harrison. Do you want me to go biblical on you? I’m not going to be the first one to cast the first stone. Whether it’s lying to your mom when you’re 3 years old or whatever it may be . . . I’m just glad to have Rodney Harrison back.”

At least publicly, a number of teammates agreed, though it should be noted that the culture of the Patriots - a culture Harrison helped spawn - frowns upon declarations deviating from “Welcome back!”

"This is different. Harrison’s word was supposed to stand for something honorable, but now he’s like James Frey fabricating “A Million Little Pieces,” Steve Garvey acting squeaky clean while fathering a kid in every port, or Carlos Mencia stealing jokes. He’s tainted, and he’ll take that back into the locker room." (He missed two other analogies closer to home: Borges plagerising and Barnicle fabricating...both are still venerated among the Boston media and one still remains it's only HOF voter.)

“Everyone may have different opinions and everyone may not share them with you,” Harrison said when asked if he had anything to prove to his teammates. “I can’t go out of my way to try to change everyone’s opinion of me. I know what type of person I am.”

This isn’t about what Harrison knows, unfortunately. It’s about the rest of his team, and if they’ll feel like taking orders from a guy who got busted for cheating. (They told you it's not a problem not to mention they don't seem to have issues taking orders from the tainted HC either, do they John...)

As usual for Tomase it's about the same thing it's always about for judgemental Boston mediots - why these players don't get what you get or won't just admit it...




http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1035928

 

[RayClay]

I'm sure the last time Tomase was in a locker room other than as a reporter, some brute was pulling a jock strap over his face in Gym class.

Silliest article yet. Oh golly gee willikers, our leader tried to use a supplement!!!!

 

[PATSNUTme]

Just when you thought that he couldn't get any dumber, he writes this crap.

I guess what the players have been saying is total BS in Tomase's eyes.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Never let facts cause dissonance with your world view.
A similar piece ruminating about 37 appeared in today's Cape Cod Times. Not quite as bad as TomASSe's though.

 

[SoCal Bong]

Getting blasted in the comments section. Worth reading through.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

Tomase actually started out okay when he was covering the Red Sox and then the Pats, but recently, I have noticed he has tried to position as this "cutting edge" reporter, in the mold of McDonough, Mannix, Felger and Borges.

He doesn't understand that creating controversy for controversy's sake is inept.

Hopefully, he'll get it turned around before he gets too far down that path.

On another note, have you ever seen as anyone as geeky looking as Tomase? He's like the dude from "Napolean Dynamite" with a press pass!

It's going to be interesting to see what kind of monumental "mercy fark" it's going to take to finally pop that boy's cherry!

Maybe Amalie "The Sox I Know" Benjamin can help him out! LOL!

 

[Pats726]

And wasn't it a few weeks ago that MANY on this board compared Tomase to Reiss???? miles miles apart...then and even further...NOW!!

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Tomase actually started out okay when he was covering the Red Sox and then the Pats, but recently, I have noticed he has tried to position as this "cutting edge" reporter, in the mold of McDonough, Mannix, Felger and Borges.

He doesn't understand that creating controversy for controversy's sake is inept.

Hopefully, he'll get it turned around before he gets too far down that path.

On another note, have you ever seen as anyone as geeky looking as Tomase? He's like the dude from "Napolean Dynamite" with a press pass!

It's going to be interesting to see what kind of monumental "mercy fark" it's going to take to finally pop that boy's cherry!

Maybe Amalie "The Sox I Know" Benjamin can help him out! LOL!

Tomase killed his chances for a shot at a Sox beat on a big boy paper when he went postal on Manny a couple of years ago (effectively creating controversy for controversy sake to get noticed beyond the Eagle Tribune). And it did get him noticed to the point the Herald came a calling albeit with an edgy slot on the football beat. Beat reporters who alienate their subjects are just begging for either an additional change of title (columnist) or change of venue (baseball or talk radio). It's really comical that even taking the baby into account John has been seemlessly replaced on his beat of late by a lady hockey reporter... Breer completed him... Absent Albert Tomase will again struggle as he did at the outset when he was reporting about things like how unpopular BB was at the combine or owners meetings.

 

[fgssand]

Tomase is a total tool....I try to avoid his paper because all they do there is try to embarass people.

Tomase tries to get even because BB laughs at him.

When it comes to class Rodney defines the word while Tomase doesn't understand the meaning.

 

[BadMoFo]

What's wrong with asking the question? Some people turn into such little girls when a member of the media does something to question this team. Do we expect everyone to write that the team is going to win every game by 25+ plus points.

And so now the question is what happens the next time he scolds a rookie with his trademark, “That’s not the way we do things around here.”

Can an admitted rule-breaker really expect to be accorded the authority to police the locker room?

 

[Wildo7]

The Herald proves time and time again that they're no better than the NY Post. It's a bunch of sleazy tabloid writers masquerading as journalists.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

What's wrong with asking the question? Some people turn into such little girls when a member of the media does something to question this team. Do we expect everyone to write that the team is going to win every game by 25+ plus points.

Fine. Asking the question makes for a possibly interesting article. Why taint the facts of the players' responses with a visible undercurrent of unwarranted cynicism? That's not journalism, it's personal editorial vendetta. You're known by your body of work.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

I'd like to point out to Mr. Tomasse that this hatchet-job wasn't posted here until after the article had already collected 21 negative (some scathing) comments on his blog. So you can't write off the comments as crazy message board nutcases this time (or at least until you get to Yoni's comment on page 3).

(By the way, shame on you nutcases that left comments attacking his weight. There are sooo many substantive criticisms that you can make about him and his writing, and this piece in particular, you simply don't need to take it down to that level.)

 

[bishbash]

Hmmm, here's Reiss quoting some guy named Tom Brady:

Quarterback Tom Brady was among those who were happy to see Harrison back in the locker room. He believed Harrison's role as a team leader would not be compromised by the suspension.

"He is one of the most respected players in here, one of the most respected players that has ever been in this organization," Brady said. "I think that he is everything that you look for in a football player. I look up to him. I admire everything he's done. He's great. With the experience that he has and the way that he performs and what he expects of himself, it's second to none. We're all lucky to have him. He's everything this team is all about."

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...4/harrison_is_past_any_talk_of_his_suspension

 

[Return of the Nizz]

Um, I think that 'admitted rule-breaker' Bill Belichick has done pretty well with keeping the respect of his team. And that was an even worse infraction. (I know because Cris Collinsworth told me so.)

 

[BadMoFo]

People here get so upset when anyone brings up the topic of HGH and cameras. Face it, we're going to deal with it this year, next year and beyond.

I don't think Thomase did a bad job with this story, he asked the question of how are people going to accept Rodney back, and more importantly how are young players going to view him as a leader since he is now an official rule breaker. Basically the story showed that as far as the people Thomase spoke to, Rodney's veteran teammates are supportive of him. Maybe he could have left it at that, but still, there is no telling what other players who viewed Rodney as the leader of the defense are now thinking. I didn't see any of the DBs quoted in the article, and more importantly the young DBs. They are the ones most influenced by Rodney.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Fine. Asking the question makes for a possibly interesting article. Why taint the facts of the players' responses with a visible undercurrent of unwarranted cynicism? That's not journalism, it's personal editorial vendetta. You're known by your body of work.

Exactly. Why ask the question if you are pre determined to undercut the truthfulness of the answers based entirely on your view of what they really should say and feel?

John is an opinionated columnist pidgeon-holed in a reporters job he clearly believes is beneath him where his pissing in the cheerios mentality renders him useless because he will never gain access or informed insight which are a reporters bread and butter and how readers base their value judgements. And they know in Foxboro that should he manage to even stumble on information they might share in background with someone they mutually respect and trust enough to share it with in that context, John would trample all in his path for the limited value, one time shot at breaking a story. Because all he really cares about is climbing the mediot ladder.

It's the same mentality that Felger developed over time that cost him the access he and we once enjoyed when he first occupied Tomase's current slot at the Herald. What drives these guys is not being the best they can be in their dying field, it's expanding their personal horizens as far above that financially limited field as they possibly can. And if the clearest path to that involves trampling their way through a reporting stint covering a three time champions locker room, so be it. Just tell it like it is, and quit hiding behind the phony Felger objectivity mantra while whining about lack of access. You just want to get noticed in hopes you will get ahead as a multi-mediot.

For years now the Boston media has been the reason this team failed to get the respect they earned. National perception is based in large part on the local perception they feed off of. Boston's self absorbed media has long perceived itself as more elite than any of the teams it covers, and remains hypercritical of those teams to in effect reinforce that point compared to other cities sports media. Championships don't turn their swelled heads, even as they create opportunities for the same schmucks to advance their own media careers. Sad.

 

[Garbanza]

I just don't get the reasoning behind the question/column/thoughts truth be told. I mean, the outpouring of love and support the players showed their coach before, during and after the Chargers game should have told Tomasse this issue is as valid as three dollar bill.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

People here get so upset when anyone brings up the topic of HGH and cameras. Face it, we're going to deal with it this year, next year and beyond.

I don't think Thomase did a bad job with this story, he asked the question of how are people going to accept Rodney back, and more importantly how are young players going to view him as a leader since he is now an official rule breaker. Basically the story showed that as far as the people Thomase spoke to, Rodney's veteran teammates are supportive of him. Maybe he could have left it at that, but still, there is no telling what other players who viewed Rodney as the leader of the defense are now thinking. I didn't see any of the DBs quoted in the article, and more importantly the young DBs. They are the ones most influenced by Rodney.

He is NOW an official rule breaker? Hasn't he been leading the league in fines for breaking the rules for, um, a little while now?

 

[kolbitr]

People here get so upset when anyone brings up the topic of HGH and cameras. Face it, we're going to deal with it this year, next year and beyond.

I don't think Thomase did a bad job with this story, he asked the question of how are people going to accept Rodney back, and more importantly how are young players going to view him as a leader since he is now an official rule breaker. Basically the story showed that as far as the people Thomase spoke to, Rodney's veteran teammates are supportive of him. Maybe he could have left it at that, but still, there is no telling what other players who viewed Rodney as the leader of the defense are now thinking. I didn't see any of the DBs quoted in the article, and more importantly the young DBs. They are the ones most influenced by Rodney.

No they weren't quoted in Tomase's article--but that is even more telling since both Asante and Sanders have been quoted by other reporters on this very issue. They have been willing to talk about Rodney, and talk supportively. Perhaps he chose not to bother asking them. Perhaps they wouldn't talk to him. Perhaps they spoke highly and respectfully. Who knows?

I think what irks people about the way that Tomase has written this piece--and it isn't the first time--is that he tends to enjoy the rhetorical and leading question. Wondering is normal and expected, but this approach is one I find galling.

It is also perhaps naive for anyone to think that what is news to us is new to the players.