Tony Massarotti rips Patriots and Pats fans [merged]

[BradyManny]

Apparently the reason John couldn't do his mea culpa today was because it was his editor's turn to take a shot at saying oops, my bad, let's all be friends again and btw John Tomase is a gem of a reporter...

But that is not the the best part. The Herald's diminutive baseball scribe has had a career threatening meltdown, deciding to step up to the plate to defend his employers lack of integrity by not only tearing down Belichick's yet again - but by insulting any number of his media peers not to mention an entire fan base...

I'm sorry but the dysfunctional family known as the Herald Sports Department is in desperate need of a journalistic intervention as the jump line forms on the career path cliff directly behind Tomase. I have a feeling Maz won't be appearing on the Big Show any more either.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1094171

Maz is truly painful writing about football or basketball.

 

[cubicle_6]

When the Herald wrote that they're sorry, shouldn't they have clarified who exactly there is sorry. Because I can't figure out who is sorry there at the herald.
They do nothing but insult the fans and the team we follow.
Why bother with an apology?
It's possible Kraft rethinks his acceptance of an aplogy after seeing what continues to be put into print.
Balanced criticism is fine. What they've done is an outright attack on everything Patriot related.

 

[BSR]

The article doesn't even deserve a response. It speaks more of his own inadequecies and ego then it does about the fans of this region. Fans are fans, and a sports writer should know that and anticipate their reaction. Heck, its that fanaticism which keeps them selling their stupid little opinions. The fact is that Tony has always thought he was smarter and more talented then he really was. He looks down on fans and bloggers alike and can't believe that everyone doesn't lap up his opinions like dogs. His little rant is just another in a long ling of temper tantrums that he is thrown, many of which being on air at WEEI. Like I said, his points don't even need to be addressed. The fact that he wasn't lambasting Tomasse for putting his own livelyhood in severe jeapordy speaks for itself.

And speaking of that jeapordy, another person that plays heavily into that and has thus far caught a free ride is the sports editor at the Herald. Yesterday, I was almost ready to put my hatred of the Herald behind me. The paper made a grand display for an apology and Tomasse came out and promised a full accounting. A nice step forward I thought. The Herald is trying to rebuild the trust with its readers, I thought. Then this piece comes out by Tony today and I can only be left to assume that the sports editor isn't really all that sorry as I thought he was. That "apology" yesterday was more about potential litigation not about rebuilding the trust of their readers. They don't care about the readers. They have no qualms about alienating them. Its whatever sensationalist crap they can create to generate clicks on their website or discussion on the airwaves. Baisically, they have become no different then the internet bloggers they despised.

Congratulations on your clicks Tony, you must be proud.

That will be the last time I click on a herald link until the Sport Editor is fired. One mistake, even as big as the one made, is understandable, but to continue with another big one like this is inexcusable.

 

[reflexblue]

Re: New Herald Policy: We'll say we're sorry but we're really defiant!

The people over at THE RAG just don't know when to stop. After what they did its a little wild to come back and attack the fans and be so defiant. They are LUCKY they wern't sued.

 

[shmessy]

That "Sorry, Pats" headline of the Herald yesterday sure does look more and more disingenuous and false every hour that passes, doesn't it?

 

[PatsDeb]

That "Sorry, Pats" headline of the Herald yesterday sure does look more and more disingenuous and false every hour that passes, doesn't it?

It sure does. I tried to post a comment to Maz & it told me my comment would be stored. Does that mean they've turned off the comment button?

 

[BSR]

Does anyone have the email links to the Herald and Globe editors? For the first time in my life I actually feel strong enough about this garbage that I actually feel like writting them about it. I will basically tell them what I wrote above and that I will no longer read their paper until the sports editor is either fired or reprimanded in some severe way. While I am at it, I will also want to email representatives for the Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins at the same time, so please forward those links if you have them as well. (This would probably be a good list to have stickied at the top of the page.)

 

[bradmahn]

I love how Massarrotti is urging the fans to look on the matter with objectivity, yet any objective person would look at the actions of his newspaper as severely lacking in that department.

There is nothing against the rules in what Walsh did after the walk-through, in fact it's akin to the shenanigans of Halas and Lombardi and Stram and every other coaching great of the past. Columnists look back on what those guys did and laugh, they look at what Belichick did and prepare the stake.

 

[reflexblue]

The more I think about it,the more it seems like the staff at the Herald are acting like a cornered animal. They're lashing out,but are just digging themselves in deeper.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

That "Sorry, Pats" headline of the Herald yesterday sure does look more and more disingenuous and false every hour that passes, doesn't it?

Espically since the front page says today NOT SO FAST PATS... I give up..

 

[scout]

Wow! First 'The Sorry Pats', which really didn't do too much for me. Then, its back to trashing the Pats, this time their fans. Like the rest of you, I'm still trying to figure out where this whole 'they taped the Rams walk-thru' came from. Now, its' they were there during the walk-thru and discussed it, and by the way, you Patriot fans are idiots. I haven't been a big defender of BB during this whole episode, but after reading that article and the editor's note all I've got to say is a big... F You to the Herald.

 

[Phokus]

Was there any doubt the Herald's apology yesterday was complete bull****?

I can't wait until they need to declare bankrupcy

 

[belichickaholic]

The newspaper is bashing the fans because the fans are upset that the newspaper bashed the team. And they call Belichick arrogant? Tony, get a clue. We want to enjoy the team. It's supposed to be about winning and losing. It's not supposed to be personal. Geez!

 

[upstater1]

Re: Tony Massarotti rips Patriots and Pats fans

Exactly. Those of us who have REAL careers do that on Sundays as a fun hobby wrapped around barbecue and beer.

Compare that to him - - his entire career is writing about grown men playing a game.

Sorry, Tony, I have to look at my other computer screens right now - - the ones where I manage my client's portfolios. Go back to interviewing guys in towels.

You nailed it.

He has such disdain for the people he covers, and the audience which attends this form of entertainment.

In other words, he hates his job.

The top sports writer for the Hartford Courant recently quit his career after 12 years (he was in his late 30s) because he had lost the passion for it. He went back to school for an education degree because he decided he wanted to teach kids.

Tony, it's time for a change. You hate what you're doing. It's evident.

I'm not going to blast all sports writers for what they do. But when you clearly hate what you're covering, you might want to ask for another beat or move into another profession.

 

[Tunescribe]

Did you guys see the headline on the front page of TODAY'S Herald? "Not So Fast, Pats."

Unvelievable! It makes yesterday's "apology" look like a bad joke.

 

[upstater1]

I must be braindead because I actually wrote to the twit:

Perhaps you didn't hear Goodell multiple times when he said that stealing signal or even scouting a practice are NOT against league rules. He went through great pains to say that anything seen by the human eye is fair game.

Your revelation about Walsh at the walkthrough doesn't add ANYTHING to the story, and to me it seems as though the Herald is simply trying to cover its butt by presenting this--as Tomase did two days ago--as a form of spying.

The Herald by its behavior in the Walsh walkthrough article two days ago--as well as your current article on this mess--seems to be not at all apologetic about the disgraceful story on the walkthrough tape before the Super Bowl. If you were truly contrite, you would acknowledge that Goodell said sign stealing through means other than taping is not illegal. Goodell even laughed about Walsh at the walkthrough and made it plain that he was on the sideline wearing Patriots garb.

Furthermore, you wrote a long article months ago about how Belichick's apology wasn't enough and that it was beholden on him to explain in detail what he was doing. Your standards for Belichick's apology are high. Your standards for your newspaper and fellow reporter are very low.

Trust me, when you implore us as fans to look very closely and skeptically at the news reports and what the Patriots have been saying, we run circles around the local media including Mike Reiss and "other lackeys," as you've characterized them. They don't satisfy us in their coverage either because they refuse to put the whole mess in context. They refuse, for instance, to weigh Belichick's "misinterpretation" against the actual rule in the bylaws which can ONLY be interpreted the way that Belichick has interpreted it. The Operations Manual also has a rule which further underlines Belichick's point-of-view. Only the memo absolutely forbids taping everywhere in the stadium, but after that memo was issued in 2006, the year the NFL dismissed reports and admissions of several taping incidents, and in both cases the Dolphins and Jets were absolved by the NFL for taping. So, there's your context. The rules, bylaws and operations manual absolutely support Belichick's interpretation of the rule (especially that "during a game" qualifier) and the memo was undercut by the likes of the NFL's Steve Alic and others in the NFL office. Not one local or national writer has put Spygate in its true context, nor have they addressed other incidents of illegal taping put forward in the media in the past. The fans seem to be running circles around you guys when it comes to analyzing the situation.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I don't live in the Boston area any more, so I can't even be tempted. But, please let me ask a question, as nicely and as politely as possible:

WHY DO ANY OF YOU FOLKS BUY THE HERALD IN THE FIRST PLACE?

 

[joseph]

This is my first post. I'm a old guy and have been lurking for years. I hardly know how to work this computer. I've been a Patriot fan since day one and I have had enough with the Boston Herald. I bought the paper for years and I will never buy it again. To me a team means everyone, management, coaching, players, fans and media. I always thought we won and lost together. Tried to help each other whenever we could. I couldn't believe the Herald would print Tomase' article just before the Super Bowl and now their trying to tell us "we'er in the business of being honest with you guys". I consider the Herald traitors worthy to be tar and feathered.

 

[BSR]

Another thought. This was an angry article by Tony. It showed much of the hatred he has towards the Patriots with quotes like:

"The media is a sordid business. Professional and personal relationships frequently collide. Patriots coach Bill Belichick gives Christmas gifts and holiday cards to some members of the media, cyanide-tipped glares to others. You’re either a Belichicklet or you are not, and there is no base-level membership."

and

"Publicly, the Pats will make it seem as if they regard media coverage as a distraction and obstacle to their on-field success. Privately, the Pats will be upset when they feel the Red Sox [team stats] are getting too much coverage, regardless of which team has won more titles in the past four years.

Nice strategy there.

Talk about being insecure."

Does Tony give the Patriots ammunition in a potential lawsuit against the Herald. Does this go towards the Herald's malicious intent in printing incorrect informaiton. Maybe? I could see it if I were on the jury.

 

[Wildo7]

Maybe this scumbag has a job waiting at the NY Post for him:

http://jetsinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169975