By Michael Felger
It's not that easy being greenHaving to spend each day the color of the leavesWhen I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or goldOr something much more colorful like that
You got that right, Kermit.
HEY, FELGER!I want to take this chance to encourage you to never stop with your attack on the "Green Teamers," Tanguay, Dickerson, etc. They always say WATCH THE GAMES, FELGER! Well, FYI, for all those lunkheads who have been kissing the ground the Celtics owners walk on, I watch those games, and lately I've been seeing IMPOSTERS IN GREEN!They are so bad, they are laughable, and I can't believe you have to deal with these clowns. By the way, where are Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal? M.I.A.! Ubuntu is gone, and so is the Celtics' window for winning championships.MattFramingham
Be careful, Matt. The Green Teamers are on the war path and Tanguay has an itchy Twitter finger. They are stomping out unrest in the streets and clamping down on the social media. Criticize the C's at your own risk. They're taking on political prisoners.
Mike,The official, g-dick, Celtics ball bag reeks right now. If the Celtics main problem is offense and not defense, as the Green Teamers keep announcing over the loud speaker, AND Perkins was an albatross on the offensive end, AND Jeff Green and Kristic are superior offensive players . . . then why do the Cs look terrible offensively?Did we over-rate Rondo? I definitely did. I thought three years ago that he would develop his shot and hed be a top five point guard by this time. Neither has happened, and while Derrick Rose is an MVP candidate, Rondo is still about the samea top 10 player at the position and a head case. He might be a little more Jason Williams than Jason Kidd and its time to accept that the fake behind-the-back pass doesnt translate to wins.If Rondo was the problem all along then why didnt they say that a month ago? And what does that have to do with the trade of Perkins? If a team wins more before a trade than after a trade, no matter what you say or how you couch it, the trade did not make them a better team. Period.I am so sick of the modular arguments from folks who have yet to be right about thing one. When you have been as intellectually dishonest and flat out wrong as much as the Green Teamers have been and get called out, thats not unfair. Unfair would be to let them continue to sell us a line of BS and act like its a legit opinion. When you have an Easter basket full of eggs on your face, wipe them off before you tell someone else how dumb they are. And though I do respect the scrotum necessary to make that deal, I am not in the "in Danny we trust" camp. He is, after all, the guy who resigned Mark Blount as a free agent for huge money.Peace,JakeBoston
"If a team wins more before a trade than after a trade, no matter what you say or how you couch it, the trade did not make it a better team. Period."
Yes, yes, yes. If you were in front of me Id kiss you on the lips. Its that pesky scoreboard, Jake. It seems like you I have same problem: we look at it after the game. We should probably stop doing that.
Felger, You DB!The Celtics are so old, feeble and selfish that Tanguay is coming unglued faster than Big Dig ceiling tiles. The Bruins are mind-numbingly inconsistent and have no elite-level star that the playoffs demand. The Red Sox lineup is so left-heavy that the games will be simulcast on MSNBC and there are a boatload of questions on their pitching staff. The Patriots window to win one more title may have just been slammed shut by Mayor McCheese, Gang Green and an acrimonious league lockout.But things could be worse. We could live in Cleveland.Right now as we speak, the fans in Cleveland are celebrating feverishly because the Cavs beat LeBron James and the Heat in a regular-season game. Say whatever you want about what a giant douche King James is, the bottom line is tomorrow he'll be on a team that is still one of the favorites in the NBA to do some damage in the postseason. And where does that leave Cleveland, aside from hoping their lottery pick is an albino with a sand allergy? The same place it's always been for the past half-century: without a single significant sports moment for any team that isn't a bitter disappointment, soul-sucking choke or nationally televised embarrassment. That's the world a Cleveland fan wakes up in every day. Over and over. It's a Groundhog Day of failure where Earnest Byner always fumbles, Jose Mesa always blows the save and Ned Ryerson walks across the street every morning wearing a No. 6 Heat jersey. Even Hollywood knows it's absurd to pretend teams win in Cleveland. Not only is the plot for Major League less believable than a Kentucky hoops players report card, all the in-game footage was filmed in Milwaukee's County Stadium. Cleveland fans are so desperate to have something that links them to winning, even if it's completely fictitious, that they actually had a Rick Vaughn Bobblehead night.So it should come as no surprise that those poor people are not only elated that they won a meaningless game against a guy who made their city a prime-time laughing stock, but it might be the best thing they have experienced sports-wise in the last ten years. Quite honestly, I'm shocked Shaughnessy hasn't picked up shop and moved to Cuyahoga County because in Cleveland, his Curse schtick would result in a publishing empire.It just makes me, as a Boston fan, appreciate that in that same time span I have seen six title runs and the Bruins take a significant turn for the better (despite all my complaining that Chiarelli is a shortsighted buffoon whose orchidometer results register in the negative).And believe it or not, things could be worse for Cleveland fans as well . . . They could have had Tanguay and Dickerson covering the Cavs. "Well, Greg, I'm glad LeBrons gone. He was overrated and this has always been Verajao's team!"MikeAttleboro
You left out Tommy blaming the refs, too. My favorite line around here after a loss is, "there were a lot of positives in that defeat." Can you imagine how many positives these guys would have in Cleveland?
Felgy,For the last few weeks, the Celtics' defense has been Swiss cheese down low. Part of the problem, of course, has been because the team's physically imposing big men are injured; but what can we now say about Garnett? Don't the team's interior woes reveal some hard truths: 1) that KG isn't that tough, 2) that despite all the pregame head-butting of stanchions and trash talk, he doesn't really intimidate most opposing big men?GregManchester, NH
So youre saying that KG is fake tough? That is a Comcast SportsNet violation! Hands in the air, Greg.
Felger,I think the Celtics should play the third quarter with only three or four players on the court so they start the fourth quarter behind and can act like they give a damn. All the starters act like a five-point lead with eight minutes left in the fourth means they've already won the game.Could we possibly lay some of these blown leads on Doc?! Or is he untouchable? Maybe Doc needs to throw Rondo on the bench when Rondo puts the Cs into the "prevent offense," where they stand around and jack up a jumper to beat the shot clock. I never see Rondo try to push much at all in the fourth after defensive rebounds or even made baskets. Shouldn't he push it to see what's there and then get into the offense if it's not open? And how about all the nonchalant passes by Rondo lately? I love the guy and I hate to criticize because I can't do what these guys do, but it's the NBA and it has to be embarrassing the way they let leads slip away.DaveCheshire
Look, Im enjoying this Celtics bashing as much as anyone. But I have to be honest:
I think theyre going to snap out of it and be pretty good in the playoffs. Seriously. They arent this bad. They just arent.
Besides, Garnett, Pierce and Allen are well aware of their biological clocks. This could be Docs last season in Boston. They all understand this may be the last chance they get. Theyre going to pull together and go down fighting.
I still dont think it will be good enough to win a championship. Danny weakened them too much at the deadline. The recent slump is probably going to lose them home court past the second round and their lack of reliable big guys is going to catch up to them. But I think theyre going to go on a good run just the same.
Felger,I don't understand how CSNNNNNE can employ such an abundance of fanboy company men (see Green Teamers andor Haggerty) and someone such as yourself. Is it some sort of ratings gambit to create on-set friction?Haggs' unabashed championing of the Bruins combined with his dismissal of Pittsburgh leaves him with almost zero credibility as a reporter, and the GT whitewashing of the Rondo sit down is just absurd. DanielIpswich
The Celtics thing, as repulsive as it is, is at least easy to understand. They're our broadcast partner. It's a business arrangement. They hand out the green footy pajamas at the door here. If you don't wear them, you're in violation.
But Haggs and the B's? Now that's just plain weird. True love, in other words. I didn't know that still existed.
Hey, Felger,Since the Gendarmes in Montreal are still "investigating" the Chara hit, does that mean that Big Z. will be brought in for questioning andor arrested sometime before Game Three of the opening round playoff series in Montreal? Is that why the case is still open? What a circus that series is going to be when it shifts north of the border.BobStoneham
You better believe it. Thats that they want, Bob. They want Chara to come up for the playoffs and take the perp walk. Despicable.
Felgy,Last season while Tim Thomas was struggling you were critical of the contract extension he was given by Peter Chiarelli. Im wondering if youve changed your tune on that topic.Thomas is healthy again (unlike last year) and is probably the favorite to win the Vezina for the second time in three years. In my mind he should get Hart Trophy consideration too. With Crosby injured and Ovechkin having a down year the race for MVP is wide open. Is Corey Perry a better choice? How do you pick one of the Sedin boys and not the other? Theyre literally the same player. Stamkos on a middle-of-the-pack Tampa team? With Tukka having the dreaded sophomore slump, where would the Bruins be without Tim Thomas this season?With all that being said, Thomas is only the ninth-highest paid goalie in the league (tied with Fleury). That seems like GREAT value to me. He only makes a half million more than Rick "Glass Jaw" DiPietro for cryin out loud.I understand that Chiarelli has given out some awful contracts. Wideman, Ryder and Ference arewere grossly overpaid. But Thomas should not be put in the same sentence as those clowns.High Life Mike
Nope. His contract isnt as bad as those. But I still dont think it was a great one.
I hear this all the time: "Where would the Bruins be without Thomas!'' Where would they be? I think theyd be in roughly the same spot. I think theyd have the division lead (although probably not by seven points) and therefore would have the No. 3 seed in the East. No difference to this point. Rask is a good goalie, Mike. He would have snapped out of it eventually, as he pretty much has the last two months while playing backup minutes.
I agree that Thomas looks like hes poised for a big playoff runand if he gets the Bs to the Stanley Cup Finals Ill come around to your side. But lets just go to the scoreboard (sorry, there's that bad habit of mine again): What has Thomas really done since signing that contract? He won a round in 2009 and a bunch of regular-season games in 2010-11. Not yet worth 5 million per. He's going to have to earn that money in the next two months.
Mike,I am so tired of the media and fans talking about this "superstar" base-stealing machine of Jacoby Ellsbury. It's driving me crazy, none of these stats matter for a leadoff hitter. Average, OBP, steals, hits . . . who cares! All that matters is runs. Thats the whole point of a leadoff hitter . . . score! I mean, how does a player steal 70 bases on a good team not score 100 runs (as Ellsbury did two years ago)? How does that happen?DaveWoburn
It happens when youre overrated, Dave.
Signed, Tony Mazz.
Hey Felger,Does anyone really care about baseball in April and May? Yeah, sure, Opening Day is great and it makes it seem like spring is officially here, but does anyone really care about baseball except during August and September when the playoff races really begin?Especially with the Celtics and Bruins in the playoffs, the casual sports fan for sure isnt going to watch an April game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays over a playoff game. I just think baseball is such an overrated and non-appealing sport until the playoffs approach. What do you think?Ryan
Screw the Red Sox, Ryan. Ill be watching the Celtics pre- and postgame shows. Thats where the good stuff is.
Felgers weekly column appears Mondays. Email him HERE and read the mailbag on Thursdays. Listen to him on the radio weekdays, 2-6 p.m., on 98.5 The Sports Hub.