12 thoughts on “CHB”

  2. Dan used to be a very talented colmunist. The Globe with Bob Ryan, Peter Gammons and Dan back in the day used to have as strong a sports section, arguably, as any paper in the country.
    Then came “The Curse of the Bambino” which is nothing short of self-aggrandizing pile of crap that became a benchmark for national baseball coverage of the Red Sox for years. It also thrust DS into a rarefied sort of spotlight and it no doubt made him fairly well off. Since then he has devloved into a cariacature of himself. His column in today’s Globe may be the worst and most embarassing sports column I have read in a long time, if not ever.
    As a columnist I certainly expect him to express opinions, pointed comments, criticism. High-toned arrogance laden with over-the-top sarcasm that suggests he knows better than management, coaches, fans and pretty much everyone is distasteful. I would rather read game analysis from Joe Morgan than any more of Dan’s garbage if this is what he is going to trowel out.

  4. Not being from Boston, nor much of a fan of “professional” sports writers/pundits/radio loudmouths, I’ll admit I don’t know much about Shaughnessy beyond what Simmon’s has written about him, including the hatchet job on Theo.
    That said, from what little I have read, he seems like a latter-day, New England version of Dick Young.

  5. If Dan Shaughnessy weren’t around, we wouldn’t get to hear Curt Schilling rip him apart on WEEI (Boston sports radio.) I wish I had a .wav file of some of Curt’s quips to share.

  6. I don’t know much about Shaughnessy, but the whining about the official scorer’s ruling is really petty. Everybody knows official scoring is, on the whole, absurdly generous to hitters.
    Not sure, honestly, what Shaughnessy is supposed to be wrong about here. The Red Sox are still in the WC race, and Manny’s pretending to be hurt? Francona “…never flatly denied the contention that Ramírez had to be talked into playing Saturday because he was agitated.”
    Sounds like a legit story to me. I’d be royally pissed at Manny if I was a Sox fan-but I have the even greater misery of being a Phillies’ fan.

  7. I was at a luncheon where Shaughnessy was the guest speaker. Someone asked him about a certain online sportswriter who has had many laughs at Dan’s expense (not you Crank, but be warned).
    His already red complexion darkened three shades as he went on a tirade about how he, unlike these pajama clad yahoos who sit back and opine on everything under the sun, paid his dues: traveling on buses, trains and planes across the country, away from his family, in every season, watching games and interviewing players in good times and bad.
    Sportswriting and the media in general today is almost incomparable to what it was when Dan cut his teeth. Back then, if you were successful enough to have your own column in a major newspaper, you could pretty much coast through the rest of your career. Now Dan must compete with Sports Radio, ESPN, the Internet and god knows what else.
    I almost felt bad for the guy. ‘Almost’ being the operative word, because I am sure the countless people he has trashed over the years probably had equally compelling stories to tell.
    Of all the targets of his attacks – I felt worst for Pete Carroll. Dan almost singelhandedly ran that guy out of town.
    Needless to say, I don’t think the Pete is missing Boston these days.

  8. Patrick-
    Good points. Hadn’t thought about the traditional “dues-paying, then coasting” pattern that DS probably feels he’s been cheated of. Makes sense.
    Nonetheless, there’s little in the world more distasteful than the bitter old man who thinks the world’s robbed him of his birthright.
    Screw him. Simmons is twice the writer he is.

  9. Dan was my sports editor at Holy Cross my freshman year (the only year I wrote for the paper) and I generally credit him for making me realize I was way too much a fan to ever enjoy covering sports critically. I enjoy seeing fellow ‘Saders do well and I think Dan has certainly been a success in his chosen field. I say all this to be open about any bias here.
    that said, I agree with Mr. Salmon: Not sure what Dan is supposed to be wrong about here. The Red Sox are deserving of much derision – when the Yankees can sandwich two losses to the O’s (at home) and a blowout loss to Seattle around a 5 game sweep at Fenway – nothing’s off limits…esp. the Red Sox whining about Yankee $$ and another
    Manny pout.
    as to Simmons (also a Holy Cross guy – as is our esteemed host) – I enjoy his writings also but haven’t really noticed any feud between the two. It’s probably just a generational difference as back in the day, sports were sports and not just another part of the cultural continuum. They are both good at what they do and I’ll leave it at that.

  10. Four H.C. sportswriters discussed in one comments thread.
    I’m gonna file that under “Things I Wouldn’t Have Predicted.”

  12. Which of the four was the guy who flunked out of Clark and transferred to Holy Cross, simultaneously raising the average intellect at both schools?

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