Felger and Mazz - Creating False Naratives one day at a time

[Havlicheck]

I think I gave it five minutes, once.

Old man. I grew up in southern Massachusetts, am retired in Arizona. I listen to internet streamed 98.5 off and on when not listening to local Phoenix sports talk. Probably a total of two hours a day three or four days a week.

agree about the constant MandF 98.5 negativity but on the other hand : the main phoenix sports radio is a stream of positive homerism across all three of their regular daily shows, which is harder to take. I.e., Kyler Murray is really 5-11 and may be the best nfl qb outside of Mahomes, Devin Booker is a top 10 nba defensive player because he laid the hammer on Nicholas Batum, Robert Sarver’s indiscretions not mentioned much, and the Diamondbacks are the best young team in baseball ( for the 4th year in a row ), etc.

local fans here eat the positivity up, and negative callers after a Suns or Cardinals loss routinely get hung up on.

 

[NDame616]

My favorite angle was that this doesn't sound like a Belichick-type player, so that means he doesn't control the draft board anymore. Robert must have taken it away from him.

When I heard this take I assumed he was gonna say Mayo is controlling the draft (since it's a defensive player) and theres a rift with kraft/mayo vs bill

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Old man. I grew up in southern Massachusetts, am retired in Arizona. I listen to internet streamed 98.5 off and on when not listening to local Phoenix sports talk. Probably a total of two hours a day three or four days a week.

old man I am. I grew up with the Sports Huddle and Calling All Sports, and cant recall any other sports talk show (which eliminates Toucher & Rich) that came close to the intelligence of those shows.

 

[j-man]

the only reason i can stand them is they can be funny at times but they are a-holes

 

[Quiddity]

First player name that comes to mind for me in terms of non stop attacks from Felger and Mazz is Marcus Smart. They’ve been going after him for years. You’d think today will be a massive celebration. But knowing them it’s a virtual guarantee that they’ll be blasting the trade today.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

First player name that comes to mind for me in terms of non stop attacks from Felger and Mazz is Marcus Smart. They’ve been going after him for years. You’d think today will be a massive celebration. But knowing them it’s a virtual guarantee that they’ll be blasting the trade today.

And one of your first thoughts this morning pertaining to the trade (I am not trying to knock you) was to think about what F&M are going to say. I hate them and don't listen anymore, but this is why they (well, Felger anyway) are the best at what they do.

 

[moretsyndrome]

It's a simple but effective formula. Essentially all they do for every turn of events (short of a championship) is to find the least charitable angle from the local point of view and run it into the ground. We already know that when an opponent wins, injuries, luck and officiating have nothing to do with it and any mention of those things is just local fans whining. If the locals win, then suddenly injuries, luck and officiating matter. In this case, the exploitation is easy. Smart is tough, very tough. KP doesn't have that reputation. Also there will be lots of fretting about Grant. These are not illegitimate points, it's just a very narrow focus that works well for them.

And, that's all we're going to hear from 2-6. Well, I'm not as I'll be listening to the Sox and working at the same time because I like sports, but still.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

Tuesday Felger was yelling about how the Sox should be buyers at the trade deadline if they're within a couple games of the wild card. Mazz and Jim were way down on this still considering the Sox to be frauds who will shortly return to the bottom where they belong. Felger starts yelling about how in baseball if you make the playoffs it's anyone's game to win it all "UNLIKE THE NBA WHERE YOU NEVER SEE A #8 SEED MAKE THE FINALS!!"
awkward silence follows for a second then Jim meekly says "you mean besides this year".
Felger "OH YEAH RIGHT WELL YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

It's nit picky, but kind of embarrassing that less then a month of it happening he's screaming about it never happening.

 

[Quiddity]

And one of your first thoughts this morning pertaining to the trade (I am not trying to knock you) was to think about what F&M are going to say. I hate them and don't listen anymore, but this is why they (well, Felger anyway) are the best at what they do.

At least for Felger, I've never denied that he's the best at what he does in the market. While it wasn't literally the first thing I thought of when I woke up and heard about the trade, I will admit the years of Felger and Mazz relentlessly attacking Marcus Smart made me think about how they are going to react to it. This is exactly what they've wanted for a long time now.

I think I've done a pretty good job turning them out completely when it comes to the Patriots

 

[shawnrbu]

Carlton called in today. I thought he passed last year.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

Carlton called in today. I thought he passed last year.

Whoa, that's awesome. Thought I heard him call in several months ago and confirmed that his health was in a poor state, but that he at least hadn't kicked it yet.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

They had said he died. WTF?!?!?!

 

[RedOctober3829]

Whoa, that's awesome. Thought I heard him call in several months ago and confirmed that his health was in a poor state, but that he at least hadn't kicked it yet.

Yeah he opened his call with essentially saying you may not be hearing from me for much longer. Mazz and Murray were legitimately stunned

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

Great, now 98.5 has their own "...from the grave" celebrity caller except it's still the original caller! (Old WEEI heads know what I'm talking about.)

 

[Humphrey]

Great, now 98.5 has their own "...from the grave" celebrity caller except it's still the original caller! (Old WEEI heads know what I'm talking about.)

Good 'ol "Butchy From Beyond The Grave"...damn good imitation.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

Carlton just called in again

 

[shawnrbu]

Carlton sounded better today. Ranting about Spygate and Deflategate all these years later.

 

[j-man]

now fegler is all giddey about bill being on the hot seat

 

[Swing and a Popup]

The first hour today (about #1 receivers) was one of the most nonsensical segments I have heard in a long time.

 

[shawnrbu]

Felger’s Top 10 NFL coaches he would want to have:

1. McVay
2. Vrabel
3. Reid
4. Shanahan
5. Daboll
6. Taylor
7. Sirianni
8. Mike McDaniel
9. Belichick
10. Tomlin

 

[Patriot_Reign]

The first hour today (about #1 receivers) was one of the most nonsensical segments I have heard in a long time.

I don't know if it's because 98.5's ratings took a substantial hit in the last quarter but Felger's been in his angry yelling at nothing mode this week. Granted there's not much to talk about right now, but it feels whenever their ratings take a dip he transforms into this character.

 

[Swing and a Popup]

I don't know if it's because 98.5's ratings took a substantial hit in the last quarter but Felger's been in his angry yelling at nothing mode this week. Granted there's not much to talk about right now, but it feels whenever their ratings take a dip he transforms into this character.

You could sense his frustration today, particularly with Joe Murray.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

You could sense his frustration today, particularly with Joe Murray.

Definitely.
Sometimes when Joe's a sidekick it feels like he's not paying attention.

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

Felger’s Top 10 NFL coaches he would want to have:

1. McVay
2. Vrabel
3. Reid
4. Shanahan
5. Daboll
6. Taylor
7. Sirianni
8. Mike McDaniel
9. Belichick
10. Tomlin

McVay! We'll see how strong he is the next few years with Stafford opting in and some cap crunches happening. He was an excellent coach in GFIN mode, the question is whether he can actually captain a dynasty. Two SBs in four years, but 5-12 this past year which BB wouldn't go as low as unless literally taking over a new franchise.

 

[Helmet Head]

These guys are for sure more angry than ever. They spent a part of the day getting very angry about the fresh start narrative coming out of pats camp. And of-course the baseball team doing nothing at the trade deadline just added fuel.

Are ratings really down? That’s fantastic. They are depressing.

 

[Granite Sox]

And they’re really trying to hump a QB competition between Jones and Zappe… still. More and more I listen for about 10 minutes and then change the station. Beetle and Zo have been almost as bad with their doomcasting.

 

[j-man]

These guys are for sure more angry than ever. They spent a part of the day getting very angry about the fresh start narrative coming out of pats camp. And of-course the baseball team doing nothing at the trade deadline just added fuel.

Are ratings really down? That’s fantastic. They are depressing.

i hope it's a act and they are not that way with their familys

 

[Helmet Head]

i hope it's a act and they are not that way with their familys

It’s for sure an act and has made them a lot of money. So why stop?

 

[j-man]

It’s for sure an act and has made them a lot of money. So why stop?

it is funny to me but i am not a Boston sports fan if i was a fan it would tick me off and is it me or has berad turned into felger

 

[j-man]

And they’re really trying to hump a QB competition between Jones and Zappe… still. More and more I listen for about 10 minutes and then change the station. Beetle and Zo have been almost as bad with their doomcasting.

that part of the reson i wouild love Mac jones to stick it to murray and throw 30-35 td's

 

[NDame616]

I'll say it.

Hosting his own show, Jimmy Stewart isn't all that bad. He's not the flame thrower Felger lite pretending to have inside sources and such. He has a good voice and brings in good discussions among his co hosts and good with callers.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

I'll say it.

Hosting his own show, Jimmy Stewart isn't all that bad. He's not the flame thrower Felger lite pretending to have inside sources and such. He has a good voice and brings in good discussions among his co hosts and good with callers.

Stewart's an actual fan. When he's being critical it's relatable to what we all feel when a team isn't doing their best.

 

[54thMA]

Felger's rant on BST the other night about Fantasy football was pretty comical, I have to admit, every once in a while, he's on point.

Blind squirrel, broken clock being right twice a day, etc, etc.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Boy, Joe Murray is tough to take. His double and tripling down on his defense of Bailey Zappe is cringeworthy.

 

[Commander Shears]

Boy, Joe Murray is tough to take. His double and tripling down on his defense of Bailey Zappe is cringeworthy.

I didn't hear that but Joe Murray is quite literally an imbecile and the station hiring him to do one of their few daily shows is akin to Belichick hiring Patricia to run the offense. They cast a net as wide as whoever was already in the room.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

I didn't hear that but Joe Murray is quite literally an imbecile and the station hiring him to do one of their few daily shows is akin to Belichick hiring Patricia to run the offense. They cast a net as wide as whoever was already in the room.

You get what you pay for. Radio business is dying and it already paid doodoo during the boom period.

 

[NDame616]

Boy, Joe Murray is tough to take. His double and tripling down on his defense of Bailey Zappe is cringeworthy.

I think he fits in pretty well in his nighttime show and does a good job on weekends. When he fills in for a "regular" show he tries to "out sports take" the room and it's a tough listen. But in his show/weekends I think the set up is good for him

 

[j-man]

all they did today was birch and moan about the backup qb they do not understand a player like brady is once every 1'000 years any qb is going to fail after brady what crazy is greg berard is just as bad it's like they want the teams to fail ex for hockey

the funny part its i agree with them on the red sox joe murray does not bother me

 

[onthereg527]

I very rarely listen to these clowns but I just happened to have it on in the background and caught them discussing Pats/Eagles. Felger is talking about how the Eagles have been a pretty good franchise since these teams played in the Super Bowl 20 years ago and said he was "almost more impressed" by what the Eagles have done (been to a few Super Bowls with different quarterbacks, coaches, teams) than anything the Pats have done (three Super Bowl wins since, two more appearances) because the Pats "had a quarterback. That's it."

 

[54thMA]

I very rarely listen to these clowns but I just happened to have it on in the background and caught them discussing Pats/Eagles. Felger is talking about how the Eagles have been a pretty good franchise since these teams played in the Super Bowl 20 years ago and said he was "almost more impressed" by what the Eagles have done (been to a few Super Bowls with different quarterbacks, coaches, teams) than anything the Pats have done (three Super Bowl wins since, two more appearances) because the Pats "had a quarterback. That's it."

So he's "almost more impressed" with 1-2 in the SB vs 3-2 because in his mind, all the Patriots had was Brady and the other 52 guys on those teams were a bunch of JAGS, while the Eagles got there with 3 different QB's?

But if you call him out on it, he'll say "I said ALMOST!!"

Yeah; he really is a bomb tossing/Patriots hating troll.

 

[54thMA]

all they did today was birch and moan about the backup qb they do not understand a player like brady is once every 1'000 years any qb is going to fail after brady what crazy is greg berard is just as bad it's like they want the teams to fail ex for hockey

the funny part its i agree with them on the red sox joe murray does not bother me

Bedard fits right in on that show, he goes on and on about how bad the team is, how they have a bunch of nobodies on offense, how the OL is a disaster, how the defense is great at the safety position but weak everywhere else/that moronic checklist he holds up where only one player group is solid on the team.

Another stooge.

 

[onthereg527]

So he's "almost more impressed" with 1-2 in the SB vs 3-2 because in his mind, all the Patriots had was Brady and the other 52 guys on those teams were a bunch of JAGS, while the Eagles got there with 3 different QB's?

But if you call him out on it, he'll say "I said ALMOST!!"

Yeah; he really is a bomb tossing/Patriots hating troll.

That's the thing, the fact he said "almost" is always his out or crutch. He also spent a few minutes talking about how if the Pats win, it will be because of Belichick. And THEN he was like 'ehh, that's living in the past' and that he would much rather have a young offensive coach (like a Sirianni) then Bill.

 

[54thMA]

That's the thing, the fact he said "almost" is always his out or crutch. He also spent a few minutes talking about how if the Pats win, it will be because of Belichick. And THEN he was like 'ehh, that's living in the past' and that he would much rather have a young offensive coach (like a Sirianni) then Bill.

It must really suck to be a sports talk show host and literally hate 3 of the 4 teams you talk about from 2:00pm till 6:00pm five days a week.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

With regards to the "almost" Felger comment you have to know it's just a sports talk thing. He can't let himself ever be fully committed to one take or the other, it would remove the ability to hem & haw both sides for debate. He's never going to put himself into a corner opinion wise.
I appreciate that the approach has been hugely successful for him and I still listen to the show at times but it's so often contrived bullshit.

 

[PedrosRedGlove]

So he's "almost more impressed" with 1-2 in the SB vs 3-2 because in his mind, all the Patriots had was Brady and the other 52 guys on those teams were a bunch of JAGS, while the Eagles got there with 3 different QB's?

But if you call him out on it, he'll say "I said ALMOST!!"

Yeah; he really is a bomb tossing/Patriots hating troll.

I didn't think this take was that bad. I thought they were trying to be laudatory to the Eagles as an organization and Roseman as a manager more than critical of New England. It is impressive how they've been able to stay Super Bowl contenders over the past 2 decades through multiple, complete organizational teardowns, coach and QB included.

I'll agree yesterday's show was really bad though. They spent, without exaggerating, close to 2 hours of the show harping on Jack Jones being a moron, guilty of a mortal sin for having those guns in his bag at the airport. I get that it was Dumb, but it seemed pretty clear he likely wasn't getting much more than a slap on the wrist if you listened to any actual lawyer on the subject. Bizarre thing to make a very central part of the entire show, I think it's safe to assume Jones's relationship with the media is pretty poor at the point after his incident with Albert Breer earlier in the summer.

 

[Trapaholic]

Years ago, I was on the road more and listening in my car on most afternoons. I always wondered how they would shift their takes once Brady left and the Patriots were just another team trying to eek by.

Not surprised that it sounds like they are cranking up the contrarianism to an 11. The kicker here is that people may become less interested in the team now that they are mediocre. I'm not sure if the numbers bare that out, as the show still does good ratings even though Beasley is a trainwreck.

For the folks here, are you more likely to cut down on listening to sports talk when the teams are bad or mediocre?

NFL and Patriots talk dominates the airwaves for 9 or 10 months out of the year. The offseason stuff was interesting when Brady was on the team and you could bank on the Pats getting to the AFCCG. The guy was a superstar and a once in a lifetime player, and the organization was doing something that was unheard of in the cap era.

Last year, the Pats were the worst of both worlds: They were mediocre and boring. Not "bad" in a fun or entertaining way. What I am driving is this: They're going to have to really crank up the takes if team keeps putting along. F&M are great at what they do, but the fact that the Brady/Belichick teams were so good and interesting on the field made it a lot easier to drive conversations.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

For the folks here, are you more likely to cut down on listening to sports talk when the teams are bad or mediocre?

It sorta depends. I'm not in the car very much any more (working from home) and when I am, I tend to listen to podcasts. But when I don't have anything queued up, I will listen to F&M (and I also tend to watch Felger and Holley at night) because I'm interested in hearing what these guys (Felger, Holley, Massarotti on the Sox) have to say. I don't agree with everything they say, but sometimes I do.

What I want is honesty, if the Sox suck, it's okay to say it. If the Pats are good, don't invent reasons for why they're actually not. if you watch the games and follow the teams, you have a good idea of what's true. I just don't like being lied to, which is what F&M did a lot when the Pats were good and in 2018 when the Sox were destroying teams left and right. I get it, it's not fun or interesting to spend four hours a day, every day pretending to be Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney, but there has to be a baseline of truthfulness here otherwise everything is complete bullshit. In other words, if you thought that the 2016 Patriots weren't "that good" because they didn't beat any teams that were like the 1990 Giants or 49ers (a real take from Tony Mazz that year, BTW), then how do I know you're not bullshitting me when you talk about the 2023 Pats?

I think honesty goes a long way with most sports fans.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

For the folks here, are you more likely to cut down on listening to sports talk when the teams are bad or mediocre?

Personally, I like to listen when the teams are really good or when they're very bad. Teams that just hover around .500 through the season are boring and less compelling to me to hear talk about.
Much rather hate listen to people bash the team that's woefully under producing.

 

[54thMA]

I didn't think this take was that bad. I thought they were trying to be laudatory to the Eagles as an organization and Roseman as a manager more than critical of New England. It is impressive how they've been able to stay Super Bowl contenders over the past 2 decades through multiple, complete organizational teardowns, coach and QB included.

I'll agree yesterday's show was really bad though. They spent, without exaggerating, close to 2 hours of the show harping on Jack Jones being a moron, guilty of a mortal sin for having those guns in his bag at the airport. I get that it was Dumb, but it seemed pretty clear he likely wasn't getting much more than a slap on the wrist if you listened to any actual lawyer on the subject. Bizarre thing to make a very central part of the entire show, I think it's safe to assume Jones's relationship with the media is pretty poor at the point after his incident with Albert Breer earlier in the summer.

He took that take to BST last night; Felger and Giardi were shitting all over the Patriots and lauding the Eagles and what a tremendous organization they have built compared to the broken toilet down in Foxboro.

They've drafted better, made better trades, their GM is on top of things and builds from the OL and DL back, taking multiple good players at each position on both lines high in the draft while the Patriots do the opposite, keep reaching for players, have obvious holes and don't fill them with real talent, sign JAGS vs high end talent and are afraid to spend money, if the Eagles make a bad pick/spend money foolishly, they own it and move on.

Apparently, everything the Patriots did for close to 20 years matters not, they have been a hot mess since Brady left and are trending in the wrong direction.

They rolled the league for 20 years, went to 9 Super Bowls, were 6-3, went to 13 AFCCGS, but are now a middling team with no real direction or future and that's all that matters.

Felger said they need a young coach who's more offensive minded and wants to throw the ball all over the place, the league has passed Belichick by and teams with younger, more offensive minded coaches are the norm now, not teams like the Patriots.

Felger, Holley and Giardi all have the Patriots not making the playoffs, Holley has them as a 5 win team, Giardi 8-9, Felger in the 8-9/9-8 area.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Giardi’s just pissed Jimmy G isn’t the QB.