Ron Borges gets catfished, kisses career goodbye (we hope)

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Maybe possible new thread discussion? Which of the four major have the best selection process for their HoF? I’d argue NFL or NBA, but I know nothing about NHL. I do know MLB is the worst.
Show your math. Baseball does not have the worst HoF selection process. It’s not even close.
 

Humphrey

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Does anyone even notice Borges' articles aside from this incident?

I literally forget he's still writing on Boston sports 99 percent of the time. What's notable here is how out of touch with their readers engagement with, or respect for, Borges as a writer/commentator some the former print journalists who know Borges are.

Borges has no credibility with the Boston sports fan because he is mean-spirited and doesn't provide sourced information or insight. Yet here you have folks like Tomase defending their bud from senseless attacks on a quality reporter whose only crime is saying mean things about Belichick! What a joke. Tomase, and this is an indictment of him as a radio personality, would be more interesting if he criticized Borges for making the same mistake he did on the Matt Walsh story.
You couldn't be more right. I don't ever pick up a Herald to read something Borges wrote (Shank I might have a moment of weakness and do that, especially if it's non-pro sports related, or at least non-football). And I just cringe when I see his face on one of the panel shows, switch the channel immediately.
The last straw with me was right before he got canned from the Globe. He wrote something on a national website about Adalius Thomas being the cream of the free agent crop that season. Then, a week later, the Pats signed him. The next day in the Globe he trashed the signing. Yes, Thomas was only good for a year or two, but that's besides the point.
As far as Tomase goes, he's decided that he has a niche in being insufferable; in the long run I don't think he has the stones to pull that off.
 

Reverend

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EEI is really going out of their way to make it easy for Brady to say "FU" to working with them.
Brady wiping out Boston sports media like Hercules cleaning out the stables would be a wonderful feather in the cap of his legacy.

What can this handsome, handsome man not do?
 

Dotrat

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On a day when he could have had written about impact news figures Malcolm Butler or Josh McDaniels or other Patriots off-season stories such as the upcoming draft or pending free agents, Ron Borges took a text conversation from a fake Don Yee who called Borges "old friend," and is obviously false. This genius move follows prior bad reporting such as plagiarism, which will not help any writer any time soon.
This post needs more love.
 
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Smiling Joe Hesketh

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“Belichick will not be so lucky. He doesn’t have [Jimmy] Johnson’s personality, which can be as jovial and charming as a snake oil salesman’s. Worse, this Patriot team isn’t going to win two Super Bowls any time soon.”
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Show your math. Baseball does not have the worst HoF selection process. It’s not even close.
I base it on the fact there's far too many voters that are far removed from the game, too many old men stuck to "the old days" and hung up on PEDs and no format of narrowing the field so that backlogs don't exist - one thing I like about the NFL is that they go through stages of reducing candidates. You have far too many candidates that voters are allowed to choose from, with no minimum amount of votes and it leads to backlogs because Joe Daily News is going to vote for Rocco Baldelli because he used to give him a good quote when he was a beat writer. I also think the whole setup of a term limit and the Veterans Committee is dumb - the VC is good because they correct errors sometimes, but those wouldn't exist if the original formula were simpler. I also think that classes arise from the process that are far too small - years when one person get in are useless, imo. Why does every single eligible candidate need to go to vote? Does Placido Polanco need to be on the final ballot next year? Derek Lowe or Kevin Youkilis? Travis Hafner or Darren Oliver? Cause those guys will get a vote or two, 100 voters will only vote for 3 guys, 200 that won't vote for Clemens or Bonds due to "integrity of the game" and we will end up with Mariano Rivera and maybe Edgar Martinez. It's idiotic. Even if you want to keep that many voters, narrow the field down through some kind of committee.

In curiosity, which league does have the worst process? I like the way the NFL does it; I like the way NBA does it - quick eligibility, screening committee, minimum number of votes, etc. I have no information on NHL, so I retract the "I do know" portion of my post.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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“Belichick will not be so lucky. He doesn’t have [Jimmy] Johnson’s personality, which can be as jovial and charming as a snake oil salesman’s. Worse, this Patriot team isn’t going to win two Super Bowls any time soon.”
This is as bad as the David Terrell quote
 

dcmissle

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Tomase just called Borges the bastion of Patriots beat writers along with Will McDonough. That's an insult to Will McDonough.

Best quote of that segment: "Others have gone to print with less."
I feel where Tomase is coming from — though his defense of Borges is pitiful.

Almost 20 years ago, Ron and Will formed a tag team that went after the Patriots hammer and tongs. Good thing too because nobody else in town had the fortitude. The Pats under Grier and Pete Carroll were a disgrace, with an occasional assist from Jonathan Kraft, who fancied himself a personnel guy. BBTL then could have — should have — been known as Sons of Leonta Rheames.

But being a good village scold requires more than a meanness streak. You need to work hard, be attentive to detail, and be honest. Ron is 0 for 3 and has been for some time.
 

edmunddantes

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Not only is Borges a voter, but usually the voter from the players hometown team is the one that presents his case. So Borges is the guy making the arguments in the room for Ty Law’s and other Patriots players.
 

dcmissle

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Another thing about journos —they are incredibly thin skinned, vain and insecure. Especially if they cover politics or sports. And especially if they have a microphone, as most do these days.

Saw it down here recently when sports talk radio guys jumped to the defense of the ‘EEI guy who jumped ugly on Brady’s daughter. Their defense — oh the executives put immense pressure on us to produce cutting edge content 4 hours a day. Poor babies.

In this context, the criticism Borges has received from other writers underscores just how bad he has been. It’s unusual and remarkable.

Thomase just needs to keep it zipped on journalistic best practices and integrity for the rest of his life.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Another thing about journos —they are incredibly thin skinned, vain and insecure. Especially if they cover politics or sports. And especially if they have a microphone, as most do these days.

Saw it down here recently when sports talk radio guys jumped to the defense of the ‘EEI guy who jumped ugly on Brady’s daughter. Their defense — oh the executives put immense pressure on us to produce cutting edge content 4 hours a day. Poor babies.

In this context, the criticism Borges has received from other writers underscores just how bad he has been. It’s unusual and remarkable.

Thomase just needs to keep it zipped on journalistic best practices and integrity for the rest of his life.
Don't worry, Tomase will be the 3rd host on Monday morning on K&C!
 

dcmissle

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If one recognizes these sports radio shows for what most of them plainly are and strive to be — pure entertainment, but not newsworthy or serious — what’s the big deal? With few exceptions, how are they meaningfully different from Family Guy or South Park, other than the pretensions of the station executives?

To be sure, you have to make sure that nobody is exempted, every group is fair game. But let’s grow up — when these personalities are suspended, the executives smile.

It’s not what I look for. I’m a stodgy Dale and Holley guy. But it is what is.
 

Scott Cooper's Grand Slam

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If one recognizes these sports radio shows for what most of them plainly are and strive to be — pure entertainment, but not newsworthy or serious — what’s the big deal? With few exceptions, how are they meaningfully different from Family Guy or South Park, other than the pretensions of the station executives?
Family Guy and South Park are funny. They say nothing is mean if it's funny enough, and I happen to agree. WEEI's statement that Fauria made a "horrible attempt at humor." That's true, but it's also a cop-out on his part. Fauria punched down and he missed. He gets what he deserves.


To be sure, you have to make sure that nobody is exempted, every group is fair game. But let’s grow up — when these personalities are suspended, the executives smile.
Agreed, and that's too bad. Hopefully Fauria has learned his lesson.
 

j44thor

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Not only is Borges a voter, but usually the voter from the players hometown team is the one that presents his case. So Borges is the guy making the arguments in the room for Ty Law’s and other Patriots players.
Why is Borges the NFL HoF voter for NE and how does one get this changed?
It is farcical to think that the NE rep for HoF doesn't know who Brady's agent is. How disconnected from the NFL does one have to be to not know him.
 

Byrdbrain

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It will be interesting to see how the HoF thing goes for Ronny. In addition to being catfished in this case and lying about "sources" he also dumped on the most well known HoF voter in his text messages with "Yee". He said something along the lines of it would be nice if something dropped in his lap instead of Peter King's for a change.
 

dcmissle

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Adorable. Two suspensions on this gun belt, and it continues to breathe.


And yes, Felger said he believes the Borges column is “75% true.”
 

lexrageorge

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Adorable. Two suspensions on this gun belt, and it continues to breathe.


And yes, Felger said he believes the Borges column is “75% true.”
Let's count the facts quoted in the article:

- Tom Brady is a QB for the New England Patriots
- Tom Brady will be 41 next season.
- Tom Brady's agent is Don Yee.
- Tom Brady wants a new contract that makes him the highest paid QB in the league, or he will sit out.

So, yeah, about 75% of the above is indeed true.
 

chonce1

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So what is odds on firing? Forced retirement/resignation. Or just a suspension. Can he still cover the Pats? How many guys can the Herald report who can't even go near the Patriots?
 

Jordu

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Another thing about journos —they are incredibly thin skinned, vain and insecure. Especially if they cover politics or sports. And especially if they have a microphone, as most do these days.
And lazy. You left out lazy. As a general rule, columnists are the laziest people in journalism (with exceptions, of course) and sports columnists are the laziest columnists of all.
 

jsinger121

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So what is odds on firing? Forced retirement/resignation. Or just a suspension. Can he still cover the Pats? How many guys can the Herald report who can't even go near the Patriots?
Herald is about to be sold and I’d expect him to be one of the casualties
 

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I base it on the fact there's far too many voters that are far removed from the game, too many old men stuck to "the old days" and hung up on PEDs and no format of narrowing the field so that backlogs don't exist - one thing I like about the NFL is that they go through stages of reducing candidates. You have far too many candidates that voters are allowed to choose from, with no minimum amount of votes and it leads to backlogs because Joe Daily News is going to vote for Rocco Baldelli because he used to give him a good quote when he was a beat writer. I also think the whole setup of a term limit and the Veterans Committee is dumb - the VC is good because they correct errors sometimes, but those wouldn't exist if the original formula were simpler. I also think that classes arise from the process that are far too small - years when one person get in are useless, imo. Why does every single eligible candidate need to go to vote? Does Placido Polanco need to be on the final ballot next year? Derek Lowe or Kevin Youkilis? Travis Hafner or Darren Oliver? Cause those guys will get a vote or two, 100 voters will only vote for 3 guys, 200 that won't vote for Clemens or Bonds due to "integrity of the game" and we will end up with Mariano Rivera and maybe Edgar Martinez. It's idiotic. Even if you want to keep that many voters, narrow the field down through some kind of committee.

In curiosity, which league does have the worst process? I like the way the NFL does it; I like the way NBA does it - quick eligibility, screening committee, minimum number of votes, etc. I have no information on NHL, so I retract the "I do know" portion of my post.
There's a lot to unpack here, but I'll try.

The voting for the BBHoF has improved in a lot of ways. Is it perfect? No. But nothing of this sort is. As far as old writers voting for players, they've been taking away the votes of older guys who have not covered MLB in 15 (I think) years. So that's weeding out the old men who are stuck in the olden days. Every year, new blood gets brought in and eventually the PED issue won't be an issue at all.

But, and this is not my opinion, I can understand voters not wanting to vote for a player who has failed a PED test. That's just a difference of opinion and does not make Cooperstown voting "dumb".

As far as having players on the ballot that don't meet your standards, what's the harm? When has a mediocre player slipped into Cooperstown? Who cares if Youkilis or Polanco or Hafner get a vote or two? With a large voting body, and more checks and balances, there is less chance for a player to slip into Cooperstown than for one to slip into Canton. There are 48 voters for Canton, if you have a Hall of Famer that you want inducted you have to make a presentation. A majority of those 48 can be swayed by a really strong presentation. Joe Namath a Hall of Famer? Based on what? He won one game in 1969 and he banged Ann Margaret?

And what about city reps that have a hair across their ass about a particular player? Ron Borges is the New England representative and he has made a living off hating the Patriots. You think that he should be the steward that shepherds in the Pat reps to Canton? Brady is a no-brainer. Belichick is a no-brainer. But what about the other players that need a good presentation to get immortalized? Do you trust Ron Borges to do his due diligence to properly research and to properly present any one who isn't a slam dunk?

And talk about cronyism. The Veteran's Committee has nothing on these 48 backscratchers. In a MMQB a bunch of years ago, Peter King talked about it. I mean, he made it sound like a fun little club of "you vote for my guy and I'll vote for yours" but the reality is a lot worse than King intended. Meeting in the proverbial smokey back room to decide who is and who isn't worthy without any oversight? How is that better than some sort of accountability that baseball writers have to face?

It seems to me that you don't have a problem with HOW the BBHoF votes, but WHO they vote for. Which is fine, but the BBHoF system isn't completely broken.

If people actually gave a shit about the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there would be tons and tons of articles written about the way that people are inducted into Canton. However no one cares, but people do care about Coopestown. That's why there are arguments and articles written about it every January, despite the fact that baseball lags behind football in popularity.
 

Red Right Ankle

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Do you trust Ron Borges to do his due diligence to properly research and to properly present any one who isn't a slam dunk?
Yeah, he just needs the right help. Make sure someone else to writes an article on why player X should get in and Ron will copy it. Or pretend to be the player's agent and send him a text telling him that, "if inducted, player X plans on spending his whole speech shitting on Bill Belichick." He'll make the case with gusto.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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There's a lot to unpack here, but I'll try.

The voting for the BBHoF has improved in a lot of ways. Is it perfect? No. But nothing of this sort is. As far as old writers voting for players, they've been taking away the votes of older guys who have not covered MLB in 15 (I think) years. So that's weeding out the old men who are stuck in the olden days. Every year, new blood gets brought in and eventually the PED issue won't be an issue at all.

But, and this is not my opinion, I can understand voters not wanting to vote for a player who has failed a PED test. That's just a difference of opinion and does not make Cooperstown voting "dumb".

As far as having players on the ballot that don't meet your standards, what's the harm? When has a mediocre player slipped into Cooperstown? Who cares if Youkilis or Polanco or Hafner get a vote or two? With a large voting body, and more checks and balances, there is less chance for a player to slip into Cooperstown than for one to slip into Canton. There are 48 voters for Canton, if you have a Hall of Famer that you want inducted you have to make a presentation. A majority of those 48 can be swayed by a really strong presentation. Joe Namath a Hall of Famer? Based on what? He won one game in 1969 and he banged Ann Margaret?

And what about city reps that have a hair across their ass about a particular player? Ron Borges is the New England representative and he has made a living off hating the Patriots. You think that he should be the steward that shepherds in the Pat reps to Canton? Brady is a no-brainer. Belichick is a no-brainer. But what about the other players that need a good presentation to get immortalized? Do you trust Ron Borges to do his due diligence to properly research and to properly present any one who isn't a slam dunk?

And talk about cronyism. The Veteran's Committee has nothing on these 48 backscratchers. In a MMQB a bunch of years ago, Peter King talked about it. I mean, he made it sound like a fun little club of "you vote for my guy and I'll vote for yours" but the reality is a lot worse than King intended. Meeting in the proverbial smokey back room to decide who is and who isn't worthy without any oversight? How is that better than some sort of accountability that baseball writers have to face?

It seems to me that you don't have a problem with HOW the BBHoF votes, but WHO they vote for. Which is fine, but the BBHoF system isn't completely broken.

If people actually gave a shit about the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there would be tons and tons of articles written about the way that people are inducted into Canton. However no one cares, but people do care about Coopestown. That's why there are arguments and articles written about it every January, despite the fact that baseball lags behind football in popularity.
I never said it’s completely broken, but I do think it’s got flaws. My issue isn’t with who people vote fore but rather that the way it’s structured leads to it being inefficient and the voting rules are illogical. If you’re going to let people like Hafner he voted on, then don’t limit the amount of players guys can vote for - let them vote for as many as they like. Subsequently if you want to limit votes, narrow the pool. It leads to a ‘Well id like to vote for this guy, but he’s only in his first year and will get in eventually and this other guy is in his last year so I’ll vote for him instead’. Or a writer knows the guy will drop off and wants to do him a solid so that he can be got a HoF vote instead of using that on someone worthy. If they didn’t let so many players be in there, they wouldn’t need eligibility limits to prevent the pool from becoming unmanageable.

I agree with your criticism of cronyism, but I’m not sure that doesn’t exist in all of these halls. And I agree that has probably led to Borges still being the NE rep, I’m just not sure how much that really impacts things. Is there a Pat that we think should be in that hasn’t made it recently? Doesn’t Law making the final round kind of show that either Borges is being straight up or if not, it doesn’t matter that much and the rest can think for themselves?

As to popularity, I think baseball has much more nostalgia involved and the entire ‘Cooperstown experience’. And they deem themselves more exclusive, by which I think they believe only allowing a few guys a year - or even only one - instead of five, makes it more special or attention worthy.

None of them are perfect and it’s not like I’m losing sleep over it, I just think baseball’s could be improved on. I understand that it’s gradually changing and the old men are starting to fall off and that’s a good thing. But you’re always gonna have those guys to some extent.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Thoughts and prayers (thought he'll probably resurface somewhere, we've got too many sports outlets with time to fill).
Do you mean written outlets? Because I'm sure he's been available for TV and radio even when he was still employed at the Herald. No one wants to hear from him. They'd rather get whatever opinions he has from their original sources.
 

jsinger121

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Would have been interesting to see if this hadn't happened to him would he have still been one of the layoffs?
 

chonce1

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Would have been interesting to see if this hadn't happened to him would he have still been one of the layoffs?
Good question. It is surely possible since he probably makes a decent buck. Although the Herald probably thinks investing money in Patriots coverage is a winner since it is such a popular topic.

But I think they would've fired him if layoffs didnt give them the excuse. Has he written since he was catfished? Or was he still on indefinite suspension? If it is the former one has to think they decided he was done after it happened (not merely because of the offense, but that was the biggest f-up since Tomasi-Gate). The layoffs allow them to do so without firing him. They could've fired him with cause, but I suspect he has personal relationships and friends in the newsroom -- he was hired after one controversy after all.

Anyway, I never liked Borges as a journalist. Seems way too much of a curmudgeon. I don't mind reporters who lean toward the cynical, but Shaugnessy and Borges just seem to come off as unlikable dicks. I did meet CHB in person when I was in college and he was actually very nice (short sample size, but seemed sincere). But in print? Seems like a dick.

Felger has sort of turned into one of these guys on the radio. He is smarter, or more persuasive, and more entertaining but can be equally maddening.