RANT:Why are the radio stations giving preference to B's instead of C's

[heyvik]

It's because of all the black people. 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but to some extent I think this is an element at play.

There's a lot of coded language that gets used by hockey folks (e.g. Felger) talking in favor of hockey and deriding the NBA and its players.


Hockey players are "hard workers" with "good character" and "just play the right way" etc etc.
NBA players are "entitled," "primadonnas," "divas," "thugs" etc.

This despite the fact that a lot of players in the NHL actually act like thugs on the ice and serve no purpose for their teams other than to start fights with the opposing team. 

Not to mention that to speak generally of NBA players, many of whom have worked extremely hard to rise out of destitution to become professional athletes, as lazy or entitled, is ludicrous.

So True...but some people refuse to acknowledge it.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

My biggest issue this week is exactly this. The C's deadline less than 30 hours away and yet you hear nothing but B's talk on the radio??? Is anyone as fed up about this other than me?

The NHL trade deadline is March 2nd you have 13 freaking days to cover that...the NBA deadline is on Feb 19 - PLEASE talk some C's instead of B's.

Is anyone else with me?

I don't listen to sports radio, so I don't share your frustration, but I'll venture some guesses as to why the Bs are getting more coverage right now:

1) The Bruins, if they get their act together, are a legit title contender, whereas the Cs, at best, are a first-round playoff exit, quite possibly much worse.

2) All Cs trade news at this point is 99% rumor, i.e. pure speculation.

3) As far as this season goes, the Bruins are at a much more critical juncture.

[sofutomygaha]

I assume that weei ignores the Celtics because the team dropped them for wbz last season.

I don't know why wbz doesn't talk about them though. I get that people like football around here, but in the two solid weeks leading up to the super bowl I couldn't so much as get the score of last night's game because they were too busy yelling about the ideal gas law.

[banty19]

It's because of all the black people. 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but to some extent I think this is an element at play.

There's a lot of coded language that gets used by hockey folks (e.g. Felger) talking in favor of hockey and deriding the NBA and its players.


Hockey players are "hard workers" with "good character" and "just play the right way" etc etc.
NBA players are "entitled," "primadonnas," "divas," "thugs" etc.

This despite the fact that a lot of players in the NHL actually act like thugs on the ice and serve no purpose for their teams other than to start fights with the opposing team. 

Not to mention that to speak generally of NBA players, many of whom have worked extremely hard to rise out of destitution to become professional athletes, as lazy or entitled, is ludicrous.

So True...but some people refuse to acknowledge it.

I honestly think either subconscious or overt racism has a lot to do with the crowd that "loves hockey and hates basketball". And I'm a white person who prefers basketball so I don't think I'm imagining prejudices.

I could understand if people just aren't into basketball. But there's plenty of media and fans who seem to loathe it.

To counter my own argument, maybe hockey just has a Napoleon complex from being the 4th sport. But like a previous poster mentioned, many fans/media frequently use code words like "thugs" and "divas". That basically is racism.

[PhoSita]

The Boston media is bad about ignoring the C's -- the national media is worse.

Check out NBA.com highlights of the Celtics sometime.  There have been games against small-market opponents (e.g. Timberwolves) where the highlights have ZERO -- truly, none whatsoever -- Celtics clips.  Nada.

[kraidstar]

It's because of all the black people. 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but to some extent I think this is an element at play.

There's a lot of coded language that gets used by hockey folks (e.g. Felger) talking in favor of hockey and deriding the NBA and its players.

Hockey players are "hard workers" with "good character" and "just play the right way" etc etc.
NBA players are "entitled," "primadonnas," "divas," "thugs" etc.

This despite the fact that a lot of players in the NHL actually act like thugs on the ice and serve no purpose for their teams other than to start fights with the opposing team. 

Not to mention that to speak generally of NBA players, many of whom have worked extremely hard to rise out of destitution to become professional athletes, as lazy or entitled, is ludicrous.

TP
you hit the mail on the head, it's called "dog whistle politics".
and IMO hockey players are just as "lazy" as NBA players, the NHL regular season is a joke. guys don't play hard because the season is WAY too long and they don't want to get hurt. just like the NBA, actually.
this problem is exacerbated by the fact that it's so easy to make the playoffs in both leagues (16 out of 30 teams get in), and there's relatively little advantage given by getting a high seed compared to football or baseball.

overall it amuses me when i see the hardcore bruins fans in a panic because i wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they magically "turn it on" in the playoffs and win a few series.

[kraidstar]

It's because of all the black people. 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but to some extent I think this is an element at play.

There's a lot of coded language that gets used by hockey folks (e.g. Felger) talking in favor of hockey and deriding the NBA and its players.

Hockey players are "hard workers" with "good character" and "just play the right way" etc etc.
NBA players are "entitled," "primadonnas," "divas," "thugs" etc.

This despite the fact that a lot of players in the NHL actually act like thugs on the ice and serve no purpose for their teams other than to start fights with the opposing team. 

Not to mention that to speak generally of NBA players, many of whom have worked extremely hard to rise out of destitution to become professional athletes, as lazy or entitled, is ludicrous.

another facet of this which gets under-appreciated is that the NBA just flat out has way more stars than the NHL. and it's cosmetic, it's not just the style of play in the sport.
think about it, in the NHL, players have helmets/masks on, and guys are constantly going in and out on shifts.

it's hard to be a "diva" when only the best-educated fans can immediately recognize you if you play on any other team than the home team.
the NBA, on the other hand, has no helmets; their uniforms that cover only half the body; there are big, easily-noticed differences in skin tone, height, and body type. you also have cameras literally right on the court giving constant close-ups of their faces, especially during free-throws etc.
 
so the NBA is inherently more star-friendly, and i think NBA haters need to get over it, it's a strength of that league, not a weakness.

[D.o.s.]

It's because of all the black people. 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but to some extent I think this is an element at play.

There's a lot of coded language that gets used by hockey folks (e.g. Felger) talking in favor of hockey and deriding the NBA and its players.

Hockey players are "hard workers" with "good character" and "just play the right way" etc etc.
NBA players are "entitled," "primadonnas," "divas," "thugs" etc.

This despite the fact that a lot of players in the NHL actually act like thugs on the ice and serve no purpose for their teams other than to start fights with the opposing team. 

Not to mention that to speak generally of NBA players, many of whom have worked extremely hard to rise out of destitution to become professional athletes, as lazy or entitled, is ludicrous.

Just because it's tongue in cheek doesn't mean it isn't describing a real phenomenon.

[Jonny CC]

It's a matter of giving the people what they want and ratings, ratings, ratings. 

The Red Sox rule the Boston press.  Always have, always will.  Sandoval's beer belly/pregnancy was big news this week!! 
The Pats just won a Super Bowl and people are still p---ed about Deflategate so that's still generating discussion.
The Bruins have a rabid fan base that got woken up with the Stanley Cup win.  Since it's basically the same team that made the Finals a couple years ago, people still want to talk about the team and the trade deadline because fans like to talk/complain on the radio when they are p---ed off.  Seeing the B's blow games, watching Seguin dominate in Dallas, etc are good reasons to vent.   
The Celtics traded all of their All-Stars and are in a rebuild mode.  The casual sports radio listeners don't know who Sully, Turner, Olynk, etc are or care about a potential trade deadline move that will either get the C's to the 8th seed, or give them assets for 2020.   

[PhoSita]

Just because it's tongue in cheek doesn't mean it isn't describing a real phenomenon.

Heh, fair enough.  I just didn't want to assume you were making a statement (that could be seen as controversial by some) if you didn't clearly intend it to be taken seriously.

[DarkAzcura]

The Sports Hub was essentially created because WEEI only talked about the Red Sox and Patriots and didn't care about the Bruins. The Celtics need a similar movement from someone in the media. Until then, the Celtics will always get the short end of the stick when it comes to radio talk, even when they are good. It sucks, but I've slowly accepted it.

I do want to say that people who are saying the radio doesn't focus on the Celtics because they are bad are wrong. The radio barely talks about the Celtics when they are good. I remember them talking about spring training and the opening month about 5x more than the Celtics when the Celtics were in the middle of a playoff run killing everyone in 2010. No, I'm sorry, I don't care that Ortiz is off to a slow start and may be declining. I care about the Celtics killing Lebron and the Cavs. It was disturbing.

[Donoghus]

The Sports Hub was essentially created because WEEI only talked about the Red Sox and Patriots and didn't care about the Bruins. The Celtics need a similar movement from someone in the media. Until then, the Celtics will always get the short end of the stick when it comes to radio talk, even when they are good. It sucks, but I've slowly accepted it.

I do want to say that people who are saying the radio doesn't focus on the Celtics because they are bad are wrong. The radio barely talks about the Celtics when they are good. I remember them talking about spring training and the opening month about 5x more than the Celtics when the Celtics were in the middle of a playoff run killing everyone in 2010. It was disturbing.

Back in the day, 1510 the Zone was real good with the Celtics talk (they also carried the rights).  The issue was that you couldn't get their signal much past Rte 128.

[kozlodoev]

The Sports Hub was essentially created because WEEI only talked about the Red Sox and Patriots and didn't care about the Bruins. The Celtics need a similar movement from someone in the media. Until then, the Celtics will always get the short end of the stick when it comes to radio talk, even when they are good. It sucks, but I've slowly accepted it.

The Sports Hub didn't even carry the Celtics until this season.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Here is the thing: Boston sports media is toxic.  Celticsblog, Grantland, Sons of Sam Horn (well I used to go there anyway, maybe it's bad now), and a small handful other internet things are the only outlets I have that aren't totally negative cesspools of misery like WEEI is.  If  you moved to a different city, do you think you'd go on their website and listen to their podcasts or anything?  Of course not, it's depressing and terrible.  Dan Shaughnessy is human misery incarnate.  If we had a different media, we'd probably win even more championships as a city since we would have less mental breakdowns from our new players.  It's why I love Tommy more than I should - he's one of the few positive people to a fault in the Boston sports media.  Don't even get me started on the Herald

[DarkAzcura]

The Sports Hub was essentially created because WEEI only talked about the Red Sox and Patriots and didn't care about the Bruins. The Celtics need a similar movement from someone in the media. Until then, the Celtics will always get the short end of the stick when it comes to radio talk, even when they are good. It sucks, but I've slowly accepted it.

The Sports Hub didn't even carry the Celtics until this season.

Okay..? I'm not sure what your point is. Earlier in the thread someone referenced that WEEI never talks about the Bruins but the Sports Hub always does. I just gave the reason. The Sports Hub really exists because some media members were sick of the lack of Bruins' coverage.

The Red Sox aren't officially carried by the Sports Hub, but that doesn't stop them from talking about them all the time. The Sports Hub covers the Pats, Bruins, and Sox well. They are a step up from WEEI who really only care about the Pats and the Sox. Now we need a station that goes for the C's.

EDIT: Hate to say it but I have to agree with the above poster, especially for the Celtics. There is absolutely no reason we should not be in the discussion with Chicago, NY, and LA whenever big FAs reach the market. We have won 17 championships, and the lack of local media hype up really does this franchise a disservice at times. You'd think NY has won 10+ championships or something based on how their media hypes that franchise up. "The Mecca" lol. Give me a break. It works, though. The national media hype machine works wonders for them because of their local media. They are in every discussion for any FA, but fortunately for us, their FO typically sucks and they rarely follow through.