BosGlobe: Peter May's game report

[opi@unesco.org]

I'm not saying he's making any stuff up, but Peter May's Knicks game
report chooses to emphasize all the negative things the Celtics did
against the Knicks last night and goes on to make a litany of excuses on
behalf of the opponent.

Just in case anyone might be impressed by Boston's defensive efforts, he
blames the Celtics victory on "a negligible effort from New York" and of
course "not to mention the grace of the NBA schedule (....) it didn't
help that the Knicks had to play the night before in Minneapolis, as
tough a turnaround as there is in the Eastern Conference." At least
twice he uses the word "lucky" to describe the win, blaming it on "some
truly abysmal play by the Knicks."

He even takes the side of the Knicks on the key Adrian Griffin steal:
"Asked about the play, the classy Houston said, 'On a play like that, it
has to be pretty obvious for a call to be made, especially late in the
game.' He said he was nicked. Latrell Sprewell, eavesdropping, said, 'It
was all wrist. I had a good view. It was all wrist.'"

I just find this so weird. Like I've said, why does May bother to
continue covering the NBA if his only agenda is to spread negativity
about the Celtics and portray every victory essentially as a matter of
dumb luck, or the indifferent play and lack of talent of our opponents.
I find it hard to believe a casual fan could read this article and come
away enthusiastic about a young, understaffed Celtics team that has so
far defeated three teams (Toronto, Charlotte, Knicks) with a combined
12-3 record so far against the rest of the league.

It's fine to be critical as a fan. Being critical makes me feel a little
smarter, less naive. Plus it is kind of our job as fans to wring our
hands and be fatalistic about our Boston sports. But it's another thing
entirely to use a public forum to trivialize the Celtics' efforts and
achievements this year, to undermine their morale and even methodically
plant dissension (the Pitino/Antoine feud was essentially Globe
generated), and to haughtily spin it like only an idiot
basketball-know-nothing would support and appreciate the current team or
it's "hated" star.

The Celtics are young and most of the players are pretty used to losing.
Losing is easy and even fear of losing (a facet of wanting badly to win)
is a hard habit to break. You fear losing as a player, you lose. Last
year, a two game losing streak amid a tough upcoming schedule might have
blown up into a 4-14 collapse. This year, the Celtics are "bad news".
Both teams were shorthanded or gimpy last night, yet the Celtics showed
a lot of determination to win ugly last night against the NBA
championship finalists. Give them credit, Peter May Queen, you gumby
freaking douche bag!

Joe

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