In response

[Eric Albert]

>gene kirkpatrick <gk_tyler at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
>As for Ryan, the columnist, he's selling newspapers first and ignoring "the other hand" too easily.

I think that's half right.

Bob Ryan is a columnist for a daily paper, so selling newspapers, and selling them today, is his job. He's supposed to take an issue and make it as compelling as possible, which usually means focusing on only one side, and often means extrapolating as far as he can reasonably push, or a bit farther.

Ryan is perfectly aware of "the other hand." He's just saving it for a different, equally provocative (and, I would say, entertaining) column. I'll bet he's already written most of a "Garnett is God" column in his head.

Ryan isn't a grouch (well, any more of a grouch than the last decade and a half of Celtics basketball would warrant) or a hypocrite; he's doing his job.

-- Eric