'The story line for the B’s': You know, the Bruins are so bad (take your vomit-bag pick here or here or here) that they're morbidly fascinating and may yet hold my attention this winter. ... The Celts and Mark Blount, meanwhile, are also making strange news, of the Sox-and-Manny saga variety.



All-Purpose Lefty Cause Day - not: John nails it: If it was really about Rosa Parks, it would be about Rosa Parks. But it's not about Rosa Parks. ... Payzant didn't balk at facing down the loony left. Too bad the same wasn't done with the loony right when they pulled their own holiday stunt.  ¶ 7:29 AM

Jeter to center? Mueller to Yanks?: It's the most imaginative move by the Yanks I've heard about in a while. But they're denying it. They're too hooked on the checkbook strategy, I guess. ...  ¶ 7:16 AM

Hub Blog demands pension readjustment: Billy Bulger beat the system he used to oversee on behalf of himself and his ilk. OK. Now it's my turn at the trough. Henceforth, I shall include the following past and future perks in my pension calculations, to be submitted to the Social Security system and/or the state pension fund upon my retirement: The pizza parties occasionally paid for by employers. Hmmm. What other perks has the private sector given me? The lobby table candies. Employee-discount newspaper subscriptions. T-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs emblazoned with company logos given by past employers as 'holiday gifts,' not to mention staplers, paper clips, tape, pens, paper, notepads, scissors and other office supplies that turned into home supplies. Travel porn expenses. Leftover catered sandwiches, sodas, Big Grab chips from sales meetings. Etc., etc. ... Add it up! ... And don't forget the health-care and 401(k) contributions. ... Shocking News Department: Judges treat a fellow judge in a non-private sector manner! One question: Will the one-year unpaid suspension count against his state pension calculation? Why ask. ...  ¶ 6:10 AM

'It wasn’t Tom Brady’s worst game': Amazingly, the Pats are still in good shape to get into the playoffs, if only because the AFC East is so pathetic. ... Sensing a rough season ahead for the Pats, I was hoping the Bruins and Celts might surprise us this year by providing some excitement during the long dark winter months. But the two sorriest teams in Boston specialize in adding to the atmosphere of winter depression. The Bruins, who bragged they had one of the best post-strike payroll positions in the NHL, are arguably as bad as they've been in decades. The Celts show more promise. But they're still a mediocre franchise. ... I need to take up skiing to break up the winter.

Update -- Adam picked up the above post with the following classic headline: 'Guess he picked the wrong season to give up sniffing glue.' ... Perfection. It made my day. Though not even sniffing glue can make watching the Bruins and Celts bearable.



'At least the spark of progress': One of the harder things to figure out is just how we're doing in Iraq. The CSM today runs a story in which returning GIs say things are going better in Iraq than portrayed in the media. Michael Yon, whose word I trust, agrees. So I suspect the war is indeed progressing better than what we're reading and seeing in the media. All the more reason to stick it out. ... But I'm not going to the opposite extreme of those who downplayed the very real early setbacks -- remember their mocking comparisons to the Saturday Evening Post's coverage of post-war Germany? -- and are now asking us to trust them again. Those who criticize all the time lose credibility. Those who criticize the critics all the time have their own credibility problems.

Update -- Here's a good Newsweek article on Iraq and how we are making progress in Iraq: "(It) is ironic that just as the debate over what to do about Iraq has reached a shrill climax on Capitol Hill, the Bush administration has, at long last, quietly developed a coordinated, coherent strategy on the ground." Via Andrew Sullivan.  ¶ 8:29 AM

'Headlong retreat from gigantism and uniformity': Building designs really do matter. ...  ¶ 12:26 PM

They dumbed down the argument: Hub Blog missed a good Scot column the other day on whether the president 'lied' or 'misled' the American people about WMD in Iraq. Isn't it amazing how we're still debating the pre-war debate?

... My own preferred description is 'exaggeration.' Exaggerations usually contain elements of both truths and lies -- meaning the Bush administration was both telling the truth and fibbing at the time. Let me explain. I was discussing/arguing/babbling about the pre-war debate with a group of friends the other night. I relayed the simple argument of a Hub Blog brother that the problem with the Bush administration wasn't that it lied or misled Americans per se, but rather that it dumbed down the arguments for war. The WMD and Al-Qaeda points were supposed to be the emotional 'slam dunk' clinchers that would put the case for war beyond dispute, my brother said. The administration treated the American people as if they couldn't handle purely complicated arguments. Sure they brought up the geopolitical need to get to the core problems of oil, terrorism, Saddam, troops in Saudi Arabia, Iraq sanctions, Middle East despots and other issues. But they had to add more to garner enough support to get done what they sincerely believed needed to be done -- and they did add more. At that point they were talking down to us. Now they're reaping the rewards of their simplistic 'slam dunk' arguments that they believed in but had to garnish with exaggerated images of mushroom clouds and terrorist street battles in Kansas. ... After I said all this, I looked around the table and everyone was nodding in agreement: Dumbing down of the argument was the administration's greatest sin and foible. ...

Now for my own extra bonus Hub Blog condemnation: The guys in the White House are bad businessmen! There, I said it. The ultimate insult to Republicans! An entrepreneur who has a good business idea but who has a bad business plan is not a good businessman. The White House had a good argument for going to war -- minus the overselling -- and botched its implementation. Make fun of the Mass. pols all you want for backtracking on the war issue. But is there anybody in their right mind who would do everything all over again exactly as it played out? Is there anyone who would reinvest with a crazy entrepreneur after he blew the first big wad?  ¶ 8:12 AM

Justice served on Thanksgiving: The evil Acton-Boxboro juggernaut was upset yesterday by Westford in high school football. ... OK, I'm partisan and jealous of A-B's program. My working-class challenged alma mater, which won yesterday, has been struggling in recent years compared with rival A-B.



'What Chavez is really interested in ...': Steve nails it today by criticizing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's grandstanding transfer of wealth from one of the region's poorest countries to one of the wealthiest regions in the world's richest country. ... I'll take the oil. But I'm not buying into Chavez's alleged altruism.  ¶ 8:23 AM

'We want to connect with them': War protesters outside the president's Crawford, Texas ranch are planning a Thanksgiving dinner of 'lentil soup, rice, traditional Middle Eastern bread and a salad with parsley, tomatoes and bulgur wheat' in order to 'connect' with the Iraqi people and their 'simple lives.' ... And they wonder why they're mocked. ...

Update -- They had their 'solidarity' meal yesterday, forgoing 'the traditional indulgent American dinner.' ... And they wonder why they can't connect with average Americans. ...

Update II -- Cindy's back in Crawford! Her supporters are again saying not-so-nice things about Americans 'stuffing' themselves. ... And they wonder why so many think they're elitist anti-Americans. ...



'Ground it up': The Holiday Tree vs. Christmas Tree saga is just one of those stories that leaves me wondering, 'Huh? Why? What?' ... The only thing that would make it complete is if Rick Santorum and the ACLU jumped into the fray. ... I'd vote 'wha?' in Adam's poll.



Now that's effective: Jose Padilla is charged with less serious crimes because the feds, well, tortured the two main witnesses and, well, you know, it's OK to go with lesser charges if that's the case because that's how the justice system works. ... If Osama is ever caught, I really hope these clowns don't blow the prosecution.  ¶ 7:38 AM

'I'm a fence-sitter on the Beckett trade': From Reader No. 1:

"I'm a fence-sitter on the Beckett trade. Beckett is a good but far from great pitcher with notable pluses and minuses. I would be careful with the Pedro comparison, because Beckett is no Pedro and almost certainly never will be, 2003 World Series notwithstanding. Nevertheless, he's a reasonable addition if his arm isn't shot (Big IF!!!!) For the next two years, Beckett is 9 years younger than Pedro and he is $7-$10 million cheaper for each of the next 2 years. Even adding in the difference between Lowell's salary and what they'd have paid Bill Mueller for the next 2 years, there's a financial savings to the Sox if his arm is OK!!!)."  ¶ 8:08 AM

'Sick...to...death...of...current...politics': Wave Maker summarizes his views on a number of issues so he doesn't have to keep repeating them each time a new angle or nuance pops up. ... Though I don't agree with many of his summary points, I'm also tired of the chattering classes' endless rehashing of issues, jumping on wayward words to prove the nefarious nature of an opponent's argument, debunking lies about lies about lies, etc. etc. So in the spirit of Wave Maker's summaries, here are mine so I don't have to repeat myself:

1. The War in Iraq: Reluctantly supported it, largely because of WMD argument. No WMD found. Support falls. Overrated Bush team does indeed 'botch' occupation. But must remain firm in Iraq or basket-case nation becomes terrorist factory.

2. Torture: bad. There's been torture. Must stop. But no need to pound the issue into the ground.

3. Mitt should give up White House ambition. Not going to win. Still has chance to be great governor here. Must block Legislature's penchant for spending taxpayer money on things like court clerk payraises.

4. Josh Beckett deal begs question: Why acquire injury prone star pitcher when Sox could have kept injury prone star pitcher (i.e. Pedro)?

5. Theogate: Don't get me started.  ¶ 8:38 AM

'Morphed into menace': John Ellis reemerges to give his view on the attempt to sell Knight Ridder. ... Note the word 'attempt.' ...

Update -- John has an interesting counter-point from a reader. ... Both points are basically a What to Do With Turkey Day Leftovers discussion.  ¶ 8:41 AM

'Vomit omelet': Nor am I trying to usurp Carpundit's rightful role in Boston. But I couldn't help getting a chuckle out of a book review of 'Crap Cars' that pulls out a quote describing the DeLorean DMC-12 engine as "so weak it would struggle to pull a hobo off your sister." ...  ¶ 8:18 PM

'Unabashed partisan ...': The NYT profiles Bill Simmons, of Sports Guy/former Boston Sports Guy fame. ... Via Boston Sports Media, which brings up the 'cartel' issue. I'm not going there. I was tempted to in the 'tangled relationship' post below. BUT I AM NOT GOING THERE. I refuse. ...  ¶ 10:03 AM

A better death row for lobsters? Part II: I was struggling the other day with how to describe Whole Foods' lobster (and now T-Day) silliness. I found the perfect descripiton over at Dan's site: 'pious frauds.' ...



'Tangled relationship': Joan rightly bemoans the state of journalism post-Judy and now post-Bob. Meanwhile, Jonathan Alter reviews Mary Mapes' new book and finds her credibility lacking because she never acknowledges how the Globe had previously discredited the source that she ended up relying upon for her infamous '60 Minutes' piece. Like Joan, Alter warns of the 'tangled relationship between reporter and source.' ...

Speaking of souces regarding pre-war WMD intelligence (which is what the Plame affair is ultimately about), the LA Times goes back to the original German sources for reports about Saddam's alleged pre-war germ warfare capabilities. The typically long Times article, which has 12 jumps (I kid you not), doesn't prove the administration 'lied' about pre-war WMD intelligence. But it is one more piece of evidence that administration officials were fanatical, incompetent and simply wouldn't listen to contrary views. ...  ¶ 9:03 AM

And now Yale hooligans: Alarmed at what they saw last year at Harvard, Yale has implemented new anti-hooligan rules for The Game. The alumni aren't happy. ... The crux of the matter, it seems to me, is that both Harvard and Yale seem appalled at the mere thought their students might be compared to Boston College students. Thus you have protests over the use of the word 'hooligan' to describe their little darlings. ... Of course, now that we know the word 'hooligan' bothers the Crimson types, it's become one of my favorite words. ... Hooligans!  ¶ 9:13 AM

A better death row for lobsters?: Whole Foods is reviewing its 'animal-compassionate standards' for storing lobsters. OK, maybe we should give them a good last meal and a cigarette. But they're still going to end up boiled or steamed to death at the hands of consumers. ... Maybe that's the real problem: Lobsters are about the only species in which consumers still actually buy them live and then kill them. No one buys live organic-fed chickens clucking around the backrooms of Whole Foods. So no one asks about the chickens' final death-row hours and non-blindfolded execution. Is Whole Foods going to look into that? Hub Blog demands an investigation!  ¶ 9:50 AM

'I need to tune out criticism': The Dodgers almost made history by appointing Kim Ng as Major League Baseball's first female GM. It'll probably work out in the end for her. Boston's very own Frank McCourt, as the article notes, is doing a damn good job screwing up the entire Dodgers organization. ... BTW: Ballpark Frank now has his wife and son on the Dodgers payroll. (You can take the Bostonian out of Boston, but you can't ...) ... BTW II: Still awaiting the grandiose development of Frank's Seaport surface parking lots. But at least he can't screw up parking lots while we wait. Or can he? ...  ¶ 8:02 AM

'The Plympton Street Hooligans': Now even Harvard people are referring to drunk Harvard people as 'hooligans.' ... I wonder if the university will wag its finger at the Crimson and tell student journalists they out to be 'ashamed' for using the word 'hooligan.' ... BTW: What the hell is a 'government concentrator'?



'Yeah, I’m a Catholic ...': John Farrell politely and intelligently takes on Mark Shea and Intelligent Design. ... Though I'm a cynical card-carrying Cafeteria Catholic (an offshoot of John's 'Dark Side pro-Darwin Papism'), I'm still amazed how fast Intelligent Design has taken off among the back-to-the-basics Catholics who don't realize that, in the good old pre-Vatican II days they pine for, the church never really challenged Darwin. So these alleged conservatives are in the process of rewriting pre-Vatican II Catholic doctrine/policy toward Darwin in the name of bringing the mother church back to pre-Vatican II basics? Talk about arbitrary Catholicism.



'The Fifth Column': An interesting debate has broken out between Matt Welch and Instapundit over the media and the war. Listen, I'm not wild about the national media's coverage of the war (or anything, for that matter). But setting up the media for blame if we fail in Iraq is pretty obnoxious when those making the stab-in-the-back claims are the very ones who have confidently asserted things are going swell in Iraq. Now they'e talking possible defeat and assigning blame? ...  ¶ 8:39 AM

'The country's colonial legacy,' Part II: A friend of mine, who grew up in a former French colony that's still part of the French neocolonial system, told me that France's colonial past has everything to do with today's problems, agreeing it's absurd to think that an Algerian or Moroccan is somehow 'French.' But he was adamant that the same racist mentality that justified colonialism is still alive in France and the real cause of current woes. Here are a few of his thoughts:

-- "The French brought in these people to perform menial jobs the French didn't want to do. The immigrants were happy and content after escaping their old poverty. But the French never had a plan for the second and third generations of these immigrants. They never thought it out. They just assumed the children of immigrants would keep doing the same jobs. They look down on them." ... He added these second and third generation offspring have no concept what their parents or grandparents escaped -- and only measure their lives by what they have and what is offered in the rest of France.

-- "The mullahs know this and are filling the voids."

-- My friend, who is now a Canadian citizen and considers himself French-Canadian, said he could never have risen as far in France as he has in Canada. ... "I'm so glad I didn't settle in France." ... He said that Canadian and American immigration policies, while flawed, are far superior to those in France and Europe. "In France, you arrive and you are a citizen. In Canada, you arrive and you have to ask to become a citizen. In Canada, you don't become a citizen until you want to." ...

File under: For what it's worth ... I found the conversation fascinating.

Update -- More on the subject from CSM.  ¶ 7:40 PM

'What is it?': When the haute bourgeoisie, activists and a company with a new product tell us something is good, you immediately have to wonder. Yet my first impression, based on the photos, is that the sidewalks look pretty cool. Hub Blog shall inspect them soon and afterward render a final Sidewalk Superintendent verdict. ...  ¶ 8:15 AM

'The country's colonial legacy': Here's a real good look at the source of France's current woes: its colonial past and its definition of being French. ... The differences between American immigrants and French immigrants aren't dealt with in depth. But it's worth a quick analysis. Americans have largely seen immigrants as immigrants who later become Americans. But France has officially treated its immigrants from its former colonies as somehow already being French. It's an important distinction. Both visions have their problems. But for the French, the assumption that a people it once militarily conquered -- no matter how different their cultures, religions or views on governing -- somehow became 'French' is a form of idealistic arrogance and denial. It would be akin to America, after conquering Germany and Japan in World War II, having declared all Germans and Japanese to be Americans and waving them into the U.S. as full citizens. ... With its immigration policies, France is still clinging to the flaws at the heart of its past colonialism and the neo-colonial system that still exists. ... FYI: I still think we have a lot of positive lessons to learn from the French about multiethinic societies. Immigration just isn't one of them.  ¶ 7:58 AM

'It still takes money to operate': David Warsh over at EconomicPrincipals.com is going to experiment with paid email subscriptions, with weekly free posts put up on a delayed basis. Though I'd love to keep reading his items on a free and timely manner, here's hoping it works out. The more people experiment with online content, the sooner we'll all find a business model that works. ... FYI: Selling a blog site to a VC-backed company for silly bubble-like prices doesn't count as a long-term business model.  ¶ 7:09 AM

'What Menino said': From Brighton Reader:

"What Menino said:

" 'The only one who is safe is me,' declared Menino, who said he will request letters of resignation from every department head.

What the Mayor really meant:

" 'I already know whose resignation I am going to accept, sign here.'

"Translation from Mumbles to English courtesy of Brighton Reader."  ¶ 6:11 AM

'Jurkowitz Swings and Misses': Reader No. 1 on the totally predictable Mark Jurkowitz piece on Theogate:

"Jurkowitz Swings and Misses:

"Insofar as his Theo summary added nothing we didn't already know, his piece is barely worth blogging on. What happened to the part of the article that would track the reaction of the blogosphere ? It's barely part of the story (no particular bloggers named, I note) and completely subsumed by tedious scorecarding of the local media and goo-goo suggestions about the Globe's ownership disclosure.

"But hopefully, you Herald folk take the 'paper with a chip on its shoulder' as a compliment. (It really is.)"

Hub Blog's reaction -- I agree with Reader No. 1 and Adam: Nothing new in the story, unless you consider 'new' to be a slight amplification on previously indicated biases and slants to come. ... If you take out the grades he gave the Globe and Herald, you might probably conclude the Herald was an equal and/or worse bad-boy in this 'fiasco.' But, like I said, it was predictable. It was only marginally better than the Globe ombudsman's lame 'self-parody' attempt at being objective. ... FYI: Though Mark didn't disclose his ex-Globie status in the article despite thinking that a lack of disclosure attribution was somehow at the heart of the Globe's Theogate 'perception' debacle, I'd just like to state that I'm a Herald business reporter.  ¶ 9:01 PM

'I have a confession to make': I think we have a winner for Blogger of the Day. Missouri radio jock James Keown, 31, will be arraigned later this week in court for allegedly murdering his wife in Waltham by slipping antifreeze into her Gatorade. But forget that. He has a blog with a lot of riveting stuff. "I have a confession to make," he writes, as my heart started pounding. "Today it was sunny and 74 degrees - and I skipped out of work during the middle of the day." Did I tell you it was riveting? . ... The Jefferson City News Tribune reports he liked to talk on-air about, er, "killings and court cases."  ¶ 7:27 AM

'Theo's next assignment is so obvious': OK, it's back (temporarily, I hope) to Theogate. Reader No. 1 on yesterday's post below:

"Agree 100% with Dan Kennedy, and you, on the Chacon column yesterday.

"1. He probably would have been better served by writing the column he'd intended pre-Theo, then taking more time to look at the various issues posed by the past week's fallout.

"2. Yesterday's column inadvertently revealed a problem that newspaper people have with the current media environment: they're so busy writing about their own paper that they forget about the big world out there. You cannot understand the whole Globe-Red Sox story without reading the Herald (sports, business AND regular news on ticket price increases - all not evident from the column) or watching NESN - please note branding on the NESN Red Sox pregame show which runs every day for 6 months and regularly features Globe writers:

"3. 'My attempts to contact Red Sox officials were unsuccessful.'

"... Theo's next assignment is so obvious I'm startled that no one has suggested it yet. What greater challenge, and accomplishment, than for him to take over the Chicago Cubs? He could trade Nomar for Orlando Cabrera again and go down in baseball history for winning THAT World Series.... "  ¶ 8:38 AM

'It's fun to set cars on fire': Amid my recent Theogate obsession, it seems much of France caught fire. ... Of course you can't shake the smug They Deserve It impulse when it's France's turn to finally deal with its own ills. But resist the impulse one must, because the French have major ethnic problems and their handling of this tragedy is important for Europe and the United States' long-term security. ...

Update -- Here are some particularly good blog posts on the subject (Part 1 and Part 2), via Instapundit. ... And ever conscious of France's image abroad, Le Monde is running a roundup of international headlines about the rioting.



'Don't you dare bring up the election ...': Another casualty of my Theogate obsession has been attention (or lack thereof) paid to the city elections. I can't quite get into them this year, knowing the probable outcome of the mayoral race. I also couldn't get into them in years past for the same reason. But Adam is doing a great job (here and here, for starters) monitoring the mayoral and council campaigns. ... I'm already looking forward to 2009, when, it's hoped, there might actually be true competitiion. ... Quickie ill-informed prediction: the mayoral race will be a little closer than expected. There seems to be a mood out there that the mayor, while still liked, is approaching a Term Too Far.  ¶ 7:43 AM

'Lucchino's camp responded': Dan Kennedy beat me to the glaring two-word omission in Richard Chacón's ombudsman column today: 'Dan Shaughnessey.' No mention whatsoever of a guy who wrote a highly controversial column a week ago and then followed it up with a second column in which he openly admits: "In Sunday's column, I offered the version held by Lucchino's camp (three sources)... The Epstein camp had its version out there all summer. Lucchino's camp responded Sunday." Here you have a guy openly admitting he's the mouthpiece for the Lucchino camp -- and it's not addressed in Chacón's column? ...

Ah, but what about the other story -- the one in which the Globe got the Theo-is-signing flat-out wrong? Chacón tends to concentrate on attributions. But the other questions are: How did it get the story wrong? And just who are those 'multiple major league sources'? Do they include 'Red Sox' sources? Why not just call them 'former Capital Hill staffers'? (Just joking.) ...

This all leads to my own thumb-sucking theory about what could have happened -- and it has to do with 'access' that comes with both a partnership and being the largest paper in town:

A.) The Sox-Globe relationship/partnership provides special access.

B.) The Globe is aware of this special access and takes advantage of it for competitive reasons. There's nothing wrong with this per se. The Herald, where I work, would do it. I would do it. You would do it. BUT ...

C.) The Globe is and should be on guard about this access and its potential to be abused and manipulated. Therefore reporters and editors (though not necessarily curly-haired columnists) truly do go out of their way to try to be fair and balanced. They don't want to get a story wrong.

But something happened last week. I suspect, in the case of the Theo-signing story, that C.) broke down. It happens. Their overly-relied-upon sources were just wrong. There's no way, in my mind, that the reporters knowingly printed something they knew or suspected to be inaccurate. But it does all point to an over reliance on sources that, in my opinion, comes with access provided by a partnership and being the largest paper in town. At the very least there was some sort of major 'access' malfunction. Ask Judy Miller and the Times. ...

Dan Shaughnessey is a completely different story. He shilled. He's all but admitted it. He wasn't just a messenger. He was practically a press secretary for the Lucchino camp. Theo, knowing how spin works over at Yawkey Way under Lucchino, got the message -- and how. ...

One forgotten point about points A.), B.) and C.): Larry and Charlie et gang are well aware of them and they're not dummies. They know about C.) and fiddle around with it to their spin advantage. ...

One other point: everyone please reread Tony's original column. He didn't say the Globe was smearing Theo. He said straight out it was the Sox who were smearing Theo. The reference to the Globe was about the compromised murkiness of the press in general and the Globe in particular when covering such stories (see my own points A. B. and C. above). Tony's column has held up remarkably well, in my opinion, considering all the subsequent spin and counter-spin and what we now know about Theo's departure. ...

FYI: I am a Herald business reporter who doesn't have a source horse in this race. So dismiss my thumb-sucking theory if you want and perhaps should. But I think what I've written is at least as plausible as what Chacón wrote (and/or didn't write) and probably more plausible because it doesn't deal with 'conspiracies' but rather the inherent and every-day journalistic vortex and dangers of 'access.'

Update -- Scott has a story on how other local deal makers see Theogate and the obvious leak campaign that blew up in the Sox' face. Hey, their theories are as good as any.  ¶ 9:41 AM

'The chance that Theo would trash Larry': Reading Brett's articles (here and here), I have this sinking feeling we could end up without both Theo and John while stuck with Larry through 2011. We're talking about full worst-case scenario here if Henry doesn't get his act together soon. ... Bob is still asking 'why' after yesterday's Theo press conference, even though you know that he knows why. Tony also asks 'why' but then answers the question: "Ultimately, when all the nonsense is chopped away from an internal issue that exploded into a newspaper war, the bottom line is that Theo Epstein left the Red Sox because he felt like he could not trust Larry Lucchino, no matter what anybody else said, wrote or believed. Along the way, we learned that most of the media in Boston does not trust Lucchino, either, a reality that should prompt the highest levels of Sox ownership and management to do some serious soul-searching."

Mike takes the old tried-and-true Kremlin-Wall-reading approach, i.e. who's there and not there, etc. And Larry wasn't there yesterday. Yes, it's come to this. ...

Reader No. 1 ain't surprised at all by yesterday's dog-and-pony press conference:

"After the Shaughnessy-Schilling appearances on WEEI yesterday morning (check 'em out while you can), yesterday's press conference was a huge if inevitable letdown. Theo's farewell faceoff with the vaunted Boston media was a virtual replay of his last game as Red Sox GM -- particularly, the team's futility with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and down one run in ALDS Game 3. Instead of Varitek popping up, we got 'Do you have a good relationship with Larry?' Instead of Graffanino fouling off high pitches, we got Bob Ryan asking 'Theo, so far we've got: it wasn't a power struggle, it wasn't personal privacy, it wasn't a feeling of satisfaction (after) winning the World Series, it wasn't? what was it?'

"As she does so well, Jackie MacMullan called it before the press conference: 'Theo will speak today at a news conference and no doubt will take the high road, as he always has.' Face it: the chance that Theo would trash Larry on local TV and national sports press was about the same as Kelly Shoppach's 2005 Red Sox batting average."

Update -- Hub Blog officially declares that this phase of the Theo story has run its course. It's a good thing. I've run out of popcorn. Mark, who was quick last week to pronounce Tony's original column as seeming 'pretty thin,' will be sweeping up the stands next week and, I assume, addressing how Peter Lucas botched the mayoral-election coverage more than two decades ago. He adds: "The reaction of the blogosphere is part of the story I will ultimately be writing." Can't wait!

Update II -- OK, now this phase of the Theo story is done. (Can't end it without Bill Simmons' thoughts. Don't know how I missed it. Via Dan Kennedy.)



We love wolves: As we all know, we all love the thought of blood-thirsty wolves returning to New England. The French love them too. ...



Unpleasant election year news, Part II: Does this shootings story sound familiar? Yes it does. ... And I still don't think it matters at this late-stage in the campaign.  ¶ 6:43 AM

'Boston’s taken a dramatic hit': Lots of Theo stories, but the most ominous development could be players who now might be reluctant to play in Boston. Not good. Not good at all. ... Tony is urging John Henry to take charge and march the team onward. ... Jackie writes about shared responsibility for successes and failures -- and says Dan is being 'unfairly targeted' because he was only the 'messenger.' Sorry, but Dan wasn't the messenger. Larry was the messenger. Dan merely allowed himself to be used as a message platform. ...

... Don't like the circumstances of Theo's departure. But after today's 1 p.m. briefing, he should just go. Disappear. Head to L.A. or Europe or wherever. This team needs to get its act together. ...  ¶ 6:41 AM

'Life goes on': Just heard Tito say on Dale and Holley that life goes on -- and he's right. Curious to see what happens in coming weeks and months. We'll soon learn how good Larry is as a GM, for that's exactly what he is now. ... Will Theo change his mind? Will he regret his decision? Who knows. But anyone who's had a micro-managing boss -- and a micro-managing boss who tries to publicly humiliate an employee -- knows it's one of life's worst experiences. So I'd be shocked if Theo changes his mind. ...

Update -- The Paper of Record: 'The Herald said ...' Sorry. Couldn't resist. ... Mike has more (via Dan). ... Can't wait to see tomorrow's papers. My popcorn is running low. Garcon!. ...  ¶ 11:27 AM

'The Halloween Eve Massacre,' Part II: Considering Tony got it largely right last week (though some are still giving him only grudging respect), let's go right to Tony this morning. ... Bob is doing a highly admirable job as pooper scooper, providing a decidely different view of Lucchino than Dan's pro-Larry and know-your-place-Theo column on Sunday. Speaking of Dan, he's pulling a Judy Miller with a column this morning that raises more questions than it answers. He also: A.) admits who his sources largely were for the Sunday column (Lucchinoites) and B.) appears to hint at the probable 'nationally known Lucchino-hating Epstein source' he referred to on Sunday. ... Do I think Dan was a conscious player in the 'campaign' against Theo? Perhaps not. More like a Judy Miller who had her sources and assumed they were right because she agreed with them. ... FYI: I'm a non-cabal Herald business reporter who is thoroughly enjoying this one from the gallery seats. ... P.S. I didn't mention I disagreed with Reader No. 1's argument that Dan's Sunday column was 'mostly balanced.' I think it was 'mostly unbalanced.' It was highly insulting to Theo -- and Theo drew certain conclusions about what a long three years it would be if he signed the contract. ...

Dan Kennedy and Adam have more on the Theo drama. ... Bruce is all over it and has his winners and losers.

Update -- Reader No. 1:

"Now that the Sox have really Stepped In It, will we all go back to the Gloves Off Accusatory Finger-Pointing Style of pre-2004? Will Theo's departure mean more prominent coverage on stories like the departures of medical and training staff over the past 2 years?

"The Sox have become a Cool Place to Work and Hang Out under new ownership. Generally it's a bad thing when talented people leave work at Cool Places, from players to Assistant GMs. That may be the worst long-term ramification of this mess - let's hope not!" ...  ¶ 5:57 AM