One week after the stunning Super Bowl win by the New England Patriots, the Boston Globe has published its obligatory Special Commemorative Section.
The 26-page celebration of all things Pats is chockablock with advertising such as this ad from Marty Walsh & the People of Boston, which features so many logos you’d think Walsh was Mayor of NASCAR.
All told, there are five full-page ads in the section (everyone from Bob’s Discount Furniture to TAG Heuer) and ten half-page ads (ranging from Tostitos to Rutgers Football). An adstravaganza, in other words.
Crosstown at the Boston Herald, meanwhile, there’s no special section, just the regular Sunday Sports.
The not-so-special section features just four Pats-related ads, starting with this must-have.
There are also ads for a New England Patriots Super Bowl LI Commemorative Fan Ring, the New England Patriots Super Bowl 51 Champions Legacy Decanter Set, and the First-Ever Tom Brady Gold Dollar.
Collect them all! Trade them with your friends!
And feel just a little bad for the thirsty local tabloid.
Today’s edition features this page topped by “sponsored content” touting special Massachusetts Lottery scratch tickets for the Patriots and other New England sports teams. (Inexplicable Little Green Number sold separately.)
Even closer up, the disclosure is pretty minimal.
That’s clearly a step down from the Herald’s previous perfunctory labeling.
Of course, native advertising works best when it labels itself least. The more you think it’s editorial content, the better for the marketer.
The New England Patriots player who police said did the right thing by rescuing a woman trapped in a car took to Twitter late yesterday to condemn all the haters who doubted his good deed.
FOXBOROUGH — Heroes don’t always wear capes — sometimes they wear football uniforms.
Patriots backup linebacker Darius Fleming played in Saturday’s playoff victory over the Chiefs with 22 stitches in his right calf, two days after cutting his leg after he kicked out the window of a car to assist a woman who had just gotten into a three-car accident on Route 1, near Gillette Stadium.
“Obviously he had no regards for himself. Just wanted to get the girl out,” said eyewitness Stephanie Kube. “Came in, saved the day and left. A true hero.”
Not a word about the trolls.
Nor did the lately local broadsheet have a word about racial tensions at Boston Latin School, which was Page One in the Herald.
Black students at Boston Latin, the nation’s oldest, most prestigious public school, set off a social media firestorm this week, accusing the elite exam school of ignoring the casual use of racial slurs and offensive online taunts.
In a YouTube video posted Monday, two students representing a group called Black Leaders Advocating for Change and Knowledge said the school has turned a deaf ear to their concerns about classmates’ racial slights.
“We are here to make our voices heard, to show BLS administration and everyone that we refuse to be silenced and we’re not afraid to speak up,” the students say in the video. “We’re here to use this campaign to unite our community, to unite the community of black alumni and the students of color at BLS and schools like it.”
Examples from the tweetly local tabloid:
We’ll see if there’s Change and Knowledge on Morrissey Boulevard anytime soon.
Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones was rushed to Norwood Hospital Sunday morning after he showed up at the Foxboro Police Department with a medical emergency, police dispatch records show.
But police officials won’t say what the emergency was and the police chief confirmed information was deleted from dispatch records before they were released to the Herald yesterday.
Dispatch records show Jones arrived at the police station at 7:42 a.m. Sunday and was evaluated by fire and EMS officials before being transported to Norwood Hospital just after 8 a.m.
Regardless, Foxboro police Chief Edward T. O’Leary did an end run around the Herald’s questions, “[denying] his department and officers had any dealing with Jones over the weekend and [adding] the only time he’d ever seen Jones was being interviewed on television.”
That proved to be entirely false. But why get technical about it.
Crosstown, the Boston Globe ate the firsty local tabloid’s dust, running a story on D5 that mentioned the Herald six times in 11 paragraphs.
FOXBOROUGH — Chandler Jones had a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana leading to his admittance to Norwood Hospital Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told the Globe Wednesday.
The source said Jones lives near the Foxborough police station and walked there to seek help after he had the reaction.
Crosstown the other way, the Fargo Street Gang has a solid follow-up today, but not all the details.
Dispatch records show a Foxboro officer also secured Jones’ residence during the Sunday incident.
“The front door’s open,” the officer says when he arrives at Jones’ home, which is about a block from the station, and later reports: “Yeah, I got his keys off the kitchen table. I was able to lock the front door. If you want to just pass along to the fire he was definitely involved in Class D — Delta — before this happened, just so they know.”
Delta is a police call sign to denote the letter D, while Class D is a category of controlled substances under the state’s drug laws, according to a law enforcement source. Class D drugs include marijuana and some prescription drugs, which can be legal.
So there’s more difference between the Boston dailies than how they spell Foxboro(ugh). That’s just swell.
Didn’t mince words? Not to get technical about it, but that’s all Belichick does.
Crosstown at the Boston Herald, Steve Buckley gave a representative sample of Mr. Hoodie’s evasive maneuvers.
Media member: “Do you believe Tom Brady when he says that neither he nor anyone in the Patriots organization did anything wrong?”
Belichick: “We start training camp today. We’ll get ready for the 2015 season starting today.”
Media member: “Is there something flawed about the system here in the organization that you keep ending up in these cheating controversies? Can you explain why?”
Belichick: “It’s already been addressed.”
Media member: “Could you elaborate a little?”
Belichick: “No.”
Media member: “Why not?”
Belichick: “Because it’s already been addressed.”
And Herald columnist Karen Guregian gave the Globe a bit of an English lesson.
Robert Kraft’s on-again, off-again war with Roger Goodell and the NFL is back on . . .
There was no mincing words. Kraft believes he got screwed when he put his reputation on the line with Patriots fans by standing down and choosing not to fight the league’s unprecedented punishment of his team.
As you splendid readers no doubt already know, Massachusetts General Hospital has topped this year’s U.S. News and World Report rankings after being relegated to second place for the past two years.
Now that Mass General has been restored to its former glory, it’s all over but the touting. Joining in the celebration is this full-page ad in today’s Boston Globe.
Crosstown at the Boston Herald, no love from the Kraft Family. But the Herald did have this quarter-page ad exclusive.
Of course, the Herald is one of the sponsors, so the ad – like the concerts – is free.
Hey, can’t have everything. Or in the case of the thirsty local tabloid, much of anything.
The newly minted girlfriend of New England Patriot tight (usually) end Rob Gronkowski hit the highly coveted dailies double today: Inside Track in the Boston Herald, Names in the Boston Globe.
Begin with the stately local broadsheet.
She’s cheering for Benrus (and Gronk) now
Former Patriots cheerleader Camille Kostek has had a busy week on the Internet.
On Monday, TMZ broke the news that the Connecticut native was dating Patriot Rob Gronkowski. Meanwhile, it was also announced Monday that she’d been named the new ambassador for the Rhode Island company Benrus. By Tuesday afternoon, the military-inspired fashion brand had launched a new website with Kostek all over it.
And how does she feel about putting away the pompoms?
“I kind of relate myself to Vince Wilfork,” she said, of her last big gig being the Super Bowl. “There wasn’t a better way to close it out.”
Wonder if Wilfork is feeling like the Camille Kostek of Houston?
Probably not, eh?
Crosstown at the frothy local tabloid, the former communications major at Eastern Connecticut State showed that she has her priorities straight.
Former New England Patriots cheerleader Camille Kostek would like to be known as more than just the girl who has been out on a few dates with Pats one-man party Rob Gronkowski!
“I know the stuff about Rob has been in the headlines, but I’m super excited to talk about myself and my career,” Camille told the Track. “I’ve really been working hard and was working hard before I was ever able to meet him.”
Absolutely.
In contrast to the Globe, the Herald associates Kostek with the polar opposite of Vince Wilfork.
So does she take inspiration from the most famous supermodel of all: Mrs. Tom Brady?
“Oh my goodness, do I aspire to be like Gisele?” she said. “I just turned 23, I’m enjoying being young and focusing on my career. This is a super-exciting moment, but I’m just starting to blossom.”
Ouch.
So it’s not just the boyfriend who knows how to hit.
When the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots went to the White House for the customary presidential pat on the back, here’s what they got to kick off the festivities.
Pats coach Bill Belichick isn’t the only one who gave Obama’s lame joke the thumbs down. Today’s Boston Herald is in Full Snit over the Deflategate dis.
It was a day that should have belonged to the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, but in a reversal of last February’s fortune it came to a dramatic and sudden halt.
Interception, Obama.
The president called a very different play as the champs gathered at the White House South Lawn to accept an attaboy for their Super Bowl victory.
But the egotist in chief made it all about him.
“I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events,” he mused, “but with the Patriots in town I was worried that 11 of 12 of them would fall flat.”
That one sure did.
Back at the frosty local tabloid, sports scribe Karen Guregian also weighed in.
Just like so many people at this point, the leader of the free world can’t help but chuckle at what this is, and what it’s become. So right out of the gate, he set the tone for the Patriots visit by taking a poke at Deflategate, and it became the theme of the day with Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski later piling on . . .
When Gronk was asked if he had enjoyed himself before the president’s speech, perhaps with a beverage or two, Gronk drew on Obama’s Deflategate remark.
“No, there was no drinking,” he said. “Maybe the president was wasted from his deflate joke. We’re still wondering as an organization about that, right?”
(To be fair graf goes here)
To be fair, Guregian’s column was mostly about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s foot-dragging in his investigation into the pigskin rumpus. Regardless, look for the umbrage-industrial complex to continue Obama-bashing for awhile.
Crosstown at the Boston Globe, Ben Volin’s piece about Pats players (as well as owner Robert Kraft and Belichick) visiting wounded vets at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was the main story today:
We have a split decision in our Local Dailies Advertising Sweepstakes today. This half-page ad appears in the Boston Herald but not the Globe.
On the other hand, these two full-page ads appear in the Boston Globe but not the Herald.
(The latter is about Anthem being hacked a month ago and forking over such data as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, income information, etc. The usual drill.)
On yet another hand, this quarter-page ad pops up on the Globe’s op-ed page.
Readable version:
So, not an even split decision. But at least the thirsty local tabloid got something this time around.
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