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About Christopher Price

Christopher Price has covered the Boston sports scene for more then a dozen years, working for ESPN.com, SI.com and Baseball America as well as The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald and Boston Metro. In that time, he’s established himself as an award-winning sportswriter who has been honored by Northeastern University, the New England Press Association and the North Carolina Press Association. In addition, he’s the author of the just published, “New England Patriots: The Complete Illustrated History” and two other books “Baseball by the Beach” and "The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower.”

 
COLUMNS
Christopher Price
02/01/2013 - 2:50pm
Feeling a draft already: A dozen names for Patriots fans to watch
With draft season set to get underway, we’ve come across 12 prospects that appear to match up with the Patriots needs -- based in part on this article, as well as a realistic belief that they could be available when New England picks.
Christopher Price
02/01/2013 - 1:31am
Why Patriots fans should care about Super Bowl XLVII
The Patriots' season ended almost two weeks ago (by this point, it seems like it was months) with a loss to the Ravens in the AFC title game, and by now, most New England football fans have had more than their fair share of storylines and hype involving Sunday’s game between San Francisco and Baltimore. (Did you know that the two coaches are brothers?
Christopher Price
01/31/2013 - 5:49pm
Patriots Plays of the Year, No. 2: Jets-killer helps sink New York again
With the 2012 season done, we’ve decided to take a look back the 10 best plays of the year for the Patriots. Not every one of the plays ended in a touchdown, sack or interception, but the combination of execution, results and situation led us to name it one of the best of the year.
Christopher Price
01/30/2013 - 11:19pm
Patriots Plays of the Year: Linebacker Brandon Spikes blasts Bills
With the 2012 season done, we’ve decided to take a look back the 10 best plays of the year for the Patriots. Not every one of the plays ended in a touchdown, sack or interception, but the combination of execution, results and situation led us to name it one of the best of the year.
Christopher Price
01/30/2013 - 1:07am
What if Randy Moss had stayed with Patriots?
“I don’t really live on numbers. I really live on impact, and what you’re able to do out on that field. So I really do think I’m the greatest receiver ever to play this game.” -- Randy Moss, at Tuesday's Super Bowl media day
Christopher Price
01/29/2013 - 1:43am
Why Ed Reed makes sense for Patriots
  Ed Reed is a Hall of Famer, a rare talent who can get away with being out of position, but still managing to come away with the right play at the right time. And if the Patriots can get the impending free agent on their terms this offseason -- that is to say one, or maybe two years tops, on short money -- they should jump at the chance.
Christopher Price
01/27/2013 - 8:21pm
One scout's priority list for Patriots: Wide receiver, safety and pass rusher
It’s always a pleasure to get some additional insight into the game from a scout -- they offer a perspective on life in the NFL that we rarely see. With that in mind, we asked an NFC scout who watched plenty of Patriots’ games this year about three points of emphasis for New England heading into the offseason.
Christopher Price
01/26/2013 - 7:57pm
Canadian club: On Patriots and quest to find talent north of the border
In the continuing search to help shore up their pass rush, the Patriots have reached agreements with a pair of CFL pass rushers over the last week, agreeing to deals with Armond Armstead and Jason Vega.
Christopher Price
01/24/2013 - 11:18pm
Patriots free agent forecast: Who will stay and who will go?
  Throughout the offseason, we’ll check in on New England’s free agent class. Here’s the first look at the group of players who were with the Patriots in 2012 but aren’t under contract to the team going forward, as well as a thumbnail sketch about their respective situations and their chances of returning.
Christopher Price
01/24/2013 - 2:05am
By the numbers: Ten stats that help tell story of 2012 Patriots
We know that some people think stats are for losers. But we believe that, when given some context and deconstructed with the help of some film breakdown, they can be very illustrative, and help give a clearer picture of where a team succeeds or fails. With that in mind, here are 10 stats that should give you a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the 2012 Patriots, and some likely points of emphasis heading into the offseason.
Christopher Price
01/21/2013 - 2:29pm
Hard to see a scenario where Aqib Talib sticks around
FOXBORO -- Aqib Talib is going to get paid this offseason. It won’t be by the Patriots, but he’ll get paid.
Christopher Price
01/21/2013 - 5:13am
What we learned: In the end, the 2012 Patriots weren't good enough
FOXBORO -- When it came to the Patriots, it was a total team breakdown the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time.
Christopher Price
01/18/2013 - 2:14am
Expect Patriots to push pace this weekend
FOXBORO -- Time for the Patriots to put their foot on the gas. In their two previous meetings against the Ravens, the New England offense has utilized a lot of no-huddle -- according to NFL gamebooks, in last year’s AFC title game, the Patriots went no-huddle on 35 of their 68 offensive snaps in their 23-20 win. And earlier this season in Baltimore, New England went no-huddle on 34 of 77 offensive snaps in a 31-30 loss.
Christopher Price
01/16/2013 - 4:16pm
Ravens defense has done a good job of rattling Tom Brady
Last week, it was clear Tom Brady was going against someone who had struggled to contain him in the past. This time around, Brady knows he’s in for more of a battle.
Christopher Price
01/16/2013 - 12:59am
Without Rob Gronkowski available, expect Patriots to lean heavily on Aaron Hernandez
 
Christopher Price
01/15/2013 - 10:20pm
One scout's breakdown of Patriots-Ravens: Baltimore will struggle with matchup issues
For the second straight season, the Patriots and Ravens will meet at Gillette Stadium in the AFC title game.
Christopher Price
01/15/2013 - 8:48am
Ten things we love about the Patriots-Ravens rivalry
 
Christopher Price
01/14/2013 - 3:26am
What we learned: Get ready for latest chapter of rivalry with Ravens
FOXBORO -- And now, 358 days after Billy Cundiff went wide left -- touching off Mardi Gras at Gillette Stadium -- we are all back here once again.
Christopher Price
01/11/2013 - 12:58am
Tom Brady has Wade Phillips' number
Christopher Price
01/10/2013 - 1:55am
Is Tom Brady the best thirtysomething QB of all time?
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was asked Wednesday morning when he looks at the video of him celebrating the win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, if he sees himself or some kid.
Christopher Price
01/09/2013 - 1:07am
Does playoff experience really matter?
  If history is any guide, the fact that the Patriots hold an advantage when it comes to playoff experience as well as the fact that they have an older roster means they’ll beat the Texans Sunday in their playoff clash at Gillette Stadium.
Christopher Price
01/08/2013 - 2:33am
Why this postseason is so important for Wes Welker
In 2009, Wes Welker was denied one potential career-defining playoff run when he suffered a devastating injury in the regular-season finale against the Texans. Now, with the Patriots set to face Houston in Sunday’s divisional playoffs, the slot receiver has another opportunity to add to his legacy.
Christopher Price
01/07/2013 - 1:50am
Why the first Patriots-Texans matchup means nothing this time around
Bill Belichick said Sunday that when it comes to preparing for Sunday’s divisional playoff matchup between the Patriots and Texans, you shouldn’t go looking for hints in the regular-season matchup between the two games.
Christopher Price
01/03/2013 - 10:45pm
Patriots postseason mailbag: Breaking down possible playoff opponents
  It's the postseason. You've got questions -- some very good ones regarding the Ravens, the Broncos and the rest of the AFC. And we've got answers. With a mix of playoff (and offseason) queries about the Patriots and some of their rivals, let's get to it with a postseason mailbag.
Christopher Price
01/03/2013 - 1:39am
Do you need an elite pass rush to win the Super Bowl?
The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and typically, it is the elite quarterbacks (read: not the Mark Sanchezes of the world) who are playing deep in January.


Audio On Demand

It Is What It Is Cast: Ex…

It Is What It Is Cast: Examining the New England Patriots offseason

In the latest edition of the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Chris Price and CSNNE's Mike Giardi take a look at the Patriots offseason on both sides of the ball, try and get a handle on which new guys will make an impact first, and whether or not the Patriots have altered their style when it comes to drafting and developing wide receivers.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tebow's release

Mike Florio joined the program to discuss the Jets decision to release Tim Tebow, he said the situation is as disaster all around for the Jets and that the problems begins with owner Woody Johnson. Mike also said that he was disappointed with the Pats moving back in the first round.

Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com, Sits Down with Butch Stearns to Help Break Down the Pats Draft

One of the hardest working men in the biz, Mike Petraglia aka "Trags", sits down with Butch Stearns live in Foxborough to help break down all the latest Pats moves. He discusses his reaction to the trade in Round 1 and the guys those picks produced. Also, the boys talk about the decent trade the Pats made in acquiring LeGarrette Blount from Tampa Bay for Jeff Demps and a 7th rounder.

Celtics President Danny A…

Celtics President Danny Ainge with Salk and Holley

We check in with Danny Ainge for our first talk to him since the Celtics season ended last weekend. We talk about the future of the team, KG, Pierce, Doc Rivers and more, as Danny directly answers the rumors being floated by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

Jackie MacMullan, ESPNBoston.com: "Gut" tells me Doc will stay

Jackie Mac joins the show to discuss the trade rumors swirling around Paul Pierce, KG, Doc Rivers and the Celtics. She also discusses the future of the Celtics head coach.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his rumored Celtics Clippers trade

Stephen A. joined the program to discuss the trade rumors he has reported regarding a possible trade including Doc Rivers and the Clippers. Stephen A. also told the guys that he has heard that Danny and Doc may be tiring of working together.

Red Sox Manager John Farr…

Red Sox Manager John Farrell with Salk and Holley

We check in with Red Sox Manager John Farrell live from Chicago and get his take on a good week for the Sox, a tough series since then in Chicago, and other team related notes.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

NESN's Barry Pederson on the Bruins dominance

Cleveland Indians hottest team in baseball, yet remain last in attendance May 19, 2013 By AJ Kaufman 6 Comments There’s a scene in Major League where Bob Uecker, portraying the radio voice of the Indians, bemoans, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar.” Well, that was nearly 25 years ago and fictional, but today’s reality is that Cleveland has won 17 of its last 21, and currently tops the AL Central with a mark of 25-17. No one in the majors is better than the Indians in the past month (20-7). That’s great news. The bad news, however, is the Tribe somehow remain in the MLB cellar when it comes to attendance. How can this be? The fact that I wrote on this same topic almost to the day last year – when only Tampa Bay drew fewer fans than Cleveland - may be even more troubling. Though roughly 34,000 watched a walk-off win Friday night against Seattle, perfect weather and free caps weren’t enough to draw more than 36,000 Saturday and Sunday combined. What did the Indians do in those tilts? They nabbed another walk-off win on Saturday, then the Indians crushed the great Felix Hernandez Sunday behind Justin Masterson, arguably the AL’s best pitcher right now. Fun fact: The Indians have already faced eight Cy Young Award winners in 2013: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jake Peavy, David Price, Justin Verlander and Hernandez. They have won seven out those eight matchups. Simply astounding. This offseason, the much-maligned Indians front office finally made a legitimate attempt to improve the team through free agency. I’m not talking an Ubaldo Jimenez-like trade, but rather smart acquisitions that brought veterans Mike Aviles, Michael Bourn, Jason Giambi, Scott Kazmir, Brett Myers, Mark Reynolds, Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher to Cleveland. In addition to being a fantastic place to watch a game due to great egress and ingress, with extremely affordable tickets, the best promo lineup anywhere, Jacobs Field boasts overall, cooler, less muggy summer weather than most Midwestern locales. The team also lowered beer and hot dog prices to $4 and $3 respectively. What other professional stadium in any sport offers that? I have visited 28 of the 30 current Major League Baseball stadia, and few top The Jake when all angles are considered. I say that as a baseball fan, not an Indians fan. As for the putative “economic” angle, these are the same people who spend insane amounts of money to watch terrible football every fall and show up in decent numbers for putrid basketball in the winter. Irrespective of season length, those sports charge up to 10 times the price for a ticket, and the atmosphere isn’t half as fan-friendly as baseball. I understand fans’ lack of willingness to get on board to some degree. A decent recap of Cleveland’s decade of “rebuilding” can be read here and the team suffered a horrific collapse last August. However, in addition to all the benefits of attending games at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field, fans should also realize the team has potential and often exceeds preseason aspirations at any point without warning. Cleveland hosts the rival Detroit Tigers — heavy favorites to repeat as AL Central champs — Tuesday and Wednesday nights before hitting the road. The temperature should be pleasant at first pitch each evening so you’d expect The Jake to be full to watch the best hitter on the planet right now — but don’t count on it.

Former Red Sox manager Te…

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

The boys respond to Salk's attack

Our afternoon host Mike Salk was offended at Gerry and Kirk's conversation on his favorite band Rush, the guys responded.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Shawn Thornton sticks up for Marchand as Derek Dorsett backs down

Mut and Merloni discuss the Derek Dorsett, Brad Marchand, and Shawn Thornton altercation and how great it was.

An hour with Jack Edwards…

An hour with Jack Edwards: Bruins win all four line match-ups with Rangers

With the Bruins up 3-0 in the series, we talk to Jack Edwards and take your calls. We touch on all things B's-Rangers and also focus on the future of the Bruins three promising young defensemen.

Salk and Holley's Four at Four - 05/22/13

We touch on four topics we haven't talked about today... topics today include: Brian Urlacher retires, NFL schedule expansion, Sergio Garcia and more...

Golfer Sergio Garcia goes 'Fuzzy Zoeller' and gets racial against Tiger Woods

We discuss Spain's Sergio Garcia and his ignorant, racist comments against Tiger Woods.

Daily Planet Tuesday May …

Daily Planet Tuesday May 21st

The Bruins look to take a 3-0 series lead, Jon Lester gets his first loss, Dwight Howard has options in free agency.

Daily Planet Monday May 20th

Today on the Daily Planet the Bruins have a 2-0 lead over the New york Rangers, the Red Sox are back on the winning sde of things, and the noteable birthdays of the day.

Daily Planet Thursday May 9th

The Bruins have almost finished raking the Leafs, the Red Sox struggle from the mound, Miami Heat fans show their level of class.

Salk and Holley's Miked U…

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/22/13

The Jerks are joined by another, Jerk Minihane.

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/21/13

They're like a ray of morning sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day.

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question 05/21/13

....uhhhh.....a bunch of bombs over there....

Linda calls in to describ…

Linda calls in to describe the scene on Dexter St in Watertown

Linda explains how the shootout transpired in Watertown during the early morning hours. She saw the first suspect mortally wounded and police beginning the manhunt for the second suspect.

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Boston bombing hero Jeff …

Boston bombing hero Jeff Bauman: "He's dead and I'm still here"

Jeff Bauman, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, joined the show to give the guys an update of his condition and a first-hand account of that terrible day. Jeff told the guys how he wrote the description of the bomber as soon as he could. Mr. Bauman added that he is aided every day with the knowledge that he is alive and the terrorist that detonated the bomb is dead.

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Shawn Thornton on the Bru…

Shawn Thornton on the Bruins game 2 win

Shawn joined the show to discuss the teams great performance in game two against the Rangers. Shawn said that he wouldn't mind playing for John Tortorella because he seems like a funny guy.

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Elliotte Friedman of CBC …

Elliotte Friedman of CBC on the Bruins dominance of the Rangers

Elliotte Friedman joined the show to discuss the Bruins domination of the series thus far. He said that while nothing is certain he cannot see a way in which the Rangers come back and win the series.

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Minor Details Ep. 49: Man…

Minor Details Ep. 49: Managerial development with Torey Lovullo and Arnie Beyeler

By and large, the focus of development in the minor leagues is on players. Still, there is a developmental path for coaches and managers in the farm system, as is evident from the fact that the previous two managers of the Red Sox' Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket -- Torey Lovullo (2010) and Arnie Beyeler (2011-12) are now both on the Red Sox' big league coaching staff. They share their insights about the differences between player and coaching expectations in Triple-A vs. the majors, while discussing professional development from the perspective of former minor league managers who aspire to similar positions in the big leagues.

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