Columnists
RSS Feed  RSS
Weei » Columnists » Paul Flannery » Paul Flannery Archive
ArchivesBlog
About Paul Flannery

Paul Flannery began his journalism career answering phones at the Boston Herald before embarking on a cross-country odyssey that included stops in Oregon, Virginia and Philadelphia. He then returned home to Boston, where he was the online editor at Boston magazine and began covering the Celtics in 2008. Flannery also contributes to the Phoenix and teaches sports journalism at Boston University.

 
COLUMNS
Paul Flannery
05/13/2009 - 2:13am
Five Things We Learned: Great Escape or Epic Collapse?
There were five minutes left and the Celtics were down by 10 points when Doc Rivers put his starters back on the floor. It was, as he said later, “a gamble” because at the time the players who were doing the most on the court were Stephon Marbury and Eddie House. But if the Celtics were going to go down in their building they were going to go down with the ones who had brought them here.
Paul Flannery
05/11/2009 - 4:27am
Five Things We Learned: Big Baby Becomes A Man
ORLANDO -- The ball had barely ripped through the net and the horn had just finished going off when Glen Big Baby Davis took off down the court like a one-man running of the bulls at Pamplona. It goes without saying the game-winning jumper was the biggest shot Davis has made in his short career. It wasn’t the first time he had made one -- he had even done it before in Orlando back in February from almost exactly the same spot. But to do so in a playoff game with his team facing a 3-1 hole and Rashard Lewis rushing toward him, Davis had a right to be exuberant.
Paul Flannery
05/09/2009 - 12:40am
Five Things We Learned: Celtics Vow To Return To Form
ORLANDO -- Angry isn’t the right word to describe the Celtics mood after getting run out of Amway Arena in Game 3 against the Magic. Disappointed. Frustrated. Those work.    The Celtics walked into a buzzsaw Friday night against an energized Magic team playing in a hopped-up building, and except for a brief moment at the end of the third quarter (playing with a “goofy lineup,” as Doc Rivers called it) they simply failed to land any effective counter-punches.   
Paul Flannery
05/07/2009 - 1:12am
Five Things We Learned: As Fast As You Can Say 1-1
The question before Rajon Rondo about an hour before Game 2 tipped was: Who’s the quickest player in the league? “Beside myself?” Rondo asked, although it was more of a clarifying statement than query. Rondo probably is the fastest player in the league, but when Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy looked out at the court and saw his super-sized lineup trying to stay with not only Rondo, but also Eddie House and Ray Allen, he did not like what he saw.
Paul Flannery
05/05/2009 - 1:18am
Five Things We Learned: There Are No Moral Victories In the Playoffs
It’s a little hard to pinpoint when it was exactly that the Celtics got their groove back.  
Paul Flannery
05/03/2009 - 5:13pm
Breaking Down The Celtics-Magic Series
Having survived an epic first-round series with the Bulls, the Celtics now face an Orlando team that’s much different in terms of style, temperament and expectations than Chicago. If the Bulls were playing as if there was nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Magic will have tremendous pressure to break through and advance to the conference finals against the wounded Celtics.
Paul Flannery
05/03/2009 - 2:15am
Five Things We Learned From Game 7: Defining the Greatness of an Epic Series
Eddie House took the ball and flung it to the Garden rafters and by the time it reached the floor everyone went about trying to put the whole thing into perspective. After seven games, four of which went into overtime, what exactly was this series between the Celtics and the Bulls? Was it the greatest ever, or does a playoff series have to be much deeper than the first round to earn that distinction?
Paul Flannery
05/01/2009 - 12:38am
Five Things We Learned: There Had To Be a Game 7
Words fail. After six games and seven overtimes what more could possibly be said about this series? That it’s the greatest first round series in the history of the NBA? Well, yeah.   That it’s the most competitive series in the history of basketball? Probably so.  
Paul Flannery
04/29/2009 - 12:44am
Five Things We Learned: The Age Of Rondo Is Upon Us
For most of the 2008-09 season, people have been struggling to define just how fast Rajon Rondo actually is. It is known, for example, that there is no one in the NBA who can stay in front of him on a consistent basis. It was suggested, by Rondo himself, that he could beat Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt in the 100 meters. It’s taken 82 games, five more in the playoffs and four overtime periods before we could definitively answer the question, but here it is: Rajon Rondo is fast enough to save a season in 94 seconds.
Paul Flannery
04/26/2009 - 6:48pm
Five Things We Learned: Get Ready For a Wild Ride
There were more than enough 'what if’s' in the aftermath of the Celtics double-overtime loss to the Bulls Sunday afternoon in Game 4 of their first-round series. What if Paul Pierce had made both of his free throws at the end of the first overtime? What if the Celtics had been able to foul Ben Gordon instead of allowing him to get a 3-pointer? What if Brad Miller had been thrown out?   
Paul Flannery
04/24/2009 - 12:07am
Five Things We Learned: Paul Is Not Dead
Everyone has a theory about Paul Pierce. He’s tired. He’s getting older. He’s hurt. If you played Revolution No. 9 backward, Ray Allen would tell you the truth about The Truth. Whatever the reason, the general consensus was that something was wrong with the Captain after two games in which he struggled to get his shot off, and missed 60 percent of the time when he did.   
Paul Flannery
04/21/2009 - 12:10am
Five Things We Learned: 12 Minutes That Saved a Season
  When he walked into the post-game press conference, Doc Rivers looked like he had just spent the last 48 minutes trying to guard Ben Gordon coming off multiple screens. “The only comment I have,” Rivers said, “is I pray that Danny Ainge didn’t watch this game.”  
Paul Flannery
04/18/2009 - 7:00pm
Five Things We Learned: A Rose Bloomed in Game One
  Rajon Rondo was late coming into the postgame press conference area and when he finally did arrive he was moving slowly and deliberately. This was different for the third-year guard whose default speed is somewhere between fast and warp overdrive, but Game 1 of the Celtics first-round playoff series with the Bulls had drained him.
Paul Flannery
04/17/2009 - 12:14pm
Celtics Look to Break the Bulls: Breaking Down the First Round
What is the definition of a .500 team? The same number of wins and losses is a good place to start, and in the case of the Chicago Bulls, 41-41 is exactly the right mark, for the Bulls take mediocrity to an extreme. They are roughly even with their opponents in almost every statistical category. They shoot the same percentage, rebound the same, get as many steals, blocks and assists and turn the ball over at almost exactly the same rate as the opposition. The only thing that disturbs this yin-and-yang balance is a strong 3-point shooting percentage.
Paul Flannery
04/14/2009 - 11:07am
Kalas the Unforgettable Voice of the Phillies
This is what I remember most about Harry Kalas: A friend of mine asked me if I could get Harry to wish her grandfather a happy birthday over the air. Her grandfather watched every Phillies game even though his eyes had started betraying him a few years earlier, and while he could only make out a sliver of the action he always knew when Pat Burrell chased a slider away. He knew by the sound in Harry’s voice.
Paul Flannery
04/13/2009 - 4:30pm
20 Questions: On The Eve Of The Playoffs, We Break Down The NBA
As the NBA season winds down, WEEI.com’s basketball roundtable discussed the Celtics, the NBA and if anyone can prevent us from enduring a LeBron-Kobe hypefest in the NBA Finals. 1. Who is your Celtics MVP? Paul Flannery: The numbers tell me it’s Rajon Rondo, but I’m going to go with Paul Pierce, who has been the rock for the Celtics this year. It hasn’t been his best year, but it’s been his important year.
Paul Flannery
04/07/2009 - 11:44am
Five Questions for the Celtics
As a general rule of thumb, it’s not a good thing when an NBA championship contender has a number of unanswered questions with a week to go in the regular season. A baseball or football team can get hot just in time for the playoffs (see: Cardinals, St. Louis and Arizona) but with the exception of the 1995 Houston Rockets, there just aren’t that many flukes — and the Rockets could hardly be considered a fluke when you consider that they had the best player in the world that year in Hakeem Olajuwon.
Paul Flannery
03/20/2009 - 12:49am
The Good, The Bad, And The Marbury
Stephon Marbury is frustrated. He’s frustrated because his shot isn’t falling the way it used to and because he hasn’t been the answer to every one of the Celtics' problems. He’s frustrated because those damn legs aren’t there yet and he’s frustrated because in his attempt to prove to everyone that he is a set-them-up point guard instead of jack-em-up malcontent that he’s not giving his new team exactly what it needs.    That’s good.   
Paul Flannery
03/09/2009 - 8:07am
The Curious Case of Tony Allen
Tony Allen made progress the other day and that was news in and of itself, because it seems that every time he does take a step forward, something else happens to set him back. Throughout his star-crossed career — and he is the second-longest tenured Celtic behind Paul Pierce, strange as that seems — it has always been something. Knee injuries, coaching changes, rotation shuffles, and then this year an ankle injury and finally thumb surgery, something always seems to get in the way of Allen becoming the player so many people want him to be.
Paul Flannery
03/05/2009 - 10:34am
All bets are off
The last time we saw the Cleveland Cavaliers on the Garden parquet, David Stern was handing out rings and Paul Pierce was thanking everyone he had ever met at any point in his life. The last time the Celtics saw the Cavs at all, it was at the end of their mid-season (pick your adjective) swoon/slump/re-tooling and were basically Ushered (pun intended) off the Cavs’ home court.
Paul Flannery
02/27/2009 - 9:51pm
Five questions for the Celtics
The All-Star game is over and the Jabberwockeez have gone back to wherever it is Jaberwockeez hang out. Phoenix is starting over, Orlando is hurting, the Los Angeles Lakers are thriving and the Celtics and Cleveland are locked in a sprint to finish the 82-game marathon in first place.
Paul Flannery
02/27/2009 - 6:47pm
The Stephon Marbury Equation
The lights were going down and the excitement in the Garden was building when PA announcer Ernie Palladino began to introduce, “The World Champion Boston Celtics.” Mikki Moore snuck up behind Stephon Marbury and shook him by the shoulders as if to say, “Can you believe we’re a part of this?” For Moore, who was in something akin to exile in Sacramento, and Marbury who actually was in exile from the Knicks it must have felt like getting an upgrade from the old Howard Johnson’s in Kenmore Square to a room at the Collonade.
Paul Flannery
02/10/2009 - 11:21am
Little Things Mean A Lot
In the universe of professional basketball, the little things are numerous and vast. Proper spacing on an inbound play, say, or ducking under a screen instead of fighting over the top of it and watching one of the best 3-point shooters in the business get a clean look with a half minute left. Little things. When the Celtics win games, the little things don’t seem so obvious. A five-minute stretch where they suddenly, and without warning, abandon their offensive principles and being playing a series of one-one-one games?
Paul Flannery
02/09/2009 - 1:46pm
Little Things Mean A Lot
In the universe of professional basketball, the little things are numerous and vast. Proper spacing on an inbound play, say, or ducking under a screen instead of fighting over the top of it and watching one of the best 3-point shooters in the business get a clean look with a half minute left. Little things.
Paul Flannery
02/03/2009 - 6:00pm
When the East Will Be Won: Celtics Enter Key Stretch for Conference Supremacy
We are already well into what may prove the most significant leg in the race to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference. While these things usually come into focus sometime between St. Patrick’s Day and the end of the NCAA Tournament, the month before the All-Star game is crucial to the hopes of the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic. Why is that? As Doc Rivers said a few weeks ago, “This is when teams lose focus.” And games.


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.

John Lackey postgame gues…

John Lackey postgame guest after the last game of the Minnesota series

Joe Castiglione talked with John Lackey after he picked up the W against the Twins. Lackey threw seven innings, and retired the 1st twelve batters of the game.

John Farrell pregame before the last game of the Minnesota series

Dave O'Brien talked to John Farrell before the end of the Twins series. The Sox skipper said that Big Papi's success is no surprise given his work ethic.

John Farrell postgame press conference

John Farrell postgame press conference

Ed Olczyk, NBC Sports: "S…

Ed Olczyk, NBC Sports: "Surprised" by amount of goals in series so far

Eddie Olczyk joins the show to discuss the Bruins Rangers series and what to expect with Game 3 back in NY. He also talks about Seguin's inconsistency and the role of Jaromir Jagr.

Kenny Albert, NY Rangers PBP: Previews Game 3

Kenny Albert joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the play of Henrik Lundqvist, changes John Torterella may make before tonight's game, and if home ice advantage will make a difference.

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.

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.

Steve Zipay of Newsday on the Rangers

Steve joined the show to discuss the Rangers and their coach John Tortorella. Steve said that the Bruins have been the far better team thus far in the series.

Can the Rangers turn things around?

Kirk and Gerry talked about game three tonight at Madison Square Garden between the Bruins and Rangers. Gerry and Kirk are not very confident in the ability of the Rangers to make this a series.

Ed Olczyk, NBC Sports: "S…

Ed Olczyk, NBC Sports: "Surprised" by amount of goals in series so far

Eddie Olczyk joins the show to discuss the Bruins Rangers series and what to expect with Game 3 back in NY. He also talks about Seguin's inconsistency and the role of Jaromir Jagr.

Kenny Albert, NY Rangers PBP: Previews Game 3

Kenny Albert joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the play of Henrik Lundqvist, changes John Torterella may make before tonight's game, and if home ice advantage will make a difference.

Mut Vs. Salk on NESN Daily

Find out which WEEI host came out victorious in the latest Salk Vs. Mut battle.

Full tilt, full time. New…

Full tilt, full time. Newest inductee to the Patriots Hall of Fame Tedy Bruschi with Salk and Holley

We talk to #54 about his career and well deserved induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Salk and Holley's Four (or Five) at Four - 05/21/13

We tackle four off-topic topics! Today including RGIII's wedding registry, Tiger Woods, new putters in golf and more.

Barry Melrose: Sit the injured veteran defensemen until you need them, until you lose

We check in with ESPN's great hockey analyst and former NHL coach Barry Melrose to get his take on this Bruins-Rangers series. We also ask the coach in him how he'd deal with the great play of the rookie defensemen when the vets get healthy... and his answer might surprise you.

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 - 05/21/13

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....

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/17/13

Sounds like a prostate exam to me!

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.

More from this show

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.

More from this show

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.

More from this show

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.

More from this show

Buster Olney, ESPN: Ellsb…

Buster Olney, ESPN: Ellsbury play will hurt him in free agency

Buster Olney joins the show to discuss the muddled AL East, the average play of Ellsbury and how that will affect him in free agency, and Tropicana Field.

More from this show

Weei Writers