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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
05/09/2011 - 12:16pm
Game 4: How much more can Rondo give Celtics?
Paul Flannery
05/08/2011 - 2:19am
The legend of the one-armed point guard
Their reputation long enshrined as the toughest, orneriest bunch of geezers on the block, Rajon Rondo added another piece to the legend that will one day be passed down about this group of Celtics.
Paul Flannery
05/06/2011 - 5:33pm
Is this the Celtics last stand?
It is beyond foolish to bury a team like the Celtics before they are lying in the cold, dead ground. They are too tough. Too weather-beaten and battle-scarred to simply call it a day after a couple of losses away from the Garden. They have also rallied too many times before.
Paul Flannery
05/04/2011 - 12:39am
Do the Celtics have enough left?
MIAMI — Throughout their four-year run, the Celtics have always had the answers, always had the counter to whatever was thrown their way. They knew deep down that their team framework was strong enough to handle any star and any situation. If that didn’t work, they always had that defense to back them up.
Paul Flannery
05/01/2011 - 9:31pm
After Game 1 loss, Celtics face toughest test
MIAMI -- Here is where we find out just what this Celtics team is really all about. In case there was any doubt – and there shouldn’t have been – the Heat will push them in a way they haven’t been pushed this year.
Paul Flannery
04/30/2011 - 4:18pm
As Rondo goes: What to watch for in Game 1
There will be seven members of the 2011 Eastern Conference All-Star team on the floor when the Celtics tip off with the Heat Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their conference semifinal series. The most in any series since 1982-83 when the 76ers and Lakers met in the NBA finals.
Paul Flannery
04/28/2011 - 10:46pm
Legacies on the line: Paul Pierce and LeBron James
The Celtics enter their playoff series with Miami with no small amount of expectation, hope and worry. They know, as do the Heat, that the road to the championship must go through the other.
Paul Flannery
04/28/2011 - 12:17am
It had to happen: Breaking down Celtics series with Miami
Of all the playoff matchups and all the possibilities, the Celtics and Heat are the one that seemed predestined from the moment LeBron James signed with Miami.
Paul Flannery
04/26/2011 - 5:28pm
Back to work: Celtics need to use their time off wisely
The Celtics find themselves in a uniquely strange position this week.
Paul Flannery
04/25/2011 - 3:07am
Anybody else want to question Rajon Rondo?
NEW YORK — All around the cramped and joyless interview room in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, reporters raised their eyebrows and began working their fingers and thumbs on their mobile devices. Really? Mike D’Antoni went there?
Paul Flannery
04/23/2011 - 1:24am
Business as usual for Celtics
Paul Flannery
04/21/2011 - 7:09pm
Game 3 Keys: Get a rebound
If there was one thing that really bothered the Celtics in their Game 2 victory over the Knicks it was their lack of defensive rebounding.
Paul Flannery
04/20/2011 - 8:36pm
Inside the Celtics excellence of end-game execution
The play was supposed to be for Paul Pierce.
Paul Flannery
04/20/2011 - 1:20am
Celtics survive again, but is that enough?
There’s no way to accurately describe what went down between the Celtics and Knicks in Game 2 of their first round playoff series.
Paul Flannery
04/18/2011 - 6:06pm
Game 2 Keys: Has the switch been permanently flipped?
In the first game of the 2010 playoffs the Celtics found themselves trailing Miami by 14 points in the third quarter. They appeared lifeless and the energy in the Garden matched their play. Then suddenly it all came together.
Paul Flannery
04/18/2011 - 1:04am
The resurrection of Jermaine O'Neal
The moment of doubt for Jermaine O’Neal came at the moment of truth. When the lights go out and the doctor goes to work.
Paul Flannery
04/16/2011 - 11:52pm
Which version of Rondo will appear for playoffs?
Rajon Rondo walked to the far corner of the Celtics practice facility and sat on an exercise bike, at once inviting attention and doing nothing to court it.
Paul Flannery
04/14/2011 - 7:31pm
Breaking down the matchups for Celtics and Knicks
Way back in mid-December, the Celtics and Knicks played a classic, possibly the game of the year in the NBA regular season. It featured everything from in-game comebacks to gritty performances and late-game heroics.
Paul Flannery
04/14/2011 - 12:31am
Was this Celtics season a success?
Way back in October when the Celtics gathered in Waltham for the start of yet another run through the long grind of an NBA season, their mission was clear.
Paul Flannery
04/12/2011 - 9:08pm
The revitalization of Kevin Garnett
"I think Kevin loves it the way it is. He’s just kind of playing. The whole 'I hate Kevin' thing is gone and he just played through it and kept playing. That’s what great about him. He didn’t care if they did. That’s the best part.
Paul Flannery
04/10/2011 - 9:25pm
The Three-Pointer: Plenty of questions, few answers for Celtics
The Celtics don’t just lose games these days, they get taken apart and embarrassed on national television. For the second time in four days, they went into a contender’s arena in what was considered a big game on normal rest and got beat by double digits.
Paul Flannery
04/09/2011 - 12:21am
All eyes on big four as Celtics begin playoff push
You can talk all day long about the O’Neal brothers, Nenad Krstic’s adjustment and how Jeff Green will ultimately fit into the grand plan. Lord knows those topics have been beaten into the ground over the last few months.
Paul Flannery
04/08/2011 - 1:01am
The Three-Pointer: No statement from Celtics
All week long, the Celtics kept saying that they didn’t believe in statement games — which is good because the only message they sent in a 97-81 loss to the Bulls on Thursday is that Chicago is clearly the class of the Eastern Conference. At least in the regular season.
Paul Flannery
04/06/2011 - 12:44am
The Three-Pointer: Starting to come together
The decision was made before the game, and it was the last major one the Celtics would have to make before the start of the playoffs.
Paul Flannery
04/04/2011 - 7:28pm
Celtics look to get in rhythm in busy stretch run
Over the next week, the Celtics will play five games against a potential first round opponent in Philadelphia, the top two teams in the East – Chicago and Miami – and just for fun also get the Wizards for two sets of back-to-backs.


Audio On Demand

Former Patriot Matt Light…

Former Patriot Matt Light on the Pats offseason

Matt joined the program to discuss his first ever cornhole contest and to break down the Patriots offseason. He told the guys that he was upset that the Pats were unable to bring Wes Welker back to the team.

Tom Brady on the loss of Wes Welker

Tom Brady joined the program to discuss his upcoming charitable event supporting Best Buddies and his off-season. Tom said that he has learned not to worry about free agency decisions since he cant control any of them. Lastly he defended his over the top celebration at the Kentucky Derby.

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.

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 GM Ben Cherington…

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Jacoby Ellsbury

Ben joined the program to discuss the return of Terry Francona and said that he always had a good relationship with the former manager. Ben added that he thinks Ellsbury is in a slump due in part to the amount of left handed pitchers the team has faced.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia postgame with Joe and Dave

Salty spoke with Joe Castiglione & Dave O'Brien after he helped his team to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox tonight. The Red Sox return to Fenway after going 6-3 on the road trip.

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.

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.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington…

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Jacoby Ellsbury

Ben joined the program to discuss the return of Terry Francona and said that he always had a good relationship with the former manager. Ben added that he thinks Ellsbury is in a slump due in part to the amount of left handed pitchers the team has faced.

Former Patriot Matt Light on the Pats offseason

Matt joined the program to discuss his first ever cornhole contest and to break down the Patriots offseason. He told the guys that he was upset that the Pats were unable to bring Wes Welker back to the team.

Tom Brady on the loss of Wes Welker

Tom Brady joined the program to discuss his upcoming charitable event supporting Best Buddies and his off-season. Tom said that he has learned not to worry about free agency decisions since he cant control any of them. Lastly he defended his over the top celebration at the Kentucky Derby.

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.

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

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.

More from this show

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.

More from this show

Steve Zipay of Newsday on…

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.

More from this show

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