Michael Chiklis: When the Game Stands Tall

(This story is posted on DigitalSportsDesk.com as part of a regular supply of original content, available for sports and entertainment sites worldwide).

By TERRY LYONS (Special to DigitalSPortsDesk)

During these past few lazy days of summer, there's been a lot going on in the New England sports scene. The New England Patriots are firing up their preseason engines with coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady leading the way. The Boston Bruins and Celtics are scouring the earth for some added scoring, as each approach the 2014-15 season on opposite ends of the projected ladder. Over on Yawkey Way, Ben Cherington, the GM of the Boston Red Sox orchestrated a midseason coup, trading pitching ace Jon Lester and a slew of role-playing World Champions for some hope and home runs as a strategic first step in the re-engineering of the BoSox. One of Cherington's bosses, Tom Werner, is on the short list for consideration as Major League Baseball's new Commissioner. And, speaking of Commissioners, over in the western portion of the Commonwealth, the Basketball Hall of Fame is staging its annual tribute and the inductee of honor is former NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Actor Michael Chiklis (Getty Images)

With all of that going on, I thought it was time to step back, maybe escape a bit from the reality that I won't be watching late October baseball at Fenway. So, with that in mind, there was one reliable ole' friend I could reach out to, in order to set my mind on a clear path from the Mass Pike of the depressing local sporting news, so I could look toward the future.

My inside source to all things sports - historical and soon-to-be imagined - provided some fan-friendly perspective as a real New Englander, one with appreciation of the past and the ability to see the future. Fittingly, like Stern, he was someone who had the credentials of a Commissioner but, they were mixed with the passion of a sports fan.

I needed to speak with Michael Chiklis, the actor. 

Chiklis was born in Lowell, Mass, and gained wide notoriety as an actor when, from 1991-96, he played Tony Scali - The Commish. Since that career-breaking role, he went on to star in "The Shield," and even played Curly in "The Three Stooges.” More recently, Chiklis starred in "The Fantastic Four" and he is currently filing FXs "American Horror Story: The Freak" in New Orleans. However, it was Chiklis' previous casting that was the more appropriate subject of discussion when we spoke by phone this past weekend, catching up as though we were old friends sitting in my West Village studio watching his "Commish" reruns, but talking about his soon-to-be-released film role, the portrayal of Terry Eidson an assistant coach to Bob Ladouceur in the true story of (Concord, California’s) De La Salle High School's 151-game winning streak, the backdrop for “When The Game Stands Tall,” a SONY Pictures release, hitting theatres nationwide on August 22.

First, Chiklis was sure to set the record straight when I brazenly asked if he continued to have ample time to follow sports, and in particular, Boston sports while he was so busy with life as a famous actor and jaunts between New Orleans and Los Angeles.

"I still am, and will always be, -- until my last breath -- an avid Boston sports fan," said Chiklis with an emphasis that might've been taught in drama class by Kurt Douglas. "I think one of the single greatest things about my celebrity is that it’s gained me access to my beloved Boston teams."

Where you at Fenway last fall, I asked?

"I was there.  I was at Game 6.  My wife and I went with my dear friend and his wife.  We were there for the celebration, and we ended up going to the owner’s box after the game and had the greatest time in the world.  It’s been wonderful. And, one of the most special things was that I lived out a "Jimmy Fallon moment" (noting the motion picture, Fever Pitch) when Curt Schilling brought me out onto the field right after we won in ’07 in Colorado.  I was right on the field right after the win.  To be that close in proximity to those guys, right there. I was standing there, literally, right with Mike Lowell’s brother while they gave him the MVP trophy on the field, I mean that’s incredibly special, it was insane.  You’re right there, it’s historic stuff that’s happening, and you’re privy to it."

Chiklis then opined on the sport of football, being that the role of assistant coach Eidson was fresh in his mind.  What is it about football, anything with the Patriots that made you particularly insightful to your role in the movie?

"Look," Chilkis said. "I’ve always grown up with the mentality that I’d rather be a good player on a championship team than the "franchise" player on a lousy team.  When you see the way Coach B (his nickname for Belichick) coaches the team and the way he picks players, he’s never been about stars.  One of the goose-bump moments of my life as a Patriots fan was in 2001 at the Superbowl when they introduced the (St. Louis Rams) 'Greatest Show on Turf' player by player.  And then, after all of that fanfare, they went 'introducing the New England Patriots.' and they came out just as the Pats team. Every hair on my body stood up and I thought, 'we are winning this game.' Something about being a New Englander, we love the idea of a team, as opposed to the individual. 

"We don’t like blow hards much."

"It’s about the way we’re raised, I guess," he continued.  "In New England, if you get too far ahead of yourself, you’re going to get brought down to earth really quickly.  When I was growing up, it was really instilled in me that it’s just a better experience in life to be yourself and not be a narcissist, but rather to be a part of a community.  And our teams are like that.  You look right and left of you and you feel that bond between the people. It’s an incredibly special thing, and you’ll get a feel for it in this movie, When The Game Stands Tall.  You’ll see that camaraderie, that brotherhood that happens on a team.  And you can see that in real life with the Patriots and Belichick when he speaks to the players coming into this team he says, 'You want to succeed? You want a ring on your finger? Then, you’re gonna plug into this system, we’ll all pull our weight, we’ll all do this together.'"

Chiklis was quick to put two-and-two together.

"Of course, superstars have emerged (in the New England Patriots' system) due to their level of commitment and play," said the actor. "Tom Brady couldn’t be a better example of a guy who’s all class, who never would say disparaging words about another player.  But, it’s not about the other guy.  It’s about his personal execution as it relates to the guys right and left of him and his commitment to them as a team.  He knows that they can be relied upon.  These guys can rely upon each other.  They have each other’s backs.  And that’s the kind of thing that makes your chest swell when you’re watching this movie.  You can see that in the context of the picture.

"When you’re watching movies like 'Remember the Titans' or 'Rudy' or 'Miracle,' you’re always threatened by that fine line between too corny and something that doesn’t make a mark. But, what I love about this movie is that it's not about 'the cliché version of 'two seconds left on the clock and he scores and the game’s over and we win.'  The film we're so proud of doesn’t take it from that place. The De La Salle high school football team won 151 games in a row in twelve years which for anybody who knows sports, that’s ridiculous.  It just doesn’t happen.

"There’s a reason why their formula was successful and they kept winning," noted Chiklis.  "Sure they want to win their games, but the onus and the focus wasn't on winning games. It’s on making these boys into young men.  They are conscionable, responsible, credible human beings and you rely upon them.

 "I’m very passionate about the movie, I’m a supporting player in this movie, When the Game Stands Tall, but I love what it says."

You will too.

Bobby V: Managing with those Mind Games

By TERRY LYONS

(Special to DigitalSportsDesk.com)

BOSTON, MAY 1, 2012 - What are the inexorable rights of a New Englander?  Since the turn of the century, meaning the 21st century, the seemingly God-given rights include all of the following activities:

- The right to bear arms

- The right to bitch about the weather changing by the minute

- The right to imbibe Dunkin' Donuts coffee every 30 minutes

- The right to botch-up a Senatorial election to replace the late Ted Kennedy

- The right to great, make that Championship-level sports teams - including the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox; the 2001, 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots, the 2008 Boston Celtics and, even, the 2011 Boston Cannons of lacrosse.  Boston has had its share of winners since father time partied 1999 away with Prince and shuttled in the year 2000.

Darnell McDonald of the Boston Red Sox

Despite all of that winning, if there is one sure-fire right of a Bostonian, it is the right to second-guess.  And, second-guess they do.  They quibble with the  coaches, the managers, the players, the politicians, the dogs, the cats.  Hell, they even second guess NE Patriots QB Tom Brady, and he might be one of the greatest New England players of all-time, along with Bill Russell, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr and Larry Bird.

If there were to be a second-guesser's Hall of Fame, it would be situated somewhere near Fenway Park, maybe at the corner of Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way.  The halls would be extra wide, so as to allow the patrons to walk three or six abreast. If they were to build it, people would come.

They would come to to reminisce about their favorite second guessing moments involving Grady Little.  Back on October 16, 2003, the Red Sox manager decided to leave his ace, Pedro Martinez, on the hill against the New York Yankees. The Sox had a 5-2 lead in the eighth, but ole Pedro tired and let up three runs before Yankees' journeyman Aaron Boone belted a Home Run off Tim Wakefield in the 11th.  The rest was history.

The faithful will second guess the great Bill Belichick, too.  The same man that's presided over three Super Bowl championships and a pair of AFC title that cowboy-up with two stunning Super Bowl losses was second-guessed beyond your wildest dreams for a 4th down and 2 call against the hated Indianapolis Colts.  The play failed, the Patriots lost 35-34 in a mid-November game and you'd thought the sky fell when the team returned from Naptown to Patriot Place.

The second-guessing works in politics, too.  Democratic Senatorial hopeful Martha Coakley started to do the backstroke after gaining her party's nomination in a special election to replace the late Ted Kennedy, only to have Republican Scott Brown, he of barn jackets and GMC trucks, walk-away with the 2010 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Senatorial election. In doing so, it upended the life's work by his Senatorial predecessor in regard to universal healthcare and it ignited a flurry of second-guessing that hasn't been seen nor heard since Michael Dukakis ran into a juggernaut named Ronald Reagan in 1988. But, we digress and prefer to stick with sports.

On the parquet and the ice at TD Garden, Celtics coach Doc Rivers and the Bruins main-man, Claude Julien, do not escape the seasonal sport of second-guessing to the ummph degree, however, in the sports of basketball and hockey, New Englanders seem to like to blame the players and the GMs rather than the coaches.  So, in NBA lore the second-guessers mock Boston GM Danny Ainge for shipping center Kendrick Perkins outbound while Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is being whipped like a rare persian rug on a dusty day in Baghdad for his stand-still approach with the 2011 Stanley Cup champions who were ousted by the Washington Capitals in the first-round of the 2012 Cup playoffs, amidst mockery of an inefficient offense.

Now and then, New Englanders like to second-guess other coaches, too.  Case in point this week, one former Celtics assistant coach, Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls who decided to run 2011 MVP guard Derrick Rose with the Bulls while the team was trouncing the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first round NBA playoff series.  Rose took a clumsy two-step and crushed his ACL, ending his season and, possibly the longterm playoff hopes of a (still) deep Chicago Bulls basketball team.  Boston sports talk-show radio lit up with disdain directed at Rivers' former aide and defensive wizard.  Second-guessing has no boundaries.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz of Boston off to hot start.

And, that brings us to the 2012 Boston Red Sox.  After a rough start at the Detroit Tigers (0-3), at the Toronto Blue Jays (1-2), then a slight reprieve by winning three of four at home against the highly rated Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox and Manager Bobby Valentine caught the wrath of the Kenmore Square faithful when the Sox dropped two-straight to both the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees before a rain-out saved the day on April 22.  

Right smack in the middle of the near nuclear fall-out was a Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon Day lyric-reading of John Lennon's "Mind Games," as Valentine questioned the emotional status of veteran third-baseman Kevin Youkilis and the Sox clubhouse came to "Youk's" emotional rescue when veteran second baseman and annual MVP candidate Dustin Pedroia chastised his new boss, stating, "that's not the way we go about our stuff here.  I'm sure he'll (Valentine) will figure it out soon."

Alas, since the marathon day Dustin dust-up, the Boston Red Sox have won seven of eight, including tonight's 11-6 cropping of the Oakland A's.  Boston scored 11 runs over the course of the 2nd through 5th innings and held on after starting pitcher Clay Buchholz melted down to allow five runs in the top of the seventh, but still managing to gain his third win in four early season outings for the 11-11 Bostonians, as of Monday night.

Valentine has his team playing .500 ball and with the American League schedule coming in like a soft summer breeze on the Cape, the Sox might remain well over the .500 mark through the Ides of May after a few more A's games, then series against Baltimore, Kansas City, Cleveland and Seattle with only a three-game stretch in KC away from the comfy confines of Fenway.

Taking the second-guessing game aside, is it possible that Bobby Valentine's intuition as a manager called for him to speak his peace against Youkilis to see if he could light the fire of camaraderie under the fannies of "Youk's" teammates?  Is it at all possible that Valentine wanted to perform a Kentucky Fried (or Popeye's) seance against a locker air that still stunk of September's past?  Was it a challenge?  Was it managing by Mind Games?

We'll just have to listen, wait and see.

Game Notes:  The Boston Red Sox have won seven of their last eight and evened their record at 11-11 (.500).  DH David Ortiz recorded his 36th multi-home run game as a member of the Red Sox and his 38th overall.  Ortiz moved past Jim Rice in the team lead of multi-HR games and trails legendary ted Williams by only one 2x HR outing.  Ortiz is batting .448 (13-of-29) on the season. Manager Bobby Valentine praised the efforts of Darnell McDonald who went 3-for-4 with a 2B, HR, two RBIs and a career-high three runs scored.  Oakland A's starter Tommy Milone reminded many of the Boston faithful of Sam Malone of Cheers fame.  Milone went 4.2 innings, allowing eight runs, seven earned, on eight hits while giving up three HRs.  No truth to the rumor that Milone was heading to Bull & Finch Pub.

Just Do Your Job

The New York Times tried to do a feature on one of the great 'behind the scenes' guys in pro football history, our man Berj.  Once an entry-level, game night staffer at The Garden, Berj quickly proved he was one of the guys you could really depend on.  No nonsense.

He's brought that talent to the NE Patriots to help coach Bill Belichick get the job done, quietly and thoroughly.  Here's the story:

Blocking for the Patriots Coach So He Can Do His Job

By GREG BISHOP

The Coach

INDIANAPOLIS — The man inside the coffee shop is Bill Belichick’s chief of staff, one of his most trusted confidants. Since Belichick became the coach of the New England Patriots in 2000, this man has spent more time with him than quarterback Tom Brady, Belichick’s family members or anyone else, really. Yet even Patriots fans have never heard of him.

As he politely but begrudgingly spoke on background in the coffee shop, a short walk from the Patriots’ hotel for Super Bowl XLVI, no one recognized the man, or how important he was — and is — to New England’s success. His name is Berj Najarian. By title, he is director of football/head coach administration.
On Sunday, the Patriots will play in their fifth Super Bowl since the 2001 season. That run, the best stretch in the N.F.L. in recent years, is defined by three championships and the aura of secrecy that surrounds the franchise, which is part of the Patriot Way. In a system in which injuries are guarded as state secrets and coaches conduct their business like C.I.A. operatives, the Patriots allow little understanding of what, exactly, they have done to reach such sustained success.
Najarian’s role exemplifies that paranoid mystique. He is the gatekeeper to Belichick, the monitor of the monotone.
“He is the consigliere of the New England Patriots,” the team’s offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien, said. “No question about it.”
All week, as Belichick conducted interviews, Najarian stood off to the side, close enough to hear and observe, but far enough not to attract attention. He wore no media credential, nor any identification. A few members of the Boston and national media recognized him. Otherwise, he went unnoticed.
Najarian was there from the beginning, before this Patriot Way existed, before Belichick became a Hall of Fame-caliber coach. Najarian was there when Belichick, never a master of public relations, scribbled, “I resign as HC of the NYJ,” shortly after the Jets promoted him to head coach.
The Patriots snagged Belichick instead. He drove to New England with part of his inner circle: Najarian, Eric Mangini and Scott Pioli. Mangini and Pioli eventually left for other jobs. Belichick and Najarian remain. Even their offices at 1 Patriot Place connect.
Earlier in his career, in Cleveland from 1991 to 1995, Belichick bombed at news conferences. His demeanor: surly. His personality: prickly. His image: tyrant.
Once in New England, Belichick sought to soften that image, to show his sense of humor, his human side, both of which, those close to him insist, actually exist. Najarian advised Belichick in this role, and while the coach infamous for his hoodie and his icy handshakes never came to resemble a teddy bear, he has been credited this week with appearing more comfortable and relaxed. If the Kraft family and Belichick created the Patriot Way, Najarian burnished it, especially as it related to all things Belichick.
At the same time, Najarian also handled Belichick’s major crisis, the so-called Spygate videotaping controversy, which engulfed the Patriots on their last run to the Super Bowl, four seasons ago. Belichick took his first Spygate-related question here Thursday. Count that as another win for Najarian.
“He’s one of our hidden weapons,” the team’s owner, Robert K. Kraft, said.
The retired quarterback Drew Bledsoe said that in the organizations he played for — New England, Buffalo, Dallas — he never encountered someone with a role similar to Najarian’s. Because Najarian stood between Belichick and the rest of the world, that role “gave him a ton of power,” Bledsoe said. He added: “With the Patriots, it’s an efficiency thing. Berj worried about stuff so Bill didn’t have to.”
Najarian, because of his proximity to Belichick, also took some ribbing. Bledsoe and some co-conspirators, whom he declined to name, once sent Najarian a dozen roses on Secretary’s Day. “From what I understand, he was a little offended,” Bledsoe said. “We thought it was hysterical.”
Najarian’s job description can be summarized in six words: help Belichick carry out his program.
Najarian does not coach players. He does everything else, deciding which issues are worthy of Belichick’s attention so the coach can focus on football, his staff, meetings, practices, strategy and film sessions.
Najarian handles the logistics of Belichick’s day: whom he meets and what interviews he conducts. If a corporate sponsor needs a Patriots coach to speak, Najarian determines which coach. When the rookies arrive, he helps indoctrinate them. When Brady creates a stir with a comment about fans getting “lubed up,” Najarian handles damage control and helps deliver the team’s strange response that Brady was referring to drinking water. At practices, he even selects the music, from Bruce Springsteen to Dr. Dre.
This affords Najarian a place in Belichick’s inner circle, which changes but remains relatively small. His other longtime confidants include Ernie Adams (director of football research), Nick Caserio (director of player personnel) and assistant coaches.
“Berj is really important,” a relaxed Belichick said this week, cracking a rare public smile. “There isn’t nearly enough time in this press conference to talk about him.”
Just as coaches around the N.F.L. have tried to emulate Belichick’s approach to football, his former assistants have also hired their own version of Najarian, including Mangini with the Jets and Josh McDaniels in Denver.
Najarian gave one quotation for this article. “One of our sayings is for everyone to ‘just do your job,’ ” he said. “Contributing to Bill Belichick doing his job and at the same time helping uphold the standard of excellence set by the Kraft family is a privilege. With that comes many responsibilities within the football operation and organization, and I appreciate the opportunity to fulfill them.”
Growing up on Long Island — his father was a child psychiatrist, his mother a housewife — Najarian never anticipated this career path. He graduated from Boston University and interned with the Knicks in 1994. John Cirillo, then the senior vice president for communications of Madison Square Garden, said Najarian possessed a quiet calm and tireless work ethic.
From there, Najarian worked in public relations with the Jets. Frank Ramos, who was a longtime public-relations director with the franchise, said Najarian “came to get along very well with the defensive coaches.” He added: “He got really close with Belichick. There aren’t that many who can get that close to Bill. I don’t know why he did.”
Often, Ramos noted, Najarian stayed late at the Jets’ complex, talking football, hanging around Belichick. The Belichick crew once took part in a weight-loss competition, with official weigh-ins and hefty penalties, and Belichick would hide slices of pizza in everyone else’s desks.
When he arrived in New England, Najarian joined Stacey James, now the Patriots’ vice president for media relations, in a potentially awkward situation. They divide their duties at Belichick (Najarian) and everything else (James). Reporters who cover the team regularly said they expect to hear from Najarian when they write critically of Belichick. Some said future access depended on what they wrote.
Not that Najarian wanted to address any of that. If Belichick is happy and the Krafts are happy, he prefers to stay in the shadows.
On the ESPN set, Tedy Bruschi, the retired Patriots linebacker turned analyst, raised both eyebrows when asked about Najarian. No longer affiliated with the team, he still declined to comment.
“How many people talk about the consigliere?” he said.
Very few, it turns out, just as the gatekeeper to Belichick, in line with the Patriot Way, prefers it.