Larry Brown Sports

No matter how hard Boston Mayor Tom Menino tries, he simply will never be able to pronounce the names of all of his city’s superstar athletes. The man they call “Mumbles” was back at it again recently when discussing the New England Patriots’ upcoming AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Proudly sporting a Vince Wilfork jersey, Menino recently engaged in a little trash talk with the mayor of Baltimore while local news cameras rolled. As you can see from the video above, Menino was discussing how the Patriots were in good shape with Tom Brady and Stevan Ridley running the show before glancing down at his jersey and saying, “Wilcott?” A reporter corrected the mayor, but does it really matter?

Menino then went on to talk about how “Gonk” — aka Rob Gronkowski — is hurt. He has screwed up so many sports names that I swear he’s doing it just to mess with people at this point. Last year, he completely butchered the names of multiple Celtics players. He has also referred to Wes Welker as “Wes Weckler.” His most famous flub of all came when he praised “Varitek” for splitting the uprights and winning a Super Bowl for the Patriots. He was, of course, referring to Adam Vinatieri. Easy mistake.

Never stop being you Tom Menino — ever.

H/T The Nosebleeds

Throughout history we have seen numerous examples of why sports and politics are better off remaining in separate domains. President Barack Obama may know a thing or two about basketball, but typically politicians have too much on their plate to pay close attention to sports. Either that, or it just doesn’t interest them. Heck, even Obama has made a few notable sports blunders.  Whatever the reason, talking sports with politicians seems to always be a daunting task. There are few examples better than the one Boston mayor Tom Menino gave us on Wednesday.

As you can see from the video above that Barstool Sports passed along, Menino was asked about the Celtics’ success during a recent meeting with the press. As soon as the question was raised and Menino said “I stayed up too late last night,” you knew it was going to get ugly.

“There’s a lot of heart on this team, let me just tell you,” Menino said. “K.J. is a great (inaudible) but Hondo’s really the inspiration. I mean Hondo drives that team.”

By “K.J.,” I think he means Kevin Garnett, who goes by KG, and “Hondo” likely was meant to be “Rondo,” for point guard Rajon Rondo, but I’m just spitballing.

In Menino’s defense, he was put on the spot whereas politicians like this one choose to bring up sports before falling flat on their faces. Also, “Hondo” was a nickname for Celtics legend John Havliceck, but come on. Those who live in the Boston area are not even the least bit surprised by how little “Mumbles” Menino knows about the Celtics. Remember, this is the same guy who confused a Red Sox catcher for a Patriots kicker back in the day. That doesn’t mean it ever gets old.