Fenway’s New York Times and New England Sports Network say Liverpool and Suarez beat Manchester United

IN “Another Ugly Incident Mars Liverpool’s Good Name” Rob Hughes tells New York Times readers all about Luis Suarez, Liverpool’s individualistic striker who racially abused Patrice Evra and then refused to shake the Manchester United’s captain’s hand.

The New York Times’ parent company is a shareholder in Fenway.

Says Hughes:

If the Fenway Sports Group (FS is to be the responsible team owner in soccer that it has proved to be in baseball, it needs to get hold of Liverpool, its club in England’s Premier League, and repair its global image fast.

And not just that. The FSG owns the New England Sports Network (NESN). This is its report on the United – Liverpool match:

Luis Suarez Shows Strength of Character, Scores in Face of Adversity

Er…?

NESN’s values include:

Diversity: We believe that diverse cultures and ideas are integral to our success. Embracing a diverse workforce enables us to discover and understand the perspectives of our fans and customers.
Integrity: We are committed to the highest level of ethics and professional standards.

NESN’S Marcus Kwesi O’Mard ‘s reports contains a single reference to that handshake:

When all seemed lost, Luis Suarez poked a loose ball past David De Gea to cut Manchester United’s two-goal lead in half. In scoring that 80th minute goal, the Liverpool star showed not only a hallmark of a top player, but also that he is primed to bounce back from one of his career’s low points.

Hurrah!

On Saturday, Suarez made his first start since returning from a nine-game absence.

Absence? To say nothing of the eight match ban for racially abusing Evra…

There were few positives to take from Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, but the Uruguayan’s goal had to be one of them.

Yes, Suarez is positive.

It was his sixth of the current Premier League campaign, and dragged his team from the edge of oblivion back into the contest.

Suarez will save Liverpool!

In terms of sheer quality, the goal was nothing special. A Charlie Adam free kick ball bounced off of an unalert Rio Ferdinand, and Suarez tapped it home from close range. It will appear on few of his highlight videos.

True. We’re all watching another part of the game. Unless you read Pravda, sorry NESN, it was all about that handshake.

But the circumstances in which he scored set it apart. A 42-day absence robbed him of form and sharpness, and it will take more playing time for him to reclaim both.

He was robbed!

Like many of his teammates, his performance for much of Saturday’s contest failed to reach his lofty standards.

He looks down upon us?

Except for one or two moments, he struggled to combine with his fellow attackers to trouble the United defense.

Defender Evra looked pretty troubled…

Suarez shook off what was a bad outing, maintained his focus on the task at hand, and stepped forward when his team needed him most. Liverpool was adrift in the contest, and Suarez gave his team a glimmer of hope. According to the old adage, great players don’t dwell on the past. They take care of whatever comes next.

Don’t dwell on the past?

That the 25-year-old did so in the hostile cauldron of Old Trafford was a display of mental strength that should not be overlooked.

Of North Korea is looking for new leader, Suarez is yer man…

The fallout from the pregame shake-gate, and the unceasing taunts from the crowd would have overwhelmed most players. Suarez endured them, never stopped fighting, and influenced the outcome.

He rose above not shaking a man’s hand and then later tweeting that things were not as they seem.

Better times are ahead for Suarez and Liverpool fans. Trying times like these test one’s character. Suarez emerged with a concrete moment onto which he can stack moments of magic that are sure to come.

Blimey!

Back on the rest of the planet, Hughes writes:

…there was disgrace, witnessed by television viewers around the world, in the refusal of Liverpool’s Luis Suárez to shake the hand of United’s Patrice Evra before kickoff.

The hand might not always be offered with sincerity. It might often be less than the noble sign of pregame respect between opponents that FIFA would like to have us believe it is. But in this case it was important to show a global audience that Suárez and Evra were man enough to touch palms and bury the enmity between them…

The Suárez-Evra feud overshadowed the top-class soccer these teams are capable of. United quickly took a 2-0 lead on two goals by the Liverpool-born Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool won!? Well, in Fenway Sports Management’s America, they did…