Alan Greenwood

Social media, in its myriad varieties, usually beats traditional media in the speed with which they can report the news.

It isn’t easy for this traditional media dinosaur to admit, but it is true enough. Anyone looking for breaking sports news spends at least a chunk of their day surfing the web for tweets and timelines and blog entries in search of something that has gone unreported

Then there are the endless streams of rumors that are tossed onto the web without adequate confirmation. Those can be particularly entertaining. Every player on every team in every league is about to be traded if even the tiniest speck of speculation is to be believed.

And then there are the moments when speed leaves accuracy in the digital dust. We offer Friday afternoon as a fresh example.

A mischief maker startled Facebook devotees Friday by posting word that the Red Sox-Astros game was postponed. Considering the state of the weather at that point, it didn’t seem outside the realm of possibility.

A few folks cursed the rain and cold that has been more annoying than usual this spring, including some fans who held tickets to Friday night’s weekend series opener. Eventually, sharper eyes noted that the original report on the postponement was made on May 17, 2011.

If someone missed the game because of this, look at the bright side. You didn’t miss much, unless watching the Red Sox lineup be throttled by Astros’ starter Gerrit Cole and four men out of the bullpen in an uneventful 3-1 loss was on your baseball bucket list.

TIME TRAVEL: May 20, 1974 – “This is a big day for Mel Briggs, son of Mr. and Mrs. Burleigh Briggs of Nashua, who set football scoring records at Boston College. He will be graduated today at BC’s commencement, with honors in special education.

“And the grid star has signed a contract with the Washington Ambassadors in the World Football League. He will report May 30 at the Ambassadors’ training camp in Orlando, Fla.

“Reached at his home this morning, Briggs did not disclose the size of the contract but he admitted it was sizable. At the same time, he said the contract carried a stipulation that he make the 47-member roster.”

The former Nashua High star in football and track before serving as a flanker at BC, Briggs didn’t make it onto the final roster. As it turned out, Briggs didn’t miss much. The team never played a game in Wshington – it was denied use of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, tried in vain to stay in the Baltimore-Washington region, then moved to Orlando, Fla. After the 1974 season it moved to San Antonio, Texas, and faded away with the rest of the WFL in week 12 of the 1975 season.

AND FINALLY: As even casual fans realize, every big-league sport is burdened by franchises that almost always fail in their pursuit of adequacy. One need need only look s far as the Big Apple to find two such rotten clubs – the New York Knicks and the New York Jets.

To be sure, the Knicks’ dismal destiny is deeper than the Jets. But the Jets are doing their best to catch the Knicks in the area of off-season buffoonery.

After firing general manager, Mike Maccagnan the Jets gave Adam Gase the title but attached it with the word “interim.” That’s because they are reportedly taking a run at persuading Peyton Manning to serve as GM, sort of like the Denver Broncos and their chief football executive John Elway.

Hopefully someone close to Manning is whispering “Don’t do it.” If Manning is interested in beginning an NFL executive career, he can do much better than settle for the Jets.

Alan Greenwood can be reached at 594-1248, agreenwood@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_AlanG.