Boston Mayor Thomas Menino flubs the names of Patriots’ Vince Wilfork, Rob Gronkowski

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has struck again.

Menino has a lengthy history of malapropisms, particularly when it comes to flubbing the names of Boston's sports heroes. Menino once referred to Boston Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo as "K.J." and "Hondo", apparently thinking that John "Hondo" Havlichek had emerged from retirement. Menino once praised "Jason Varitek", not Adam Vinatieri, for "splitting the uprights" after the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl.

Mr. Mayor's other Patriots-related malapropisms have involved Pro Bowl wide receiver Wes Welker ("Wes Wekler") and tight end Rob Gronkowski ("Rob Grabowski"). With the Patriots hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's AFC championship game, Menino invited local media cameras into his office while he made a friendly wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

During that conversation, Menino, who was wearing a brand new Vince Wilfork jersey, mentioned how the Patriots have Tom Brady and running back Stevan Ridley and that other guy...looking down at the No. 75 on his chest and saying "Vince Wilcock" before a staffer quickly corrected him. Menino would later praise the job that tight end Aaron Hernandez has done and that he will fill in for "Gonk", another reference to Gronkowski, who is out following surgery on his left forearm.

To be fair to Mr. Menino, he recently celebrated his 70th birthday by returning to work after spending two months in the hospital. While on vacation in Italy with his wife, Menino contracted a virus and a blood clot that spread from his legs to his lungs. While hospitalized, Menino suffered a compression fracture in a vertebrae, which resulted in an infection. To make matters worse, Menino was also diagnosed with diabetes. So we should cut him a little slack for dropping the occasional "r".

According to CSNNE, Menino is wagering some local seafood from Red's Seafood as well as dishes from CropCircle Kitchen, Alex’s Ugly Hot Sauce, Deborah’s Kitchen Jams, Nella Pasta, Vianne Chocolate, and Whoopie Monsters’ Whoopie Pies. Baltimore's Mayor wagered crab cakes from J.W. Faidley Seafood, stuffed cabbage and kruschiki from Sophie's Place, fruit salad from Kay's Produce, and Berger Cookies.