stcjones

reason to try to attack the Patriots......a "Boston" team...... Note the racism story he did. In the article that he wrote recently (see below) He is calling out Goodell to do something, or look like a Lackey for Robert Kraft. Unfortuneatly, alot of other hacks and haters are saying the same thing which will force goodell into a tight corner......They are forcing him to carry out a vicious hit on the pats.......watch and see....

His "credits" if there are any.......are at the bottom of his most recent article trashing the pats.....I suggest everyone send him a nice, warm email like I will.....

Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine. He is the author of "Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston" and "Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball." He can be reached at [Mod edit].


Here is the link to his atrocious and biased article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...adlines_United

bevster

Hold on !!

I do not like what he said anymore than you, but what does his story on racism have to do with anything?

AtivanPatsFan

It's not a racial story in any form, but unfortunately while reading the story I felt some sort of racial undertone. I couldn't quite put a finger on it, but thats clearly besides the point.

Unfortunately for us, sometimes writers need to push an agenda and write a story that will "stir the pot" and grab attention, and hits, and publicity. Let's not forget that Sports, along with Sports Reporting (ESPN) is also a business.

__________________
I did not expect, that at age twenty-one, I'd be so consciously aware of my own mortality. Slowlythe viel of ignorance is lifiting.

stcjones

like the other poster said this guy has written a book involving the racism in sports in New England/Boston. He therefore has a bias and an agenda. It's like several black athletes over the years that did not want to come to Boston because it was supposedly a "racist" town.....He has a hidden agenda in this attack IMHO.......especially given that the camera was on the field for one quarter at best,.....How can you levy heavy punishments when the Pats obviously didn't utilize any info obtained by that cameraman.......Goodell needs to think wisely here!

upstater1

You have it wrong this time. If he wrote a story about racism on the Celtics, I'd be in your corner. But he didn't. he wrote it about racism and the red Sox. Big, very big difference. Seriously you should come to know a few things about how the Yawkey's did business. Tom Yawkey was not Walter Brown, and none of his employees were Red Auerbach when it came to racial matters.

bevster

You are implying that writing a book about racism gives him a bias. Have you read the book?

I think you have formed a bias against the columnist based upon the fact that he wrote a book with a title that offends you for some reason.

shmessy

Exactly. I think the original poster would do well to actually read Howard Bryant's book before making judgements on it or his motives.

__________________
"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

PonyExpress

IMO Howard is an excellent writer, maybe the best at ESPN, but does have his personal motives in this. He just made the leap to ESPN, and his job is to offer social commentary, often with a racial perspective. IOT establish his bona fides, he has decided to forge a bond with African American athletes and develop "street cred". For that reason he criticized the NFLPA for not defending Vick, an opinion which reflected an underground sentiment among many African American NFL players. That stance will grant him future access to athletes who would be unwilling to speak to anyone else. In this current situation re: BB, Howard is putting pressure on Upshaw to demand a strict penalty against BB commensurate with penalties meted out to black "blue collar" athletes as a symbol of "fairness". The BB situation has little to do any more with the phony "cheating" scandal, and has become political both among the owners, players and media. IMO this is the first real test for Goodell, requiring true foresight and wisdom. What Goodell should do is penalize the Jets for leaking confidential information from the League Office to the media, dismiss all charges, and warn all clubs to cease and desist future camera play or risk multiple game suspensions. I'm afraid Goodell won't have the foresight to see that is the best course of action, and instead will yield to the mob and punish BB and the Pats. IMO this will be a devastating move for the League, unjustifiably calling into question the integrity of the game over a petty incident.

upstater1

LOL, Mangini jus gave the lawyers a big seat at the table.

The NFL cannot legislate this rule anymore than they can solve the tuck rule problem.

It's impossible to stop people from stealing signals through use of technology. That's why the rule prohibiting making a videotape says absolutely nothing about using the tape to steal signals. Because once you cross that threshold and start discussing how the tae was used, you open up a huge can of worms.

Of course, the commissioner can make a decision based on the good of the game, and he can say anything he wants.

Icculus

I don't post here much, but read the threads constantly. This article really bothered me as well. Enough that I actually wrote to Howard and ESPN. His logic just doesn't add up. Here is what I wrote:

Dear Mr. Bryant,

Normally, I never take the time to respond to articles posted on
websites. I am a Pats fan and am very disappointed in BB and the Pats
for allowing this to happen. However, I am getting tired of everyone
piling on. I started reading your article and thought maybe this one
would be relatively fair considering this line:

"The Patriots' 38-14 win was largely untainted, for the tape was
confiscated in the first quarter."

The Pats dominated the entire game not just the first quarter when the
taping occurred. So I thought maybe you would play the line of yes
they broke the rules, but was it really that bad. They are still a
great team and it played little or no factor in the game.

You even admit:

"It is currently unclear what is on the confiscated tape."

Yet your utlimate point in the article is:

"Goodell should suspend Belichick two games -- ban him from the
sidelines, the locker room and coaches' meetings -- and should not
allow him to work on game plans, participate in practice or
communicate with his team for two weeks."

So you didn't think it affected the game and you don't know what's on
the tape, but he has to be suspended for two games. How does that add
up?