2/18/2015: Schefter Blows Up ESPN's Earlier Story

patfanken said:

After writing a fairly brilliant post, I was wondering why you would sully it, but throwing Hank Phillipe-Ryan, and Bob Lobel under the bus. Both were 2 very good reporters in their respective fields (Ryan in investigative reporting and Lobel, of course,. in Sports. I sorta got your point, but you used the wrong examples to make you point. If Phillipe-Ryan and replaced Naqui, you wouldn't have had such a sloppy incomplete, and speculative report. Just saying.

BTW- its 9pm and at least on their web sites, ESPN has not added anything to their late night notation that reported simply that there is a source who says an NFL official gave a ball to McNally. The NFL.com page has yet to mention the OTL story OR the revelations that have followed. (and nothing more from PFT)

One thing for certain it's hard to figure who comes out looking worse in all this, the league office, or ESPN. Right now it looks like both are taking the approach to pretend it didn't happen and hope the Combine and the NBA trade deadline shift the focus and the public gets tired of trying to figure out what the F is going on.

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I was trying to frame her as cross between an investigative journalism/paparazzi/sports newsperson.

Hank is solid. Coulda used Brian Williams..lol

shmessy said:

So where is Kelly Naqui waiting tables tomorrow?

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Perkins School for the Blind.

Maybe I'm conspiratorial/naive/crazy or some combination of all of them but I wonder if the Pats ownership and hierarchy know more about the nefarious actions by NFL officials than they are letting on and holding it in reserve. That would certainly explain why Wells (?Welles) hasn't interviewed either Brady or Belichick (if those reports are true). If he interviews them and they mention what they know, he has to include it in his report or be accused of a coverup. If he never interviews them and never hears what he doesn't want to hear, he doesn't have to include it in his report.
Again, IF those reports that neither TFB or BB were interviewed are true, that truly exonerates the Patriots as you can't find fault if you don't even interview those who you suspect of wrongdoing....

What a joke.

robertweathers said:

I was trying to frame her as cross between an investigative journalism/paparazzi/sports newsperson.

Hank is solid. Coulda used Brian Williams..lol

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I remember when Walter Cronkite was regularly at the very top of public opinion polls, being considered among the most trusted people in America, and the most trusted newsperson. Disney should reorganize, and make ESPN part of Disney Fantasyland, as they often take credit for other folks' good work, and generally just make up stuff as they go along. Mr. Cronkite and other deceased journalistic greats are spinning in their respective places of rest, as these days it isn't who is right, but who is first, and with a decidedly personal bent at that...

robertweathers said:

I hear you. It very well could be that OTL was told to lower its standards by the parent co. Don't know.

No trying to be naive but I'm trying REAL hard (Jules from Pulp Fiction voice ) to keep separate what the football analysts (see Tom Jackson, Chris Carter) say and what the Mortensen, Shefter Clayton guys report.

What I'm trying to figure out is why would the "journalism" side of the house be anti-Pats? Because BB hates the media? Shefter seems pretty neutral. Clayton and Mort spew negativity.

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Your first 3 sentences impeached the rest of your post.

So OTL can be trusted, just not THIS time because for THIS time they may have been "told to lower its standards by the parent co."??????

C'mon.

jlu52 said:

I remember when Walter Cronkite was regularly at the very top of public opinion polls, being considered among the most trusted people in America, and the most trusted newsperson. Disney should reorganize, and make ESPN part of Disney Fantasyland, as they often take credit for other folks' good work, and generally just make up stuff as they go along. Mr. Cronkite and other deceased journalistic greats are spinning in their respective places of rest, as these days it isn't who is right, but who is first, and with a decidedly personal bent at that...

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Yep.With bogging, Twitter, etc you gotta wonder how guys like Cronkite, Murrow, etc. would fair these days.

Jackson 2 said:

I demonized every person connected to ESPN?? I cited 2/TWO/II/dos/deux. Can the hyperbole. If you want to make excuses for ESPN, have at it. But, don't pretend that there isn't an overwhelming anti-NE sentiment there. There is, and you know. Or, you should.

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Odd. The last time I looked ESPN was in Connecticut which, if memory serves me, is in New England. Ridiculously naive I know, but there it is. Could this hatred stem from Kraft's decision to screw Hartford and move to Foxboro?

Patsfanin Philly said:

Maybe I'm conspiratorial/naive/crazy or some combination of all of them but I wonder if the Pats ownership and hierarchy know more about the nefarious actions by NFL officials than they are letting on and holding it in reserve. That would certainly explain why Wells (?Welles) hasn't interviewed either Brady or Belichick (if those reports are true). If he interviews them and they mention what they know, he has to include it in his report or be accused of a coverup. If he never interviews them and never hears what he doesn't want to hear, he doesn't have to include it in his report.

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I think there are more realistic reasons for why Brady/BB have not been interviewed, IMO.

vyrago said:

Odd. The last time I looked ESPN was in Connecticut which, if memory serves me, is in New England. Ridiculously naive I know, but there it is. Could this hatred stem from Kraft's decision to screw Hartford and move to Foxboro?

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Stupid! Connecticut is Giants country.

OK, here is my NEW worry, and the reason why this is probably my last post on this thread. I think the NFL and ESPN are now into the attrition game. So much news is coming out, and so much of it is contradictory. So here I am, someone totally invested in all this as a die hard Pats fan, and yet I find myself just getting tired of the whole thing. At this point all we are seemingly doing is mental masturbation. We look for hidden meanings, and are constantly parsing words and phrases, and never seem to get to an end.

So if this is how I'M feeling, image what the casual football fan with not rooting interest is feeling. They are probably just DYING for this to go away....just like the NFL offices and ESPN. Unfortunately most Americans can't deal with anything more than black and white issues. Anything entering the gray sphere or requires some complexity gets marginalized

Just a thought.

shmessy said:

Your first 3 sentences impeached the rest of your post.

So OTL can be trusted, just not THIS time because for THIS time they may have been "told to lower its standards by the parent co."??????

C'mon.

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I never said that they cannot be trusted with their facts. I question their commitment for completeness and thoroughness.

Has the final report been issued yet? No? Still not interested then. Can we move this to the Deflategate forum until Wells finalizes his report?

How incompetent is Goodell?

Bounties - some penalties overturned by prior commish
Bullying - required outside investigator
Rice - required outside investigator after initial screw up
Deflation - required outside investigator, loses control of story from leaks within organization

Seriously, how is this guy employed and getting paid 30-40M+?

patfanken said:

Anything entering the gray sphere or requires some complexity gets marginalized

Just a thought.

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I think you are spot-on, Ken. In a war of words in public opinion, it's often he who speaks first that wins. No one remembers what comes next. Especially if it requires thought. And if it requires [a very simple, high school level] scientific equation, then forget it!

In the early days of Deflate Gate, I gave several reasons why the NFL was OK with letting the Patriots twist in the wind for two weeks leading up to the SB. Now, we see the NFL had even more reason.

On a side, off topic note, why do the radio stations let Steve from Fall River on their shows? I just heard him on the radio and of course he took the stance of "of course the Pats deflated footballs and Belichick's press conference was a great piece of acting and the Pats fans will ignore the obvious that the Pats did something devious because there is no video of it".

Of course he doesn't believe it, but that is just the character he created. He wants to be the contrarian who can come on and rile up the Pats fans and become a local celebrity. His act is way too transparent and stupid. I don't get why they let guys like him on the air.

juny said:

How incompetent is Goodell?

Bounties - some penalties overturned by prior commish
Bullying - required outside investigator
Rice - required outside investigator after initial screw up
Deflation - required outside investigator, loses control of story from leaks within organization

Seriously, how is this guy employed and getting paid 30-40M+?

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He won the lottery of jobs. America is a bunch of football junkies.

What I don't get is if ESPN and the NFL want for this so badly to go away, then why do stories like the McNally one keep emerging? Why keep leaking crap and blowing it up if you want this all to go away?

DefenseRules said:

What a joke.

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And how very, very sad.

In the end, the demonizing of Spygate beyond all reasonable proportion and the creation (I can't call it anything else) of Deflategate are a Morality Play about the corrosive power of jealousy and hate when a group of people do what they are not supposed to do (win three SB's in four years and then go to three more in the cap and FA era). When they dare succeed where they are supposed to fail.

The entire Tribe, from owners to coaches to players to fans to the League to the media who pander to all of them unite to tear down those who dared defy the mob view.

Coaches have to explain to owners why they can't do what the Pats did.

Players have to explain the same to Coaches.

Coaches and Owners have to explain it to their fans.

What better explanation to take them all off the hook than "they cheated?"

With 90% of the public ready to believe that story, the media saw a bonanza.

The League, which is essentially the other 31 owners, went along willingly and was delighted to have a lightweight Commissioner who would not get in the way and fan the flames at every opportunity.

A joke, yes. But a very, very sad one.

Rob0729 said:

On a side, off topic note, why do the radio stations let Steve from Fall River on their shows? I just heard him on the radio and of course he took the stance of "of course the Pats deflated footballs and Belichick's press conference was a great piece of acting and the Pats fans will ignore the obvious that the Pats did something devious because there is no video of it".

Of course he doesn't believe it, but that is just the character he created. He wants to be the contrarian who can come on and rile up the Pats fans and become a local celebrity. His act is way too transparent and stupid. I don't get why they let guys like him on the air.

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The answer lies within the question, grasshopper.