ESPN not done yet ,on spewing more crap on pats

Koma · Sep 17, 2015

There's a great story to be told here. Van Atta hints at it when he mentions the "anger and paranoia" from other teams, but he's satisfied to focus on the "The Patriots are very, very bad" storyline.

In the earlier Van Natta/Wickersham hit piece, the mentioned how the Competition Committee spent 2001-06 discussing how the Patriots cheat. Why not explore that? What prompted these discussions? An underdog team winning the SB is uncommon but not unheard of. A player drafted late becoming a star isn't unusual. Some of the great stories in league history are based on these. Why not look at the rule changes the CC put through? Who did they benefit and why didn't they derail the Patriots?

Examine the "make up call" comments about the deflategate penalties the same way. After the Patriots kept winning without the benefit of sideline taping and the associated penalties, why did owners believe something else was going on and more punishment was needed? Why not go the other way and wonder if the situation was overblown?

Those are some questions that would be interesting to know more about, not "This guy on the Patriots didn't smile when I said 'Hi'" stories.

PatsWickedPissah · Sep 17, 2015

Koma said:
There's a great story to be told here. Van Atta hints at it when he mentions the "anger and paranoia" from other teams, but he's satisfied to focus on the "The Patriots are very, very bad" storyline.

In the earlier Van Natta/Wickersham hit piece, the mentioned how the Competition Committee spent 2001-06 discussing how the Patriots cheat. Why not explore that? What prompted these discussions? An underdog team winning the SB is uncommon but not unheard of. A player drafted late becoming a star isn't unusual. Some of the great stories in league history are based on these. Why not look at the rule changes the CC put through? Who did they benefit and why didn't they derail the Patriots?

Examine the "make up call" comments about the deflategate penalties the same way. After the Patriots kept winning without the benefit of sideline taping and the associated penalties, why did owners believe something else was going on and more punishment was needed? Why not go the other way and wonder if the situation was overblown?

Those are some questions that would be interesting to know more about, not "This guy on the Patriots didn't smile when I said 'Hi'" stories.

You are SO spot on.
Were there such a profession today as sports journalism investigating these rich story lines would be a gold mine of blockbuster articles.

WinstonSmith · Sep 17, 2015

According to an internet site ESPN President John Skipper is evil, anti-god, and a porn peddler. I don’t want to provide a link as the link is somewhat offensive… but I found this via a google search so it must be true. Please spread the word. Also, as an aside, an unnamed source advised me that Skipper is good friends with Jared Fogle.

From this reputable site:

On April 2, 2014, WBC will picket John Skipper, President of ESPN Inc. and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks at McCain Auditorium. Mr. Skipper began his career at ESPN as Sr. V.P. of ESPN the Magazine. He later became Sr. V.P. of Content at ESPN. Mr. Skipper, what does having mostly nude athletes in the Body Issue of ESPN the Magazine have to do with sports? Do you really think that is appropriate godly content for a sports magazine? The only reason to have such an issue is to push filth at every opportunity and make a buck in the process.

patfanken · Sep 17, 2015

PatsWickedPissah said:
Ken, answer me truthfully. You still must believe in the Tooth Fairy, don't you?

Who else misses the many comedic posts here about how the influential, respected Bob Kraft was "working behind the scenes" to set things right?

The only people working were Brady's bunch and the NFLPA team.

Occasional, sporadic, off the wall remarks from Kraft interspersed with pictures of him hugging his abusers.

I know how down you are on Kraft, and you have every reason to be. Note I said this is what the team SHOULD do. Do you disagree with my plan? Now whether they actually DO anything proactive is up for debate. Past history tells us it's not hopeful. But I'm hoping that the SI/BSPN attacks right after the Berman Ruling, pushed the Krafts over the edge. You'd think they'd have to be morons to not know that this is a war between the NFL league office and his franchise. A war that if he continues on the Path of appeasement he's going to wind up like Czechoslovakia in 1939......and off the map.

We can call Bob Kraft a LOT of things (and we have), but one of them isn't that he's dumb. He's a guy who could give his franchise away tomorrow (hopefully to me), and would still be a Billionare. In other words, he doesn't need the NFL's money to pay the mortgage. He's not like Irasy and Jones, who have everything they own locked up in their franchises. So there is even LESS reason for him not to put up a fight when he finally knows he's in one. At least that is my hope. And to won't take long before we see who's right.

Oswlek · Sep 17, 2015

Koma said:
There's a great story to be told here. Van Atta hints at it when he mentions the "anger and paranoia" from other teams, but he's satisfied to focus on the "The Patriots are very, very bad" storyline.

I was thinking the same thing. Writing about how ridiculous all the unfounded paranoia is would be a much more compelling piece.

patfanken · Sep 17, 2015

RayClay said:
Johnson knew about spreading unsubstantiated rumors.

By replying, all you do is give the accusers authority. Play football, make money. That will neutralize bs and gossip.

A statement at the appropriate time is OK, but the way to really fan the flames is to respond to every slight as if it's important.

I would agree with you Ray, if I thought this was just merely random "slights" from sore losers. But this has been a coordinated and well planned, long term attack at the very integrity of your franchise, HOF HC, and GOAT QB. Nothing about this has been "random" going from the sting, to the phoney Mort report numbers, the lack of a retraction, the Welles report, the appeals process, and the reaction to the Berman Ruling. Every exposure of the truth of "framegate" has led to even more misrepresentations, lies and innuendo. It's not random, its all by design.

In EVERY case the league has lied, defamed, and did everything it possibly could to hurt your team's ability to compete on a level playing field. So no Ray, I don't think that reacting to the lies only fans the fires. Not when ignoring them only led the haters to believe our "silence" was just further proof of our guilt.

DarrylS · Sep 17, 2015

Hold on. according to Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch there is more coming.. he directed us to this article..

http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawi...-follow-ups-likely-after-takeout-on-patriots/

This won’t come as good news for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the New England Patriots. Don Van Natta says there might be a Round 2 to last week’s big ESPN Magazine storyillustrating how Goodell used the penalties levied on the Patriots for “Deflategate” as a make-up call for being lenient on “Spygate” in 2008.

“When you do a story like this, you shake the tree and very ripe fruit falls into your lap,” Van Natta said. “There are some interesting leads that Seth and I are going to address. I don’t think we’re done with this just yet.

Van Natta wouldn’t divulge any details or give a timetable for the next installment. He did say a couple of the leads involved other teams, although the Patriots remain the main focus.

DarrylS · Sep 17, 2015

patfanken said:
I would agree with you Ray, if I thought this was just merely random "slights" from sore losers. But this has been a coordinated and well planned, long term attack at the very integrity of your franchise, HOF HC, and GOAT QB. Nothing about this has been "random" going from the sting, to the phoney Mort report numbers, the lack of a retraction, the Welles report, the appeals process, and the reaction to the Berman Ruling. Every exposure of the truth of "framegate" has led to even more misrepresentations, lies and innuendo. It's not random, its all by design.

In EVERY case the league has lied, defamed, and did everything it possibly could to hurt your team's ability to compete on a level playing field. So no Ray, I don't think that reacting to the lies only fans the fires. Not when ignoring them only led the haters to believe our "silence" was just further proof of our guilt.

I still think BB is the primary target, and everyone else is collateral damage... BB is a major thorn in the side of the NFL.

PatsWickedPissah · Sep 17, 2015

patfanken said:
I know how down you are on Kraft, and you have every reason to be. Note I said this is what the team SHOULD do. Do you disagree with my plan? Now whether they actually DO anything proactive is up for debate. Past history tells us it's not hopeful. But I'm hoping that the SI/BSPN attacks right after the Berman Ruling, pushed the Krafts over the edge. You'd think they'd have to be morons to not know that this is a war between the NFL league office and his franchise. A war that if he continues on the Path of appeasement he's going to wind up like Czechoslovakia in 1939......and off the map.

We can call Bob Kraft a LOT of things (and we have), but one of them isn't that he's dumb. He's a guy who could give his franchise away tomorrow (hopefully to me), and would still be a Billionare. In other words, he doesn't need the NFL's money to pay the mortgage. He's not like Irasy and Jones, who have everything they own locked up in their franchises. So there is even LESS reason for him not to put up a fight when he finally knows he's in one. At least that is my hope. And to won't take long before we see who's right.

Your plan is OK not that I think it would do much but were I the Patriots I would try something along those lines.

Paradoxically, Kraft's behavior IS moronic given the unprecedented, open, full scale attack on his franchise and on his supposed close friend employees.

I agree he does not NEED the money. Riddle me this: why does he now behave as if that is the most important thing to him? Add in the abortion of the Yuppie Optimum EZ area "for the fans" (sic).

I defended Bob for years against those calling him cheap, etc. He and his wife were a wonderful persons when we met them. To my deep regret the Bob Kraft of today is behaving contrary to my defenses.

shmessy · Sep 17, 2015

VectorPrime said:
Whoever rated this thread as "funny" are real assholes. Yeah, Im sure we'll all be yucking it up when this new "bombshell" article defaming the Patriots comes out around playoff time, distracting the team and ripping apart old wounds. It'll be real funny to have all our enjoyment and excitement sapped while we have to go on the defensive again.

"Distracting the team"???????

Did you miss last year's Superbowl, kiddo?

The Gr8est · Sep 17, 2015

Oswlek said:
I was thinking the same thing. Writing about how ridiculous all the unfounded paranoia is would be a much more compelling piece.

And if the reason to write accusations is, at least partly, to generate clicks, an expose from the opposite vantage point would be a click goldmine as well.

VectorPrime · Sep 17, 2015

Belichick specifically said during his press conference on that first Saturday that he spent way too much time, and much more than he wanted to, on learning about ball preparation and the science behind air pressure during the week following the AFCCG. If you seriously think he wasn't distracted and bothered by all that crap then I don't know what to tell you.

Oh and I assume you saw Super Bowl 42 right? What about the Tomase article released two days prior to that? Things didn't turn out so well that time if you can recall.

And "kiddo"? How about I call you a geriatric then?

PatsWickedPissah · Sep 17, 2015

It IS a fact of you watch Do Your Job that BB was focused on football prep science project and NOT on preparing for the SB because his coaches said so.
However, I believe bill spends zero nanoseconds on the slew of critical articles. He spent the time then only because his team was in jeopardy and he thought the issue could readily be explained. He underestimated the agenda of the media and the league tuning him out 100%.

VectorPrime · Sep 17, 2015

Belichick literally called out the ESPN and SI articles during his conference call last Friday. He is well aware of the critical articles and it finally pissed him off enough to actually say something about it. Not for himself perhaps, but for the dozens of player that are having their legacies pissed on by these allegations. He doesn't like it when the media undermines his players accomplishments. And eventually I would expect he will just let loose about it one day.

patfanken · Sep 17, 2015

DarrylS said:
I still think BB is the primary target, and everyone else is collateral damage... BB is a major thorn in the side of the NFL.

That would be consistent with the current NFL mentality. If you get rid of the smartest kid in the class, then by definition everybody in the room just got smarter.

And how sad is THAT!!!!!!

RobAllan · Sep 17, 2015

karguy85 said:
It's time for Kraft to really speak up. It's hunting time and the Patriots are the prey. If the organization doesn't do anything, the brand will be damaged beyond repair.

Erm... The brand is already damaged beyond repair.

patfanken · Sep 17, 2015

"PatsWickedPissah, post: 4338463, member: 3212"]

Your plan is OK not that I think it would do much but were I the Patriots I would try something along those lines.

Thanks for the rousing endorsement, PWP

Paradoxically, Kraft's behavior IS moronic given the unprecedented, open, full scale attack on his franchise and on his supposed close friend employees.

Up to now it certainly can be viewed as moronic....or worse. Obviously I'm hoping for a change.

I agree he does not NEED the money. Riddle me this: why does he now behave as if that is the most important thing to him? Add in the abortion of the Yuppie Optimum EZ area "for the fans" (sic).

I,'m not so sure you can ascribe his behavior as strictly being about the money. I know it looks that way, but there can other reasons for his actions (none of which were correct)

As far as the new area. I remember there being a big stink about season ticket holders losing their seats when it was first announced, but everything I've seen about that area, so far, is that "everyone" seems to like it. It might just be selective propaganda, but you'd know better since you get to go the games, Whats the scoop?

I defended Bob for years against those calling him cheap, etc. He and his wife were a wonderful persons when we met them. To my deep regret the Bob Kraft of today is behaving contrary to my defenses.

I,'ve never met him personally, but up until May of this year, I thought he was the best owner of a Boston sports team, this city ever had. Even though I hated him not taking on the league in 2007, I eventually came to grips with it, as him "taking one for the team". What's happened since my has turned me around. I had hoped his post appeal statement, signified he understood that this was war.

More attacks will be coming as this thread explained. What he does or doesn't do will go a long way in determining how I wind up feeling about him. Right now I would put myself in the "terribly disappointed but hopeful" category. I really hope that over the next few months I don't wind up in your category. the "Fu$ck him and I hope he dies" group.

Rob0729 · Sep 17, 2015

I think this may be good for the Patriots. If there are more and more ridiculous stories, at least the logical and unbiased will start to realize the league is filled with paranoid people with Belichick inside their heads rather than the Pats cheating.

The Mad Dog Russos and Gregg Doyels of the world will eat this stuff up. But sooner or later the rational media and public will say all these outlandish stories given by a massive amount of unnamed source start to make the rest of the league start to look worse than the Pats. More logical people are starting to ask why people would leave scripted plays out in the open in the locker room especially if they knew the Pats did it.

363839 · Sep 17, 2015

WinstonSmith said:
According to an internet site ESPN President John Skipper is evil, anti-god, and a porn peddler. I don’t want to provide a link as the link is somewhat offensive… but I found this via a google search so it must be true. Please spread the word. Also, as an aside, an unnamed source advised me that Skipper is good friends with Jared Fogle.

This must be true because nobody would just say this if it weren't true.
Now I don't have the evidence but someone told me that Skipper was also seen in cemeteries, exhuming bodies to have sex with them. I guess those pictures of him with those barn animals were not photo shopped after all.

lurker1965 · Sep 17, 2015

Seriously can there be more?
"According to my sources.. I'm trying for non-ridiculous stuff that has been said yet, but am drawing a blank
"According to my sources Bill Belichick is a card carrying communist and Tom Brady supports ISIS" and other non-football stuff is all that is left unless there is cleate-gate or something.

ESPN not done yet ,on spewing more crap on pats

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