ESPN hitpiece on Patriots (Rift with Brady/Belichick/Kraft) - Merged

[RobertWeathers]

i think thats a possibility. But if the pats win another superbowl or two..I dont think it stings.

one thing is for sure, pats need to hit on a young QB this year.

I don't think there is any debate over that.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

So wait, is there ANY part of the story that HASN’T been debunked yet?

An anecdote citing to "sources" is a debunking?

"Sources who say things we like = trustworthy. Sources who say things we don't like = fabricated, or bitter individuals with an agenda" isn't very firm ground to stand on.

That said, I will certainly give people like Curran and Reiss more credence than Wickersham because they aren't about hawt takez clickbait.

 

[RobertWeathers]

i am a BB fan

always been honest about it

if all this drama is true......then its about competing egos and legacies

i am on BBs side

Your act has grown very thin.

 

[RIpats88]

Anything that doesn’t fit our idealistic viewpoint of BB and Brady is fake news!!!

Some of you are why we are hated so bad as a fan base.

how about the fact most of the main tenants of the article have been shown false? and not just one or two...like 5-6

 

[FoxboroFlyer]

Please tell me no here is buying this garbage. Please...there may have been disagreements here and there, as there is anywhere in life when 2 or more individuals exist in a medium over a coarse of 15 years...add to it a successful one at that, the MOST successful. It's only news cause the other 31 are irrelevant. Can't believe anyone HERE is giving this **** Credence...honestly.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

An anecdote citing to "sources" is a debunking?

"Sources who say things we like = trustworthy. Sources who say things we don't like = fabricated, or bitter individuals with an agenda" isn't very firm ground to stand on.

I think the difference is we're talking reporters who have a history of getting things right who are quoting anonymous sources, versus a reporter who has a history of getting things wrong (both the prior Patriots stories and the Seahawks story) who is quoting anonymous sources. I think this was discussed earlier in the thread. Jeff Howe and Mark Daniels are pretty decent reporters; I'd trust Schefter, Reiss or Curran more, but these guys are the next tier down.

 

[VOODOOZF]

There may be some truth to this story, but what’s even more likely is that ESPN is blowing this story completely out of proportion

 

[Ross12]

An anecdote citing to "sources" is a debunking?

"Sources who say things we like = trustworthy. Sources who say things we don't like = fabricated, or bitter individuals with an agenda" isn't very firm ground to stand on.

That said, I will certainly give people like Curran and Reiss more credence than Wickersham because they aren't about hawt takez clickbait.

It’s more about who’s saying it, as you said. I trust Curran and I trust Reiss because they have a long history of reporting correct information about the Patriots and have proven to have connections with the team over that span of time.

Seth Wickersham has not shown any evidence of truthful reporting about the team, nor proof of valid connections or sources within the team, that I am aware of.

 

[PatsGirl2011]

Sounds like the interview random people who are not as privy to information as they may think.

 

[VegasGuy]

How many more years does Brady have? What about Jimmy G?

Brady could play for another 3 or 4.

Garoppollo could get hurt and never play again.

You just never know.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Sounds like the interview random people who are not as privy to information as they may think.

You're telling me that the guy working the mail room isn't 100% plugged in on the CEO and his chief operators' strategy and doesn't fully understand their motivations???!!! That's unpossible!

 

[patfanken]

That's a much better statement that the weak sauce they put out there. The "opportunity to continue to work together" clause was bizarre, too.

Kraft and/or his PR staff are just weird sometimes. Like when before the 2015 opener when we were waiting to see how Berman ruled, Kraft was interviewed and said "Well, I hope that any player who deserves to play will play."

I don't understand their insistence on hedging and qualifying when there is (a) no need for it, and (b) makes them look bad. It happens over and over again.

Here's the thing QM, now all you hear when you check the social media section of the site is how all the local media guys are now being asked to go on other people's shows to talk about this.....and the big lie continues.

The most of the local guys will debunk parts of the narrative while giving "possible credence" to the rest of the story. Its all great fun for them and a chance to get more exposure for themselves, and as we all know now, getting EXPOSURE is the ultimate goal.

What makes me so sad is that I was looking for a place to use the phrase, "John Tomase school of journalism", but the painful fact is that when Tomasi published his lies and misrepresentations there were REAL consequences for his actions that beyond his public apology and humiliation (though not enough, because he is still here and not working at the Orono Weekly Bugle and FAX center).

But now even as the denials and confirmations of his lies and misrepresentations accumulate, there will be no consequences for Wickersham. He'll probably get a raise. Not for being right, but for being impactful. Lots of clicks, and like I've said before, lots of peripheral media opportunities for the rest of the boys to spin their own narratives.

 

[FoxboroFlyer]

You guys really gotta get a grip...I mean REALLY! This is embarrassing. You all know better!

 

[Gronkowski123]

i dont like bradys trainer.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Here's the thing QM, now all you hear when you check the social media section of the site is how all the local media guys are now being asked to go on other people's shows to talk about this.....and the big lie continues.

The most of the local guys will debunk parts of the narrative while giving "possible credence" to the rest of the story. Its all great fun for them and a chance to get more exposure for themselves, and as we all know now, getting EXPOSURE is the ultimate goal.

What makes me so sad is that I was looking for a place to use the phrase, "John Tomase school of journalism", but the painful fact is that when Tomasi published his lies and misrepresentations there were REAL consequences for his actions that beyond his public apology and humiliation (though not enough, because he is still here and not working at the Orono Weekly Bugle and FAX center).

But now even as the denials and confirmations of his lies and misrepresentations accumulate, there will be no consequences for Wickersham. He'll probably get a raise. Not for being right, but for being impactful. Lots of clicks, and like I've said before, lots of peripheral media opportunities for the rest of the boys to spin their own narratives.

Maybe, but I think you might be looking too fondly at the past and romanticizing a bit. When I was younger, the big story was when Jim Rome got attacked on his show by Jim Everett for calling him "Chris" and it made headlines nationally. I thought, "serves him right for acting that way, now he'll be out of the business." Instead he made his career on that. Morton Downey Jr. was around at the same time, same thing. This "there's no such thing as bad publicity" model of the media has been around for a while unfortunately, and has only just gotten more exposure and / or perfected in the last decade or so with the maturation of 24/7 cable, radio, and the internet.

This is the price you pay for not having a state run media, and while it's worth it, it's still annoying.

 

[Patjew]

69 pages of posts. We should stop now for Gronk's sake.

 

[Angelpats]

It's not popular to say it out here, but I think you're right. If they were trying to issue an unequivocal denial, they should fire their PR team, because what they issued was weak. It reads like something put together by committee.

The pats haven’t lied during spygate or deflategate. Why would they do so now. Their statement was truthful in every way. Some of the stuff is true. Like JG being trade and Brady’s trainer being banned from the sidelines. That’s the truth. It’s how ESPN went from point A to point B that reeks. It’s the same as deflategate. They made a bunch of bs just because a guy went to the bathroom. You should give the team more benefit of the doubt than BSPN who you seem to forget have lied and tried to bring us down for years. There really not much more they could say on this matter unless you want a ten page apology from them.

 

[carmelo15]

I just finished reading it....

One word description: Embarrassment.

I don’t know if you deserve a medal for being able to go past the first paragraph. Or to call you a fool for doing it.

If I’m every other team I’m like great this is what we need to wake a sleeping giant.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I don’t know if you deserve a medal for being able to go past the first paragraph. Or to call you a fool for doing it.

If I’m every other team I’m like great this is what we need to wake a sleeping giant.

Ive been known to be a fool sometimes .

Best way to absorb this kind of trash is let it roll off your back.

 

[fnordcircle]

Ooooh I get it - some of you still have an axe to grind with Belichick for not keeping your new shiny QB of the future.

And some of you still have an axe to grind with Kraft for not hiring Colombian hit squads to take out Goodell.

That's why deep down some of you want this to be true, because you get to feel that warm 'I told you so' in the place where the rest of us have hearts.