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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/09/02/tucker/6.html
I think I get in enough trouble on my own, but when I saw Jets beat writer Rich Cimini's story in the Saturday New York Daily News involving my ranking of the top 500 players, I choked on my Cheerios. It said Belichick was quoted in my story as saying of Jets safety Kerry Rhodes (ranked 29th) and Buffalo tackle Jason Peters (39th), "Neither of those guys could make my team.'' Cimini informed Rhodes of the quote and wrote: "To tweak Rhodes ... is really just a shot at the entire team ... Another subplot for an already juicy rivalry.''
One problem: Belichick never said it. And I never reported he said it. What I wrote in the story about how I arrived at my rankings: "I decided I wouldn't make a significant change unless two people whose judgment I trust could make persuasive arguments. Most told me I was loony to have Rhodes ranked in the 20s and Peters in the 30s. I believe Rhodes comes closest to Ed Reed (12), the best impact safety in the game, and I believe Peters, a converted tight end, will be an All-Pro within two years. So I wouldn't move them down even if Belichick called and said, 'Neither of those guys could make my team.'"
Geez. And you wonder sometimes why guys like Belichick treat us like vermin.
The Daily News did use a retraction Sunday, which is only right, but that doesn't fix everything. In Sunday's Florida Times Union, for instance, the NFL column used a Belichick quote, as though it was a quote he actually said.
6. I think I'm not surprised I haven't heard back from the Jets yet on the story. I called the Jets on Saturday and said I'd like to speak with Rhodes to tell him Belichick never said what was reported. As of this morning, I haven't gotten a call back. I don't expect one either. Why would they allow Rhodes to call me back? Why lessen his motivation, stoked even higher by what he thinks is Belichick's colossal dis, by letting him hear the truth? Coaches -- Belichick, Eric Mangini, even high school coaches -- love to motivate their players any way possible, even when they know that something they're using either isn't true or probably isn't true.