Tomase: Hobbs Has Broken Wrist

[Brownfan80]

Things like this? You mean, like Bruschi's broken wrist, that Tomase had been writing about for a week before Reiss did anything but quote BB as saying it was "sore?"

Sorry, but Reiss is NEVER on top of things like this before anyone else. He'll be the first guy to know which players have been upgraded or downgraded on the injury report, which guys did or didn't make the trip, and which guys have been deactivated before each game -- because the Pats FO releases these things to him early.

By giving Reiss priveledged access to the team and team information, the Pats set him up as the go-to authoritative source for Pats news. In return, Reiss pretty much never reports anything before the Pats' FO wants him to, and he almost always gives everything a franchise-friendly spin, so the team gets to control the news.

It's a shame, because Reiss is a good writer and a smart guy -- he's just pretty much entirely sold out, and is more a shill than a reporter.

Hm, I haven't gotten that from reading his stuff at all. And normally I do read things on his blog before anywhere else (yes, you're right about the Bruschi wrist injury, but most other things I do see on Reiss's blog).

Maybe because of his access he doesn't report hearsay as fact before it's official, but I haven't seen him coloring his articles as 'patsfriendly' at all. If anything he's simply objective and reports facts as opposed to opinions. I think he just SEEMs pats-friendly compared to all of the ultra-negative members of the media around him.

 

[zippo59]

While I like Reiss and respect him, I agree that his blog is not usually very quick to report breaking news. There are exceptions, and I do read and enjoy his blog, but there are other places I go for breaking Pat's news.

 

[RayClay]

I'm going to indulge my pet peeve, and mention that Tomase broke the story 2 hours ago and Mike Reiss, who has 10x the access that Tomase does, has neither reported his own version of the story, or acknowledged that the story is even out there.

But you can be sure that, as soon as the Pats FO wants to release a statement, Mike will be happy to type it into his blog for them.

Sometimes I wonder if Reiss could tell you that the sky was blue, if it didn't say so in a Pats press release.

Personally I like having one reporter in town whose information you can trust.

Tomase has gotten a lot better since he "diagnosed" a slight calf tear or strain into a major season ending injury for Bruschi last year.

Fortunately he was totally wrong.

 

[Hoodie]

Gotta jump in to defend my boy Mike Reiss. You can guys can keep Tomase, I'll take Reiss anyday. He provides interesting and informative information and keeps his blog up-to-date. Whereas Tomase and Breer can sometimes not provide an update for days at a time!

Reiss is the only good thing about the Globe sports and I don't think he's a sell out because he actually likes the team he covers.

 

[RayClay]

Things like this? You mean, like Bruschi's broken wrist, that Tomase had been writing about for a week before Reiss did anything but quote BB as saying it was "sore?"

Sorry, but Reiss is NEVER on top of things like this before anyone else. He'll be the first guy to know which players have been upgraded or downgraded on the injury report, which guys did or didn't make the trip, and which guys have been deactivated before each game -- because the Pats FO releases these things to him early.

By giving Reiss priveledged access to the team and team information, the Pats set him up as the go-to authoritative source for Pats news. In return, Reiss pretty much never reports anything before the Pats' FO wants him to, and he almost always gives everything a franchise-friendly spin, so the team gets to control the news.

It's a shame, because Reiss is a good writer and a smart guy -- he's just pretty much entirely sold out, and is more a shill than a reporter.

I guess getting correct authoritative information is a bad thing.

Sorry, I guess I was brought up in an era where cultivating actual inside sources was a good thing.

Hearsay from towel boys and parking lot attendants is better?

Or medical information from candy stripers?

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

BB isn't dumb. With the bye week coming up there is no way Hobbs plays vs the Fins. We want him healthy in weeks 10+.

If the rest of the Boston media weren't so negative and waiting for the Pats to fail Reiss might bother me. Rather than earn his paycheck from attacking the team he makes his by bowing down to it. At least its a different angle.

 

[QB12]

Reiss now has it up as well - same bone (scaphoid) Bruschi fractured:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

QB12

 

[Pat_Nasty]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2006/10/hobbs_update.html

There ya go, Reiss. Only took you 2 1/2 hours to wait for a Pats media rep to give you permission to report the story.


Seriously, though, it's pretty easy to be the guy "whose information you can trust" when 9 times out of 10, you're just relaying information from official sources.

The thing is, while I appreciate Reiss' dedication, and the minute detail with which he reports on the team w/ the all access he gets, guys like Mike are a double-edged sword. All of the access the team priveledges him with makes the job harder for guys like Tomase and Curran (before he left) because they're forced to dig deeper to compete with Reiss, who always will get news from the franchise well before them.

You end up with two polarized types of news sources, one that is essentially a party organ for the organization being covered, and one that's forced into "trashiness" in order to compete -- like EW and US Weekly, with EW=Reiss + the Globe, and US Weekly=Tomase + the Herald.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

I guess getting correct authoritative information is a bad thing.

Sorry, I guess I was brought up in an era where cultivating actual inside sources was a good thing.

Hearsay from towel boys and parking lot attendants is better?

Or medical information from candy stripers?

Bingo. I'd rather have the one reporter I trust for information delay a story for a few hours to get actual, factual confirmation, rather than just run with every rumor that crosses his desk.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

I guess getting correct authoritative information is a bad thing.

Sorry, I guess I was brought up in an era where cultivating actual inside sources was a good thing.

Hearsay from towel boys and parking lot attendants is better?

Or medical information from candy stripers?

The Pats' PR reps don't count as "inside sources."

 

[Brownfan80]

Reiss now has it up as well - same bone (scaphoid) Bruschi fractured:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

QB12

Man, it must be easy to break that bone. I thought it sounded simular to Bru's in that he didn't know at first that it was broken until it was still sore and swollen a bit later on. Just like Bruschi's situation. That it's the same bone is good news to me, as far as a timetable goes. We know it can be played with (and that you can still pick off passes with it ).

 

[italia44]

Reiss now has it up as well - same bone (scaphoid) Bruschi fractured:

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...ng story,first. Maybe he reads this forum?

 

[Brownfan80]

Classy move by Reiss,gave credit to Herald for breaking story,first.

Maybe he reads this forum?

During one pre-game chat (EDIT- by pregame chat, I mean in the Patsfans.com chatroom before the game started) he supposedly showed up in the chatroom. Insisted it was really him, chatting from his laptop in the pressbox. Had to go right before kickoff to do press stuff I guess. I dunno if that was really him or not, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if guys like Tomase, Borges, Felger and Reiss read this place.

 

[Grizzafted]

On an off note, I want to make the comment that Javon Walker didn't burn Hobbs on that first touchdown last weekend. That was a great catch and throw. Hobbs was in position. Another year or two that might be an INT.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Things like this? You mean, like Bruschi's broken wrist, that Tomase had been writing about for a week before Reiss did anything but quote BB as saying it was "sore?"

Sorry, but Reiss is NEVER on top of things like this before anyone else. He'll be the first guy to know which players have been upgraded or downgraded on the injury report, which guys did or didn't make the trip, and which guys have been deactivated before each game -- because the Pats FO releases these things to him early.

By giving Reiss priveledged access to the team and team information, the Pats set him up as the go-to authoritative source for Pats news. In return, Reiss pretty much never reports anything before the Pats' FO wants him to, and he almost always gives everything a franchise-friendly spin, so the team gets to control the news.

It's a shame, because Reiss is a good writer and a smart guy -- he's just pretty much entirely sold out, and is more a shill than a reporter.

It's not a reporters job to report every snipet of information he comes across - guys who do generally never develop well established good sources because they cannot be trusted to keep information they are given in background quiet, and eventually they become useless. Felger has tons of sources on the team (players) whose toes he steps on every once in a while because when he knows something he can hardly help himself. But he still ain't spillin who is telling him about Jackson's maturity issues because he wants to remain in that loop. If Reiss is cultivating sources other than players within the FO good for him - they are the toughest nut to crack in the league.

Tomase's medical sources, who really haven't told us anything most of us had already figured with either Tedy or Hobbs due to their prolonged absences from practices and games, are likely courtesy of the tabloid he writes for - i.e. of the drop a dime variety. Either that or an agent or former player looking to curry favor for the spin on some as yet to be written story. That's how Borges gets his info. By cultivating often times disgruntled sources outside the franchise loop.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Bingo. I'd rather have the one reporter I trust for information delay a story for a few hours to get actual, factual confirmation, rather than just run with every rumor that crosses his desk.

See, and I'd prefer that reporters refuse to compromise their journalistic integrity, and prevent the creation of a media environment where large corporations and political bodies control how they're covered.

If it weren't for guys like Reiss who are willing to trade autonomy for access, the Pats would have to be more open w/ the media in general.

 

[RayClay]

Man, it must be easy to break that bone. I thought it sounded simular to Bru's in that he didn't know at first that it was broken until it was still sore and swollen a bit later on. Just like Bruschi's situation. That it's the same bone is good news to me, as far as a timetable goes. We know it can be played with (and that you can still pick off passes with it ).

Bristol Press, United States - Sep 8, 2006
... Wearing a cast on his right wrist, linebacker Tedy Bruschi practiced for the first time since breaking his scaphoid bone five weeks ago during training camp. ...

When did he make the interception?

I think if he doesn't need an operation, he can return sooner.

Also, he doesn't need to grab jerseys like a linebacker, so he should be able to play with a "club" type deal as the grasping is the biggest problem from what I read about the other deal.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Man, it must be easy to break that bone. I thought it sounded simular to Bru's in that he didn't know at first that it was broken until it was still sore and swollen a bit later on. Just like Bruschi's situation. That it's the same bone is good news to me, as far as a timetable goes. We know it can be played with (and that you can still pick off passes with it ).

I remember from reading about Bru's break that there are non displaced and partial fractures of this bone that don't require surgery. Let's hope that this is one of those.

 

[Brownfan80]

If it weren't for guys like Reiss who are willing to trade autonomy for access, the Pats would have to be more open w/ the media in general.

I, for one, really don't think they would be. lol They never were BEFORE Reiss came along.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

I, for one, really don't think they would be. lol They never were BEFORE Reiss came along.

I guess you weren't around for the Pete Carrol era then. Or the Parcells era, for that matter.

(Oh, and spare me the "well, we never won the big one with those guys..." argument. Correlation does not equal causation. Belichick brought us the SBs by being the best coach in the NFL in a couple years -- and hitting the QB jackpot in the 6th round, not by putting 20 guys on the injury report as questionable and pretending like he never thought about whether Eric Mangini was HC material.)