Shaun Rogers to Cincinnati. Alan Faneca to the Jets. Lance Briggs visiting Tampa Bay. The compensation for Jonathan Vilma. The proximity of Patriots/Randy Moss, Jaguars/Drayton Florence, and Dolphins/Calvin Pace agreements.There were a lot of conflicting reports and stretches of misinformation on the first day of Free Agency 2008, and that is no doubt due to the increasing presence of the Internet and, particularly, the Blogosphere in football. No longer are the rumor mill and breaking news constricted (and filtered) by an MSM hindered by lead time and afraid of being wrong. They didn't report news until it was officially news.
Now, with a cadre of sometimes anonymous insiders with pockefuls of sources willing to step out on that iLimb, even the MSM is jumping in with bloggier formats and a willingness to boldly jump the gun in an effort not to be out-scooped by us basement-dwellers, left hung out to dry much like the symbolic newspapers you see in the accompanying image.
The good news is that the increase in misses is well worth it for the large increase in hits that have resulted. Asante Samuel's deal was reported nearly a day before he signed his name, and many other deals have been correctly reported early in the last 36 or so hours. So sometimes it pays to take the bad with the good.
Besides, it's all keeping me very entertained.
