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Blog Roll

Are Patriots Playing Joke on Boston Herald With Tom Brady Injury?

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 26th 2008 8:16PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Patriots, NFL Injuries, NFL Media Watch


Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has missed most of the preseason with a foot injury, but it's widely believed to be an injury that is not particularly serious, and that the Patriots have mostly just wanted to rest Brady for the regular season.

The Boston Herald, however, reported yesterday that a walking boot was spotted at Brady's locker, which would seem to suggest that Brady's foot injury was more serious than previously believed. And today the Herald reported that crutches were leaned against Brady's locker. Uh oh.

So is Brady's injury serious? I don't think so. I think someone in the Patriots' locker room is having fun with the media and enjoying the fact that the Herald is making a big deal out of nothing. (The Herald seems to have caught on with its most recent post that it's all a joke.)

The Herald, of course, also made a big deal out of its report that the Patriots videotaped the Rams' final walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl, a report the paper later retracted. Herald reporters in the Patriots locker room had better be ready for more jokes coming their way.

Sterling Sharpe Needs to Talk More if He Wants to Be a Play-by-Play Announcer

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 25th 2008 8:10PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Media Watch, NFL Video

Former Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe does good work as an NFL analyst on TV. He has a simple, straightforward approach that works well, and he talks from the perspective of an ex-player while making things easy for fans to understand.

But Sharpe had his debut as a play-by-play man on NFL Network Monday night, and Awful Announcing gets it exactly right: Sharpe needs to talk more. Take a look and a listen:

A play-by-play announcer can't just sit there and say nothing while a play is going on. Viewers who want that can just hit their mute buttons. If Sharpe wants to be a color commentator or studio analyst, he's already got the necessary skills. But if he wants to be a play-by-play man, he's got a lot of work to do.

Still No Named QB in Arizona ... Mort Guessed Wrong Again

Matt SnyderPosted Aug 25th 2008 2:35PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Media Watch

It's not that we hate Chris Mortensen here at FanHouse. We really don't, I swear. It's just that this Cardinals QB situation perfectly illustrates how we think he sometimes just makes up his scoops from out of the clear blue sky.

Consider:

- Matt Leinart plays horribly Saturday night in what all coaches regard as the most important preseason game. He had been neck and neck with Kurt Warner up to this point. So it would seem that Warner's going to win the job.

- The next day, Mort reports that he has a "source" that told him Warner will be named the starter.

- A beat writer for the Arizona Cardinals acknowledges Mort's scoop and keeps digging ... only to find nothing concrete.

- Now this:
"I haven't read the paper today or seen the Internet," (Head Coach Ken) Whisenhunt said. "Do we have a quarterback? ... It seems like Chris Mortensen is making the decision on our quarterback for our football team. ... But nothing has changed."
Also contained in the above article was that no decision on the starting QB in the desert has been made, and that Leinart's pathetic display Saturday night would not be a huge portion of the ultimate decision.
Continue Reading Still No Named QB in Arizona ... Mort Guessed Wrong Again

Shawne Merriman Says His PCL Injury Could Be 'Career Threatening' If He Plays

Will BrinsonPosted Aug 24th 2008 9:35PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, AFC West, NFL Injuries, NFL Media Watch

So, there's been plenty of talk about the woes of Shawne Merriman; he has a PCL injury and it's much worse than we originally thought. Not good news for either him or the Chargers.

Turns out though, that it might actually be worse than we could even have imagined before.
"It could be career-threatening if I did (play)," Merriman said. "It's a possibility. That possibility is still open."

A course of action has not been decided. Merriman, who will consult with a doctor in Miami early next week before making a decision, has been told reconstructive surgery would sideline him for the entire 2008 season. Another option is a less-invasive surgery that would allow him to play at some point in the season.
Quite the conundrum for the Pro-Bowler, especially considering the Chargers are considered strong contenders for the Super Bowl this year. (It's also interesting to hear that quote -- is the "career ending" part open or is it the playing that's open? I think the former, but I digress.)

Does Merriman play and attempt to help the Chargers head to the Super Bowl as is now? That notion seems pretty foolish, considering the strong, strong risk for an early, and worse, injury. What seems likely to me is that he opts for the less invasive surgery referenced above and tries to return around mid-to-late season and help give the Chargers a playoff push.

The smart thing is to just miss 2008 and make sure not to tank the rest of his career, but with the Chargers in a division that they should win pretty handily, it's certainly viable for Merriman to be thinking immediate future rather than long-term as he examines his options.

Tiki Barber Denies Using the C-Word

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 21st 2008 9:59PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Giants, NFL Media Watch, NFL Video

Former New York Giants running back and current NBC newscaster Tiki Barber is taking issue with those who think he used the C-word about 30 seconds into this clip:



After that clip got the blogosphere buzzing today, Neil Best of Newsday contacted an MSNBC spokeswoman, who passed along Barber's denial:
"I would never disrespect a colleague and friend with that kind of language,'' Barber said from Beijing through an MSNBC spokeswoman, who said Barber had no idea of a budding controversy until she informed him of it.

"It's disappointing someone would intentionally misrepresent the hard work Jenna and I are doing.'' ...

MSNBC said in a statement, "Tiki and Jenna were discussing total medal count versus gold medal counts and Tiki's words were unclear.''

I don't think Barber meant to say what it sounded like he said. But it does sound like he said it.

Did Tiki Barber Say the C-Word on NBC?

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 21st 2008 5:25PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Giants, NFL Media Watch

This clip has a whole lot of people buzzing:


That was former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, now an NBC Sports commentator, talking to Jenna Wolfe and Brian Williams. Wolfe made a joke about Barber not having a Super Bowl ring, and a short time later, after Williams made a comment about the Olympic "medal count," Barber said what sounded to some like the C-word, perhaps insulting Wolfe after he felt that she had insulted him. (A poll at popeater.com shows 56% of respondents saying that Barber said the C-word.)

I'm not totally sure what Barber said, although I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was just repeating Williams' "medal count" and slipped up a little bit.

More at Awful Announcing and Pro Football Talk.

Tiki Barber Is Really, Really Enjoying Himself in the Announcing Booth. No Seriously. He Is.

Will BrinsonPosted Aug 14th 2008 12:45PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Media Watch, NFL Video

Tiki Barber is living the classic case of "soldsoul" right now. Not to imply that he actually offered Beelzebub any money for said soul, but if you look at what's happened -- Giants, this thing called the Super Bowl -- since he became a famous white-toothed professional broadcast machine, its hard not to think it's possible.

And watching him reach a little deeper into the pit of degradation while getting manhandled by Tamron Hall, well, yeah ... fame is fleeting Teeks. Dignity, it's supposed to last forever.



On the bright side, at least it was only Eli -- and not Mittens -- who won a Super Bowl ring. That might have been too much for the poor fella to stomach. Also: Hall makes Bruce Pearl look like a stick of Old Spice.

Via AA

Terrell Owens Shrugs Off All That Mushy Talk From Donovan McNabb

Will BrinsonPosted Aug 14th 2008 1:30AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFL Media Watch


Donovan McNabb recently made some comments that could certainly be construed in a manner that make it seem like he might still miss having Terrell Owens as a deep threat and teammate. Or at least a deep threat. But Owens didn't return the favor, waxing nonchalantly about McNabb's willingness to bring him into any discussion about the past.
"I love my situation here," Owens said. "Other than that, things that happened in Philly happened three years ago. I don't know what the deal is with me being in the news from (McNabb). I am happy here. I am scoring touchdowns. I have scored as many touchdowns in just as many games with Tony Romo as I did with them. I don't know what the problem is."
Just like I won't believe that Tony Romo is a super fantasy football option this year, I will also continue to deny any realization that TO has become a sane man.

I know that even McNabb firmly believes that Owens has grown up and matured in his situation in Dallas but I'm still holding out hope under the assumption that he's a volatile personality, at least until he does 5,000 more things (yes, arbitrary, but it seems high enough) to prove me wrong. Leopards, spots, and whatnot.

Pittsburgh Columnist Calls Steeler a Thug, Teammate Asks, 'Is It Because He Is Black?'

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 13th 2008 9:46AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Steelers, NFL Media Watch

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a column by Gene Collier in which he lambasted Steelers safety Anthony Smith. Collier noted that Smith celebrated after a hard hit on teammate Hines Ward in practice, and he referred to Smith's behavior as "thuggery."

Smith's teammates and coaches are not pleased with Collier's choice of words. Coach Mike Tomlin condemned Collier's column, and Steelers safety Ryan Clark was even more critical:

"Not to bring race into it, but is it because he is black that these acts are called thuggery?" Clark said. "Because a man has tattoos or may play a certain way, it doesn't make him a thug."

Clark felt the need to preface his comments with, "not to bring race into it," but I don't have any problem with him bringing race into it. Although the dictionary definition of thug is simply "a cutthroat or ruffian; a hoodlum," the term has taken on a racial connotation, especially in sports, that is distasteful.

I don't know Gene Collier, but I do know he's one of the most respected writers in Pittsburgh, and I have no reason to think he's racist. But I do think that was a poor choice of words. Just because Smith doesn't always play the game the way Collier thinks he should, that doesn't make Smith a thug.

Eli Manning Graces the Cover of Men's Vogue and Professes His Love of Spaghetti-O's

Will BrinsonPosted Aug 12th 2008 4:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Giants, NFC East, NFL Media Watch

No, check that. It's spaghetti and Oreos that Eli Manning loves, according to the upcoming issue of Men's Vogue, something I didn't know existed. But it does.

And Eli is all over it come September, when the magazine will reveal a photo shoot that, should you still consider him Lil' Peyton, definitely change your mind about what a non-momma's boy man's man he really is.
A moussed-up Eli Manning is the cover boy in the September issue of Men's Vogue, offering a glimpse at his oft-hidden sense of humor and his game day menu: Spaghetti, Oreos and Gatorade.

The typically reticent Manning, 27, is known to teammates as a prankster. One of his favorites: parking alongside a lineman's car with just inches to spare, forcing his 300-plus pound protector to climb behind the whee; via the passenger's side.
Oh-ho-ho. Actually, that is kind of funny, and I typically enjoy doing it to random people at the grocery store.

But no individual prank is going to make me jump on the "Eli Has Arrived!" bandwagon. And no mugshot of him with gel in his hair and a New York skyline is going to do it either. Plus, it's not like the Giants are hurting for incredibly good looking and photogenic quarterbacks at this point. What they need is a leader.

And yes, I know they just won a Super Bowl. But I'm still not believing. Although that black steel look above is pretty tough to not trust.

Via W/L
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