Author: John Paulsen (Page 643 of 937)

More on Brett Favre, Jay Glazer and “Lionsgate”

SportsByBrooks chimes in with an interesting post about Brett Favre, the Detroit Lions and Jay Glazer.

And now Mike Florio at PRO FOOTBALL TALK is reporting that ESPN is not allowing on-air staffers to report the story – claiming that the tip by Glazer isn’t true.

Well that, as you might expect, didn’t sit well with Glazer. So he went on ESPNer Dan Le Batard’s radio show in Miami (on 790 The Ticket) to address the situation.

Glazer during the interview was passionate in defending the story and his credibility. He also noted that Detroit Coach Rod Marinelli refuses to deny the report. More interesting though was the reaction to the story – and ESPN’s subsequent embargo – by PTI fill-in host Le Batard.

Before Glazer came on the show, Le Batard weighed why ESPN wasn’t reporting the story, saying, “ESPN is ignoring the story entirely. It’s not their story. Their guy didn’t make that story. Or they haven’t been able to confirm it. Or maybe the story is wrong. ”

While talking to Glazer, Le Batard said, “I would think what ESPN is doing there is prideful. You know how this stuff works, you get beat on a story and then you don’t want to acknowledge that the story exists.

And after the interview, Le Batard remarked, “I’m siding with Jay on this one.”

Clearly, Le Batard believes the story and surprised ESPN is not reporting it.

All right, in the interests of full disclosure…

For 15 or so years, Brett Favre has been my favorite player. I want to believe the best about the man, but in recent months he has proven to be a little spiteful. I’m not having a problem believing the story. I think it’s sad and fairly pathetic – that he’d actively spend time helping another team beat his old team – but given the way things went down this summer, it wouldn’t surprise me if Favre still held a major grudge against Ted Thompson and would love to see him fail. After all, it was Thompson that made the final call on Favre. It was Thompson that said “no more.” And it was Thompson that shipped him off to New York.

Now to the story itself. No source (thus far) will go on the record, but Glazer stands by the truthfulness of the sources. In this case, I look to Occam’s razor…“All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.”

What are the odds that Glazer (or a bad source) would come up with this scenario…that a Hall of Fame QB would risk his legacy to help a team or two beat the team that decided to let him go? Nobody would believe it. In fact, a lot of people refuse to believe it, like our regular reader and fellow Packer diehard, Jeff. (I feel your pain, man. I do.)

So there are two choices: 1) Brett Favre feels so spiteful towards the team that traded him away that he is willing to help opposing teams game plan for the Packers or 2) Glazer/source(s) made up a story about Brett Favre helping teams game plan against Green Bay.

To me, it’s such a crazy idea that I doubt anyone could be creative enough to make it up. So, according to Occam’s razor, the first choice is more plausible and is probably the correct answer…

Crap.

Fantasy Football Update: 10/21

On Terrell Owens radio show, Tony Romo said that he was most likely going to sit out at least another week…Kellen Winslow has been suspended by the Browns for one game for his outburst which was directed at Cleveland management. He felt he was mistreated during the whole staph infection/swollen testicals incident. Look for Steve Heiden to have a decent day in Winslow’s absence…Larry Johnson is going to sit out (or be suspended) another week since he can’t seem to stop assaulting women in nightclubs. Kolby Smith got the start last week and Jamaal Charles also got some work…Matt Jones has reportedly been suspended for three games due to a violation of the substance abuse policy. This guy just can’t get out of his own way. He was actually putting together a nice season, and now this.

How I would fix NFL Sunday Ticket

Regular readers know that I hold a special grudge towards the NFL for selling exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket to DirecTV. Since I don’t have DirecTV (as I am without access to a southern horizon), every Sunday I have to pack up my laptop and head over to my buddy Dan’s house to watch my beloved Packers play. While it’s nice to see Dan every Sunday, I would sure like to watch the games at home on my 96″ front projection system. (Yeah, I’m bragging a little. Sue me.)

This season, Dan bought the SuperFan package, which gives him all the games in HD. It also gives him the Red Zone Channel (that bounces around from game to game in an attempt to show viewers as many scores/big plays as possible) and the Game Mix Channel (which shows eight games at once).

The Red Zone Channel is pretty good as is. It’s especially fun when the Packers don’t play in the early game, because I don’t have to keep checking in on that game and we can let the channel take us to all the exciting moments around the league. However, I would make two changes: 1) when the channel goes to split screen mode, they waste valuable space with a wide red border around both games, and 2) during the late games, too often the channel is showing highlights when there is live action going on.

Then there’s the Game Mix Channel. This is a great idea that is poorly executed. Just take a look at a screenshot.

Looks like a football fan’s dream, right?

Well…sort of.

Even on a 50” screen, which I’d say is the standard for higher-end TVs these days, each of those games are only 12.5” diagonal, which makes them pretty tough to watch. Instead of the current 4 x 2 grid (four games wide by two games tall), why doesn’t the channel go with a 3 x 3 matrix? Not only would it allow for eight 16.5” screens (which would be 32% bigger than the current setup), it would generate a 9th rectangle, where the channel could show the Red Zone Channel, display advertisements, list stats and/or injuries, show times of upcoming games, etc.

What would they have to sacrifice? Well, just the blue border and channel banner, which currently take up a third of the screen.

That seems like a small price to pay for a 32% increase in viewing space for each game.

So, are you listening, DirecTV?

2008 NBA Preview: #13 Portland Trail Blazers

Offseason Movement: The two big additions this offseason were Rudy Fernandez, a versatile Manu Ginobili-like Spanish wing and Jerryd Bayless, a University of Arizona combo guard dripping with potential. In addition, the team will get Greg Oden back from an injury that knocked him out of the 2007-08 season.
Keep Your Eye On: Rudy Fernandez
Based on his play against Team USA in Beijing, I think Fernandez is ready to contribute now. He might be a little short (6’5”) to play small forward, but if the team elects to put Brandon Roy and Fernandez on the wing, they’ll be a formidable duo. Fernandez has a nice jumper and is athletic enough to take it to the rack. (He even dunked on Dwight Howard in the Olympics.)
The Big Question: How quickly will the Blazers mature?
A quick look at the team’s core reveals the Blazers’ biggest fault, and maybe its biggest strength: Roy (24 years-old), Oden (20), LaMarcus Aldridge (23), Bayless (20), Martell Webster (21), Fernandez (23), Travis Outlaw (24), Channing Frye (25). They are young. This group could be destined for great things, but it’s a matter of experience and maturity.
Outlook: Bright. Kevin Pritchard has done a wonderful job remaking this roster in short order. The coup was landing Brandon Roy, who turned out to be an All-Star caliber guard. Obviously, the addition of Greg Oden (assuming he pans out as expected) should give the franchise two stars to build around. And even though the team currently has a huge payroll ($81 million), a good portion of that ($38) is being paid to guys that aren’t even on the team anymore. The Blazers project to have a ton of cap space in the summer of 2010, when a number of stars will hit the free agent market. In fact, aside from the fact that Portland is not Brooklyn, the Blazers might represent LeBron James’ best shot at a championship. (Don’t worry, Nets fans, I don’t think that Portland is a big enough of a market for King James.)

2008 NBA Preview: #14 Cleveland Cavaliers

Offseason Movement: The Cavs swung a good deal by trading Damon Jones and Joe Smith (to the Bucks and Thunder, respectively) for Mo Williams, a dynamic scoring point guard who can also pass the ball (17.2 ppg, 6.3 apg). It’s not clear just how much he’ll get to handle the ball, but the Cavs would be wise to let him take some of the offensive load off of LeBron. Williams was basically a salary dump by the Bucks, who just signed him to a long deal in the summer of 2007, so the Cavs are rolling the dice that he’s worth the dough.
Keep Your Eye On: LeBron’s mood
We’re still two years away, but the time is drawing near. LeBron can opt out of his contract in the summer of 2010, which gives the Cavs two years to make some serious progress. It’s possible that he’ll make his decision after this season, and barring a huge season for the Cavs in 2009-10, he may bolt for Brooklyn or some other destination. The Cavs would like the media to stop talking about this possibility, but the ticking clock is only going to get louder and louder.
The Big Question: Is this team good enough to make a run?
I like the Mo Williams trade, but there’s no guarantee that he and LeBron will jive. The Cavs have a nice yet unexciting roster. Delonte West and Daniel Gibson bring some backcourt punch off the bench, Wally Szczerbiak may or may not have anything left in the tank and Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas make for an aging (and slow) frontcourt. Chemistry will be key.
Outlook: Barring an injury to LeBron, the Cavs will make the playoffs, but how deep will they go? With the Celtics still the cream of the crop in the East, with Philly adding Elton Brand, with Toronto adding Jermaine O’Neal, with the Heat adding Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley, it’s not going to be a cakewalk. I don’t know what it’s like in Cleveland, but from afar, I just get this overwhelming feeling of dread surrounding LeBron’s future. Another Finals appearance might be the only thing that can quiet the pessimists.

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