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v2vian man
Sep 1, 2007

Only question I
ever thought was hard
was do I like Kirk
or do I like Picard?
This is the thread I been talking about for talking about the hideous depressing awful quality of writing and reporting these days. I know the thread title says NFL but I guess college writing can go here too if it's anywhere near as bad? That would be fine. There seems to be a lot less of it though.

This thread has two purposes which is a phrase I put in bold because it's important

1. Who actually has the inside scoop and who does not
This is the original idea I had for a thread. I'd like us to keep track of how often we see certain reporters getting things right or wrong. Free agency and the time just after free agency is a great opportunity to round up various writers' predictions, speculation and other forms of horse poo poo and see how horse-lovely they are.

So! If you see a writer claim something, whether from a source or speculation: post it here! Screen cap or copy-paste. If someone says they hear Manning is only considering Miami and Phoenix, quote it. If someone says the Bills are the frontrunner for Mario Williams, post it. Afterward we'll round up the predictions and see who was actually right or nearly-right and who is loving retarded (Mike Florio). Bonus points for people who break news first (NFL Network)

2. Who cannot write worth a drat
Like the horrible posts from other forums thread, except sadder because I'm reduced to eating the memory of ramen while Peter King lays down $6 and 600 words on some mass-produced farmed-on-the-blood-of-Ecuadorian cup of dog piss. When you see really awful writing (Florio) post it here and we can laugh at it. Bonus points for a thrilling saga about a poor person asking you for money and you waddling off to tell the internet about it in a column that somehow spans 11 pages and nobody questions this.

Okay maybe this thread doesn't get so many posts at the beginning of free agency because it's all news and this is not a news-posting thread or a debating news thread (important, note the bold please) but I trust we have enough critics and nerds and nerd-critics in the forum to keep it going with bad writing and laughable "inside scoops" (Florio, Florio, Florio)

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HOTLANTA MAN
Jul 4, 2010

by Hand Knit
Lipstick Apathy
I feel like exhibit A should be Peter King's gloating story of stealing a foul ball from a 10 year old kid at a Spring Training game

v2vian man
Sep 1, 2007

Only question I
ever thought was hard
was do I like Kirk
or do I like Picard?
I substituted the homeless-guy anecdote last minute but those are my two favorite Peter King Memories. What a worthless loving tool

BlindSite
Feb 8, 2009

The only really accurate guys are usually the beat writers from the local papers who tend to be a little more cryptic and get far less coverage.

Tae
Oct 24, 2010

Hello? Can you hear me? ...Perhaps if I shout? AAAAAAAAAH!
Never, ever believe a drat word from John Clayton despite the fact everyone talks like he knows something (blackmail)

HOTLANTA MAN
Jul 4, 2010

by Hand Knit
Lipstick Apathy
Really don't listen to any man with a ponytail

Nail Rat
Dec 29, 2000

You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!
edit: wrong thread

although gimme time and I'll dig up some terrible Kuharsky bullshit

Kalli
Jun 2, 2001



For Patriots news, trust no one unless they're sourced. Mike Reiss with ESPN Boston usually has valid analysis, and will have something up whenever they do something, but doesn't get any information leaks.

Occasionally Michael Holley will get fed something by the organization, but he's more as a friend of the team then reporter in that role. His book, Patriot Reign is some good, fawning, insight into how Belichick runs things however.

As for breaking news, I'm pretty bad at remember who does it. I just follow a bunch of the major guys on twitter and get swarmed with tweets and retweets whenever something happens.

Also I follow Peter King because he retweets a bunch of the insults that get sent to him constantly and tries to play it off as an awh shucks thing.

Nail Rat
Dec 29, 2000

You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!
For Colts news, Mike Chappell is pretty much the best bet of mainstream local guys. Kravitz exists just to stir poo poo up, Richards may or may not exist, and Wilson is just a whiny fat guy. Chappell reported that Wayne talks were going on before anyone else tonight.

nah
Mar 16, 2009

Don't trust anyone who covers the Dolphins for a living

superaielman
Mar 16, 2006

You can't harm me. Are you a fucking ass? Do you not know who I am? He must not know who I am.

TEBOW 3 16 posted:

I feel like exhibit A should be Peter King's gloating story of stealing a foul ball from a 10 year old kid at a Spring Training game

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2009/07/fun-with-klassic-peter-king-the-foul-ball-story.html


quote:

The anger. The rage. I introduced myself to a guard and asked if I could get a foul ball. I walked to get the foul ball. A 7-year-old boy passed through the same gate, without permission, as the guard called after him to come back. I picked up the ball I thought was hit by Miguel Tejada. The kid picked up the ball he thought was hit by Tejada. I’m supposed to convince this kid who snuck through the gate that he doesn’t have the right ball and give him mine?I had permission to get the ball I got. The 7-year-old boy stole his. And I “cheated” him out of the ball? I told the kid: “I’m sure you’ve got the one Tejada hit,” just so he’d feel good about it. I can see how you’d be offended that I tried to make the kid feel good by telling him he had the real ball, because I told what I believed to be a lie, even though it was not a malicious one. Maybe that’s wrong. But is it right to be somewhere you shouldn’t be and, technically, to possess stolen property?

Peter King is beyond my talents at vulgarity to describe for this alone.

quote:

Don't trust anyone who covers the Dolphins for a living


Oh my loving god, this. Manas linked someone I hadn't read earlier today, and the entire article could have been from Finhaven, even down to the 'sourcing' and awful speculation.

Greg Bedard used to cover the Dolphins (Does the Pats now) and is a total rear end in a top hat, but at least he can kind of cover football.

Sash!
Mar 16, 2001


Wait a second, he's not even 100% sure that the ball he took was the "real" ball anyhow.

I like to believe there is a benevolent force in the universe and that King picked up the wrong ball. And will eventually get hit by a bus.

FizFashizzle
Mar 30, 2005







Link just because it might be NSFW but click it anyway

The Incredible Ed
Nov 12, 2006

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
Never trust anything in the Chicago Sun-Times, their Bears reporting is terrible. I wish their entire sports department had been thrown in jail with Conrad Black.

nnnAdam
Jul 8, 2007

Strength in Numbers
Isn't Jay Glazer pretty much the go to stone cold lock of the twitterverse?

Febreeze
Oct 24, 2011

I want to care, butt I dont
All i know about sports reporters is that John Clayton is terrible, Peter King is a dork who never tries anymore, and Adam Schefter is legit. I just pay attention to Schefter because he seems to have a high hit ratio.

v2vian man
Sep 1, 2007

Only question I
ever thought was hard
was do I like Kirk
or do I like Picard?
Okay since I have a story I don't wanna write here is my first stab at really evaluating how accurate one of these guys is. For your thrills and chills, Adam Schefter's last day of tweets are pasted below. I've reorganized his tweets into three groups, as described...............in the key.

My key:
bold: True statements
italic: Unconfirmed
plain font: Retweets he shouldn't get credit for
!!!: Breaking news/accurate predictions
???: Inaccurate predictions


The Truths
Bears WR Brandon Marshall was involved in another incident that could lead to an NFL review. More shortly at ESPN.com.

Reggie Wayne re-signing a three-year deal with Colts. Agreement reached.

Rams and free-agent cornerback Cortland Finnegan reached agreement on a five-year deal worth about $50 million.

Saints announced today that they have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with QB Chase Daniel.

Cardinals are expected to release OT Levi Brown, whom Arizona selected with the fifth pick in the 2007 draft ahead of RB Adrian Peterson.

Raiders plan to release TE Kevin Boss, who last summer signed a four-year, $16 million deal, including $6 million guaranteed.

Redskins released safety Oshiomogho Atogwe and fullback Mike Sellers.

Vincent Jackson deal in Tampa: 5 yrs, $55.55 million, including $26 million guaranteed, $36 million in 1st 3 yrs, $26 million in 1st 2 yrs.

Vincent Jackson agreed to five-year deal in Tampa with Bucs.

There is an agreement between free-agent WR Josh Morgan and Redskins. So two new WRs: Morgan and Pierre Garcon, so far. Eddie Royal on deck.

Red Bryant re-signing with Seattle: 5 years, $35 million, including $14.5 million gtd.

!!! Now Redskins on verge of signing 49ers WR Josh Morgan, too, to go along with Pierre Garcon..

Pierre Garcon posted on his FB page he's signing with Washington.

Free-agent CB Cortland Finnegan scheduled to visit Rams on Wednesday. Finnegan could rejoin Jeff Fisher.

Free agent defensive end Mario Williams plans to visit the Buffalo Bills tonight.

Filed to ESPN: Dolphins trade WR Brandon Marshall to Bears for 3rd-round pick in 2012 and 3rd-round pick in 2013. Marshall rejoins Cutler.

Chargers have agreed to a new three-year contract with center Nick Hardwick.

Bears agreed to terms with CB Tim Jennings on a two-year contract.

QB Jason Campbell reached agreement with the Bears on a one-year deal.

49ers announced they have signed CB Perrish Cox to a two-year contract.

Chargers will release OT Marcus McNeill this afternoon, according to his agent, Alvin Keels.

Eagles agreed to 3-year contract extension with OL Todd Herremans through 2016.

One less CB on the market: New York Giants reached agreement with cornerback Terrell Thomas.

Filed to ESPN: 49ers reached agreement on a one-year deal with wide receiver Randy Moss.

This is not to make room for Peyton Manning: Texans cut quarterback Matt Leinart.



The Perhapses
With Jason Campbell taking backup QB spot in Chicago, that leaves Kyle Orton's main option as the Dallas Cowboys.

Former Texans OT Eric Winston has visits lined up with the Dolphins, Chiefs and Rams.

CIN, DEN, JAX, MIN, TB only teams in NFL that did not take the additional room in 2012 from WAS/DAL penalty. Those 5 teams get room in 2013.

Redskins do not yet have an agreement with free-agent WR Eddie Royal, but both sides working to get a deal done.

Sal Pal reports Eagles finalizing contract extension with Trent Cole. Numbers are set, just working on language. Expected to be done soon.

And now the 49ers also jumping in on Chiefs free-agent CB Brandon Carr.

San Francisco, Washington and Tampa Bay all pursuing free-agent CB Eric Wright.

Ravens DE Cory Redding, in talks with Indianapolis, scheduled to visit Colts tonight. Titans DL Jason Jones to visit Rams.

In addition to trying to sign WR Vincent Jackson, Buccaneers trying to sign G Carl Nicks. Two top free agents could be Tampa bound.

??? And WR Robert Meachem also scheduled to visit the Buffalo Bills, right along with Mario Williams.

Calvin Watkins reporting that TE Martellus Bennett to visit Giants.

Laurent Robinson is going to visit Jacksonville tonight.

More visits: chad Henne expected to visit Jacksonville, Kyle Orton expected to visit Dallas.

Free-agent safety Brandon Meriweather plans to visit the Denver Broncos tonight.

Despite speculation that Houston still could make a run at Peyton Manning, the Texans have no plans to pursue the free-agent QB.

As Tennessee plots its push for QB Peyton Manning, the Titans plan to host a visit for former Vikings Pro Bowl G Steve Hutchinson.

Titans were preparing to make run at Houston's Mario Williams, and now organziation has shifted its focus to try to sign Peyton Manning.

Bears free-agent safety Brandon Meriweather now planning to visit Washington on Wednesday.

Raiders free agent WR Chaz Schilens is visiting 49ers, and Rams free agent WR Brandon Lloyd also is expected to visit San Francisco.



The You're Boring On Twitter Get Out of the Way of Horse_eBooks
Big move in San Diego to help replace Vincent Jackson. RT @espn_afcwest: Chargers add Robert Meachem es.pn/xIfiXg

2h John Clayton John Clayton ‏ @ClaytonESPN
Carlos Rogers re-signing means the 49ers will have all 11 starters back on defense.
Retweeted by Adam Schefter

When free agency started today, Raiders had a league-low $639.966 worth of salary-cap space.

Breaking just for the fun of it: Monta Ellis traded to Bucks, Stephen Jackson to Warriors. Just because.

Pierre Garcon Pierre Garcon ‏ @PierreGarcon85
I wanted you all to hear it from me 1st before u saw it on the news... I will be signing with the Washington... fb.me/1JhfoAIzY
Retweeted by Adam Schefter

ESPN's NFL Live kicks off at the same time as the free-agent signing period. Please tune in for the latest developments.

Todd Archer Todd Archer ‏ @toddarcher
Filed to @ESPNDallas From me and @calvinwatkins - source says Cowboys release Terence Newman.
Retweeted by Adam Schefter

First reported by @JayGlazer, Saints re-signed WR Marques Colston to a five-year deal worth close to $40 million, inc $19 million gtd.
In reply to Jay Glazer


----


Whew. So here's my snapshot of Schefter: reliable and therefore a little late with the news. He broke one story before the official announcement; that's not much. Seems to be correct almost all the time. Relies on official team announcements, which naturally come later than inside-source breaking news. Trustworthy but a little slow. How many different ways can I say this. The man's the bologna on white bread of free agency reporting, but one wrong report out of all those is pretty reliable.

v2vian man fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Mar 14, 2012

Jaysus
Sep 17, 2004

"Hey, did you see my game against the Detroit Lions?"
I'm down with Schefter.

RonMexicosPitbull
Feb 28, 2012

by Ralp
Remember Rob Lowe always has the scoop.

NattyBo
Sep 20, 2004

Football Team.
Peter King sucks, but I find the other SI writers bearable. Yahoo Sports tends to have good writers in every sport. Other than that, for football, I generally check places like the National Football Post, etc, for the more in depth analysis.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared
Schefter gets most of his info hand-fed to him by GMs and other team/league executives. That's why if he is saying it, chances are that it's completely accurate.

Jay Glazer, on the other hand, is accurate on things because he is extremely connected to the coaches and players around the league who give him tons of info.

Another one that gets loads of good info and is tapped into every PR staff in the NFL is Alex Marvez from Fox Sports.

Peter King, though, I don't know how one man can receive as much access as he does and do so little with it. It's kind of amazing for all the wrong reasons.

FizFashizzle
Mar 30, 2005







The only thing about Glazer is his constant bro'd out "YO SUPPORT HTE TROOPS SUBWAY PERFECT PUNCH MMA FIGHTING IS THE FUTURE" bullshit and retweeting every single guido who thanks him for his infomercial workout bands.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared

FizFashizzle posted:

The only thing about Glazer is his constant bro'd out "YO SUPPORT HTE TROOPS SUBWAY PERFECT PUNCH MMA FIGHTING IS THE FUTURE" bullshit and retweeting every single guido who thanks him for his infomercial workout bands.

That poo poo is aggravating as hell, so I'm totally with you on that. If you meet him in person though, that's pretty much how he is. Great at getting info, but I would not voluntarily go hang out with him.

Blitz of 404 Error
Sep 19, 2007

Joe Biden is a top 15 president
Didn't Egotastic break the 'RGIII' Redskins trade?

Declan MacManus
Sep 1, 2011

damn i'm really in this bitch

Peter King accurately predicted Arian Foster loving exploding, which still blows my mind.

sean10mm
Jun 29, 2005

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, MAD-2R World
Jay Glazer: Douche-y, but Effective

He also has the perfect name for what he is short of something made up like BROSEF MALLETT BROUGHT TO YOU BY MONSTER ENERGY(TM) :smuggo:

Apparently Jim Wyatt at The Tennessean is the ultimate :ninja: source if you care about the Titans for some reason, and in fact the only reason anyone would ever read The Tennessean.

Ehud
Sep 19, 2003

football.

The Dolphins have a beat writer named Omar Kelly. He has over 47000 tweets and most of them are terrible. Sometimes he institutes periods where if you tweet @ him on a certain topic he will block you permanently. Yesterday if you used "Kolb" and "Flynn" in the same tweet he blocked you.

He also tweets a lot about rap music, his wife, and how the writers for other Miami papers don't know what they're doing. The best thing that has come from his Twitter is a fake account called @FakeOmarKelly which is the funniest gimmick account I've ever read.

Ribsauce
Jul 29, 2006

Blacks in the back.

Ehud posted:

He also tweets a lot about rap music, his wife, and how the writers for other Miami papers don't know what they're doing. The best thing that has come from his Twitter is a fake account called @FakeOmarKelly which is the funniest gimmick account I've ever read.

No way dude @Twitlock @TwhitlockJason is the greatest twitter account of all time.

Jaysus posted:

I'm down with Schefter.
Team Schefter for life.

edit

didn't have the greatest twitter account of all time (GTOAT) correct

Ribsauce fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Mar 14, 2012

nah
Mar 16, 2009

Who's that Dallas reporter who always nails mock drafts for some reason? I guess he has insider bullshit

sean10mm
Jun 29, 2005

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, MAD-2R World

bananasinpajamas posted:

Who's that Dallas reporter who always nails mock drafts for some reason? I guess he has insider bullshit

Rick Gosselin, he's a huge rear end in a top hat but every team tells him their picks the day before for some reason so it's the most accurate :airquote: mock draft :airquote: around.

Declan MacManus
Sep 1, 2011

damn i'm really in this bitch

Ehud posted:

The Dolphins have a beat writer named Omar Kelly. He has over 47000 tweets and most of them are terrible. Sometimes he institutes periods where if you tweet @ him on a certain topic he will block you permanently. Yesterday if you used "Kolb" and "Flynn" in the same tweet he blocked you.

He also tweets a lot about rap music, his wife, and how the writers for other Miami papers don't know what they're doing. The best thing that has come from his Twitter is a fake account called @FakeOmarKelly which is the funniest gimmick account I've ever read.

Sometimes I forget that FakeOmarKelly isn't real.

Also, Armando Salguero is an awful beat writer and may not actually have any insider sources, but that won't stop him from breaking stories!

No Safe Word
Feb 26, 2005

Schefter is good and Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) doesn't always scoop things himself but he follows a lot of folks and retweets stuff very quickly and typically only very reliable stuff.

superaielman
Mar 16, 2006

You can't harm me. Are you a fucking ass? Do you not know who I am? He must not know who I am.

sean10mm posted:

Rick Gosselin, he's a huge rear end in a top hat but every team tells him their picks the day before for some reason so it's the most accurate :airquote: mock draft :airquote: around.

Gosselin and Bob McGinn of JSO are the best beat writers I've read. Peter King can be good when he gets off his sorry rear end and actually reports instead of babbling on nothing, but that almost never happens.

Pron on VHS
Nov 14, 2005

Blood Clots
Sweat Dries
Bones Heal
Suck it Up and Keep Wrestling
Greg Cosell (@gregcosell) is a fantastic follow, I have learned a lot about football just from his tweets. Great at teaching little positional nuances and team-building philosophies.


edit: here's a snippet

Pron on VHS fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Mar 14, 2012

Magnitogorsk.
Nov 14, 2004

Global warming is barely a big deal at all compared to the trajectory we used to be on. We'll have to do a lot of environmental engineering projects along certain shorelines and it will be a little warmer and wetter in some places, big fucking deal.
Here's some terrible, self righteous garbage from Peter King about the Nathan's hot dog contest:

quote:

"Joey Chestnut Wins Hot-Dog Eating Contest." Whoever at ESPN thought of televising the Fourth of July contest from Coney Island and giving it some form of sporting glory ought to not only be fired but also sent to a class for education on world hunger. Here's a stat for you, according to world hunger organization Bread For The World: One in seven people on earth suffer from severe hunger daily. That's 963 MILLION people. The ratings suggest we are all guilty of promoting this grotesque custom. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves for giving ESPN reason for showing this.

You get paid millions of dollars to write lovely articles about millionaires playing a game designed to make billionaires money; a game fueled by a 24/7 media machine bombarding us with million dollar ad campaigns for luxury products that we don't need. But some random guys off the street eating hot dogs for a fun contest once a year, now that's a grotesque display of extravagant excess! We'll probably never know how many poor African children died because we stole their hot dogs and shoved them down Joey Chestnut's gullet.

FUCKFACE MORON
Apr 23, 2010

by sebmojo
The irony of Peter King complaining about an eating competition.

Febreeze
Oct 24, 2011

I want to care, butt I dont

Magnitogorsk. posted:

Here's some terrible, self righteous garbage from Peter King about the Nathan's hot dog contest:


You get paid millions of dollars to write lovely articles about millionaires playing a game designed to make billionaires money; a game fueled by a 24/7 media machine bombarding us with million dollar ad campaigns for luxury products that we don't need. But some random guys off the street eating hot dogs for a fun contest once a year, now that's a grotesque display of extravagant excess! We'll probably never know how many poor African children died because we stole their hot dogs and shoved them down Joey Chestnut's gullet.

I think this is funny because if Peter King had his way, there would be an ESPN show built around what coffee stores to hit up in sports cities.

amaranthine
Aug 27, 2009
I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING

Isaac Bruce Bowen posted:

The irony of Peter King complaining about an eating competition.

#CONEY2012

kidcoelacanth
Sep 23, 2009

amaranthine posted:

#CONEY2012

lmao

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Ribsauce
Jul 29, 2006

Blacks in the back.
My favorite Peter King moment ever was him bitching up a storm because someone got mad at him for talking in the Amtrak Quiet Car.

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