Tag Archives: associated press

Favre as Diva? Not Without Help.

The American mainstream media mob is at it again.

From the Duke lacrosse case to the let’s-get-Michael-Vick-back-into-jail drama over the shooting at his birthday party, the big American mainstream media is an odd little monster.

They’ve made Mark McGwire a steroid pariah in 2010, but they’ve completely forgiven their buddies Alex Rodrioguez and Andy Pettitte (hell, they’re Yankees, after all). With Rodriguez chasing his 600th home run, they have forgotten completely that A-Rod only half-admitted his own steroid use, but they still shit on McGwire because he doesn’t want to talk to them about it.

These people stink, and their sick little stench is now on Brett Favre.

The latest media mob war in the United States is to paint Favre as some kind of “diva,” (their word) because he’s 43 years old and he’s probably not going to fully commit to playing for the Minnesota Vikings this season until after the third week of training camp.

Like that’s somehow a surprise.

Take Dan Wetzel’s latest column at yahoo.com, entitled “Favre Stars as NFL’s Biggest Diva.” It was dripping with sarcasm and cynicism, but sounded more like a guy who was pissed that Favre wasn’t calling him every 10 minutes with the next scoop.

Then there is Mike Florio’s NBC column entitled “Favre is more diva than good ‘ol boy.” It’s nasty and probably farther off base than it needs to be.

And now we have Tim Dahlberg’s Associated Press column that says of Favre: “There was major flooding this week in Wisconsin, a state where Brett Favre used to ply his trade. It was getting pretty deep once again in Mississippi, too, in what has now become an annual rite of summer. The drama queen of the South was giving interviews and accepting selected visitors, including one who for some reason still wants to coach him this season.”

That just reaked of, “Please call me, please call me, Brett. I’m important, too.”

It’s kind of sad watching the American news media act like a snooty 13-year-old girl, drooling all over herself, calling Favre “a drama queen,” while hoping beyond hope that when the big decision to play or not play is made, he’ll call her first.

If Favre is a “diva,” and my experience (which is only about a dozen post-game interviews in a controlled team environment) suggests he’s not, it’s because the big U.S. media machine has declared him a diva.

Let’s not forget, you can’t be a “diva,” unless you’re allowed to be a diva and nobody enables Brett Favre like the American mainstream media machine.

Not only is mob wrong far too often, it’s way too whiney.

* * *

Now let me get this straight: First base umpire Gary Darling blows a call (what else is new?), Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton argues, inadvertently bumps the umpire and gets a three-game suspension, but the guy who screwed up the call gets no penalty at all?

Major League Baseball has truly messed up priorities.

Replay, please.

More Stuff Rattling Around in My Head.

I’m in the I-told-you-so mood. And the cranky mood. And the really disgusted mood.

So here’s what’s making me goofy today…

1) The Associated Press wrote a story about Selena Roberts’ book on Alex Rodriguez today. Evidently, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez, that made-up piece of garbage by a woman who went to the same journalism school as those famous and successful let’s-make-it-up artists, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, has not been a big seller. Evidently, baseball fans don’t cotton to books filled with hundreds of un-named sources.

Now, in case you forgot, Fainaru-Wada and Williams were the dynamic duo wrote the book Game of Shadows using more than 225 un-named sources. That book turned out to be a very successful effort to vilify Barry Bonds, even though most of it was rubbish (one even two or three un-named sources is acceptable, hundreds make a story rubbish).

Roberts, meanwhile, is the woman who jumped to the wrong conclusion and slandered the lacrosse players at Duke University, only to have all of her vitriol turned to urine by a judge who threw the charges against the players out of court. She never apologized, only wallowed in her hubris — and got better journalism jobs.

Seems now that the rip on A-Rod as fallen on few eyes.According to the AP, the book was published in early May by HarperCollins with an announced first printing of 150,000. It has sold just 16,000 copies so far, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 75 percent of industry sales. The book sold 11,000 in its first week, then quickly faded. The book “A-Rod” fell off The New York Times‘ hardcover list of nonfiction best sellers after three weeks. According to AP, “As of Wednesday afternoon, the book ranked No. 2,904 on Amazon.com, where even James Frey’s discredited memoir A Million Little Pieces — at 1,776 — is outselling it.

Well, give Frey credit, at least he admitted he made it up. Roberts still hasn’t apologized for her destruction of a bunch of college kids and she won’t apologize for this dreadful bit of fiction.

2) Watched the American Hockey League Calder Cup final game between the Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears on Tuesday night.

In the third period, the Bears dod not complete a single pass. That’s right, not one pass reached its target without bouncing off another player.

How did the Moose lose three games to these guys?

3) My new hero is Judge Redfield T. Baum. He became my hero with just one comment in that Phoenix courtroom on Tuesday. He told the lawyers for commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL:

“Don’t tell me that you have ‘expressions of interest.’ It’s obvious to me that there is only one bidder, Mr. Balsillie. Expressions of interest are meaningless.”

The Canadian Press was quite impressed as well: “He (Baum) essentially dismissed the NHL’s assertions of four expressions of interest from potential buyers interested in operating the Coyotes in Phoenix — including Toronto Argonauts owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon, and Chicago White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf — as little more than hearsay. He added there was only one real offer, that of Balsillie.”

Evidently, Baum has a built-in Bullshit Meter and because he has it, the NHL is in for tough ride.

London, England, Brees and Rivers and bad Cowboys: Week 8 in the NFL should be intriguing

It is Week 8 on the NFL schedule and while there are a number of great matchups this weekend, the biggest will probably be the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.

Both quarterbacks, Eli Manning of the Giants and Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers were 2004 first-round draft choices who have both won Super Bowls and they have already faced off against each other — way back in their rookie seasons. Roethlisberger won 33-30. This should be the Game of the Week.

 

Meanwhile, the National Football League heads to London, England this week. It’s the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers live from Wembley Stadium and aside from the international impact, this one comes complete with a shot at revenge.

 

It will be the first time Saints quarterback Drew Brees will face his former team (remember, he signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006). His understudy for those final two seasons in San Diego will be across the field from him on Sunday — Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers.

 

Not surprisingly Brees leads the NFL in passing with 2,224 yards while Rivers is fourth at 1,697. Rivers has been slumping and has much to prove. Brees would love to stick it to the Chargers. This will be a great game.

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