Wednesday Walk Around the League

by Ed Valentine on Feb 13, 2008 6:40 AM EST in News Comment 20 comments

Throughout the off-season I will try to touch on what is going on around the league every so often. At times I've done a 'Wednesday Walk Around the League,' and I think it's time to bring that back.

So, let's take a look around at what is making news throughout the league.

• Commissioner Roger Goodell is meeting with Sen. Arlen Specter today to discuss Spygate. I'll be the first one to admit I enjoyed watching the Patriots get nailed in the Spygate mess, but c'mon Sen. Specter, I'm sure you have better ways to spend your time.

• If you haven't been enjoying the various Chris Berman videos that have hit the Inter-Google recently where have you been? Search 'ampex2000' on YouTube if you haven't seen them. Anyway, ESPN has finally come to Berman's defense.

Here is some of ESPN's statement.

"The off air videos are now nearly a decade old and do not reflect his typical workplace demeanor, his relationships with co-workers, nor the contributions he has made to ESPN over many years. Chris has a tremendous connection with sports fans and his body of work should not be judged by a few minutes of unguarded language uttered years ago."

I don't care how they spin it, this whole mess is embarrassing for Berman and ESPN. The only people enjoying it are us bloggers and all the Berman-bashers who think he's an egotistical moron. Yes, that would include me.

• Peter King says Bill Parcells and the Miami Dolphins have set themselves up to be major players this off-season.

• It's really insanely early to be making predictions for next season, but Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline is out with five team he thinks will take big steps forward in 2008. All I can say is his list includes the Arizona Cardinals, which means it's pretty much nonsense.

• The Giants' upset of New England is Super Bowl XLII goes down as one of the biggest in Super Bowl history. The road the Giants faced to win the title may have been the toughest ever traversed by a Super Bowl champion. Cold, Hard Football Facts

• For all you fans of Delaware QB Joe Flacco, SB Nation's Mocking the Draft has a scouting report on Flacco and some thoughts on where he will go in the draft. By the way, all you draftniks should make Mocking the Draft a daily stop for the next few months.

• Just like Daniel Snyder's Redskins do every off-season, they are apparently in pursuit of big-name talent already. Chad Johnson or Lance Briggs, anyone? Oh, and how many big-name, egotistical superstars do you see the Super Bowl champion Giants collecting, Mr. Snyder?

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Berman

I've got to disagree about Berman Ed. I agree with the guy over at ProFootballTalk that most of this stuff (outside a couple of things he mentioned) actually makes him seem like more of a regular guy.

I've met Berman a few times because he was a regular at a restaurant I worked at in college. The first time he came in I went up to him when he was outside waiting for his car and shot the breeze with him. He was genuine and not egotistical like you think. I told him that I was a big Giants fan and he said "New York Football Giants?" Awesome. And then he went on to talk about Wellington Mara because that was the year he was being inducted into the Hall and said several times what a great man he was. He came in a few more times while I was there and he always remembered me as the Giants fan and always asked how I was doing. You might not like his style, but from what I saw he is definitely not egotistical.

by potroast on Feb 13, 2008 8:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very nice

You get a much different, better impression of someone when you meet them than from what you see on TV, the Internet, etc. Here's a personal example. Everyone loves Hank Aaron and talks about how classy he is. I will always think of him as a jerk. That's because when I was a kid sports reporter in my early 20s I covered an old-timers all-star game in Washington, D.C. I was in the locker room, clearly intimidated by the stars around me (Aaron, Mays, DiMaggio, etc.) and approached Aaron to ask a question. He very abruptly shooed me away and left me feeling like a jerk. So, I've always remembered him that way.

by Ed Valentine on Feb 13, 2008 9:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

arlen specter is a tool

he is wasting all this time on money to pick a fight with the enemy of his biggest political donor, comcast, who is still pissed at the NFL over the NFL Network.

this is all a huge joke. specter is a PA senetor and comcast is a Philly company and they should both be pilloried by some specter's colleague's as wasting tax payer money.

and its not like i have any good will for doodell over the NFL Network - this is just such a pathetic joke tho.

by DieEaglesDie on Feb 13, 2008 9:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Specter

sits on Comcast's Board of Directors. He's more than just a tool, he has a direct conflict of interest.

Why isn't Spygate just a league matter? Congress sure as hell has a lot more important things on its plate.

by django48 on Feb 13, 2008 10:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's a definite conflict for Specter

but isn't it also a conflict for Goodell too? It does appear that he can just investigate this issue - or pretty much any other related to football - internally, and then sweep it under the rug if it turns out to be embarrassing to the league, doesn't it?

While I do buy the "conflict of interest" argument when it comes to Specter, I don't agree with the whole "doesn't Congress have better things to do" argument. You could say that about pretty much everything, short of the wars we're in. The NFL does have an antitrust exemption from Congress so Congress does have the right to show some oversight, if they believe the league is uninteresting in doing any real oversight itself. Just my opinion, obviously.

by Mr Met on Feb 13, 2008 10:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

uninteresting = uninterested

by Mr Met on Feb 13, 2008 10:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

anti-trust

i understand the anti-trust exemption gives representatives and senators a convenient excuse to raise their profiles by talking about sports leagues, but that to me is a joke too. so take away their anti trust exemption, who cares? what, their illegally stifling the XFL or other rival leagues from competing?

a better excuse is for local governments to have oversight because they subsidizing the teams stadiums. but either way, specter can f off. he is out off line and being a complete douche. not that anyone should expect more from worthless politicians but this is pretty blatant.

by DieEaglesDie on Feb 13, 2008 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What's Congress' interest in this anyway?

This isn't the Mitchell Report. No one is worrying about high school coaches videotaping opponents' practices and setting a bad example for their young and impressionable players. The NFL has every incentive to root out any cheating, whether by Belichik or anyone else. They have a product to sell, and if they can't vouch for its integrity, pretty soon football will have all the credibility of professional wrestling. I don't think the league wants to go there.

by django48 on Feb 13, 2008 4:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

p.s

This isn't about the integrity of the game. It's all about NFL Network, which Comcast wants to market as a premium channel rather than part of a basic package.

by django48 on Feb 13, 2008 10:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think he has every right

to inspect this if he wants. Sure, his time could probably be better spent, but I agree that Goodell hasn't handled the issue properly in the first place. A one-time fine, a half-assed explanation, and destruction of evidence is just fishy.

by NYinCalifornia on Feb 14, 2008 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Bump from previous thread

Nobody agrees with me on this?

by Mr Met on Feb 13, 2008 10:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's too funny!

It does look like that.

by potroast on Feb 13, 2008 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

FINALLY!

A little love for my astute observations!

Thanks potroast. I'll remember you in my will for this.

by Mr Met on Feb 13, 2008 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ironic

A day after the Senate essentially legalizes the right to spy on American citizens by the government and the telecom companies, Specter decides to get up on his soapbox to denounce the alleged spying of one football team into the activities of another?

Nice to have that clarified so neatly for us; it's useful to know just how little our elected leaders value the privacy concerns of us Average Joes in comparison to those of multimillion dollar sports franchises.

by knickfan on Feb 13, 2008 10:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's a hell of a good point.

by maw150 on Feb 13, 2008 4:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Great point, JJ.

Are you the Pisarcik of "The Fumble" fame or a relative?

by george cronin on Feb 13, 2008 12:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No, I'm not Jersey Joe

aka Paterson Plank Road Joe Pisarcik. Nor am I related to him, or even share his name. However, I chose to honor him by adopting his name for my moniker because he happened to be the starting QB when I first began what was to become a life long love/hate affair with the Giants.

I still remember watching those teams with my dad on Sunday afternoons. The names Mendenhall, Reece, Shirk, Rhodes, Kotar and van Pelt still echo through the canyons of my memory. I remember crying when I heard that Troy Archer was killed in a car crash. I remember laughing when I read about the season ticket holder bonfire outside of Giants Stadium - and, of course, the plane that flew over East Rutherford towing the message "15 years of lousy football is enough!"

Yes, those were some truly wretched teams (as someone as well versed in Giants lore as you are, George, surely knows) But they still hold a warm spot in my heart because, well, they were the first football team I ever cared about. And I like to recall them today because they remind me just how far this team has come in 30 years. Remembering that team made their recent Super Bowl victory seem oh so much sweeter.

by knickfan on Feb 13, 2008 5:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Parcells

is head hunting. Let's hope he doesn't get one of our guys that we want to keep. His history is that he's not afraid to spend the big bucks. Like George Allen he wants to win NOW. He was a really big spender with the Jets, but Jerry Jones kept him on a leash in Dallas. (Admitedly a long one. Like Robert Mitchum working for Howard Highes at RKO: "I'm the big dog on the lot, so he keeps me on a long leash. I can make it to the top, but not to the other side.")
My guess is Tuna will be unleashed in Miami. He might not get them to a SB, but he'll make them a winner.

by george cronin on Feb 13, 2008 12:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Jersey Joe wasn't that bad a QB,

but he never lived down that play. I always thought he was scapegoated. After all he didn't call for a handoff to Csonka.

by george cronin on Feb 13, 2008 7:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the Flacco link

It's pretty cool to have a guy from my college be such a highly regarded prospect, considering I didn't go to a 1-A football factory school (although UD is definitely one of the best 1-AA programs, it just doesn't usually turn out top of the draft type talent.) Whatever team he goes to is going to automatically become my second favorite team, unless it's in the NFC East or the Ravens.

by cjmulrain on Feb 13, 2008 7:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs