Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The ESPN Gag Order

Pro Football Talk is reporting that ESPN put out a gag order to all of their reporters preventing them from reporting on the "Favre Is A Douchebag" story:

A source, who for reasons likely related to making the monthly mortgage payment has asked not to be identified, has forwarded to us a version of ESPN’s internal “Hot List,” which provides a detailed rundown of the current stories that might merit mention on the various ESPN properties.

It’s a lengthy collection of news and nuggets regarding all of the major sports (and golf). At the bottom, there’s a description of one specific story that should be avoided.

Under the heading “DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT” (um, we get the point) appears the following:

“Yesterday, FoxSports reported that Brett Favre spent 60 to 90 minutes before the Week Two game between the Lions and the Packers educating the Detroit coaching staff regarding the Packers’ offensive strategies. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY RELIABLE SOURCES THIS REPORT IS NOT TRUE. We did NOT report it yesterday. Today, the NFL responded to the report, saying even if Favre did this he did not break any league rules. We are NOT reporting it today, because that would mean airing the erroneous report. DO NOT REPORT IT.”


The popular theory is that ESPN does not want to jinx its cozy access to Brett, which, I suppose makes some sense as if they did piss him off he would be on the phone to SI the next day telling them all about how Chris Mortenson vets all of his stories through his imaginary friend Crinkleberry the Magical Sports Cow.

At any rate, they should probably change the name of ESPNews to ESPNscooped or something like that.

17 comments:

DannyNoonan said...

Eh, maybe they do have a source. Maybe it isn't true and Favre will retire next year, come back to being a part of the Packers, have his number retired and ride off into the sunset on a John Deere tractor.

Maybe. Hopefully....

PaulNoonan said...

Maybe, hopefully, but probably not. If they did have a source, a good source, it would make sense to report that it is NOT true instead of putting up blinders.

Anonymous said...

Ted Thompson's putting out more crap through his mouthpiece jay glazer.

Chris said...

Nice to see the Favre Mafia still is going strong

I am sure Danny still believes that Santa puts his toys under the Xmas tree lol

E.S.K. said...

don't go changing

DannyNoonan said...

Wait, what?

DannyNoonan said...

Chris,
What "side" of the Brett Favre "debate" do you think I'm on? I don't understand your comment. Are you just high?

Chris said...

I wish I was high too early in the am for that. You say High like it is a bad thing Danny are you one of those Just Say No Do Gooders Danny?

I may have read your earlier comment wrong but

"Maybe it isn't true and Favre will retire next year, come back to being a part of the Packers, have his number retired and ride off into the sunset on a John Deere tractor." sure seems like wishful thinking to me.

Now if you were be satirical then I just did not get the joke.

and the Favre Mafia was directed at Eric do I have to start using that silly @ symbol now

ESK why don't you .... On second thought why bother you would not listen anyway. Why don't you have your Mom buy you something

Anonymous said...

People like Chris are like an on/off switch. They are only capable of two positions. To him, you can only love Favre or hate Favre. There's no "I don't have enough info" or "I think the story is probably true but hope that it isn't." Those kind of distinctions make smoke come out of his ears. It was the same when the Brewers were tanking. He didn't think that they'd make the playoffs so he started hating them. It's just nuts.

DannyNoonan said...

Uh, it was wishful thinking. What's wrong with that? Look, the anonymous guy basically got it right. I loved Favre and really wish none of this crap would have happened. But it did, and for a while I tried to give Favre the benefit of the doubt while backing Rodgers and the Pack all the way. The latest Favre saga makes him look really bad. If true, it's the worst yet. So I hope it isn't true, even though I think it probably is. This is a totally rational position. It's the position of a lot of people. I bet ESK has a pretty similar take. All I remember is that he's rooting for Favre so the Packers get a better draft pick.

Chris said...

I love the whole out of I am only rooting for Favre so they get a better draft choice lol.

Face it to the ESK/Eric Camp, Favre could get caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl and they would look the other way.

and Anon What is wrong with believing in a position once you take it. If you believe in it then Believe in it.

Favre is a jerk and has brought most of this on himself Packers I am sure could dump a ton of stories about him his womanizing etc but they have not. If he had just gone to NYC and worried about winning with the Jets none of this would be an issue would it.

PaulNoonan said...

You should not believe in a position simply because you want it to be true.

Anonymous said...

I think I speak for all of us when I say this: what the hell did you just say?

Anonymous said...

That last one was meant for Chris, not Paul.

Chris said...

If my position is that Favre is a jerk I do not need to wish for it to be true. It has been proven to be fact

Did I want Favre to do this so it proved that my beliefs about him were correct, no I just want the self serving SOB to go away go enjoy playing in NYC it is a great city lots to do on your off time.

But if Favre is going to do stuff like calling the Lions yes I am going to jump on it.

I know having an opinion that is different from the Herd here is a big no no, but oh well it's not like I am trying to make friends with any of you.

You all go on loving Brett no matter what he does unconditional love can be so cute.

DannyNoonan said...

I don't think we've been taking that position at all. The post below refers to him as a douchebag and the one below that describes him as a little girl.

E.S.K. said...

Favre is apparently an ass hole. As a rational individual, I have no problem making that statement. It doesn't bother me.

I still want him to perform well, as his performance helps the Jets, and Jets victories help the Packers. It's not a real difficult equation.

As far as my mom buying me stuff? I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about, but it sounds strange coming from a man with no job.