Post-Super Bowl Media Analysis: Part 1 (Cam Newton's Press Conference)

(Editor's Note: This was originally written last week but was re-edited for clarity and will act as an introduction to a two-part series discussing the media's coverage of news stories involving particular players. Part 1 will focus mostly on Carolina quarterback Cam Newton's press conference and the media's reaction to it)

It’s been nearly two weeks since Super Bowl 50 was played and most of the conversation about that game has been about a press conference, and not the game, itself. It was a post-game press conference involving Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers quarterback, with media members after losing to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night in the NFL’s championship game. In the case of the winning team, it’s a pleasant experience for all, the players/coaches are happy and the reporters are in a comfortable environment to get quotes from the key participants to make their stories. With the losing team, the situation is more difficult during regular season contests and made worse in the playoffs.

Newton is an interesting study in personality. On the field, he loves to celebrate himself and with his teammates after every good play. Newton will raise both of his hands up and point them straight ahead to imitate the NFL referee’s signal for a first down. He does each time he runs for a first down. This can be viewed as taunting by some and wholesome fun by some. It depends on the person. When he scores a rushing touchdown, Newton does various fast-paced, highly-choreographed dance celebrations. The most famous one called “The Dab” became popular this season as Carolina was the highest scoring offense in the NFL.

The celebrations and Newton’s constant grinning and smiling has won over some football fans and lost some others. He is very vocal and lively in front of the cameras when the team is winning. This is the Newton that most football fans saw this year as the Carolina Panthers went 15-1 in the regular season and 2-0 in the NFC Playoffs.

Sunday saw a different version of Cam Newton. Newton was much more serious as the game started. For much of Sunday, Newton was visibly frustrated, not with his teammates, but the Broncos spectacular defense. He was sad for most of the game, sad and disappointed. By the end, he was physically exhausted due to the constant hitting from Denver defenders.

When the game ended, with the Broncos beating the Panthers 24-10, television cameras focused on winning Denver quarterback Peyton Manning. In the immediate aftermath of the Broncos celebration, hundreds of camera people and TV/radio reporters sprinted over to Manning. In the background, a Carolina Panthers player in full uniform, ran over smiling and congratulated Manning. That player was Cam Newton. This should not be surprising or intend to treat Newton as some sort of hero. This is just a very nice interaction between a player from a losing team and a player from a winning team.

However, Newton was much different when talking to reporters. He appeared sad, annoyed, and disinterested. He answered some questions with short 2-3 word sentences and head movements of approval and disapproval. Through various videos on YouTube, it is hard to determine what is being said. At times, you can hear a reporter asking a question to Newton and see his lips not moving but hear another person’s voice.

Below is a recap provided by the Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-says-blog/article59135693.html

Q: What’s your message to Panthers fans?

A: “We’ll be back.”

Q: Ron (Rivera) said Denver two years ago had a tough time and they bounced back. Did you take that to heart?

A: “No.”

Q: Can you put a finger on why Carolina didn’t play the way it normally plays?

A: “Got outplayed.”

Q: Is there a reason why?

A: “Got outplayed, bro.”

Q: Was it pretty much what you had seen on film from Denver? Anything different they put in for this game?

A: “Nothing different.”

Q: Do we sometimes forget that defenses can still take apart the offenses in this game?

A: “No.”

Q: What did Ron Rivera say after the game?

A: “He told us a lot of things.”

Q: Anything in particular that was memorable?

A: “Nope.”

Q: Obviously you’re disappointed. On the biggest stage it’s difficult, I know.

A: nods head, doesn’t speak

Q: Did you see anything that you didn’t expect tonight?

A: “They just played better than us. I don’t know what you want me to say. They made more plays than us, and that’s what it comes down to. We had our opportunities. It wasn’t nothing special that they did. We dropped balls, we turned the ball over, gave up sacks, threw errant passes. That’s it. They scored more points than us.”

Q: Can you put into words the disappointment you feel right now?

A: “We lost.”

Q: On that fumble, were you trying to extend the play and that’s why you didn’t hit the deck for it?

A: “I don’t know.”

Q: Did Denver change anything defensively to take away your running lanes?

A: “No.”

Q: I know you’re disappointed not just for yourself, but for your teammates. You guys talked about being a band of brothers coming in. It’s got to be real tough.(Note: In the background of this question, you can hear Denver defensive back Chris Harris nearby talking loudly about the Broncos’ game plan to stop Newton).

A: (Newton shakes head) “I’m done, man.” (Newton walks off).

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Newton answers all of the questions asked but his responses were all very short except for the one regarding any perceived differences in Denver's defense on the field compared to film. The quality of the rest were a mixed bag of good and bad. He did not criticize his coaches and their decisions. He repeatedly said his team “got outplayed”. Newton’s responses also varied in succinct analysis and snarky arrogance and irritation. He did not help himself by refusing to reveal what head coach Ron Rivera told him and his teammates in the locker room. You can guess that it was a pep rally type speech applauding his team's effort and performance throughout the season.

Newton seemed to be distracted and not really paying attention as the questions increased. It appears he gets frustrated with something he hears and then immediately leaves. What he heard was a Denver Broncos defensive player being interviewed nearby. You can hear someone say “...game plan, load the box, force y'all to throw the ball, can you throw the football...and that was, that was the game plan". Newton said "I'm done" and immediately left.

Below is a YouTube video from Mike Lacefield with the title, “Cam Newton’s interview after Super Bowl 50 loss”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgcFFPqA0Ms

First of all, the Broncos are not at fault. Their defense should brag about shutting down Newton and Carolina’s offense. The Broncos had to hear from the media all week about the Panthers top ranked offense, and not their top ranked defense.

The NFL should be partly blamed for the uncomfortable environment. Why were there with players from both teams being interviewed within inches shouting distance of each other? If you need to interview players from the losing team in a large room to accommodate the extra media, why not have the losers come in first and then the winners?

Newton’s early exit from his press conference created a stir among football fans and media reporters. There were differing viewpoints. Some people saying it's unfair for Newton to have to answer these questions after losing the biggest game of his life. Some say it's fair for Newton to stand up and talk because he talks after every win. Why should a loss be different?

Newton received criticism from all types of media, including former players. However, there was a major difference in the reactions and credibility of ex-athletes turned media broadcasters and media reporters/broadcasters who have not competed at that championship level, lost/failed, and was forced to explain their bad performance.

Cris Carter, a black man, former NFL wide receiver, and now studio analyst for ESPN, had an interesting take that Newton should not have said “I’m done, man” to reporters and then leave but just leave instead of making a bad statement.. Carter explained, “I understand his emotion, but I much rather he get up than say something that might hurt the shine he has on his career, the shine that he has on his organization, and he’s truly one of the bright lights in the National Football League”.

The last part of that quote is eye-opening because of the publicity and marketing value of Newton and the Panthers. A short press conference after a bad playoff loss is not as bad as when Newton was in college. In 2008, at the University of Florida, he was arrested for stealing a fellow student’s laptop computer and allegedly threw it out a bedroom window. The charges were later dropped and he eventually transferred to Auburn University. The college troubles were a lot more serious than a sad and upset interview following a championship game loss.

It should be noted that three former star NBA players turned broadcasters, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin McHale did not support Newton's interview behavior,.as well. Barkley and O’Neal are two black guys and regular NBA studio commentators for Turner Sports. McHale, a white guy, ex-broadcaster, and former head coach was making a guest appearance on "Inside The NBA" with Barkley and O’Neal. Barkley went to college at Auburn, like Newton. O'Neal admitted that was scolded by his parents after not talking to reporters after losing the 1995 NBA Finals. McHale said he would have to answers questions from reporters when he was the head coach of the Houston Rockets. To paraphrase, McHale stated he would talk to the media following losses until he felt the same questions were being repeated over and over again and politely ask if there were any different ones before leaving.

While the three ex-athletes and studio host Ernie Johnson, a white guy, were critical of Newton, it wasn't disrespectful. They understood Newton's position and how a lot of the media has helped Newton's fan popularity by talking about his great on-field play and fun personality. This identification and classification of race with these men is only to show there are not all-White, anti-Newton and all-Black, pro-Newton people. Everybody understood Newton’s position, liked him as a person, but admitted he acted poorly.  

As far as the newspaper writers and non-athlete radio/TV reporters, a lot of them had this bizarre feeling of personal insult, rejection, and demand for more information. Newton did not scream or curse at anyone. He was mostly soft-spoken. Newton seemed to show a decent amount of respect to them at the beginning of the press conference. This is noteworthy, considering Newton was being asked to share his feelings after losing the biggest game of his life. It’s a rough situation. The media was harder on him then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell has come under intense criticism from fans for his decisions while only mild complaints from the media.

The fair-weather media instead combusted into an avalanche of thunder, lightning, and sun-burning meteor-like insults at Newton. It was so unfair, unprofessional, biased in disapproval of Newton that it makes your blood boil to the point of losing your mind.

Here is a sampling of the “objective analysis” of Newton’s on-field play from the self-righteous, self-absorbed, selfish, whiny, spoiled “neutral reporters”.

Andrew Perloff, Dan Patrick Show blogger and website editor/Sports Illustrated NFL writer, during the NFC Championship when Newton handed a ball to a fan after scoring a touchdown

"Am I only one who thinks handing ball to kids feels like a show for TV? I'm sure I'm about to get bombarded w/ a charity angle I don't know".

https://twitter.com/andrewperloff/status/691415958787899393

Rick Reilly, part-time ESPN writer, full-time Denver Broncos fan

“Cam Newton: "Show me a good loser + I'll show you a loser." OK,  Russell Wilson, last Super Bowl. Not a loser. Time to grow up.”

https://twitter.com/ReillyRick/status/697093150351831040

Dave Fleming, ESPN.com writer, commenting on potential injuries Cam Newton affecting his ability to recover a late 4th quarter fumble…

Here are Cam's dangerously twisted and contorted legs.

https://twitter.com/FlemESPN/status/697097973176598528

Neil Best, sports media writer for Newsday newspaper in New York, comparison between Manning’s losing Super Bowl press conference in 2010 and Newton’s in 2016. Here is the whole written conversation with reader Nick Devlin.

Best: If I ever play QB in a SB, I'll do a better job with media than Newton if I lose... and a better job choosing a beer than Manning if I win.

Devlin: players notice Cam getting slammed for having feelings, just reminds them to never say anything interesting

Best: Oy vey...

Devlin: you have to know how it looks when a media member grouses about how a player treats media. not exactly a noble fight.

Best:  I agree media members whining is tricky. But . . . how about being a leader and not leaving all question-answering to teammates?

Devlin: fair but bigger problem is criticism doesn't get applied evenly. last time Peyton lost, he blamed his line and no one cared

Best: At least he talked.

https://twitter.com/sportswatch/status/696708774795599872

            That last statement by Best is factually incorrect, Manning was not the only one to talk after a loss. Newton was not very forthcoming with information but he answered all 13 questions that were asked. It's perfectly okay to debate the tone of Newton's answers but he talked, too.

There is a deeper issue with the media coverage of Manning and Newton. There are major differences between the two people. Manning is acts very serious while Newton acts more cheerful. Manning is introverted and Newton is extroverted. Most importantly, there are racial overtones that, unfortunately, can’t be denied. Manning is white and Newton is black. The positive or negative coverage of each one is littered with accusations of bias.

Shaun King, a black writer and political activist, wrote an opinion piece for The New York Daily News called “Super Bowl 50 highlights racial double standard in NFL”. King’s main argument is that when Manning lost Super Bowl 44 with Indianapolis, he didn’t congratulate any New Orleans players and wasn’t criticized for it while Newton was heavily criticized for leaving a post-game press conference with the media even though he shook Manning’s hand before leaving the field. King cites many viewpoints to support his argument but they all come from white people.

Chris Chase ,of Yahoo! Sports, wrote back in 2010 that Manning “Walking off the field without congratulating Drew Brees may go against our misguided notion of what sportsmanship should be, but it wasn't at all disrespectful or bitter. It shows how much Peyton Manning wanted to win the game. And who can argue about that?”. A few days after the Newton press conference, Chase, now at Foxsports.com, wrote “It took just about three minutes -- three childish, sulking, petulant minutes -- for Cam Newton to completely undo all the goodwill he'd created this NFL season, giving ammunition to his army of critics and leaving his fans with little to say in way of a defense after storming out of his post-game press conference following the Carolina Panthers' Super Bowl 50 loss”. Chase added “Evidently, he was just an act”, regarding to Newton’s laughing and smiling. Chase noted that  “a man isn't judged by how he handles his successes but his defeats”. But isn’t Chase the same person who defended Peyton Manning not shaking any New Orleans player’s hand after losing the Super Bowl, six years earlier. So, it seems there is a pro-Manning, anti-Newton bias with Chase. Chris Chase is a white person.

Shaun King is black and his racial double standard piece fails to mention that Newton was criticized by black ex-athletes like him, as well. That’s more evidence that either Newton was wrong or the entire black/white sports media was wrong. King never points this out. Instead, he brings up an incident involving Peyton Manning and a trainer at The University of Tennessee, when he was a student in 1996. Jamie Ann Naughright stated that when she was treating his feet,  Manning undressed his lower half clothing with his butt showing and sat down on Naughright’s face. She reported the situation to the university and eventually filed a lawsuit and was awarded over $300,000 in damages for that and other sexual harassment incidents.

Allegedly, both agreed to not discuss the case in public. King claims that Manning apparently wrote it in his autobiography and described it as more or less playful mooning. Yes, Manning was clearly wrong for what he did but it seems like the case(s) was settled. Naughright received money as compensation. Why is King making a big deal about the case now? Is it a legitimate inquiry on why Manning broke a court agreement or is it an illegitimate attempt to slander Manning? King says it was “something far more nefarious that would've likely dogged a black quarterback for his entire career”. In the NBA, Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers, is being celebrated by the league and its fans as part of his ongoing retirement tour in his last season. There are almost no mentions at all of his sexual assault case in the summer of 2003. Bryant was charged with sexual assault but the court case was dropped when the woman accusing him did not testify on her behalf.

Shaun King and Chris Chase represented a clear problem with some members of the media, racial bias. This favoritism goes both ways, unfortunately. For Andrew Perloff and Neil Best, especially, are Perloff's accusations of Newton giving away footballs only for good press and Best's view that Newton's press conference was bad (and Manning's good) a byproduct of neutral analysis or biased favoritism?

In part 2, we will explore how these and other factors have led to poor viewpoints in response to newly-discovered information in Peyton Manning's criminal sex incident at the University of Tennessee in 1996. The actual name for that incident, mooning prank vs. sexual assault, is debated upon by Manning and his accuser. The media seems to have taken sides instead of reporting the facts and providing background from the past that would connect it to the present.

Super Bowl doesn't feel Super to this football fan

Super Sunday isn't super, anymore. For myself, watching the NFL's Super Bowl is more of an obligation than a choice. Football is still fun and exciting. The National Football League is dull and boring. It's too corporate. It's a business not a game. It's overhyped and oversold. To me, it underperforms based on over-the-top expectations.


The NFL doesn't interest me like many others. I watched last night's game with my older sister. She admitted the Super Bowl is the only football game she watches all year. She was much more excited and enthusiastic about the game than myself. Listening to her, she sounded like a hardcore football fan and I sounded like a non-football fan.


What was stranger was I missed most of the first half and it didn't bother me. I was asked by my youngest sister to go shopping for house supplies and medicine. I noticed we were delayed. I figured out at 5:30 that we wouldn't get back home until at least 6:00, probably 6:30.


I wasn't angry. I was worried, for my younger sister. a huge Patriots fan. I didn't care if I was late. I was more concerned about her feelings. She watches more football and sports in general than my older sister. However, they are both light years behind in terms of hours watching football.


Every game is the greatest ever even if it truly isn't. Every player is treated as the best ever with little or no historical context. Most of the Super Bowl championship games played throughout have been uncompetitive blowouts. Yesterday was only the 18th time in 49 Super Bowls that the winning margin was 7 points or less. If you turn that stat around, that's 31 bad championship games out of 49 played.


Major controversies are ignored by the NFL-specific and general sports media. Other sports are not given the same respect. The NFL is looked upon as the big bully in school that you don't upset. The biggest stories outside of the game were Seattle's Marshawn Lynch refusing to talk to the media and New England accused of cheating by using illegal footballs. The Patriots alleged cheating was covered by the media, although too much time was spent on the past and not enough on the effect on the upcoming game.


On the other hand, way too much time was spent talking about Lynch not talking to the media. There are 51 other players plus about a dozen coaches from the Seahawks team that are available. Why does the media need to talk to Lynch? It seems obvious he's uncomfortable. I don't know why but respect his privacy.


Sports reporters cared more about Lynch not talking than the NFL  not talking about major issues affecting the league. Questions to NFL teams and officials were more passive than aggressive regarding domestic violence, player safety, perception of bias for certain teams, and poor officiating.


Finally, the time between games was too long. Before last night, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks last played two weeks ago. That's 14 days from the conference championship games to the Super Bowl. In the break from those games, there were 12 days of no football.


One week or seven days between games is normal, two weeks or fourteen days takes the excitement away. Can we start the game already? Is it Sunday? Yes, bad news, there's a five-hour pregame show before the game, then there's a thirty-minute kickoff show before the actual kickoff.


Super Bowl, super annoying.

NFL, FOX lose credibility during Lions-Cowboys game

Today, the Dallas Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers in a NFC Divisional Playoff game in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Last night, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Carolina Panthers in Seattle, Washington in the other NFC game. The Dallas-Green Bay game is a TV ratings friendly matchup. So the events in the Cowboys victory over the Detroit Lions last week were disturbing for neutral fans with no rooting interest.

The National Football League and FOX Sports combined to make last Sunday's NFC Wild Card Playoff game between Detroit and Dallas into the WWE with the inept officiating, conflict of interest, and biased commentating. I swear I was watching old-school WWF/WCW/ECW...whatever wrestling. It felt to me and a lot of others on Twitter that this wasn't a normal controversy.

Football officials are human and mistakes just like players. When there are missed calls or perceived ones in the opinion of one team by officials, it seems like whining on most occasions. Very rarely, several officiating decisions with reasonable doubt will all go in the favor of one team and not the other. Sunday was a rarity.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Detroit was leading Dallas, 20-17,  and their offense had 3rd down and 1 at the Dallas 49-yard line. Matthew Stafford, the Lions quarterback, threw a long pass intended for Brandon Pettigrew. Pettigrew and the Cowboys defender were fighting for position with Pettigrew in front. There was contact between the two players, they fell down, so did a yellow flag, penalty called.

The Head Judge, closest official to the play, signaled defensive pass interference against the Cowboys. Their sideline was right next to the play and screamed in anger. Offensive wide receiver Dez Bryant ran onto to the field without a helmet to argue the call. The head judge walked back toward the original line of scrimmage spot where the play started. He talked to referee Pete Morelli who then announced the penalty through his on-field microphone.

To this point, outside of Dez Bryant running on the field, everything is standard practice for a penalty decision and announcement in the NFL. The yard markers indicating the length needed to get first downs was moved forward. The ball was picked up by one of the officials and moved to the yard line where the penalty occurred.

Then, Morelli reversed himself and said no penalty would be called. No explanation was given. It was mind-boggling because it seemed like Hitchens ran up against Pettigrew's body. Why did the officials throw a penalty flag, announce it for everybody to hear, and then take it back? It made no sense.

Sometimes, officials take back penalties after talking to each other as a group, However, they always make a decision on whether there is a penalty before making an official announcement. In this case, they went backwards. The penalty was declared and told publicly before the officiating crew was 100 percent sure.

Detroit lost a first down deep in Dallas territory and were forced into 4th down. The Lions could have tried another offensive play. They only needed one yard to achieve the necessary yardage for a new series of downs. There was another option, they could punt the football away to Dallas and defense. Detroit was leading by three points, 20-17, so they didn't to score any more points. The Lions decided to punt and it backfired, the kick was very short and the Cowboys offense had great field position.

If the officials did their job, that above scenario doesn't happen. Also,  the above paragraph and many other paragraphs in this entry don't get written. What a waste of space.

It got better, or worse, depending on your viewpoint on the Cowboys go-ahead touchdown. Tony Romo threw a 10-yard pass to Terrance Watkins in the endzone after scrambling away from Lions defenders. It appeared one of those Detroit players was illegally held from reaching Romo.

Later on, Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson was clearly bumped illegally past the five-yard legal contact zone. That was on Detroit's last offensive chance, a 4th down play with just over a minute remaining.

While there was a brief discussion of the called-back penalty, there was none about the other questionable non-calls made by officials. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman didn't address how much the picked-up flag helped Dallas while hurting Detroit. You heard tons of praise for the Cowboys offense and defense. This was an ongoing theme throughout the game.

Steelers, NFL, and NBC show too much care for game, too little for player health

The Pittsburgh Steelers showed a lack of care for their players well being in their playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. In turn, NFL officials and broadcaster NBC Sports didn't do a good enough job addressing the situation.

The Steelers played the last five minutes of the game with two offensive players having a head or neck injury of some sort. Ben Roesthlisberger, the Pittsburgh quarterback was wrapped up by two Baltimore pass rushers on a pass attempt. Roesthlisberger was then taken down to the ground, mostly on his back and sides. Upon impact, his head was still upright.

However, as his body landed, his head hit the ground and bounced up quickly. Within a one second span, the same thing happened due to the impact. Roesthlisberger stayed on the ground, laying down, for a few moments. The Steelers were forced to use a timeout because the clock was running. Then, Roesthlisberger was forced to leave the game due to specific rules. There was a timeout during non-stop play. The game clock was stopped because he was too slow, and with very good reason, to line up for the next offensive play. Also, he appeared to have an injury to the head/neck area. For safety reasons, players are forced to stop playing and go under physical/mental tests to make certain they are healthy.

Bruce Gradkowski replaced Roesthlisberger and completed his first pass, a 20 yard pass on 3rd and 21, to tight end Heath Miller. Miller caught a short pass, started running, and then was hit in the helmet by a Baltimore defender using their helmet. Miller stopped one yard short of the first down. He could barely stand upright when he rose up from the ground. Miller looked completely out of it. His eyes were looking one way while his head was turned the other way. Game officials waved Miller off the field toward the Pittsburgh sideline for further examination. Pittsburgh with their season on the line, needing two touchdowns, was now playing with two backup players on offense.

Nonetheless, the Steelers got a first down on 4th and 1 thanks to Gradkowski's passing. On first down, he nearly threw a touchdown pass except for a great knock away by a Baltimore defender in the end zone. Gradkowski was performing well in a pressure situation. Unbelievably, Roesthlisberger came back onto the field and replaced Gradkowski. On his first play back after the head injury, Roesthlisberger made a poor mental decision by throwing a pass where there was only one of his receivers versus two Ravens defenders. Baltimore easily intercepted the pass. On that same play, Miller reentered the game as well. On their next offensive possession, Roesthlisberger threw a pass to Miller who caught it but fumbled it away even though he wasn't hit particularly hard. The Ravens recovered the loose ball, and won 30-17.

It was idiotic coaching by the Pittsburgh coaching staff led by head coach Mike Tomlin. It was the football malpractice by the Pittsburgh medical staff to not examine Roesthlisberger and Miller more closely. They were more concerned about the short-term effect of losing one game compared to the long-term effect of people's well-being. Roesthlisberger and Miller should have been taken to the nearest hospital for X-rays and further testing. It was gutless, spineless, and heartless. The players are not at fault. They want to be successful for their employer like anyone working a 9 to 5 job every Monday through
Friday. What's different is football players put their lives at risk for entertainment value. At the end of the day, it's a game, not the end if the world.

The National Football League showed great restraint, concern for others, respect, and integrity. Five minutes later, they did the opposite. It's unclear if there was poor communication between the NFL and the Steelers. It's also unsure if it was complete incompetence. Was is favoritism toward the Steelers, one of the most popular teams? Did the NFL want Pittsburgh to score more points to at least keep watching even if they didn't care who won? Baltimore led Pittsburgh by a score of 30-15, at the time of the injuries. That's two touchdowns of six points each with one kicked PAT for one point and one run/pass from the opponents 2-yard line for 2 points. In other words, a lot.

Finally, game broadcaster NBC deserves criticism for not addressing the hypocritical behavior. Cris Collinsworth did a great job explaining why the Steelers needed to call timeout and replace Roesthlisberger with Gradkowski even though Roesthlisberger is the better quarterback due to the injury rules. Then, Collinsworth correctly explained what happened to Miller. For some strange reason, defenders CAN HIT OFFENSIVE PLAYERS BY HELMET TO HELMET IF THE PLAYER IS RUNNING. Defenders CAN NOT HIT RECEIVERS BY HELMET TO HELMET. However, runners are different.

When he ran after catching the ball, he became a runner and legal to hit in the helmet. However, Collinsworth waffled on giving any insights or opinions when both players were allowed to return after minimal examination. Michele Tafoya reported from the Pittsburgh sideline that Roesthlisberger talked briefly to one of the trainers who massaged his neck. Yes, let's worry about the neck even though the head was bouncing up and down on the ground.

Furthermore, he didn't even seek medical approval to re-enter. There was nothing from Collinsworth, the color analyst, and Al Michaels, the play-by-play announcer. What was the problem? Did they not want the Steelers team and fans mad at them for accusing the team of not playing by the rules? Did they not want to criticize the game officials assigned by the NFL which NBC has a contract with?

Wizards struggle down the stretch in loss at Oklahoma City

The Wizards played the Oklahoma City Thunder even for 44 minutes last night. The final four minutes showed Washington still is learning how to play big in big games. The players admitted they basically gave the game away.

The biggest giveaway was with under a minute to go. They trailed by 3 and had possession after a Thunder missed shot. There was plenty of time to take a 2-point shot closer to the basket. Point guard John Wall was indecisive about what he wanted to do.

It appeared he was waiting for Marcin Gortat to post up against OKC's Kevin Durant. Gortat had decent enough position and was much stronger. For some reason, Gortat couldn't fight his way to an open area.

Wall panicked and threw a soft cross court pass which was stolen by Russel Westbrook. The pass was intended for backcourt mate Bradley Beal. Westbrook grabbed the ball and raced down court toward the other basket. Somehow, Wall blocked Westbrook's layup attempt from behind without fouling. Unfortunately, nobody from the Wizards came back to rebound the ball. Oklahoma City picked up the ball and Westbrook scored to put the Thunder up by five points. That was the game, for all intents and purposes. Washington eventually lost by seven but it seemed closer.

Their offense late in the game exposed some fatal flaws. When they don't pass the ball around to open teammates, they struggle. Too often, the Wiz took many forced shots. Andre Miller grabbed a Thunder missed shot and dribbled down the right sideline. He was stopped from going toward the basket as the Thunder stayed still on defense and took a long shot falling away from the basket. Later on, Wall took an ill-advised three-point shot with no teammates near him or the basket for an offensive rebound. Even the three-point basket by Bradley Beal was a little unorthodox. Wall dribbled from the Thunder basket all the way to the Wizards basket and almost under the rim. He was close enough to shoot a 2-foot basket but decided not to. Beal isn't not at fault either. He didn't hustle downcourt to help Wall out on Westbrook's steal and game-changing basket.

It was a terrible loss in a completely different way than against Dallas on Tuesday. In that game, they didn't play well after the first 12 minutes. In Oklahoma City, the Wizards played superbly for almost all of the game, except the last few minutes. What makes it even worse? Tonight (Saturday), they take on the defending NBA champion Spurs in San Antonio, a place they haven't won in for the past 18 games going back nearly a decade.

Wizards look to put last game of last year behind

The Wizards will try to start the new year off right tonight. Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, the Wiz played more like goblins than wizards against the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday.

In the second game of a back-to-back, they looked tired. After beating Houston by a point, 104-103, Washington showed no offensive rhythm. They lacked defensive awareness and intensity. The Wizards were looking for payback after a close loss to the Mavericks. Instead, they were embarrassed in a 27-point loss, 114-87. What is about Dallas this week? The Redskins lost by 27 to the Cowboys to end their pitiful NFL season last Sunday. Tuesday's Dallas debacle was so bad for Washington that the starters didn't play the entire fourth quarter, rare in the NBA.

Tonight, the Wiz start another tough back-to-back stretch of road games. They face the high-powered Thunder with a healthy Russel Westbrook after a hand injury sidelined him for most of two months. Tomorrow, Washington travels to San Antonio to match up against the defending NBA champion Spurs. In addition, the Wizards are in a fight for first in their division. The Atlanta Hawks took a one-game lead in the Southeast standings with their win over Cleveland and the Wizards loss to Dallas.

Classic victory for Capitals in Winter

For the perceived lack of excitement and hype in the weeks leading in, the Capitals 3-2 last minute victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic felt really special for the team and its fans. Washington defeated the best team in the NHL this season in regards to Chicago. They stood toe-to-toe with a club that's won two of the last four NHL championships. All of the hockey world, many in the D.C. Metro area, and other casual sports fans watched the Capitals play well in a heavily-publicized game.

Whether in the playoffs or nationally televised regular season contests, the Capitals usually perform at their worst. Today, they played their best.

Alexander Ovechkin was a beast on the ice. He was scoring goals, hitting opponents, hitting goalposts with scorching shots narrowing missing the goal, blocking shots, etc...

Braden Holtby was a brick wall in goal. Holtby wouldn't let the Blackhawks break down his fortress. He stopped several great Chicago shot attempts from getting past him. Holtby appears to be playing like he did late in the 2012 season when the Caps made it to game 7 of the playoffs 2nd round.

Brooks Orpik was a warrior on defense. Orpik played today's game even though he severely injured his knee on Monday. He hit any Chicago player who moved. He intimated the Blackhawks.

Speaking of Blackhawks, Troy Brouwer used to play for them in 2010 and scored the winning goal against them today. Brouwer did something simple but yet complicated in a frenzied environment. He skated to the front of the net, watch where the puck was going, skated as fast as he could to it, and shot the puck on goal as fast that Chicago couldn't react. This all happened in the final twenty seconds of regulation play.

As a team, the Capitals fought through a lot of mental adversity during the game. Previously, this had not been a trademark of Capitals Hockey. They jumped of the Blackhawks by a score of 2-0 on Eric Fehr and Ovechkin goals in the first period. Then, Nicklas Backstrom took a questionable holding penalty while on an offensive attack. As he moved past Chicago's Jonathan Toews, Backstrom put his arm over top of Toews arm for leverage. It's a common maneuver in hockey but was ruled to be a penalty. Patrick Sharp scored seven seconds later on Chicago's power play. Early in the second period, defenseman John Carlson's backhand clearing pass hit a rut in the boards and stopped leading to a Brandon Saad goal to tie the game. Later in the second, they had to play three skaters compared to Chicago's five due to penalties. The Capitals could've packed up and left mentally. However, they stayed focused and did not allow any more goals.

In the midst of that sequence, the Blackhawks appeared to commit a couple of penalties which weren't called. Andrew Shaw tripped and took down John Carlson which caused Carlson's stick to lift upward connecting with Shaw's face. During the 5-on-3 power play, a Chicago player held Brooks Orpik's stick not allowing Orpik to clear the puck away.

Through two periods, the Blackhawks had five man-advantage power plays compared to the Capitals one. The Capitals did get a power play in the middle of the third period but didn't score. Late in the third with around three minutes left, Andrew Shaw knocked a Capitals player without possession of the puck. Shaw was not penalized. Seconds later, Shaw was hit up against the boards by Matt Niskanen. The hit was not jarring, a little from behind but mostly from the side. Niskanen was called for boarding.

Again, the Caps could've called it quits but played defense until Chicago received a penalty. Jonathan Toews was called for hooking. His stick was in poor position where referees look for players using their sticks to hold back opponents. TV replays showed Toews didn't use his stick to stop the Capitals player at all. It seemed to be a make-up call for the Niskanen called penalty and perhaps previous Chicago fouls not called. Whatever it was, the Caps scored with five skaters to the Blackhawks four with 13 seconds left.

The Capitals showed themselves, their fans, other team's fans, and hockey/general sports journalists, that they're a different team. They are physically and, most importantly, mentally stronger than previous seasons.

NHL's Winter Classic doesn't feel like it in lead-up to big day

It's weird. The NHL's showcase event of the regular season is tomorrow in Washington, D.C., featuring the hometown Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks, Stanley Cup champions twice in the last four years, but there seems to be a lack of interest. Locally, the dumpster fire known as the Redskins has taken attention away from the Capitals.

For as bad as the 'Skins played this year, media couldn't stop talking about them. There are two 24-hour sports talk radio stations, ESPN 980-WTEM owned by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and 106.7 The Fan-WJFK. Both stations discuss the football team way too much. The Redskins went 4-12 this season.

However, that didn't stop WJFK from doing an eight hour show, double the normal length, each Monday for five straight weeks. Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier host from 10 am to 2 pm. Chad Dukes hosts by himself from 2 pm to 6 pm. The three hosts were so confident the Redskins would defeat then one-win Tampa Bay that they would all do an eight-hour marathon on Monday. Of course, the 'Skins got blown out 27-7. At a time when less talk was deserved, more was given. It's not just radio. The Washington Post and The Washington Times newspapers devote multiple reporters to cover the 16-game Redskins schedule while the Caps get only one reporter for their 82 games.

The Capitals, for their part, have done a poor job promoting the game and not making it a series of events. In addition, the general public has almost been completely shut out. Yesterday, there was a media/alumni game played on the actual game rink at Nationals Park. Only select season ticket holders with VIP status were allowed to attend. Today's Capitals team practice at Nationals Park is closed to the public. That makes no sense. Many practices at their training facility are open to the public. Why is Nationals Park different?

The answer is ownership. Ted Leonsis, owner of the Capitals and the NBA's Wizards, has turned from a fan-friendly owner to a fan-hating dictator. After the Capitals failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007, individual game and season ticket prices were RAISED!

The team has struggled for much of the last five seasons. In 2009-10, they were the best team in the regular season but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Montreal. Since then, there has been a gradual decrease in wins, points in the standings, and lower rankings.

On local TV broadcasts of games on CSN Mid-Atlantic, tickets are constantly being advertised for future home games and empty seats can be seen at said home games. Capitals fans have invested lots of their money with no reward. Leonsis, the rest of management, and the PR staff need to step up. The fanbase has done its job.

Finally, the National Hockey League shares blame for putting a half-hearted effort in promotion leading up to the game. First, the league left HBO for less cable subscribers with EPIX. Also, the league's broadcast partners have heavily criticized the Capitals best player Alexander Ovechkin. At times, it's completely justified and correct. Other times, the negative analysis is mean-spirited and biased. Ovechkin is an outstanding offense player, however, he's a below-average defense player. When other superstar players like Ovechkin make similar mistakes, they are less criticized than him.

The NHL has also ruined the outdoor game spectacle. There were SIX outdoor hockey games LAST SEASON!, that's equal to the total amount in the PREVIOUS SIX SEASONS! There is another outdoor game this season in late January between Los Angeles and San Jose in Santa Clara, California. Yes, that last sentence was right. In fact, that game will be the second outdoor NHL game in California in two years (Anaheim at Los Angeles, last January). NBC, the NHL national broadcaster in the United States, has a lot of input in the teams selected for outdoor games. The Winter Classic outdoor game on New Years Day has featured Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Chicago and Washington on multiple occasions. Buffalo has participated only once. Teams in cold-weather hockey areas such as Minnesota, Colorado, St. Louis, and Columbus have not even played in an outdoor game, home or away. The scheduling is stale. It's the same teams over and over again. Tomorrow, the Blackhawks will play in their third outdoor game, second in 14 months, and second Winter Classic. The Capitals will play in their second Winter Classic, first at home. Boston has already been selected by the NHL as next year's host. They last hosted an outdoor game way back in...January 2010.

The Winter Classic is a special event which feels less special this year . The D.C. sports media, the Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League, the hockey media, and NBC all are at fault.

Mixed results for Caps, Wiz on Monday

It was strange watching the Wizards and Capitals games last night. The Caps started bad, played well in the middle, regressed to bad again at the end. The Wiz started good and continued through half of the third quarter, played poorly late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. They rebounded, literally and figuratively, late in the game.

For the Capitals, their special teams were not special. They were 0 for 4 on man-advantage power plays and allowed their opponent, the New York Islanders, to score a goal while having more players on the ice than the Islanders.

The Caps took too many penalties (7) resulting in playing more defense than offense. The Islanders scored on 2 of their 7 power plays including the winning goal in overtime.

The most frustrating part of the Capitals performance was their lack of effort and cohesive play in the first two periods. They trailed 3-0 early in the third and came back to tie before losing. If they played like they did when trailing 3-0 earlier in the game then they would've won easily.

The Wizards had to wait 30 minutes for their game in Houston to start. After 45 seconds of play, one of the basket rims nearest to the Rockets bench stopped working. It malfunctioned. The structure needed to be lowered, taken off the court, and a new one needed to be dragged out and lifted up to proper height.

When they started playing, the Wizards held their own with Houston, currently in the top four in the Western Conference of the NBA. Wizards led by 1 at 46-45 at halftime.

They exploded in the third quarter leading by as many as 18 points,  71-53. Paul Pierce, who seemingly has played for 50 years, scored 11 points in 6 minutes. The Wiz outscored the Rockets during the end of second and start of the third quarters, 38-13!

The Wizards, however, let the Rockets outscore them by a 31-13 margin to make the score even. I don't get it. They're the anti-Caps! They start fast and then slow down at times.

Thankfully, they started fast again after the game was tied. The Wiz scored nine straight points to make it 93-84. The Rockets didn't give up, eventually cutting the lead to one at 104-103 with one second left but ran out of time.

Time to give attention to other local teams not Redskins

Thank god, the Redskins season is over. No more games to watch. No more NFL studio shows talking about the team. No more wondering if this week's broadcasters are going to use the team's official nickname or boycott against it by not saying "Redskins". No more bad, depressing weekends.

Sundays and even Mondays can be fun again. There are great pro and college sports teams in action right now. The Capitals shut out the Penguins, their arch rival, in Pittsburgh on Saturday. They are playing their best hockey in nearly four years, 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. Overall, they are 18-11-6 entering Monday for 42 points and a tie for third place in their division. Capitals are one unified team with good offense and defense. They don't depend on only Alexander Ovechkin. Nicklas Backstrom is a great "Robin" to Ovechkin's "Batman". Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen have improved the defense so much this year. Orpik's physical hitting intimidates opponents while Niskanen's smooth skating and passing allows the Caps to not spend time on defense. In addition, new head coach Barry Trotz has diagrammed a playing system which concentrates equally on offense and defense.

 In the NBA, The Wizards are second in their division only due to playing fewer games than Atlanta have 21 wins already in 29 games. John Wall is an emerging superstar and quickly becoming one of the NBA's best players. Wall makes a highlight-reel pass or shot or both every night. Bradley Beal is a great shooter. He can make shots from anywhere and dribble past lazy defenders. Nene, Marcin Gortat, and Kris Humphires rebound opponent's missed shots with great frequency. The trio can score on offense close to the basket and far away.

In college basketball, there are a lot of good stories. The University of Virginia is third ranked in the entire country with a perfect 11-0 record. In-state rival Virginia Tech is an impressive 8-4 in a rebuilding season. Georgetown University is 8-3 including two spectacular overtime wins over Florida and Indiana, respectively in neutral-site, non-home games. The University of Maryland has a 12-1 win/loss total with their only loss against undefeated Virginia. Maryland has won three games outside the state of Maryland, two in Kansas City over Arizona State and Iowa State through winning the CBE Classic and one in Oklahoma at Oklahoma State. Finally, George Washington University defeated Wichita State in winning the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. Wichita State was ranked 11th with a 10-1 record entering the game. George Washington is 9-3 after winning the three round tournament.

For those of you scoring at home, all of the basketball and hockey teams have winning records with at least 12 games played. The Redskins have done that once since the beginning of the 1999 season. The best 12 game mark was a break even 6-6 mark in 2012 after they started 3-6.

In short, these teams are good, the Redskins are bad. Also, it's not going to change. Spend your time, money, competitive rooting interests on basketball and hockey. Don't pay attention to coaching changes, free agent signings, or draft picks selected by the Redskins. It's a waste of time, enjoy yourself with good, hard-working teams.

Too early to predict for NBA/NHL teams (Part 1)

It's too early to make season-long judgements on NBA and NHL. In the case of the NBA, they just started their regular season. Teams began playing games only last Tuesday. So, that's fourteen days or exactly two weeks. That's way too small of a period to make accurate assessments. For the NHL, their season began on October 8th. They've played for a little more than four weeks, 30 days. 30 days is a month so you have a larger sample size. However, it isn't big enough to predict a team or individuals performance over six months. Tomorrow, we'll look at the the NHL. Today, we'll examine the NBA.

In the NBA, teams have played between 6 and 8 games. Cleveland, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston, San Antonio, New Orleans, L.A. Lakers, Golden State, Minnesota, and Denver have played the least number of games (6). That's 4 Eastern clubs and 6 Western clubs. 8 of the 15 eastern conference teams and 8 of the 15 western conference teams have played the median number of games (7). If you're good with math than you know this without thinking and better than me getting headaches over single numbers. Three teams from the East {New York, Chicago, and Indiana} and one team from the West {Utah} have played the most number of games (8).By the way, I have a headache as I type this. No sarcasm garbage here.

The Cleveland Lebrons...errr...the Cavaliers started losing three of their first four games. ESPN commentators were debating whether we should be concerned, uh...no. Let's not get carried away. Cleveland won on Friday in Denver. They were on a west coast road trip, 2-3 time zones away from Ohio. On Monday, they returned home and defeated New Orleans. Cleveland is 3-3 after a 1-3 start.

Injuries also play a role in misjudging teams based upon success in previous years and expectations for  future years. Two teams who exemplify this are the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Indiana is without All-Star Paul George for the season after breaking his right leg in a Team USA Basketball practice. In addition to George, the Pacers are missing David West, George Hill, C.J. Watson, and Rodney Stuckey due to injuries. OKC are without last season's NBA most valuable player Kevin Durant for an undetermined time, due to a fracture in his right foot, and fellow All-Star Russelll Westbrook broke his right hand during the first game of the season and is out for 4-6 weeks. The Thunder are 2-5 in the West while the Pacers are 2-6 in the East. Again, these teams aren't this bad, when your team's best players get hurt, the worse results occur in most cases. The good news is there are 82 games in the NBA regular season, nobody has played 10 games yet, forget 20, 30, or 40.

I would wait until around Christmas time to give a more well-rounded look at the NBA. That's six weeks. Am I that number-savvy? No...I counted the Tuesdays after this one and allegedly came up with six. I would then give a mid-season report card when everyone plays 41 games. Then, I want to reexamine after play on February 12. There's a break of six days between games due to the NBA All-Star Weekend and extended weekday break. Finally, check-ups are mandatory on March 1, April 1, and a full prognosis after games on April 15, the season's final night. I sound like a doctor, I don't play one on TV, just the Internet. Everybody, it's early, relax.

Steelers fans and sports media show lack of judgment in aftermath of loss vs. Jets

Depending upon how you look at things, either the Pittsburgh Steelers lost or the New York Jets won their head-to-head NFL matchup. There are reasons why the 1-8Jets defeated the 6-3 Steelers on Sunday. New York played its best game of the season. Arguably, Pittsburgh played their worst, they did lose at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in September. That is the Bucs' only victory this season against eight losses. Maybe the Steelers played down to their competition. These are valid reasons explaining Sunday's outcome.

Here is the most-talked about reason for why the Steelers lost, singer Justin Bieber showed up at the team's bible study on Saturday. Yes, this is the reason why they didn't beat the Jets. I'm not whether to laugh or cry. It's so laughable that a person could bring bad luck to a team.

Sports fans believe in curses or jinxes. Announcers get criticized often for saying a pitcher throwing a no-hitter in baseball or a goalie is shutting out the opponent in hockey. Because the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Boston didn't win a World Series in baseball from 1918 to 2004. Yes, and I am 6'4", 220 pounds. I'm closer to 5'5" and 120, for the record. In reality, Boston had really successful teams but never the best team until 2004. The Jets haven't won a Super Bowl since 1969. They've just been bad to mediocre, no Joe Namath guarantee reverse jinx.

Steelers fans and sports media blaming the Steelers loss on Bieber meeting the team at a religious event is IDIOTIC, GUTLESS, AND HEARTLESS! Would these people say these things about their son, their brother, their cousin, their friend? Is it in spite? Is it jealously? HECK YEAH!What did Bieber do that was so wrong? All of the players who were in pictures with Bieber seemed to enjoy his company and vice-versa. Can't we all get along? Please, Bieber has done some bad things but is trying to make up for it now. Give him a chance.

Arqam's Angle - Audio Edition

Today, we're going to try something a little bit different. Instead of one written post on a particular topic, we're going to give two audio posts on two different but similar topics regarding hockey coverage by the hockey media.

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First up, the hockey media's relationship with Washington Capitals player Alexander Ovechkin and comparisons between him and Pittsburgh Penguins player Sidney Crosby. (Length - 13:14)


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6iKgh1EqWPceUw5MEZDeHFubzR5N0xwbzZNMXB6LTExX1FV/edit


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Here is the second part of Arqam's Angle - Audio Edition.

This is about the NHL's and broadcast partner NBC's scheduling of the cable sports network's NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry. In addition, we discuss the branding of "Wednesday Night Rivalry". Is it completely accurate? (Length 15:46)


 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6iKgh1EqWPcbHEtekJGUTJSaFBYajk0VHZYSnFObXZQYS1z/edit


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Please comment on if the audio file links do or don't work properly. Also, please give a few seconds for audio to start after hitting play. These were recorded off an iPhone. Thank you.

The Washington Redskins Vs. The Media

You would think the Washington Redskins would be a little more careful about public relations and media matters considering the never-ending debate about the team's nickname. After a stunning 20-17 overtime upset win over the rival Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago, everybody at Redskin Park should be happy. A two-game winning streak jumped Washington to a 3-5 record with two games against losing teams coming up, Minnesota and Tampa Bay. Well, this wouldn't be the Redskins if there wasn't some sort of circus. Where are The Flying Wallendas? Where is the fire-eating person? Where are the jugglers? I'm rambling.

 Anyway, the Redskins announced injured QB Robert Griffin III would start this past Sunday's game against Minnesota or did they? Many local and national reporters claimed through anonymous sources that this was the case. This was Wednesday, two days after Dallas and four days before Minnesota. Later, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden informed the media that no decision had been made. Basically, Griffin would practice with the first team along with then-starter Colt McCoy. If the Redskins' coaches felt Griffin was healthy to play, they would start Griffin. If not, McCoy would start. This is typical behavior for a team with an injured starting QB and a backup QB filling in as the temporary starter. The problem, lack of understanding and communication to the media.

So, Gruden said a decision would be made on Friday. No problem. Friday comes, Gruden says Griffin is the starting QB versus Minnesota. No problem. Sunday comes, problem. Britt McHenry and Adam Schefter of ESPN both reported issues with the Redskins and Griffin. First, Schefter claimed the Redskins decision to start Griffin was not made by head coach Jay Gruden. Schefter said , on ESPN's pregame show and in a story written by ESPN.com staffers, that owner Daniel Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen made the decision. It was interesting because neither Snyder or Allen said anything publicly.

The ESPN.com story's first sentence read, "multiple members of the Washington Redskins organization told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter this week that they believe the decision to go back to quarterback Robert Griffin III and away from Colt McCoy, who had led the team to two straight wins, is an owner- and general manager-driven decision".

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11808434/call-start-robert-griffin-iii-washington-redskins-came-top

Now the word "believe" was used by the people who talked to Schefter. "Believe" is different than "told" or "said". Schefter was "told" by sources who "believe"  the decision was from upper-level management. Do the sources know for a fact? Do they not know? Was the story made up by Schefter? Could it be a misunderstanding?

Well, McHenry's negative Redskins story was about how one person said "Griffin has alienated himself" from the rest of the team. This statement was in response to a bizarre incident when Griffin was speaking to reporters on Friday. A group of players yelled and screamed and cheered so loud for so long that the interview needed to be moved out of the locker room. Griffin and the reporters relocated to a nearby hallway where the screaming continued. None of the two sports radio stations, four D.C. TV stations, or around a dozen writers from various newspapers reported anything.

After the Redskins lost to the Vikings, 29-26, Gruden and Griffin both denied friction between the team and the QB and claimed Gruden made the decision to start Griffin. Okay, so, WHAT IS GOING ON? Is this the football version of the old TV game show, "To Tell the Truth"? Maybe it's the old "Truth or Consequences" hosted by famed "The Price is Right" host Bob Barker? Well, I don't know whose telling the truth but there are consequences (thank you, I'll be at the DC Improv on Friday night, sarcasm).

Anyhow, this bizarre mystery gets even more mysterious when 106.7 The Fan's Redskins beat reporter Brian McNally says it wasn't directed at Griffin. Better yet, the group of shouting players were mad at the media. An athlete mad at a reporter, never hear or see that a lot in sports. Insert your joke, wait, I just did. McNally explained there was ongoing tension between the players and the Redskins PR department/news media. 

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/11/03/another-pr-debacle-involving-rgiii-and-the-washington-redskins/

Among the highlights or lowlights were... "We’re trying to conduct an interview with Robert Griffin III in the middle of the locker room, and to have 12 to 15 guys just making a ruckus, yelling nonsense, interrupting what we were trying to do; it wasn’t funny — I don’t care what Ryan Clark said, I’ll go at him next time I see him, it’s ridiculous — it wasn’t lighthearted.”

In addition, McNally was asked by the radio hosts if the Redskins demanded he and other reporters to keep quiet. He told the station they reporters were "asked" but not "told" to not say anything if the Redskins punished their players behind closed doors. It was to be an agreement between and the media. In an interesting note, Britt McHenry, the ESPN reporter who reported the ruckus is based in the local Washington, D.C. area but acted as a national media person. McNally didn't single out McHenry and admitted a personal bias on her behalf while discussing the incident.

McNally sounded angry more toward the players involved at the end of one answer stating, “trust me, that bargain would not have been struck if any reporter thought that that was not going to be nipped in the bud, and I think Robert even referenced that — I think he said that in his press conference yesterday, that will not happen again, and it better not happen again". The question has to be asked, why did the local media not refuse the Redskins request to keep it private? Were the reporters afraid of more player backlash? For one thing, it didn't look good.

So, the Washington Redskins have insulted Native Americans by defending their racist team nickname, insulted their fans with two decades of mostly losing football, and insulted the local media with the actions of a few players. If it wasn't for the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, and Minnesota Vikings, the Redskins would win "Most Embarrassing Off-Field Behavior and PR for 2014".

In my opinion, Washington is a screwed-up organization with tons of locker room and media issues to fix. However, the Ravens, 49ers, and Panthers all planned on playing key star players (Ray Rice-Ravens, Ray McDonald-49ers, Greg Hardy-Panthers) following domestic violence arrests until media backlash forced them to change their mind. The Vikings in the month of September, Washington's opponent last week, were going to start Adrian Peterson the week after not allowing him to play due to a child abuse arrest then suspended him after fans protested.

At least, Washington hasn't had any arrests or suspensions for off-field conduct. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind! Yes, that was completely sarcastic.

The Washington Redskins ownership, front office, public relations staff, coaches, and players need to show better cooperation and understanding with the media. The media are two-fold. Local reporters need to stand up for themselves and not let the team dictate things. National reporters need to use better perspective of a local story in relation to a national audience. They also have to provide names when mentioning sources. This is sports, this is professional football, nobody is exchanging political or military plans which could affect the world. It's one football team in one professional football league. People's lives and/or professional careers should not be at risk.

It's bad enough for a football team when they're 3-6 with only 7 games left, it's worse when that isn't even the main story.

CBS confuses and frustrates viewers with hypocritical NFL bonus coverage

CBS Sports is usually good with their NFL coverage in regard to game distribution to markets and bonus coverage of in-progress games aired on their network. Yesterday, they sent conflicting messages to myself and other NFL fans. CBS elected to show the San Diego-Miami game to most of the country at 1:00 pm for the first game of their doubleheader. The only areas not assigned to that game were the states of New York (except cities Buffalo and Rochester) Connecticut, Vermont, Missouri, and Ohio and the cities of Scranton PA, Jacksonville, Orlando, Dallas, Cleveland, Houston, and Minneapolis.

The states of New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania received the NY Jets-Kansas City game.

The states of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and the cities of Jacksonville, Orlando, Savannah GA, and Baltimore were assigned the Jacksonville-Cincinnati game.

San Diego-Miami was a blowout in favor of Miami by 20 to 0 at halftime and 37 to 0 at the end of the third quarter. At that time, NY Jets-Kansas City was into the fourth quarter with 13:31 remaining and KC leading 24-10. At the same time, Cincinnati was leading Jacksonville 19-10 with 3:49 left in the third quarter. CBS elected to switch many stations, including WUSA-TV in D.C., away away SD-MIA. Good move, right? Well, sort of good and bad. The game we joined was the Jets and Kansas City Chiefs even though the Jacksonville Jaguars-Cincinnati Bengals ballgame was closer. Once the Jets-Chiefs contest ended with KC winning 24-10, viewers who watched that game from the beginning and the neutral markets from the SD-MIA game were sent to the studio instead of to the JAX-CIN game. The Jaguars had just scored a touchdown to cut the Bengals lead to 26-23 with 8:13 left in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati did score a touchdown, an 80-yard run, right after Jacksonville's TD.

However, we should have seen both scores and that game until it finished. CBS' next set of games was set for 4:25 pm, well, next game. Their two games were Denver-New England and Oakland-Seattle. They heavily promoted Denver-New England which was a matchup of two future hall-of-fame quarterbacks, the Broncos' Peyton Manning and the Patriots' Tom Brady. Understandably, it got top billing but almost to an annoyance. It was like a "this has the potential for a good game, don't sell us short" feeling.

Well, it was oversold and underperformed pregame expectations. New England jumped ahead to a 27 to 7 lead at halftime. At the same time, the winless Oakland Raiders were playing the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. As expected, the as Seahawks were dominating at home with a 24-3 lead at the half. Denver doubled their first half scoring total (7) in the third quarter alone (14). The Broncos had 21 points but couldn't stop the Patriots from scoring. New England scored 10 more points in that quarter to lead 37-21 after three quarters. Okay, closer but not real competitive. In Seattle, the Seahawks were struggling with the winless Raiders. Oakland outscored Seattle by a count of 14 to 0 in the third quarter. It was suddenly 24-17, in favor of
Seattle.

So, one game was 37-21 and the other was 24-17. Which game do you think CBS goes to in areas  outside New England and the Rocky Mountains? Remember, CBS switched the D.C. market to another game (NYJ-KC) during the middle of SD-MIA. How about the 24-17 game? Buzzzzzz, WRONG! It got worse, New England scored a touchdown to increase their lead to 43-21 with 13:36 remaining in the game. Still no switch. Seattle kicked a couple of field goals to lead 30-17. However, Oakland got another touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 30-24. Still no switch. Seattle eventually held on to beat Oakland, 30-24. In fact, viewers of the Oakland-Seattle game were switched over to the Denver-New England blowout when their contest finished first.get it, it's Manning versus Brady, two of the best QBs ever, but there was a much better game going on at the same time.

This was contradictory and hypocritical to what happened earlier in the afternoon with the San Diego-Miami and NY Jets-Kansas City. The conspiracy theorist in me says CBS made the switch in the first game for stations like WUSA-TV in D.C. because they knew the Jets would lose their game in KC and do it before the Broncos-Patriots game kicked off at 4:25. The move was about getting as many viewers to the game they most advertised. The best NFL game televised last Sunday by CBS was winless Oakland at Seattle. Before Sunday, I would have said there's a better chance of me winning the lottery. Maybe I should go play "MegaMillions". Anyway, it seems the NFL and its TV partners care less and less about presenting quality but quantity in terms of money.

I should be happy I am not a diehard fan of the crime investigation show,  "CSI". Two straight weeks now, CBS has preempted new episodes of "CSI" due to really long NFL games and their obsession with airing "60 Minutes" on-time but not delaying their lineup until all shows are shown in their entirety.