04/24/24
January 08, 2016
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Chad Finn asks why the media doesn't care about Peyton Manning and HGH while his colleague trolls Pats fans for asking the question a day before.
posted by yerfatma at 11:12 AM on January 08, 2016
I initially read yerfatma's post above and said to myself "What the hell does the guy from The Hold Steady care about Manning and HGH?," followed by "Oooh, and the drummer does not agree with him on it!" Would have been a lot more fun that way rather than a couple (or at least one confirmed) blowhards at the Globe.
I do find the lack of follow up on the story interesting/curious, but does anyone give a shit whether an aging QB coming off of a major surgery potentially used something to aid/speed his recovery?
posted by holden at 01:47 PM on January 08, 2016
Peyton Manning and HGH
Perhaps this will answer the question. Journalists live in fear of possible retaliation from the Manning family.
posted by Howard_T at 10:27 PM on January 08, 2016
holden: I do find the lack of follow up on the story interesting/curious, but does anyone give a shit whether an aging QB coming off of a major surgery potentially used something to aid/speed his recovery?I have for years on this site made clear that my feelings about PEDs in general are that they should be a) no less legal than they would for non-athletes, and b) should be allowed provided a reputable doctor (one who is in some way insulated from the pressure of overprescribing, i.e., not one working for the team/league, nor being paid directly by the athlete) is prescribing them and monitoring the patient. This would help the people who are in the .001% of fitness and extremes of human physical activity to have access to medicines that spur healing and bodily repair that they may benefit from in their line of work, while balancing the competitive drive and greed that would lead someone to take unnecessary risks.
That said, the CBA rules agreed upon mandate that PED abuses warrant a 4-game suspension, in much the same way a minor equipment violation maxes out at $25K fine. Ha ha. There should be much more discussion about whether Manning should even be allowed into the playoffs, since the key element- that HGH was sent to his home- is apparently not denied even by Manning himself (if I recall the facts correctly). Players have gotten suspended for less proof, and this has the interesting "water cooler discussion" wrinkle that the violation occurred while he was with another team. If Commissioner Tommy Boy wasn't ethically challenged, would he be fair in penalizing the "wrong" team if he suspended Manning when this story broke? And unlike football PSI changing in inclement weather, this is a clearly delineated rule, that has been applied repeatedly in the past.
So why is it different for the legacy golden boy? Why is Manning not getting the Bonds or Clemens treatment- or even the Ricky Williams treatment? It's a telling thing watching the NFL and its paid-for media representatives in ESPN and elsewhere successfully dance around this. I have yet to see a former QB crying on TV about Manning's "betrayal" of the sport and his team. It's a healthy reminder that the sports media, like the larger media, is fundamentally useless at exposing any truth that is not desired by the powers-that-be; a healthy reminder that people in general are often terrible judges of the merit of ther own logical conclusions.
And yes, I'm still salty at how even here on SpoFi, I had to sit through months of nonsense by so many otherwise intelligent people over the Deflategate idiocy. Where are the outraged pearl-clutching dearies who swore up and down that their own misunderstanding of the ideal gas law should lead to lost championships, lifetime bans, and other absurdly harsh punishments?
Seriously, where are they? Why is no one here commenting on this Manning story like they did the Brady one, when there's both more proof of wrongdoing and a clearer punishment that is not being applied?
posted by hincandenza at 12:54 AM on January 09, 2016
As someone who (I believe) did not really participate in any of the Deflategate threads, all I will say about the outrage discrepancy is that (1) there is a perception (right or wrong) that the Patriots are serial cheaters, and (2) people seem to get more worked up about allegations of chicanery that happens between the lines or could directly affect what happens between the lines than something that is much more indirectly related to what happens on the field. I get that Manning is about as big as it gets, but no one (media or public) has ever really seemed to care too much about PEDs in the NFL. It seems more likely than not that Antonio Gates will go to the Hall of Fame regardless of his PED suspension earlier this year, whereas better baseball players who were never suspended (Clemens, Bonds) may never get into Cooperstown.
posted by holden at 06:26 PM on January 09, 2016
their own misunderstanding of the ideal gas law
You're going to hang your hat on that? Really? I assume that you also believe the equipment assistant was called "the deflator" because he lost a substantial amount of weight, too.
I wasn't one who was standing in Foxboro with a torch and pitchfork, calling for Brady to get banned and have championships stripped, and don't feel the need to rehash 1,000 arguments over deflategate. That said, the balls used were non-compliant, whether intentional or mistakenly, and the NFL was right to address the situation. I would have gone with a strict liability approach, [generously] call it a first offense, and levy a fine against the organization. How the NFL and Goodell addressed it was a shit show, and that is what made it so ridiculous, but you're fooling yourself if you think that the Pats were completely exonerated of wrongdoing just because Brady's suspension didn't stand.
Why is no one here commenting on this Manning story like they did the Brady one, when there's both more proof of wrongdoing and a clearer punishment that is not being applied?
If Manning broke the rules, he should serve a suspension. I have not read or watched the entire Al Jazeera story, so I don't know how much proof there is that he took the HGH. It seems like he got caught, and you're right, the lack of cries for punishment seems strange. Maybe ol' Payton's just a more likable guy than Tommy boy.
Where are the outraged pearl-clutching dearies
We're waiting for the Pats to fuck up again, because the entire country hates Boston. It must be exhausting to constantly be the victim.
posted by tahoemoj at 06:34 PM on January 09, 2016
Where are the outraged pearl-clutching dearies who swore up and down that their own misunderstanding of the ideal gas law should lead to lost championships, lifetime bans, and other absurdly harsh punishments?
Were there people on this site that advocated reversing the championship or a lifetime ban for Brady?
posted by grum@work at 07:02 PM on January 09, 2016
Seriously, where are they?
Why would they bother, when you're around to do it for them?
It must be exhausting to constantly be the victim.
Exhausting for everybody when the constant victim's a perennial winner as well.
posted by Hugh Janus at 04:21 AM on January 10, 2016
Where are the outraged pearl-clutching dearies who swore up and down that their own misunderstanding of the ideal gas law should lead to lost championships, lifetime bans, and other absurdly harsh punishments?
It's tiresome to wade through a false characterization of my position, and that of others here, just to discuss DeflateGate. Your ire was misplaced then and it's even more misplaced now. Nobody here has a mad-on for the Patriots.
I attribute the lack of Manning reaction here to the unusual path the story has reached the public. I trust Al Jazeera to report on the Middle East, but the number of sports stories I've ever seen the network break prior to this one is zero. So I've been waiting for it to grow legs in more established media outlets.
Manning also was a non-entity at the time the story broke -- a backup quarterback who didn't seem likely to start again this season and might be done for good. If he leads Denver to a playoff win that'll probably kick the story into overdrive.
posted by rcade at 09:55 AM on January 10, 2016
"Omaha is code for drugs"
"UPS is for my wife"
"Substances you taste so good"
"Put you on my Papa John's"
"Chicken parm go fuck yourself"
"Al Jazeera infidels"
"Holly Holm will seek you out"
"Turn you into turkey leg"
posted by beaverboard at 11:06 AM on January 10, 2016
I attribute the lack of Manning reaction here to the unusual path the story has reached the public.
That's my complaint though: how much of the lack of outrage about Manning is because the league and the media organizations beholden to NFL money aren't reporting it so fans think it's no a big deal? CBS' lead announcer has already said he doesn't see a story in it and wouldn't deign to address it during a game (whether that's because he and Peyton are friends no man can say). Compare and contrast with a still-developing and incorrectly reported story that NBC discussed throughout the Super Bowl.
It gets old. I wish the league would just take away the Patriots' first-round picks in perpetuity and then let them get on with whatever nefarious deeds they feel like doing.
posted by yerfatma at 08:14 AM on January 11, 2016
There's obviously going to be pressure inside NFL partner networks to sit on the Manning allegations, but the media doesn't always blow up stories like this overnight. I can remember how the Barry Bonds PED story broke in dribs and drabs. The first piece was in a small daily newspaper in California.
posted by rcade at 08:55 AM on January 11, 2016
From Peter King's MMQB column today as a "Tweet of the Week":
I still don't get why some fans crave Peyton Manning being guilty of HGH use so much. It's like it consumes them. I don't understand it.
— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) January 8, 2016 posted by yerfatma at 01:29 PM on January 11, 2016
Despite appearances to the contrary, Chip Kelly will not be coaching the Texas Longhorns.