Media Assists NFL Tampering

Quick thought – Almost every NFL reporter out there has been writing or talking the last two weeks about which team is interested in which free agent, and which player is likely to end up at one of a couple of teams. Isn’t this just enabling tamperers? You can assume there are plenty of league memos out there about tampering. It’s pretty transparent when the ones spreading these types of rumors are the same ones who are also crying about cheating scandals and following the rules, when in reality they are fine with it…as long as they understand it and benefit from it.

This piece: If everyone’s doing it, free-agent tampering is OK from ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas tells us that the tampering certainly goes on.

The media gets used in this process by reporting rumors and interest from both players and teams, and is quite happy to oblige with this.

You could make the argument that gaining an illegal advantage on acquiring players is a little more egregious than illegally obtaining information that is perfectly legal to have in other ways.

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Mike Florio has the latest “scuttlebutt” on the “Spygate II” scandal with Matt Walsh.

I’m reluctant to post that link, as I’ve avoided linked to all of Florio’s stuff that goes the other way. In fact, Florio has tried to play a tricky game here, spreading rumor and innuendo involving the Patriots situation with as much (or more) gusto than anyone out there, while at the same time making comments such as the following:

But the sense we’re getting is that many in the media are hoping for this to become a story of cheating and scandal and cover-ups and suspensions and forfeits.

“Many in the media?” Does he include himself in that?

That’s not to say that Florio doesn’t sometimes provide interesting information or sources. This Sport Magazine archive piece about spying in the 1960’s NFL was a great read.

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A couple of WEEI items:

If you’ve listened to WEEI in the last week, you’ve heard that Dennis & Callahan producer Steve Ciaccio has been blogging from spring training. You actually have to navigate the WEEI web site a bit to find it, but here’s the link if you’re looking for it:

38 Glitches: Ciaccio’s Spring Training Blog

Talkers Magazine has its list of the 100 Most Important talk Radio Hosts in America. At #91 is this guy:

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The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and Hall of Fame will name The Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan as Sportswriter of Year on May 3-5, 2008, in Salisbury, N.C.

Here are the state winners for New England:

Massachusetts
Sportscaster – Mike Lynch, WCVB
Sportswriter – Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe

New Hampshire
Sportscaster – Jim Jeannotte, UNH Sports Network
Sportswriter – Allen Lessels, The Union Leader

Rhode Island
Sportscaster – Steve Hyder, Pawtucket Red Sox
Sportswriter – Joe McDonald, Providence Journal

Connecticut
Sportscaster – Kevin Nathan, WVIT-TV
Sportswriter – Mike DiMauro, The Day (London)

Maine
Sportscaster – Dale Duff, WZON
Sportswriter – Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News

Vermont
Sportscaster – George Commo, Vermont Broadcast Sports & Jack Healey, WYSB
Sportswriter – Mike Donoghue, The Burlington Free Press

Congratulations to all!