Well, yea, I knew that! But that's the only connection between Don Banks and Don[nie] Brasco: that they have a similar first name.Donnie Brasco was the undercover identity for FBI agent Joseph Pistone. It's still a shitty nickname.
You know that every time Pete stops by the office - in between being annoyed by his travel travails, stopping at the Starbucks whether he needs to or not, peeing into the display case at the local super marchette for this week's beernerdness, or reminding John Fox (gently) that his defense sucks - Pete stops into Donnie Brasco's cubicle and yells, "HEY DONNIE BRASCO!" and then does a little shuffle-step, finger-point, over-smile, wink while Don Banks rolls his eyes and sighs softly.If someone walked into my office, and said "Hey, Christopher Moltisanti!"
I would just like to say that I am several weeks into my subscription to your Peter King newsletter and I am pleased to report that I am a satisfied customer.Well, yea, I knew that! But that's the only connection between Don Banks and Don[nie] Brasco: that they have a similar first name.
Why not "Don Draper", or "Don Mattingly," or "Don Corleone"?
It's just another sign that King is a mental midget, that "ooo, your name is like the name of that guy in a movie I once saw! Heheh...I'm a-gonna call you that! Funny. Funny."
My first name is Chris. If someone walked into my office, and said "Hey, Christopher Moltisanti!" my reaction would be "What? I'm sorry...excuse me? Did I dress like a mobster today or something?" and I'd just think the person was odd. If someone referred to me that way in a national or industry-related publication, I'd be outright pissed about it, because it just raises the question "what the fuck does THAT mean?" Honestly, it would be disrespectflul and thoughtless.
I get that King is buddies with Don, but it doesn't change the fact that it facially makes no sense, and if it's referring to an inside joke (maybe Don refers to his pecker as "Johnny Depp"), then keep it out of the fucking column because it's just sophomoric and dumb.
Plus I'm not sure why he thought that was a factoid that would only interest him. Boobs interest me greatly.Hey, if you don't have a better travel note why the fuck are you including it?
Does he think fans will be upset if he didn't?
And the whole "factoid that may only interest me" thing pisses me off. If it truly would only interest you, why include it? If you are trying to be overly cutesy in a "it may only interest me, but it should interest you" way , well go fuck yourself. You are not that insightful.
And then you skulked back to your cube... skulked.You know that every time Pete stops by the office - in between being annoyed by his travel travails, stopping at the Starbucks whether he needs to or not, peeing into the display case at the local super marchette for this week's beernerdness, or reminding John Fox (gently) that his defense sucks - Pete stops into Donnie Brasco's cubicle and yells, "HEY DONNIE BRASCO!" and then does a little shuffle-step, finger-point, over-smile, wink while Don Banks rolls his eyes and sighs softly.
King also refers to every co-worker named "William" as BILL BRASKY!
Sometimes, like today, when I read his column I imagine that his editors actually hate him so much that they've decided to run everything he says, consequences be damned. The pedantic hectoring they used to get has convinced them that every field hockey and shivering woman story runs, in it's entirety, because someone, somewhere will recognize King for the ridiculous parody he has become.
Wait. So Adele "seemed" to be there? Did she play or not? WTF?PALM BEACH, Fla. -- At the NFL meetings every year, there's a Monday night reception with a band (Adele seemed to be the flavor of the evening last night)...
"The NFL threw a party with a world famous singer! PEOPLE FROM THE NFL MINGLED AT IT! They asked me questions about football!"...and most of the coaches, owners, GMs, league people and media mixing it up. At this little soiree, I got one question about 18 times: "You think Bill Parcells would come back?''
Of course. The stock "I don't know, but I'll make it sound like I kind of do" response.I do, under the right circumstances.
Wow. Awesome.I covered Parcells for four years as a Giants beat writer for Newsday in the '80s, and have known him well since then
Wow. Awesome. So, you like, asked him, right? If he was coming back?I watched a spring training game with him in Jupiter, Fla., on Monday. And so I've spoken with him about the Saints situation at some length. And there may never have been circumstances more right than these for Parcells to get back on the sideline.
You didn't ask him, did you, Peter King?We'll see what happens. I don't think it will take long to decide.
Oh, gee, thanks: "Here's the rub: if the Saints don't need a new coach...they won't hire one! Stay tuned!"But the one immediate hangup would be this: If Payton decides to appeal the suspension to Goodell, he'd wait to hear the results before the Saints acted on Parcells. Because if the suspension is reduced so Payton would coach part of this season, he likely would turn to an interim coach on the staff instead of Parcells.
Sam's argument in a nutshell: "I THINK that the salary cap stuff is bogus. I ALSO THINK that it was more about camarderie and motivation. I ALSO THINK that nobody ended up getting hurt as a result. Oh, and The Patriots had two picks, which kind of is irrelevant but I wanted to throw that out there because, in my mind, it means the punishment wasn't that severe and it should have been worse, because I THINK that Goodell was hiding something, and I THINK the tapes implicated a lot of people, and I THINK that they must have given an advantage to the Patriots. I THINK Spygate is worse, and I THINK my opinions are better than everyone else's. HOW CAN PEOPLE NOT AGREE WITH ME!?""Love the column. Thanks for all your analysis and hard work. I have to call BS on your comparison of Spygate to Bountygate. You wrote that Bountygate is more severe because it "involves violations of the salary cap and tax code [and] involve[d] players being incentivized to knock foes out of the game." Violations of the salary cap and tax code? Please. If you've ever won your office NCAA Tourney pool, you violated the tax code by not reporting that money. And that's about the same amount of money by comparison these millionaires were throwing around. I think the bounty system used by players was more about camaraderie and motivation than actually hurting someone. How many opponents were actually carted off because of this system? Zero.
You also claimed that "[t]here are more people involved in this case... than in Spygate." How do you know? Goodell famously destroyed all the evidence and basically never shared any of the information with the public. While the Patriots lost a first-round pick, they had two first-round picks that year, so the penalty is not as severe as it may seem. Bottom line: while Bountygate encouraged excessive play on the field, it did NOT create an unfair competitive advantage for the Saints. They did NOT win games because of it. On the other hand, we will NEVER know the true impact of Spygate. The Patriots' cheating could have given them a Super Bowl trophy or two or three. I will always be mystified by how Spygate is continually minimized. In my opinion, Spygate is exponentially worse than Bountygate.''
King: "Um...you might be right, but I disagree!" (I'd like to point out that by highlighting the manpower it would possibly take to "interpret" the signals, it just goes to show that the signal taping, which is allowed but only in certain areas, has very little practical, in-game, benefit. It's not like (and this is how I imagine most non Pats fans view it) they got a signal, called down to the sideline 3 seconds later, and the playcaller could adjust immediately. That's not what happened. But...whatever.You're saying you think more than 33 people were involved in the taping and interpretation of the signals taped by the Patriots. I don't think so. Spygate is not continually minimized. A team lost a first-round pick because of it, and $750,000. I do agree the Saints were excessively sanctioned in this case (Payton in particular), and I do believe you could rightfully argue Belichick should have been suspended. But we'll have to disagree on the Spygate versus bounties, and which was worse.
My oh my, what a marriage that would be.If Peter King married Lynn Johnston, drleather would spontaneously combust
is there anything less surprising that King still thinks Leno is the best? (see below)A) This is not funny at all.
B) It also makes no sense. It's obviously Leno's way of just making fun of Cleveland, because, (I guess) Leno thinks everyone loves to rag on Cleveland.
C) I can't believe King thought this warranted a shout-out.
D) It makes perfect sense that King thought this warranted a shout out.
Just when I think King can't get to me anymore--this bothered me way beyond what you, JMOH and PDW laid out...Wait... So the woman was being an idiot for having the GALL to be fucking COLD?! How is the airline not slightly at fault, even a little, for not having the blankets anymore? Frankly, that's kind of fucked up. But whatever. My guess is that King was riding first class on a small plane, and heard the woman from behind him, or the attendant complained to her buddy in front of King up in 1st Class. How does he know that you only get them if they have extras in 1st Class? Also, if that's a possibility, then why is it annoying for a woman to ask it, you know, they had any extras up in 1st Class? Isn't that what attendants are for? To get passengers shit so they don't go wandering around looking for things themselves, and in the process create a safety risk?
Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing
RT@SilvrnBlckDaily: Your attempt at making a "familiarity" assertion was a stretch ... It's slightly possible I know more than you do.
Here's what I think happened after looking at their timelines:So...where's the rest of the exchange? I'm sorry, I legitimately don't know how to read tweets. Like, is that one FROM Peter King, or TO Peter King?
He wondered the other day. He's not currently wondering this now? And he didn't wonder if Schiano would BE the guy he'd recommend, just wondered whether he was the KIND OF GUY he'd recommend. Then, to hedge his wondering further, he would like to remind us that you never know what the future could bring. Which is very helpful. Saves us all tons of money on tarot readings, I'm sure.I wondered the other day, when Belichick retires, if Schiano is the kind of guy he'd recommend to be his successor as Patriots coach. You never know what the future could bring.
"Guys, GUYS! OMG. I was in FLORIDA, you know, the state that Trayvon Martin got shot in? Right, well, I was at some sporting event that had nothing to do with that case, no logical connection at all except that I was 120 miles away from where it happened. And guess what? There was an ad for a shooting range, where people shoot guns in a safely controlled environment. So, I like, put on a really obnoxious and judgmental expression right there in public. It was so obvious that some guy had to point out to me that, unlike in New York (where I'm from), some states have shooting ranges."Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
Two hours down the road from Sanford, Fla., site of the Trayvon Martin killing that has inflamed the nation, I sat down for a relaxing exhibition game in Port St. Lucie the other day. On the scoreboard before the game was an ad, with a voiceover by the PA announcer, for a shooting range and gun shop near the stadium.
A fan (presumably a local person, though he never said) who I'd been talking with a couple of seats away noticed me listening to the ad -- with nine soundproof areas in which to practice shooting -- and said, "You're not in New York anymore, Peter.''
Is it just me or does King's little blurb have nothing to do with, and shed no light at all, on the subject of Leaf's tweet?Tweet of the Week I
"I've made sum mistakes, & have no excuses. I'm using the tools I've learned 2 move forward rather than backwards, & will B open 2 talking abt the details in the days 2 come. I'm confident that thr will B further understanding when the facts R revealed, & feel vry blessed 4 all of the support, esp from my friends & family.'' #beblessed
-- @ryandleaf, former quarterback Ryan Leaf, after being arrested and released on $76,000 bail Friday in Great Falls, Mont., for burglary and drug possession.
The Great Falls Tribune reported Leaf was found with 20 Oxycodone pills after a month-long investigation by the Central Montana Drug Task Force. He is being investigated for taking pain pills from a home in Great Falls.
Last November, I had Leaf on my SI.com podcast. We talked for 25 minutes about the weight of being the second pick in the 1998 draft (behind Peyton Manning) and the rehab he went through after getting hooked on pain pills, and surgery to remove a brain tumor. After going through rehab, he said he was most impacted by therapy with this message: You've got to move past this bust thing, and you don't have to live the rest of your life making up for your football failure in the NFL. He told me that day: "The fact that they said I didn't have to do anything associated with football ever again was like a huge weight being taken off me. I felt like that might be the only thing I was ever going to be able to do and to have such a rock that I lugged around for so long, being the bust of all-time or whatever, that was just too consuming for me, I think.''
"Let me place this contrived stupidity in here, in a forced effort to ostensibly talk about coffee, to tell you again how luxurious my life is."j. Coffeenerdness: I've got to hand it to the folks at the Starbucks on Okeechobee in West Palm Beach. (Or is it Palm Beach? I always get the borders of the two municipalities mixed up, except when I'm within a quarter mile of The Breakers, which is a far more luxurious a place than I ever deserve to step foot in.) Terrific baristas at that Starbucks, friendly, lots of power outlets, good place to write, nice little patio outside to write at too.
Really? He can't grasp that a huge marketing change in the NFL would have enough interest to be a "news story"? How many millions do they sell every year in merchandise? How many fans wear the jerseys to games? He does cover the most popular sport in this country right?Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing
MT@Rachel__Nichols: NFL unveils new Nike unis/gear today. Starts at 11ET. You excited, or wary?...Incredulous--that it became a news story.
All the while quoting 30 year old movies, and discovering bands such as U2Don't you realize that Peter King is above the Madison Avenue commercialized bullshit society that America has become? Man, you people are dull robots. Now if you excuse him, King has to grab a Starbucks latte, fire up his iPad2 and read the latest John Grisham novel while he waits for the next JetBlue flight to take him to Orlando where he's going to enjoy a Budweiser at Margaritaville.
http://www.wwltv.com/around-the-web/Vilma-SIs-King-get-into-heated-Twitter-exchange-146043195.htmlThey said on the radio that King and Vilma had a bit of a back and forth on twitter and Vilma called him a "glorified blogger".
That is fan-fucking-tastic.King wrote: “@SI_PeterKing: Curtis Lofton, Chris Chamberlain, David Hawthorne. Get the message, Jonathan Vilma?”
Vilma responded that u know how to type peoples names??
But that difference is the really damning thing for King, though; as much as some people get annoyed with Simmons, Simmons has decided to branch out and use his status as leverage to do some legitimately cool shit.EDIT: in a strange way, he's kind of the mirror image of Bill Simmons. Simmons is a pure Op Ed guy who, at times, seems to want to be respected more as a "Real Writer." King, on the other hand, has serious bona fides as an actual reporter, but has decided he'd rather just give his personal thoughts on everything. Where they differ is that (IMO), Simmons shorcomings are merely frustrating and can be excused as a sort of over-ambition. King is just getting lazy.
Which is why he often quotes PeteAbe ... kindred spiritsKing is really petty in his tone with Twitter. He really does come across as a loud mouth jerk who can't "take what he dishes out."
Is he trying to out-lazy Cafardo and Abraham on purpose? How long would it have taken him to discover the name of the BC goalie?j. Congrats on the national title in hockey, Boston College. Heck of a job by your goalie
I thought that same thing.Is he trying to out-lazy Cafardo and Abraham on purpose? How long would it have taken him to discover the name of the BC goalie?
Um. I don't know, Peter. There are a lot of possible ways that could go. I'm no pro football writer or anything, but hasn't Belichick taken some flak for trading his high picks the last few years? It's arguable (at least in some parts of the internet) that they were one player away from winning it all in 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011. One player. Yet BB often trades high picks. What if he didn't for one of those years? What if they had drafted a hot young receiver in 2006? What if they had drafted another offensive lineman in 2007? Who knows? And, frankly, isn't New England a "live-for-today" team? I mean, Brady isn't getting any younger. Maybe BB should think about moving up in the draft, no?• New England has five picks in a 66-pick span in the first two days of the draft (27, 31, 48, 62, 93). How smart would they be to deal No. 31 to a live-for-today team in the top 12 of this draft (Buffalo?) for a first-rounder next year?
Wait, you're not going to tell me? WTF? Seriously, Fuck You! God, you're an asshole. I think I have a moral imperative to fucking hit you in the face for being a dick. Unfortunately, the law prohibits me from doing so.• Cleveland will reap the benefit from the Julio Jones trade last year...
SWEET!The mere discussion of what's legally right is what turns my stomach the most... This is one of those cases where what's legally right shouldn't matter. What's morally right should.
Thanks, Peter. It is getting a little.... [Peter King then spends 2 of the next 3 pages talking about bounty related stuff].Part of the method is I'm so damn sick of all the other bounty-related crap that keeps oozing from the NFL's pores, and I figure you must be too, that I want to lead with actual football.
Um. Ok. Is there a point to this? Guy spells his name funny? Does Peter King think that the guy's name is inherently funny (which is kind of vaguely racist, but whatever)?When is Demetrius not Demetrius? When it's Demetress.
But, you know kids, don't go ratting out other bullies just because you legally can. Plotting to hurt people is not the moral equivalent of kind of embarrassing your friend.n. I really want to see Bully. And I will. But I'm not looking forward to the two weeks of depression that would be sure to follow.
You forgot the best part ...Happy marriage, Jeff Darlington. Jeff's the terrific recent NFL.com and NFL Network hire, and he got married Saturday. Hear it was a lively affair. Good luck, Jeff. You're 31.7 years of wedded bliss behind me.
Seriously? In one sentence King congratulates someone on getting married, and then in the next he makes it a contest that Darlington can't win because King has a 30-year head start. Might as well write "Hey everyone, I've been married for 31 years and we're still together. I'm such a great husband even though I work long hours and travel a lot."
-Peter King, a couple of weeks ago.I watched a spring training game with him in Jupiter, Fla., on Monday. And so I've spoken with him about the Saints situation at some length. And there may never have been circumstances more right than these for Parcells to get back on the sideline.
-Peter King, today.It's looking more and more as though the Saints will fill their interim head coaching job from within -- and not with a big-name coach like Bill Parcells