Why Do I Continue to Read Peter King?

[Corsi]

This was hilarious to me. His "admission." And Pete knows quite a few of them! I bet some of his best friends are vegans!

You could replace "a vegan" with "a homesexual" and it'd work. It was just a vehicle for King to brag that he knows (and accepts!) people of alternative lifestyles.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

If he was an organizational ass-kisser, wouldn't they love to talk to him? He's bascially telling us that the Saints think he's too "hard-hitting" and an NFL mouthpiece.

I see what you're saying here, but, generally, in the journalism biz, if you're always critical when it's appropriate and report everything basically straight, your sources will respect you and even when you report bad news about them, they can deal.

But, if you're an ass-kisser 99 percent of the time, and then jump on a story because you don't have a choice and it's juicy, your sources feel betrayed because (as King has admitted) you don't don't normally do any critical reporting, and now that you're doing it, you're doing it in a half-assed way and just weighing in with opinion rather than reporting new details.

It's a "I thought you were my friend!" kind of moment. If you're good at your job, that shouldn't happen.

 

[Reverend]

I see what you're saying here, but, generally, in the journalism biz, if you're always critical when it's appropriate and report everything basically straight, your sources will respect you and even when you report bad news about them, they can deal.

But, if you're an ass-kisser 99 percent of the time, and then jump on a story because you don't have a choice and it's juicy, your sources feel betrayed because (as King has admitted) you don't don't normally do any critical reporting, and now that you're doing it, you're doing it in a half-assed way and just weighing in with opinion rather than reporting new details.

It's a "I thought you were my friend!" kind of moment. If you're good at your job, that shouldn't happen.

Heh. I wrote almost the same thing but with pretty much the exact some point but got distracted, lost it and forgot about it.

But yes--he doesn't get that this is a sign that his approach to journalism is not good. Or, stated differently, he's not the guy that people are terrified of hearing if they might take a stance bad for them because of the sheer legitimacy and gravitas the journalist wields.

 

[Skeesix]

Nah, he'll just think that the fact that some teams turn him down makes him a good investigative reporter.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Feral Cat Nerdness: while the feral cats at McDonald's provide a good initial scare, the residual after effects were tepid and bland. If you want a good cat scare, I might suggest getting mauled by a lion, or if you want a real treat a Bengal tiger.

 

[DJnVa]

I see what you're saying here, but, generally, in the journalism biz, if you're always critical when it's appropriate and report everything basically straight, your sources will respect you and even when you report bad news about them, they can deal.

But, if you're an ass-kisser 99 percent of the time, and then jump on a story because you don't have a choice and it's juicy, your sources feel betrayed because (as King has admitted) you don't don't normally do any critical reporting, and now that you're doing it, you're doing it in a half-assed way and just weighing in with opinion rather than reporting new details.

It's a "I thought you were my friend!" kind of moment. If you're good at your job, that shouldn't happen.

Gotcha. Thanks.

 

[Granite Sox]

He has been more or less shunned in Foxboro since Spygate under the same basic set of circumstances, not that he was ever buddy buddy with Coach Bill or the organization to begin with.

Both the Saints and the Patriots have told him to buzz off. I'm sure there are others as well.

 

[joe dokes]

He's so clever:

I think my gut feeling is the Jags won't blink in their contract standoff with Maurice Jones-Drew. Gut feeling, but nothing is etched in stone. Shad Khan's a smart businessman, but he's also a fan who doesn't want to incur the wrath of his tenuous fan base.

Jags' New Braintrust:

 

[bbc23]

So Peter King was in Raiders camp this Wednesday I believe, this was from a chat with Raider beat writer Steve Corkran's chat on his experience with him

 

[Corsi]

MT @Jeff_McLane: If I may take my reporter's cap off for a moment. I've spent time w/Reids this yr. My deepest condolences... You may, Jeff.

http://bit.ly/PwWVOX

 

[PBDWake]

Was just coming in here to post that. What a fucking douche.

 

[Leather]

First, because I have been accused around some parts of being a jerk, I'll say something nice about Peter King:

It's nice that took the time to say something about Andy Reid's dead kid. Say what you want about King, but he does seem to have perspective, and can see the big picture in life.


That being said:

The Eagles didn't sign Vick because Reid's sons urged their father to do it. But if you know Andy Reid, you know he listened to his kids, and their feelings became a piece of a very large puzzle. Three years later, Garrett and Britt have been right on the money on Vick. Small consolation for a family that has to bury a son Tuesday. So sad

.

Well, I guess I take that back. Anyone who quantifies the loss of a son by what players he got the father's employer to sign is a fucking jerk. Whether he means it or not, King seems to be saying that the true loss to Reid is because now Reid might not be able to sign the next Michael VIck. What's odd is that King knows this to be true ("small consolation"), but says it anyway, because he is so enamored with his own discovery of what went down with the Vick signing 2 years ago.

If one of King's daughter's dies, I hope Andy Reid gives a press conference wherein he says:

"I'd just like to give my condolensces to the King family. As anyone knows, Peter really took pride in his daughters. I recall reading about Mary Beth's softball exploits in King's columns. If you know King, you know he cared about his kids. And, those softball pieces really were a lot of people's favorite parts of those MMQB columns. They weren't the whole column, but they were a piece of the puzzle that explains Peter's popularity and total book sales, which allow the King family to take nice vacations to Europe every summer. Small consolation for a family that has to bury a daughter. So sad. OK, now let's talk about Special Teams..."

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I thought that was a bit out of touch too. I understood what he was trying to do (Reid loved his sons so much that he took counsel from them about their trying times and used it as part of a football decision -- it's a nice annecdote) but he did it in such a ham-fisted way. Also, that was really the only interaction King gave us about Reid and his kids; which, in light of this tragedy, probably should have been more.

I mean there were more stories on the relationship between Kenny and Kyle Williams than Reid and his kids.

 

[PBDWake]

That's ultimately the problem with King here. He thinks he's being sympathetic, but he's oblivious and condescending. See the "You may" tweet above. That level of being out of touch is what leads him to complain about people asking for blankets on airplanes or complaining about how he's upset he has to pay more to stay on site for Patriots games.

 

[Leather]

• We landed on Mars at 1:33 this morning.

Thought I'd throw you a change-up. You know, just to see if you're paying attention.

1) Who's "we"?

2) that's 1:33 Eastern, right? Or is it wherever you are reporting from (I don't know where, but you've talked about travelling a lot lately...?)

3) What a tricky bastard! I thought this was a FOOTBALL column, or perhaps an obituary column, but never a SCIENCE column! I thought maybe King and Terrell Owens actually went to Mars for a minute there.

OK: Sincere point of praise: the Kyle Williams bit was pretty good. I did not know he was related to a White Sox GM, and King reminded me of that NFC Championship game, which I had totally forgotten about, and in particular WIlliams' role in the loss. Catching up with him in an engaged manner was a good idea by King, and demonstrates what he's good at when he wants to be: getting to the human side of a story that involves fooball.

And, you know what, all of his training camp stuff is pretty good. King is just fine when he's talking about football, and/or reporting what actual football experts are saying about the game itself. Sure, some of his observations seem kind of mundane (and he seems to overpraise, which comes across as cheering and/or wishful thinking), but I think that's more a function of training camp itself being kind of dull than a fault of King's. I mean, he does try to spice things up, and it's only there where he gets into trouble (talking about the food at a place, or taking stabs at legal questions that are far beyond his understanding, or talking about his own life in general). If King cut out the fat in his MMQB columns, and devoted more time to interviews and observations, there's no reason he couldn't be a Peter Gammons-type for football. I wish he would do that. But he doesn't, so here we are.

I mean, this might not be groundbreaking stuff, but it's solid football writing, and good reporting to boot:

Let's assume wideout Justin Blackmon, the last remaining first-round holdout, will make it to camp soon; the two sides are battling over how much risk the team should take if Blackmon, who has two alcohol incidents while driving, has another. Then the question becomes whether the team will cave to rushing champ Maurice Jones-Drew, who has two years left on his deal at $4.5 and $4.95 million. (Doesn't look like they'll address the contract and set a precedent for players with two years left on their deals.)
With such a shaky performance by last year's first-rounder, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, common sense says Jacksonville has to have Jones-Drew playing great for the team to have a chance. But wise, old Jacksonville scribe Vito Stellino has it crystal-clear correct when he notes that the Jaguars aren't going to prosper, Jones-Drew or no Jones-Drew, unless Gabbert is significantly better than he was last season.
And I mean significantly. There were times last year Gabbert looked scared under a heavy rush, and his numbers reflected it -- Curtis Painter had a better passer rating with Indianapolis, for crying out loud. I could accept the he-had-no-offseason-program reasoning, what with the NFL lockout. And each player is different. But I'd argue Cam Newton had the best rookie season an NFL player has ever had -- 4,051 yards passing, 35 passing and rushing touchdowns combined -- and the lockout didn't seem to hurt him.
So fast-forward to the Jags' night scrimmage inside their stadium Friday night. Unfair as it is, this was a significant test for Gabbert, to see how the new teaching group of Mike Mularkey, Bob Bratkowski and Greg Olson were working with him. He threw a nice 21-yard cross to Laurent Robinson, led a 70-yard scoring drive, and threw two accurate line-drive touchdown passes in the red zone. I'm not sure he threw a ball 18 yards past the line of scrimmage in the session, so this certainly wasn't the acid test. The coaches accomplished what they wanted to. This summer is about building Gabbert's confidence after the shattering 2011 debacle (he was the lowest-rated quarterback among NFL qualifiers), and this was a start. No deep throws, just an emphasis on chain moving.
Mularkey emphasized to me that he didn't think Gabbert ever played scared last year. (Sure looked it to me.) His best point to me: "When I coached Matt Ryan [in Atlanta], he entered the league after his fifth-year senior year. This is the equivalent for Blaine, his fifth year [of college and pro football combined]. He came out as a true junior.''
Mularkey's right -- the expectations probably were unfair last year. But Gabbert was picked 10th overall, and the coaches probably will have more patience with him than the fans this year.

Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week

At one of our hotels in the South the other day, a Marriott TownePlace Suites, there was a breakfast buffet. I'm a Cheerios, Shredded Wheat or oatmeal guy in the morning, preferably with some blueberries or some other berry. No Cheerios. No Shredded Wheat. No oatmeal. No blueberries. No berries of any sort.

There were, however, three kinds of grits: creamy, bacon and a third I don't recall.

1) Were they magic grits?

2) Peter, if you can't even recall the details of a story, then the story probably isn't that interesting to third parties. I guess he thinks grits are intrinsically funny or something.

 

[DJnVa]

100% of hotels I've ever been in that had a breakfast buffett has had oatmeal. I choose to believe that it wasn't where he thought it would be so he assumed they didn't have it.

I don't recall ever seeing blueberries at a hotel breakfast buffett though. Maybe some cantelope or a banana but not blueberries.

 

[tims4wins]

I believe the question you were looking for is "do you like your grits regular, creamy, or al dente?"

drleather, lazy as usual, just throwing away his opportunity to post on such an esteemed internet message board. // shakes head //

 

[Corsi]

Coffeenerdness: I'm not denigrating Jacksonville or anything, but I stayed at the Omni Hotel downtown late last week and went down to the lobby in the morning, looking to take a walk to get a coffee. "Where's the nearest Starbucks?'' I asked the parking guy in front. He said the nearest one was a little more than two miles away, and there wasn't one in the city's business district downtown. Amazed, I said, "Any other coffee bars downtown?'' None, the guy said, at least to his knowledge.

i. An American inner city, without a Starbucks. Now I've heard it all.

Fuck OFF.

 

[Leather]

BTW: sorry for the annoying multi-posting, but if one uses too many quote tags, the posts malfunction.

Anyway:

d. Michael Phelps should be everyone's hero.

Why? Don't tell me who should be my hero, you dick.

f. Regarding the Wisconsin Sikh temple shootings that left six dead Sunday: When, oh when, will our leaders in this country lead and do something about gun violence?

*sigh*. I am a pretty liberal guy, politically. But even I cringe when people say stuff like this. It's like asking: "When, oh, when, will our government save the children?" It's kind of complicated, Peter.




Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/08/05/mmqb/index.html#ixzz22m92KLEb

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Mr. 5K couldn't walk a couple miles to get a coffee? Such a Jerry Remy mentality - God forbid he ventures into Jacksonville beyond the safety radius of his hotel.

I also like how he assures his faithful readers he is not 'denigrating the city of Jacksonville', when that is exactly what he is doing. Peter isn't very good at expressing critical opinions - I suspect he's protecting his small town/real Amurrica-loving rep here.

 

[Leather]

I believe the question you were looking for is "do you like your grits regular, creamy, or al dente?"

drleather, lazy as usual, just throwing away his opportunity to post on such an esteemed internet message board. // shakes head //

Vinny Gambini: How could it take you five minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes?
Mr. Tipton: Um... I'm a fast cook, I guess.
Vinny Gambini: [across beside the jury] What? I'm sorry I was over there. Did you just say you were a fast cook? Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than any place on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know.
Vinny Gambini: Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?

 

[Corsi]

d. Michael Phelps should be everyone's hero.
e. I just wish I'd gotten to see a couple of his races. I did see Bob Costas' interview with him late Saturday night, and he seems pretty set on retiring. I've pretty much missed the entire Olympics, except I caught that English heptathlete, Jessica Ennis, winning her gold. What a beloved athlete she seems to be in her homeland.

Have I mentioned lately just how busy I am?

 

[tims4wins]

Vinny Gambini: How could it take you five minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes?
Mr. Tipton: Um... I'm a fast cook, I guess.
Vinny Gambini: [across beside the jury] What? I'm sorry I was over there. Did you just say you were a fast cook? Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than any place on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know.
Vinny Gambini: Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?

Oh I know what you were referencing. But when talking about different types of grits, I think you have to go with this:

Vinny Gambini: Right, so you knew that. Uh, do you remember what you had?
Mr. Tipton: Eggs and grits.
Vinny Gambini: Eggs and grits. I like grits, too. How do you cook your grits? Do you like them regular, creamy or al dente?
Mr. Tipton: Just regular, I guess.

 

[lostjumper]

Fuck OFF.

Some assistant at SI is getting fired today for making hotel arrangements for PK at a hotel 2 miles away from the nearest starbucks. If only humans had developed modes of transportation that allowed him to get to that Starbucks location. Or, you know, since he's running a half marathon soon and is skipping his workouts he probably could have walked there...

 

[Corsi]

Mr. 5K couldn't walk a couple miles to get a coffee? Such a Jerry Remy mentality - God forbid he ventures into Jacksonville beyond the safety radius of his hotel.

I also like how he assures his faithful readers he is not 'denigrating the city of Jacksonville', when that is exactly what he is doing. Peter isn't very good at expressing critical opinions - I suspect he's protecting his small town/real Amurrica-loving rep here.

Just did a google map search for "coffee" near the Omni in Jacksvonville: http://goo.gl/maps/edk6i

6 places within a half mile.

 

[Leather]

Here's the thing:

http://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/

Do a search for Jacksonville, FL.

There are 10 Starbucks in Jacksonville.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Peter might be too used to Manhattan - Jacksonville is the largest city in the country in terms of land area.

 

[Corsi]

Here's the thing:

http://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/

Do a search for Jacksonville, FL.

There are 10 Starbucks in Jacksonville.

Yes, but Peter King doesn't dare mix with the riffraff outside of an American Inner City.

 

[Leather]

Fuck ALS; he should work with Stevie Wonder to re-record a version of "Living for the City" and help support inner-city Jacksonville starbucks.

Think of the office workers!


A boy is born in hard time Mississippi
Moves to Florida, the coastline is so pretty
Needs a hot beverage, to drink with his breakfast confection
But in Jacksonville, there are no sufficient selections
We need enough, just enough, Coffee for the cityyyyyyyy- yea!

 

[pappymojo]

Just did a google map search for "coffee" near the Omni in Jacksvonville: http://goo.gl/maps/edk6i

6 places within a half mile.

My take-away is the PK is a dick, and the hotel staff couldn't have cared less about pointing his fat ass in the right direction.

 

[DJnVa]

Or the dude he asked doesn't frequent "coffee bars" and simply doesn't know why PK didn't grab some hotel coffee at breakfast or Google that shit himself.

 

[SydneySox]

Come on... King is a dick for writing about the hotel like that, but hotel concierge staff should be in a position to point out nearby coffee/breakfast places. If that's who he talked to. If he asked the random dude carrying his bags (no way King carries his own bags) then fuck him.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

I would appreciate it if people refrain from muzzling Doc Leather. His King/Simmons takedowns are required reading for me. Nothing puts a hop in my step quite like seeing a fresh DL post in the King thread on Monday morning.

Thank you.

 

[DJnVa]

Come on... King is a dick for writing about the hotel like that, but hotel concierge staff should be in a position to point out nearby coffee/breakfast places. If that's who he talked to. If he asked the random dude carrying his bags (no way King carries his own bags) then fuck him.

He asked the parking guy.

 

[Spelunker]

Perhaps it's my provincial Bostonianism, but does anyone really ever call it a fucking "Coffee Bar"?

 

[Curll]

If someone asked me where the nearest "Coffee Bar" was, I'd likely be dumbfounded and shrug. Like, there's coffee shops and cafés. But, that seems specific; a "Brew Pub" might be a good analogue.

 

[Gravistar]

My hypothesis, which I hope is true: the parking guy recognized King and tried to submarine his coffeenerdedness section.

Seriously, does Peter King know how to use Yelp? There are 11 coffee shops within a mile of the downtown Omni in Jacksonville. There's a coffee shop IN the freaking hotel. And, yes, there's a Starbucks 1.5 miles away (several

Also, did he just say "American inner city?" How little thought does he put in while writing these things? Is he talking to Sean Payton while thinking about calling his broker to invest in Chick-Fil-A, drinking a fruity nutty latte, and occasionally pecking out a few sentences on his notes app on his Blackberry?

 

[Reverend]

He asked the parking guy.

Holy. Shit.

You're right.

I was totally with Syd--I mean, concierges are supposed to know this shit, it's their job.

When I read back and saw it was the parking guy?

holy fuck. What the fuck happened to King?

 

[SydneySox]

Yeah. You're right. Crazy.

What a jerk.

 

[JayMags71]

It's a little odd that:
A.) the parking attendant didn't suggest asking the concierge.
B.) it never occurred to PK to ask the concierge.

I mean, who does he ask for dining suggestions? The chambermaids? The guy changing chandelier lightbulbs?

 

[SydneySox]

I mean, seriously, what a fucking jerk.

This comes off the back of his rich guy schtick at the airport a few months back.

Why do you need to name the hotel and identify the workerman in this situation, or that one? He may be doing it obliviously to the fact that most of these big chain places have media services that deliver any mention of them to their inboxes and somebody might end up getting fired from their shitty job serving fat entitled fucks like King. And I say that makes it worse.

Fuck you King - write your stupid schtick about Starbucks, ignoring the fact it's fucking piss and anyone who actually drinks fucking coffee thinks you're a dumbshit for always talking embracing your 'I'M SUCH A COFFEE EXPERT' schtick (see also: beer) while embracing the worst possible example of the beverage all you want but do it without complaining about the people you constantly encounter who don't serve you properly while you're being a fat lazy fuck.

 

[DJnVa]

Starbucks is expensive it has to be good!!!

 

[DJnVa]

He's delving into gun control again on Twitter...

 

[Leather]

Please post

 

[Corsi]

RT @LuzerneMI: The most recent FBI figures show just 358 of the 8,775 murders by firearm in 2010 involved rifles ... 358 too many.

https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/232825988562681857

I'm not smart enough to know. Never studied it at all. I just know what we're doing--nothing, basically--isn't working.

https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/232826275583111170

Stand up to idiots, America.

https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/232646330625974272

 

[Leather]

RT @LuzerneMI: The most recent FBI figures show just 358 of the 8,775 murders by firearm in 2010 involved rifles ... 358 too many

This is hilarious for two reasons.

1) In focusing on the smaller of the two groups, he's implying that death by handgun is acceptable, but death by rifle somehow isn't;
2) IMO it's pretty well understood that it makes more sense to regulate rifles less than handguns because rifles have more practical utility (farmers protecting livestock; hunting) than handguns, which are designed almost solely to kill people, and because it's a lot harder to conceal a rifle, making them less of a security risk.

In other words, he has given no thought to his position.

EDIT:

If Peter King were taking a stand against climate change, he'd probably say something like:

The most recent EPA figures show that natural gas produces 10% of the carbon emissions as coal... 10% too many.

 

[DJnVa]

Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing
Just don't understand why we're afraid of our leaders trying to find a way to stop massacres of our people. Have a good day. Off to Giants.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

This is Peter King in a nutshell, gun control is a pretty complicated issue. Personally, I'm on the side of more gun control, but I understand that not all guns should be chucked into a big furnace somewhere (maybe in Witchita). But King, like most of his views is completely black and white on the issue.

A guy with a gun killed a bunch of people in Denver, therefore guns are bad.

And while I don't think that PK is racist at all, where was he on gun control when kids in the inner city were getting mowed down?

 

[Corsi]

FUNNY -- THE WRITER OF THIS EMAIL IS FROM COLORADO. "Terrell Davis ... I think you have overlooked your own words here: 2,008-yard rushing season, Super Bowl MVP, league MVP and amazing seven 100-yard rushing games in eight postseason starts (you also left out the fact that he won two Super Bowls in a row). Name another running back in the Hall of Fame that has all that. None, zero, nada.
O.J. Simpson had 2003 yards, zero Super Bowl wins, but is in the Hall of Fame. Eric Dickerson had 2003 yards, zero Super Bowl wins, but is in the Hall of Fame. Barry Sanders had 2053 yards, zero Super Bowl wins, but is in the Hall of Fame. Jamal Lewis had 2066 yards and one Super Bowl win, but was not the MVP of the Super Bowl. Chris Johnson had 2006 years, zero Super Bowl wins."
-- From Joe Braun, Littleton, Colo.

Lewis and Johnson have no business in your argument, as they're not in the Hall of Fame. Forget them, and let's address the problem with your argument, which is the problem so many Hall of Fame arguments have: They're incomplete, and they conveniently leave out salient facts the way partisan politicians do every day.

I don't make my decision because he didn't do enough when he played. My argument, obviously, is that he didn't do it long enough, and he wasn't the sort of transcendent running back a Gale Sayers was. I think once we start opening the door to the Hall of Fame to men who had three terrific years and one good one, that's troublesome. But as I said yesterday, I'd support his somewhat parallel case, Sayers (and let's make one thing clear -- I wasn't on the committee when Sayers was voted in), because I think Sayers is one of the most electrifying players in NFL history. I greatly admire Davis, but I don't see him in the same light.

http://sportsillustr...ef=twitter_feed

Now, obviously this argument is centered on the Hall of Fame, but King trots out the "didn't do it for long enough" argument with regards to Terrell Davis, but at the same time, props up Darren freaking Sproles as THE 4TH MOST VERSATILE RUNNING BACK OF THE LAST 30 YEARS.

And Davis wasn't transcendent, but Sayers was? My ass.

Yearly rankings:

Not to mention, the Broncos won two Super Bowls during that time period.

And he says it doesn't view him in the same light as Sayers? WTF?

Even if you throw the "transcendent" bullshit out the window, I don't even think you could call Sayers a better player than Davis.

Where does he come up with this crap? I mean, King was 8 years old when Sayers entered the league, so it's not like he watched him with any sort of keen eye. He's just pulling this shit out of his ass.

 

[Corsi]

King tweeted this the other night:

@PFF_Neil at Braves-Disastros tonight in the Atl.

https://twitter.com/....com%2FT7pCnEje

What the fuck is wrong with this guy?