Why Do I Continue to Read Peter King?

[lostjumper]

The draft played out exactly as most had predicted. Offensive and Defensive lineman carried the day, no running backs and only 1 QB selected in the first round. There was nothing weird about that draft at all. Except as DR Leather pointed out, King didn't put any work into it and didn't seem to have the slightest clue as to what was going on. And that's pretty ordinary these days as well, so I wouldn't call that weird either.

 

[Corsi]

Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing18s
RT @MMehtaNYDN: Jets have USC QB Matt Barkley rated higher than Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib ... Good work, Manish.

 

 
He does this a lot.  He'll retweet someone and add his typical "Good job, so and so."  Does he think he's the Dean of Football Writers and that all the little people beneath him are waiting with bated breath for Pete to single them out and compliment their work?
 
I also can't stand how in his mailbag, he will always, without fail, post someone's question that begins with "Hey Pete, keep up the great work.  Love reading you every week!"  If he had even an ounce of humility he'd edit that crap out.
 
It's little shit like that that bugs the living hell out of me about him.

 

[Corsi]

From the past four months or so...

• I'm excited about your upcoming, new football-centric microsite. 
• First off, love the column and have for a long time. 
• Hi, Peter. Love your columns. 
• Love the column. Has kept me going the past 15 years in Asia.
• Thank you for the peek into the locker room meeting between Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis. This is why you are appreciated by fans of the game.
• First, couldn't imagine going through a season without MMQB - really appreciate the work that goes into it. 
• Love the column, read it every week. 
• I thoroughly enjoy reading your column every Monday
• Let me preface by saying I love the column
• I read the column every week

 

 

[Leather]

 
I also can't stand how in his mailbag, he will always, without fail, post someone's question that begins with "Hey Pete, keep up the great work.  Love reading you every week!"  If he had even an ounce of humility he'd edit that crap out.
 
It's little shit like that that bugs the living hell out of me about him.

 
Yea, Simmons does that too.  It's totally an insecurity thing on their part, and counterproductive to their ostensible goal (either sports information or lowbrow entertainment, depending on who you ask) because it's distracting and also gives the impression that posting platitudes is a more important factor to getting picked for publication than having an honestly good question. 

 

[Corsi]

Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing 1m
RT @ScottHanson: Every room is now a green room for Aaron Rodgers ... Good work, Scott.

https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/327899662348611584
 
The Dean has spoken!

 

[Corsi]

 

[Corsi]

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

I'm starting to go past dislike into just sort of pity and embarrassment for PK. Those tweets are just so weird - like, "good job for writing a mildly funny tweet!" He thinks he's giving them a virtual pat on the ass or something? 
 
It's like watching one of these old people try to navigate the security line at the airport. 

 

[PBDWake]

I'm starting to go past dislike into just sort of pity and embarrassment for PK. Those tweets are just so weird - like, "good job for writing a mildly funny tweet!" He thinks he's giving them a virtual pat on the ass or something? 
 
It's like watching one of these old people try to navigate the security line at the airport. 

Well, there's always the other reaction. Condescension over being asked about his opinion as a football "expert"
 


Peter King        

@SI_PeterKing
RT @TheBlackNest: Who had worst first round? ... Not a draft grader. Think it's silly. Wait, I don't just think it's silly. I know it is.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

 
Good work, Corsi.

 

[ChinaCat2]

I can't believe I'm going to defend Peter King here....but here goes.

I think when someone re-tweets something it is easy to miss the fact that it's a re-tweet, and give the credit to the second twit. So when King puts "good work Joe" at the end, I think it is not so much putting his blessing on it, as making sure his followers see who really did the work.

Of course it would probably come across as less condescending if he just wrote "thanks Manish". Instead of "good job"

 

[DJnVa]

Of course, those other writers have plenty of followers too.  Football fans are following those guys already.

 

[Toe Nash]

I can't believe I'm going to defend Peter King here....but here goes.

I think when someone re-tweets something it is easy to miss the fact that it's a re-tweet, and give the credit to the second twit. So when King puts "good work Joe" at the end, I think it is not so much putting his blessing on it, as making sure his followers see who really did the work.

Of course it would probably come across as less condescending if he just wrote "thanks Manish". Instead of "good job"

But you can just use the retweet function on Twitter. If he has nothing to add he should just click retweet and then it shows up in everyone's timeline as the original writer's tweet with a "retweeted by Peter King" note. Like everyone else does. 

 

[epraz]

I can't believe I'm going to defend Peter King here....but here goes.

I think when someone re-tweets something it is easy to miss the fact that it's a re-tweet, and give the credit to the second twit. So when King puts "good work Joe" at the end, I think it is not so much putting his blessing on it, as making sure his followers see who really did the work.

Of course it would probably come across as less condescending if he just wrote "thanks Manish". Instead of "good job"

 
This thread is far beyond interpreting anything in anything remotely related to a fair light when it comes to PK.  Just enjoy the unmitigated bile.

 

[ChinaCat2]

This thread is far beyond interpreting anything in anything remotely related to a fair light when it comes to PK.  Just enjoy the unmitigated bile.

 
yeah, you're right.  SIlly me, its more fun to enjoy the snark!

 

[ifmanis5]

He actually apologized for doing his job this week?

j. Forgive me my limited non-football notes this week. I'll be better next week.

Now that this pesky NFL draft thing is over with, he can put down the phone and get back to his usual lazy judgments, humble brags and passive aggressive insults. Good times ahead!

 

[Shelterdog]

This thread is far beyond interpreting anything in anything remotely related to a fair light when it comes to PK.  Just enjoy the unmitigated bile.

 
Fair enough. 
 
King is probably doing a bit of recruiting and a bit of PR for his new site by saying good job to all these folks.  It's not that big a deal but the guy is a douchenozzle so have at it.
 
The post draft columns are usually some of PK's more interesting ones because he outs his teams PK's big sources. So tuck away the fact that the Rams had him in their draft room and Marrone gave him a lot of quotes on the record. 

 

[Corsi]

 

 

Here in St. Louis, with a couple of hours free Thursday afternoon and not wanting to obsess about the draft do any work.

 
Fixed.

 

[Leather]

Well, there's always the other reaction. Condescension over being asked about his opinion as a football "expert"
 


Peter King        

@SI_PeterKing
RT @TheBlackNest: Who had worst first round? ... Not a draft grader. Think it's silly. Wait, I don't just think it's silly. I know it is.

 
And yet...
 
Peter King lists his "Hits" and "Misses" in today's MMQB:
 

 
3. Take a bow, Ravens. (More about the weekend's underrated draft in Tuesday's column.)

7. Love what Green Bay GM Ted Thompson did with his position of greatest need.

11. Riskiest picks of the top 100: Dion Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu.

 

14. Stop killing the Cowboys. Just stop. Dallas got the No. 1 center on
many boards at 31 (Travis Frederick), filling a gaping hole; an
offensive tight end to someday replace Jason Witten (Gavin Escobar) at
47; and a 51-game starter at wideout from Baylor, Terrance Williams (who
averaged 19 yards a catch last year) at 74. As one GM told me Sunday:
"Frederick might be a reach, but if you get a starter for your team for
six or eight years -- at any position -- isn't that worth the 31st pick
overall in a lousy draft?"

15. Be careful, Cincinnati. Or we'll start to think you know how to draft

 

6. I think these are the four things I liked about what the Jaguars did:

9. I think Manti Te'o at 25 would have been eminently justified. Manti Te'o at 38 is a value pick for San Diego.

 

It's clear to me now that PK isn't against making judgments about the draft, as long as those judgments are couched in in contingencies and the like, and as long as the judgement is generally positive.   I think his primary faults with "grading" a draft are that A) it would be necessary to badmouth some GMs/players, etc... in the league, and that would potentially place King in a problematic position later when he needs a quote or to play golf or something later; and B) he's afraid of how he'll look in 3 years when a team he said missed on some guy turns out to have made a great pick. 
 
Because, really, what's so different from what King is doing ("I really like what Team X did when they..." or "Picking Player X in round X is a great move...") and what other draft graders do, aside from simply assigning a letter grade before the statement?

 

[LMontro]

From the past four months or so...

• I'm excited about your upcoming, new football-centric microsite. 
• First off, love the column and have for a long time. 
• Hi, Peter. Love your columns. 
• Love the column. Has kept me going the past 15 years in Asia.
• Thank you for the peek into the locker room meeting between Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis. This is why you are appreciated by fans of the game.
• First, couldn't imagine going through a season without MMQB - really appreciate the work that goes into it. 
• Love the column, read it every week. 
• I thoroughly enjoy reading your column every Monday
• Let me preface by saying I love the column
• I read the column every week

 
Two more to add today:
 
 
One of the reasons I like reading your columns
Peter, love the column and your draft coverage

 

 

[Corsi]

Two more to add today:
 
 
One of the reasons I like reading your columns
Peter, love the column and your draft coverage

 

 

 
Who the hell writes something like that???

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Someone who points out great illustrations to make his points, clearly. 
 
I mean, why would you even print that comment at all. It's like we're his boss and he's forwarding thank you notes he gets from customers: "See! People like me! Isn't that swell?!?"

 

[joe dokes]

Two more to add today:
 
 
One of the reasons I like reading your columns
Peter, love the column and your draft coverage

 

 
I keep waiting for:
 
"Dear Peter, I never thought any of your letters were real.  I am a large football fan in a small northeastern city. One day, my friend "Mary" (not her real name) came over to watch some football.  I still can't believe what happened next. . . ."
 
 . . . . .
 
"Has anything like that ever happened to you?"

 

[ifmanis5]

 
Who the hell writes something like that???

Reggie Jackson, that's who. 'The magnitude of me.'

 

[leetinsley38]

Peter is asking for suggestions for the new site - quick, to the Twitters!
Peter King (@SI_PeterKing)
5/2/13, 7:21 PM
RT @MrTimGodfrey: May have said this already but whats the sites name? ... Not christened yet. Anyone got ideas?

 

[JayMags71]

"I can't see my feet"

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Ilovemetoo.com

 

[Corsi]

f. Not a big fan of amateur doctoring, but when Derrick Rose is cleared to play March 8 and here it is, 60 days later, and he says he's still not ready, what is that all about? I know an ACL is serious surgery, but unless there's been a setback, how is a guy not ready to do something after 51 weeks of rehab and training?

 

Not a big fan of amateur doctoring, but here's my amateur doctoring opinion anyway.

 

[Corsi]

I think there aren't many years in which the 48th pick in the draft could be the most impactful in September, but with the sordid Steelers running back situation, Le'Veon Bell could hit the ground running for Pittsburgh and not stop. Wouldn't surprise me if he were this year's Alfred Morris, only about 400 fewer yards.

 

"I think Le'Veon Bell could be this year's Alfred Morris, but will only match three quarters of his production."
 
Not to mention, Morris was drafted 173rd overall -- 125 spots later than Bell.  Morris went to Florida Atlantic of Conference USA and Bell went to Michigan St of the Big Ten.
 
Bell comes into training camp as the odds-on favorite to win the starting job; Morris started 4th on the depth chart and forced his way onto the field.

Other than that, they have a ton in common.

 

[Corsi]

The best factoid I encountered this week comes from the always-prescient Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston: This will be Bill Belichick's 14th season as coach of the Patriots, and he has entered every one with a left-footed punter.

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

 

[Corsi]

Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
 
Traveling back from Dallas to the East Coast Thursday night, my American Airlines flight had a slightly bumpy approach and landing. Nothing too unusual, except to the 12ish-year-old boy across the aisle in row 32. As I stood up to stretch, the boy, without warning from the window seat, projectile-vomited. He caught some of it, but a chunk of it, yogurty in feel, BB'ed into my right ear, with another couple of splashes on my shirt.
 
OK then.
 
A flight attendant, duly attentive, rushed up and asked the mom if she needed a bag -- no thanks, it seems to be over now -- and some towels. While they cleaned up, I went into the lavatory and washed my ear like I'd never washed it in my life, which was tough to do in an airplane lav.

 

Asshole.  Who cares if the kid is sick and miserable, MY EAR IS NOW COVERED IN A SPEC OF VOMIT.  Where are the towels for ME???
 
Take the blanket off that shivering lady so that I can clean up with it!

 

[Average Reds]

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

 
Clearly not, but he does understand the first rule of bullshitting, which is that you don't need to know what you are talking about - you just need to know more than everyone in the room.
 
Of course that doesn't work on the Internet, but it does hold for the vast majority of Peter King's readers, which is why people love him and think he's clever for using interesting words that they don't quite understand.
 
You might even call that prescient on his part ...

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Why is it hard to wash your ear in an airplane lav?

 

[pappymojo]

Why is it hard to wash your ear in an airplane lav?

 
because it is small and he is big and he has to bend over to use the sink. 

 

[ifmanis5]

 

Not a big fan of amateur doctoring, but here's my amateur doctoring opinion anyway.

This is so ground zero for blowhardiness the likes of which King is a king of. He's not a fan of other's people's terrible Monday morning quaterbacking, BUT he's made an entire career out of it; and King loves himself some King so allow him to set everybody straight. I'm glad some kid puked in his ear. I would if I could.

 

[joe dokes]

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

 
Maybe he just left out the part that Reiss wrote those words in 1958.

 

[lostjumper]

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

Peter loves to use big words. Often he uses them wrongly, but it seems the average user is simply impressed by big words so application doesn't matter

 

[Harry Hooper]

Who here paid the kid to throw up on PK, drleather2001?

 

 

[joe dokes]

Ironically, King himself was prescient when he mentioned the possibility of Kluwe getting cut to make room for a rookie.
 
 
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9246975/chris-kluwe-minnesota-vikings-tweets-goodbye

 

[DJnVa]

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

 
Well, he's just saying Reiss is prescient, not that the following factoid is.
 
But I still don't think he knows what it means.

 

[Was (Not Wasdin)]

The best factoid I encountered this week comes from the always-prescient Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston: This will be Bill Belichick's 14th season as coach of the Patriots, and he has entered every one with a left-footed punter.
 

 

I don't think Peter knows what "prescient" means.

 
Perfect example of his half-assed laziness (King's laziness, not Corsi's).  We noticed this years ago, as soon as Mesko came on board, and wondered if it was part of BB's master plan,  so to get an answer to our question we followed BB to a book signing at a Costco in Waltham and .... wait, nevermind. 
 
 King did some very minimal follow up on Reiss' point, but it could have been so much more.  Here, Peter, I'll even write it for you....
 
"Since we know BB rarely leaves anything to chance or coincidence, [and that he isnt going to give my fat ass any useful information,] I did some research [asked an intern to do it] as to (i) how many left footed punters there are in the NFL, and (ii) whether or not those left-footed punters generate more drops by punt returners.  Here's what I found....  [insert intern's work here, and take full credit for it]"
 
It would not be that hard to put in the extra effort and come up with something useful and interesting, instead of the "I guess it is the way the ball comes off the foot" filler.
 
I dont think he knows what prescient means either, or his Neil Young. 

 

[joe dokes]

 King did some very minimal follow up on Reiss' point, but it could have been so much more.  Here, Peter, I'll even write it for you....
 
"Since we know BB rarely leaves anything to chance or coincidence, [and that he isnt going to give my fat ass any useful information,] I did some research [asked an intern to do it] as to (i) how many left footed punters there are in the NFL, and (ii) whether or not those left-footed punters generate more drops by punt returners.  Here's what I found....  [insert intern's work here, and take full credit for it]"
 
It would not be that hard to put in the extra effort and come up with something useful and interesting, instead of the "I guess it is the way the ball comes off the foot" filler.

 
Right. Or maybe the difference between gross and net among lefties is a possible quick and dirty proxy for "difficulty in catching it".  Its not that it would necessarily be "right," but it might cause others to pick up the mantle and look further.  Or open up that giant rolodex of his and call some punt returners and ASK THEM. Journalism, even sports journalism in the 21st century, should involve some level of intellectual curiosity.  King has none of that. He has his world mapped out, and that's what he's going to stick to.

 

[pappymojo]

I wish the kid puked in Peter King's eyes, because then he would know what his readers go through every week.

 

[dirtynine]

I wish the kid puked in Peter King's eyes, because then he would know what his readers go through every week.

 
Careful - he'd then have to go back to the LensCrafters on Boylston for new contacts, and write several lame paragraphs about it. 

 

[Corsi]

First time emailer here, but long time fan of the column. 

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130507/baltimore-ravens-nfl-draft/index.html

 

[Corsi]

From last night:
 

RT @sugablaze: How likely is it that 3:16 Tebow goes to Jacksonville? ... 3.16%

 

RT @jacobsjj: @SI_PeterKing how likely i'll ever get to celebrate a Jets superbowl win in my lifetime? (i'm 30) ... 71.34%.

 

RT @juas003: @SI_PeterKing how likely Albert stays with chiefs past this franchise tag year ... 17.69%.

 

RT @jaredv87: How likely are the #Dolphins to leave town? ... 4.82%.
 

 

RT @OchoFisho: @SI_PeterKing @AP_NFL how likely do you think it is that he is still the owner of the Browns in 2014? ... 39.61%.

 
So, let me get this straight, Peter King wants to be known as the Dean of Football Writers, but when fans come to him with honest questions due to his so-called status as an expert, he gives them these wiseass percentages instead?  
 
What the fuck? 

 

[dirtynine]

It's a stupid mix of stuff he might have insider info about (Tebow to JAX, etc.) and stuff that's crapshoot prognostication (Jets winning a SB sometime in the next 50 years).  But why worry about teasing any of that out and giving real insight where he can?  Just mash the number pad with fat, sticky fingers and put a % sign at the end.  That's how you connect with the people! 

 

[Bucknahs Bum Ankle]

Clearly he's trying to increase his prescience quotient.

 

[DJnVa]

He had a tweet last night about SNF getting a Sports Emmy and he said "Good job, men" and was called out because, well, it's not all men.

 

[Leather]

He flat-out refuses to be caught making predictions that would reflect poorly on him, either because they (the predictions) would piss off his contact(s), or because it might make him look like a fool in 5 years.
 
He's a spineless coward. 
 
EDIT:  His explanation (see, e.g., "I don't grade the draft! No way to tell!") is, essentially, that it's impossible to see into the future.   Which is, of course, absurd:  people make predictions all the time for any number of things for which there is limited data:  long range weather forecasts, stock market predictions, the fucking U.S. Military guessing what will happen in the Middle East and/or North Korea.  
 
He's such a fucking asshole.