Why Do I Continue to Read Peter King?

Corsi

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Think about that for a second -- the employees of the new MMQB office space are going to have a monstrous fathead of their boss hung up on the wall.  Can you imagine that in any other workplace?  Talk about creepy.
 

tims4wins

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Corsi said:
Think about that for a second -- the employees of the new MMQB office space are going to have a monstrous fathead of their boss hung up on the wall.  Can you imagine that in any other workplace?  Talk about creepy.
 
 

CoffeeNerdness

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I'm guessing he'll only be answering softball questions asked by Sports Illustrated sock puppets about MMBQ.  It will suck.
 

ifmanis5

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We’ll be the thinking person’s site for pro football. If you follow us this season, visit TheMMQB.com three or four times a day between now and the Super Bowl, read our stories, watch our videos and listen to our podcasts … and if after doing that you don’t think you’ve been enlightened about the sport America loves, well, then I should be fired.

If only we had that kind of power, Pete.
 

DJnVa

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Will the "thinking person's site" also talk about Starbucks and flying?
 

joe dokes

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To the best of my knowledge, I don’t believe a head coach’s full training-camp speech, the words and video, has ever seen the light of day … until today, in the first post in The MMQB history. We’re proud to bring it to you.
 
 
I seem to recall NFL Films following George Allen around in his first Redskins training camp (70 or 71) and using his "Welcome to the camp, I guess you all know why we're here" speech when the film was made into a Film some years later.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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ifmanis5 said:
 

We’ll be the thinking person’s site for pro football. If you follow us this season, visit TheMMQB.com three or four times a day between now and the Super Bowl, read our stories, watch our videos and listen to our podcasts … and if after doing that you don’t think you’ve been enlightened about the sport America loves, well, then I should be fired.
 
 
So just visit the site between 585 and 780 times from now to the Superbowl?  Ok, then.
 

joe dokes

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drleather2001 said:
He quoted  The Who's "Tommy"?
 
sorry, that was me paraphrasing . . . .
 
Then again, George Allen was both old school and renaissance man
 

Marceline

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PK currently doing an AMA on Reddit.
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1itqoc/i_am_peter_king_sports_illustrateds_senior_nfl/
 
Some of the highlights so far:
Gareth_Bale 83 points 34 minutes ago
Hi, Peter. I love your coffee column but what I want to know is why you spend so much of it talking about football?

PeterKingTheMMQB 7 points 22 minutes ago
Well, when they pay me to write about Peet's Major Dickason's Blend, maybe I'll change my focus.
xmasapeksk 18 points 21 minutes ago
What gun do you suggest using on someone talking in the Acela Quiet Car?

PeterKingTheMMQB 4 points 13 minutes ago
No gun. Just a good shushing.
IrkenInvaderGir 2 points 22 minutes ago
More football, less reality crap.

PeterKingTheMMQB 4 points 9 minutes ago
Well,
okay. I hear that a lot. All the time, really. When I tell people my
average off-season column is about 4,000 words on football and maybe 600
words on non-football stuff, it never seems to help. Don't know why.
 
 

Leather

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Someone should ask him, if he heard so much scuttlebutt about A. Hernandez, how come neither he nor anybody else ever mentioned it prior to a month ago?
 

Leather

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So I just started training for a half marathon (my first attempt at anything longer than 10K), and I recalled some of PK's references to running, so I did a Google search.  
 
Basically, I wanted to know how fast he was so I could beat him.
 

JayMags71

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Ever since I read <a href="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football">What Would the End of Football Look Like?"</a> I've been bearish on the long-term future of the NFL. Consequently, the idea of an all-PK-all-the-time website seems like it was hatched from the mind of Dennis Duffy.
 

LittleLouie

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drleather2001 said:
So I just started training for a half marathon (my first attempt at anything longer than 10K), and I recalled some of PK's references to running, so I did a Google search.  
 
Basically, I wanted to know how fast he was so I could beat him.
Couldn't resist. Quick google search shows Fat Peter finished the New Hampshire half Oct. 2010 2:19:27, a blistering 10:39 pace. Finished 12 out of 15th in his age group. Give him credit for finishing, but he's finishing with all the older chubby women. I'm no great shakes as a runner, am 2 years older than him and regularly finish 30 minutes ahead of him.

Big brag as usual, but anyone who runs 15-20 miles a week could sport that finishing time with about 8 weeks of training. Hoo-rah Peter
 

ifmanis5

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LittleLouie said:
Couldn't resist. Quick google search shows Fat Peter finished the New Hampshire half Oct. 2010 2:19:27, a blistering 10:39 pace. Finished 12 out of 15th in his age group. Give him credit for finishing, but he's finishing with all the older chubby women. I'm no great shakes as a runner, am 2 years older than him and regularly finish 30 minutes ahead of him.

Big brag as usual, but anyone who runs 15-20 miles a week could sport that finishing time with about 8 weeks of training. Hoo-rah Peter
Yeah but King lives in MANHATTAN. How do you eat a candy bar? With your HANDS?
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Whoever thought that AMA was a good idea for Peter King should be fired. Of course Reddit wasn't going to take that seriously. That's a bunch of cat-loving internet geeks. Did someone really think they were going to want to talk football shop with PK? Or ask him about his cool new website? What a shit show. PK was horribly lame, but that was like walking into Fenway in a tutu.
 

Leather

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But it absolutely nails my chief criticism of his football writing (which is a subset of his writing as a whole).  He is so transparently afraid of pissing off his sources that he never says anything interesting.  
 
He really does suffer from a chronic conflict of interest, in that he needs his access to continue to be the "Most Liked Football Writer" (or whatever), so he can never say anything negative about those sources (however truthful and obvious it might be), lest he stop having the access.  And what should disgust any aware reader is the knowledge that the teams/players/personnel clearly KNOW this and milk PK as much as they can.   Yet, he continually deludes himself into thinking that being boring and not rocking the boat is the same as being "fair", so what's the harm? 
 
So he skates by with, at worst, half-baked "I wonder"s and "Isn't it interesting"s that hint at that which is obvious to everyone else, but he never explores it any further. 
 
I mean, what's the fucking point of having access if you're only being shown a Disney-fied version of the NFL, and reporting it as such.   What's the point of going to the Rams draft day "War Room", when you know that the only reason you have access is because 1) they are 100% confident nothing bad can happen; and 2) they know that even if it did, it would be glossed over in your column? 
 
He's like a Soviet era journalist, being shown Potemkin Villages on a planned outing by a state official, and reporting that the economic and social health of the country is wonderful!
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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drleather2001 said:
But it absolutely nails my chief criticism of his football writing (which is a subset of his writing as a whole).  He is so transparently afraid of pissing off his sources that he never says anything interesting.  
 
He really does suffer from a chronic conflict of interest, in that he needs his access to continue to be the "Most Liked Football Writer" (or whatever), so he can never say anything negative about those sources (however truthful and obvious it might be), lest he stop having the access.  And what should disgust any aware reader is the knowledge that the teams/players/personnel clearly KNOW this and milk PK as much as they can.   Yet, he continually deludes himself into thinking that being boring and not rocking the boat is the same as being "fair", so what's the harm? 
 
So he skates by with, at worst, half-baked "I wonder"s and "Isn't it interesting"s that hint at that which is obvious to everyone else, but he never explores it any further. 
 
I mean, what's the fucking point of having access if you're only being shown a Disney-fied version of the NFL, and reporting it as such.   What's the point of going to the Rams draft day "War Room", when you know that the only reason you have access is because 1) they are 100% confident nothing bad can happen; and 2) they know that even if it did, it would be glossed over in your column? 
 
He's like a Soviet era journalist, being shown Potemkin Villages on a planned outing by a state official, and reporting that the economic and social health of the country is wonderful!
 
Well, I've been saying the same for years: never has anyone had so much access yet done so little with it.
 

Leather

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Right.  But what makes it so galling is that he wears his access, and the fact that people like him so much, like a medal. 
 
I dunno.  He's mega successful and he's paid his dues, but I'd like to think the best journalists would want to be feared, even just a little, by the people that they are covering.
 

joe dokes

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dunno.  He's mega successful and he's paid his dues, but I'd like to think the best journalists would want to be feared, even just a little, by the people that they are covering.
 
This could also apply to the Silver-NYT stuff also.
It goes back to what used to be one of the operative journalism credos: "Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."  As the journalists themselves become stars (i.e., "comfortable"), there's a whole lot less "afflicting" going on.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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drleather2001 said:
Right.  But what makes it so galling is that he wears his access, and the fact that people like him so much, like a medal. 
 
I dunno.  He's mega successful and he's paid his dues, but I'd like to think the best journalists would want to be feared, even just a little, by the people that they are covering.
 
When his continued access becomes the overriding goal instead of providing journalistic information, then that's a good sign he's well past his sell-by date. I can't respect that at all.
 

Reverend

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Well, I've been saying the same for years: never has anyone had so much access yet done so little with it.
 
 
drleather2001 said:
Right.  But what makes it so galling is that he wears his access, and the fact that people like him so much, like a medal. 
 
I dunno.  He's mega successful and he's paid his dues, but I'd like to think the best journalists would want to be feared, even just a little, by the people that they are covering.
 
Imagine the book he could write had he the will and the wherewithal.
 

Reverend

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I know.
 
But imagine.
 
He really is the guy who knows things... unless he's trained himself not to see stuff so he can be "fair."
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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I think you've nailed it.
 
Goodell could build himself an underwater lair lined with nuclear missles, Dr Evil-style, and PK would say that it gives the commish the solitude he needs to keep America's Greatest Game rolling smoothly.
 

Leather

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It would go like this:
 
"Am I saying that I would do things the same way?  No.  But then again, it's impossible to know what kind of day to day pressures Goodell faces.  Only he knows whether that lair, and all that weaponry, is necessary for the ongoing security of the league.  As he told me over coffee at the New York Hilton, with a beautiful view of Times Square: 'Peter, I like you, but trust me, you are too nice a guy to know what kind of threats this league is facing.  Why, if I told you, your hair would fall out.'   
 
So, when people wonder aloud if Goodell is overreaching here, I understand their concern, but I, for one, would urge them to remember that there's lots of stuff they don't know."
 
Of course, typing this reminds me of his true colors, which get revealed when he spouts judgmental shit out of his ass regarding baseball, music, guns, politics, law, etc...He's so eager to pass judgment on everyone and everything...except football.
 

Dogman

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Reverend said:
I know.
 
But imagine.
 
He really is the guy who knows things... unless he's trained himself not to see stuff so he can be "fair."
 
 
Dr. Leather has this covered too.  He sees it all but doesn't want to lose his access to all things NFL.  So, he just simply doesn't report anything negative.  At all.  His "fair and balanced" approach is so much different than normal people.  He won't report on anything negative unless it is something like AH in which case it hardly matters what he says on the issue, there isn't anything to lose here.  He won't go out on a limb on anything that isn't garden variety innocuous, like a prediction, so he can't be seen as columnist with any axes to grind.
 
That isn't fair and balanced, that's one foot in and one foot out so he has something to always fall back on.  Like the Rams "war room" stuff and the Cowboys opening of training camp with Garrett's speech. There isn't any substance (one foot out) in any of that shit so it keeps him in good graces (one foot in).  He can always go back to both teams without any problems.
 
You two are cute though.
 

Corsi

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NatetheGreat said:
That MMQB site looks utterly pointless.
 
The problem with the new site is that I can't tell what's new.  There's no flow to the site at all.  If he wants us to check it out three times a day, I should be able to easily tell what the most recently stories are.  Instead, I get like 12 different stories just scrambled across my screen.
 

Phil Plantier

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Not to go too far back in the wayback machine, but King's style was exactly why he was such a great partner for Paul Zimmerman - the guy with access tells the NFL story, the guy with the cigar tells it like he sees it. Together they gave two descriptions of the same thing, but without that leavening King is just left to float away on his cloud of access. 
 
I don't know if anyone has the heft of Dr. Z anymore, but that's what King would be looking to add to his site if he were self-aware enough. 
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Corsi said:
The problem with the new site is that I can't tell what's new.  There's no flow to the site at all.  If he wants us to check it out three times a day, I should be able to easily tell what the most recently stories are.  Instead, I get like 12 different stories just scrambled across my screen.
 
The mobile experience is pretty decent, though. "Top story" on top, and then newest flows after that with pretty easy to read text and right-sized photos, etc. I wonder in this case if the mobile design led the way and f'd up the browser experience. 
 

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Phil Plantier said:
Not to go too far back in the wayback machine, but King's style was exactly why he was such a great partner for Paul Zimmerman - the guy with access tells the NFL story, the guy with the cigar tells it like he sees it. Together they gave two descriptions of the same thing, but without that leavening King is just left to float away on his cloud of access. 
 
I don't know if anyone has the heft of Dr. Z anymore, but that's what King would be looking to add to his site if he were self-aware enough. 
 
King has already described Bedard as a potential neo-Zimmerman, so there's a possibility that the balance you describe may be restored if they can figure out how to make their song into a duet.