football karma
Happy in the pretense of knowledge
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- Jul 22, 2002
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For a long time, it seemed like the Bidwills and the Browns (Cincy) were in a race to the bottom for worst owner in the NFL. It seems lately that the Bidwills are picking themselves off the mat, and a few new owners have shown up ready to challenge for the title--
witness the Bay area and the latest episode of organizational goofiness (and the emphasis isnt on the tampering -- its on the noted dysfunction at the top) Russ can attest, this is just another in a long line from the Yorks:
49ers’ tampering story: There’s definitely more damning evidence than just 2 phone calls
By Tim Kawakami
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 3:50 pm in 49ers, NFL.
I’m hearing a lot of detail floating around the NFL about what really led to the 49ers’ guilty verdict in the Lance Briggs tampering case.
Surprise: The evidence is more than what the 49ers are admitting and spinning.
The additional evidence apparently involves NFL investigation of internal 49ers’ e-mail between front-office folk during key moments in the Briggs’ timeline.
My understanding is that the e-mail discussions highlight the significance of the phone calls to agent Drew Rosenhaus (though, as the 49ers point out, there were no actual discussions during the calls).
This is what is confirmed by several sources: There’s more evidence than the 49ers are saying. It’s definitely more than just 2 stand alone phone calls to Rosenhaus.
Because the NFL can put those phone calls in context.
Some of the most fascinating, detailed stuff I heard is from just one source, so it’s not totally confirmed–though it’s not completely denied by other reputable sources, either. (Still, I’m leaving most of it out of this entry.)
And all of it makes more sense than the 49ers’ spin yesterday, and the 49ers have a habit of attempting spin that is rather easily debunked.
Did the 49ers really think smart people would buy that the only evidence Commissioner Roger Goodell had was two phone missed calls to Briggs’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus? Without Rosenhaus being at the hearing last week?
Does that seem plausible in any way? Just two random phone messages, some surface circumstantial evidence: GUILTY! Lose draft picks! It’s not plausible.
It feels like a 49ers’ spin/exaggeration/mischaracterization… and whether they mean to or not, the act of doing it basically challenges Goodell’s judgement and his credibility.
Fine, if the 49ers are on the side of angels on this one. But if they’re not correct–if they are guilty of something and trying to cover it up for PR purposes–firing a shot at Goodell is so wholly stupid it goes well beyond even the stupidity of getting caught with Briggs.
Are the 49ers arguing that the new commissioner is dumb? Unfair? Vindictive? Silly?
None of that goes over well on Park Ave., as far as I know. And I pretty much do know that.
I’ve talked to people. I’ve asked the 49ers to clarify their posture–and yes, the 49ers’ stance gets fuzzier and fuzzier the more you focus on the exact facts and the more you ask about e-mail evidence.
It’s very possible that the 49ers and their top supporters are going to have to retreat to this convenience: There’s no literal paper trail.
Well, guys: Of course not, if it’s all e-mail evidence.
From what I hear, NFL investigators collected 49ers’ internal e-mails involving the Main Front Office Folk (you know all or most of their names) during the Briggs time-frame.
The content of the e-mails and their timing (plus some other circumstantial evidence) apparently are why the commissioner concluded that those missed phone calls to Rosenhaus involved a potential Briggs contract during last season and not, say, an attempt to check up on Taylor Jacobs.
I’ve heard who it was who made the fateful calls to Rosenhaus and who sent most of the allegedly damning e-mail, but I won’t name him here, since I’m not 100 percent on it.
See, there’s tons of detail. Fascinating detail.
(Again: I don’t think tampering is a serious event in the NFL since everybody does it. The problem for the 49ers: They were dumb enough and did it clunkily enough to get caught–costing them a 5th round pick and a flop of 3rds with Chicago. And now, possibly the ire of the commissioner’s office.)
Oh and there’s more:
Some of the internal e-mails from front office people reveal that the top lieutenants to John and Jed York possibly aren’t quite totally all best friends and totally on the same page.
It’s probably never good for power people to see each other’s private intra-office e-mails. But, thanks to the investigation, now they all know who thinks what about whom. And the commissioner’s office knows it, too.
Gee, that doesn’t sound like the 49ers’ braintrust I know!
Now you can say that, even if the 49ers were slightly guilty, this is much ado about nothing and that the Bears over-played their hand and were silly to pursue it this far.
I’m not totally disagreeing with that. Again: Tampering is done by every smart franchise in the NFL.
But it’s just like the 49ers to be the ones who get caught… and who get their dirty laundry aired out before the commissioner.
And it’s just like the 49ers to try to spin it, unaware that the gory details always come out eventually.
witness the Bay area and the latest episode of organizational goofiness (and the emphasis isnt on the tampering -- its on the noted dysfunction at the top) Russ can attest, this is just another in a long line from the Yorks:
49ers’ tampering story: There’s definitely more damning evidence than just 2 phone calls
By Tim Kawakami
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 3:50 pm in 49ers, NFL.
I’m hearing a lot of detail floating around the NFL about what really led to the 49ers’ guilty verdict in the Lance Briggs tampering case.
Surprise: The evidence is more than what the 49ers are admitting and spinning.
The additional evidence apparently involves NFL investigation of internal 49ers’ e-mail between front-office folk during key moments in the Briggs’ timeline.
My understanding is that the e-mail discussions highlight the significance of the phone calls to agent Drew Rosenhaus (though, as the 49ers point out, there were no actual discussions during the calls).
This is what is confirmed by several sources: There’s more evidence than the 49ers are saying. It’s definitely more than just 2 stand alone phone calls to Rosenhaus.
Because the NFL can put those phone calls in context.
Some of the most fascinating, detailed stuff I heard is from just one source, so it’s not totally confirmed–though it’s not completely denied by other reputable sources, either. (Still, I’m leaving most of it out of this entry.)
And all of it makes more sense than the 49ers’ spin yesterday, and the 49ers have a habit of attempting spin that is rather easily debunked.
Did the 49ers really think smart people would buy that the only evidence Commissioner Roger Goodell had was two phone missed calls to Briggs’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus? Without Rosenhaus being at the hearing last week?
Does that seem plausible in any way? Just two random phone messages, some surface circumstantial evidence: GUILTY! Lose draft picks! It’s not plausible.
It feels like a 49ers’ spin/exaggeration/mischaracterization… and whether they mean to or not, the act of doing it basically challenges Goodell’s judgement and his credibility.
Fine, if the 49ers are on the side of angels on this one. But if they’re not correct–if they are guilty of something and trying to cover it up for PR purposes–firing a shot at Goodell is so wholly stupid it goes well beyond even the stupidity of getting caught with Briggs.
Are the 49ers arguing that the new commissioner is dumb? Unfair? Vindictive? Silly?
None of that goes over well on Park Ave., as far as I know. And I pretty much do know that.
I’ve talked to people. I’ve asked the 49ers to clarify their posture–and yes, the 49ers’ stance gets fuzzier and fuzzier the more you focus on the exact facts and the more you ask about e-mail evidence.
It’s very possible that the 49ers and their top supporters are going to have to retreat to this convenience: There’s no literal paper trail.
Well, guys: Of course not, if it’s all e-mail evidence.
From what I hear, NFL investigators collected 49ers’ internal e-mails involving the Main Front Office Folk (you know all or most of their names) during the Briggs time-frame.
The content of the e-mails and their timing (plus some other circumstantial evidence) apparently are why the commissioner concluded that those missed phone calls to Rosenhaus involved a potential Briggs contract during last season and not, say, an attempt to check up on Taylor Jacobs.
I’ve heard who it was who made the fateful calls to Rosenhaus and who sent most of the allegedly damning e-mail, but I won’t name him here, since I’m not 100 percent on it.
See, there’s tons of detail. Fascinating detail.
(Again: I don’t think tampering is a serious event in the NFL since everybody does it. The problem for the 49ers: They were dumb enough and did it clunkily enough to get caught–costing them a 5th round pick and a flop of 3rds with Chicago. And now, possibly the ire of the commissioner’s office.)
Oh and there’s more:
Some of the internal e-mails from front office people reveal that the top lieutenants to John and Jed York possibly aren’t quite totally all best friends and totally on the same page.
It’s probably never good for power people to see each other’s private intra-office e-mails. But, thanks to the investigation, now they all know who thinks what about whom. And the commissioner’s office knows it, too.
Gee, that doesn’t sound like the 49ers’ braintrust I know!
Now you can say that, even if the 49ers were slightly guilty, this is much ado about nothing and that the Bears over-played their hand and were silly to pursue it this far.
I’m not totally disagreeing with that. Again: Tampering is done by every smart franchise in the NFL.
But it’s just like the 49ers to be the ones who get caught… and who get their dirty laundry aired out before the commissioner.
And it’s just like the 49ers to try to spin it, unaware that the gory details always come out eventually.
