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View Full Version : ESPN MICHAEL SMITH ON JAVON- TERRIBLE REPORTING



Bretsky
05-08-2006, 11:03 PM
I'D JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT SOME TERRIBLE REPORTING BY EITHER AN INCOMPETENT OR SOMEBODY WHO IS TOO BUDDY BUDDY TO ASK JAVON WALKER THE REAL QUESTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE MADE A STORY ANY YAHOO IN HERE COULD NOT HAVE WRITTEN.

EXCERPTS FROM ESPN ARTICLE IN WHICH JW SAYS MUCH ABOUT NOTHING AND MICHAEL SMITH HAS HIS NOSE SO FAR UP JW'S @SS IT'S RIDICULOUS.


"At the time when I wanted out of Green Bay I was encouraging [Lelie, that] if he went to Green Bay, he would love it up there because it might be a better fit for him," Walker says. "He would love Green Bay. He would have loved the fans. He did the same thing about Denver, didn't bad-mouth them or anything. "It's not like if a guy wants out of a certain team that he is going to go to another team and do the same thing [be unhappy]. Certain [places] don't fit certain people."

NOTE IN HERE JAVON SAID MUCH ABOUT NOTHING. SOME FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS WERE IN ORDER TO NAIL DOWN SOME SPECIFICS, BUT SMITH PASSES.

"I feel relieved now," Walker says. "I feel like a big burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm happy with the situation now, I'm happy being in Denver. I hope I can provide for them what I provided for Green Bay."
"I mean, you know, who runs the team?" Walker says. "Anybody [else] they might have said something, but being that it was Brett they probably didn't know how to approach the situation."

SO CLEARLY THE TONE OF THIS IS JAVON WALKER HAD A PROBLEM WITH BRETT FAVRE AND HOW HE'S TREATED. BUT AFTER HINTING AT THAT POINT, THE ARTICLE PROCEEDS BELOW.

The rift with Favre didn't drive Walker to want out of Green Bay, he said. Walker said he had more of a problem with several unnamed teammates privately gossiping about his contract situation and how it affected them than he did with Favre's public comments.

TO NOT FOLLOW UP ON THIS WAS PERHAPS THE WORST OF ALL SINS. CERTAIN UNNAMED TEAMMATES ????????????? WHY EVEN INCLUDE THAT IS YOU DON'T HAVE THE JUGS TO EXPAND ON THAT MORE. NAMES....EXAMPLES. JAVON WAS THOUGHT TO BE WELL LIKED WHILE HE WAS HERE. IMO THIS IS JUST PURE CRAP REPORTING AND A PURE CRAP ARTICLE.


Walker also had a problem with the procession of veterans having to leave (Darren Sharper, Mike Wahle, Marco Rivera, Mike McKenzie) or sit (Bubba Franks) in order to receive paydays, while the Packers wouldn't so much as discuss a possible renegotiation of the deal Walker signed in 2002.

IS ANY OF THIS INFORMATIVE OR ANYTHING A FOOTBALL FAN DOES NOT KNOW ?

Walker said he signed with Rosenhaus because of his aggressive reputation. He ultimately fired Rosenhaus because, Walker believed, that reputation was working against him. "I felt like … the Packers … weren't gonna let me get what I want dealing with Drew," he said. "I had a feeling that they would be stubborn towards me just because Drew is my agent. Even during the course of the season, 'When are you going to fire Drew? When are you going to fire Drew? When are you going to fire Drew?'"

AT LEAST HERE SMITH GIVES US ONE THING WE DIDN'T KNOW. APPARENTLY, IF YOU BELIEVE WALKER, TT DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH DREW. BUT SMITH MAKES NO EFFORT TO ASK JAVON WHY HE SHOULD BE THE EXCEPTION TO GREEN BAY'S POLICY NOT TO RENEGOTIATE WITH TWO YEARS LEFT.

Walker said he has no lingering resentment toward Favre. In fact he'd like an autographed No. 4 jersey to hang in his home. "Shoot, if Brett went to another team, another organization," Walker says, "I can go play with him."

CLAYTON AND HIS RELATIVES AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE REPORTS JW IS PO'D AT FAVRE; HARD TO BELIEVE THIS BUNK.


"Deep down I knew that [Denver] would be a perfect fit for me," Walker says. "That's what I've always wanted, to go into a game knowing that the ball club is trying to figure out a way to get the ball to Javon Walker."

DID GREEN BAY NOT TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GET THE BALL TO JW ?
AGAIN MUCH ABOUT NOTHING; IN WATCHING THE INTERVIEW MY IMPRESSION IS JW IS NOT A CLEVER GUY AND MICHAEL SMITH IS AN ABSOLUTE WANNABE


Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Contact him here

Partial
05-08-2006, 11:09 PM
i thought it was comical they referred to walker as a very bright, intelligent young man.

Bretsky
05-08-2006, 11:12 PM
i thought it was comical they referred to walker as a very bright, intelligent young man.

Agree; JW comes across as a nice guy. From everything I have heard JW was very well liked by his teammates. That's why this asskisser did such a terrible job when he didn't push the issue when JW indicated several teammates had issues with him. Just terrible reporting.

JW is a nice guy, but an idiot who was fed bad information by everyone around him. I would still have been fine if GB had taken a hard stance against this game; unfortunately when you give in more will follow.

GrnBay007
05-08-2006, 11:25 PM
This may not be a very popular thing to say on this forum........but I almost feel kinda bad for the guy .......in a sort of resentful way. He doesn't seem to be the brightest guy. Seems like he's had advise that was not the most resonable. Had he stayed in GB and produced this year he would have gotten a nice contract I'm sure. Now he's with a new team and if the post was accurate in what what he will be paid.....nothing but 2 mil is guaranteed? Coming off a serious injury you never know what kind of season he will have and they could just get rid of him after this year?? Maybe I read that wrong? That seems like it could be a gamble.

Bretsky
05-08-2006, 11:29 PM
This may not be a very popular thing to say on this forum........but I almost feel kinda bad for the guy .......in a sort of resentful way. He doesn't seem to be the brightest guy. Seems like he's had advise that was not the most resonable. Had he stayed in GB and produced this year he would have gotten a nice contract I'm sure. Now he's with a new team and if the post was accurate in what what he will be paid.....nothing but 2 mil is guaranteed? Coming off a serious injury you never know what kind of season he will have and they could just get rid of him after this year?? Maybe I read that wrong? That seems like it could be a gamble.


From what I heard about that deal it seems very low risk for Denver. Makes me actually wonder what TT could have done along the way to make the situation better. Cause if GB could have the same contract I heard about, we'd take that and Javon Walker back in a second.

GrnBay007
05-08-2006, 11:32 PM
This comment:

"The rift with Favre didn't drive Walker to want out of Green Bay, he said. Walker said he had more of a problem with several unnamed teammates privately gossiping about his contract situation and how it affected them than he did with Favre's public comments."


Just seems so petty.

Partial
05-09-2006, 12:22 AM
i thought it was comical they referred to walker as a very bright, intelligent young man.

Agree; JW comes across as a nice guy. From everything I have heard JW was very well liked by his teammates. That's why this asskisser did such a terrible job when he didn't push the issue when JW indicated several teammates had issues with him. Just terrible reporting.

JW is a nice guy, but an idiot who was fed bad information by everyone around him. I would still have been fine if GB had taken a hard stance against this game; unfortunately when you give in more will follow.

I've met him and he is very nice and friendly. Very good basketball player, too.

He came across as much less intelligent in this interview then I noticed when I conversed with him. This was quite the ridiculous interview.

Tarlam!
05-09-2006, 02:23 AM
Walker blew it. He over-reacted completely. It's a shame, I hope the trade works out for both teams, but I could care less if Walker fails and is cut in a year.

mraynrand
05-09-2006, 08:06 AM
Bretsky,

You're right. The reporting is just dishonest. When you omit or avoid certain things either because you fear a player won't talk to you or because you're a shameless jock sniffer, you're not doing your job. Things that should have been asked of Walker: 1) Favre repeatedly said that you were worth a lot more money, but he didn't think holding out was the way of going about it - is this a fair statement? What do you think about it? (In other words, the press continually set up the conflict as though Favre was saying Walker wasn't really worth more). 2) The renegotiation with two years remaining - if it's GB policy not to re-negotiate until the last year of the contract, didn't Javon imagine that he'd get the new contract and money the following year? Someone needed to ask this. What was the reason he couldn't wait one more year? Should GB change it's policy, or should only Javon get special consideration? Did Javon think that getting his contract re-worked with two years remaining would be a divisive issue amongst the team?

In a way I feel sorry just a bit for Walker as well. Just a glimpse and a few comments from him family tells you what the driving force behind most of his actions has been. This is a bit of a guess, but I think some relatives wanted some cash (and NOW), and Javon was the cash cow. Walker is clearly not the sharpest tool in the drawer (although he IS a TOOL!).

SkinBasket
05-09-2006, 09:32 AM
At least Smith's counterparts on Aruond the Horn called him out for being all cuddly wuddly with Marcus Vick a couple weeks back. I think he's a decent writer, but he is usually more interested in keeping close relations with the players he interviews instead of beheading them in the national media. Don't know if I blame him, as a man's got to make his living getting these interviews, and you don't get players to talk to you if you get a rep as someone who will fillets his interviewees.

Noodle
05-09-2006, 09:44 AM
I agree with 007. Until he mixed in with Rosenhaus, the press on Walker was nothing but glowing. As I recall, this all started after Walker did an off-season of working out with Owens, who undoubtedly got in his ear about how he should go with Rosenhaus. So Walker got some really bad advice and then found himself in a no-win situation.

I've always thought TT should ahve done more to reconcile the situation, and my perception was that TT was more interested in showing that he had a hefty nutsack than in getting Walker back. But contract stuff is so secret that no one really knows what happened.

MadtownPacker
05-09-2006, 10:38 AM
Things that should have been asked of Walker: 1) Favre repeatedly said that you were worth a lot more money, but he didn't think holding out was the way of going about it - is this a fair statement? What do you think about it? (In other words, the press continually set up the conflict as though Favre was saying Walker wasn't really worth more). 2) The renegotiation with two years remaining - if it's GB policy not to re-negotiate until the last year of the contract, didn't Javon imagine that he'd get the new contract and money the following year? Someone needed to ask this. What was the reason he couldn't wait one more year? Should GB change it's policy, or should only Javon get special consideration? Did Javon think that getting his contract re-worked with two years remaining would be a divisive issue amongst the team?

In a way I feel sorry just a bit for Walker as well. Just a glimpse and a few comments from him family tells you what the driving force behind most of his actions has been. This is a bit of a guess, but I think some relatives wanted some cash (and NOW), and Javon was the cash cow. Walker is clearly not the sharpest tool in the drawer (although he IS a TOOL!).Excellent post!! I am truly heartbroken over walker. When Sherm drafted him I just knew he was gonna be a big play machine. Too bad he let people get into his head.

Bretsky
05-09-2006, 09:15 PM
Bretsky,

You're right. The reporting is just dishonest. When you omit or avoid certain things either because you fear a player won't talk to you or because you're a shameless jock sniffer, you're not doing your job. Things that should have been asked of Walker: 1) Favre repeatedly said that you were worth a lot more money, but he didn't think holding out was the way of going about it - is this a fair statement? What do you think about it? (In other words, the press continually set up the conflict as though Favre was saying Walker wasn't really worth more). 2) The renegotiation with two years remaining - if it's GB policy not to re-negotiate until the last year of the contract, didn't Javon imagine that he'd get the new contract and money the following year? Someone needed to ask this. What was the reason he couldn't wait one more year? Should GB change it's policy, or should only Javon get special consideration? Did Javon think that getting his contract re-worked with two years remaining would be a divisive issue amongst the team?

In a way I feel sorry just a bit for Walker as well. Just a glimpse and a few comments from him family tells you what the driving force behind most of his actions has been. This is a bit of a guess, but I think some relatives wanted some cash (and NOW), and Javon was the cash cow. Walker is clearly not the sharpest tool in the drawer (although he IS a TOOL!).


GREAT POINTS; WHEN I READ THAT STORY I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS THE MOST PATHETIC JOB I'VE WITNESSED BY ESPN IN A LONG TIME, AND THAT'S ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING.

SMITH IS CRAP AS A REPORTER IMO

HarveyWallbangers
05-09-2006, 10:56 PM
You're right. The reporting is just dishonest.

Honestly, why doesn't the team's media consultant (or whatever) handle this better?

Seriously, if I were the Packers, I'd treat this like a politiican. I'd have somebody hound outlets like ESPN to make sure the facts don't get lost in the equation.

Right now, for the Packers it's like having a good politiican with a poor campaign manager.

KYPack
05-11-2006, 07:58 AM
I agree with 00. I've already put Walker in my rear view mirror. That said, my impression of Walker was of a decent guy who just isn't very bright. If he thinks he's gonna ever get the fat part of that Denver contract, he's nuts.

You could easily see how these snaky agents could fool the guy by telling him what he wants to hear. I think Javon will wind up getting screwed by trick contracts for his whole career and might wind up never getting paid.

ESPN?

If that organization doesn't make some fundamental changes pretty quick, they could cease to be around in a short time. When your business is news, you've got to treat the truth with more respect than that bunch does.