Is Manning really this big of a jerk?

Craig Kelley's always been really good to me. When Tobin and Marchibroda were there they had an excellent PR staff. Kelley being viewed poorly is more a result of Polian than of Kelley himself. I'm sure if he wants to keep his job he's going to kowtow to Polian's wishes. I think Craig's a very decent guy. He's in a tough spot.

 

Has there ever been a "definitive" Peyton profile written? I'm thinking along the lines of Charlie Pierce's Tiger story, something like that.

 

A rather high bar to set, sir.

That said, Tim Layden wrote a pretty good one in about him when he was in college, nearly 5,000 words, but I've not seen anyone break much new ground since then. He's sort of a guy everyone writes about, but no one ever really says much.

 

Kind of like every Tiger piece since Pierce's.

 

peyton = derek jeter. a spokesman who's guard is always up and keeps his private life private.

actually, peyton displays better humor than jeter, but you get the idea. when's the last time you read that kind of personal profile on jeter? never, is my guess. at least not in recent memory.

 

I would love to see someone write a Gay Talese/Sinatra Has A Cold profile on Jeter. But again, an awfully high bar to set. Here is the problem, though: The most memorable scene in that Talese story is him watching Frank from across the bar, and the two dames are trying to get his attention, and he's barely tolerating their presence. Frank then bullies the hell out of Harlan Ellison, some screen writer, because he doesn't like his boots, and that he's not wearing a jacket and tie in "Frank's club." But athletes now just retire to their private VIP rooms, and seem to take only their friends, teammates, and sluts with them. Still, it would be cool to see someone really good try with Jeter, especially since he's such a man about town.

I'm always fascinated by profiles where the subject clearly does not want to be written about. It makes the writer work much harder, and when done well, gives room for some beautiful writing.

Here is the Sinatra profile, for anyone interested.

http://www.dalekeiger.com/wp-content/FrankSinatraHasaCold.pdf

 

Ryan Robinson, formerly of the University of Kentucky?

I only dealt with him sparingly in college, but he seemed like a good guy.

 

OK, a recap of the thread to this point: PM is not a jerk to the media. (This by the way, jives with my own limited personal experience with him, when he was at UT. Covered one game he played in, and he was there long after all the other players had left). His teammates? Apparently most of us feel he has license to do whatever the hell he wants where they are concerned.

 

No, I just think you're strongly overreacting about him.

But hey, you're entitled to think he's a jerk. Just don't pout if not all of us want to join you.

 

wow, that talese piece on sinatra was incredible. well worth the 36 minutes it took to read it. 8)

 

Apparently Peyton will let his guard down to those he feels really comfortable with. A guy at our shop has covered him off and on since college, and he randomly ran into him at a golf course last summer (Peyton's actually a pretty good golfer ... not Del Greco, but good). Here's a quick exchange they had at the 19th hole.

John Q. Reporter: "Peyton, I'm just curious, how do you really feel about the Patriots?"
Peyton: "Just to be sure, we're off the record, right?"
John Q.: "Yes."
Peyton: "I fuckin hate those guys."

He is human. Not perfect by a long shot, but as human as someone can be with the spotlight and scrutiny he lives under, in my opinion.

 

On Inside the NFL on HBO tonight, NFL Films' highlights of the Super Bowl showed Manning giving detailed instructions to several teammates on how and when to pour the Gatorade on Dungy's head. But it's important to remember being a control freak doesn't have any impact on whether or not you're a good person.