MMQB

I live for Boom ripping King. But I would never say it publicly.

 

I think you have to cover all aspects of the story. When an athlete gets seriously hurt or killed, obviously that's a far more important issue than how his absence will affect the team, but there's nothing wrong with addressing the sports angle in a secondary way as well. ESPN had a story last night on how the Bucs will replace Simms and what it means for their chances to win the division. Nothing wrong or insensitive about that. It's part of the story.

 

I can't put my finger on it but NBC tone seemed too somber. Call me a cynic but way they introduced story had ebersole written all over it - they wanted to hold viewer who would be breathlessy waiting to hear what happend to Chris. King came on with gravatas meter dialed up about 4 clicks too high.

 

Of course it's part of the story...but not THE story, and that's usually how it's played. We didn't know whether Roethlisberger actually had a head to put a helmet on, and everyone was speculating whether he'd miss the opening game. Trent Green, not moving and strapped to a board, no word on how many games he'll miss. Etc.

Not saying it's inappropriate to mention, but there has to be some perspective in the reporting.

 

What happened to Trent Green ? Is he out for a while?

 

I think this is unfair criticism. I was watching the pregame when Costas reported Simms was in critical condition, and yes, he was very somber -- approporiately so. Immediately after, King came on and the first thing he said was that Simms was not critical and explained what he knew (which wasn't much at the time). Seemed like a very serious subject handled seriously. Don't know what else you'd expect.

 

I am willing to wait until Phil Mushnick rings in on this story. Lets all agree that Phil will be our arbitor and we will defer to his opinion.

 

Sorry, but I just don't think that was the case at all. When Roethlisberger was hurt, the first stories had very little do do with the football aspect of it. Everybody was trying to determine whether the injuries were life-threatening or not becasue there was all kinds of speculation out there. Once all the rumors were put to rest, then yeah, there were stories about how long he'd be out, which is perfectly appropriate. Fans may start worrying about their fantasy team immediately, but writers and broadcasters usually show a little more sensitivity, even if it's not always sincere. If anything, we get bombarded with the "this puts sports in perspective" stuff a little too much.