Wilbon doesn't see why Pearlman wrote about Payton

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/7038378/flaws-all-walter-payton-sweetness

This is the guy who said Sean Taylor had it coming.

 

Fanboi.

 

Sums it up.

And I love Payton, too, but to knock this book's execution (provided it vets out, fully) is
wasted breath/keystrokes.

 

The marriage infidelities seem to be the part that people are most shaky about.

In Pearlman's defense, I guess, I don't think I've ever read a serious biography about someone that didn't explore their marriage. It's such a big part of their life. I just read Jonathan Eig's Lou Gehrig book and he writes extensively about Mrs. Gehrig's frosty relationship with the other Mrs. Gehrig - Lou's mother. And he addresses gossip that Babe Ruth had sex with Gehrig's wife on a cruise ship.

Our marriages are the central relationship in our lives and define us in so many ways. A biography that doesn't look at someone's marriage, as personal and uncomfortable as that can be, isn't really a serious biography.

 

Marriages should also be the most valued relationship in our lives, unfortunately for many athletes the temptations they face on the road overcome them, and the locker room mentality doesn't help foster strong marriages.

Kudos to those athletes who stand for their marriages and do it well. Rather you want to be or not, you are role models.

 

Perhaps Wilbon can supply us with the fluffy, marshmallow bio on Walter, as for me I prefer a biography that gives us a real view of the man involved...the good (and there was plenty with Walter) along with the bad.

 

This.

I can't imagine this bio won't have the good as well. I think people get nutsy over book excerpts. All they are are the most gossipy nuggets out of books.

 

Yes, I'm not a fan of book excerpts...with Pearlman's name on this one, I'm going to search it out for my Nook already.

 

If there was ever a topic that deserved a one-word explanation, this is it. What a fool.

I heard the abomination that is the local sports talk spilling the same garbage, wondering why this had to come out about Payton. Ummm. How about you talk about why Payton did those things? Maybe there is reason, context to be provided. Instead they attack the messenger like he shoved the pills down Payton's throat.

 

I like Wilbon a good deal, but this is his Achilles' heel.

See: Jordan, Michael.

 

Strong column by Chi Trib's David Haugh on the topic. Haugh questions why the whole issue of brain disease isn't considered by the author.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0930-haugh-payton-book-bears-chicago--20110930,0,5781444.column