Which athletes/coaches do you think get a free pass from the press?

I have two close friends who cover the Tour de France every year. Both of them make a ton of money freelancing for several different papers who, for obvious reasons don't want to send a staffer there for the entire event.

Both of them swear there is no doubt in their minds that Armstrong used. Apparently there has been a rumor out there for quite some time that SI put some of their best investigative guys on it, who dug up some good shit on Armstrong and then the story was killed.

The popular feeling is that nobody in this country wants to read that a hero to millions was a steroid user.

 

I'd be curious how many NFL teams have made the playoffs six of the last 10 seasons. I'm guessing it's New England, Indianapolis, Philly, Pittsburgh and Tennessee. With the parity in the NFL, making the playoffs is pretty tough to do regularly.

Yes, it helps that Fisher is one of the most media-friendly coaches in the NFL.

 

Tampa Bay and Seattle

That would be a great trivia question.

 

So seven total, right?

 

Oh, and who was the "judge" that determined which of his playoff outcomes were "flukes" and which were the real deal---you? OK we can assume Dungy's post-season wins were all just flukes but those close playoff losses were the real Dungy. Well how do we know it's not the reverse? Umm, well, Rhody says so.

 

There are tons of sports rumors like that. (The NBA Draft was rigged so Patrick Ewing would go to the Knicks! Jordan's baseball career was actually caused by a secret suspension for gambling! Cal Ripkin's streak almost ended when he caught Kevin Costner in bed with his wife!) Doesn't mean there is one teeny bit of truth to them.

 

Brett Favre.

Also, we should do an opposite thread. How about guys who just get beat up for no reason, perhaps unfairly? I would say Donovan McNab and maybe A-Rod. A-Rod can't even take his shirt off.

 

get your god damn facts straight, solider.

 

-It used to piss me off that while Barry Bonds was getting ripped apart for his (alleged) steroid use, Roger Clemens got a free pass all those years while he was getting older and playing only half seasons yet still hurling the heat... until the shit finally hit the fan with his (alleged) steroid use. That always bothered me.

-Marvin Harrison has been getting a "free pass" since the shooting incident with his gun in Philly. I say that because YOU KNOW they'd be all over this if it was T.O. or Ocho Cinco.

-Brett Favre is a selfish, cocky, overrated quarterback who gets a "free pass."

 

Agree on all counts. People went after Bonds, but just kind of glazed over most of the other active players.

 

Agreed. I thought that story would blow up after the ballistic evidence came back proving the shots came from his gun. But, aside from that recent ESPN piece, it's largely been brushed aside. How is an active Hall of Famer shooting two people and getting away with it not a bigger story?

 

Because there is still no real evidence that he did the shooting other than a few very questionable eyewitnesss accounts.