SI Rick Reilly brutal hatchet job

[ajcardfan]

There is no doubt that the Cardinals, my favorite team, are one of the most inept sports teams in history. To expect a national writer to proclaim the Cardinals as something other than that is not looking at the facts.

I don't think anyone would seriously argue this. I won't, the Bidwills have been the worst owners in the NFL, ever.

However, couldn't the guy come up with fresher material than Chris Gedney and Lomas Brown? It was, at the very least, a lazy effort. It was like he found a file buried on his desk, blew off the dust and decided to finish the article. To update his research, he read the Republic article on Mike Bidwill from last month and took one quote from it without attribution.

Really, the whole thing just seemed pointless unless he was trying to "get" the Bidwills for some reason.

 

[Mulli]

Correct me if I am wrong. Didn't BOTH Lomas Brown and Chris Gedney sign with the Cardinals voluntarily? The same Cardinals that were cheap and bad long before those two signed here? Did they somehow miss how bad the Cards had been and how cheap the Bidwills were?

 

[football karma]

my only problem with the piece was that is was lazy --

I mean a national columnist on the back page of SI picks of all topics "Bill Bidwill is a bad owner". Gosh --as if that topic hasnt been covered only a million times before.

I also find interesting this:

Bill Sr-- described as an extremely nice man, but inept

Mike B -- described as very capable, but a total jerk

The fact is that every achievement oriented person has crushed his or her share of people they have come across in pursuing their goals. It happens. I am sure there were loads of people working for the Cardinals who got very used to low expectations. Mike B shows up expecting results and they dont like it.

I guarantee that Jerry C has a long list of people in this town who feel he abused them -- its just that they know they cant speak up given Jerry's rep, whereas its always in style to rip a Bidwill.

 

[abomb]

Go down to Jilly's during the season, there is a fair to middling chance you might get to meet him. he isn't there every week but he does show up and last time he was very avilable to the fans, to the point that one ASFN member actully spilled beer all over his shoes, and he was cool about that.

/Looks at D-Dogg then back at Nidan

A-Bomb

 

[D-Dogg]

Yeah, I recall someone nearby with a quickdraw handshake for Mike B. knocking said beer from said ASFN'er's hand. Poor kid.

Mike B is a stud..he was totally cool about it, and drank a beer whilst talking to us all.

 

[BigRedMO]

I don't think anyone would seriously argue this. I won't, the Bidwills have been the worst owners in the NFL, ever.

However, couldn't the guy come up with fresher material than Chris Gedney and Lomas Brown? It was, at the very least, a lazy effort. It was like he found a file buried on his desk, blew off the dust and decided to finish the article. To update his research, he read the Republic article on Mike Bidwill from last month and took one quote from it without attribution.

Really, the whole thing just seemed pointless unless he was trying to "get" the Bidwills for some reason.

AJ,

I am assuming you have been a fan of the Big Red for awhile like me. Do you remember all the times in the past when the turn around was predicted only to have our hopes dashed?

There are writers talking about the good changes. Sporting News predicts them to win the west. It is not realistic to expect every reporter to repeat the same story about those changes. To me that is lazy. SI could have looked at every other positve article and just rehashed it. They are just reminding fans to take all these positive changes with a grain of salt. There have been many changes that did not pan out. (Jake Plummer, the great D-Line of Swan, Wadsworth, Rice and Smith.Green, the Cards collapse of '77, the collapse of '85. Green still has not put a winning team on the field.

 

[Pariah]

Articles DO NOT win or lose games.

Who said they did?

 

[40yearfan]

AJ,

I am assuming you have been a fan of the Big Red for awhile like me. Do you remember all the times in the past when the turn around was predicted only to have our hopes dashed?

There are writers talking about the good changes. Sporting News predicts them to win the west. It is not realistic to expect every reporter to repeat the same story about those changes. To me that is lazy. SI could have looked at every other positve article and just rehashed it. They are just reminding fans to take all these positive changes with a grain of salt. There have been many changes that did not pan out. (Jake Plummer, the great D-Line of Swan, Wadsworth, Rice and Smith.Green, the Cards collapse of '77, the collapse of '85. Green still has not put a winning team on the field.

I disagree that he is trying to remind us. It's obvious he has no knowledge of any changes that have taken place in this organization for the past 5 years. He needed a quick piece and instead of doing a little research, opted to rehash old wounds. He's the one who is being lazy.

 

[ajcardfan]

I disagree that he is trying to remind us. It's obvious he has no knowledge of any changes that have taken place in this organization for the past 5 years. He needed a quick piece and instead of doing a little research, opted to rehash old wounds. He's the one who is being lazy.

Yeah, it's not like he said, "Sure they changed the way they do contracts, paid big money for a coach, etc, etc, But, these are still the Bidwills and they can still flub it up."

 

[BigRedMO]

Yeah, it's not like he said, "Sure they changed the way they do contracts, paid big money for a coach, etc, etc, But, these are still the Bidwills and they can still flub it up."

What does Denny Green, Gene Stallings, Bud Wilkinson and Dave McGinnis among others have in common? None have put a winning Cardinal team on the field.

Change is a constant in sports. The Cards losing are the rare exception to that rule. However in that period change has been constant as the Cards have tried various approaches. Why do you think the national media should be so convinced about this new change resulting in wins to proclaim it without there being any prove of success? All those things you have talked about as positive changes have been talked about by national media. I do not recall a national piece like this in awhile to remind people of previous promise that did not pan out.

I cant wait untill the season begins so all this talk will come to an end. Green will produce or he wont. At that point there is something to talk about. The article does not hurt my feelings, make me want to boycott anyone or cause me lost sleep.

 

[BigRedMO]

I disagree that he is trying to remind us. It's obvious he has no knowledge of any changes that have taken place in this organization for the past 5 years. He needed a quick piece and instead of doing a little research, opted to rehash old wounds. He's the one who is being lazy.

In recent years how many articles has SI done on the Big Red? I am guessing none. The fact that they are writing about them suggests they are aware of the changes and positive coverage. So they are reminding all the optimists of the past. You should be worried if SI and other national media was not talking about the Cardinals like in recent years. Then you could not pay the national media to mention the Cards.

 

[Jersey Girl]

To expect a national writer to proclaim the Cardinals as something other than that is not looking at the facts. The team had a losing season last year. That is not "decent". They have not had a winning season since 1998. They have not won double digit wins in a regular season since 1976.

I am not expecting ANY sports writer to come out and start tooting the horn of the Cards. They didn't have a winning season last year? They haven't had a winning season since 1998? Thanks for stating what we all already know. When I say "decent" in regards to last season, I mean that I saw improvements. I saw progress. I had hope for the coming years, and I'm not just talking about the blind "wait until next year" crap.

In recent years how many articles has SI done on the Big Red? I am guessing none. The fact that they are writing about them suggests they are aware of the changes and positive coverage. So they are reminding all the optimists of the past. You should be worried if SI and other national media was not talking about the Cardinals like in recent years. Then you could not pay the national media to mention the Cards.

I disagree. The article never says "curb your enthusiam" or "whoa nelly, slow down there, Cards fans." It says we fans need all the toilets we can get. It quotes players from five years ago. It talks about the cheapness of the owners over a period of time. It doesn't talk about how the team might or might not look this season. It doesn't address any improvements the team may or may not have made on the field. It just tears down the Bidwills.

Am I saying that what Reilly says is not justified or true? No, that's not what I'm saying at all. We've all heard stories and we all form our own opinions. I just think that, out of all the things Reilly could have written about this week, that this choice was just a lame one.

 

[arthurracoon]

Rick Riley will be on AM 1060 in a few minutes!!!