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Manti Te'o

metirish Jan 17 2013 05:50 AM

He had to be in on this hoax?, can a person be this gullible? Story http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/other/ ... 69798.html

themetfairy Jan 17 2013 06:06 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I can't see how he wasn't involved. The only other explanation is that he is incredibly stupid. And I just can't believe that any individual is THAT stupid.

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 06:39 AM Re: Manti Te'o

The real joke is on the media, although they don't care and are just happy they get another day or two to talk about Manti Te'o, amateur sports, and Notre Dame.

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2013 06:40 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I had only heard of this original story in passing (meaning the whole dead girlfriend thing) so I'm not about to pretend to be some sort of instant expert on it and start dissecting the timeline for purposes of assigning blame. But it seems to me that the folks with the biggest egg on their faces have to be those in the media who bit on this thing hook, line, and sinker apparently without even considering whether it had a ring of truth to it or not. At best that makes many of them repeaters rather than reporters; at worst it pretty much confirms my long-standing belief that those who supposedly cover college sports are more interested in being cheerleaders for it than actual journalists.

Farmer Ted Jan 17 2013 06:44 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Te'o's girlfirend cheated on him with George Glass. That's what I'm hearing. Te'o is to have a presser, possibly today. Wondering if ARS's Imaginary Lover will be playing in the background?

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 06:48 AM Re: Manti Te'o Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 17 2013 06:49 AM

Farmer Ted wrote: Te'o is to have a presser, possibly today. Wondering if ARS's Imaginary Lover will be playing in the background? Odds are 8:1 that he spins another yarn, and 2:3 that the media buys it without fact checking. I read through the deadspin article. AP apparently got a city name wrong too, citing one that didn't exist. So it's not just that they were "too trusting" or anything like that. as someone who's only watched a handful of Brady Bunch episodes years ago, someone want to explain the connection for me?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2013 06:49 AM Re: Manti Te'o

George Glass!

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2013 06:54 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Farmer Ted wrote: Wondering if ARS's Imaginary Lover will be playing in the background? That would be AWESOME!!!! Then maybe they could hire Captain Tuttle to keep order in the room.

metirish Jan 17 2013 07:12 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Next stop is surely Oprah...... this story changes is seems by the minute,heard on the radio that an Arizona Cardinals player claims to have been good friends with the girl.....but she doesn't exist?, and again depending on who you are listening to this girls name has been involved in a similar situation going back to 2008.......

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2013 07:19 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I met her once at a party. She seemed very nice. I'm sorry to learn that she never existed.

metirish Jan 17 2013 07:20 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I met her once at a party. She seemed very nice. I'm sorry to learn that she never existed. Am now hearing she has an uncle from Nigeria.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 17 2013 07:23 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Bullshitting and being stupid (jocks like T'eo, Armstrong) and being lazy cocksuckers for access (Big Media like ESPN & now Sports Illustrated) is the New American Way.

SteveJRogers Jan 17 2013 07:24 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Frayed Knot wrote: I had only heard of this original story in passing (meaning the whole dead girlfriend thing) so I'm not about to pretend to be some sort of instant expert on it and start dissecting the timeline for purposes of assigning blame. But it seems to me that the folks with the biggest egg on their faces have to be those in the media who bit on this thing hook, line, and sinker apparently without even considering whether it had a ring of truth to it or not. At best that makes many of them repeaters rather than reporters; at worst it pretty much confirms my long-standing belief that those who supposedly cover college sports are more interested in being cheerleaders for it than actual journalists. And on the other side of the spectrum, Andy Martino is digging deep into a Met prospect's Twitter feed for anything that he can turn fire out of smoke from. Seriously, no one covering him/ND was a bit interested in reading an obit on her? That isn't stalking (what Martino is guilty of), that's plain human interest.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 07:27 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Yeah, it's a shame that little of the shame will fall on the ball-dropping media outlets. What a spectacular pileup, though.

soupcan Jan 17 2013 07:39 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I'm just struggling to even understand this story. -He had a girlfriend that died the same week/day as his grandmother. -That same week he had an amazing game against Michigan State. -As a result of both of these things, he garnered a lot of attention. -Apparently the girlfriend doesn't exist? Or at least her name isn't real? -But the photo that is supposed to be the non-existent girlfriend is someone that Te'o's good friend went to high school with? -But there is a question as to whether 'Te'o's good friend' is actually Te'o's good friend? -And Te'o's good friend (or not) is either behind the whole thing or not? And Te'o either had no idea that this was happening, or not? -Te'o either met the grl in the photo, but didn't? -Te'o said that the nonexistent girlfriend was in fact his girlfriend OR just a girl that he had only had an online relationship with but never met her in person? Whatever happened I'm still not even sure why its a story.

metsmarathon Jan 17 2013 07:42 AM Re: Manti Te'o

i'm naiive, but i think there's certainly a possibility that he was duped the whole time. he's young, and trusting. it can certainly happen. and its only a big story because the media cared about it, and now they care that they themselves were duped, much moreso than they care that any of us actually feel lied to and betrayed by it all.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2013 07:42 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I think that it's a story because it's so weird. You know, "man bites dog..."

seawolf17 Jan 17 2013 07:45 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think that it's a story because it's so weird. You know, "man bites dog..." Exactly. Saw an interesting theory from a friend on FB: he's gay, and created an imaginary girlfriend because he was raised in a strong religious household and goes to a huge Catholic school.

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 07:48 AM Re: Manti Te'o

seawolf17 wrote: I think that it's a story because it's so weird. You know, "man bites dog..." Exactly. Saw an interesting theory from a friend on FB: he's gay, and created an imaginary girlfriend because he was raised in a strong religious household and goes to a huge Catholic school. He'd instantly become my favorite NFL player (presuming he still got drafted) if he were to have an anti-Piazza press conference today.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2013 07:49 AM Re: Manti Te'o

You mean you want him to say that he's gay? Or that he hates Mike Piazza?

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 07:50 AM Re: Manti Te'o

He may be gay, but I don't think she was an electronic beard.

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 07:51 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Benjamin Grimm wrote: You mean you want him to say that he's gay? Or that he hates Mike Piazza? if he's in fact gay, yes, I want him to admit it because the media explosion and teeth-gnashing that would follow, for years, would be both groundbreaking and amusing.

metirish Jan 17 2013 08:00 AM Re: Manti Te'o

metsmarathon wrote: i'm naiive, but i think there's certainly a possibility that he was duped the whole time. he's young, and trusting. it can certainly happen. and its only a big story because the media cared about it, and now they care that they themselves were duped, much moreso than they care that any of us actually feel lied to and betrayed by it all. Maybe he was duped but Christ.......if your girlfriend had a terrible MVA wouldn't you want to be at her bedside.....then as she is dying from leukemia wouldn't you want to be there with her?....even one time?, so, all this time spent falling in love etc ,you have never met her and you never become suspicious?, although he did say after one game that"she's the most beautiful girl I have ever met"....

seawolf17 Jan 17 2013 08:02 AM Re: Manti Te'o

He hates Mike Piazza? Screw this guy, then. I'm going back to Not Caring About College Football Unless It Directly Pertains To Stony Brook.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2013 08:03 AM Re: Manti Te'o

If he's gay, I want him to admit it because it would be a courageous thing to do.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 08:09 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Duped into an online romance, got a dozen reasons not to meet up, was begged to trust her, and when the pressure mounted, the con artists killed her off. He, meanwhile, not quite sure how to explain to people why he hasn't met her face-to-face, did a little minor embellishing ("sure, yeah, I met her... in Hawaii") and things just got out of hand like a Three's Company episode. I'm not saying that's what happened. But (1) lonely but otherwise intelligent women get similarly duped every day, and (2) the University is pretty much standing by that angle. Which is remarkable to me, because I'd run the hell away. The season is over and all they have to do is continuously say "We're conducting our own investigation." By next season, between their own investigations and the work of every other hound on the case, all the shoes will have fallen, and then they could craft the safest of positions. Tip of the hat to Deadspin, though.

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 08:13 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If he's gay, I want him to admit it because it would be a courageous thing to do. yeah. groundbreaking, courageous. but also because I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the bigots screaming about it.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 17 2013 08:23 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Yeah, I think the likeliest thing was that he was a dumb trusting jock used to having shit done for him. He obviously wasn't smart enough to understand how dumb he'd look were he knowingly lying and got caught, or get suckered. What I can't understand is Sports Illustrated -- Sports Illustrated?!? -- getting journalistically whipped by an outlet specializing in athlete dick-shots.

metirish Jan 17 2013 08:27 AM Re: Manti Te'o

This article(October 25, 2012 10:21 PM) in Fox Sports is quite astonishing now that the "truth" is emerging......certainly it doesn't take away form the good Te'o did for this family...... http://sports.ca.msn.com/writer/teo-eas ... rents-pain

metirish Jan 17 2013 08:30 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Worth reading Greg Couch's article from today.......man he was duped http://sports.ca.msn.com/writer/whateve ... icon-falls

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 17 2013 09:01 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Jesus Christ Greg, get a grip. I had a great college prof who taught me the only two things a journalist really needs to know. 1. Never use 2 words where 1 is necessary 2. "If your mother says she loves you, check it out."

Ashie62 Jan 17 2013 09:17 AM Re: Manti Te'o

"Together we all made up Tuttle."

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 09:24 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Worth reading side-by-side with that angry foul-mouthed freak Buzz Bissinger's coming out as Armstrong's all-too- willing dupe.

metirish Jan 17 2013 09:27 AM Re: Manti Te'o

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Jesus Christ Greg, get a grip. I had a great college prof who taught me the only two things a journalist really needs to know. 1. Never use 2 words where 1 is necessary 2. "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." Chuck Stone seemed like a hell of a man.....

DocTee Jan 17 2013 09:37 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Cut him some slack: as a Mormon it must be hard to keep all those wives and girlfriends (real and imaginary) straight.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 09:40 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Funny. I also was lucky enough to have a Tuskeegee Airman as a mentor. (At least he said he was Tuskeegee Airman. Shit, now I don't know who to believe.)

Ceetar Jan 17 2013 09:50 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Has anyone checked to make sure Manti Te'o is even real?

metirish Jan 17 2013 09:57 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Ceetar wrote: Has anyone checked to make sure Manti Te'o is even real? He might not be because he never showed up for the title game.

Ashie62 Jan 17 2013 10:04 AM Re: Manti Te'o

DocTee wrote: Cut him some slack: as a Mormon it must be hard to keep all those wives and girlfriends (real and imaginary) straight. This may have started as a hoax or a Te'o invention but he choose to perpetuate the illusion. He would not be the first to have a make believe girlfriend. He did put ND at risk if Vegas choose to act.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 10:11 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Ceetar wrote: Has anyone checked to make sure Manti Te'o is even real? He's real. I once saw Todd Pratt hit a homer off of him. Had a volleyball-type physique, if I remember correctly.

Valadius Jan 17 2013 10:17 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I hear Manti Te'o lived next door to Sidd Finch.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 10:40 AM Re: Manti Te'o

ESPN Guy wrote: But short of asking to see a death certificate, I'm not sure what most people would do differently in that case. Take a pass on the story and report something about Tim Tebow's bushes or something? There are thousands and thousands of college football players, many with actual tragedies in their lives. Do some work.

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2013 10:41 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Remember also that Notre Dame is claiming to have known of this story for a while (around XMAS) but already checked it all out and came to the conclusion that Te'o is the hoax-ee not the hoax-er. So if this story all falls apart NDU is going to take a big hit on this as well. P.S. -- I happened to see a crawl of projected NFL draft picks for this coming spring a couple of days ago and Te'o was, I believe, around 8th (I remember this only because it was the one name in the top 10 I recognized). I wonder how/if that will change as the result of all this, but also to what degree it was up as high as it was in the first place due to the whole backstory/leadership/rep he had going on. The gurus that make their living on such projections like to give the impression that they're above all the hype and school-related pr and just judge the player himself but I dunno'bout that.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 10:43 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Frayed Knot wrote: Remember also that Notre Dame is claiming to have known of this story for a while (around XMAS) but already checked it all out and came to the conclusion that Te'o is the hoax-ee not the hoax-er. So if this story all falls apart NDU is going to take a big hit on this as well. Which is what I'm saying about how surprised I was to find the university planting their flag so quickly and in such earnest.

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2013 11:35 AM Re: Manti Te'o

ESPN Guy wrote: But short of asking to see a death certificate, I'm not sure what most people would do differently in that case. I'd suggest resisting the tendency to God-up the lives and athletic achievements of teenagers for the purpose of pumping up your company's brand but, hey, that's just me.

Edgy MD Jan 17 2013 12:28 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Meanstwhile, we have a serious brewing hostage crisis with conflicting accounts and this is the Manti's girlfraud is the lead story everywhere.

SteveJRogers Jan 17 2013 02:25 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Frayed Knot wrote: ESPN Guy wrote: But short of asking to see a death certificate, I'm not sure what most people would do differently in that case. I'd suggest resisting the tendency to God-up the lives and athletic achievements of teenagers for the purpose of pumping up your company's brand but, hey, that's just me. Like I said, no one was curious to check out her obit? If she was such a perfect snowflake, I'd be interested in seeing how glowing her obit was, even if she wasn't a noted person.

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2013 04:31 PM Re: Manti Te'o

With very few exceptions, ESPN is much more in the story-telling business than in the business of actual news. I wonder if anyone up in the Bristol universe had an inkling that something didn't add up in this story but was dissuaded from following it by higher-ups?

metirish Jan 18 2013 07:23 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Deadspin are on a roll @realdonaltrump "Congratulations to Tom Scocca and Timothy Burke of @Deadspin for exposing the Manti Te'o fiasco," @realdonaldtrump Go fuck yourself. (@Deadspin) January 17, 2013

Ceetar Jan 18 2013 08:29 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Ben Swain @thedevilwolf Not awful joke I heard today: "How did the UNC football player know the girl who tweeted him was a hoax? She said she met him in class."

metsmarathon Jan 19 2013 02:01 PM Re: Manti Te'o

call me a sucker, but the whole thing as he describes it sounds plausible. http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... girlfriend

Edgy MD Jan 19 2013 02:47 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Why not? People have been duped by false lovers for time immemorial. And they've certainly embellished their accounts incredulous friends.

RealityChuck Jan 19 2013 02:58 PM Re: Manti Te'o

I think the entire thing sounds silly and trivial and doesn't deserve the coverage it's getting. Who cares? What difference does it make?

Frayed Knot Jan 19 2013 03:26 PM Re: Manti Te'o

RealityChuck wrote: I think the entire thing sounds silly and trivial and doesn't deserve the coverage it's getting. Who cares? What difference does it make? I have no interest in the player's personal life either - although it's clear from the emerging time-line that, even if he was the victim of a hoax, he continued to perpetuate the story after being clued in. To me this is interesting to the extent of how the media and the university have handled it to date and how they continue to, particularly since, rather than the stereotype of web-media throwing non-verified facts our there and getting called on by those considered to be the vanguards of journalism, this was a case of the "new" media catching the old guard with their pants down. Reading a quote today from someone in the South Bend Tribune (they apparently got the whole story going) saying that they don't think they did anything wrong and never questioned the story because "it was all part of this great season of Notre Dame football", as if the consider their purpose to act more as a cheerleader for the football team rather than as a news reporting paper. As for Notre Dame, that they're (at least so far) 100% backing the kid (although, what's he, 22 y/o?) even to the point of not publicizing the mistaken story after they knew saying 'it wasn't their place' to do so, may or may not be a reaction to relatively recent events involving the death of one of their students while filming practices in dangerous weather and their possible role in an cover-up of an alleged rape by football team members.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 19 2013 05:47 PM Re: Manti Te'o

call me a sucker, but the whole thing as he describes it sounds plausible. http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... girlfriend Really? Schaap asked why Te'o didn't go to see Kekua in the hospital. "It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he said.

SteveJRogers Jan 19 2013 06:01 PM Re: Manti Te'o

call me a sucker, but the whole thing as he describes it sounds plausible. http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... girlfriend Really? Schaap asked why Te'o didn't go to see Kekua in the hospital. "It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he said. To be slightly fair, we are talking about a seemingly deeply religious and hard working young kid who is in a top flight institution and with a national ranked football team. One of those "people grieve in different ways" sort of deals that people accept and don't give a second thought over.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 19 2013 06:04 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Not "I didn't, I can't quite explain it"... "It never really crossed my mind."

metsmarathon Jan 19 2013 06:56 PM Re: Manti Te'o

news flash: college kid is somewhat self-absorbed and fails to fully appreciate mortality and the limited time we all have here on earth. maybe he thought he had more time. maybe he thought she didn't want him to. maybe "it didn't really cross my mind" means i had all these other silly reasons telling me not to that perhaps i missed the big reason to. he's a college kid trying to explain his emotions and his reactions and responses in fron of a far greater audience than he likely ever would have dreamed of, not a statesman laying down foreign policy. i don't find it terribly necessary to parse his every word looking for cracks. the whole story seems plausible, including his reactions and responses in teh interview, those of which i've read.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 19 2013 10:52 PM Re: Manti Te'o

In and of itself, the interview seems to make sense. It's just that in context-- he had (or said he had) daily eight-hour conversations with the same ill girlfriend during her illness; he spoke at length about the relationship before and after the "death" to press, and in a way that goes beyond embellishment; he and the family have been extremely PR-savvy, and made a point of emphasizing the kid's empathy/sense of family since the kid was in high-school-- it really, REALLY doesn't. I swear I had virtually no interest in this when it first broke, and I have no skin in the college football thing. But it's just... it keeps getting thrust in front of me when I have a little time to look at it, and the more I look at it... it gets stranger. Honestly, if he's as cynical as one gimlet-eyed view of this makes him seem, maybe he should come out, regardless of whether he's gay; it's virtually the only thing that would begin to explain his actions as something other than either colossally stupid/naive (especially for a press-fluent honor student) or sociopathic.

themetfairy Jan 20 2013 07:24 AM Re: Manti Te'o

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: In and of itself, the interview seems to make sense. It's just that in context-- he had (or said he had) daily eight-hour conversations with the same ill girlfriend during her illness; he spoke at length about the relationship before and after the "death" to press, and in a way that goes beyond embellishment; he and the family have been extremely PR-savvy, and made a point of emphasizing the kid's empathy/sense of family since the kid was in high-school-- it really, REALLY doesn't. This

Vic Sage Jan 20 2013 10:31 AM Re: Manti Te'o

this all smacks of side-show rubbernecking... SEE! the incredibly naive college kid! SEE! a big college program protecting itself and its players! SEE! the media chasing its own tail! did the kid orchestrate all this to whip up sympathy for a Heisman bid? even if he did (the worst-case scenario), it didn't work and shame on any voter whose vote was swayed one iota because of the false narrative. They deserve to be defrauded. or, what's more likely, he got hoaxed and then, when he discovered it, he was too embarrassed to admit it and just continued to go along to cover up his foolish mistake. But who cares? Was anybody hurt (other than the kid)? was anybody robbed? did anybody cheat? Any laws broken? Why do we give a shit about this "story", except for our own bottomless appetite to feed on the freakishly bizarre and the media's desire to feed that appetite? lets move along, nothing to see here.

themetfairy Jan 20 2013 11:13 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I can't speak for others, but my thought is that if the kid manipulated the public in order to help his chances of winning the Heisman, then as a member of the public I feel pissed off. No, no laws were broken. No, this is not the most important story in the world. It's fine to have a sense of perspective about the non-importance of this matter. But it doesn't mean that I can't judge the kid negatively if I feel that he was attempting to fraudulently play on my heartstrings.

Nymr83 Jan 20 2013 01:43 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Honestly, if he's as cynical as one gimlet-eyed view of this makes him seem, maybe he should come out, regardless of whether he's gay; it's virtually the only thing that would begin to explain his actions as something other than either colossally stupid/naive (especially for a press-fluent honor student) or sociopathic. Maybe he should come out to cover his stupidity and then claim to have been "cured" of his gay-ness in a few months!

Vic Sage Jan 20 2013 09:50 PM Re: Manti Te'o

themetfairy wrote: I can't speak for others, but my thought is that if the kid manipulated the public in order to help his chances of winning the Heisman, then as a member of the public I feel pissed off. No, no laws were broken. No, this is not the most important story in the world. It's fine to have a sense of perspective about the non-importance of this matter. But it doesn't mean that I can't judge the kid negatively if I feel that he was attempting to fraudulently play on my heartstrings. even if he did do that (and there's actually no real evidence he did; its just people making up scenarios to retrofit it to what they think the facts are), he still wasn't playing on YOUR heartstrings. in this scenario, he doesn't give a SHIT about YOUR heartstrings. he cares about the heartstrings of Heisman voters (who shouldn't be paying attention to bs like that when they're voting) and the media (who should do their fucking jobs once in a while and actually investigate stories instead of retyping ND press releases with a smiley face on them). so you can ride that high horse all you want about manipulation that wasn't aimed at you and that you don't even know occurred; but just do it quieter. It's polluting my radio, newspaper, and cable sports coverage AND IT DOESN'T MEAN SHIT.

themetfairy Jan 21 2013 06:55 AM Re: Manti Te'o

It's not a high horse. It's a reaction. And I'm hardly riding it. But when we're asked what we think about the situation, that's my reaction. Agreed that it doesn't mean shit. But that doesn't mean that, when it comes up in conversation, we aren't allowed to have opinions about it. Even opinions different from yours. And if talk about the situation is bothering you so much, then maybe you shouldn't be opening threads that are discussing it. Because we've been discussing it pretty quietly here, without using all caps and otherwise yelling at each other.

Ceetar Jan 21 2013 07:11 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: Very little in life means shit.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 21 2013 07:15 AM Re: Manti Te'o

If we had a policy that we only discussed important matters here, we'd have to delete about 95% of our threads. Probably more.

Frayed Knot Jan 21 2013 07:19 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If we had a policy that we only discussed important matters here, we'd have to delete about 95% of our threads. Except for 'Wifey Watch' of course.

Frayed Knot Jan 21 2013 02:54 PM Re: Manti Te'o

I had heard that Luca Brasi was invited to the hoped-for engagement party for Te'o and Lennay Kekua. He was even practicing his speech. "Mr. Te'o, I want to thank you for inviting me to your son's engag ... on the day of your son's engagement. And may his first fiancee be an actual fiancee"

Ashie62 Jan 21 2013 05:06 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Edgy MD wrote: Meanstwhile, we have a serious brewing hostage crisis with conflicting accounts and this is the Manti's girlfraud is the lead story everywhere. How many Americans are involved in the hostage crisis?

Edgy MD Jan 21 2013 06:16 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Enough, I would think

Ashie62 Jan 22 2013 11:45 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I guess three doesn't catch the networks interest.

Edgy MD Jan 22 2013 11:51 AM Re: Manti Te'o

There have been more than three involved.

Vic Sage Jan 22 2013 01:55 PM Re: Manti Te'o

themetfairy wrote: It's not a high horse. It's a reaction. And I'm hardly riding it. But when we're asked what we think about the situation, that's my reaction. Agreed that it doesn't mean shit. But that doesn't mean that, when it comes up in conversation, we aren't allowed to have opinions about it. Even opinions different from yours. And if talk about the situation is bothering you so much, then maybe you shouldn't be opening threads that are discussing it. Because we've been discussing it pretty quietly here, without using all caps and otherwise yelling at each other. i apologize for taking it out on you, Fairy. I've just had it with how endlessly saturated we've been with this non-story and i can't seem to get away from it.

themetfairy Jan 22 2013 02:26 PM Re: Manti Te'o

Vic Sage wrote: themetfairy wrote: It's not a high horse. It's a reaction. And I'm hardly riding it. But when we're asked what we think about the situation, that's my reaction. Agreed that it doesn't mean shit. But that doesn't mean that, when it comes up in conversation, we aren't allowed to have opinions about it. Even opinions different from yours. And if talk about the situation is bothering you so much, then maybe you shouldn't be opening threads that are discussing it. Because we've been discussing it pretty quietly here, without using all caps and otherwise yelling at each other. i apologize for taking it out on you, Fairy. I've just had it with how endlessly saturated we've been with this non-story and i can't seem to get away from it. Fair enough. No blood, no foul.

Ashie62 Jan 24 2013 08:56 PM Re: Manti Te'o

The voice Te'o was speaking to was a feminine sounding male.

metirish Jan 25 2013 05:59 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I'm sorry for starting this thread, I wish the "story" would die.

Ceetar Jan 25 2013 07:03 AM Re: Manti Te'o

metirish wrote: I'm sorry for starting this thread, I wish the "story" would die. I was initially fascinated by it for the media not fact-checking angles, but I knew it'd morph into them taking advantage of it as a news story, which is basically rewarding them for not fact-checking. I wonder, would anyone actually care if they stopped pretending they were news? Many people point fun and laugh at TMZ and reality shows and what not, but it's clearly something many people enjoy. Maybe it's time to separate the two. Let venues that want to be news and facts and reporting do that, and let ESPN and the like do the TMZ of sports stuff like they do anyway. Just stop all the pretending.

Edgy MD Jan 25 2013 07:44 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Well, we need somebody with some standards telling the supposed truth.

Ceetar Jan 25 2013 07:47 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Edgy MD wrote: Well, we need somebody with some standards telling the supposed truth. Well yeah, but not necessarily about a college student's personal life. Let the people with standards discuss the draft, his position in it (and certainly they can discuss with people if this personal story will affect his positioning), and what NFL teams he could help, and let the people like ESPN that want to be narrative-driven gossip rags report on the fake girlfriend thing. It'd be nice, as the customer, to be able to tell the difference.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2013 07:55 AM Re: Manti Te'o

It's not news, it's gossip. And like it or not, gossip has always had its space in newspaper and (I assume) TV coverage. I'm not sure why we're lamenting this story any more than we did stories about John Travolta and his masseuses, for example. A juicy story is going to get coverage. And this one is pretty unique, so it will take time until it plays itself out. I haven't read any of the articles or clicked on any of the links or watched any of the interviews. I've learned everything I need to know about the story through the miracle of cultural osmosis. It's a silly story, but it's not taking up any of my time or distracting me from anything that I care about.

Edgy MD Jan 25 2013 08:00 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Let the people with standards discuss the draft, his position in it (and certainly they can discuss with people if this personal story will affect his positioning), and what NFL teams he could help, and let the people like ESPN that want to be narrative-driven gossip rags report on the fake girlfriend thing. It'd be nice, as the customer, to be able to tell the difference. I don't see how we can engineer such a division. The market will produce what we demand, all outlets will tilt toward that. We'd serve ourselves well to demand less bullshit. People making statements about other people need to be accountable --- on the web, on TV or at the next desk in your office. A society indifferent to truth and accountability is what lets folks like Ronaiah Tuiasosopo thrive.

Ceetar Jan 25 2013 08:10 AM Re: Manti Te'o

public interest stories will always draw interest though. Maybe not for everyone. While it feels like bullshit, bullshit sells. All I'm asking is the bullshit sellers to advertise them as such, and the ones that want to be news organizations ignore the crap or do the fact checking and stop selling me bullshit. I don't go to TMZ.com for reviews and analysis on new movies or who's starring in them, but they certainly do okay with their bit don't they? I don't read the New York Post for factual or intellectual stories, and they certainly do okay too. (well, as okay as any paper i guess)

metirish Jan 25 2013 08:23 AM Re: Manti Te'o

When Katie Couric leaned forward like she does and asked Manti "are you gay?", my heart skipped......"far from it, far from it".....didn't sound at all convincing of course....

Edgy MD Jan 25 2013 08:25 AM Re: Manti Te'o

The failures here do not belong to TMZ.

Ceetar Jan 25 2013 08:33 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Edgy MD wrote: The failures here do not belong to TMZ. If it was TMZ it wouldn't be a failure. It is, and has been, a TMZ-type story. What I'm suggesting is it stay that way, and people like The Associated Press stick to actual news stories, and fact check those. Stop poaching on the TMZ-type stories and presenting it in the AP wrappings that suggest it's news and fact. If the dying news industry feels it needs to poach on gossip and pop culture narratives, at least make it clear that that is what they're doing.

Edgy MD Jan 25 2013 08:37 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I don't get it. Have leading newspapers that claim journalistic standards not covered the sports their readers follow from time immemorial? Have they not written about the players' personal lives that color their performance on the field? There's nothing new about this type of story. And there's nothing new about it appearing in major self-respecting media outlets. They just failed.

Ceetar Jan 25 2013 09:03 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Edgy MD wrote: I don't get it. Have leading newspapers that claim journalistic standards not covered the sports their readers follow from time immemorial? Have they not written about the players' personal lives that color their performance on the field? There's nothing new about this type of story. And there's nothing new about it appearing in major self-respecting media outlets. They just failed. times are changing. And personally I don't think they should be covering a college student's personal life, but that's a different issue. I don't know if it's new, I've never spent a lot of timing reading that stuff. Yes, they failed. I think that's sorta the bigger story here, but obviously most places are still covering it from a "What's Te'o doing about it?" angle. The failure actually is making the story bigger and this isn't exactly motivation for publications to get it right next time. I'm just pondering if they/we'd be better served if there was better separation. Even within a newspaper. Can we have a 'lifestyles' section or something within the sports pages? People that want to read that stuff will find it. That's the beauty of the internet and gossip. it gets out and people find it, your newspaper isn't the sole place for ..anything.. and people aren't reading cover to cover. Don't hide a Manti Te'o's girlfriend piece among my sports news and pass it off as factual reporting when it's just gossip. Put it in the 'gossip' section. on the next page that's not among a detailed factual breakdown of NHL labor discussions.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 25 2013 09:09 AM Re: Manti Te'o

The failure here is in thinking of ESPN's "news" organs as anything other than collaborative PR.

Edgy MD Jan 25 2013 09:15 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I don't think of them as that, but I do think we are right to demand they not claim to be one thing while they are another. And the failures go beyond ESPN as well. South Bend Tribune, Sports Illustrated, New York Post, CBS, Los Angeles Times... .

Ashie62 Jan 26 2013 10:44 AM Re: Manti Te'o

Te'o must be sick thinking he may have had phone sex with God knows who...

Ashie62 Jan 26 2013 10:48 AM Re: Manti Te'o

I'd be fine going back to Cronkite, Huntley & Brinkley and that era's method of reporting of news rather than todays daily spew of crap from Cable and internet wannabe reporters.. Now gimme my crap!

MFS62 Jan 26 2013 04:32 PM Re: Manti Te'o

My wife just said that if he doesn't get drafted, he could become a reporter on FOX. Later