Yahoo Editor Defends Favre Report

On Thursday, as the momentum was pointing toward quarterback Brett Favre unretiring for a second straight year and playing for a team other than the Packers for a second straight year, the report from Yahoo! Sports came out of the blue -- Favre, according to Rick Schwartz, had told the Vikings that he’s not going to play for them in 2009, and Favre would be announcing his decision “soon.” Despite being an “Internet report” from a guy who by all appearances had never reported anything about pro football on the Internet or elsewhere, the absence of contradictory evidence prompted the sports media to accept it as accurate. For a day. By Friday evening, multiple contradictory reports had emerged. Perhaps most importantly, Favre had not (and still has not) announced that he won’t be playing for the Vikings. And so the folks from Yahoo! Sports likely are feeling a little nervous right now. We believe this because, for reasons neither known nor apparent, Assistant Managing Editor Mark Pesavento of Yahoo! Sports contacted me by e-mail today to defend Schwartz’s report. “Despite the condescending and sarcastic way you (twice) dismissed our report on Favre, and having read what our competition is saying about the situation, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I stand behind Rick Schwartz’s story,” Pesavanto said. But, see, the problem is that the report already is technically not 100 percent accurate. Schwartz said Favre was expected to explain his decision “soon.” It has been more than 48 hours, and counting. “Soon,” in our view, has come and gone -- especially since Favre has remained silent in the face of Friday’s reports from Jeremy Schaap of ESPN.com and Scott Hanson of NFL Network regarding the delivery of Favre’s shoulder X-rays to the Vikings. But, still, Pesavento insists that Schwartz’s story is accurate. “You may not have heard of Rick Schwartz (he’s a producer and on-air talent for us), but in this business, it’s who you know, and Rick happens to know the right person for this story,” Pesavento said. “Unfortunately, we had to give anonymity to protect his source, but trust me when I say this person would know. That way you can avoid having any more egg on your face when Schaap’s report is proven to be nothing more than the imaginings of Bus Cook.” Um, Rick? Stridence might not be the best approach when your report already is wobbling like a table built by Michael Scott. Hey, Schwartz may be right and, necessarily, Schaap and Hanson might be wrong. But the mere fact that Schwartz has tiptoed out of his bailiwick for a one-time story that wasn’t delegated to Jason Cole or Charles Robinson or Michael Silver tells us that Schwartz likely is comfortable with the possibility that the story won’t ultimately be corroborated by reality. Meanwhile, Pesavento dropped some strong hints about Schwartz’s source. If I were a real journalist, I might have to explore whether and to what extent Schwartz and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf had a pre-existing relationship. And then the question, if I were a real journalist, would be whether Wilf was putting out flawed or incomplete information in the hopes that his team wouldn’t get pushed (by the fans and a coach desperate to win now) to sign a guy who prompted this reaction from Wilf less than three months ago: “No way.” We suppose it’s also possible that Favre told the Vikings he couldn’t play because of his shoulder/arm injury, and the Vikings said in response, “Let us take a look at the films so we can confirm that rehab or rest would fix it.” That would, in theory, harmonize the Thursday and Friday reports. But if Schwartz has such an impeccable source, shouldn’t Schwartz be issuing a follow up that explains away the reports from Schaap and Hanson, guys who have an ongoing incentive to have a reputation for accuracy? Anyway, it’s pretty clear to us that someone at Yahoo! Sports is feeling a little queasy about whether the report is accurate. Otherwise, the Assistant (to the) Managing Editor wouldn’t feel compelled to try to persuade the proprietor of a slapdick web site that vindication is in the offing.