WARNER SAYS HE DIDN’T LEVERAGE THE CARDINALS

We know that we’ve posted more than a few items of late regarding Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. We know that it has caused some of you to think that we have a personal issue with him. We don’t. He’s done great things. He has authored an unprecedented rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story, with a few chapters remaining. But we have wondered for years how much of the image, if any, is merely a facade, and he’s one of the only NFL players about whom we’ve had these doubts on such a nagging basis. So, since it’s typically our approach to ignore the flashpots and the disembodied head and look for the man behind the curtain, we think it’s healthy and appropriate to scrutinize apparent or actual inconsistencies. The latest from Warner came during an appearance on Friday’s Jim Rome Show. During the discussion, Warner attempted to explain his flirtation with the 49ers as something other than an effort to leverage the Cardinals (remember, he’s on a higher moral plan plane than that) by claiming that, after meeting with San Fran, he didn’t ask for more money from the Cardinals. Um. Really? The timeline is simple. At some point before Monday, March 2, the Cardinals had offered two years, $20 million to Warner. On Monday, March 2, Warner visited San Francisco. On Tuesday, March 3, after Warner returned home from California, Warner’s agent sent a new proposal to the Cardinals on a two-year, $23 million deal. And that’s all we need to say. But let’s add one more thing. It’s a bit of free advice for Kurt, coming from the fact that I’ve been doing radio interviews for nearly eight years. When doing so, I find a quiet room in the house, away from the wife and the kid and the television and the wife’s cell phone and whatever in the heck else might be going on that might create a distraction or a disruption for the host or the audience. Kurt doesn’t. In fact, we’ve never heard a radio interview of Warner in which there wasn’t all sorts of noise in the background. And with an army of kids rivaling the Travis Henry-sired roster in the forthcoming United Football League, it can get a little loud. To their credit, guys like Jim Rome and Dan Patrick roll with it, joke about it. Some of Jim’s listeners are applauding Warner for the multi-tasking. Maybe it’s just me (and there’s a good chance that it is), but I think it shows a certain amount of disrespect to the host, and to the audience. Unless, of course, Warner’s subtle goal is to reinforce the notion that he’s the ultimate family man -- and thus the ultimate great guy. Regardless of what might actually be going on behind the curtain.