TimGraham

After reading some threads from people still debating what happened, here is my Tuesday report with more details from the Culver City police and quotes from Lynch's agent. I'm a skeptic by nature, but this looks bad for Lynch. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3914516 Also, here's my blog that links to Channel 2 report about marijuana that quotes an officer with more details. Props to Channel 2 for getting that interview ... http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-5-74/...gun-arrest.html

Each team decides who gets a ring because it comes out of the owner's pocket, and the tradition is to be very generous with all support staff, including practice squad players and the PR guy. Teams also have a history of giving out many more rings when they win for the first time as opposed to the second or third. The Patriots issued a lot more rings for their first Super Bowl victory to reward people who had been close to the organization than they did for their next two. There are no NFL rules that dictate who gets them and who doesn't.

This is how news gets out sometimes. One outlet reports something, so another outlet gets on the phone and contacts its sources to get the story confirmed independently. Both times Adam Schefter, who is an NFL employee, broke the news. It's very simple for ESPN to call somebody, ask "I saw this on NFL Network. Is this true?" and be told "Now that it's out there, yes, it's true." So what you see as unporfessional is how things are done and always will be done.

I've encountered situations where a contract had been signed, nobody caught wind and the team didn't announce it until after a season. But I have never heard of a team refusing to acknowledge a contract extension once it has been reported.

My take is not based on much more than educated guesses, but I think the Bills are being hush hush about it because they're emabarrassed about the situation and don't know how to turn it into a positive.

Safe to say, that's not the way I would have written it.

She's doing great. Thanks for asking. Still trying to get her on a schedule, but she generally sleeps through the night -- not that it matters since I go to bed at about 4 a.m. anyway. But mom's happy.

It's both the worst- and best-kept secret in sports.

That doesn't mean I can keep track of all the media outlets that quote ESPN reports erroneously. As for Schefter reporting the contract was signed, I read his report and he never said Jauron signed it on Sunday either. Schefter, like the ESPN.com report, merely said it had been signed without saying when.

Hey, guys. Just wanted to drop a line about the alleged ESPN.com report that Jauron signed his contract extension Sunday. I traveled today and might have missed it, but I did fly JetBlue and watched ESPN and ESPNews for three hours and nobody made mention of it. That doesn't mean somebody might have mentioned it on ESPN Radio or ESPN Canada or The Ocho. The only place I have seen an inference that Jauron signed his extension on Sunday is a Pro Football Talk item from earlier today that claims that's the case, but there's no link to support it or any mention of the reporter who supposedly broke it. I work for ESPN.com, covering the AFC East, and I didn't report it. Here is the story on our site: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3769872 There's no mention that it was signed Sunday, only that it has been signed. I'll admit it's not the best-written couple of paragraphs and perhaps misleading if you're prone to filling in blanks. So I'm confused and curious if anybody can fill me in.

He says hello right back to you ... And I spoke to Whitner after the game. He said the reports are nonsense.

If there are no stories on ESPN.com after the game, you'll know why.

We have a new winner!

My son's name is Jack. So I can't do that. But Jackie is a great girls name.

Here in the press box, McGee and Fowler are listed as starters.

That reporters are hearing the whispers and not writing anything yet should be encouraging. But anybody could be on that list.

We have a winner! Poz Taskie Graham

I made those calls Friday night. No luck.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. We are having a girl, but we haven't settled on a name yet. Plenty of time right?

You're a good wrangler, Lori. Thanks for herding them my way. I'll probably see you guys next week, but my wife is past due, and I don't mean library books. Unless this drags out too long, I'll be at Jets-Bills next week.

A good mix of entertainment and information is exactly what I aim for, so I'm glad to hear that's what's coming across. But please don't hesitate to be critical if you see something you don't like. I'm alwasy open to suggestions and negative feedback.

Thanks, but I disagree with your stance on Mort. He's good people.

I don't think that story has changed on our end at all. Our reporter, Wendi Nix, reported there was internal disappointment about Brady's decision to use his own doctor. The Patriots denied that the source had the authority to speak for the team. But ESPN hasn't changed its story. I don't know who Wendy's source is on this, but I know what kind of reporter she is.

I just wanted to take a moment and thank Buffalo Bills fans, particularly those on Two Bills Drive, for visiting my Friday chats. Bills fans swarm my chats, outnumbering the other three AFC East teams 10-1 in questions and comments. Here's an idea of how incredibly well you respond. This is a list of chats by other NFL bloggers and various ESPN heavyweights the past couple days with their question and comment counts (received, not answered) for each chat: Steve Phillips 153 AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky 156 AFC West blogger Bill Williamson 173 NFC West blogger Mike Sando 214 AFC North blogger James Walker 322 NFC East blogger Matt Mosley 342 Chris Mortensen 380 Jeremy Green 384 Mel Kiper 426 Buster Olney 433 Ivan Maisel 441 Beano Cook 549 Pat Forde 550 NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert (who had his chat spammed by Pro Football Talk this week) 654 Colin Cowherd 970 Tim Graham today 1,280 Thank you, Bills fans. You kick serious ass.

Thanks for pointing it out.