ENShawkins

Is the group still meeting at AJ Gators on Holland Rd? Have been out of the area for two years. The post on the Bills Backers board is from 2005. Thanks in advance.

Also locking up on me...

Dean, that seems like a pretty naive take on the situation. I could understand your point if ESPN had a history of not reporting on civil cases. But they have several times. So if the reason why they aren't covering it is because it's a civil suit, that's the same thing as Brett Favre saying "I'm retired." It doesn't hold water. So there must be another explanation other than the fact that they don't cover civil cases.

When I used TO as an example, I wasn't purposely pairing him with "thugs." McIntyre was innocent too. I was just making the point that there are certain types of people that ESPN will go after (i.e.-TO), and others they will not (in this case, Big Ben). I think any reasonable person can assume that if TO were in Big Ben's position, it would be on every inch of ESPN. That was the point I was making. Didn't mean to give the perception that TO is like Pac Man or Vick. IRT to Big Ben's case being a civil suit and not criminal, its been documented elsewhere and on this thread that ESPN has reported on civil cases numerous times. So that excuse can be thrown out. I won't go as far as to call it racism, but ESPN and BB have a cozy relationship and I'm sure that is playing into this.

I think you are misinterpreting what I am saying. My point was that news is news. Just because they have a special relationship with Big Ben, or they have biased editors...whatever the case may be, its their responsibility to report what is newsworthy. While every credible news organization is reporting this...from the Associated Press to Sports Illustrated, ESPN stands on the sidelines protecting him. Do you believe that they are up in Bristol, sitting at the production table, shrugging off this story as non-newsworthy? No chance. It's a conscious decision not to report on sexual assault charges levied at one of the biggest names in the NFL. Do you believe ESPN is maintaining their responsibility as a mainstream media outlet? Not a chance.

As an addon to that, I am not including the board's beloved Tim Graham in my criticism. I'm talking big picture ESPN.

ESPN continues to confound me when it comes to its reporting. Big Ben is accused of sexual assault, and they refuse to report on it, citing that they don't report on "civil" cases. I find that HARD to believe if it were Mike Vick or Pac Man Jones, or even TO that were being accused. link: http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog...ons_agains.html However, when Corey McIntyre was accused of exposing himself to an old woman, without ANY substantiating evidence to support the claim, it made FRONT page news on espn.com. His name was permanently stained. My question is, if they are going to such lengths to protect Big Ben's name, why did they not use the same treatment for McIntyre? What a joke. Its not ESPN's job to determine what is/isn't newsworthy. Kobe Bryant was the lead story on sportscenter for an entire summer. How is this any different. Shoddy journalism.

Long time lurker here but figure I would chime in. I am a WVU alum and I can tell you that Ellis Lankster isn't another one of your draw a name out of a hat 7th rounders. He is a great athlete and when he came over from JC he made a big impact on our defense. Was always around the football and was fearless in run support. I wouldn't be surprised to see him grab the last CB spot and he would be a nice addition to special teams. However, as I'm sure will be detailed eventually, he does have some character issues. He was suspended for a few games in 2007 for involvement in a laptop robbery. He has expressed regret since the incident but I'm sure it will surface here in a few days....