Normally, when the football watching community wants ESPN to shut up about Brett Favre, or at the very least, tone back its coverage, it continues to beat us over the head with all Favre, all the time. It's like a never-ending jackhammer assault that just keeps banging at your ears until you eventually give in and cry for mercy.
That's why it's a little odd that the network -- the worldwide leader -- has yet to really offer comment on Sunday's report from Jay Glazer. You know, the one where Favre, allegedly, spilled the beans on Green Bay's secrets to Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli.
This seems like the perfect topic for the screaming panels of Pardon the Interruption or Around the Horn to attack with the passion of a thousand Woody Paiges. And yet they haven't. It remains a giant elephant sitting on ESPN's couch, eating all of its peanuts -- making a huge mess under the table -- while everyone continues to ignore it.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains, there's a very good reason for that. Well, maybe it's not a "very good" reason, but it is a reason. I guess.
Under the heading "DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT" (um, we get the point) appears the following: "Yesterday, FoxSports reported that Brett Favre spent 60 to 90 minutes before the Week Two game between the Lions and the Packers educating the Detroit coaching staff regarding the Packers' offensive strategies. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY RELIABLE SOURCES THIS REPORT IS NOT TRUE. We did NOT report it yesterday. Today, the NFL responded to the report, saying even if Favre did this he did not break any league rules. We are NOT reporting it today, because that would mean airing the erroneous report. DO NOT REPORT IT."
Well that settles it. As Florio points out, even if the report were false, that should be all the more reason for ESPN to offer a take on it, even if to clear Favre's crystal-clear good name and make mention that one of their competitors messed the sheets on a potentially big story.
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Either way, I'm sure ESPN will continue to ignore Brett Favre coverage until he throws a touchdown, or puts a dead animal in a teammates locker, or goes to the bathroom, or has a four-month public debate with himself on whether or not he's going to retire.
