In a way I feel sorry for Jason La Canfora. After spending years covering the Washington Redskins, doing it pretty well I might add, La Canfora joined NFL.com to, in a lot of ways, take the place of Adam Schefter. If that job weren't hard enough, his co-workers may make it damn-near impossible.
Take Jame Dukes, for instance. Yes, that Jamie Dukes who has few decent things to say about anything regarding the Broncos. That's fine, he's an analyst and is allowed his opinion even if it is completely misguided. Need an example? How about this 'Tweet' that Dukes sent out earlier this evening -
6:46 PM mst - Jamiedukes BOMBSHELL ALERT COMING OUT OF DENVER.
Yes, a bombshell alert coming out of Denver.
He then goes on to 'Tweet' this a few minutes later -
jamiedukes No one died if that's what you're worried about but i just don't know what they are thinking.
Perhaps Dukes doesn't remember that the Broncos had not one player die a couple years ago, but two. A comment like that, in regards to the Broncos is, well, in poor taste to say the least.
Then, like any good co-worker who likes to stir up the pot would, Dukes throws all the light on La Canfora -
jamiedukes Jason La Canfora is working the story and will be posting it on his blog late tonight.
Yep, that was the last Tweet of the night by Dukes. The waiting game was on, and La Canfora was under pressure to produce something good. The result?
What is the HUGE BOMBSHELL?? How about this -
BRONCOS APOLOGIZE TO MARSHALL
That's right, the Broncos said they were sorry to Brandon Marshall today. Why, you might ask? I'll let La Canfora tell you -
The Denver Broncos apologized to disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Marshall this week for an incident involving their public relations staff, according to league and team sources, another unusual event in what has been a trying offseason between the sides.
Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis apologized to Marshall on behalf of the organization after a junior member of the team’s public relations staff was instructing players Friday on what to say after the team’s preseason game that night, according to sources. The public relations staffer specifically was urging them not to express too much joy or emotion if questioned by the media about Marshall’s acquittal on battery charges earlier that day in a Georgia courtroom, the sources said.
Marshall, who has been seeking a trade, already had trust issues with the Broncos, clashing over his contract (he would like an extension beyond the year remaining on his rookie deal) and the team’s treatment of his hip injury, and this incident only deepened that chasm, according to sources.
Marshall, 25, was accompanied by lawyer Harvey Steinberg at the face-to-face meeting with Ellis, and believes the "coaching" being done by the public relations staffer was in fact a directive from upper management, according to league sources. Broncos sources rebuffed that notion and attributed the incident to the public relations staffer being "overzealous" and acting on his own.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders had no knowledge of the actions of the public relations employee until learning about it after the fact, according to the team. Both Bowlen and McDaniels expressed their happiness for Marshall in public remarks made Friday night. Marshall and his agent, Kennard McGuire, declined to comment.
Yes, that's it.
Again, I won't blame La Canfora for this, and I wouldn't imply that this isn't a story. It is. The relationship between the Broncos and Brandon Marshall is rocky to say the least. What makes this all look ridiculous is Dukes and his actions. I'm not a journalist, though I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I'm not trying to be one. I am totally biased. That doesn't mean I am unfair or blinded by my emotions, however.
Dukes is the opposite. He is TRYING to be a journalist and as Vic Lombardi tweeted earlier -
VicLombardi - This is the perfect example of someone using Twitter to hyperbolize an otherwise tame story... technology is dangerous in the wrong hands
I couldn't have said it better myself.