we talked about this yesterday but there is no answer.

http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/9/13/1028313/according-to-chris-mortensen

just wanted to make sure my brother wasnt messing with me

   Now if its true or not thats another matter .

My guess is the msm is looking for another angle to call McDaniels and the Broncos idiots. If BM is not good enough for Shanny, then of course he is good enough for that crazy, idiotic Josh McDaniels. Will someone just burn espn to the ground please. Thank you.

I would be highly suspect of this, Mortenson seems to speculate more than actually report.

I heard it on the radio (driving again), and I think it was the same recording referred to above. It was interesting that he included the “and I checked this” phrase; but checked it with whom????

Mortensen writes that:

Shanahan was reasonably certain Marshall would get him value on the trade market but if he had run into a dead end on a deal, sources said he would have considered cutting him outright,

But he also says, earlier in the same article:

Shanahan was planning to dump Marshall after the receiver played in his first Pro Bowl in February, according sources familiar with the former Broncos’ coach post-season thoughts.

So, what Mortensen claims at an earlier point in the article, he contradicts by his comments later in that same article.

Which is it, Chris?

It isn’t particularly revelatory that Marshall had worn thin Shanahan’s patience. Athletes who are routinely suspended or considered for suspension by the league are a liability under the league’s current ‘get tough’ policy, so it would hardly be surprising if Shanahan was considering taking action.

The problem is: who do you believe? Mortensen or Mortensen?

Let me segue back to an issue in the Cutlergate fiasco. Mortensen reported that Denver wanted to trade Cutler to Tampa Bay for a 1st and send that pick to New England, in what would have been, if effect, a straight-up trade of Cutler for Cassel.

Now consider how much we were able to get for Cutler in trade. Was there a problem with Mortensen’s story? Would you trade Cutler for Cassel, especially considering their talent level and disparity in salaries? (note: Cassel was tendered at ~14.65 million at that point) Why would accept so little in trade, so much less than we could have obtained for Cutler?

So…. how good a source is Mortensen? Did he take what appears to be an extraordinarily questionable report, one that someone may have given him, perhaps an unscrupulous someone, and then report it as if it’s true?

The fact that these stories are rarely retracted and acknowledged as false is a consequence of their being about sports — sports stories aren’t subject to the same restrictions as news reporting (in practice) — and that’s because nobody sues them. Laws against defamation (libel, slander / civil and criminal code) provide a disincentive against the practice, but when’s the last time you heard of a sports writer being sued?

Finally, try to find the original reporting by Mortensen on the terms of Tampa Bay’s offer to Denver. That video is no longer on ESPN’s site. Why? There’s traces of it in the form of Bill Williamson’s article (above link), which states that Mortensen claims this, but the video has been — apparently — removed. Why? I guess (I’m being facetious) nobody was interested, right?

I welcome anyone to try to find ’Mort’’s original report on that issue. I can cite its number but there’s no longer a corresponding video, and we know it did exist because it’s still referenced on Google and in other reporters’ stories. Often, it’s in what has been concealed that we find the story. And the fact that there are hidden truths provides a veneer of credibility to questionable reports, since people are wiling to believe them despite the lack of evidence and the implausible or contradictory elements of the story. There’s a lot of money in the business and very little disincentive for printing what’s false.

I have no interest in Mortenson’s ideas. The language – “would have considered” is so vague as to be meaningless. So, at 3 in the morning with a mild buzz on, he might have thought, “should cut the twerp” and that matters? Isn’t this one of the guys so tied in to Shanahan that he told us that Mike will be coaching in KC?

I heard it and it seems to me since Marshall has returned and everything seems to be good with his situation as far as we know the msm had nothing to take a shot at us about so mortenson threw this idea out there just to bring up the rough road we had earlier this season with prima dona players.