For most of the week, I thought about using KYCH to talk about the whole Marvin Harrison situation, since it has dominated the water cooler talk in Colt circles this week.  But after some consideration, I decided not to go with it since like most of you, I"m still not really sure what even happened.  All I know is something went down in a rough area of Philadelphia involving a gun, Marvin Harrison, a ninja, and a Belgian...or something to that effect.  If I didn't know any better I'd say that's the start of a really weird joke, with a dumb punchline.

Anyways, while I was looking for some different stuff on the Marvin situation, I was checking on Facebook to see if any "Free Marvin!" groups had popped up yet.  Thankfully, none have been made yet, which is good considering that he hasn't even been charged with anything.

While I was on the Facebook, I stumbled across this story that has nothing to do with Marvin Harrison, but is amazing nevertheless.  Now, I need to throw out the major disclaimer I found this on Facebook so there's absolutely no way to confirm whether or not this story is true, but it is funny, which gives me all the reason I need to post it.  For those of  you that are keeping score at home, that means JakeTheSnake values humor over things like credible sources, the truth, and validity.  With all that out of the way, it's on to the story, which may or may not have actually happened:

The Colts train on Rose-Hulman's campus during the summer. Over the past summer, I was on campus doing research. One weekend I came back from the party and was invited out onto the balcony of the residence hall by a group of aquaintances. They told me they were just "enjoying the view" and motioned toward our lake. I looked out on the lake to find two Colts golf carts (which they use for transportation around campus) on the dock in the middle of the lake. This particular prank had been pulled in years past by some students, who were almost expelled for it. So I gasped and asked who had done it, and my friends simply replied "Peyton Manning". So I laughed at their joke and continued conversation... As it progressed, I realized they were serious, and Peyton Manning really did do it. He and another Colts player decided to prank their coaches and had stoled the coaches' golf carts and floated them to the middle of our lake. It was this day, that Peyton Manning became my personal sports hero...

Again, I can't reiterate enough that Facebook is less reliable than Jeff George's decision making abilities so there's no way to know if this is or true or not, but we do know that Peyton has a history with pranks, so it's not like doing something like that would be entirely out of character for him.  Let's just hope Peyton doesn't pull a prank on the Colts' golf aficionado.  That could lead to some harder than normal sacks during training camp.

AOL Fanhouse's Michael David Smith is confused as to way the Colts signed Dominic Rhodes, suggesting Kenton Keith is better because he rushed for 4.4 yards a carry in 2007 while Rhodes rushed for 3.4 in 2006. Maybe Smith missed the 2006 playoffs, where Rhodes rushed for 306 yards on 62 carries (4.9 a carry) in three BIG games, including a 113 yard, 1 TD performance in the Super Bowl. What did Kenton Keith do in the 2007 playoffs? Turn the football over.



18 to 88 places their collective feet on the throat of Mike Florio for his ridiculous article for The Sporting News regarding the shooting outside Marvin Harrison's bar:

Again, I'm not saying [Harrison] didn't do it. I'm not saying he was justified if he did do it. I am saying that the media coverage of this has been very odd and utterly irrational. This particular article is a great case in point. It sees only two possible scenarios when it's clear there are at least three.

Speaking of Marvin, Pete Prisco has an article up talking about how private Marvin is:

Again, what people don't know is Harrison is a product of the tough streets of North Philly. He still has a lot of that in him. Beating the daylights out of somebody shouldn't be a shock. Some say Harrison still has too much street in him, that he is too loyal to the older neighborhood.

These people that think Harrison is "too loyal" to his old neighborhood are morons like ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.

 

Indy Star has an article from Mike Chappell talking about the Colts signing Dom:

"I can't even share with you the excitement I'm feeling right now,'' Rhodes said in a telephone interview from Arizona.

From the moment he was released by the Oakland Raiders last month, he said, "I knew there was a possibility to come back (to Indy).''

It's nice having Dom back.

via www.baltimoresun.com

Rexx over at Baltimore Beatdown has a good post up honoring Mr. John Unitas. Today would have been his 75th birthday. Mr. Unitas passed away in 2002. Book publisher Grove/Atlantic, Inc. recently sent me a copy of Mark Bowden's new book The Best Game Ever, which tells the story of the 1958 NFL Championship game at Yankee Stadium between the super star NY Giants and the working class Baltimore Colts. It' really shows how Unitas and Raymond Berry invented the modern NFL. It is also eerie (and I do not say this lightly) how similar Unitas and Berry were then to Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison today.

Speaking of Mr. Raymond Berry, here he is at the Colts last regular season home game in the RCA Dome:

Happy birthday, Mr. Unitas. I agree with Rexx. You were the best QB ever. However, very soon, Peyton is going to pass you, and somehow I feel you have absolutely no problem with that.

PFT's Mike Florio is now presenting rumor as fact over at the Sporting News. His most recent article for the Sporting News, detailing the facts of the incident involving Marvin Harrison outside a bar, is riff with multiple errors that anyone really following the true facts of the investigation should know.

Again, to put it bluntly, Florio is writing rumor and conveying it as fact, only this time he's not doing it for his own blog. He's doing it for the Sporting News:

Harrison reportedly claimed the gun involved in the shooting never left his home but yet on the same day it turned up in a bucket at his car wash. If the reports are true, police detectives surely view everything Harrison now says with a strong dose of skepticism.

This statement is completely and utterly false, based on reports from the police and from the Philadelphia Daily News:

On Wednesday, detectives visited Harrison's garage and detail shop, which he purchased in 2006 for $200,000, according to tax records.

Sources said that Harrison had a Belgian firearm, an FN5.7, in his garage. Harrison handed the high-powered weapon - which fires armor-piercing rounds - over to investigators.

He then spent about four hours at Central Detectives, accompanied by his attorney, Jerome Brown.

Now, that's pretty significant fact, one that Mr. Florio seems to have missed as he continues to scurry for more insider "dirt" on the Harrison case. To say that police essentially "stumbled upon" the weapon is very different from the fact that Harrison turned it over.

The other error here is invoking the NFL's  The Personal Conduct Policy. Florio states that if Harrison fired the gun or if someone else fired his gun, he is elligible for discipline under the policy:

The commission of a violent crime clearly is grounds for discipline, as is conduct that imposes "inherent risk" to the safety and well-being of another person. Shooting a man in the hand and sending five other bullets whizzing past him presumably would be enough to meet such a standard. Entrusting a gun to someone else who does the same thing could be a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy as well.

Not true, especially if self defense is the motive for firing the gun. If Roger Goodell wants ot try and suspend a player for defending himself against someone who, two weeks prior, was kicked out of the same bar for bad behavior, he better get ready for a suit from the Player's Union. This is especially true if Harrison didn't fire the gun. Suspending him for an act he did not even do makes absolutely no sense. Firing a gun in self defense is not illegal, and since Marvin Harrison has nothing on his record that indicates he is the kind of man who runs wildly into the street shooting at people, this explanation is reasonable.

This is likely why the NFL is being responsible and not saying anything until the facts of the case are revealed by the actual police detectives investigating the case, not the "Harvey the Rabbit sources" we readers keep hearing about. It's a shame writers like Mr. Florio are not as responsible.

The other thing that Mr. Florio likes to do (and for those who believe in due process and things like that, this should scare you) is jump to rash judgments before someone is even arrested or charged with a crime, let alone actually convicted:

Firing shots at someone else in public, complete with flying glass from one of the bullets striking and cutting a child, falls somewhere between 9 and 10 on the scale of the worst possible things an NFL player can do. Such behavior arguably is far worse than anything Jones, Vick, Chris Henry or Tank Johnson has done.

That said, it's unlikely that Goodell will act against Harrison before criminal charges (if any) against him are resolved. And given that Harrison reportedly still is having trouble with his knees, there is a chance he'll retire before he could be suspended.

Let's be clear about the facts here, because Mike Florio can't seem to get them straight (and for someone who is a lawyer in his day job, as Mr. Florio is, I express extreme concern for the clients he represents):

1) Marvin Harrison has not been charged with a crime. In fact, the police themselves have said he isn't even a suspect. So, writing an article which, essentially, states that Harrison is guilty, will go to jail, and will get suspended by Commissioner Goodell makes absolutely no sense.

2) Michael Vick and Tank Johnson were charged and pleaded guilty to their crimes. Vick, in particular, was suspended from the NFL for lying point blanc to Goodell's face. Pacman Jones has been involved in multiple off-the-field incidents that resulted in charges filed. Marvin Harrison hasn't been charged with anything and has cooperated fully with authorities who have questioned him. So, lumping him in with players like these is inappropriate and wrong at this point.

3) We don't know all the facts of the case because the police haven't officially released them. We've heard a lot of hearsay and rumor, much of which peddled by Mr. Florio. The fact that the injured party is not even willing to identify Marvin Harrison as the shooter speaks volumes as to how fragile this case is.

Could Marvin Harrison get charged? It's possible. It's also possible that Mike Florio will get fired from The Sporting News for botching up a pretty significant fact in an article presenting itself as providing facts on the incident. Does that mean it is appropriate for someone like me to start floating articles out there that Florio is getting the ax at TSN? No, of course not. Just as it is inappropriate for Florio to suggest Harrison will see jail time and suspension even though he isn't a suspect in the case (let alone charged or convicted).

He can do that over at PFT, but at the Sporting News I expect a different standard, and I hope their editors do to. Even people in Florio's comments area for the TSN article are killing him for his gaff:

Harrison voluntarily gave the gun to police. This was according to named police sources; more reliable than Johnny Anonymous' claims as reported by Angelo on WIP.

To recap, the Johnny Anonymous claimed:

-the shooting was outside the bar - wrong
-a two year old girl had glass in her eye - wrong
-Harrison hid the gun - wrong, wrong, wrong
-multiple witnesses were fingering Harrison as the shooter - wrong so far

Again, it is entirely possible that Marvin Harrison fired a gun at a man. But, since it is not proven (let alone charged as a crime), this kind of speculation is plain and simple bad journalism. And since Florio is writing this under The Sporting News' banner, he must be held accountable for this.

He can act like a "hack" all he wants at PFT. At the Sporting News, I expect some integrity and professionalism. I think their loyal readers do as well, and this type of "journalism" does not seem in line with those expectations.

Until we see the words Marvin Harrison Arrested the incident outside Harrison's North Philly bar is a non-story, and the people pushing the baseless rumors as if they were facts (Mike Florio, Michael David Smith) continue to make the rest of us bloggers look like amateurs. Despite what Florio and Smith have suggested, Marvin Harrison is not a suspect in the shooting. In fact, we don't even know if the gun recovered was his.

Bullets found at the scene of a shooting in Philadelphia last Tuesday came from a handgun owned by Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison, according to reports on ESPN and the Philadelphia Daily News, both citing unnamed police sources. But Philadelphia police are not calling Harrison a suspect.

"He's not a suspect at this point," police spokesperson Tanya Little told The Star this morning, declining further comment.

Translation: The reports are not officially from the police. They are from ESPN and the Philly Daily News, via "unnamed sources" they claim are within the police department. We have no idea what their credibility is or even if they are police assigned to the case. They could be a desk sergeant or Moe the janitor. "Unnamed sources" are never good sources, and are not used by real journalists reporting on anything credible. Anyone who works in journalism will tell you that. And no, I do not consider Sal Paolantonio, the ESPN reporter covering this incident, a real journalist, nor do I consider anyone else who uses "unnamed sources" in this way. The always "objective" Paolantonio also came out recently and criticized Marvin Harrison for committing the sin of all sins: Opening a bar in a bad neighborhood, which Marvin just so happened to grow up in.

If the gun recovered did indeed belong to Harrison, and if the shell casings did indeed come form that gun, you would think Marvin Harrison would be a suspect. However, since the police have stated that Harrison is not a suspect, that should call into question ESPN's reporting, especially these "unnamed sources" they are rolling out as credible.

And since we have absolutely no firm, concrete proof on the key details of this investigation, it was irresponsible of people like Florio and Smith to blog about them as if they were fact. To even suggest that they were facts, using "unnamed sources" that they know nothing about as back-up, is bad journalism DEFINED. Now, I've never fancied myself a journalist, but Mike Florio works for The Sports News, and Michael David Smith works for the NY Times.

Somehow, I don't think both those entities would agree with how these two have conducted themselves. I'm sure ESPN is fine with Paolantonio though, which is typical ESPN.

I will never understand Peter King. I mean really! I just don't get it. Peter will surprise me with excellent nuggets like this:

I've got to see Philip Rivers perform at a high level consistently to think this is a Super Bowl winner, particularly in a conference as tough as the top-heavy AFC.

And this:

I want to like Vince Young, and his improvement from 52 to 62 percent in accuracy from his rookie year to his second season helps a little. But this is the year he's got to start being consistent if the Titans are going to make the playoffs again and again. He threw nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions last year.

But then, he'll go a say something stupid, like rank the Patriots ahead of the Colts going into 2008.

Peter cites the Patriots doing nothing as a sign they will be fine in 2008. This is funny compared to last year, when the Colts did nothing and the Patriots went on a shopping spree, prompting people like Peter King to say had gotten better than Indy. Now, with New England bleeding players and doing little to stop it, while the Colts retain theirs and beef up weaknesses... the Patriots are still better? Huh?

Is it so much to ask for a little consistency with one's logic?

Even New England's draft did not address their offensive line (which was overpowered in the Super Bowl), their defense (which is still old, and allowed Eli Manning to burn them in the 4th quarter), or their running game (which is always hurt). Add to this the fact that New England lost virtually their entire secondary (including Pro Bowler Asante Samuel) to free agency. Meanwhile, Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau are still old and slow, and Mike Vrabel is getting there. Jerod Mayo will help, but a rookie playing in this defensive system is too much to ask for.

Needless to say, New England's defense was not very good in the playoffs last year, in particular the Super Bowl. This puts extra pressure on the offense, which is a pass happy unit that struggles running the ball. Not a good formula for success.

Meanwhile, the Colts are getting Dwight Freeney and Marvin Harrison back. They beefed up their o-line, drafted Mike Hart, and found another speed rusher in Marcus Howard. Their entire starting defense is returning, a top 5 unit that is both young and fast.

So, how is New England considered better?

Speaking of rookie DE Marcus Howard, Tony Dungy really likes his speed.

  Michael Hobson is the biggest fan of the Indianapolis Colts. i believe I saw him at Training Camp last year. Michael goes all out.

If you want to learn more about rookie free agent acquisition Samuel Giguere, click here. However, you might need to brush up on your French. This is the second year in a row the Colts have imported a free agent from Canada. Hopefully, unlike last year's import, Giguere can catch the friggin' football.

From 18 to 88 (emphasis mine):

A Philadelphia Inquirer Daily News piece now has other discrepancies with the original report broken by a Philly radio reporter on Friday:

On Friday it was reported that the gun fire was exchanged after Harrison chased a man into the parking lot of his bar. Now it appears that the shooting took place several blocks away.

Harrison is now said to have kicked the victim out of his bar 2 weeks ago, and they have been fighting since. Harrison admitted to getting into a fist fight with the man earlier in the day.

It was reported that a girl had been slightly hurt by flying glass. Now it's reported that it was a 2 year old boy.

It was unclear though not inaccurate in previous reports that police cannot confirm that there was a third victim. They received a call from a lawyer saying that he represented a man who was hurt and could finger Harrison. That is not confirmed and as of now, no one has accused Harrison of anything. Police are looking for this alleged victim.

The original victim first told police that he was hurt driving on the freeway, before changing his story. He has not identified Harrison.

The Inquirer is reporting that Harrison turned the weapon in question over to the police. It was reported on Friday that police found it in a bucket outside Harrison's carwash.

So from the original sensationalistic reports on Friday, we had one picture of what happened, now there is a slightly different one. The small detail changes may or may not make any real difference, but they are interesting to note.

So, all the sensationalist crap ESPN reported on Friday (gun found in paint can, gunfire right outside the bar, witnesses identifying Harrison, etc.) seems to be all bunk according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. On top of this is the news that the Philly PD turned this case over to the Philly DA's office because they are too busy to deal with it (ie, it ain't important).

I more I look at this, the more it seems ESPN, Anthony Gargano of 610 WIP Radio in Philadelphia, and irresponsible rumor mongers like Mike Florio and Michael David Smith have made a whole lot of something from a whole lot of nothing, reporting rumor and speculation as if it were facts. Unless Daily News reporters David Gambacorta and Ted Silary are mis-stating or misunderstanding the facts, ESPN and WIP Radio have badly reported this incident. Unlike WIP Radio and ESPN (and Mike Florio), the Philly Daily News is citing actual sources and not unnamed sources. This makes their tale of the facts more credible. Currently, ESPN and Florio have made no attempt to correct the inconsistent facts they reported as truth, even though Florio admits to having read the Philly Daily News article.

We'll see how this plays out, but right now it looks like ESPN and WIP Radio have egg on their faces. We will see. BTW, Pro Football Talk is now insinuating Marvin Harrison wanted to shoot and kill police officers with the gun. Nice, classy outfit over there.

Mike Florio of PFT loves to report rumors as facts. It's about as professional as a doctor performing surgery on a patient without anesthetic. With the the recent shooting investigation outside a bar owned by Marvin Harrison, I knew it was only a matter of time before Florio brought up two other incidents that (just like the "Bill Polian beats up Jets employees" rumor) were complete and utter falsities. However, typical Florio, he paints them as events that did happen, despite no actual proof that they did.

If Mike Florio ever becomes a judge folks, run for the hills.

Florio reports on two incidents, none of which resulted in charges, suspension, fines, or even proof they even happened, aside from "unnamed sources," which essentially means nothing:

Granted, the five-year-old incident involving Harrison is a far cry from a shooting.  But it’s further evidence that maybe Marvin isn’t the great guy that we’ve been led to believe he is.

In 2003, Harrison allegedly knocked a Jets’ ball boy to the ground because Jets punter Matt Turk was kicking balls in the direction of Harrison and quarterback Peyton Manning prior to a game.

And another:

Three years ago, Harrison was sued for "violently and physically attack[ing]" three boys who were seeking his autograph a day before the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Harrison allegedly put one of the boys in a choke hold.

There were never any further reports about the lawsuit, which suggests to us that it was quietly settled for a confidential payment.

Let's be clear on something here: A man is innocent until guilt is proven. If guilt is not proven, the man didn't do it, especially if the event involved an attack. It is that simple. Ironic that Florio, a LAWYER by trade, has a hard time grasping this very simple, very universal fact of our society. From what I remember (and there are no links to support this) but the autograph, choke-hold, whatever lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence, not settled quietly out of court. And since when do the Jets count as a reliable source? They were the ones who said Bill Polian attacked a Jets employee back in 2006, and that turned out to not be true.

So, because of these other incidents Florio has referenced (none of which proven true with actual evidence), I've decided to make a resolution: If nothing results from this Marvin Harrison investigate, I will no longer read PFT.

The one thing I cannot stand is when rumor mongering condemns someone in the eyes of the public before that person has been condemned in a court of law. This is what PFT has lived on for years, and he is using this police investigation to pad his hit count, nothing more. Yes, he is within his rights to do this. However, I am within my rights to call him a skeezy, sleazeoid lawyer looking for a quick buck.

So, until Marvin Harrison is charged, this is a dead story. Until he is proven guilty in court, this is a dead story. If Marvin had been Pacman Jones or Tank Johnson, I could somewhat understand the witch hunt. Those guys have a long history of repeated events that call into question their character. Tank Johnson did actual jail time. Harrison doesn't have these kinds of repeated events listed, no matter how hard Mike Florio tries to paint it as such.

If there is one thing positive to take from Buzz Bissinger's angry rant about blogs, it's that when it comes to fact and rumor, we bloggers should not confuse the two. Yes, we can report rumors and even make fun of them, especially when they involve Matt Leinart in a pool sharing beer with underage drinkers. But in this case, using rumor to assassinate someone's character is just plain wrong. It's as wrong a pushing a ball boy, pushing a kid for an autograph, or "making it rain."

The irony is Florio is seemingly just as dirty and sleaze ridden as the rotten players he seems to take joy in exposing. Typical in Florio's lawyer profession, it looks like Mike is chasing an ambulance here. If nothing results from this Harrison investigation, I would like to see that ambulance run Florio over a few times.

Lost in the OMG story of the day (Marvin Harrison getting interviewed by cops) is the very real story from ESPN's John Clayton that the Colts have parted ways with OL Dylan Gandy and TE Bryan "Mr. Suggestion" Fletcher. This comes less than a week after the Colts drafted three interior o-linemen and 2 TEs. Tip to Aerostar193.

I guess I can see releasing Fletcher, mainly because Jacob Tamme is likely to take his place as the pass catching TE who can't block. Also, Tamme has speed whereas Fletcher has little. I will also remember Fletcher for that catch he made in the 2006 AFC Championship game against the Pats. His nickname, given to him by Peyton Manning, stems from Fletcher constantly making suggestions in the huddle on what plays to run.

Dylan Gandy is a different story. I actually thought he was going to compete with rookie Mike Pollak for the starting OG spot, but I guess Polian has more faith in Pollak, Steve Justice, and Jamey Richard that in Dylan Gandy.

Both Fletcher and Gandy had recently signed one-year restricted free agent tenures this off-season.

From AOL Fanhouse's Michael David Smith:

Anthony Gargano of WIP radio in Philadelphia is on ESPN this afternoon reporting that Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison is accused of being involved in a recent shooting at a bar Harrison owns in Philadelphia.

According to Gargano, police have uncovered a gun registered to Harrison in connection with the incident. His report further states that a fistfight broke out when Harrison escorted a man out of his bar, called Playmakers. When the man fled, gunfire was exchanged. The man's car was struck by a bullet and his hand was grazed, the report said.

Neither Harrison nor anyone else has been arrested in connection with the incident. Gargano reports that police are awaiting witnesses coming forward.

So, just to recap the facts: Marvin Harrison has not been charged, arrested, or convicted of shooting anyone. It also seems that no one was actually shot. He is supposedly accused of having some involvement in it because a gun registered to him is connected to the incident. Was the gun fired? Was it fired by Harrison? Don't know.

Until we do, we (and just about every other logic-minded person on the planet) will give Marvin the benefit of the doubt until details surface. The last time Marvin was accused of something wrong (attacking a small kid), it turned out to be a total and complete lie. So, we wait for the facts.

UPDATE: From nicjohns:

The man the shots were intended for told police that Harrison was not the shooter, but reportedly there is an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet in the shoulder who is willing to testify that Harrison was the shooter.

This all coming from the same Anthony Gargono, the best part was him saying someone claimed when the fist fight took place at the bar Harrison beat him pretty good claiming his “hands were almost ninja like”.

Quick note: People coming in here claiming Marvin Harrison is a thug ala Pacman Jones will get their comments deleted. Saying such things is akin to trolling, and comparing Marvin Harrison to Pacman Jones on ANY level is stupidity defined.