Chalk up another bullsh*t rumor to San Diego radio station's XX1090 Lee 'Hacksaw' Hamilton. According to PFT, ground zero for just about every crap trade rumor known to humankind, the whole McNeill-to-the-Colts story that Hamilton threw out there on one of his Friday radio shows was a complete fabrication:
We've since learned -- and confirmed -- that the Colts have had zero contact with McNeill. So with only five days and change remaining before the expiration of the deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets, it's highly unlikely that the Colts will make a move.
Again, just as we said when we first reported Hamilton's rumor, this was just another silly "reporter" blowing a lot of hot air in the hopes that stupid bloggers like me might pick it up and run with it. And it is also here where I will actually defend Mike Florio. Florio did not create this rumor. Anyone saying he did is actually spreading a false rumor themselves.
Florio wrote a story for Sporting News, and in that story he listed five off-season moves that should happen. Again, these weren't moves he was saying would happen because he had people telling him they would. These were moves that he was suggesting certain teams and players make because Florio has an asshole and an opinion, just like everyone else. When "Hacksaw" Hamilton reported that the Colts were pursuing Marcus McNeill, he did not reference, cite, or even slightly suggest that Florio's Sporting News story was his source. You can go back and listen to the broadcast here. Hamilton made it clear that his "sources" were within the Chargers, a team he used to work for at one time.
So, to recap, the rumor of McNeill-to-the-Colts came solely from Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, a credentialed media personality who works for at least two San Diego radio stations and, at one point, worked for the Chargers as their play-by-play radio announcer. In other words, this was an "old school" media guy spreading baseless and totally unsupported rumors. Next time I hear some elitist media prick bemoan the state of sports journalism because of bloggers, I might just plant my foot in his testicles. It's longtime media blowhards like Hamilton that created bloggers like me in the first place.
Listen, Marcus McNeill to the Colts was a pipe dream, but it was enough of a story to have people like me, Gregg Rosenthal, and John Oehser write about it. Could it have happened? Sure! Why not? The Chargers are dragging their feet and are being cheap with signing McNeill, and a first and third round pick are more than enough compensation for someone who is, without question, a top five left tackle in the NFL.
But, a move like that would have been very much out of character for Bill Polian.
You can say the same thing about any Jared Gaither notions or ideas. They aren't happening. Surrendering a first round pick for a veteran player is something Bill Polian has never done in his tenure with the Colts. So, these suggestions about getting Gaither, or possibly Redskins schmuck-of-the-year Albert Haynesworth, are all dreams in the exact same sphere as the Colts signing McNeill.
Don't get me wrong. Trades like these are fun to talk about, and when stories regarding possible rumors are posted or discussed at other places it is my job to write about them. Anyone suggesting such stories should just be ignored or dismissed is someone who doesn't take blogging or fan-writing seriously enough for me to give a sh*t about them.
I mean, WTF else are we supposed to talk about? Baseball? Does anyone even give a sh*t about that sport anymore? The trade involving Donovan McNabb got more press than the opening-friggin-day of the MLB, so much so that Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig complained about it. That should tell you all you need to know about how news worthy NFL trades and potential NFL trades are over... well, pretty much everything else in the sports world.
Trade rumors absolutely must be written about and they must be discussed, especially when they come from pseudo-reputable sources.That said, I can now see why San Diego fans consider Hamilton such a clown.