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I was watching an episode of Outside the Lines tonight, and their primary topic was the Poston brothers. First, I didn't know it was pronounced Poe-stun, so I guess you learn something new everyday. But secondly, I think the show really chickened out in their approach to interviewing the two brothers. I think it was Carl who did most of the actual interview despite the segment being filled with office shots of both, but he continued to talk about fair market value, and it was disappointing for the reporter to not investigate whether their clients were actually getting what was fair.
Maybe it's just because I've been watching Chris Matthews on Hardball for the past week, but I guess I was expecting some more confrontational questions that actually forced the Postons to defend their position rather than just explain it. For instance, I would have loved to hear them defend their classifying their asking price for Kellen Winslow as fair market value considering he hasn't played a down of NFL football and they're asking for a contract that would make him the highest paid tight end ever.
On top of that, the Postons even had the nerve to say that, while they had no proof of this, they believe other agents take kickbacks from teams if the agents agree to a more team-friendly deal (how ESPN can allow the Postons to make such a statement without being more aggressive in challenging the Postons' negotiating tactics bothers me). Randy Mueller said this was ridiculous and it's nothing he's ever seen, but someone else they had on speculated that the kickbacks weren't monetary or tangible but just generally keeping in good relations with the team.
Regardless, my impression was one of disappointment after watching this segment. I thought ESPN really had the chance to talk to these guys and try to expose them in a more national setting for their ridiculous contract demands, but instead played a very neutral position that didn't challenge the Postons at all. Perhaps that was their intent, I don't know. I just would have wanted much more.
Maybe it's just because I've been watching Chris Matthews on Hardball for the past week, but I guess I was expecting some more confrontational questions that actually forced the Postons to defend their position rather than just explain it. For instance, I would have loved to hear them defend their classifying their asking price for Kellen Winslow as fair market value considering he hasn't played a down of NFL football and they're asking for a contract that would make him the highest paid tight end ever.
On top of that, the Postons even had the nerve to say that, while they had no proof of this, they believe other agents take kickbacks from teams if the agents agree to a more team-friendly deal (how ESPN can allow the Postons to make such a statement without being more aggressive in challenging the Postons' negotiating tactics bothers me). Randy Mueller said this was ridiculous and it's nothing he's ever seen, but someone else they had on speculated that the kickbacks weren't monetary or tangible but just generally keeping in good relations with the team.
Regardless, my impression was one of disappointment after watching this segment. I thought ESPN really had the chance to talk to these guys and try to expose them in a more national setting for their ridiculous contract demands, but instead played a very neutral position that didn't challenge the Postons at all. Perhaps that was their intent, I don't know. I just would have wanted much more.
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