They're coming from Ian Rapoport, who works for the NFL Network, which is owned and operated by the NFL.
So while sports teams are fond of demonizing the media as outside enemies who want to undermine their operations, this is actually something of an inside job. (Bill Parcells used to refer to Giants beat writers as "communists.")
If the NFL Network has total editorial independence, it's enjoying freedom that isn't all that common.
Teams generally try to control the message whenever they can.
Once the Pirates were on the road when the opposing shortstop inexplicably dropped the most basic pop-up. Incredulous at the misplay of a chance so easy, Greg Brown exclaimed that a Little Leaguer could have made the play.
At the next commercial break, the man then in charge of the Pirates' marketing was on the phone to the booth, angrily complaining that Brown's candid assessment somehow downgraded the product the team was trying to sell.
When Myron Cope called attention to the "Steelers Streaker" in the 1970s, no less an authority than franchise founder Art Rooney scolded Cope for making a miscreant a folk hero.
Penguins general manager Craig Patrick was once watching a late night telecast from the west coast at home. He grew impatient with Mike Lange's words of praise for the opposing team and phoned the production truck to relay the message he'd like to hear some good things about the Penguins.
Lange's response was to call the rest of the game without his usual expressions to adorn Penguins goals. No drinks for Sam or his dog, no messages to Arnold Slick in Turtle Creek, just straight calls of the plays.
The online mlb.com, which purports to cover all 30 MLB teams with some independence, reportedly doesn't allow its writers to use the word "fail" in stories.
If NFL Network staffers are free from that kind of interference, good for them, even though it's proven to be inconvenient for the Steelers and Roethlisberger.
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--DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT
Anna Benson, the scary ex-wife of former Pirates pitcher Kris Benson, has been interviewed by TV's Dr. Phil.
The show is scheduled to air on Wednesday.
Anna Benson refers to herself as the most famous sports wife since Marilyn Monroe, a claim Gisele Bundchen or Victoria Beckham might dispute.
Anna is a former exotic dancer who improbably married one of the quietest people on the planet, then used his fame to create her own notoriety. When Benson pitched for the Mets, she famously did some interviews on Howard Stern's radio show. She operated a personal website, where she offered racy photos and profanity-filled insults of those who didn't agree with her conservative political views.
Benson last pitched in the major leagues in 2010, and Anna has also faded away. She returned to the headlines in July when she showed up at Kris' home with a gun, hatchet, knives and a bulletproof vest.
Maybe Dr. Phil can write her a prescription.
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--SCRAMBLED MESSAGE
Spell check always flags Dan Bylsma's last name and suggests "abysmal" as a replacement.
Everyone's a critic.
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