I thought James Brown did a good job with his investigative reporting, but par for the course, that idiot Bryant Gumbel had to get his two cents in after the fact. Those who watch the program know what I mean.
For those who don’t, Gumbel always feels the need to chime in and talk to his reporters about their findings. He oft comes across smug (when doesn’t he?) and very know-it-all, trying to one up the story’s reporter with some info he thought of that they didn’t. It reeks of arrogance and of a guy who thinks he’s above a sports program and should be prime time with his “journalism”.
No sooner does Brown’s segment end, when Gumbel asks about Pata’s character. Implying that there have to be some character issues with a guy who “gets in bar fights”, owns guns and drives a fancy car.
To Brown’s credit, he shut down a few of Gumbel’s accusations. Regarding the bar fights, he explained that is par for the course with a soon-to-be professional athlete. Pata was in a few altercations over a year-plus long span.
Brown also explained that in a city like Miami, a kid who has overcome adversity and escaped the rough neighborhoods – he’s going to get tried by the underachievers who didn’t get out and chose a life of crime. All it takes it scuffing a sneaker or bumping into a neighborhood rival in a club and it’s on.
As for Pata’s Infinity, Brown informed Scumbel that it was all legit. A relative helped him pay for it, which isn’t out of the norm for a kid with NFL aspirations. A future third round pick could easily pay back the payments on an SUV like that.
Two things that Brown left out which I found disappointing; the explanation of the guns as well as what Pata did regarding “summer jobs” to earn that money.
It’s common knowledge and has been reported in several instances that Pata had aspirations of joining the FBI someday when his playing career ended. Both he and former teammate Kareem Brown spoke of joining together. Pata was a gun enthusiast and loved to go shooting.
Does that explain the three (registered) guns in his apartment? I don’t know. But it’s certainly an important detail that HBO, Real Sports and Brown should’ve mentioned. By not doing so, it promotes that “Thug U” images which the University of Miami doesn’t deserve more than any other big time program out there.
As for those summer jobs, Pata was a car enthusiast and took pride in taking an old beater, fixing it up and turning into a work of art. While on the surface, his Infinity SUV may have looked tricked out and expensive to the average eye, Pata’s skills working on cars would more than allow him to do a lot of those upgrades and fixes on his own.
While it was nice to see Pata’s tragic story get some exposure this past week, it’s a shame they missed some key components to this story and it’s sick that a smug jerk like Gumbel got his uninformed two cents in after the fact.
.:Canes305:.
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It's really sad that we get more updates about a horse than the murder of a person and player. Since ESPN and news networks talked about the game when Miami players brought out Pata's banner and knelt around it, there has been nothing reported. OK, Barbaro couldn't walk the other day. blah blah blah. How about an update into the murder investigation on a Miami player? It just pisses me off to no end about the lack of respect and concern for life out there today.
What is equally troubling, besides the nauseating affects of Gum-ball's self-love, is the progress that this case seems to be lacking. Can't get closure there either.
Also,,,, I KNOW that I shouldn't hang on the words of seventeen-year-olds,,,, and I KNOW that I shouldnt be paying any attention whatsoever to the entire recruiting process, but rather the resulting ripened friut,,,,, I am down with all that,,,,,,,, BUT:
Marve To Choose Miami On Wednesday?
Posted By Anwar S. Richardson at Jan 29, 2007 at 10:22 AM
Updated Jan 29, 2007 at 02:11 PM
TAMPA - Plant senior quarterback Robert Marve will have a news conference Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the football team’s locker room to announce his college decision.
His top three choices are Miami, Alabama and Hawaii, which Marve visited during the weekend on an official recruiting trip, but he will likely verbally commit to the Hurricanes.
Marve committed to Alabama during the summer, but Coach Mike Shula was fired after the season. Marve visited Alabama two weeks ago and met Coach Nick Saban, but because he was unfamiliar with the new coach, decided to visit Miami and Hawaii as he remained committed.
However, the Crimson Tide picked up a verbal commitment last week from San Antonio (Texas) Churchill High quarterback Nick Fanuzzi, who previously had committed to Miami. Saban never told Marve he was looking for another quarterback. In fact, Marve was never informed about Fanuzzi’s commitment from a member of Alabama’s staff. The customary gesture is for a college to tell a committed recruit when it plans to bring in another player who will compete for the same position.
Marve wore Miami clothing to school on several occasions last week, his family loves the coaching staff, and many close to him say he will choose the Hurricanes.
“There is no question he enjoyed his visit to Miami and they are recruiting him hard. He is still going to look at everything in the big picture and make a decision on Wednesday,” Weiner said.
JMG
Tampa
Hey 305 I saw that trash and it pissed me off too!! These journalist are cruel, thoughtless,heartless and unprofessional. They make me sick. We're not talking about a kid who broke a team rule, we're talking about a lost human life. From what I've heard it was a altercation over a girl, not a drug deal or a bar fight. In any event, trashing a KID after he is murdered is unethical and ruthless. The bottom line is a coward shot a good kid in the head and senselessly ended a promising life. Bryan Gumball is a sell-out and an uncle tom, he has about as much street cred as Wayne Brady or Kevin Federline and he has no clue what he's talking about and I hope his show gets canceled cause it sucks (which is how Bryan Cumball got his job. Damn the critics, GO CANES!!!
As a journalist and a devoted Hurricane I have to defend my field in general too often from people who paint all journalists in the same way...i.e."These journalists are cruel, thoughtless, heartless and unprofessional."
Bryant Gumble IS annoying to watch and listen to because he does come off as smug.
The national media DOES NOT give enough attention to this story, giving it only :30 every now and then.
That much time NEVER paints the whole picture of a man (not a kid) whose life was cut short, or a story that has more twists than have been revealled.
The :30 five line VO does however let the viewer decide if the shooting is part of a trend of misbehavior when the following events are true.
All of the following happened this year at Miami:
Miami players brawled with LSU after being handed one of their worst bowl game losses.
Brandon Meriweather defended he and his teammate from a robbery by firing a weapon in public.
Ryan Moore was suspended for allegations of hurting a woman.
The FIU brawl happened and Reddick was seen using his helmet as a weapon.
Hurricane players did stomp on the Louisville logo in a universal sign of disrespect in the athletic arena.
Bryan Pata was shot and killed off campas.
I hope Pata's killers are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I hope the Miami program gets its clean image back like when Butch took over.
I hope the 'Canes get some discipline again, not just in executing plays, but in their decisions on and off the field outside the game.
I hope 'Cane fans can demand more of there team which in the last 12 months flushed several years of working on a clean image down the toilet.
I hope the 'Canes get some discipline again, not just in executing plays, but in their decisions on and off the field outside the game. I hope 'Cane fans can demand more of there team which in the last 12 months flushed several years of working on a clean image down the toilet.
I have no problem with these comments. Some very valid points. A few things:
- All the crap Miami pulled this past year doesn't excuse the irresponsible journalism. Pata was murdered. That's no more an indictment on The U than it is a cry for gun control, gang violence, crime in the city of Miami or a slew of other reasons for the tragedy. It was irresponsible for the likes of ESPN to consider that a black eye against the program the same way they did the FIU brawl.
- As for the FIU brawl, media coverage was extensive. ESPNews ran it on a loop in an effort to up their ratings. They'd go in or out of commercial and show footage for DAYS on end. They'd tease you in as if there were new news and then it'd be nothing more than some idiot commentator giving their two cents on the matter four days after everyone else.
- The "stomping" of the Louisville logo is being blown way out of proportion. That happens in college athletics. It's happened at UL before (by Temple, I believe) and we saw it when UF and FSU played this year. The only reason that got so much press is because we're "big, bad Miami" and we got smoked 31-7 but up and coming Louisville.
- If the program was in this much disarray, then it amazes me that down to the final wire so many got Larry Coker's back. It all trickles down from the top. It was his program, he wasn't a disciplinarian and these kids walked on him. He needed to go and he's gone. Randy Shannon won't take any shit and will weed out the bad seeds or whip them into shape. End of story. The Coker Regime is over and we're not going to see that crap anymore.
I don't think there is such a thing as a "registered" gun in Florida. The buyer of gun needs to have a background check before he can buy it, but the gun itself isn't registered. The law may have changed since I bought my gun some years ago, but I think I would have heard the NRA raising a stink if it had.
Great dissection Henry,, we just got 200 hairs from a single follicule,,,,, way to split em!!!
As for the unsigned diatribe from the Prime Minister of Misinformation,,,,,,, ESPECIALLY regarding the LSU reference,,, let me try to see things through your orbs,,,,,, ouch,,, that hurts,,, but here goes,,,,,
THERE REALLY ARE WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRUCTION,,,,, somewhere,,,,,
most likely in that crack rock you been smokin,,,,,
JMG
tampa
I don't think there is such a thing as a "registered" gun in Florida. The buyer of gun needs to have a background check before he can buy it, but the gun itself isn't registered.
Yeah, I could've worded that better.
My point was that Bryan Pata had done nothing wrong or illegal by owning those three weapons, yet the segment led viewers to believe a law had been broken.
Had they explained Pata's desire to join law enforcement after football and stated that he oft went shooting, was a gun enthusiast and that all three weapons were registered with the state of Florida, it'd have painted a different picture.
I don't think it's a conincidence 'how' they told the story. That's all.
JMG, The dissection only comes because the post is itself a dissection of media coverage. Why the venom? Allcanes didn't seem to think the clarification was so offensive.