A Bone To Pick with XX

The Monday night XX1090 Bleacher Bum broadcast brought us the following:

"NFL EXPERT Peter King said, 'I think the Chargers would be wise to move on from LT'. That's SI.com writer and NFL EXPERT Peter King's opinion, not mine".

This bit of information was popped in right before a commercial break by Jordan Downtown and there was no further elaboration. The point seemed to be that there was an Expert out there who felt it.....an Expert out there who said it.....Peter King is an authority and Expert on the NFL....Therefore Peter King's opinion should be accepted in good faith and taken as NFL gospel.....Peter King said it San Diego and, 'You need to accept it'......don't shoot the messenger (Jordan).

Whether LT should stay or go is incidental. Nor is it of primary importance that the comment was incendiary in nature as there was no legitimate set-up to the quote or discussion afterwards. It was simply dropped in before the break.....and the listener was asked to accept it as sound analysis due to the source: Peter King......Your NFL "Expert".

There are many people who are granted the title of "Expert" in a wide array of fields. Look at any case that makes it to court. The Defense always counters the Prosecution's "Experts" with their own set of "Experts". Their goal....to convince the jury that their opinion on the matter is MORE "Expert" than the opinion that stands in opposition.

How about Experts in terrorism? Richard Clarke held the title of "Terror Czar" leading up to the 9/11/2001 attacks which essentially meant he was thee terrorism Expert. He was the Expert who was most correct in his analysis of the threat by a terror organization known as al Qaeda. But there was another group of Experts who thought his national security assessment was a bit too dire and did not require immediate attention. Those Experts carried titles such as National Security Adviser, Secretary of Defense and a few other notable positions at the top of our government's hierarchy. Ironically it was Richard Clarke who offered apologies in the wake of this tragedy.

Those two examples serve to illustrate the point that anybody can be called an Expert but that the label in and of itself does not signify infallibility. We know this to be true. Infallibility is not a common trait amongst men.

Here is the big issue though. When you have a wide reaching forum (a XX1090 Radio Program) and you throw out a statement such as, "Peter King is an Expert. Here's what he said. Accept it as fact because I attached the Expert label.", it creates a problem because it gives the audience license to accept the author's opinion as a given. Why do any research on our own? We've already been told that an expert said it! The question, good listener/reader, should really be: Who is this Peter King fellow, Expert of NFL Goings On?

Obey

I am here, XX listeners, to share with you some valuable insight regarding Mr. Peter King. On Sunday evenings as well as Super Bowl Sunday we are treated to what amounts to the game of the week and it is broadcast by NBC (Forget MNF-It's DEAD). There are many Experts who sit on the pre-game panel for NBC's game of the week....broadcast Experts such as Bob Costas, Dan Patrick, Keith Olberman, ET AL. Then you have your former football players who are Experts in game strategy, formations, and general information that only former Grid Iron Greats have experienced and understand therefore seem best equipped to explain to the lay fan. Then there is your print journalist who contributes to the show. He is also an "Expert" and he shares all of his scoops with the public. This Expert's Name is Peter King.

Oh where to begin?

The panel of Experts for NBC included Matt Millen during the Super Bowl. Matt Millen is the worst General Manager in the history of football. This is not hyperbole nor is it opinion! It is an indisputable fact yet NBC saw fit to have him espousing his views cultivated as an NFL Insider for the last two decades...installed as an EXPERT. Be weary of the man who bears the crown of Expert (and engineers 0-16 teams).

You see, the hallmark of any successful franchise, is the stockpiling of WRs

Question anyone who would pawn off Matt Millen as an Expert in educating football minds! This new found skepticism will then force you to more closely analyze Peter King's viewpoints. Peter King, the Expert, chose the following teams for his Final Four this year: New England, Jacksonville, Dallas, and Minnesota. Not very Expert. Do you know who he picked to win the AFC North? Browns. Wild card Picks? Colts and Jets. Hmmm....what's missing?

Steelers missed the playoffs!?!?!?!
Expert?

Bleacher Bum Jordan expects you to take his word that Peter King is an "Expert" but we will ask that you suspend acceptance of that belief until you read a part of his weekly SI.com article:

Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week

Sight to behold on the day after the Super Bowl at the Orlando Airport: Group of Steelers fans, getting ready to fly home, seated in the Continental departure area, waiting for a flight to Newark. They're happy. They're disheveled. One 40-ish man, portly, has a black Penguins T-shirt on, and he's eating some chicken, and he doesn't have a napkin, and when he finishes, he takes the bottom of his T-shirt, lifts it up, wipes his mouth with it -- revealing a huge and hairy stomach --and then wipes his hands with it.

Would you take those crazed rambling as those of an Expert? It sounds like the lunacy of a blogger who writes of inane concepts like The Holy Trinity of Jessicas and somehow tries to equate Brett Favre of the Jets to the Pussycat Dolls. Writing about "stupid shit" is in the realm of expertise for this blog so please don't ever confuse my football "Opinions" to be that of an "Expert".....unless I'm discussing "stupid shit" as my credentials are unmatched. In short, don't let Peter King do your thinking for you (he's frequently wrong).

Peter King Musing About A Fat Steeler Fan or Pictures of Jessica Alba?

This has been a treatise on the misapplication of the "Expert" label in all aspects of life. It was not so much an attempt to nitpick XX1090's host but to emphasize the importance of inquiry as opposed to the acceptance of random opinions as dogma.

The intended purpose was also to speak for the Fans.....The fans of San Diego Sports.

That loyal group of Fans who oddly enough seem to be in the minority these days.....never the less, our loyalty to the Chargers and Padres will be rewarded......someday.

Just Tryin' to Keep it Real....

~For More Peter King "Ridiculousness": Click Here