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Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
Larry Brown plays dumb, fumes, stomps his feet -- and still won't deny the Cleveland story. Plus: Heat hopes fade with Shaq. ESPN to NHL: No, thanks, we'll run test patterns.
Jun 1, 2005 | Pistons coach Larry Brown, angry at reports that he's already agreed to take a job running the Cleveland Cavaliers front office, fumed at the media Tuesday at Detroit's morning shoot-around. He complained about stories that relied on anonymous league sources.
Amusingly, he feigned naiveté about this standard and important journalistic practice on the day that the identity of Deep Throat, the most famous and most historically significant anonymous source of our lifetimes, was revealed.
"Who are the league sources?" Brown asked. "And why would somebody write that instead of being up front and saying who it is? Why would you do that? I heard about compensation from some guy who said we're seeking compensation. Where would you get that? Where would you get that? Why wouldn't you just say who said that?
"Don't just come out and throw things. To have somebody keep repeating themselves like that? That's not fair. I am coaching here. I have never changed in what I said."
Brown, a smart and educated man, knows full well why reporters use anonymous sources. Because they're willing to supply information only on the condition their names not be revealed, usually because that would cause them harm. It's a foundation of a free press.
It's not a perfect system. Democracy can be messy that way. Reporters and editors have to rely on their judgment to determine if their anonymous sources are reliable, and the public has to rely on its judgment to decide whether it believes the report. Sometimes the judgments are wrong.
And sometimes the practice can be abused, as Brown also knows. And he knows, his weak protests Tuesday notwithstanding, that this isn't one of those times.
Did you notice anything missing from his wounded remarks? Yeah, me too. A denial that he's going to Cleveland. Brown broke up the impromptu news conference just as a reporter was saying that all this talk won't go away because Brown refused to deny the rumors.
He walked away, leaving only his usual non-denial denial: "I am coaching here."
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Pistons tie series, Heat in trouble [PERMALINK]
To a man, the Pistons said the Brown situation hasn't been a distraction and hasn't affected their play, and it certainly looked that way as they pounded the Heat 106-96 in Game 4 Tuesday night.
This Pistons played a turnover-free first half, for crying out loud, and were just about as good as you can be on both ends of the floor all night.
The series goes back to Miami Thursday night tied 2-2, and I continue to think things are looking bad for the Heat.
