Good To Have Ya, PFT!

Having contributed somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 mouse clicks to Mike Florio's Pro Football Talk since finding it in about 2003 (and yes, I did the math), I feel uniquely qualified to react to the news that he's now partnered up with NBCSports.com.

My reaction? Tre. Men. Dous.

I have no idea if I was one of the first NFL beat writers to find PFT back when I covered the Patriots for the Providence Journal, but I do know I was one of the first to be proudly out of the closet about reading it. How do I know this? I'd be checking PFT before, during or after games in the press box and other writers would sniff about how they never read it and never would.  

Now? You simply cannot cover the NFL adequately without doing so. And nobody would ever admit to not reading. They may sneeringly say they "check it every couple days" but everybody's reading it.  

The reason? As reporters, you find the spot from where the information flows. And more information - first-hand stuff generated by Florio and second-hand info culled from scads of media sources around the country - is generated on a daily basis by Florio than anyone. Or at least it seems that way.

If I write a story that's got some bite or an angle, I send Mike the link to it. He gets what I like to call "walk-up traffic" so if he pops it out there, the story is more widely read. But also, I want to see his take on it. And Florio's take is what makes PFT more than just a clearinghouse for stories.

So, Mike, let me say welcome to you and your millions of twisted minions to the site. As always, please use coasters and if the toilet keeps running, just jiggle the handle a little.