Pete Thamel was the first person the ex-staffer reached out to, a week ago
https://x.com/tomcunning/status/1721670617944994046?s=20
I wonder why he didn't rush to release this story....
November 6th, 2023 at 8:33 PM ^
Douche
November 6th, 2023 at 8:54 PM ^
Eats douche waffles in a douche canoe
November 6th, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
mGrowOld’s “twatwaffle” >>>> “douchewaffle”
discuss
Personally I think everyone prosecuting this nonsense is engaged in intentional douchebaggery, but that’s just me.
November 7th, 2023 at 7:51 AM ^
Personally I think there is misogyny in both terms and it is unbecoming to use either. That said, I think the term douchebag has evolved to mean something beyond its original meaning. See Hot Chicks with Douchebags. NSFW/Bikinis Jerk or Matt Gaetz doesn't quite capture the full meaning.
I used to feel the same way about the term "p*ssy." Vaginas are strong and one of my favorite things. The colloquial meaning was perfect but the word it self was misogynistic. Snowflake was the perfect replacement for it. Soft is a close second. I love that I can be condescendingly mean without being anti-woman.
Don't be a douchebag and clean up your language. (You said discuss.)
November 7th, 2023 at 11:11 AM ^
I used to listen to the Stuff Your Mom Never Told You podcast. At the time it was hosted by two women. After they did a podcast on douches (the literal devices) and cited lots of evidence that they were at best unnecessary and at worst harmful to women, they decided it was OK to keep using "douche" as a derogatory term.
[Caveats: Two women on a podcast don't speak for all women. Just providing a different perspective; use your own judgment.]
November 6th, 2023 at 8:35 PM ^
Take his credentials away, all of them.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:35 PM ^
I know sports are not life or death, but spineless, dishonest human garbage like Thamel are why people don't trust and despise much of the mainstream media
November 6th, 2023 at 8:48 PM ^
Per Gallup trust in the media is at historic lows. Pete Thamel can look in a mirror if he wonders why.
November 6th, 2023 at 11:08 PM ^
They all do this. They start with a narrative they want to push then they fill in pieces of a story to push it, overstating some things, and completely leaving out others.
There was a time that a "journalist" would never think of doing that, then it eroded to journalists that did it but would try to hide it, now we are at a state where they reflexively do it and don't even think it's not journalism.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:35 PM ^
Can we vet our sources better than Thamel himself, please.
November 6th, 2023 at 11:11 PM ^
We are better off that Thamel was not the source of the staffer's story. Much less credibility if it had come from him. Guy is clearly just an empty ESPN shill.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:35 PM ^
Good question. Media is always interested in providing accurate and complete facts and not slanting a story to gather clicks and push the author’s agenda. He must have forgotten the information in the crush of pumping out articles based on the latest “information” being fed to him by the investigative and PR firms.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:20 PM ^
Your second line is the hottest take I've ever heard...and I listen to the podcast every week.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:35 PM ^
add Thamel to the insta-ban list if not already
November 6th, 2023 at 8:55 PM ^
Totally agree. Pete needs to be added!
November 6th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
Second.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:36 PM ^
I bet Thamel called Ryan Day to ask if he should publish it. What a poop chute.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
Lmao. The guys twitter handle doesn't exactly scream unbiased source but its plausible. Thamel is obviously hoping he's onto the crime of the century that is going to win him widespread acclaim. Inconvenient truths detract from that goal
November 6th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
Interesting. If I'm sympathetic to Michigan and have any brains, Thamel is one of the last people I'm calling. He may share the information with Michigan's enemies. Maybe that wouldn't materially change anything, but it would give them a few days to prepare.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:43 PM ^
If I’m sympathetic to Michigan, I absolutely reach out to Thamel because if true, this absolutely proves he’s biased. Give him the rope to hang himself.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:10 PM ^
Yeah, but we already know he's biased. :)
We also know that he wouldn't likely act on the information.
Hopefully the texts / e-mails were saved. I do see your point.
November 6th, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
WE know that. But now no one can deny it.
November 6th, 2023 at 11:16 PM ^
I agree considering some OSU insiders claim to know who this anonymous source is.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
He didn't go with the story because the facts didn't fit the narrative. Journalism is dead - or at best its on life support.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:48 PM ^
or maybe the guy on twitter with 168 followers isn't telling the truth.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:00 PM ^
Thing is, it doesn't matter. Anything said now gets thrown into the narrative. So PT can either publicly speak on this or people will assume it's true. Either way he doesn't look great.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
I want to believe this, but I have no reason to believe that a random person who is apparently a big Michigan fan is the one person who is aware of what this anonymous staffer has done with the information.
This is probably just baseless rumor.
I'm more interested why ESPN, which has barely had any time in the last two weeks without a headline about this story on its front page story list, has not said anything about the AP article regarding other teams conspiring to steal Michigan's signs.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
This. Exactly this
November 6th, 2023 at 8:51 PM ^
Sure, it's probably just a rumor but I do think it's telling that it was an AP writer who wound up publishing this despite ESPN/Yahoo/etc. going at this story full-bore for weeks. I have to assume somebody reached out to them with additional info and either they didn't view it as credible or they didn't care. Because while no news organization is perfect I do trust the AP more than those 2 other sites to check on the credibility of sources.
November 7th, 2023 at 1:36 AM ^
Yes, I've looked at their CFB main page since the AP news broke and still nothing on the AP article but the top link is on the Conference's notice to UM.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
Journalism is a dead art.
There are now only agenda pushers.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:39 PM ^
You don't think Thamel and Rosenburg are roommates, do you?
November 6th, 2023 at 8:39 PM ^
I challenge Pete Thamel to a slap fight
November 6th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Nothing surprisingly who can't even get the report right on Teo's "girlfriend". He makes journalism look bad... No wonder being with ESPN is the right fit... Now, ESPN is going to look worse each day for even hiring and believing this click bait was going to last...
Stupidity run a muck and now, he needs to answer to why he would hide one side but not the other....
November 6th, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
Thamel isn't a serious person. He's OSU's gimp.
November 6th, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
I mean, does this surprise anyone? Thamel getting shitcanned at some point because of his shitty reporting around this is low-key one of the more intriguing possibilities of this whole scandal. It wouldn't be immediate but he looks bad doing TV, seems like an asshole when talking about college sports, and if he legitimately ignored additional information while cherry-picking from OSU-based sources that's a bad look for a "journalist".
November 6th, 2023 at 8:49 PM ^
For those of us who don’t know ,who is Pete Thamel and what does he have against Michigan/ Harbaugh ?
November 6th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^
So called journalist but his notoriety was the Manti Teo story. He is a more or less OSU homer onw but reported (in good light) of Urban (and OSU) for access.. That is what I know.
References:
https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/the-two-biggest-losers-of-manti-teo-story-pete-thamel-and-pat-forde/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/01/17/manti-teo-there-but-for-the-grace-of-god/
November 6th, 2023 at 8:52 PM ^
Burn it down! Burn it all down!
November 6th, 2023 at 8:53 PM ^
And you wonder why mainstream media is not trusted…..
November 6th, 2023 at 8:56 PM ^
Thamel is an OSU slappy and an industrial-grade pearl clutcher. I've grown quite weary of him during this saga
November 6th, 2023 at 9:00 PM ^
Unreal.
Well, UM gonna burn down ESPN too now, lol.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:10 PM ^
There are some good IJs out there who have extremely strong biases, but are able to push them to the side, and I respect them immensely for it, because they're so rare.
November 7th, 2023 at 7:24 AM ^
Shellenberger and Taibi come to mind. Both solidly left leaning journalists who worked to report on Twitter’s actions that arguably showed significant bias toward the Democratic candidates in the 2020 election.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:10 PM ^
Because everyone is being paid so Ohio can win, that's the only way ohio knows how to win. Pay for play, pay for the downfall of your competitors.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:12 PM ^
A
Gen
Da
Right, Petee?
November 6th, 2023 at 9:36 PM ^
coordinated hit job and it will be glorious when it blows up in their faces.
November 6th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
Thamel is a cunt.