McNabb, Feeley, or Kolb

[ice grillin you]

Oliver says report was accurate
Fox Sports sideline reporter offended by McNabb's denial of comments about Eagles
By GEOFF MOSHER, The News Journal
Posted Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens embraced Sunday on the field following the Eagles' 10-6 upset of Dallas at Texas Stadium. But while one fractured relationship is mending, another was ruptured.

Fox Sports sideline reporter Pam Oliver told The News Journal on Monday she views the Eagles quarterback differently after McNabb flatly denied the accuracy of her report during the network's broadcast of the NFC showdown.

"I just feel like our relationship is definitely broken," Oliver said in a phone interview. "It's not easy to be called a big, fat liar. You wake up to that, and it's unpleasant."

Oliver steadfastly defended her report in which she said her pregame conversation with McNabb led her to believe McNabb felt the organization would cut ties with him in the offseason.

In the sideline report, Oliver said:

"Donovan really seems to believe that his days in Philadelphia are numbered. When I spoke with him before the game, I got the impression that Donovan is a little hurt by what he sees as an organization distancing itself from him and an organization that's overly concerned about the negative fan reaction to him.

"But Donovan told me point blank, 'My knee is not an issue. The next place I go, I will win,' and also that he will keep a smile on his face for as long as he's in an Eagles uniform."

After the game, McNabb told reporters that Oliver had drawn her own conclusions.

"I didn't say that," McNabb said. "I don't feel that way. I've said I want to be here eight more, nine more years. If that's possible, we'll see."

Monday morning, Oliver said she was stunned to hear McNabb's defiant response. Not only did McNabb make those remarks, she said, but he sounded off without being pressed.

"I asked him one question, and there was this barrage [of responses]," she said.

An Eagles spokesman said Monday that McNabb was aware of Oliver's reaction, and declined further comment.

Oliver also said she intentionally withheld some of McNabb's more pointed remarks to protect him from saying something publicly he might later regret. Now, she sees the irony of the situation.

"My only professional regret is: Why on earth did I bend over backward to make it less impactful?" she said. "And then wake up to ... to someone throwing you under the bus like that."

"All I can tell you is I stand by it 100 percent," she added. "It's on-my-mother's-grave accurate. That's the bottom line."

Oliver said she was mentoring a young woman about the TV industry when she and the woman walked near McNabb while he threw warmup passes on the sideline before the game.

They had waited for the right signal from McNabb that they could have a conversation.

"She [the young woman] was literally on my hip as I talked to Donovan," Oliver said.

The chat lasted about five minutes, Oliver estimated, and she recalled asking just four questions. To ensure she kept eye contact and gave McNabb her undivided attention, Oliver said she didn't take notes until after the conversation ended.

"I like to keep eye contact to make sure I'm crystal clear on something that's said," Oliver said.

Former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson once accused Oliver of fabricating a report that Johnson had yelled at Sean Payton, then a Cowboys assistant coach, during an October 2004 loss at Green Bay.

Oliver denied Johnson's accusation in a Dallas Morning News article in which she said, "I do not make stories up."

Oliver insisted that McNabb understood his comments were on the record and that their conversation was fair game -- like any other standard pregame dialogue between sideline reporters and NFL players.

She described McNabb's remarks as being "all volunteered comments."

"Don has a degree in communications [from Syracuse University]," she said. "He knows how TV works. He knows how the media works. You can't trip him up. All interviews I've ever done with him, you can't get him to say something he didn't want to say."

What Oliver said surprised her most is that she considered McNabb a trustworthy source and believed the two had developed a strong business relationship stemming from multiple interviews she conducted with the ninth-year player, dating to his rookie season.

Now, she feels betrayed to the point where she can't envision a scenario in which the two could talk openly again.

"I can't imagine reaching out to him or him reaching out to me [to talk] and it being an honest conversation," she said. "I felt like I had had an honest conversation -- and he called me a liar."

[Feva]

yawn.

[ice grillin you]

yawn.

yeah really....how many times is mcnabb going to bash the city the fans the media and now hes onto the team itself....just ask for a friggin trade already...hes such a queen

[rjs246]

This whole situation is farging retarded. He shouldn't have said whatever he said because it's her job to blab about that shtein. She shouldn't have a job where she's required to blab about that shtein because it's an idiotic job to have. If he said it he shouldn't have said she made it up. She shouldn't be whining about it. This isn't news. People are idiots.

[SunMo]

i have no doubt he said what he said to make her report the conclusion she came to, and then after the game he realized the shtein storm it would cause and flipped on those comments...

[ice grillin you]

what i dont get is his need to talk about this at all...its almost a chronic condition that started with the draft booing and has never stopped...you can tell its a personal thing whe he says stuff like hes gonna be great wherever he goes...like all you idiots didnt fully appreciate the greatness that is donovan mcnabb...

he has to have his groin massaged or he flips out...hes also throwing andy under the bus big time with the way the blaming the team stuff sow....its one thing to kill the fans or media but andy has done nothing but protect him for nine years and now donovan is going to speak out on the team

[phillymic2000]

#5 will be here as long as Andy is, plain in simple imo.

[Magical_Retard]

what i dont get is his need to talk about this at all...its almost a chronic condition that started with the draft booing and has never stopped...you can tell its a personal thing whe he says stuff like hes gonna be great wherever he goes...like all you idiots didnt fully appreciate the greatness that is donovan mcnabb...

he has to have his groin massaged or he flips out...hes also throwing andy under the bus big time with the way the blaming the team stuff sow....its one thing to kill the fans or media but andy has done nothing but protect him for nine years and now donovan is going to speak out on the team

when did he throw andy under the bus? i would love for him to do that. esp if reid and the eagles have decided to move on next season i would want mcnabb to go on tv and tell it all.

[Sgt PSN]

Andy has protected McNabb the same way he protected his kids.  All McNabb has needed during his career are consistant weapons and playmakers around him, just like any other quarterback.  Reid never gave them to him (except once) and all he did was coddle McNabb.

I'm serious about the comparison of Reid the coach vs Reid the dad.  His kids even said that they liked selling drugs because it made them feel powerful......probably because they were coddled and babied their whole lives by mommy and daddy.  He put the weight of the franchise on McNabb's shoulders but never gave him the actual support that he needed.  That'd be like if Bush sent his generals to invade Iraq but instead of giving them trained soldiers, he sent them over with a bunch of
retarded apple pie kids from Burger King. 

Farg Reid.  If McNabb isn't starting for the Eagles on opening day next year I hope he finally comes out and trashes Reid and the front office for the way they've treated him over the years.  They may have supported him publicly but that's not where McNabb needs support.  He's got enough of that from his family.  He's needed help on the field from day one and the FO has repeatedly ignored it. 

[rjs246]

Pretty good analogy. I guess. For a retard.

[Sgt PSN]

Gotta stay with what you know. 

[ice grillin you]

i hate reid more than anyone but i think it would be completely bush league for mcnabb to trash him after he leaves...i think it would be small of him to do it now but doing it when youre in another city is pussified

say what you want about reids football philosophy as far as system over players but in terms of how hes treated mcnabb in defending him against the media and fan criticism he has been great to donovan...never once said a bad word about him has covered for him in every instance never once coming close to blaming him for anything....

and again regardless of whether we think that was the right way to treat him the fact is he did it and was extrememly loyal to donovan in doing do...for donovan to kill him in anyway would make him look really bad imo and would be just plain wrong

[reese125]

Farg Reid.  If McNabb isn't starting for the Eagles on opening day next year I hope he finally comes out and trashes Reid and the front office for the way they've treated him over the years.  They may have supported him publicly but that's not where McNabb needs support.  He's got enough of that from his family.  He's needed help on the field from day one and the FO has repeatedly ignored it.

lets not ignore the fact that Donovan might of liked the fact that the team was on his shoulders--or should i say feet. His name was constantly in the media and he was proclaimed as one of the best in the league because of his abilities to make plays. Im sure he preferred it that way and so did his ego.

If he comes out and bitches about the FO not supporting him, he looks like even more of an ass than he does now for constantly complaining...but who knows....maybe that communications degree was a farse

[rjs246]

As someone with a communications degree, I can confirm that they are a farce.

[Feva]

I have a communications degree... so if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about them, then I don't know what will.