I'm guessing (hoping?) that you're overstating your disdain for Florio for comic effect; if not, you're missing the point when it comes to PFT, and, by extension, you are indirectly smearing the OBR (!), or any other site that takes risks to dig a little deeper to find gold nuggets of truth.  And those nuggets will always be surrounded with useless crap.  I, for one, think it's well worth the risk of being wrong just so that NFL fans can have access to information that the stuffed, self-aggrandizing suits at ESPN and co. refuse to pursue.  Like independent radio, PFT, OBR, and other blogs/fan-sites answer to no entity but their respective consciences.  

The irony here is that you criticize the very elements that make sites like PFT so valuable to NFL fans; the willingness to take the risks that scare away the mainstream journos.    

As for the item you've referenced, it's posted on PFT's "Rumor Mill" page - so if the reader doesn't take such reports with a grain of salt, he may feel cheated.  And although you are correct that the Rumor Mill has an unapologetic tone, you fail to place this criticism in the proper context:  this site proclaims loudly its nature and scope (to the point of tedium) as a "Rumor Mill" (how much more explicit can you get?); accordingly, any uncorroborated items posted therein will be surrounded with disclaimers (the natural instinct of a quality attorney).  

Finally, PFT and the material posted therein should never be compared to that of any mainstream organization:  Florio's a blogger, and his mortgage isn't leveraged against his website.  PFT is his moonlight gig at most, a hobby at the least.  

Don't forget that he is a well respected and successful labor attorney whose connections to the NFL are likely to be rooted in this work.  An authority on employment contract law, he understands the business side of the NFL, and there is no doubt that that gives him credibility (esp. with the real power brokers)

At first, I was skeptical of the man and the site; it was juicy, but also hit or miss.  But I was always impressed with Florio's honesty when it came to his work.  For example, reports of a scuffle between Chad Johnson and a Bengals assistant coach went unreported everywhere except in PFT, but because the source thereof was in essence divulging hearsay, Florio ran with it, with disclaimers and caveats filling as much space as the item itself.  

It turned out to be true.  The Big Media wouldn't touch it - for fear of looking silly (a lot of egotism in TV Land), or worse, damaging their career.  Guys from ESPN et al. play it safe - it's their livelihood, and furthermore, they don't want to anger the wrong people and lose their access - you know, the trust that gets a reporter the Big Sit Down with a star personality to whom they throw big, fuzzy softballs.

If you read long enough, you'll find that Florio is right as much, if not more, than he is wrong; even when in error, what at first glance seem to be mistakes often turn out to be prophetic, revealing little nuggets of truth that are only visible (like Runes) at the appointed time - in the end, many of his mistakes are simply a matter of having been in the right place, but at the wrong time.

Last, ask yourself:  would you rather return to the days when the Big Networks and Newspaper conglomerates controlled your access to information?  Would you prefer to have someone "smarter" in a fancy suit decide what you are capable of understanding instead of trusting your own judgment when it comes to reports such as those that appear in the OBR and PFT?

Neither would I.

NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE We're having to go a little further afield to find any Browns news of