Who Could Have Seen This Coming?

Earlier this afternoon, word came out that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman's looking at a 4 game PED suspension, which he's appealing. Would you care to guess who's on this story like a fly on shit?

Julian Edelman case gives Bill Belichick more ammunition against Alex Guerrero https://t.co/qwzo7h44K4 via @BostonGlobe

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) June 7, 2018

Shank (three hours later) devotes a column to the matter, so now we have a general idea of how long it can take to write and flush out a Shank column. For comparative purposes, this blog post took about 40-45 minutes, including some editing and a few runs to the refrigerator for beer.

The Patriots lost one of their top offensive weapons for four games Thursday, and it was a big win for head coach Bill Belichick.

Go figure.

Julian Edelman, Tom Brady’s northern California binkie and favorite target, tested positive for PEDs and was suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season, pending appeal.

Here's the problem with this column:

But Edelman getting popped changes the narrative in Fort Foxborough because he is an Alex Guerrero guy, and now Belichick has a new weapon to use against Brady, Bob Kraft, and anyone who’ll insist that Guerrero is a legit trainer and a swell guy who should be allowed full access to the Patriots facilities at Gillette Stadium.

I don't think this needs much of a translation - Shank is saying Guerrero's doping TB12 participants, lacks the balls to say it unambiguously, and Shank is unsurprisingly milking this for all it's worth.

Let’s revisit for a moment exactly who Guerrero is. He is a guy who said he was a doctor even though he is not a doctor. He marketed a beverage of organic greens that he falsely claimed could prevent or cure cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. He lied about receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology.

I am in agreement on this much, which I've written before - I think Guerrero's shady as hell but that is not proof that he assisted / encouraged or whatever phrasing you'd like to use that Guerrero's doping his clients. Shank's simply jumping the gun here out of sheer delight and / or the rush to get out in front of the story and / or to plant the 'Edelman's a Guerrero guy' narrative out there, hoping it takes root and watching the resulting fallout from a good, safe distance.

And I stole this quote from one of the commenters at the Globe - "And since when is Dan on BB's side?" When Dan wants to take indirect shots at Robert Kraft and / or make the organization look bad, that's when!