Quote:Ketchman had no pension with the Jaguars. I can confirm that beyond any shadow of a doubt. He does have one with the Packers.
I didn't say anything about a pension with the Jaguars. I said with a union. I'm glad that he has a nice thing going with the Packers - but I think calling out Weaver for not overpaying a columnist is utterly ludicrous.
Quote:I didn't say anything about a pension with the Jaguars. I said with a union. I'm glad that he has a nice thing going with the Packers - but I think calling out Weaver for not overpaying a columnist is utterly ludicrous.
Ketchman wasn't "just a columnist" though. At least thats my feel.
Quote:Not the nerve of you. The nonsense. You are literally inventing something that Weaver did wrong and it's absurd.
KETCHMAN DID NOT RETIRE!!!!!! Why the hell would Weaver pay him anything beyond the salary he earned?
Ketchman and the Jaguars very likely contributed funds to a journalists union pension fund which he will begin collecting when he does actually retire. (National Writers Union)
Do you know what a pension is?
Quote:Do you know what a pension is?
LOL. Yes and I have one set up through a union. Just as I'm suggesting Vic may have. Is there some gold standard out there that says NFL teams hiring website editors in 1990-something were supposed to establish a pension for them?? I don't think so. That is why I suggest he may have done it the way thousands of freelance journalists do it. Through a union pension fund.
He worked for the Jags for 16 years and left of his own accord for a better job. I fail to see how he was wronged by Weaver.
Quote:LOL. Yes and I have one set up through a union. Just as I'm suggesting Vic may have. Is there some gold standard out there that says NFL teams hiring website editors in 1990-something were supposed to establish a pension for them?? I don't think so. That is why I suggest he may have done it the way thousands of freelance journalists do it. Through a union pension fund.
He worked for the Jags for 16 years and left of his own accord for a better job. I fail to see how he was wronged by Weaver.
He left in part because the Packers were offering retirement/ security. Was Weaver "required" to give Ketchman a pension/ retirement security? No. But it would have been a nice gesture on his part, and one that he could have easily afforded and possibly would have enabled Ketchman to choose to stay and finish out his career here where he'd worked his prior sixteen years.
Quote:He left in part because the Packers were offering retirement/ security. Was Weaver "required" to give Ketchman a pension/ retirement security? No. But it would have been a nice gesture on his part, and one that he could have easily afforded and possibly would have enabled Ketchman to choose to stay and finish out his career here where he'd worked his prior sixteen years.
Ketchman initially worked on some little newsprint thing that the Jags and T.U. did together. (he was paid by the TU) When the Jags actually hired him exclusively (late 1990's) he became the editor of jaguars.com and an online columnist.
Now think about this. How many people with the title "website editor and columnist" in 1998 were offered contracts that included a pension plan? Do you think that was common at that time and at that stage of the internet and the audience it reached? I sure don't.
Does this mean we’re approaching full consistency?
Quote:I didn't say anything about a pension with the Jaguars. I said with a union. I'm glad that he has a nice thing going with the Packers - but I think calling out Weaver for not overpaying a columnist is utterly ludicrous.
Agreed. Knowing a few journalists, including Vic, I can attest that none of them are getting rich off their gigs. The national guys do well enough, but even they don't make what some people might think.
I think it is ridiculous to call out Weaver for not offering pension plans to his employees. As it stands, that's a trend for a lot of companies these days. Pensions have either been scaled back or eliminated all together as a result of the economy tanking. Taxpayer subsidized pension plans are forcing cities and possibly states into bankruptcy.
I don't think Ketchman begrudged Weaver for the lack of a pension. I just think his cancer scare years ago probably woke him up to the fact that he needed to have a plan. I'm sure he invested in his own retirement, but having an opportunity to be the guy writing for the Packers along with all the other perks had to be a significant draw for a guy like Ketchman. Covering a team like Green Bay is the football journalists equivalent of being the lead anchor on any major New York city news desk.
Quote: Covering a team like Green Bay is the football journalists equivalent of being the lead anchor on any major New York city news desk.
Indeed. He covered the steelers during an amazing time of their lineage -the Jaguars at their infancy and unexpected playoff run - and now works in a living shrine to professional football. He's done quite well for himself and I'm happy he was offered a pension by his current employer. Hard to imagine him begrudging Weaver.
I finally read his latest column amid all this pension talk.... and guess, what.
He mentions the Jags AND the Steelers. IN THE SAME COLUMN!! :woot: Ha-ha. At least the Jags aren't former division rivals of the pyackers. LOL.
Quote:
<p style="font-size:12px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Arial Regular', Arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(248,248,248);">After seeing the first round of the NBA playoffs thus far, I couldn’t be more in favor of expanding the NFL postseason to 16 teams. Fans want drama, right? How’s the No. 1 seed in both conferences close to elimination by No. 8 seeds, and the No. 2 Thunder just went down 3-2 in their series. That’s entertainment.
<p style="font-size:12px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Arial Regular', Arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(248,248,248);"><b>I agree. I would’ve liked to have seen the Cardinals and Steelers in last year’s playoffs. The Cardinals won seven of their last nine games and the Steelers fought back from an 0-4 start and won six of their last eight games, and that’s the kind of grit I respect and want to see in the postseason. I don’t wanna see teams that played for the stats in September and October, built a big lead and then faded at crunch time late in the season. I wanna see the teams with a hard edge. I wanna see the teams that are chasing championships, not stats.</b>
I loved his post game videos. He looked a kid in a candy shop talking about the history of the stadiums and teams
Quote::geek: Time to party! Vic also said AP was going to be great, and was right! 
He also said Beanie Wells was going to be a stud
Quote:He also said Beanie Wells was going to be a stud
Did he ever say that Beanie was a stud? I do recall him saying several times that he believed Gene would have picked Wells had Monroe not been on the board.
Quote:Did he ever say that Beanie was a stud? I do recall him saying several times that he believed Gene would have picked Wells had Monroe not been on the board.
From the archives:
Quote:Originally Posted by Vic
If I was a pro scout, the thing about Wells that would most intrigue me is his room for improvement. I don’t think he’s nearly as good as he’s going to be. When he matures as a runner, I think he’ll offer star potential. I see a guy who doesn’t always see the hole and doesn’t always run hard. That’ll get fixed in the NFL and when it does, watch out.
Seemed pretty high on him to me.
Vic is the last person I would ask anything football related to.
Quote:Vic was a true pro, I miss him here.
So u'd take Ketchman over O-Zone?