Rick Schwartz Opens Up, Sort Of

With his Thursday afternoon report that quarterback Brett Favre has informed coach Brad Childress that he won’t be playing for the Vikings in 2009, Rick Schwartz of Yahoo! Sports executed a flawless cannonball into the NFL media pool. The name wasn’t familiar to most, and the story posted by Yahoo! Sports did nothing to get anyone up to speed as to who he is and how he’s in position to know what if anything Favre said to anyone. So we, and others, were skeptical -- even as Schwartz’s report was widely accepted as accurate. Until Friday. That’s when reports from guys like Jeremy Schaap of ESPN and Scott Hanson of NFL Network indicated that the deal could still go down, given that Favre’s X-rays were reportedly sent to the Vikings. We’ve since heard directly from one of the editors at Yahoo! Sports, who defended the report. And given persistent rumors that Schwartz is related to Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, we opted to talk directly to Schwartz about the situation. Obviously, Schwartz could say little on the record, lest he compromise his source. But he did say this: “I stand 100 percent by my story. Favre told Childress that he’s not coming back. I am 100 percent accurate on that.” Schwartz also acknowledged, however, the possibility that Favre could change his tune at some point in the future. We agree, given that Favre’s inability to make and stick to decisions makes us wonder how in the heck he ever picks a meal at a restaurant. As to whether the X-rays were sent to the Vikings, Schwartz didn’t comment. (Assistant Managing Editor Mark Pesavento previously told me that the X-rays were not sent.) But Schwartz offered this general observation regarding Friday’s news: “Jeremy Schaap is a fine reporter,” Schwartz said. “I’m not going to comment as to whether he’s wrong or not. But I’m telling you that I am right.” Regarding rumors of a familial relationship between Schwartz and Wilf, Schwartz initially clammed up. “No comment,” he said. Shortly thereafter, Schwartz said that he’s “not directly” related to Wilf. Schwartz would say only that his source is a member of the Vikings organization. “I can’t tell you which member of the Vikings’ organization because I know all of them,” Schwartz said. Obviously, if Wilf is the source, then the story has even greater credibility. Here’s some background on Schwartz. He has hosted the Yahoo! Sports fantasy football show for three years; it’s a one-hour program that airs online from noon to 1:00 p.m. ET on game days. (He said that it was once nominated for a Sports Emmy, even though he didn’t realize that Internet-only shows were eligible.) Schwartz also has hosted for Yahoo! Sports shows during Super Bowl week, and the Yahoo! Sports NFL draft show. (Here’s a video of Santonio Holmes explaining to Schwartz the manner in which Holmes puts on his jock strap before games. Given those photos that once circulated of Holmes, the best answer might have been “carefully.”) Anyway, we didn’t know who Rick Schwartz is. We now do. And he’s pretty confident that his story is right. So, as always, stay tuned.