Florio will still own the website but has sold exclusive rights to its content to NBC.
With the mind of a lawyer and the conversational, biting tone of the wiseacre at the next bar stool, Florio updates his site a dozen or more times a day, analyzing everything from what minor transactions might portend, to emerging trends, to the latest player hauled off in handcuffs.
"I try to create the place where I would want to spend my time if I was on the other side of the screen," said Florio, 44. "Where would I want to get my information about the NFL? What stories would be interesting to me and how would I want it to be presented? Would I want it to be just a cold, dry recitation of the facts, or would I want it to be something that makes me think, that makes me upset, that stirs my opinions and makes me laugh from time to time?"
The stories aren't always on the mark. The site's most memorable gaffe came Jan. 25, 2007, when, after receiving a flurry of tips from e-mailers, Florio rushed to post a story headlined: "Is Terry Bradshaw Dead?"
The rumor, obviously erroneous, was first reported as that by a couple of TV stations in Shreveport, La., but briefly gained major momentum when PFT reported it. (As it turned out, someone misheard a radio report that there had been a fatal car accident on the Terry Bradshaw Passway in Shreveport.) Minutes later, after getting the story straight, Florio replaced that headline with: "Terry Is Fine," but by that time, critics of his site had more ammunition than they might ever need.
"That mistake," Florio jokes, "will go on my tombstone."
Florio does most of his writing on his laptop from his den in tiny Bridgeport, W.Va., a town of 7,800 about a 90-minute drive south of Pittsburgh. His 36-inch TV is on throughout the day, tuned to either something football-related, news or "Seinfeld" reruns (he quotes that sitcom with almost religious reverence), and the phone calls and e-mails pour in at a staggering rate.
When the rest of the sports world was paying relatively little heed to the Michael Vick dogfighting accusations, Florio was three steps ahead, talking about how significant the fallout could be. When a group of players who had tested positive for a steroids masking agent were protesting their suspensions, Florio cut through the legalese to explain it in layman's terms.
