The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... The situation between the Packers and Rodgers has blown up in recent days. Rodgers had an opportunity to speak about it on Saturday. He passed. Mike Tirico of NBC Sports, the host of the network's Kentucky Derby coverage, spoke to Rodgers at Churchill Downs. Rodgers declined to be interviewed, but he expressed to Tirico disappointment that news of the rift with the organization has emerged. "He expressed a couple of times how much he loves Green Bay, loves the fans, loves the franchise," Tirico said. "There is a fissure. There is a chasm between management and the reigning NFL MVP."

Diehards Line: Rodgers is smart to point out that he loves the city, the fans and the team. But some fans already have gone from regarding the situation with a side eye to turning on Rodgers, given that the situation has deteriorated -- and given that it seems that Rodgers wanted it to happen when it did, on the first day of the draft. That said, the most important aspect of Tirico's report is that Rodgers denied nothing. Tirico spoke with Rodgers, and Tirico used words like "fissure" and "chasm" to describe the situation. It's the next best thing to Rodgers saying so himself.