A different kind of show. In our middle segment, we steal some audio from this week’s Joe Sports Fan Show, with guests Josh Zerkle and….me. Consider it a teaser and a plug for the Vegas event all in one.

But first, Nick and I discuss the rumor mongering going around the internet about Pittsburgh going to the BIG TEN. From the looks of it, the rumor started on an OSU message board and Bleacher Report, the least reliable content network for news and information around. So of course, newspaper websites link to the rumors, thus making them more valid, and in turn, setting the internet ablaze.

It’s an issue of gatekeeping, but also of trusting what you read and making sure you illustrate what’s rumor and what’s sourced information. Nick brings up the 96-team NCAA tournament rumor that came up yesterday and we discuss how we, even at TSB or on this show or wherever any of you write, need to figure out if a rumor on SbB is more or less valid than a rumor somewhere else. To parallel the situations, we talk about Bleacher Report. If the same report Brooks posted was on Bleacher Report, we never would have linked to it. That’s just the way it goes. And there are some good writers on that network, but by and large, it’s the Wild Wild West. Clearly, a reporter in Kansas City didn’t know that when he linked to them. Or maybe he did.

Is there a lesson? Not sure, really. But it is good practice to not trust everything you read on the internet as fact, especially when it comes from a message board.

Tech Talk:

We steal some sound from the JSF show talking about what celebrity we’d want in a booth for an inning or a drive in football. Good stuff with Matt Sebek, Josh Bacott and Josh Zerkle on this segment.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO JOSH ZERKLE (Monday Morning Punter) FOR WINNING THE POLL.

Good effort by Sebek as well, with both participants (and good sports, really) getting far more votes than I had anticipated. Thanks to everyone who voted. There will be more on the Trash Talk Championship in the weeks to come.

(Original Post follows)

Look, if you’ve ever listened to the show or read some of my internet ramblings you know I like to talk some trash. And in no way can I back any of it up. Nevertheless, I was graciously invited to take part in the Trash Talk Championship of the World, taking place this February, in Vegas. The vital details:

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