Alana Nguyen from YardBarker was on that panel, and took a lot of heat — including from me and Cook — about her comment asking, ostensibly, why a blog has to have ethics if they don’t want to. Specifically, Alana commented on Josh Zerkle’s decision not to do a story because he didn’t want to run it without checking the facts first, to which Alana asked why it’s not okay to write the rumor, simply explaining it’s a rumor and not verifying the validity. That, rightly, got people pretty upset, and spawned a lot of discussion, including much of what Cook and I discussed.

Today, Alana joins the show to give her side of the story. Keep in mind that ethics, especially when it comes to sports blogs, is a really gray area. Spencer’s ethical issue with The Big Lead was the fact that they ran information that was made up and didn’t bother to check out a source or independently confirm a story they received in an email. Other people sent me that what Spencer did in duping TBL — albeit on April Fool’s Day — was unethical in its own right. So, as you can see, there are different kinds of ethics.

Take, for example, a message someone sent me yesterday:

• Look at this TBL headline:

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/06/09/bob-costas-compares-stephen-strasburg-to-walter-johnson-can-we-let-great-moments-breathe/

You said the EXACT same thing:

http://twitter.com/OntheDLpodcast/status/15744978354

• The only reason i bring it up is because he copied your exact TSB column idea (i.e., assessing ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup) from yesterday:

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/06/14/2010-world-cup-assessing-espns-coverage/

Is that unethical to steal from another blogger without credit? Or is it simply a coincidence? I’d venture to guess that the first one – the headline – was totally gripped from my tweet while the second – a look at ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup – is simply coincidence. Frankly, I’m not even upset about the second one being stolen from me, if it actually was, because while their post had countless more readers, mine was better. To me, it’s always been about the work.

But…you see how things can be taken in different ways. And yes, a blog that is no fan of mine may have ripped me off twice in less than a week. Pageviews for everyone! Ethics are clearly a gray area.

Alana and I talk a lot about the notion — put out by Spencer on Zerkle’s show — that there should be a standard for all blogs. I bring up a YardBarker site in SportsbyBrooks as a really weird gray area for sports blogs…and for YB…as to how to treat the whole “ethical standards” issue. We give our opinions on the show, but I’ll ask you, dear reader and listener, for your take on it in the comments.

The biggest issue seems to still be the fact that blog readers, mostly casual blog readers, aren’t given the credit to determine what’s good and what’s not. Obviously a lot of this stems from the fact that many of us are dumbfounded as to why sites like The Big Lead get the kind of traffic they do. Do readers REALLY not know there are thousands of other options out there? Do people still think there are only five sports blogs?

How do we change that?

There’s a lot more to this show, and a lot of interesting internal YardBarker talk, specifically surrounding the gossipy items like Terez Owens’ Delonte West-LeBron’s mom perpetuation. Hopefully worth your listen.

Thanks to Alana and to you.

ESPN The Magazine featured Rossi last month and called him “America’s Best Hope At The World Cup.” Whoops. It seems Rossi didn’t make the Italian roster. He was cut. No World Cup glory for him, this time around.

Listen to our take on the show, but read more about it at The Sporting Blog.

Print’s Not Dead:

If you’re an habitual reader of sports blogs, by now you’ve read the news that The Big Lead was officially purchased by longtime sponsor Fantasy Sports Ventures. Richard Sandomir of the New York Times had the story, and mentioned, “a buyer has established a value for the blog by acquiring it for a figure in the low seven figures.”

Low seven figures. This is great news for the burgeoning, and continuing, legitimacy of sports blogs. Of course, my biggest issue — and what we discuss on the show — is why it had to be THAT sport blog? We talk about this from a media perspective, and genuinely try to figure out how to write this story without letting personal feelings creep in.

Yes, there are person feelings. How can you not have personal feelings about someone who, when asked why he blocked you on Twitter, replied – in addition to likening himself to Bill Simmons with regard to people “swinging up” at him – with this:

My reply, in part, was:

Just a point of fact, blocking people who criticize you is, by definition, hiding from criticism. You are hiding your words from criticism.

sigh.

you do your thing. i’ll do mine.

continued success

jason

ps – the words aren’t hidden from criticism. they’re on the blog. criticize away if you feel compelled to do so. i put value in criticism from some, not from others. to borrow a word from one of your friends, i block the “gnats.”

I was never able to understand who one of my friends was (Kornheiser maybe?), but I finally posted these emails from late 2009 to illustrate why it’s hard for me to be happy for this guy and this blog. Then again, I’m just a gnat.

Sigh. I suppose I’ll just have to offer him continued success. It is, after all, good for the industry.

Housekeeping:

Nick mentions what I have been to angry to bring up: the finale of FlashForward was a disservice to those of us who stuck by the show the entire time. The show runners are a bunch of jerks for the way that show ended, giving a series of unanswerable teasers for a second season when the show had already been cancelled and they knew for a long time it was going to be. Thanks, jerks.

Oh, and thank you for listening.

Scott Franzke, radio play-by-play man for the Phillies, joins the show to talk about that amazing performance, and what it was like in the booth. At what point did they start to think they might be witnessing something special? How was Larry Anderson during the game, and were they conscious of superstition throughout the broadcast? How many times did Franzke mention the word perfect? Did he say “perfect game” before it happened?

We also discuss the historic nature of calling something like a perfect game. After Dallas Braden’s perfect game this season, Nick and I talked about beat writers crafting the “perfect game story” knowing that more people will be reading that day than, perhaps, any other in a writer’s career. For someone doing play-by-play, Franzke doesn’t have the luxury of thinking out what he’s going to say, and hitting a delete key. So how perfect did he try to be? Did he have something in his mind for the last out should Halladay complete the perfect game?

And seriously, how nervous were they in the booth? More on this later today on The Sporting Blog.

The Weekend that Was:

Nick and I rundown the weekend in sports, including the Stanley Cup finals (and the ratings for game one that some people — looking at you John Gonzalez  – thought wouldn’t be good because of the holiday). We also discuss the rest of the series, and if the Flyers should be worried or feel fine with the fact that, on the road, they were in both games.

Next, we spend a lot of time talking about the game both of us attended on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. The U.S. men’s soccer team defeated Turkey in their final Send-off Match before heading to South Africa for the World Cup.

I worked the match for Sporting News, so we give a rundown of some of the storylines that came out of the even. I also try to convince you, Nick and myself, that soccer is now for the cool kids. If a member of the media says they don’t watch soccer now because it’s boring, that’s an old and tired meme that will, finally, make them look stupid. Soccer isn’t boring, we just weren’t any good at it. Now, we might be.

Housekeeping:

We talk about Lakers Celtics and if we’re rooting for the Lakers (and Kobe) or just rooting against everything related to Boston. We also talk about which is a more lame way to win a game, a walkoff balk or a walkoff grand slam where you break your leg.

Thanks to Scott and thanks to you for listening. (Sorry I didn’t have the segment drops today).

We talk about SBJ and SBD, what the target audience is for both publications and who he, specifically, sees as competition. Also, with SBJ/SBD being behind a paywall, how has technology changed the way they do business? Obviously if they want publicity for certain stories – be it on Twitter or traditional links on the internet – it’s hard to do that when most of the people who click through are unable to read the story. We discuss how they handle that challenge, which involves opening up some big, breaking stories to the masses in a “there’s more where this came from” kind of way.

We talk about Jerry’s World winning venue of the year, then spend a good deal of time talking about the 2104 Super Bowl that will take place in New York. Was there really as much descent as the NY media wanted us to think? Wasn’t it just OTHER media people complaining because they want to go to Florida for a week in February instead of New York? And to that point, shouldn’t the New York media want the game in Florida too? They spend the whole rest of the year cooped up in the city that never sleeps. I’m sure some of them could use that nap on the beach.

We talk about Jay Glazer (it could be any media member really) and his relationship with the players he covers. Is that an issue, or is it the way things were for years where players and those who cover the game were friends outside of the locker room? I do bring up the idea that Glazer could be protecting his friends — even by reporting information about their competitors (say in free agency or if a quarterback is trying to get a job, etc) — to which Ourand points out that EVERY media member protects their friends, Glazer just has higher-profile friends.

As we asked the other day, who would you want to commentate your bar mitzvah? I thought every Jewish boy would want Marv Albert, but Shanoff wrote the other day that he’d want Gus Johnson. For a bar mitzvah? I ask Ourand who he’d want for an event of that nature (religious or not). As an Orioles fan, he went with Jon Miller, but only if he promised not to bring Joe Morgan.

We discuss the ratings for the Stanley Cup finals and specifically how happy NBC must be that Montreal didn’t make it. Ourand explains just how important two big-city (and good hockey towns) in America is for the NBC rating. If a Canadian team made the finals, there could have been a lot of bonusing going on to advertisers. NBC is very happy.

We also talk about the World Cup, what kind of rating ESPN should expect and how, exactly, an event like that is sold when there aren’t commercials. Is the little logo stuck next to the time and score for 15 or so minutes more valuable than a 30-second spot between innings or after a punt? I’d think so, but Ourand explains that there is more to that.

Eventually that conversation devolves into me wondering what I’d put on that space if I were comped some time on a World Cup match. Or, as has always been a thought of mine, if I came into money and wanted to name a stadium, what would I call it? Dan Levy stadium seems obnoxious even for me. DL Arena? Who wants to play there? So, what would we pick…and what would you pick? Let me know and we can have some fun with it.

Oh, we’re having a mayoral bet with Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo’s Big League Stew. What should be ask for from Chicago? We’re putting up some TastyKakes. And for the record, I hope the Flyers win, but do not expect them to do so.

PRINT’S NOT DEAD

We talk about the Dwayne Bowe story that’s circulating from ESPN the Magazine about a chicken in every pot, or in this case, a woman in every room. Should this get him in trouble with the team? Is his “bad judgement” as Nick put it the fact that he was a part of this or that he told the media about the clandestine situation that has been going on for FIFTY YEARS? And that’s our question: when did this start to become news? Hasn’t this kind of thing happened since professional sports began, but what wasn’t news decades ago — a secret kept by the media from the public for the players — is now front-page stuff.

And this story didn’t come from a gossip blog. This was testimony in a national magazine. We discuss the transition of the media going from being on the player’s side of this imaginary line to being on the public’s.

We also touch on the story from Friday on Deadspin about the woman who defecated in a trash can (due to, what she claims, were medical circumstances). Why is that on Deadspin? Because it happened at ESPN. Nick and I take both sides of the way Craggs handled the story.

HOUSEKEEPING:

The USMNT plays tonight. Would you play the starters to let them gel on the field, or rest players in an effort to keep everyone healthy? We talk about the NY media’s chip on its shoulder about the Super Bowl. Does anyone NOT like the idea? Maybe a few voices, but the NY media keep writing as if everyone hates the idea. The only ones who seem to hate it are the media who’d rather spend a week in Florida or Arizona playing golf. The rest of us actually like the idea.

We talk about the dead possum AND dead bird in my yard this week, on different days, and how I hope nobody goes through my trash today or I’ll have the Feds at my door. Plus an RIP to 24 from Nick.

Thanks as always.

We talk about Deitsch’s Media Power Rankings with includes another Levy (David) in the industry. We also talk about Ernie Harwell’s passing and how different the world of broadcasting and sports media has become. There’s a good amount of back and forth on how I’m too easy on my guests and how I complain that Jimmy Traina of SI’s Hot Clicks is a de-facto publicist for Erin Andrews, yet I’m a publicist for everyone who comes on my show. To Deitsch, there’s little difference.

We talk about Jon Gruden and wonder why people love him so much. We also dovetail that into an interesting conversation about someone’s comments on the record or sources off the record. Jay Rothman said, on the record, that he gave Gruden the last day of the draft off. But PFT wrote, and many of us heard, that Gruden didn’t want to do it — for a number of reasons — and THAT’S why Rothman gave him the day off. So, do we believe Rothman when he goes on the record, even if sources indicate otherwise?

Another example of this issue is how we figure out what the heck happened with the Dez Bryant situation. Do we believe the leak that came out from the Dolphins, which seems entirely plausible, or do we believe Bryant, who vehemently denied that version of the story when he spoke with Mike Silver of Yahoo? Silver believes Bryant because he can use his name next to the quotes. But is Bryant telling the truth? Is Ireland (or whoever the Dolphins source is)? Is going on the record equatable to being more truthful?

We talk about the Brian Cushing DPOY re-vote and discuss if the AP voters were right to do so. Doesn’t this open up a can of worms with every vote that’s ever been cast by the organization? Was this more a point to the NFL that the writers were upset that the information wasn’t given to them by the league, even though the rules of confidentiality were collectively bargained? Could it be that the MSM just wanted this handed to them, rather than doing a little leg work?  Someone had to know about this failed test, right? Why didn’t this come out when it happened?

Or do I just have a big chip on my shoulder from all the years handing media people stories while they eat in the press box. And yes, as Deitsch points out, eating in the press box is MSM for writing in my parent’s basement. And no, as Deitsch points out, I’m not better than that.

Deitsch takes up way too much time with THIS show trying to book FUTURE shows. He has one heck of a guest list set up for me. Maybe I should let him book things for me.

We end, I believe, with a conversation about Adrian Wojnarowski’s article on LeBron James. It was great, but what point did it prove? Was that missive fired at LeBron? Will LeBron ever read it? Or is it a shot he can take from press row to impress all the readers, and specifically those in the industry. The question is, as good as it was, who’s the audience for that and if you admit it’s NOT LeBron, himself, then does it have as much bite as we think?

There’s a lot more I’m sure I missed. Oh, and you can win something if you listen to the whole show. I’m serious.

Thanks for listening. No show tomorrow. Happy Birthday to my wife (today) and daughter (tomorrow), on a pretty tough day for us.

In today’s show, we talk about:
• The media horde during situations like the Virginia lacrosse murder
• Sports! Including hockey playoffs and the NBA. Well, it’s probably most about baseball, let’s be honest.
• TV! Namely a conversation using my Press Coverage column at TSB as a launching point about CNN asking viewers and readers to submit iReports, most egregiously during the investigation of the Times Square car bomb. How about this idea? Tell your fans to get the hell to Jersey, there’s a car that could explode.
• I forget to ask Nick if he has anything else and it turns out he has TWO things!

Good to be back. Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo is scheduled for tomorrow. Will Leitch slated for Thursday to plug his new book.

• Why do we, and by we I mean I, hate Duke so much? There’s more in there than just them being white guys. Not much more, but more.

• We talk about why nobody picked Michigan State to go to the Final Four, yet everyone is talking about Izzo’s 6 of the last 12 Final Fours. Why didn’t we think of that three weeks ago? Someone, I think Whitlock, said that Izzo is the best basketball coach in the country at any level. Is that fair? Is it true? Or is he a great TOURNAMENT coach?

• We talk about Tennessee shooting too soon on their last possession in that game, and as Chris Littmann tweeted today, we disagree on the idea of ever shooting too soon when your team is losing. He thinks you take the lead as quickly as you can. I think, with a team like MSU doing the same thing to Maryland last week, you milk the clock and either win or lose with the ball in your hands. I would have called timeout and ran the play to leave less time on the clock.

• I’m rooting for West Virginia. The team, not the state. I mean no ill will to those who live there. I bet I like a bunch of people from there. But let’s not turn a bunch of NYC area kids winning a few games into some grand statement about the people from that state. I’m looking at you, Dan Wetzel’s Yahoo column.

• Butler is a great story, but will there be THAT MUCH of a home-court advantage for them? Sure it’s at home, but don’t people root for the underdog everywhere? Will there be that many more fans rooting for them in the stands in Indy as there would be in New Orleans? Will Hoosier fans be so quick to jump on the Butler Bandwagon when their team is in shambles?

Inside the Press Box:

We discuss two notes from Press Coverage this week. The story on Mike Penner in the LA Times, and the PFT story about Tim Tebow’s autograph session and the role the Palm Beach Post played in sponsoring and covering it.

Housekeeping:

Babypool!

Pleased to have Gary Thorne, venerable broadcaster and the voice of MLB2K10 on the show. We talk a bit about the game and the process by which he records all those sounds. I never knew they do it in a booth with no visual aids. They are basically calling an imaginary baseball game? Wait not just one game…like 70 hours of imaginary games.

We talk about the fact that Thorne isn’t given a script – that he’s hired for the way he calls the game as much as his voice – and how different the game is when there’s nothing to cross-talk about. Isn’t the cross talk what makes baseball announcing so much fun?

We discuss actual baseball as well, as I ask Thorne about the differences between calling national games and local games for the Orioles. And being in Baltimore, does he find his audience is much more dedicated, and therefore baseball savvy, than a larger audience of bandwagon jumpers may be in, say, Philadelphia or Boston? Thorne does agree that it’s important to know the audience, but not to talk over them and get to inside baseball.

Speaking of that, we do discuss the balance of stats and sabermetrics in a broadcast with the “Joe Morgan” types of announcers. Thorne’s wife has a company that trains former players to become broadcasters, so we discuss the importance “having been there” with “the numbers indicate”. What is the balance? And could it be that TV and radio – due to the audience and the time constraints of the game going on in front of you – lend themselves more to “experience” as expertise while the number crunchers can have more focus in print and other non in-game mediums?

We talk a lot about the idea of Floating Realignment, and if it’s a viable idea for change. In fact, is any change needed? Thorne does bring up the concept of buying a championship, which you can make the case that only a handful of teams can afford to do. Of course for every Yankees (or Red Sox of Phillies) there is a Dodgers or a Cubs, who can get to the playoffs, but can’t win anything – a concept to which Thorne rightly brings up the point that getting to the playoffs has been far too marginalized in baseball. It’s still a really big deal.

Last, we talk about hockey. Well, hockey and baseball and which Thorne likes to announce more and which he thinks he is more known for. The short answer: it’s like asking him which kid he loves more.

SPECULATION STATION:

Nick and I do our level best to not turn this segment into another Week in SAS, but rather discuss the Donovan McNabb trade rumors and how amazingly open the Eagles have been with the media. So strange and out of character for them.

PRINT’S NOT DEAD:

Or, according to this NY Times story, yes it is. We equate the struggle with advertising and media to the network and cable TV paradigm. Are they similar?

HOUSEKEEPING:

A huge housekeeping segment, including THE START OF THE PHILADELPHIA UNION TONIGHT ON ESPN2. Yes, exciting.

We also discuss March Madness, Tiger Woods’ plan to talk to the media which turns into a big of a rant by me on the way the media has handled this situation (shock, I know). Also, the Jets on Hard Knocks, the lady who tried to offer sex for tickets going to the jury(!?!) and Nick’s extended recap of his trip to Florida, which included his brother getting in an argument with Greg Luzinski over the cut-off man.

Oh, and the hard sell is on for our Baby Pool. Please sign up now. Money to winner and to charity.

If you get the chance today, please read my Press Coverage column at The Sporting Blog. It’s about 2,500 words and much of it would be stuff I’d put in the space below. So read it there, please.

Today’s show talks about the return of the American sportswriter after a long fortnight in Canada. We also talk about the hockey finale as well as Gander, Newfoundland…the new symbol for NBC’s complete lack of respect for the American sports fan.

On non-sports topics, we discuss more about the spying on your kids story from last week — I think I dug my hole deeper here — and the news that Anderson Cooper may be in line for Katie Couric’s job, which leads to my point that cable news people have no souls.