It’s no secret that Stormin’ Norman and myself hold ESPN in the lowest regard. Gone are the days when I would watch Sportscenter four times per day, use anchor catchphrases in everyday life, and tolerate Chris Berman. Junior High was great though.

I also believe I’m past the days of picking apart everything the WWL does and blasting them for it. Instead of being pissed that the Red Sox and Yankees led off the show even though they may have played the Orioles and Rangers, I’ll need a full 15 to 20 minutes of Sawks-Yanks to start the show in order to fume. Now with the emergence and swarm of the blog world, this has turned into more of a blogs vs. msm issue.

For all the slamming of blogs done by the mainstream media, they were quick to use us in regard to some stories this week. Not “us” as in NQTC–we’re trying to keep the Andrews thing on the DL until Stormin’ Norman can destroy evidence–but blogs in general. Where was the Erin Andrews story in the mainstream media early this week? Even if you picked up one of those archaic newspapers you wouldn’t have seen it mentioned.

Was it really news though? I honestly wasn’t sure, because as much as the sports blog types and their readers are infatuated with Andrews, she’s probably not that big of a deal. So msm got a pass for staying mum on the story. Then it hit CNN, it hit Fox News; I even saw a story in the Tribune. The story is almost a week old! Some of these “reputable” media outlets even played the video or showed stills from it. With the Andrews story, it is clear to see what new function blogs are performing: testing.

All these news outlets allowed the story to make its way around the Internet for a few days and sat back to gauge reaction. Not only that, but they let the shock factor wear off. By the time these stories hit, just about every male sports fan had either seen the video or picked up a nasty computer virus, allowing the networks to show the video while falling just short of being completely appalling, which I guess is what they strive for.

ESPN gets a pass on the sideline princess saga, because…you know…awkward! However, shame on them for the Ben Roethlisberger incident. Their official comment was something about how they don’t report on civil cases? Really? Deadspin pointed out that most civil cases they have reported on are at least tied to criminal matters, but this sounds more like an excuse on the level you use to get out of going to someones wedding. In fact, one civil case involving Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia comes to mind as an example to the contrary.

The WWL’s Blog Buzz has also been suspiciously absent from the program.  I guess they only use it when they like what blogs are talking about. 

So do what you like, mainstream media, but we’re not going anywhere and now that you’ve figured that out you’re changing the way you do things.  We’re in your brain-case!

• Could Mark DeRosa be coming back to the Cubs?  Maybe.  Don’t get too excited yet, its a pretty unreliable source. [Sons of Ivy] via [Bleacher Nation]
• So if Quentin actually has the talent to be legit, but spends the rest of his career on the DL, can I call him a fluke/bust?  Or will Sox fans get angry again? [Tribune]
• Tillman is back in practice.  He needs to get healthy if the Bears crappy secondary is going to have a chance this year. [WCG]
• Chad Ford has Dejuan Blair dropping to the Bulls at 16.  That doesn’t sound too bad. [Blogabull]
• I never really stopped hating Tim Floyd after he was such a bad coach for the Bulls, so I really have no sympathy for him now that he’s out at USC for shady recruiting (really really shady).  Good riddance. [Rush The Court]
• Some people seem to think the Cubs future looks bright, others don’t.  Personally I can’t get past the present mediocrity. [Zoner]
• Cubs draft update. [Bleacher Nation]
• According to Ben Gordon, Gar Forman and John Paxson are trading meaningless titles while Reinsdorf is the only one actually making any real decisions. [Da Bullz]
• Coach Ditka is a bit skeptical about Cutler’s ability to lead.  We’ll see. [Tribune]
• Mainstream Media vs. Blogs: Go!   Blogger: Legitimate opinion.  MSM: Bloggers are 42 year olds living in their mom’s basements. Hmmm. [HHR]
• Don’t even get me started on how unjust the NBA age rule is. [Deadspin]