So blogland is all in arms about what Colin Cowherd did to a poor innocent blogger known as TheBigLead ( site is down now ). And I don't like it either; apparently, Colin Cowherd did deliberately try to shut down the site. I really liked TBL's article this week about "why we blog", and they've had some great articles in the past. But let's look at this honestly; is TBL so innocent?
According to TBL themselves via kissmesuzy.blogspot.com, what has TheBigLead ever done to Colin Cowherd? Nothing. But let's check the facts via Google's cache. I searched for "colin cowherd" on the site and found the following:
http://thebiglead.com/?p=1423, in an article titled "Scoop Jackson has his Colin Cowherd moment"
"But now that Scoop’s gone and bogarted someone else’s thoughts and ideas and not attributed them to their correct source (his Colin Cowherd moment), we’ll say it slow and hope it sinks in: Journalism in 2006 isn’t what it was in 2001. There’s a new checks and balances system in the form of bloggers, and they’re watching the big boys. It’s happened in politics, it’s happened in entertainment, and now it’s going down in sports. So get your act together."
Hmm, seems like they did get their act together, TBL, only not the way you hoped. Instead, they checked and balanced you into submission. Now what?
http://thebiglead.com/?p=1399, in a random gathering of links.
"Looking for ammo against that douche Colin Cowherd? Look no further" --and then there's a link to an article that has since expired.
And why, TBL, should we be "looking for ammo against that douche"? I don't understand. Looks like you provided ammo for Colin Cowherd yourselves with that sort of talk.
TBL's hands aren't as clean as we think. I sympathize with TBL, sure, but I refuse to pretend that TBL is as innocent as Mother Teresa. Blogs in general need to wake up and drop the inferiority complex when it comes to ESPN. There are checks and balances BOTH WAYS. Blogs in general need to hold themselves to a basic level of integrity. Stop randomly slandering ESPN personalities by taking pictures with them under false pretenses, questioning the credibility of their columns when it isn't necessary, and accusing their personalities of all sorts of sexual and physical misdemeanors without facts. I thought our blogs were about sports, not a fifth-rate version of defamer or gawker going after D-list sports celebrities. It makes us look cheap.
Yes, you probably didn't like this piece, dear reader. (And frankly, the fact that it's "dear reader", not "dear readers", is why you're hearing this information here, and not in a more well-trafficked blog. They have much more to lose by potentially angering the blog gods.) It's much better to believe that the little guy is always righteous and true-blue, and that "big media", "big pharma", "big oil", or "big whatever" is just keeping us all down. But real life is much more complicated than a slick 2-hour film at your local cinema. TBL found that out this week.
Hey man, I have to disagree here totally. There is a world of difference between calling a guy out as a hack and calling out a website in order to try and crash their entire operation.
ReplyDeleteOne if fair game, and the other one is totally uncalled for.
TBL has targeted Cowherd in their blog, so admittedly he could be upset with them, but how about seeking to even the score by addressing them directly, not by sabotaging their entire site?
Take it easy.
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ReplyDeleteJust to let you know; my letter is in to the ESPN Ombudswoman, asking that Colin Cowherd or ESPN makes this up to TBL in some way. I'm mostly on TBL's side. And you're right, I'm too fired up.
ReplyDeleteI just get mad when there's a second side of the story that gets swept under the rug because no one wants to offend anyone. When TBL claims they've never done anything to Colin Cowherd, they are lying, or at least forgetting. They've called him a douche and accused him of stealing material. I mean, wouldn't you be mad if I referred to a poorly reasoned comment as a "m. van buren-style comment"? (And it's not, by the way; you write well. It's just an example.)
For the record, again, it's not that Colin is right. No, he's already guilty as can be. We're just talking sentencing here. I took EDSBS (Every day should be Saturday's) question of whether TBL had ever said anything bad about Cowherd and investigated it myself. That led me to point out that blogs have some responsibility for their words and actions too, WHILE NOT EXCUSING COLIN. But Cowherd is still an idiot, and I'll be angry at ESPN if they don't compensate TBL.