Thinking out loud...

1. I watched a half hour of the Michael Vick "Town meeting" on the worldwide leader last night. Deadspin has a ton of pertinent links for those that missed it. I turned it off once it became obvious that it was nothing more than a race baiting screamfest, with those on both sides of the issue not bothering to consider the opposing viewpoint.

I felt badly for Bob Ley, the moderator, as there was no way he could keep a lid on the audience, as those in attendance were 99% pro Mike Vick. He was stuck in a no-win situation. The audience angry mob spent the majority of their time hooting in derision, and shouting down anyone saying Vick was anything other than a victim of "The Man." It was highly disturbing television, to say the very least.

I needed to take a shower afterwards, just to scrub all the closed minded ugliness off of me.

2. Ian does an excellent job today over at Bless You Boys, stepping into my shoes, posting a deconstruction of Rob Parker's latest piece of hackery, saving me the trouble. Parker's claims that Gary Sheffield may retire is full of pure speculation and innuendo, but no facts.

There's nothing new here, as Parker is just taking past quotes to come up with a scenario that fits his "Controversial" topic. This quote Parker uses from Sheffield says it all, "I really haven't thought about just walking away." Yet Parker picks up the ball, and runs with it all the way to "Sheff may retire!" Parker is a hack, period. He represents all that's wrong with the MSM.

3. Demonoid has been down for 2 days, and I'm going through severe withdrawal issues...

4. Michael Wilbon is afraid of blogs? Good, as he should be. Well, actually Wilbon has nothing to fear, as he's one of the best columnists around. But the MSM in general? They are quaking in their boots, for good reason. How many of you go to the blogosphere first for the vast majority of your sports pontificating? I know I do.

Should I care, as Wilbon does, that most blogs have no accountability? No, because I'm aware of that fact going in. I wouldn't expect anyone that reads TWFE to think that I answer to anyone, that I have any sort of inside connections, or that my opinions are anything other than that, just my opinions.

Of course the MSM has a different set of standards, and I'm glad they do. Report the facts, and only the facts, leave the bias at home. Blogs, on the other hand, are almost exclusively opinion, commentary, and totally biased, with a dash of satire, attitude, and cynicism thrown in. There's room for both, and if anything, blogs are making the MSM step up their game. And that's a damn good thing...

5. Golf's President's Cup starts tomorrow. I didn't even realize it, till I read about it in today's Detroit News. Now I enjoy golf as much as anyone, and find the Ryder Cup to be highly entertaining theater. But the President's Cup has a created for TV feel about it, trying to recreate the atmosphere of the Ryder Cup, without any of the history or emotion that comes along with it's spiritual father. Actually, you could say the same about the PGA's faux playoffs, the mostly ignored Fed Ex Cup. No one really cares, as the only thing that matters are the 4 majors, and the bi-annual Ryder Cup.

Plus, it's football season, and the MLB playoffs are just around the corner. The NHL is in camp, and just about to face off, and the NBA won't be far behind. No matter what sort of silly season stuff they create in the PGA Tour boardroom, golf just can't compare. honestly, I find what interest I do have in golf ends the moment a winner of the final major of the season, the PGA, is crowned. So Tiger, Phil, and the rest of the PGA tour? No offense, but I'll see you in April, when you tee off at Augusta.

6. The Bears have benched Rex Grossman, and Brian Griese is going to start against the Lions. With Griese under center, he'll be able to keep turnovers to a bare minimum. I think only chance the Lions had in beating the Bears rode on the inaccurate and inconsistent arm of Grossman. Without Rex giving the Lions a short field, and keeping the Lions defense off the field, the odds that the Lions can beat the Bears became long.