I failed to mention last week that ESPN was planning this big, "State of the Sports Media" angle on its radio airwaves this week, but I guess there's no time like the present. Mid-morning on the last day of the work week. Anyway, there have been a few good segments put together by them, and two of the more interesting items are below.

First, it was almost two years ago that Colin Cowherd decided to randomly command one of his listeners to attack the website, The Big Lead. Well apparently Colin now is climbing aboard the U.S.S. Blog, and he couldn't be more excited....

The thing about the blogs, they’re an emerging media … blogs were all the rage for about two years because they were so raw and unedited and unfiltered, but now, you know, blogs are getting boring and mundane like the rest of us … but I think blogs have gotten better .. as they have gotten more coverage, they are now growing up. The writing’s getting better and they have more perspective … I did put one blog on my website [his sidekick, Amanda guessed 'The Big Lead'] … I knocked them off and I felt bad. I’ve monitored them for about four months for my website and they do the best job of being funny but not vulgar or childish, and they go down that path sometimes. It is, by and large, an entertaining and visually interesting blog. I like it.

Visually interesting? Okay then. Anyway, I'll get to Shrutebag in a minute, the second thing I wanted to bring up is much more entertaining. Scott Van Pelt decided to bring The Sporting Blog's Chris Mottram on his show yesterday. The two had a really good discussion about the state of things, and here's the audio....



As when anything becomes popular, you have to find a way to separate the diehards from the posers. Scott Van Pelt, as he said in the interview with Mottram, is a genuine Sports fan and would seemingly do anything for the game(s) he loves. Like for example, say Bud Selig's salary makes him want to throw up in his mouth. SVP has always been in the loop, in good times and in bad, and he won't hesitate to call you out if need be. That's what makes him great at what he does.

Cowherd, on the other hand, is still transparent as the day is long. He is the reason that blogs came about. To call out people in positions that weren't normally called out. The people that you knew were just in it for the attention/fame. And now that blogs are beginning to be accepted, well by everyone but Mitch Albom (hey, we all can't pen a 40 word, 20 paragraph column....once a month), it's funny to see who is suddenly trying to pretend like they were hip all along.

He Used to Think We Were “Annoying,” But Now He Likes Us. He Really, Really Likes Us! (The Big Lead)
Blogs vs. Mainstream Media … Again (Mister Irrelevant)