But frankly, I’m kind of glad that Selig’s not one of my five.

call up Bud Selig, I’d ask him to justify his salary over the last few years. Other than that, I’d don’t need to talk with Selig.

Without the Rocky backing him, he’s kind of unarmed now, isn’t he? I don’t mean to “dig” back at him, but using Tracy Ringolsby as the reason for IWMR’s legitimacy really isn’t fair, as TR has FSNRM and BA behind him still.

I mean, is he suggesting that we tap Tim Kurkjian if our Rockies coverage is to be taken seriously? I’m glad he has a resource like TR to help IWMR to be a well-read source, but now without a major news gathering source giving him the “Take This Seriously” stamp, it might not be long until comments like these will come back to bite him.

for protecting his livelihood. Sports blogs have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, due to a great multitude of reasons: an active community, accessibility to the writers, more in depth analysis without the requirement of allegiance, a wide range of opinions, styles, and depth. Really the only thing we can’t offer is inside sources (unless you count Troy Renck) and to a smaller degree, name recognition. That certainly doesn’t steal legitimacy of PR or other blogs. I’m not sure that interviewing Selig would add much to our content anyway.

You’re fooling yourself. We’re living in a dictatorship.
A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes—

Oh there you go, bringing class into it again.

That’s what it’s all about if only people would—

…

Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!
HELP! HELP! I’m being repressed!

Bloody Peasant!

Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that,
eh? That’s what I’m on about — did you see him repressing me,
you saw it didn’t you?

This cartoon by former Rockie News Cartoonist Ed Stein could be used to describe the Colorado Rockies so far in ST.

the more familiar a media source is with their own subject matter, the less independent and objective they can be.

Consider the recent news about Scott Van Pelt. What journalistic integrity does ESPN have if they won’t let their ‘personalities’ offer any criticism at a controversial individual like Bud Selig? ESPN’s pecuniary connections the league strip all neutrality from what is supposed to be an objective media outlet. Bud Selig deserves a lot of criticism and if the traditional media won’t voice that criticism, the new media—blogs and the like—must fill the void and offer independent journalism.

If Tracy Ringolsby actually has Bud Selig on speed dial, do you honestly think TR could just call Selig at any time to ask questions that Selig never has answered? “Hey Bud, wanna talk about steroids?” “Hey Bud, why did you let profitability get in the way of the national pastime’s integrity?” “Hey Bud, why do you allow obscene disparities in payroll across the league?” “Hey Bud, how do you reconcile the inherent conflict of interest that stems from the fact that you are a former owner?” The commissioner’s office would never take these calls, whether they came from Russ, Tracy Ringolsby or Scott Van Pelt.

The bottom line is that not having Bud Selig’s phone number is actually a good thing because independence and objectivity are good things too.