• Inspired by very special “Saved By The Bell” episode, Clay Travis of CBS SPORTS suggest sports bloggers & the mainstream media end their feud once & for all with a quiz bowl showdown.

(Buzz Bissinger & Will Leitch butt heads in a Battle of Brawny Brains! With special guest referee - Mr. Belding! [OK, maybe not.])

• THE 700 LEVEL proudly presents pics of “The People’s Champ” Freddie Mitchell living it up royally among some female subjects.

• Tom Ziller of AOL FANHOUSE is happy to share all the things Doc Rivers did wrong in Game 3.

• HOME RUN DERBY is so bored with the San Francisco Giants, they’d rather spend their time at AT&T Park watching the wind try to tip over a full beer.

Read more…

• ESPN anchors Josh Elliott & Stan Verrett really enjoyed the amusing moniker we bestowed upon new free agent Gilbert Arenas:

Mucho gracias to AWFUL ANNOUNCING for the video.

• Darren Rovell of CNBC reads up on mortal enemies Buzz Bissinger & Will Leitch giving back-cover kudos on the same book.

• WITH LEATHER punches up video of the groin hit to end all groin hits.

• DEADSPIN trades word that Jonathan Papelbon & the Red Sox will give you autographed baseballs in return for nude pics of your ex-wife.

Read more…

• WITH LEATHER keeps abreast of the topless travels of English soccer WAG Abigail Clancy.

(WL’s got the hook-up for more photos of Abby’s freed funbags)

• Michael David Smith of AOL FANHOUSE has the odds on who’ll become DEADSPIN’s next grand poopah.

• In the meantime, the soon-to-be Leitch-less site thinks it’s fabulous that gamblers can now bet on a gay sporting event.

• LAIST spikes up some provocative photos from last weekend’s Lushness X beach volleyball tournament.

Read more…

It’s been a great run for Will Leitch at DEADSPIN.com, and I wish him nothing but the best.

Except on June 17-19.

Since I’ve gotten back from shooting the SbB Girls in the Virgin Islands, I’ve gained something approaching 10 lbs. in 10 days. The reason? I’m now eating like the girls did on the trip (25 meals per day). One problem with that: I don’t have a hummingbird metabolism.

(Forget the wings, I’m driving from MIA-to-LAX damn)

Now that I’m looking like Mike Golic post Nutri-System sloppy, I’ve remembered the first rule for losing weight: REMOVE ALL FOOD FROM YOUR RESIDENCE.

(Can I wing a stowaway tho?)

Anything that’s in my house will always get eaten. Yeah, that concept isn’t all that unique. Except when it’s all consumed within 24 hours of purchase.

I’ve decided to try to move to L.A. as soon as possible. Like, now. So I’ll probably be driving from Miami to California beginning as soon as this weekend. That of course, presents a massive problem when you’re trying to watch your figure.

(Sad: My vehicle fuel system yet to account for hot, italian beef injections)

Unlike most of my cross-country jaunts, I won’t be mapquesting all the Chick-Fil-A’s on the route. Nor Whataburgers and Taco Cabanas for the lovely, six-day drive through Texas. Instead, it’ll likely be one stop-off at Cracker Barrel per day.

Ever notice how Cracker Barrel makes you pay at the register? Wonder if that has anything to do with the mountains of crap they want you to buy in the lobby. Not to mention that postmeal 45-lb fudge purchase they try to rope you into while waiting for your credit card receipt.

(MUST RESIST (the shrimp, too))

So I’ll really have to discipline myself while patronizing that interstate-based epicurean delight. Even if it means occupying myself with one of those maddening, golf-tee table games while waiting to sign off on my regrettable chicken dumplings takeout purchase.

I am planning on bringing my handy cam on the road - and posting about my travels (tales from the nickel slots at Louisiana truck stops are always a sure hit).

(Well that certainly brightens up an anonymous interstate exit)

The last time I made the LAX-MIA drive, I had an internet-enabled laptop plugged into the cigarette lighter (extremely safe). I then connected the computer audio to the car stereo and voila - I was listening to Colin Cowherd spin his latest yarn about the Wegmanns’ salad bar while I sped through the backwoods of the Louisiana bayou (look, on the right, Glenn Dorsey’s shanty!).

Maybe the laptop thing isn’t such a good idea this time.

Read more…

Good: Being the internet’s most-read sports blogger:

Bad: Being cursed by Buzz Bissinger on national TV.

Worse: Being maimed by Cris Carter.

Will Leitch, in THE SPORTING NEWS, takes us backstage at the HBO-sponsored Bissinger debacle with a lovely pre-show exchange he had with Cris Carter - which makes his confrontation with Bissinger seem like a visit to the left side of Dairy Queen’s menu.

Read more…

• Ryan Parker is back with his latest song, an ode to sports blogs in the wake of the Will Leitch/Buzz Bissinger fiasco. We were happy to be mentioned.

• ODENIZED has his take on the Bruce Bowen - Chris Paul mini-melee from last night’s game (with video). Read more…

Buzz Bissinger is the hot topic of the sports blogosphere right now, thanks to his livid lashing out at Will Leitch during the latest episode of HBO’s “Costas Now”. And now the author of “Friday Night Lights” tries to explain his tormenting tirade.

Bissinger appeared on Dan Le Batard’s radio show on Thursday to discuss his demonstrative attack on Deadspin & other sports blogs.

Based on what we heard, Buzz wasn’t apologizing for the things he said, but he was sorry for the way he said them. Read more…

Guess there are some Boston baseball beauties that can knock your sox off.

• Avery Johnson now has time to attend all those Josh Howard parties.

Will Mark D’Antoni also be available for appearances?

• Some grouchy media dinosaurs use Bob Costas’ HBO show to growl about the sports blogosphere.

• But they don’t understand the true power of the Internet, as in the case of a small-college football player using YouTube to get himself drafted by the Eagles.

• Maria Sharapova finally meets Anna Kournikova - about 3-5 years too late for most of the media to care.

• Sisters are doing it for themselves - especially when it comes to softball sportsmanship.

Read more…

Deadspin’s Will Leitch was en-paneled last night with Braylon Edwards (?) and author Buzz Bissinger on HBO’s “Costas Now.” The three were supposedly to examine the role sports blogs have in affecting journalism at large.

But instead of an insightful discussion, Leitch was shouted down with profanity from a bizarre behaving Bissinger throughout. From the look and sound of the celebrated author of “Friday Night Lights”, it appeared to us that he might’ve forgotten his meds before the show went to air. And we’re not trying to be funny.

Leitch writes about the experience here. Jon Weisman of BASEBALL TOASTER also has an eloquent, thorough treatment, as does MDS at AOL FANHOUSE.

As noted in all of the accounts, the credibility Bissinger might’ve had in his analysis of blogs and the MSM was hidden behind a veneer of vitriol aimed at Leitch. Normally we would find the scenario of the dinosaur media member lashing out at the internet as, well, amusing. But in Bissinger’s case, it was actually quite sad. It appears the man is troubled by serious demons that go way beyond his disdain for “Big Daddy Balls” latest rantings.

Leitch handled the strange proceedings like a champ, but we can’t say the same for ol’ Buzz. We still love his work, so based on that, our only wish is that very, very few people watched the show.

UPDATES from: Dan Shanoff, Spencer Hall, Brian Powell, Ken Tremendous.