Colin Cowherd: An Act of Self Defense

In one of the most courageous acts of defiance and self defense of our time, ESPN radio mainstay and flag bearer Colin Cowherd summoned the power of his listeners to defend himself and his employer from the overbearing intrusion of sports bloggers.

Cowherd, well known for his even handed approach to radio broadcasting and for his logical and rational broadcast "journalistic" conclusions, decided that he was no longer going to allow sports bloggers to impose their far reaching and all powerful will on himself or his ESPN parent.

As fighters for righteousness ourselves, we can only admire the type of fortitude that it took for Cowherd to stand up to the bloggers. Trying to carve out a niche for himself (and ESPN) in a world that is controlled and dictated by the corporate agenda of sports bloggers is a noble endeavor in and of itself, but to say "enough is enough" and take matters into ones own hands is righteousness personified.

Cowherd was tired of the fact that certain blogs perpetuated the concept that he "stole" from blogs on the internet. That the wonderfully humorous and bitingly funny commentary on his show did not always originate in his own brain housing group. We can only sympathize with the emotional hardships and stress such unfounded and hurtful accusations would cause a man of Cowherd's ethics and character.

Clearly, the blogs attempted to undermine his efforts to bring his fledgling network to the top. Not only were the blogs purposefully attempting to squash his personal and professional growth by trying to damage his reputation; but they were also trying to USE his growing fame and recognition to market themselves on his coat tails. It is bad enough that blogs like deadspin and the big lead have a strangle hold on the sports agenda. But now, they try to extinguish the soaring star of Cowherd AND market themselves in one fell swoop.

In an act of great personal risk, Cowherd apparently floated the idea of his loyal listeners mounting a revolution against thebiglead.com. Attacking the Death Star at its very heart. Sending a message that the little man at EPSN would no longer stand idly by and be a besmirched casualty at the hands of thebiglead's corporately inspired agenda. The suits at thebiglead's headquarters be damned!

And the self defense initiative was apparently launched. And with incredible results. At this posting, thebiglead.com was still down, dazed and confused, blinded by the fog of the war they had initiated by unfairly and maliciously supposing that a blog maintained some sort of intellectual ownership over the ideas that they posted on the free and public internet. That if a RADIO host or TV host or real sports columnist should come across these free and public ideas and re-convey them through a real and legitimate medium, there was some sort of ethical, civil or just plain decent responsibility to acknowledge it.

We would agree with Cowherd, the only appropriate response to the corporate sports bloggers stance and resultant acts of pointing out instances of occurrence was to take matters into his own hands. Shut them down.

And the best part in all this: As the sports blogs are finally silenced, we can all sit back and FINALLY hear the voice of ESPN.

It's about time.

As-Salaam-Alaikum, Colin Cowherd and your righteous fight against lilly-white corporate sports bloggers.