Media Power Rankings for April

Bob Costas' show featured some unexpected fireworks between panelists. Evan Agostini/Getty Images Richard Deitsch's Mailbag Submit a question or comment for Richard. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Richard Deitsch on Twitter

1. Bob Costas, HBO Sports: Immediately following the conclusion of his live, 90-minute program last week on the state of the sports media, Costas was asked if he planned to survey the inevitable coverage of the show across the sports blogosphere. He said he would take a "brief" look. (Cue interviewer, in this case, yours truly, smiling a skeptical smile.)

One of the reasons for the rapid growth of sites such as Deadspin and The Big Lead is that they feed the sports media's obsession with itself, present company included. Had I fronted a show that produced fireworks between a Pulitzer Prize-winning author (Buzz Bissinger) and one of sports blogging's major domos (Deadspin's Will Leitch), I would have surfed harder than Duke Kahanamoku to get a sense of the coverage.

Costas described the show as "exhilarating and also frustrating." That's a fair assessment given the time constraints of television and the seemingly unlimited subjects under the banner of sports media. Since the show aired we've seen an endless platter of interesting takes, including this and this and this and this and this from bloggers and mainstream writers. Costas himself engaged actively in dialogue with AOL's Michael David Smith and also spoke with Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus (and occasionally SI.com). The show was not perfect -- for starters, I would have liked to have heard from more beat writers, the men and women who build the information walls -- but the attempt was more than admirable.

2. Ron Jaworksi and Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN: With all the airtime given last month to the tete-a-tetes between NFL draft wonks Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay (THESE GUYS REALLY DISAGREE ON STUFF! IT'S NOT SEAN SALISBURY AND JOHN CLAYTON. WE SWEAR!), the dynamic between Jaworski and Herbstreit turned out to be the best part of ESPN's draft coverage. (Truth be told, the Kiper-McShay duels were also entertaining -- at times). When informed people disagree, it makes for interesting viewing. ESPN usually doesn't take my free advice but I'll offer it anyway: Keep this same duo together for the 2009 NFL draft, with Mike Tirico between Jaworski and Herbstreit.

3. Buzz Bissinger, Internet punching bag/Pulitzer Prize winner: If only he had offered his critique of the sports blog culture with the same reasoned, passionate and intelligent prose that earned him the admiration of literate sports fans. Instead, Bissinger went reactionary. He threw out unfounded generalizations about sports bloggers. He let his conduct overshadow his content. Worst, he became the message.

Since his ill-advised comments, Bissinger has privately apologized to Leitch and offered measured and cogent thoughts on the topic, including a thoughtful interview with Dan Le Batard's Miami-based radio show and this Q&A with The Big Lead. "I should not have used profanity," said Bissinger. "I shouldn't have been as hostile in my approach to Will Leitch because it makes me look bad. It's unprofessional. It's unfair to him. But I don't take back the words I said."

For what it's worth, Costas said after the show that the segment was not set up as a Sonny Corleone-style hit on Leitch. "I knew Buzz was coming with his game face on," Costas said, "but I had no idea what he would say."

4. Will Leitch, Deadspin founder: The usual disclosure: Leitch and I fit somewhere in that male gray area between acquaintances and friends. I think he's a talented writer and I agree with him that the Web has created a new sports meritocracy that empowers non-journalists to reshape existing paradigms regarding what is newsworthy, relevant and tasteful. Deadspin.com would not exist unless there was an audience for it, and its audience cannot be classified by one strata.

Nor can one easily classify sports bloggers, a lot consisting of lawyers, television writers and, yes, even folks living in their mother's basement. Dedicated blogging is a very hard gig (even bad blogging is a hard job) and there are no days off if you want to build a loyal readership. (In extreme cases, blogging can even cause death.)

Where I disagree with Leitch is the notion that posting photos of Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart partying -- or reporting on the nighttime antics of ESPN's Chris Berman -- humanizes those subjects. Embarrassing details of famous people are a commodity -- just like corn or soybeans. You can monetize it and millions of people are interested in it.

One of my SI colleagues made an interesting point in an e-mail last week: He wrote that he didn't think Leitch should represent blogs anymore because he plays in both worlds, mainstream and blogging. "You can't write for The New York Times and GQ and pretend to be an outsider," he wrote. It was an interesting point.

With Bissinger cast as the establishment foil and Leitch defending the position of the sports blogosphere on Costas Now, I found myself marveling at the irony of the moment. Sitting next to me as a guest of Leitch was David Hirshey, who writes keenly on soccer for Deadspin when he's not otherwise engaged as an executive editor at HarperCollins, one of the most powerful publishers in America. As Leitch and Bissinger jousted on stage, as the well-connected and well-regarded Hirshey wondered if his pal was being setup, I kept thinking: Which guy is really representing the mainstream here?

5. "Gasbags on Parade": NBC's Al Michaels, in full superiority mode, delivered this cruise missile in the direction of ESPN in a taped segment on Costas Now: "ESPN has had a major influence on sports but there are a lot of shows that I watch now where it's a screaming match," said Michaels. "It's who can yell the loudest. It's almost like gasbags on parade." Gee, we wonder what program Michaels was referring to. Perhaps...