Deadspin...

I know it's hip to try and punch upward at a blog that's bigger than yours. But I have to ask. Since when is emulating thedirty.com something that we should be proud of?

I'm not saying this to be all why isn't Will Leitch ever going to come back? Because I don't blame Daulerio for the sins of Gawker media. He isn't the gay Englishman who sets out to insult our intelligence on a daily basis. But when the news your site breaks is something along the lines of an "OH MY GOD JOSH HAMILTON GOT DRUNK NO WAY!"

That's lame. That's a news aggregator. That's a news aggregator with an occasional piece of interest by Margary. There used to be a real community at Deadspin. You could find stuff that was interesting among the smaller blogs along with some actual quality writing. But now? It's basically salacious and yellow. They have the power to be something great and they use it to grab photos of drunk athletes and other stupid crap.

Blogging was never going to be a meritocracy. Media groups started buying blog sites. Independent blogs need to be damned spectacular if they're going to gain any traction. In fact, if I was going to talk to 2007 me about starting a blog? I'd say don't bother. You're not going to get readers fast enough.

I'm not going to say that Deadspin is alone in this sin. But Nick Denton's blogs are the standard bearers. You and I are just shmucks trying to grab scraps. I know I like to win as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to try and play the Deadspin game to get there.

Underdogs, interesting stuff, analysis. That's my stride. Move along from this.