The most brilliant insight into sports coverage I've read this decade

And the decade's getting close to done.

Jeff Pearlman of ESPN.com, after Gary Sheffield made his "Black people are disappearing in baseball because Latinos are easier to handle" comment, and the responding vapors being had by the reporters who got him to say it in the first place:

"This is how it's worked in the sports media for eons: We bitch and moan that players are little more than mantra-spewing robots. We long for a guy who'll speak his mind. We find a guy who speaks his mind. We rush toward him. He speaks his mind. He's a dangerous moron who says inane things like, "Where I'm from, you can't control us" and "If you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home?" We excitedly work our butts off to try to coerce him to say even more inane things (Oldest trick of the trade: Start with softball questions, transition slyly into the hard stuff). He does. Then we hang him."

Of course, he prefaces this with a whole lot of "I know Sheffield, and Sheffield is a moron" statements, which is more than likely true.

I can now only wish someone will note that we cover politics in the same way -- only those people are less moronic and more slimeball.