Journalism 101: People actually read your stuff

Count me among the legions who think that, while supremely talented, Ron Borges is mainly just a big D-Bag.

For those looking for a good summation of all the events leading up to the suspension of the sportswriter who once beat up a guy wearing a neckbrace, I give you Cold Hard Football Facts, which has held a public grudge against Borges since they accused him in January of ripping off a story of theirs on the long-past Cleveland Browns dynasty . Gee, sound familiar?

To me, the moral of this whole thing will be -- aside from the standard "attribute your material" basic J-School lessons -- if you're going to be provocative, don't also be a jerk, because then you'll just have a whole host of enemies scouring your work looking for ways to pull you down. I bet this whole thing wouldn't have exploded this big if it involved someone like Tony Massarotti or Tom Curren.

P.S. I probably should change that above sentence to "the sportswriter who allegedly once beat up a guy wearing a neckbrace." Can never be too careful with those journalistic standards, ya know.