Jay Mariotti Is Tired Of Rick Morrissey

So I sat down at the computer this morning set to write about one of two things. I was either going to write about the Donovan McNabb situation in Philly, and whether or not I thought it was a realistic possibility the Bears would get him in the offseason and whether or not it would mean anything. Or I was going to do something different and write about hockey. More specifically, Chris Simon's latest suspension from the NHL, and why in the hell the league just doesn't kick him out.

Then I was doing my morning reading and I saw the title of one of Mariotti's online blogs....um..I mean online columns. Jay wouldn't stoop to blogging!

Anyway, the title of this column was "Tribune Is Stalking Me!" and it immediately grabbed my attention. Remember a few months ago when I accused Jay of stealing a joke from me? Well now it seems that Jay is dealing with his own column poacher, the Chicago Tribune's Rick Morrissey.

The Bears wear navy blue, orange and white, right? Now that I've written it, a Tribune columnist is sure to claim different team colors -- say, aqua and mauve. I've seen some peculiar things in the media business, but nothing quite like the work in recent weeks of Rick Morrissey.

Realize that I've been stalked by serial e-mailers. And Ditkaphiles. And Hawk Harrelson. Now, I'm being stalked by a Tribster.

It started in late October, when I wrote that the Bulls should aggressively seek Kobe Bryant in a trade. Days later, Morrissey came back with the contrarian view: ``Bulls don't need Kobe Bryant.'' I thought little of it, just as I thought little of it when the same guy -- after my repeated midseason opinions that Cedric Benson is a bust and the Bears miss Thomas Jones -- wrote a piece headlined, ``Former Bear Jones a legend in other minds.''

Jay then goes on to point out at least four other times this month alone that Morrissey's column has seemed to be a retort to whatever Jay wrote the previous day.

Now this may come as a shock to you, but Jay is right. I've noticed it myself over the last few weeks. To make things even scarier, Mariotti said something else I completely agree with about Morrissey and the Tribune.

As I've said for years, the Trib should have hired Michael Wilbon when it had the chance -- or never should have let Lincicome, Verdi and Bayless go. Those gentlemen seemed to develop opinions without reading the Sun-Times first.

Okay, so I agree with the part about Wilbon anyway. I'm fine leading a Skip Bayless-less existence.

Though, unlike Mariotti, I'm a fan of what Morrissey is doing. I've never been a big fan of his column, but it's always nice to see other members of the Chicago media call Jay out for some of the things he says.

Sure, there are plenty of bloggers and blogs dedicated to doing the same thing, but they don't get nearly as much exposure as fellow newspaper columnists do.

That and a bitch fight between two columnists is always fun to follow. I wonder if Morrissey will respond. I hope he does.

Foul Balls

This Whole Chris Simon Thing - Okay, so the NHL has suspended Chris Simon for his latest incident, deliberately stepping on the foot of Pittsburgh's Jarrko Ruutu with his skate. As though he was trying to cut it off.



Now at first glance this doesn't seem like something worthy of an NHL record 30-game suspension. Of course, this suspension breaks the previous record of 25 games. Set by Chris Simon for this incident.



That's New York's Ryan Hollweg who felt the wrath of Simon. So, as you can see, this isn't Simon's first foray into the world of criminal action during a hockey game. I've never been one of those people who think that they need to remove all fighting elements from the game of hockey, because I've always felt it was an important part of the game, but how the NHL can let a guy like Simon continue to lace up and skate for anybody baffles me.

Maybe after he finally kills somebody, Gary Bettman will decide to take a stand.

Listening To The White Sox Lose Just Got A Lot Easier - Finally, the White Sox have done something this offseason that I approve of. Of course, even though I approve of it, doesn't mean I'm completely happy with it.

Still, I'll take as much Steve Stone as I can get.

Steve Stone will be calling baseball games in Chicago next year, though that news comes with a few buts …

But it won't be full time. But it won't be on television. But he won't be doing it for the Cubs.

Stone has agreed to join Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton on WSCR-AM 670 on the call for White Sox home games on Fridays in 2008. There will be 13 in all, including the June 27 game against the Cubs.

It's only for 13 games, and it will only be on the radio, but I'll take it. After Stone filled in for Darrin Jackson on Sox television broadcasts last season, I wrote that I wished Stone could come to the Sox on a full-time basis. I mean, he actually made Hawk's homerism tolerable, which is something that only a select few can do.

If it's only meant to be on radio though, I can live with it. If nothing else this may be the next step into getting him into a White Sox booth full time, which will make every 9-7 loss a lot easier to listen to.