Football Mythbusters: Jason Whitlock's Article About ESPN and Ball State

MYTH: "the World Wide Leader(ESPN) is the most evil and destructive force in the sports world. It has driven and hastened the destruction of authentic, independent, democratic, courageous sports journalism." - Jason Whitlock, Nov. 26, 2008

FACT: Close, but no cigar, Mr. Whitlock. I have as much love for ESPN as you do, but I think you're unintentionally giving the rest of the media a free pass here.

Note to readers: I suggest you read Whitlock's article here: http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/8853534/The-story-ESPN-doesn%27t-want-you-to-know, in order to fully understand what I'm talking about in my article.

Whitlock, while discussing how underrated he feels Ball State is, pretty much blasts ESPN completely, criticizing their lack of fair coverage and journalistic integrity. For the most part, I agree with him about ESPN, though they do have a few amount of writers I like.

However, everything Whitlock says applies not just to ESPN, but to major sports journalism in general.

There seems to be an unspoken consenus among sports media regarding most subjects: consider all the Heisman "frontrunners" or NFL power rankings.

The teams and players that you see listed as the best are usually the ones that announcers and color commentators want you to consider the best.

Consider the following: who won the MVP of Super Bowl XLII? A Manning. Though New York's spectacular upset win relied more on defense than quarterback play, a big-name celebrity got the award.

Anybody who watched the Super Bowl closely could tell you that Eli Manning didn't win the game for the Giants; the Giants' defensive line won that game.

They hammered Tom Brady and controlled the line of scrimmage. Not only that, but they kept a record-setting offense in check, allowing only two touchdowns.

When the Giants and Patriots faced off on the final Saturday of the 2007 regular season, it was all about the quarterbacks, and Manning played fantastically. However, the Patriots proved that they could not be beaten in an offensive shootout, beating the Giants 38-35.

When the defense controlled the tempo of the game, the Giants won. All Eli Manning had to do was avoid making costly mistakes.

Yet the MVP award, which should've gone to one of New York's offensive linemen, went to Eli Manning, whose receivers bailed him out multiple times on that game-winning drive that he "led."

David Tyree's amazing catch? Wouldn't have been so amazing if Eli had delivered the pass accurately. It would've been a routine catch, very easy to hold onto.

But enough about last season's Super Bowl; let's talk about some of this season's media bias.

When the Titans were 10-0, Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was causing people to speculate if he would be the first defensive MVP since Lawrence Taylor.

This speculation was rightly caused, as the defense anchored the Titans and led them incredibly far without the help of a spectacular offense.

Haynesworth was injured with a concussion against the Jaguars in week one, and he hasn't played a full game since then. However, he's still been able to dominate the game. This man was a monster.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?