I'm not a big fan of Stephen A. Smith, mostly because I find him the George Jefferson of sports broadcasters.  And normally, I wouldn't waste the time or energy to write about him, however he left me no choice.  The man attacked me.

Okay, not me personally, but the thousands of people who devote their time and energy to chime in with their opinions via sports blogs.  According to Smith "someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can.  They are not trained.  Not experts."

Okay, Stephen, let's take your logic and transport it to, shall we say, radio.  You have just painted sports talk listeners/callers with the same brush that you have bloggers.  How dare they have opinions on things. How can any of these people be qualified to call in a show.  They have no access, they have no training, they have no opinions that are worth hearing.  And, here you are, a WRITER, with very little (if any by the sound of it) training in broadcasting hosting a sports talk show.  Gee, Stephen, who is more qualified to host a sports talk show, you or me?  It's not you, pal.  So, where do you get off telling me I can't write if I feel like it.

There are some outstanding blogs out there (some of which we pimp down the side of this blog) and some great people running them.  Yet, Mr. Smith, who feels that having an opinion isn't enough, has taken it upon himself to clean up the Internet.  The ship has sailed, Stephen.  And you, my sad friend, are standing at the dock looking at nothing but ocean.

This is the case of a petty, insecure little man fearing that those of us out here on the Internet may actually have something to say and may actually enjoy reading other people's stuff.  But since we're not held to the standard that he is, we can get away with whatever we want.  Therefore, we should be excluded from the debate. 

Smith concluded his bitching remarks with "the world has allowed the average Joe to resemble a professional without any credentials whatsoever."  Funny, Stephen.  I feel the same way about your radio show.

Lightning Round

• The White Sox are looking at Houston second baseman Chris Burke.  WHY?  You have two second basemen PLUS Pablo Ozuna.  Kenny, focus on the mission: center field, left field and sending Mike MacUseless as far away as possible with Juan Uribe as a Christmas bonus.
• Here's the difference between the Cubs and the Sox: When the Cubs have a relief pitcher who sucks, they trade him.
• Miguel Cabrera is getting thinner as the prospects of him getting traded are thicker.  The Tigers may be poised to make a major move for both Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.  Meanwhile, Kenny Williams continues to shop for spare parts.  If the Twinkies trade Johan Santana for the package that's been suggested and the Tigers pull off this trade with the Marlins, the Sox become the fourth best team in that division, a half step ahead of the Royals.  Merry Christmas, Sox fans.
• A major pain in the White Sox rear is moving on.  To Japan. Where he can never hurt the Sox again.
  
• Bill Maas goes on trial for felony drug and weapon charges and a misdemeanor count of being stupid.
• Let the fellatio of the Elderly Hillbilly continue.  Next thing you'll hear is that he's won the Nobel prize for peace.  And the Heisman.  And a Grammy.
• Yeah, i t was a shady win last night by the Pats.  But it was a win.  Pittsburgh may be their Miami though.
• "I think we need to take this program to the next level, Karl, and I don't think you are the one who can do it."  Been there, done that, own a whole bunch of t-shirts.
  
• Sorry, Arkansas.  Coach Bowden is staying at Clemson.  Perhaps if you try someone not named "Tommy" you might have better luck.
• This is where political correctness gets stupid.  Next thing you know, they can't call something pork chop because it offends Kosher Jews.  Why does everybody in this country think that everything is being named to disparage them? 
  
• Today's list: The world's ten most obscure sports.