Watchdog

I'm back from my visit to ESPN2's "First Take" and will let you know if there was a ratings spike once I get the data back later in the week.

What did WatchDog the media critic think of WatchDog the national TV personality?

I've seen sportswriters do worse, even the great Oscar Madison.

And I've seen sportswriters do better, notably "First Take" regular Bob Glauber.

The biggest challenge was trying to condense an incredibly complex (and boring) topic - the NFL Network vs. Big Cable - into four minutes or so of TV time.

Hence the occasional stammering as my brain moved faster than my mouth.

Hence my failure to mention cable's anger at not having access to "NFL Sunday Ticket," which will annoy my cable industry friends.

Hence my failure to mention cable's disingenuousness in saying its customers shouldn't have to pay for channels they don't want, which will annoy my NFL Network friends.

That's about it for my lame excuses. Oh, one more thing:

Why the rumpled collar? Negotiations for a clothing endorsement between my agent and Armani have hit a snag, alas.

We'll work that out before the NFL and cable resolve their differences.