10 A.M. — AFC North Blogger is from Hyattsville

This is supposed to be a high school and predominately college blog. Metro understands that. But sometimes locals make it to the big time, as former Hyattsville, Md. native and current ESPN blogger James Walker did.

Good for Walker. But is Cleveland an upgrade? We doubt it.

Some hard hitting analysis, which he must have learned at Temple or the Columbus Dispatch (ESPN in seven years... must be a pretty sweet ride):John (C-Town, OH): Is Sepulveda a body builder? Have you ever seen that guy? He is MASSIVE and he is a punter.
James Walker: I noticed that, too, John. Sepulveda is a workout warrior and pretty muscular for a punter. Good observation.

Thanks for telling us that he's a "muscular punter." I feel better.

9 A.M — ESPN Takes Over As Usual

Seattle Times Blog on ESPN's Takeover of Sport, Now at the High School Level: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/prepsports/2008/05/espn_rise_to_cover_prep_sports.html

New York Daily News Column on ESPN's Takeover of Sport, Now at the High School Level: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/05/20/2008-05-20_espn_will_rise_to_track_high_school_spor.html

Two tidbits about the coverage of high school sports, which is what this blog is based on. Look, ESPN may be a HYPE machine, but it's the best sports media outlet available. And if it wants to spend millions to dip into the prep pool, then by all means. Maybe they'll pay my salary one day.

Look at the sportswriter phenomenon — they all complain about ESPN, but what do they do? They join them. That's the same thing here. As the Daily News puts it, "ESPN feeds the beast - not from malice, just from good old All-American pursuit of ratings."

We want to know sooner and sooner who tomorrow's star will be. Or else Rivals.com and Scout.com wouldn't have morphed like they have. You can't blame ESPN for joining the pot.

As the Seattle reporter put it, "Who knows where this might lead. Middle school sports?" Maybe. Fortunately or unfortunately, we're not kidding.