You can say what you want about ESPN and its editorial approach — it's subjective — the company has been very good to me.

He also notes that his title when he left was "vice president/editor-at-large," which sounds kind of like assistant TO the regional manager to us, but hey, we've been away from the office life for a while. (He switched from the executive editor position two years ago, he says.) He couldn't get into specifics about his departure from ESPN — honestly, non-disclosure agreements suck — but says, "that after nine years it was time to seek other journalistic challenges." So, there you have it; Marvel seems like a nice fellow, but we're still gonna be careful when we see him behind the wheel of a car, JUST in case.

"Executive Editor" Bounced From ESPN.com [Deadspin]

Those who have worked with Marvel say he has been known to be, well, competitive, perhaps even fiery or veering toward rage in the past, particularly those who have played basketball with him. But hey, don't mock him: He's now in need of a job.

John Marvel [University of Florida]

(Update: A few tipsters have written in to say that Marvel had recently been demoted from executive editor after some similar incidents. He had been helping with the site's weekend E Ticket, which encouraged us to watch an 18-year-old boy interview O.J. Simpson, which gave us the hot scoop that he had not, in fact, killed his wife.)

Meanwhile, in the which-ESPN-anchor-do-you-hate-the-most? Road From Bristol bracket is into its final 32.

ESPN Personalities Who Do Not Suck [On Milwaukee]
The ESPN That Doesn't Suck [Sporting Fool]
The Road From Bristol [BravesBeat]

The first round has finally been completed, and we have an upset: somehow the users believe that Chris Fowler is worse than Greg Anthony and that Beano Cook is worse than Brent Musberger. Don't quite get that, but we have to say, we're fired up for the Larry Bowa-Mel Kiper Jr. second-round matchup.

Road From Bristol [Braves Beat] (PDF)

You can vote at The Road From Bristol. If there's ever a time to make your voice heard, this is it. We'll be checking in with this until the end, rest assured.

The Road From Bristol [Braves.net]
The Bristol Bracket [BravesBeat]

Although he would not offer specifics, Jha said it would be reasonable to expect the service to offer specialized graphics and ring tones that might incorporate such exclamations as broadcaster Dick Vitale s "Awesome, baby!" or ESPN anchor Stuart Scott s trademark "Boo-yah!"

We're not going to lie to you: If we are walking down the street, and we hear someone's cell phone ring, and Stuart Scott's voice comes on, we're going to shoot them. We didn't carry a gun until reading this story; we now feel like we have no choice. Extermination is the only option. Particularly if the guy is Stuart Scott himself. Which, somehow, seems really likely.

Tailoring Cell Pitches To Niches [Kansas City Star]

Apparently, some people disagree. This guy over at the Baltimore City Paper claims the ESPYs are "pointless" and "idiotic." Come on, man!

Can you name an ESPY winner? Does Tiger Woods, recipient of a record 15 ESPYs, use his trophies as targets at the driving range so he can earn real awards like tailored green jackets and oversized platters? Would Woods melt his entire ESPY cache down if it meant winning a single major? What does an ESPY even look like?

Oh, you spoilsport. We're going to go back and watch the Best Bowler award in slow-mo now, if you'll excuse us.

ESPY 2005 [ESPN]
ESPY-onage [Baltimore City Paper]

ESPN.com will soon expand its podcast offerings, to include daily excerpts from Mike & Mike in the Morning, Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Eric Kuselias and more radio commentaries. It will also have a regular rotation featuring, among others, Eric Karabell on fantasy games; commentary from Howie Schwab, Dan Shanoff, Gene Wojciechowski; a selection of Page 2 writers, Voice of the Fan, the Pulse and more.

So, to reiterate: If the scary Oddcast/Sportsnation graphics just don't get you close enough to the gruff warblings of Eric Karabell, the dark mystery of Howie Schwab, the smoldering sensuality of Dan Shanoff ... you can now have them on your iTunes/iPod. To carry around with you. If you, you know, can't read.

ESPN.com Providing Extensive Line-up of Podcast Content [DesignTechnica]

"The point here is to reinforce a real vigilance on our part that, [sic] that when we take credit for a story, we are as certain as we can possibly be that we are the first to report it."

"Again, there are a lot of people watching us, a lot of people who believe erroneously that we are too quick to take credit for reporting stories, and they are looking for any example that we are taking more credit than should be the case."

Mushnick also re-tells the great story of Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers, who was one of the featured talked heads on "Around The Horn" ... until he made a joke about the network in one of his columns. He shut up pretty quick after that. And so did everybody else.

Every Scoop's Pretty Nifty [NY Post]

ESPN Adds Ombudsman [USA Today]

(Worth noting, by the way: It is NOT this George Solomon. Which is a relief, really.)

Larry And LeBron? [SportsFrog

But we're gonna try.

Great things about this story:
1. Police followed Martin two miles with one of the car's front tires dragging underneath it, with sparks flying.
2. When finally "caught," Martin refused to get out of the car.
3. Cops busted out a window and — get this — tasered him.
4. His blood alcohol level was .22, more than three times the legal limit. Barry Bonds' IV could have been filled with tequila and he wouldn't hit a .22.
5. Oh, this all happened while Martin was driving a big yellow pace car.

We don't like Mr. Martin's odds of freelancing for the Worldwide Leader again anytime soon.

ESPN Rider "Tased," Arrested For DUI [WISH TV]