Dwight Dixon was shot seven times in broad daylight this morning in North Philly, 15 months after a dispute at Marvin Harrison's bar led to...something. There are no suspects yet, though Dixon told a police officer on the scene that he thought Harrison hired someone to take him out.

Facts are few (much fewer than in the Roethlisberger case) but there it was, among the top headlines on ESPN.com this afternoon. The company policy excuses don't fly, as there was no criminal case brought in last year's shooting. Ironically, there is a civil case pending.

It's only right that ESPN cover Dixon's second shooting. Rightly or wrongly, he's linked with Harrison, and this is news. ESPN made the story their own, with some incredible reporting by Shaun Assael and Peter Keating, and it's in their best interests to follow up.

It might be the most unfair thing in the world to report this story in a sports context. What happened last year may have absolutely nothing to do with this. But this is news, because it's being reported. That might seems a tautology, but when the media comes to a consensus on something, there's no stopping it. And ESPN isn't so big that their abstention can keep something from being news.

Philly man in critical condition [ESPN.com]

Last Friday, Stroud casually mentioned that the Buccaneers might be"interested" in possibly signing possibly washed up wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Tampa fans were obviously all ... um ... atwitter over this happy information and a few places even re-reported this story as an actual bonafide thing. Big mistake. Blogger Joe Bucs Fan (not to be confused with Joe Buck fans) was a little annoyed that Stroud had to come back on his Twitter to explain the difference between real news and shit that he just makes up on the internet.

"People, if I tweet something bout Marvin Harrison it's agent-driven speculation. If there's news, I'll post it on Tampabay.com. K? Sheesh 5:44 AM May 30th from web

Yeah, come on guys. Can't you tell when a reporter is talking about actual legitimate news and when he's really just helping an agent drum up non-existent buzz about a client? It's not like 85% of all NFL coverage is unfounded speculation about player personnel moves. Next time, just wait until Chris Mortensen writes something on his Facebook wall. That's when you know it's a big scoop.

Rick Stroud Slaps Bucs Fans, Media [Joe Bucs Fan]
Rick Stroud (NFLSTROUD) [Twitter]

After missing most of 2007 with an injury, Harrison saw a huge dip in his production this year with career lows (not counting the injury year) in catches, yards and touchdowns. Oh, and there was the whole matter of him maybe taking a shot at someone. (Alleged! Possibly!) The move saves the Colts $7 million and reminds everyone yet again, that it doesn't matter what your name is once you've outlived your usefulness in this league.

Who knows if Harrison—who was very shaky this year—catches on somewhere else, but it will also end the most prolific passing combo ever. Manning and Harrison hold NFL records for completions, yards, and touchdowns by a quarterback-wide receiver duo. Of course, if he throws Peyton's trash in the dumpster on his way out the door, that could be one more.

Harrison's Indy days are done [NFL.com]

This isn't surprising. Ever since the case started, we'd reported that the police were concerned that any of the witnesses they'd collected either lacked credibility or a consistent story to pursue any of these matters. According to ESPN's legal wonk, Harrison's still facing a potential civil suit from Dwight Dixon, who claims he suffered permanent damage in his arm after Marvin shot him. His asking price? $100,000. He should probably get a better attorney. He could get so much more hush money than that.

The one not-so-big question that was partially addressed was why the Philadelphia D.A.'s office waited so long to hold this press conference — conveniently after the Colt's season ended. Sal Paolantonio might have suggested in his original story that some Philadelphia police detectives were suspicious of the timing. First thing out of the mouth of D.A. Lynne Abraham during the press conference? "Nice try, Sal." So, I guess that proves she's not a closet Colts fan.

Maybe there will be more on this — most likely, not — but one thing is certain Marvin Harrison is not going to jail. He'll also probably write a nice little check to Dixon to make sure that civil suit never gets in front of a jury.

No Charges For Harrison In Gun Case [MyFoxPhilly]
No Charges For Harrison [PFT]

With all the rampant speculation about Marvin Harrison's involvement in a Philadelphia shooting (and his shady past), there has still been no conviction. And now, according to ESPN, the Philadelphia District Attorney's office isn't moving forward with the case until the Philadelphia police department comes up with some hard evidence, which, in this particular case, has been problematic.

The shooting, where two people were injured by bullets that allegedly came from a high caliber handgun that Harrison owns, is now seven weeks old and it appears most of the original witnesses in the case have been, according to ESPN, "less than cooperative." Translation: nobody's talking anymore.

This was the problem from the get-go with this case, as police were up against a neighborhood with a strict no-snitching policy and, according to our sources, one where some of its residents were clearly enhancing their stories with the hopes that they might be eligible to receive some of Harrison's millions.

There have been so many stories floating around — some advanced by police through the media, some through the media directly, some through blogs — that it appears more and more likely that unless police can scare-up some witnesses into telling them everything they know, this case will go completely unsolved and Harrison won't be charged. If he's not charged, the focus will then shift to how this story was reported and that's going to probably result in some pretty angry columnists from the Indianapolis area, who would be well within reason to question how this story was reported.

Philly D.A. wants more nvestigation on shooting case involving Harrison [ESPN]
Marvin Harrison Is Not A Suspect But Paolantonion, Florio and Smith Are [Stampede Blue]

The witnesses and victims of the alleged crime are still being pieced together. According to some police sources, there are a lot of conflicting stories surfacing, some as a result of individuals hoping to shake down and cash-in on Harrison's celebrity. But that's expected as soon as a millionaire athlete caught with a gun in a not-so-nice neighborhood happens.

According to one source close to the story, more revelations about Harrison's character and background — disturbing, American Gangster-like stuff — are also percolating as a result of this incident. Although Harrison has been deemed one of the consumate professionals in the NFL due to his quiet nature and workman-like approach to his game, it's appearing more and more that Harrison mayhave a very dark side to his private nature that few people knew about.

Yesterday, WIP's Howard Eskin alluded to those facts on the air yesterday before he was yelling about blogs:

I have heard many things about Marvin and I am shocked. I don't want to get into it but it shocks me. I've heard too many things, I heard things which shocked me.

"I do know this. [Somebody he[Harrison] knows had $10,000 confiscated. He went back to the police station and said, that's my money. . . . Two detectives have told me that. I don't want to get into it any deeper. Doesn't that present a lot of questions to you, too?

Now, as much as Eskin is a blustery asshole on air at times, he's also not reckless and does his due dilligence when it comes to stories of this nature. Also, what Eskin said is consistent with some of the stories being corroborated by a few people close to the investigation.

The take-away: Next week prepare to hear some more things about Marvin Harrison that might erase most of the good-guy persona he's cultivated in the NFL. According to one prominent national television reporter, if Harrison gets charged in this case, all of the dirty laundry that many people have been sifting through will be revealed.

Marvin Harrison? Really? [Deadspin]

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison is under investigation in his hometown of Philadelphia in a shooting that took place late Tuesday afternoon, a source close to the investigation told Anthony Gargano of Philadelphia's WIP Radio. The shooting reportedly occurred outside a North Philadelphia bar owned by Harrison.

Harrison has yet to be arrested or charged with the crime.

The source said the alleged victim came into the bar, Playmakers, around 5 p.m. and engaged in an argument with Harrison, who was at the bar. The victim then left the bar, heading to his car, with Harrison following. Gunfire broke out, the victim was hit in the hand, and a young girl was slightly injured by flying glass from a car that apparently was hit by a bullet.

Obviously, more details are forthcoming. This seems a little sketchy.

UPDATE:
Philly sources: This appears to be all sorts of trouble for Harrison. According to some sources, the the gun used in the shooting was definitely Harrison's, and the investigation right now suggests that it "doesn't look good" for Marvin. The gun used in the shooting is apparently a very expensive, custom-made job that uses 50mm bullets. (No idea what that means, sorry. Not a gun guy.) But, the fella who first reported it, Anthony Gargano of WIP, is going on ESPN at 6 p.m. to talk about everything he knows. The Philly police are hesitating about naming Harrison. According to one source, all he said was that "There's a local guy who plays pro football who is being investigated." Police are being cautious about fingering Harrison at this point.

But for now, yes, it appears Marvin Harrison might be being investigated in a shooting that occurred Tuesday night at his bar which is located at a shady area in Philly.

Marving Harrison's Gun Used In Shooting [Sporting News]

UPDATE:

Okay, here's the full, fuzzy report, from WIP's Anthony Gargano, who did his best trying to convey the really jumbled facts that are all "allegedly" connected to Marvin Harrison. If these are the circumstances and the "facts" available right now, well...it appears Marvin Harrison's lawyer should really be able to sort this whole thing out. Hopefully, Gargano's sources are good ones.