Loaded Feature Stories That Make It Abundantly Clear Why Newspapers Suck

Yes, that's Brett Myers, Phillies number two pitcher, who many of you only know as the man who punched his wife in the face outside a Boston bar back in June of 2006. Given his penchant for violence and dickheaded outbursts, it would seem completely ridiculous for a newspaper to do a feature story on Myers' part-time hobby: shooting heavy artillery at a local gun range. But that's just what the Philadelphia Inquirer did, while conveniently failing to acknowledge that 800-pound gorilla peeking out from behind the paper target. (You know, the one that's punching his wife in the face.) Myers' wife eventually dropped the charges against her husband, but as the writers and editors know, that doesn't mean that the incident didn't happen. It did. People standing outside the bar saw it. His wife had a golf ball-sized welt on the left side of her face. Yet, those facts are overlooked so there's more room for witty back-and-forth like this:

He grabbed the handgun, held it sideways and began firing. "That's how the gangsters do it," he said. "You've been watching too many movies," I said. "This is a lot of fun for me," Myers said. "I just like shooting."

Really. You don't say? UPDATE: USA Today reveals the true Brett Myers: charity worker, pig-headed (but sensitive!), and self-aware: "I know there are people out there that think I'm a jerk. There are people out there who think I'm a wife-beater. That will never change," says Myers, alluding to a 2006 incident in which he was arrested and charged in Boston with assaulting his wife, Kim. "But you know what, I really don't care what people think about me. … If people don't like me, they can deal with it. This is who I am." [ USA TODAY] Myers Shoots for Success [Philly.com]