The Universal Cynic

From TSN:

Smolinski scores in OT as Hawks edge Panthers

CHICAGO (AP) - Bryan Smolinski scored his second goal 46 seconds into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 pre-season victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

For an explanation on why we refer to Bryan Smolinski as "Binkie", click here. This will also explain why we're hyping a Chicago preseason game versus the "formidable" Panthers.

Edit: That Deadspin link is being finicky, so here's the cut and paste version if you can't see it.

Who's Your Favorite Sportswriter's Binkie?

Inspired by a comment in this morning's story about Jason Whitlock and his rips on Michael Irvin, a commenter named Mr. Poon -- who runs this site -- pointed out something curious about Whitlock. Namely, that Whitlock, in pinch, will fall back on his blind spot; his odd belief that Jeff George (a high school classmate of Whitlock's) was/is, in fact, a great quarterback. George is, essentially, Whitlock's "binkie;" his safety blanket, an athlete that he "champions and claim sis better than anyone else is willing to admit."

We think this is an outstanding notion, this "binkie." It does seem that all sportswriters seem to have one, their person that they won't stop celebrating as great, facts, their eyes and the opinion of everyone else on the planet be damned. For Whitlock, it's George. For the late Ralph Wiley, it was Eric Davis. For Peter King, it's (obviously) Brett Favre. Jayson Stark has a thing for Curt Schilling (and, somehow, Doug Glanville). Rob Neyer kisses the ground Billy Beane urinates on. Bill Simmons, typically, has a non-athletic celebrity as his binkie: Jimmy Kimmel.

We love this game. Who's your favorite sportswriter binkie? The comments are open, folks. We're curious to see what you've got.