If I was good with Photoshop, I'd replace the dude's head with Artest's Tru Warier

What the hell were you thinking, Scoop? Arguably no sports media figure has come under more heat in the last three months or so. Despite that, you feel free to use the five finger discount on a concept that has been a fully formed idea dating back to Jason Whitlock still being at ESPN.

So you decide to write a column based on the perspective of the ball, which, to reiterate, was originally developed by the humble Cavalier at Yaysports! NBA, without including so much as a link. You do, though, indicate an awareness of your own theft of intellectual property by mentioning as a throwaway statement;

A Web site gave me a nickname. They call me the Orange Roundie.

You’re then caught, initially as far as I can tell, by the mysterious and debonair “TDD,” commenting at Yay, at 12:55. In response to a groundswell of deserved anger, the word Yaysports is quietly inserted into the piece.

Still no link, but it’s better, right? Not quite. You see, Scoop Jackson presumably got paid, writing in character… a character someone else had fully fleshed out and that Scoop without full attribution used as the jumping off point for his discussion. And then, when asked to respond by Will Leitch at Deadspin, Jackson says;

I actually thought I was giving them some love, even though ESPN edited out the part about them being the ball’s favorite site. Just trying to have some fun. Hope you enjoyed the piece; tell YAY I thought their overall ball coverage was brilliant. The ball, on the other hand, had a few issues.

Really? Pin it on your editor, while ignoring the broader issue? Weak, Scoop. The Cavalier, while understandably pissed, is much more charitable than most would be about the thing. He’s absolutely right, though. Scoop Jackson stole a concept from another writer with minimal attribution, and until some sort of retraction is issued, Out Of Kilter counts itself among the League of Roundie Henchmen.