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The aliens have returned the real Bob Kravitz to us

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After the Colts lost to the Chargers a few weeks ago, I knew it was only a matter of time before the old Bob Kravitz (the snarling, crotchety, stunningly uninformed Kravitz we've grown to know over the years) would eventually return. You see, since the Colts won the Super Bowl, Bob has had a tough time writing what he usually likes to write: Manning sucks, Dungy is too nice to his players, Bill Polian called me names, blah, blah, blah. Instead, Bob's columns between January 2007 and January 2008 were actually pretty good.

Then the Chargers game happened, and now Bob is back to writing like the schmuck we all know him to be.

This time around, Bob is taking shots at Tony Dungy, insinuating in one paragraph that Dungy is a bad father, and in the next paragraph pathetically attempting to back off the statement. And, in typical hack-tastic fashion, AOL's Michael David Smith agrees with Kravitz's assessment that by coming back and coaching for 2008, Dungy is a "hypocrite."

I am uncomfortable because I simply can't talk myself out of writing the following words, words that will incur the near-universal wrath of a city that has come to revere Tony Dungy, not only as a coach but as a man:

I think that by returning to the Colts, and doing so after his entire family moved out of Indianapolis and back to Tampa, Fla., for reasons he prefers remain private, Dungy has revealed himself as something of a hypocrite.

As one of the chief spokesmen for All Pro Dad, an organization dedicated to strengthening the bonds of fathers with their children, he has spoken passionately about the importance of men putting their faith and family first, before football and all else.

So I don't understand:

What came first here?

Regarding the substance of Kravitz's article, I'll simply say the obvious and call Kravitz a chicken sh*t. Why didn't Bob question Dungy's family loyalty in 2005 when he mulled retirement but came back? Well, because Dungy son just died, and kicking a man who's son just died is bad, and doesn't sell papers. Why not question Dungy after 2006, when he mulled retirement again and came back. Well, because the Colts had just won the Super Bowl, and kicking the coach of the World Champions looks bad, and doesn't sell papers.

Ah, but now, there is no dead son and there is no Super Bowl; a perfect time for a hack piece by a hack writer looking for attention.

I almost feel I need a shower writing about this column, but since others are talking about it (and agreeing with it), I feel the need to point fingers at the schmucks in this business, call them names, and ensure others remember what they said about this subject they write articles in the future. It is, quite simply, none of our business what is said, discussed, or decided upon within the Dungy household. If Dungy is coming back for the 2008 season, you can bet it was a family decision (ie, his wife and son Eric want him to coach in 2008). That's how family decisions work.

And if Bob is "uncomfortable" now, why wasn't he "uncomfortable" in 2005 or 2006, and if so why didn't he write about his discomfort? Simple, Bob's a hack, and hacks don't write courageously.

They write to sell something, and usually that something is garbage.