Earlier this week, Deadspin’s AJ Daulerio delved into the matter of MIA ESPN anchor Fred Hickman (above). The former CNN fixture has apparently suffered some kind of undisclosed personal trauma that’s caused a number of disappearing acts, though at the end of the piece, Daulerio helpfully cited Hickman’s prior stint in drug rehab.

Picking up the ball four days later, New York Magazine‘s Will Leitch and Joe DeLessio hailed Daulerio’s item as “ridiculously entertaining”, calling Hickman a “space cadet” in the process.

Putting aside the matter of just whether or not you find the real life meltdown of a TV sports talking head to be high entertainment, it does seem a tad curious for Leitch’s editors to neglect to mention the above plug was served up on behalf of a former colleague and collaborator. That might seem self evident to however many fans Will has left outside of the media and publishing worlds, but I’d wager the overwhelming majority of New York’s readers are not regular habituates of the sports blogosphere.  As such, while it might be very illuminating for them to have a kindly chap like Will Leitch recommending blog entries from Deadspin, the full extent of the relationship between Leitch and Daulerio should’ve been mentioned. Apparently, you can take the boy out of the ethically challenged blog, but you can’t take the ethically challenged blogger out of the boy.