The real NFL battles aren’t waged on the gridiron – but rather on the internet. Jay Glazer (Fox) vs. Peter King (SI, NBC) vs. Mike Silver (Yahoo) vs. the ESPN Armada (Mort, Clayton, Mosley, etc). Which is why we’re shocked this question made it through into Chris Mortensen’s chat yesterday:

Ken (Tarzana, CA): What are your thoughts on ESPN not giving credit to reporters who break stories? Instead giving credit to ESPN reporters who confirm stories. I’ll give you mucho credit if you actually answer this question.

SportsNation Chris Mortensen: Wow, I was looking for that credit. Look, our business has changed dramatically with the immediacy of everything. Sometimes, we’ll get something out over the airwaves first before we ever get it posted on the website. Plus, we don’t have automatic email lists that goes out to different blog sites but there are a lot of good reporters out there doing excellent work. The best thing any reporter can do though is to stick the the standards – it is better to get beat on a story than to compromise the standard. We have worked hard at giving credit when credit is due.

Anyone know if Fox’s Ken Rosenthal lives in Tarzana, California? We kid. But seriously, five years ago, can you imagine anyone even dreaming up this question? Five years ago, the sports blogs were few, Yahoo and Fox weren’t online powerhouses, and it’s not like the media care about such trivial matters.

First Buster Olney and now Mort. Who’s next, Chris Sheridan?