In a possible preview of tonight’s “Worst Persons” segment, Countdown host Keith Olbermann took to his Baseball Nerd blog to blast Major League Baseball over its decision not to allow the New York Mets to wear caps honoring NYPD, FDNY, and other first responders on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This is probably a rare instance in which even the polarizing pundit’s fiercest detractors will have difficulty disagreeing with him, although I’m not sure New York icon Joe Torre deserves a total pass for delivering the bad news.

On Friday, Irving Picard, the trustee representing the victims of Bernie Madoff‘s Ponzi scheme, claimed in legal papers that New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz and partners at Sterling Equities, had to know that Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme and should have to compensate the victims. In papers just released, Mediaite has learned that Wilpon is fighting back, calling the lawsuit a “work of fiction” filled with “false allegations.”

It’s the weekend, which means it’s time to separate the chumps from the champs in Mediaite’s “Winners and Losers” — our scorecard of who rocked and who flopped in the week’s headlines. The contenders include: President Bush, adding “motivational speaker” to his resume, Sarah Palin posting an online resume, and Jay Leno, who might be wise to start updating his resume.

Today’s New York Post has an exclusive, excruciatingly detailed account of ESPN analyst and former New York Mets GM Steve Phillips‘ “Fatal Attraction”-like affair with a production assistant.

And that’s just the beginning – there are websites digging up info and pictures of the woman in question – and now one blog is ready to empty their inbox to expose other potential ESPN sexual trysts.

I’d like to apologize to Erin Andrews. Apparently, my lifelong obsession with professional sports — the tears I shed when the Giants won the Super Bowl and when the Mets lost the Subway Series, the John Starks “Dunk” poster I had on my bedroom wall, the tiny radio I kept in bed with me, tuned [...]