I enjoy writing for Blogcritics, and one thing I like about it is that it is a very hospitable place. The people are nice, and while they have strong beliefs sometimes, they hold their fire when it comes to free expression ... and that is GREAT.

I know Eric Olsen has slightly different politics from me — he tends to be for the war in Iraq and I tend the other way. But where he and I agree is that blogging provides a wonderful venue for expression in a world in which the truth, and even appreciation for the truth, has never been more degraded.

Which was why I was so moved by sports journalist Keith Olbermann's tirade this week on "Salon" against NewsCorp's apparent campaign to torment Sandy Koufax, the great leftwing pitcher for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers in the 60s.

By leftwing, I mean southpaw, of course. As a Jew who declined to pitch in the World Series on Yom Kippur, the autumnal Day of Atonement, despite widespread pressure and misunderstanding, Koufax earned his cultural conservatism stripes.

"Outing" baseball stars who pitch for New York-based teams seems to be a theme for Murdoch, having done the same thing last year to Mets' catcher Mike Piazza. What's with that, anyway?

Well, you need to read Olbermann's account of the stinky treatment Koufax received at the evil axis of Rupert Murdoch companies — the Post, HarperCollins, Fox News, and, ultimately, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This isn't even ideological, unless you consider homophobia and anti-Semitism ideologies. It's just plain rotten, tearing this decent hero's life up in public to hawk a few dingy scraps of paper. Olbermann calls Murdoch's global network of communications companies "the synergy sewer."

So I am taking this opportunity to praise Brogcritics for its independence and freedom of expression — and Olbermann for tearing up a Murdoch book contract to indicate that principles still mean something in this downward-spiraling media culture of ours.

Maybe y'all could buy one of Olbermann's in-print books to help him offset his sacrifice and we can all prove a point to the sewer skunks.

And as spring training opens up, may a hundred dandelions of peace and tolerance open up for you ... in the infield as well as your outfield.

Viva Blogcritics!