"This is GREAT for women's basketball," wrote one giddy poster on an ESPN message board in response to Candace Parker and Plenette Pierson's brawl.

"Anything that can get the WNBA to be the leadoff on SportsCenter is GOOD for the sport. A good ole brawl makes the league look cool. Gives it street cred," wrote another.

Let's give you a second to let those statements sink in...

Repulsed yet?

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about those comments is that, sadly, they might hold some truth--at least as they relate to media coverage. The fact is, violence isn't good for the game--it sends a disturbing message to young girls, shows extremely poor sportsmanship and distracts from the good work the WNBA does in the community--but it is good for ratings.

Last night on ESPN News, the announcer cut to two commentators saying, "I know we'd like to talk about the basketball, but frankly this is what makes it a lead story."

Sensationalism drives the news cycle--if it bleeds it leads--and it's tough to determine who's to blame. Is it the media's fault for covering the stories, or does the public hold some responsibility for consumption?

One answer might be found in the changing nature of sports journalism. Gary Brown has a very provocative piece in this month's Champion Magazine, analyzing the state of today's sports news.

Sports scores are no longer what the public wants. By the time the story reaches ESPN or the blogsphere viewers already knows the results of the game, which, according to Brown, may cause reporting to cross the line from news to entertainment.

"The traditional game story died years ago," Greg Bowers, an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism told Brown. "Offering depth and analysis and telling the behind-the-scenes stories is where sports journalism has gone."

So, maybe it's no surprise when the top videos on ESPN feature women brawling, Mike and Mike bragging about learning to box and a debate over whether mixed martial arts is too violent for children.

Has the 24-hour news cycle conditioned us to be interested in titillating, rather than substantial news? Does the WNBA really need a brawl for people to start paying attention?