First, lest anyone (especially you Gavin and Chad) think I'm ripping on the Morning Sports Page, I'm really not. I've long been aggrieved by 1080's pathetic Blazers coverage (their morning programming, Colin Cowherd, is not only a national show, he doesn't even like to talk about hoops! He talks football all year long.) so The Game's Blazercentric focus is a tonic that I drink heartily. My alarm goes off at 6:06 (when the MSP starts) and I lie in bed listening to Blazer talk until the first commercial break. That's how I start my weekdays. My wife's not crazy about that, but she indulges it.

But this morning I heard the first sign that the MSP is descending into self-parody and turning into...*shudder*...the Portland version of the Jim Rome show.

First, one of Chad's "smack off" rivals called in, chattering in that inane faux-macho lingo that only Clones can understand (I'm still trying to figure out Jim Rome's appeal. What is it with that guy?). That was bad enough, but at least we got a nice nugget of info: that Houston "hates" Joel Przybilla and thinks he's a flopper.

Soon after was the moment I've dreaded but half-expected for a while: a caller, obviously a gigantic fan of the show, checked into basically kiss Gavin and Chad's _ASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS_ . He was using all the stock MSP phrases ("douche," "champ," "bro," "dropping knowledge") and using the same sort of cadence that G&C use. Gavin and Chad were either mocking this guy's devotion or eating it up, I couldn't quite tell. It was obnoxiously self-referential stuff.

I've endured the silly frat-boy antics of the MSP -- not to mention Chad's ongoing attempts to channel the essence of Van Earl Wright -- because it's more than made up for by the awesome amount of information and Blazer talk the guys deliver. But I'm worried that once the season ends the MSP is going to basically consume itself and become unlistenable. Don't do it, MSP!