For the first time, I think I've been personally exposed to the power of the Worldwide Leader...

First off, I want to thank the almost 100 views that my post on the Manchester City/EPL situation got, and I was going to post a follow-up.

Until Mike Golic came calling!!

This tweet (not to me) started it:

"That was a clean hit RT @dmmerk: @MikeAndMikehow come more people aren't talking about how the saints ended warner's career with a cheap shot"

(I inserted a space before the "RT".)

(I should note that the @MikeandMike account is Golic's.  Mike Greenberg, his co-host on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning, has @ESPNGreeny as his.)

Yep, we're back to talking about Kurt Warner, the playoff game with the Saints, Bounty-Gate, and this hit.

So Mike Golic, an NFL veteran (which should color his opinions appropriately), has decided that the hit that put Warner out of the sport is clean.

Watch that clip I linked to very closely.  You may need the second replay, which starts at about :08 of the clip, to get a good look at it.

I made sure I got another good look at the clip before I decided to reply as I knew I was going to - and eventually did, in this tweet:

"@MikeAndMike The Warner hit was bullshit, Golic. That was a helmet to helmet up side the head. DIRTY HIT, and probably paid for too!"

Well, Golic effectively had a one word response when he got a hold of this one in the following:

"Clueless RT @darkstar7646: @MikeAndMike The Warner hit was bullshit, Golic. That was a helmet to helmet up side the head. DIRTY HIT,"

Mr. Golic (and "William J Holla"), I've seen that hit numerous times.  I've even linked to it before in my blog, sir.  He definitely gets shoulder, but lays the head right into the jaw to add to the whiplash.  Look at the shorter clip, about 8-10 seconds in.  You're going to need slow motion to see it.  You have to slow down the hit, or it certainly appears as if the hit (especially from your back-side angle (which you can see a clip of on "Holla's" tweet, which is why I linked to it) is shoulders.

That is probably why the guy didn't get penalized by the league, is that the hit would look clean until you slow the hit down.

But that didn't stop a bevy of NFL-worshipping Mike and Mike fans from chiming in.  (And those links are not all-inclusive!)

Look, I'm aware that the Neanderthals who follow the NFL these days have to live in a fairly serious state of denial.  And I'm also aware that the concept of ESPN effectively requires The National Religion for a lot of it's programming (even in the off-season!).  Additionally, I cannot be surprised that Mike Golic, who made his fortune and ESPN position on the game, would defend it like this.

But the video does not lie here.  Watch it for yourself.