We all know there is a difference between the role of an accredited mainstream journalist, and a blogger like myself.

Yet, despite Bob Costas recently calling blogs "a high-tech place for idiots," many in the mainstream are showing increasing respect for what folks like myself do.

Some of you already know that the other day ESPN baseball writer Rob Neyer pulled a huge chunk of a piece I wrote about George Steinbrenner for 'Bugs & Cranks' and commented on it.

That was huge, not only for my ego but for the credibility of serious sports bloggers everywhere.

Another huge thing took place during the past week. The New York Times' football blog, 'The Fifth Down,' invited the folks from Blogging The Boys, SB Nation's amazing Dallas Cowboys blog, to fill their space for a week.

Incredible! Kudos to the folks at Blogging the Boys for the accomplishment.

By the way, two of my favorite pieces from their week with 'The Fifth Down' directly involved the Giants.

One is simply headlined 'Tony Romo or Eli Manning?,' and I'm sure you can guess which quarterback they side with. Another is an early comparison of the Cowboys and Giants looking at which team should win the NFC East in 2008.

Check them out, and congratulations again to the folks at Blogging the Boys.

I just want to know one thing -- since I'm the New York blogger when is it my turn to appear in the Times?