Fair to say, by all measurements, Steve Phillips was living large at ESPN.

A few years after he came on board as a respected, insightful studio analyst for "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight," the network promoted the former New York Mets general manager to the weekly Sunday Night Baseball game booth for the 2009 season. There was no question that Phillips' insider and stat-literate information, when put up against Joe Morgan's half-based opinions, elevated the telecast a few notches.

Behind the scenes, things were hooking foul for Phillips.

In September, his wife of 19 years filed for divorce.

On Oct. 21, he made the cover of the New York Post – celebrating his taking a leave of absence because of his involvement in an affair with a 22-year-old ESPN production assistant. Four days later, ESPN put him on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.

Brooke Hundley, who hadn't had her fill of Phillips, wouldn't let the story die. Info came out that she visited Phillips' home, causing his estranged wife to call 911 in a panic. Hundley also tried to contact Phillips' son on Facebook to grill him for information.

Comparisons to "Fatal Attraction" were more natural than "The Natural."

A month later, Hundley went on ABC's "Good Morning America" and spilled even more — "I've been called a whore," she cried. "I've been called a home wrecker." Before Jerry Springer could get involved, she said she reached

a "breaking point" when NBC's Jay Leno made fun of her in a monologue.

"What was he thinking?" Leno exclaimed as the audience laughed, seeing a juxtaposed photo of Phillips with his wife next to one of him with Hundley. "I realize you can't have steak every day, but please."

What was Phillips thinking? Maybe that the 2009 list of the Sports Media Dubious Dozen needed a headliner.

No problem. Not even a misreported flareup between Marv Albert (a past Dubious Dozen hero) and 50 Cent could push Phillips, now in rehab for sex addiction, out of the No. 1 spot in this now-annual lineup. Even ESPN.com ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer described Phillips' accomplishment as "a remarkable career implosion."

Here are the 11 other stories that tried, but came up slightly short, in matching Phillips and ESPN for overall sports media stupidity:

2. Desert swarm on Sir Charles

The culprit: TNT's Charles Barkley.

The crime: Barkley, arrested in the early hours of New Year's Eve for racing through a stop sign and refusing to take a roadside sobriety test, was handed a five-day minimum-security jail term and a nearly two-month suspension from the network.

So why was Sir Charles in such a hurry on a dark Scottsdale, Ariz., night? TMZ.com and TheSmokingGun.com reported that, after accessing the police report, Barkley saw a woman on the corner who had given him a sexual favor a week earlier. He was on a fast break for more.

Barkley also reportedly asked the arresting officer "to admit that she was hot" and told another employee at the station "I'll tattoo your name on my (rear end)" if he could get him out of the DUI charge. Police also impounded a handgun found in his vehicle.

The aftermath: Barkley returned to TNT in late February and apologized. But during TNT's final broadcast of the 2008-09 season, Barkley called fellow analyst Kenny Smith "numb nuts" and used an obscenity to describe his producer on the air during the postgame show.

3. TMI, even for TMZ

The culprit: USC football radio play-by-play man Pete Arbogast.

The crime: Arbogast appeared as a guest on Jim "The Poorman" Trenton's "LuvCh@t" online talk show in March, revealing such things as his feelings about the importance of penis size, denying gay sex with broadcast partner Paul McDonald and, in a segment in which his wife and teenaged son were brought in, admitted his favorite sexual position: "Let's just say it's a number." Those were pretty much the tame parts.

The aftermath: Someone who loves to call attention to himself as a coach of youth sports somehow kept his job.

4. 'Fartgate'

The culprit: CBS' golf coverage.

The crime: An Aug. 4, a dual- bylined story on page 3 of USA Today's sports section devoted nine paragraphs to a "controversy" over whether CBS' live microphones caught Tiger Woods passing gas on the 18th fairway at the Buick Open in Warwick Hills, Mich.

The story said that "audible flatulence" cut "through the air," and Google.com had "Tiger Woods fart" as its most-searched video the day before. The PGA Tour had the video removed, citing copyright infringement.

"I can also confirm after consultation with CBS (the noise) was not (made by) Tiger Woods," said PGA Tour communications executive VP Ty Votaw.

The aftermath: In that same issue, USA Today devoted nearly the same amount of space to stories about how 12 dozen people were injured on a continental Airlines jet because of apparent turbulence, and how Bank of America was fined $33 million for lying to investors.

5. A-Rod isn't camera shy

The culprit: Fox's baseball coverage.

The crime: On Halloween Night, during the fourth inning of World Series Game 3, a ball hit by Alex Rodriguez down the right-field line at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Ballpark landed awkwardly.

The Yankee star was given a double, but wondered if the ball actually went over the fence and came back on the field.

"The ball hit something hard, solid," right-field ump Jeff Nelson said. "In my judgment, it was the top of the fence."

Wrong. The ball hit the lens of a Fox TV camera hanging over and onto the field of play. Meaning, TV caused TV's first boundary replay in World Series history.

The aftermath: Although the camera was moved back 6 inches for Game 4, Phillies fans festered over the fact their team's 3-0 lead became 3-2 (in an eventual 8-5 loss) because of A-Rod's HR.

"We were getting ready to catch it, and I'm telling you if that camera wasn't there, it would have hit the fence for a double," said Steven Johnson of Lansdown, Pa., seated in the front row in right field.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated wrote: "SI.com tried to confirm whether Fox's camera was invited to the Yankees' championship parade but was unable to do so at press time."

6. Regifting a column idea

The culprit: Rick Reilly.

The crime: The rebranded ESPN magazine scribe posted a column in April: "Make Me MLB Commish," writing about things he'd change for the betterment of the game.

If it sounded familiar, it was. Deadspin.com did a simple check of SIVault.com and found that Reilly wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated in 2003 called "Baseball My Way." It then showed, item by item, how five suggestions were nearly cut and pasted from one version to the other, with slightly updated cultural references.

The aftermath: In September, Orange County Register columnist Mark Whicker drew amazing backlash for a column he wrote that used Jaycee Dugard — kidnapped at age 11 in 1991 and held hostage until she was found in August — to frame a list of notable sports occurrences over the past 18 years "that she missed."

One blogger described the piece as "astonishingly tasteless" and another said it was the "single worst piece of sports journalism ever committed to the page." Deadspin.com again checked and found a very similar Whicker column from 1991, focused on what journalist Terry Anderson must have missed in sports after he was freed from seven years of captivity in Lebanon.

"I don't think I'll be writing about kidnapping victims anytime soon," Whicker said in a story posted by Poynter.org.

7. Pimp a new column idea, kill a career

The culprit: New Hampshire Union-Leader sports reporter Kevin Provencher.

The crimes: The 50-year-old, four-time New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year honoree was suspended from his paper, where he'd been the past 23 years, after he was charged with helping other men score in a prostitution ring he was accused of running out of hotels in two states and Canada.

Provencher pleaded not guilty to hiring two women through a Craigslist.com posting for an escort service.

The aftermath: Sportswriters' resourcefulness for added income was hardly limited. In February, 48-year-old Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press sports columnist David Mayo and his wife were charged with having 71 marijuana plants and 32 ounces of pot in canning jars at their home. Back in court in June, he demanded a trial, and admitted that he had since got a job at a local steakhouse because his career at the paper was most likely over.

8. A flagrant foulmouth

The culprit: Peter Vecsey.

The crime: The New York Post columnist, inducted into the media wing of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September, took the podium to accept the honor and proceeded to ... well ... Author Jeff Pearlman, who witnessed it, explained on his blog how this 30-minute rant (well beyond the 5- to 10-minute speeches others gave) played out: "He seemed to have no notes. No thoughts. No ... nothing. He began not by expressing his appreciation, but by rattling off all the shunned players he believed belonged in the Hall. From there, he just ... babbled. ... He used language one doesn't use in a Hall speech. I was sitting about 10 feet from (commissioner) David Stern, who dismissively shook his head while checking his Blackberry. (Michael) Jordan, the star of the weekend, walked out. ... Man, it was sooooo bad. I almost felt sorry for Peter Vecsey. Almost."

The aftermath: The 92-minute clip was posted on YouTube. A comment posted by "JSmith25631": "Why couldn't Kanye West take Peter's microphone and say we will see Beyonce's video instead?"

9. Truths and Lyons

The culprit: Steve Lyons.

The crime: The Dodgers' TV analyst wrote a book in April called "The Psycho 100: Baseball's Most Outrageous Moments." A synopsis from Barnes & Noble: "After researching the craziest moments in baseball history Steve "Phycho" (sic) Lyons invites you to debate the wacky and heroic moments." In the very first chapter, the first event that he rates — a 9.7 on a scale of 1-to-10 — is something he calls "Psycho Becomes a Household Name." It was when he dropped his pants to shake out dirt after sliding into first base during a game he played for the Chicago WhiteSox.

Psychotically, rarely anything else in the book eclipses that 9.7 rating. Not Babe Ruth's "called shot" (9.2), or George Brett and the pine-tar bat (9.0). Randy Johnson kills a bird with a pitch but only gets an 8.9 from the judge. And Pedro Martinez body slamming Don Zimmer — just a 7.9.

The aftermath: In the latest Amazon.com sales ranking, the book was listed at No. 830,968, without a customer review.

10. Down for the count

The culprit: Thom Brennamen and Charles Davis, Fox college football broadcasting crew.

The crime: In the Jan. 7 BCS title game between Florida and Oklahoma, the two confused viewers in the second quarter over how many downs there were on an Oklahoma drive.

The Sooners had it second- and-goal from the 4-yard line when Brennamen said tailback Chris Brown, "on third and goal," came up "just short." As both he and Davis thought the next play was fourth down, Davis encouraged Oklahoma to go for it. A Fox graphic on the screen showed it was third down. Brown ran again. "(He) did not get there!" Brennamen exclaimed after a rush for no gain. "A huge stop for the Gator defense on fourth and goal!"

Uh, it was just third down.

What must he have thought when Oklahoma lined up for a fifth-down rushing attempt? Before Brown's 2-yard loss, Brennamen and Davis figured out they were out of sync and apologized.

The aftermath: Brennamen was also roasted for his infatuation during the game with supposedly infallible Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. "I am absolutely sure (it) violates the anti-stalking statues in at least five states," wrote Slate.com columnist Charles P. Pierce of Brennamen's comments.

Brennamen has been assigned by Fox to do the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl with Brian Billick; Davis is on the Jan. 5 Orange Bowl with Dick Stockton. ABC has the Jan.7, 2010 national title game from the Rose Bowl.

11. A racier Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction

The culprit: Comcast Cable in Tucson, Ariz.

The crime: Three minutes were left in the Feb. 1 Super Bowl when Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald finished off a long touchdown catch that seemed to be the climax of the Cardinals' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Not so fast. Viewers in Tucson, Ariz., saw their screens freeze up, followed by a 30-second clip of a porn movie from the Club Jenna channel, where a woman unzipped a man's pants and exposed more than his tight end.

The aftermath: The FCC said it wasn't aware of any formal complaints about the clip.

Comcast called it "an isolated malicious act" and gave customers a $10 refund.

12. A teaching moment gone stupid

The culprit: Fox Sports Net/Prime Ticket and the Los Angeles Times.

The crime: A single e-mail by a miffed viewer got ClippersTV broadcasters Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith suspended for one game last week. During garbage time of another Clipper blowout against Memphis, the two had some guffaws at the expense of Grizzles backup center Hamed Haddadi, the only Iranian player in the NBA. The L.A. Times, meanwhile, reported the news the next day by splashing it across more than half its front page as if an international incident had just taken place.

The aftermath: Maybe had Lawler and Smith been booked on a DUI —a feat FSN West Lakers studio analyst Norm Nixon pulled off in March but was allowed to continue his TV job throughout the playoffs — the punishment would have been less severe. At least Lawler and Smith weren't callously fired days before Thanksgiving, as were Angels' FSN West broadcasters Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler.

More "Dubious Dozen" candidates from 2009, plus media notes on the blog: www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth