With news coming out that McClatchy has accepted bids for the 12 newspapers that it didn't want to keep in the recent deal to purchase Knight Ridder, people should definitely heed what the WaPo's Robert Kaiser has to say on the subject, writes CyberJournalist's Jonathan Dube. I couldn't agree more.

For those of you concerned about my whereabouts, I assure you that I am still alive and well and keeping the blogging thing alive. This weekend, I was lucky enough to be the co-host for Joe Jaffe's Across the Sound podcast. The show talks about everything from the World Baseball Classic (big loser) to Porsche Cayennes on the Sopranos. So go give it a listen and let us know what you think!

Man, I've taken some funny surveys before, but none come close to the one that Anil Dash points out from a CNN story about the whole Dubai Ports World situation in the U.S. You know, the one that has pretty much ended when the company chose to sell off the assets in the States that it was set to take over. I won't say any more, go check it out for yourself.

Late last night, the WSJ's Joseph Hallinan and Dennis Berman shared details of the expected purchase of Knight Ridder to McClatchy for about $4.5 billion. This morning, the AP's Seth Sutel confirms the deal, according to company sources on both sides.

Outside of Tony Ridder, who heads up K-R, Sutel reports that McClatchy boss Gary Pruitt has said that there would be "no plans for newsroom layoffs."

Corporate mergers tend to change the "feel" of that company, but typically a lot of that is only seen for employees on both sides. When it comes to media mergers, it's something that a lot of the time changes the product itself. If you've seen the McClatchy pubs before, such as the Sacramento Bee, you'd have noticed that it's a very different publication than the Miami Herald, a K-R pub. Will that change, somewhat? Probably. I remember back when my local Asbury Park Press was purchased by Gannett, and how some contacts I had at the paper were reacting, and can see right now how the publication changed since that time. Change and evolution are usually good, but in a time when the print editions of newspapers are having a hard time with (at least) the younger audiences out there, consolidation creates the opportunity for not only larger successes - but larger failures. We'll see how the new McClatchy fares, and wish them good luck.

Over at The Ice Block, David is having a bit of fun with a story from this weekend, when news came out that the New York Islanders had a bit of a problem with the plumbing in the Nassau Mausoleum Coliseum... Needless to say, you should drop by and share your own headline for this - especially if you're a Ranger fan. I mean, what could be more fun than a bunch of crap in the Islanders locker room, right?

Over at Digital Music News, they've got a story (try this if that link doesn't work) about TowerPod, the podcast music network that will offer a significant amount of music to podcasters focused on music. Props to IODA for providing the tunes, and congrats to all parties for making things work out for everyone involved (and looking to be).

You know when you read something and your brain latches on to the most unimportant thing that was written?

Well here is another one of those cases. By my math, Dave is 50. Just thought all of you should know. Happy 50, Dave!

I'm not the only one strangely addicted to NBC's "Deal or No Deal," am I?