Dead man talking.

Terry Bradshaw is not dead. However, for seven minutes yesterday on Pro Football Talk and elsewhere, it seemed as if he might be.

Courtesy, AwfulAnnouncing:

POSTED 3:13 p.m. EST, January 25, 2007

TERRY BRADSHAW DEAD?

We’re picking up some unconfirmed reports from diverse sources that Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw died in a car accident on Thursday.

We don’t know whether it’s true, and if it is true the world would suddenly be a far less enjoyable place. If anyone knows about this, please drop us a line.

And Terry, if you’re out there, let us know you’re okay.

POSTED 3:20 p.m. EST; UPDATED 4:41 p.m. EST, January 25, 2007

TERRY IS FINE

Whew.

One of our industry sources tells us that the rumors of Terry Bradshaw’s demise are not true. He is alive and well and on vacation.

We’re not sure how the rumor got started, but it has been running rampant today. Apparently, the FOX public relations department had been inundated with calls regarding Bradhaw’s status, even before we posted our first item regarding the rumor.

Two questions become relatively obvious: How did this rumor start? And why not get confirmation before posting?

Pro Football Talk has the answer to the first question:

Per KTBS, rumors that Bradshaw had died of a heart attack swept through Shreveport on Thursday. KSLA says that the rumors emerged in the morning hours.

“One theory as to how the rumor got started,” says KTBS, “was that a local radio station reported a wreck on the Terry Bradshaw Passway — part of the Inner Loop — and that was misunderstood to say Bradshaw had passed away.”

We first caught wind of the rumors shortly after 3:00 p.m., and we quickly learned via an industry source that Bradshaw is vacationing in Mexico. He reportedly is playing golf there with his brother, Gary.

The answer to the second question came in the form of an apology:

[W]e feel the nagging need to apologize … to anyone who was took offense to our decision to post rumors of Terry Bradshaw’s demise before confirming that he is, in fact, not dead.

We got the confirmation within five minutes or so after posting the initial item, and instead of re-working the existing story we wrote a new one. In hindsight, we shouldn’t have written the first item until we got confirmation, given the potential gravity of the item we were posting. And if/when we hear rumors that someone has died in the future, we’ll get an answer before we post it.

For some sportswriters, a mistake of this magnitude at that site could cast a pall over the entire sports blogosphere.

Everybody makes mistakes (you should read our e-mail). This goes beyond a mistake. If you’re “picking up unconfirmed reports from diverse sources,” confirm them before posting them for the world to see.

The site generally is a good one. It’s a fun read and it has broken news stories. If the site wants to be a player, there is a certain level of responsibility that is part of the deal.

Everyone makes mistakes, and PFT still remains one of the most respected sports blogs. However, the decision to run with the Bradshaw story without confirmation was irresponsible at best.