Deadspin didn't enjoy Zuffa's Critique of their Tomfoolery

Seems that Deadspin had some issues with the PR arm of the Zuffa Empire (think stormtroopers in pink with an Italian last name):

As I settled into press row, I couldn't help but reflect upon my recent dealings with the UFC public relations machine, which seems to grow by the day, an indication both of the UFC's unruly expansion and - for a company trafficking in sanctioned brutality - its incredibly thin skin. Things had not gone well. The flacks disapproved of my scribbling and, at one point, suggested I focus more on the action in the cage and less on celebrities tugging pud at urinals. It was apparently deemed gratuitous. I was told I'd made rookie mistakes. I was told, in other words, to get in line. As a pre-condition for granting credentials, an infinitely more accommodating flack nevertheless asked what I "hope[d] to accomplish at UFC 118."

On one hand if you give Deadspin credentials they are going to act like Deadspin. Better to leave them alone because they will run with anything that they can blow up into a page view shit show (see: Daulerio, Super Bowl and Stuart Scott).

But on the other hand this is something that we've witnessed in person and from third hand accounts. Part of it can be explained away as the natural tug and pull behind the scenes. The PR department is constantly trying to get their story out while reporters/journalists/writers are trying to gather bits of information in order to analyze what information is important to disseminate. Yet, there is still a fundamental difference between the modus operandi of Zuffa and the major sports leagues and teams.

For example, Michael David Smith of Fanhouse echoed these sentiments on the Jordan Breen Show last Tuesday. Smith discussed how certain Zuffa policies, say, banning writers and news outlets, is simply unimaginable in PR departments in the mainstream sports leagues.

Then again, other sports don't have to deal with James Toney threatening them in subtitles.