FanHouse A.j.Daulerio

On the day A.J. Daulerio was named Deadspin editor last week, I asked him about a post he wrote at the Super Bowl a year and a half ago in which he described what he read while looking over Stuart Scott's shoulder as Scott sent a text message.

Daulerio said that while he's never heard from Scott about that post, "I heard he was upset, and rightfully so."

However, Scott talked to Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog yesterday, and while Scott said he never reads blogs, he also didn't have anything negative to say about them. Steinberg writes:

I told Scott that A.J. Daulerio, his foil from Super Bowls past, had been named Deadspin editor. Scott wasn't immediately familiar with the name. "Whatever," he said, when I explained who he was. "If that's what he wants to do with his life...."

I can't say I'm a big Scott fan, but he comes across in Steinberg's interview as though he's a reasonable guy in his approach to blogs, not a ranting lunatic. Scott's no Buzz Bissinger.

Although the popular sports blog Deadspin has grown into much more than a one-man show over the last three years, it has always been viewed, first and foremost, as Will Leitch's site.

Until today. Leitch is leaving to become a contributing editor at New York magazine, and Gawker Media has announced that A.J. Daulerio, who had served as the site's senior writer, is taking over the top spot.

It's a busy day for Daulerio, but he took a few minutes to talk to me about how he felt when he got the job, where Deadspin is going, and why he thinks Stuart Scott has every right to hate him.

After weeks of speculation about who would fill the sports blogosphere's highest-profile job, it was confirmed today that A.J. Daulerio will become the site's new editor, replacing the departing Will Leitch.

Clay Travis will be named the site's new associate editor. Current associate editor Rick Chandler will remain in that position.

The hiring of Daulerio was no surprise; as Leitch's right-hand man at Deadspin, he was widely viewed as the favorite to get the job. Daulerio previously ran the blog Oddjack and was a founding editor of The Black Table.

Travis, who writes the popular ClayNation column at CBSSports.com, is more of an outside-the-box selection -- a representative of the mainstream media, not the blogosphere.

UPDATE: Deadspin's official announcement is here.

UPDATE 2: A.J. Daulerio Interview: 'There's Going to Be "Why Deadspin Sucks" Columns All Over the Place'.

Previously on FanHouse:
Who's Next? Odds on Deadspin's New Editor
Leitch Leaves for New York Magazine, but He'd Like to Be Deadspin's Tom Brokaw
Will Leitch Leaving Deadspin