<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Alternet</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Hard times for Hardball?</DIV>By Evan Derkacz Posted on January 4, 2006, Printed on January 5, 2006 <A href="http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/30368/">http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/30368/</A>Apologies for the overlap of these two posts but Abramoff revelations are coming fast and furious; the man was better connected than Jesus.It appears that some of the very newsmen eager to downplay the scandal -- Fox's Tony Snow and Brit Hume and MSNBC's Chris Matthews -- may be more compromised than usual.According to <A href="http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/hardballs-chris-matthews-foxs-tony.html">John Aravosis</A>, one of Abramoff's laundering operations was the nonprofit "Capital Athletic Foundation," which seems to imply that it supports youth athletics. It seems that the Foundation held a 2003 gala (or planned to...) in which, according to the Hollywood Reporter, "Fox News Channel's Tony Snow is master of ceremonies, and Fox's Brit Hume and MSNBC's Chris Matthews are aboard."According to the Washington Post: "...tax and spending records of the Capital Athletic Foundation ...show that less than 1 percent of its revenue has been spent on sports-related programs for youths."It seems that most of it was spent on politicians, pet projects, a failed religious school and an overseas golf trip.So the next time you see Chris Matthews flapping jowls downplaying the Abramoff scandal, well, you get the picture. (<A href="http://americablog.blogspot.com/">Americablog</A>)--> Sign up for <A href="http://www.alternet.org/subscribe.html">Peek in your inbox</A>... every morning! (<A href="http://www.alternet.org/subscribe.html">Go here</A> and check Peek box).Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.© 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. View this story online at: <A href="http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/30368/">http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/30368/</A></BODY></HTML>