If you believe everything you read — and not even someone who writes for a newspaper would advocate that — then Dale Sveum or Ted Simmons should be managing the Milwaukee Brewers and Ned Yost should be changing tires at some NASCAR track.

But even though there's a vocal segment of Brewers Nation that wants Yost fired, it didn't happen last week after the Brewers were swept in Boston, fell to last place in the National League Central Division and heard young slugger Ryan Braun publicly question the team's attitude.

Of course, the fact that Yost wasn't fired didn't stop some people from reporting it.

Indeed, when the Brewers hit rock bottom last Sunday, Yost and general manager Doug Melvin received a rude initiation into the brave new world of sports media.

Just after 10 p.m. Sunday, a well-known but typically faceless Internet blog called "BadgerBlogger" reported that a source close to the Brewers said Yost would be relieved of his duties Monday and that Simmons would replace him on an interim basis.

At about 5 a.m. Monday, Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, acknowledged the report in his blog on the newspaper's Web site.

Haudricourt, a highly respected reporter, maintained a skeptical tone about the credibility of the blogger but threw the story out for public consumption anyway.

Three hours later, after Haudricourt had talked to "a very reliable club source," he wrote a second blog item shooting down the report of Yost's demise.

The source told Haudricourt he knew of no plans to dismiss Yost, which, of course, proved to be the case. This wasn't the first time a "scoop" proved to be baseless (in any form of media), but the false report created an unfortunate situation that benefitted no one, least of all Yost, who is fighting for his job.

And with Yost's status almost certain to be in question all season, this situation could surface again.

Unfortunately, this was only a local skirmish in a larger war between traditional media such as newspapers and television and newer forms of mostly Internet-driven media such as blogs, message boards, talk radio and house-organ Web sites run by teams and leagues.

In the blogosphere, rumor and speculation can turn into "fact" in the blink of an eye, fostering an anything-goes attitude that confuses subjects and puts members of the traditional media in a bind.

Haudricourt's dilemma was a classic example of that.

He knew little about the non-sports blog that "broke" the story, but he had to decide whether it had merit and whether he should acknowledge it.

If he ignored it, he could be labeled a Yost apologist. If he reported it, he could legitimize the story.

This is a conflict because traditional media outlets operate under long-accepted reporting standards that help safeguard the process of deciphering the truth. Internet bloggers, most of whom are anonymous, have no such rules.

There is little accountability in cyberspace and it has created an out-of-control situation where everyone is trying to one-up everyone else.

In this case, "BadgerBlogger" was primarily at fault because it didn't get the story right. The Journal Sentinel's mistake was that it got caught up in the race and rushed the story onto its Web site before its reporters had the time to check it out themselves. As expected, Yost and Melvin went on the offensive about the report.

Yost called it irresponsible and unfair, saying bloggers and talk-radio hosts pass judgment despite not having all the information.

Melvin said, simply, "I refuse to respond to blogs because anybody can put anything out there."

Good for him, said some people, including those in the traditional media.

However, it's not that cut-and-dried anymore. Newspapers and TV stations are no longer the only voice in the marketplace and they have to realize that.

They can't be stuck in the past because some blogs are witty, insightful and occasionally even break news.

Of course, many others do little more than spread rumors and facilitate trash talk.

Still, a growing number of people, especially younger people, get their information from a variety of sources, including blogs. Newspapers are acknowledging that by getting into blogging themselves.

But sports fans should realize something, too.

At a time when the sources of information are increasing, they need to be more discerning about where they get their information and how credible that source is.

Too often these days, the opposite is true.