Is Steve Phillips' Affair More Controversial Because Brooke Hundley Is Plain?

Anyone who's a Mets fan knows that Steve Phillips is as bad at marriage as he was at being a general manager. So the affair that the former ESPN analyst had with Brooke Hundley, a production assistant at the Worldwide Leader, shouldn't have raised too many eyebrows. But not only is it all over the tabloids, but the various scandal-loving sports blogs -- and their readers -- are eating it up like it's a bowl of mini-Reese's.

Don't get me wrong; the entire affair, from Hundley's stalker-ific antics to the fact that she filed a restraining order against him after harassing his wife, make for an interesting read. But a person has got to wonder if the fascination level has been ratcheted up a notch because Hundley is, shall we say, not your typical hottie?

I'm trying to be diplomatic here. Let's just say that you'd more likely see Hundley at your local sci-fi convention, or on the bar stool next to you, or perhaps playing shortstop on your beer-league softball team than, say, modeling lingerie. On more than one occasion, the paper that broke the story, The New York Post, has referred to Hundley as a "tubby temptress."

Since the unflattering pics of Hundley that one of her "friends" sent to WEEI.com were published, the blogosphere reaction has gone from slight curiosity to full-fledged scandal alert. And while the writers of those blogs are pulling a hamstring trying to restrain themselves from giggling about Phillips' taste in women, the commenters aren't so nice.

"I'd rather have my arm around Jose Molina," said one of the more clever commenters on The Big Lead. Other commenters called Hundley a "pig" and various other unprintable names. The comments on Deadspin were not much kinder: "That girl is no where near good-looking enough to have the right to break up a marriage," was about the kindest thing I read there. WEEI received so many comments about Hundley's looks that it shut comments down on its post.

The question is out there, then, so I might as well ask it: Would you care as much about this fiasco if Hundley was a model or busty waitress instead of being the girl who beat you at beer pong at that party five years ago?