Just before GDC, when we were running a wrap-up story on Gamasutra about Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's EverQuest II endorsement deal, our now-ex (aww!) co-worker Nich ran across an old ESPN.com column about Schilling's online travails which we'd forgotten about.

It concerns Schilling giving up two home runs to former teammate and Phillies center fielder Doug Glanville - and the explanation for this 'act of revenge' was a callous slaying by neglect inside EverQuest itself.

According to the piece, the two were teaming up "in Faydwer, in the zone of the Butcherblock Mountains, to kill Aviaks." But when the smackdown came down, Schilling was nowhere to be seen: "He had sent a message to me, saying, 'RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.' But he typed this as he was already a mile away from danger and standing next to the guards that protect him. Needless to say, my lifeless character was now chicken feed."

According to Glanville: "I vowed revenge on the soul of Bingbong... for the negligent actions of Cylc", and he concluded with sage advice: "Not enough attention is paid to the off-the-field motivators that create nasty on-field grudges... I believe video atrocities top the list. Curt Schilling assassinated my lovable Dwarf Paladin in EverQuest, happily smiling as his character stood in the safety of the town guards. That can create serious internal friction... I believe we need to analyze some of the video atrocities committed on PlayStation2 or Dreamcasts, or even the Commodore 64, if we need to go back that far."