Slow down...

Members of the media -- including Jon and myself at WNBZ -- have been acting like feverish sports writers this week following Doug Hoffman's revelation that he'll remain in the race for New York's 23rd Congressional District, even if he loses to Matt Doheny in a Sept. 14 GOP primary.

Here's what I mean:

When an athlete, perhaps a wide receiver for an NFL team, indicates he's upset about not getting enough touches, the sports media generally takes that to mean the wideout is ticked at his quarterback.

That's when the floodgates open up: the quarterback is bombarded with questions about his relationship with the receiver; the coach fends off questions about team chemistry; and shows like PTI and Around the Horn pump their ratings with non-stop banter about the teams locker room issues.

And then the star wideout gets in front of a camera and clears things up by stating that the issue with his touches was his own problem, and we've all wasted a bunch of time.

Here's what I'm getting at: Doug Hoffman, the Conservative and tea party candidate who squares off with GOP and Independent candidate Matt Doheny in a primary in less than two weeks time, announced this week he'll remain in the race even if he loses the GOP primary.

That announcement prompted the regional media to go into a frenzy, speculating that Owens would now win the race because the two men on the right would cannibalize each other.

I say this: slow the heck down.

For all we know, Hoffman may trounce Doheny on Sept. 14 -- that's what his campaign-funded polls are showing right now, anyway. I don't put much stock into polls financed by a particular candidate -- I'd rather go with Quinnipiac or Siena.

But hey, that's all we've got so far, right?

I suppose that's the nature of the beast, though. It's what the media, specifically those who dabble in commentary and opinion, does best.