Chickens aren't scared

Since teams are walking San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds so often, the club has started handing out rubber chickens to shake at terror-stricken pitchers who issue Bonds the intentional walk. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a column about this, and I still can't decide which part of the story is funnier. Here are the two options:

1) By the sixth paragraph, the columnist actually feels the need to, like a political story, give both sides of the story. So what does he do? He finds some people to challenge the notion that chickens are chicken. Can you imagine the editor? "Uh, Tom, this story is great. I especially liked the way you balanced it out and didn't bias it against chickens. Good jorb."

2) The people he finds to defend the honor of the fowl do so with such gusto it's amazing. Are chickens really chicken? "They certainly are not,'' UC Davis professor Francine Bradley told the Chronicle in defense of her feathered friends. "Your question pushes my button of irritation because we hear this all the time. As a poultry scientist, it disturbs me greatly. Chickens are known for their bravery and tenacity."

Chicken: brave and tenacious. UC Davis poultry science department: chicken about chickens.