IMO, Leonidas stepped over the line with the first post about Reiss, and Tim responded fine to that. I think it should have ended there. Leonidas did a running long jump over the line with the second post, and if Tim's patience ran out there, that's fine by me (although I'd prefer it if he stayed around).
I think Tom has it right when he says that Leonidas has legitimate complaints, but the TG thread was no place for them. A "fart in an elevator" is a pretty good way of putting it.
As far as the corporate success of ESPNInsertCityHere, what the hell do you expect? If it sells, keep selling it. Disney is there to make money, and if what they're doing works, more power to them.