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At yesterday's Television Critics Association press event, ABC honcho Steven McPherson kept his head down, refusing to publicly wallow in the recent success that hit dramas Lost and Desperate Housewives have brought to his network.

"The success of last year, I take that with a grain of salt," McPherson, who formerly ran ABC's sister studio, Touchstone Television, said. "With this job, you're judged on what you did well last week, not last year."

Yeah, yeah perspective perspective humblehumblehumble. You know what? Humble is fucking boring! We know that the TCA's aren't exactly the upfronts, the contest where executives have to plop their engorged members on the table as advertisers stroll by with their tape measures, ruthlessly converting inches to ad dollars. But where's the swagger? Where's the Moonvesian delight in crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentations of the women? In short, where were McPherson's Jeff Zucker jokes? Yes, that's more of Moonves's "thing," but the network TV business is all about stealing each other's ideas. We have to wonder if Stevie Mac has the killer instinct necessary to keep ABC's foot on NBC's throat—and, perhaps more importantly, to keep Moonves from spitballing some "McPherson is my new bitch" material if his hits start to slip in the ratings.