MEDIA BLITZ
By John Molori
Sports Illustrated columnist is ‘Rushin’ to some bad judgments
Sometimes it’s easy to see why sports personalities are pushed to the limit by the fickle media. They just can’t win.
Case in point, the February 9, 2004 column by Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin. The piece, entitled “Ennui Shall Overcome,” lamented that this year’s sports champions are boring.
In the course of the column, Rushin chides teams like the Patriots, Devils, Spurs and Marlins for their supposed lack of charisma. Worse, he unfavorably compares these current champs to past, less camera-shy winners.
Rather than the hard-working, three-time Stanley Cup-winning New Jersey Devils, Rushin would prefer Philadelphia’s Broad Street Bullies of the mid-70s. Right. That’s what hockey needs, more goons like famous Philly fighter Dave Schultz. The game isn’t confining enough as it stands right now.
Maybe Rushin would prefer to root for the star-studded New York Rangers. Now, that’s a team with some high profile superstars. They have talent, marquee value, glitz, and oh yeah, one of the worst records in hockey.
This past weekend, ABC’s John Saunders and Barry Melrose called the Rangers the worst team in the NHL. Hey Steve, charisma and a quarter will get you fifteen minutes on a parking meter outside any NHL arena.
In baseball, Rushin longs for the days when the current New York Yankees dominated the game. Thanks but no thanks. The Yankees are a dying dynasty led by an owner who still meddles where he does not belong.
This off-season, George Steinbrenner’s evil ways drove Andy Pettitte, David Wells and Don Zimmer out of New York.
When Zimmer started in baseball, mail was delivered via horseback. He loved New York. Imagine the venom it must have taken to chase him from the Yankees. The next notch in Steinbrenner’s holster will undoubtedly be manager Joe Torre and/or GM Brian Cashman.
Steinbrenner specializes in pushing good people to the brink of insanity. Ask Gene Michael. Ask Dave Winfield. Ask Yogi Berra.
This past Sunday, ESPN’s Buster Olney had a terrific feature on the recent past and immediate future of the Yankees. It ended with a Big Brotheresque shot of Steinbrenner in his Yankee Stadium suite, bellowing over the head of Cashman. Yes sir, these are the kind of champions that make all of us proud.
In basketball, Rushin bristles at the good-natured, team-oriented style of the San Antonio Spurs. He all but dresses up as Jack Nicholson in begging the Lakers to once again take the NBA throne. Sure, we’d love that.
Let’s see. LA has a center whose free throw prowess is almost as bad as his movies and rap recordings, a guard who might be the most talented player in the league when he’s not getting his jollies with teenagers in Colorado and a coach who has solidified his job by nuzzling up to the owner’s daughter.
Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson have nothing on the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Gregg Popovich. Well, that’s not true. The Lakers are mentioned more often on “Entertainment Tonight” and Court TV. Whoopee!!
In addition to his aforementioned free throw deficiencies, O’Neal also dropped an F-bomb and an S-bomb while complaining about NBA officials in a recent post game interview.
Meanwhile, Rushin’s own magazine lauded Duncan and ex-Spur David Robinson as “Sportsmen of the Year” for 2003. For this pair, it’s about community, not controversy. It’s about winning, not whining. It’s about court sense, not court cases. Keep your Hollywood purple and gold, Steve. I’ll take the more distinguished silver and black of San Antonio.
Speaking of silver and black, Rushin writes that he would prefer the iconoclastic Raiders to the current lunch pail Super Bowl champions from New England. Give it up, Steve. The Raiders have had plenty of chances over the past few years.
Two years ago, they were dumped by a literal blizzard of New England determination and last year, they were destroyed by Tampa Bay and Jon Gruden, a coach who was chased from Oakland by the George Steinbrenner of the west, Al Davis.
Let’s just say it. This whole Silver and Black, Commitment to Excellence, Just win, baby! stuff should be relegated to TV Land with the rest of the 70s and 80s reruns. The halfway house that gave us such “role models” as Jack Tatum, Lyle Alzado and John Matuszak closed years ago.
The Raiders haven’t won a Super Bowl since Walter Mondale was presidential timber. When does the statute of limitations run out on self-absorbed drivel?
The current Raider crew is a mish mash of washed up veterans who whine if they don’t catch ten passes a game (Tim Brown and Jerry Rice), aging defenders who should have retired years ago (Rod Woodson and Dana Stubblefield), and a new head coach who is no longer even a great offensive coordinator (Norv Turner). Davis, himself, has spent more time in league litigation than in team administration.
Yes, Mr. Rushin, this is surely the stuff of which heroes are made. So many athletes are justifiably lambasted by the media for being overpaid, irresponsible, selfish and criminal. Rushin chooses to trash a group of teams who are none of these.
It’s easy to see why some athletes refuse to talk to the media. Here’s a toast to all our current champions. They can’t win with Steve Rushin, but they do a terrific job of winning on the field.
Tommy’s points
OK, here’s the disclaimer. Tommy Heinsohn is the most enjoyable and insightful basketball analyst that this area has ever known. His in-game “Tommy Points” have become wildly popular, regularly cited on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” during Celtics highlights.
Moreover, he and his Fox Sports Net partner Mike Gorman make no bones about pulling for the Celtics and accentuating the positive.
They are a great broadcast team with outstanding chemistry. Having said that, I must take issue with Heinsohn’s comments during last week’s Celtics loss to Atlanta at the FleetCenter.
In the latter stages of the contest, newly acquired guard Ricky Davis drove through the lane and tossed up a wild, ill-advised shot that was blocked by Theo Ratliff.
Davis retrieved the ball and once again challenged Ratliff with a shot, not even trying to dish the ball off to a teammate. His second shot was similarly rejected by Ratliff.
In response to the play, Heinsohn praised Davis for making a “great play.” Huh? Heinsohn is clearly trying to shine a positive light on a Celtics team in tough transition. He continued to speak on behalf of this makeshift Celtics roster saying that coach John Carroll had to learn how to “hide” less talented players.
Heinsohn, a latter day Johnny Most, has a tough job. It was easy for Most to laud the talents of the Celtics in the 60s, 70s and 80s. This cobbled together crew presents a challenge. I’ll give Heinsohn one “Tommy Point” for staying positive, but I’ll give him two points if he is a bit more realistic.
Lauding Lynchie
Channel 5 sports anchor Mike Lynch has been named 2003 “Sportscaster of the Year” by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. This is the tenth time Lynch has received the award having won it from 1985-91 and again in 1998 and 1999.
Lynch has been the lead sports anchor at Channel 5 since September 1985. Congrats to a man whose immense success is based on a multitude of talents, not shameless self-promotion.
John Molori’s Media Blitz column is published in The Boston Metro, The Providence Journal, The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, The Lowell Sun, Patriots Football Weekly, BostonSportsMedia.com and MethuenOnline.com. John can be reached via E-mail at JOMOL3@aol.com.
