Best and Worst of Sports in 2007, Part I
December 29, 2007 by Jodie Lynn Boduch
Filed under Baseball, Football, Sports Rumors
What would the tail end of December be without a handy-dandy list of the year’s best and worst? Here we go, in no particular order:
BEST
Tackle: This one is not only easy, it’s a post-Christmas gift to bloggers and bloggerettes everywhere. NFL official James Quirk pulled down linebacker Nick Barnett of the Green Bay Packers in the December 23 game against the Chicago Bears. Quirk got fined $8,150 for the incident, but at least he got a shout-out from Gossip on Sports.
(Photo by Frank Pollich, Reuters)
Rant, First Place: This distinction goes to none other than Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy. At this point, the only thing worth remembering is that he was upset at a reporter for dissing one of his players. The rant took place in a press con, but the funny stuff came later. One example is this laugh-out-loud phone prank (3m, 09s). (This is YouTube, but it’s audio).
Rant, Second Place: Were it not for the Gundy parodies, this Phillip Wellman tantrum would have taken top honors. Behold, the Mississippi Braves manager in the video seen ’round the Internet (1m, 10s):
Answer to the so-called “Spygate”: Why, New York Jets coach Eric Mangini’s own little filming gig, curiously underplayed when the story broke several weeks ago. Seems Coach Belichick’s long-lost bud videotaped at the Pats’ Gillette Stadium in January 2006 during playoffs. Mangini says the Jets had permission, Belichick pulled a “WTF? News to us,” and the conspiracy theory known as Spygate slipped into the annals of irrelevant “history.”
WORST
Attempt to Mar a Team’s Achievements: Why, the so-called “Spygate,” of course. Did you notice how the whole thing was swept under the rug pretty quickly? Chances are Commissioner Roger Goodell got an NFL, ”guess who’s doing it” equivalent of the Mitchell Report and that was that.
Choke: That would be the New York Yankees in the ALCS versus Cleveland Indians. Apparently Steinbrenner & Co. didn’t think they were getting the best bang for their payroll bucks because they also get the nod for the worst . . .
Example of Throwing Someone Under the Bus: That, too, goes to the Yankees for showing manager Joe Torre the door. This Sox fan doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge what a class act Torre was (and is), and we’re happy to see that he landed on his feet with the Dodgers.
Stay tuned for Part II . . .
