OT: Athletes you dislike...?
Given the general grumpiness about Tebow, Izzo, Duke, and any of the other punching bags around this here website, I figured I'd start a thread about athletes you genuinely dislike. You know, the guys you just cant root for...not matter what!
As far as criteria are concerned, have fun ... you don't need to have a reason, and the hatred can be of team, player, or anything about them. All I care about is who really makes your blood boil.
I'll start the thread off with some of my picks:
NBA: Rajon Rondo
NFL: Terrelle Owens
MLB: A.J. Pierzynski
NCAA F: Terelle Pryor
NCAA B: Luke Harangody
Now, I'll sit back in my canoe and let this thread steer itself...
I'll start the thread off with some of my p(r)icks.
Mark Dantonio (not an athlete).
Ozzie Guillen (also not an athlete).
Tiger Woods.
Josh Beckett.
Chris Pronger
Claude Lemieux
Patrick Roy
Sidney Crosby
Patrick Kane with his stupid mouthpiece dangling
Sometimes I think I am the only one who liked Claude Lemieux.
There was the turtle, but he fought McCarty straight up, at the drop of the puck, the next game.
The thing I always liked about him, however, was that he did something every shift he was out there. Goal, assist, draw a penalty, get a penalty, start a fight. He could change the tempo of a game every shift.
I want a guy like that on my team.
Do you remember his hit on Draper?
Yes. It's professional hockey. The hit on Draper was very ugly, but dirty hits happen. That's why there are enforcers, and Claude got his for the hit.
Even Gordy Howe played dirty, but I'd want him on my team as well.
First of all, it's Gordie Howe. Secondly, how many times did you see him play? If Gordie had a problem, he would handle it like a man, not with a pansy hit-and-run sucker-punch. You do remember the sucker-punch Claude delivered to Kozlov a couple nights before the Draper hit, right? Or how about the sucker-punch he delivered while sitting on the bench to Brett Lindros.
Dirty hits may be part of the game, but what set the Lemiuex/Draper hit apart was the obvious premeditated intent to injure on Claudes part.
He was an assclown... but you don't have to take my word for it, just ask the NHL players of that era who consistently voted him the dirtiest player in the league.
Sometimes I think I am the only one who liked Claude Lemieux.only sometimes?
I don't live in Michigan, which is where most of the Lemieux hatred begins. However, everything that I read about hockey comes out of Michigan. Indianapolis doesn't have too much hockey coverage.
Everyone that has ever been involved with the athletic departments of Ohio State, Michigan State and Notre Dame.
You know that includes Bo right?
Bo worked as a spy at OSU. Nothing more.
Thank you. He successfully infiltrated them and then converted to the light side and became the greatest person to ever live.
Sorry, but you've got to be true to your coach. I graduated in '07 so Lloyd is my coach.
Now my mother, an '80 grad would knock my teeth out if she caught me saying that....
I'm sorry, but you have to exclude Chris Spielman, Ryan Miller, and the 2007 version of Jimmy Clausen from this list.
Redemption is possible for a select few.
You're an idiot.
NFL: Brett Favre
NCAA F: (Insert any Buckeye's name here)
Justin Boren
Boren counts as an athlete?
Kobe Bryant.
Everyone who has ever played for Dook* basketball in my lifetime save Grant Hill.
Miguel Cotto.
Frank Mir.
In the not an athlete category...
Mike Shachefski.
Lane Kiffin.
Urban Meyer.
Is that seriously how you spell Krzyzewski?
That Golden Haired Fairy Jimmy Clausen
I absolutely detest Justin Boren. In the MLB, Manny Ramierez(sp?) and Grady Sizemore, one is a former Indian the other is a current Indian. Coincidence, I think not. Also I do not like every current NBA player.
Kobe Bryant
Pacman Jones
Tony Romo
Bill Belichick (not an athlete)
Chris Pronger
Ryan Getzlaf
Sidney Crosby
Gary Bettman (another non-athlete)
I don't know if any of you have ever seen Hockey Night in Canada's Ron Maclean and some of his interviews with little Bettman, but good ol Ron makes him squirm with tough questions every time! The NHL needs him to go, he is a total disaster.
Peyton Manning. The best quarterback ever when it doesn't matter.
Well he's no Tom Brady if that's what you're implying.
He's no Charles Woodson either.
Dan Marino is embarrassed to point out that you're wrong.
One of my life long goals is to somehow give Carlos Quentin (Chicago White Sox) AIDS. If anyone can help out with this quest, your diligence will be rewarded!
Other honorable mention hates besides anyone from OSU...
Claude and Mario Lemeuix
Sidney Crosby and Malkin
Tony Romo
Brett Favre
Any WR the Lions trade for (all epic fails)
Roy Williams
Tony Parker
and...Mark Kotsay. Seriously google image search Jamie Kotsay. I am burning with jealousy.
AIDS? Just a joke? Be careful.
Agree re: Jamie Kotsay. Wow.
Most hated athlete EVER is David Boston....which in turn makes my favorite Wolverine, Marcus Ray.
And not because I am a Cubs fan. Because a few years ago Maddux dominated him and Pujols stopped the game three damn times and whined to the umpire saying Maddux was scuffing the ball. It seems every time I see him play now if something doesn't go his way he whines like a little bitch. I still respect him though, hell of a ballplayer.
Agree on A.J. Pierzynski, biggest douchebag in baseball.
Kordell Stewart.
David Boston.
Ty Cobb --- Fuck that guy!
Leon from the Budweiser commercials, and their horses who try to play sports (Leave the football to us clydesdales!!!)
I know the guy who created Leon. You'd hate him, too.
Love Ty Cobb
NBA- Ron Artest
MLB- Milton Bradley
NHL- Mike Commodore
NFL- Brandon Marshall
My NCAA hate is usually spread to entire teams more then just individually players and depending on if Michigan beat them recently or not.
First off, pretty much anyone from ND/OSU/Duke, or the Avalanche/Canucks, but this list of scumbags stick out for me:
Claude Lemieux - explanation not needed
Adam Foote - "
Patrick Roy - have there been many nights great for a Wing fan than the Game 7 shellacking of that arrogant prick back in 02?
Derian Hatcher - both for his cheap play against the wings, and his garbage play for them
David Boston
Golden Tate
Jimmy Clausen
Ryan Kesler
Alex Burrows
Maurice Clarett
I witnessed Ryan Kesler crying in a2 this past summer.
Lance Berkman.
Cheating, crying, whining - one of the best Onion pieces ever was when they wrote about Bonds's desire to win a World Series title without any teammates. One of the most selfish, arrogant, annoying asshole athletes ever.
Additionally, it's not surprising that a lefty hitter isn't afraid of being pitched inside when he is allowed to strap a Sherman tank to his right arm. All he was missing was the Terry Steinbach jawflap for complete invincibility.
Outside of Jeff Kent, who was considered a shitty teammate from a member of basically every team he played for, there is more positive than negative when it comes to Bonds as a teammate. I remember Barry Zito calling him the greatest teammate he ever had.
Hate on him all you want for the roids issue, but I think the media did a pretty good job of destroying his image because he didn't like to do interviews and kept to himself in the locker room.
but I think it speaks volumes about Bonds that:
a) the year after his time with the Giants/career ended, almost all traces of his time at PacBell were wiped away. Usually franchises celebrate their stars long after they are gone, or at least try to continue to profit from them.
b) not one team, not one, would take on Bonds when he still wanted to play. He would've been better than Jack Cust at DH and had as established a fan base in the Bay area as anywhere else, but Oakland didn't even make a run at him. And they were desperate for power.
If your franchise wishes you never happened and nobody else will sign you, that says a lot about your relatively high carcinogenic potential in a clubhouse.
was probably the worst teammate in history. Hell of a player, not so good teammate.
Both issues you bring up are steroid/PR related, not because the guy was a bad teammate. It's not as if teams were lining up to signing him, but stopped when thinking of what kind of teammate he was. They didn't want the media circus that would ensue after he came back from the steroid scandal. Note that I am not a Bonds fan, but find myself becoming a defender of his more and more often. It's my belief he was blackballed out of the game. For two years, he offered to play for the league minimum and was never even offered a contract. This is arguably the greatest player in history* offering to play for next to nothing, with numerous contenders at the time (NYY, DET) needing DH help. Nothing. Notta. As important as wins are (and how much money they make you), it's beyond explanation that he was never given a contract. He was a convenient fall guy for the steroid era, and subsequently became it.
*- Everyone seems to forget that tons of players in the era were on some sort of steroid (hitters AND pitchers). Were his numbers inflated? Of course they were. But in a relative sense, he was so much better than everyone else who was on the juice that he still should be in the argument for best player ever.
Didn't that Jeff Pearlman book chronicle his use of his girlfriend as a punching bag, including threats of death?
If so, that sucks and he is a bad person off the field. On the field though, his reputation as a teammate has always been relatively positive outside of his relationship with Kent, who as I said was an awful teammate at best.
Michael Jordan
I hated how Stern always made the association cater to him all the time. I hated seeing that Damn like Mike commercial. Last but not least, I hate that he got away with shoving Russel and winning the Title!!!
the athletes are ridiculous, but the league itself is sports entertainment in my opinion however. Give me college b-ball any day.
That was no shove. Jordan was awesome, the best complete player ever. I loved the "Be Like Mike" commercials too.