Bleacher Report - Articles by Bob Duff

Athletes: They're Just Like Us

Bob Duff — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:15:31 -0400

As a reader of Deadspin and other sports blogs for more than a year, I have learned athletes aren't perfect human beings. Athletes were always known, thanks to the media, as perfect human beings who couldn't do anything wrong.

When I hear that an athlete like Adam "Pacman" Jones is being arrested for "making it rain," or when Matt Leinart goes to parties and drinks like there is no tomorrow, or when Roger Clemens is outed as a steroid user, I have to admit I get happy. This is because I know now that athletes aren't angels sent from above, as cheesy as that sounds.

When I was younger, I idolized athletes because of their talent. I always thought of them as innocent people who are living the dream. Now that I know what athletes do year-round, I am okay with athletes having tarnished images.

In history, even Achilles had a flaw: his heels. Every human being has a flaw, whether it be cheating in the profession, drinking excessively, gambling or drug addiction, bad personality traits, etc. So it makes sense, then, that athletes have their flaws.

Michael Vick may be the fastest quarterback in the world, but he still got caught by the police for dog fighting. Kobe Bryant could sink as many shots as he wants, but he has a terrible and violent personality. Pete Rose may have the most hits in baseball history, but he bet on baseball. Even Michael Jordan, who changed how to market a sport, is a gambling addict. I could go on and on about athlete's flaws, but I think you get the point.

I still idolize athletes, for their dedication to their respective sports, and hope that my favorite players are true to the public, whether it be steroids, gambling or whatever the vice. I just want them to know I forgive them.

Basketball More Like Hockey Than You Think

Bob Duff — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:17:56 -0400

I was going to write an in-depth article about how hockey is far superior to basketball based on certain things I have noticed of the two sports. Then I saw Game Four of the NBA Finals, and I realized that basketball is actually very similar hockey.

Now, most of you reading this might think, "Well duh, Bob. They both have to put a ball or a puck in a goal or a net," but it took me longer to realize the similarities.

I spent more than one year thinking that basketball was the most selfish sport with players like Kobe Bryant (after Shaquille O'Neal), Stephon "Starbury" Marbury, and Allen "The Answer" Iverson (when he was on the Sixers) who were all being whiny A-holes.

This was one of the reasons I watched more hockey than basketball. When I think about it now, the top goal-scorers in hockey are usually the only scorers on their team: like Ovechkin, Rick Nash, and Illya Kovalchuk. Only a few of the players like this are fronting a good team, and the majority of their teams suck.

All of the players I mentioned have to be great in order for their team to win because they are the scoring threats.

Devlis goalie Martin Brodeur and A.I. are the only ones in recent memory who had made the finals without much help from their team. They had to be phenomenal just to be in the playoffs.

Brodeur won a cup even though he had Patrick Elias and Scott Gomez in front of him. He was still the Devils' best player by far.

As for Iverson, he and his team just gave up in the Finals and made it a short series.

I did realize that there were some NBA teams that are team-oriented. The Suns, the Pistons, the Spurs, and the Celtics are a small list of squads in the league who play "team ball."

It makes sense since the Suns have Steve Nash, who is the most unselfish player in the game. The Pistons have Richard Hamiliton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Chauncey Billups. The Spurs have Manu Ginobli, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker. The Celtics have Kevin Garnett, Paul "The Truth" Pierce and Ray "The Dude from 'He Got Game'" Allen.

When one of the superstars go down, it's OK, because these teams have other superstars to fill the void. As a result these teams have playoff success. Their games may be boring to watch at times (except the Suns with their high-octane offense), but the players don't care; they just win.

In hockey, you have to work as a team to score past the opposing defense and its goaltender. In basketball, you have to do more or less the same thing.

The difference is that, for example, Kobe Bryant can just run up without knowing where his teammates are and score. This is what he did when he didn't have a legit scorer, like Shaq or Gasol with him—it's weird putting Shaq and Pau in the same sentence like that. There is a reason that Gasol has that much of an impact on the Lakers.

This is why, in Game Four, I saw so many passes to not just Bryant, but to Gasol, Vujacic, Odom, and many more. They are working as a team to get a better look instead of shooting it themselves.

The Celtics did this, too (in the 2nd half); they kept passing when they were being defended well instead of shooting. This doesn't work all the time, like when they miss a shot or the guy doesn't follow team rules and shoots despite the existence of an open guy, like Sam Cassell.

I have always respected the toughness of hockey players. They go out to hockey games knowing that they will get hit pretty hard, and if they are passionate enough, they get in a fight. Hockey players often have blood on their face and still play.

It's sort of the same in basketball, but to a lesser extent. There are so many fouls and no-foul calls in a game that it takes a toll on a player's body.

Shaq is a perfect example of the effect this has day in and day out. He still gets fouled a lot. Yet, as he gets older, he takes contact more easily because his body can't take the amount of pressure that it is used to.

This is the one advantage hockey has that basketball doesn't, but now I have more respect for basketball players.

There are many more similarities between the two action-packed sports, but that would be too long of an article.

I know that teamwork is big, not just in hockey and basketball, but in baseball and football. I guess I notice teamwork more quickly in other sports than I do for basketball. It probably has to do with the fact that I haven't attended or watched nearly enough games of basketball to fully appreciate the intangibles.

I will still watch the Bruins game when there is a Celtics and Bruins game at the same time, but now I will also check the Celtics game.

By the way, I still think Kobe is an arrogant prick, but less than I used to.

Open-Mic: Is Boston Still Racist?

Bob Duff — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:44:33 -0400

I have lived in Boston all my life and it doesn't seem like a racist city, but when I think about it, the city has gotten better. There must have been a reason why Barry Bonds didn't want to be on the Red Sox, because his godfather Willie Mays said that Boston is a racist place.

There also had to be a reason the Sox were the last team to get a black player. All but two of our most revered players are white: Bobby Orr, Larry Bird, Ted Williams, Phil Esposito, Carl Yastremski, Kevin McHale, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Robert Parish, and Bill Russell. Russel was talking about who he was drawn to: Malcolm X or Martin Luther King.

Russell says, "The white people in Boston liked (Martin Luther King), and so I knew something must be wrong. To me, Boston itself was a flea market of racism. It had all varieties, old and new, and in their most virulent form. The city had corrupt, city-hall-crony racists, brick-throwing, send-'em-back-to-Africa racists, and in the university areas phony radical-chic racists (long before they appeared in New York)."

I never lived when the players I just mentioned were in their prime, so I can't talk about what it was like then. Nevertheless I can talk about racism in present Boston.

Our two most popular Red Sox players are Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

The Celtics have a new big three and they are all black: Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Patriots still have white players who are fan favorites like Tom Brady and Teddy Bruschi, but we also have other fan favorites that are black like Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, and Lawrence Maroney.

The Bruins don't have any black players now, but were the first NHL team to have a black athlete, Willie O'Ree.

Boston has changed considering there are more Boston athletes with prominent roles on their team. So far, none of the Boston athletes have heard racial remarks to them.

Torii Hunter of the Los Angelas Angels, while on the Minnesota Twins, said, “My first five or six (years), I was that 'N word.' Some people would chant that out, some people would throw beer...” .

This came as a shock to Jim Rice, a former Red Sox player who played 15 years in Boston and had a different experience than Bill Russell, he replied back to Torii Hunter's comments by saying, “as for racism, I have never had an experience like that."

I think for a situation to escalate to that level, you have to do something to incite that type of behavior. David Ortiz backed Jim Rice when he said, “Actually, I never really heard of this type of behavior at any of the opposing ballparks that I played at. We always thought Yankee fans would be the worst but they’re just like any place else. Fans are gonna say “you suck” because you hurt their ball club.”

During the many games I have been to whether in Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, and The Garden, I have never heard someone say racial remarks, neither have I made racial remarks. I don't think Boston is racist as it used to be, but from what I heard, it is pretty bad.

When reading Torii Hunter's comments, I have to think maybe we are still racist but just not to our players. I would like to think it's not that way though, I will pay more attention next time to see if anybody makes racial remarks to any opposing player. If they do I will be ashamed to be a fan of Boston sports.