Jay Mariotti and the Worst Sportscaster Behavior Ever

It seems that bad behavior is nothing new when it comes to sportscasting, because if you are around athletes enough you can convince yourself that you are allowed the same bad behavior that they exhibit at times.

Jay Mariotti is loud and sometimes obnoxious as a panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, but apparently it wasn't a shtick.

Mariotti was arrested over the weekend following an alleged "domestic incident" with his girlfriend.

The Los Angeles Times  reported that Mariotti and his girlfriend got into a heated argument at a club in Santa Monica.

(Yeah, I said the same thing, Mariotti is still going to clubs? ) Things apparently got worse when they got home and the police arrested him when his girlfriend reportedly had bruises and cuts.

Anyway, there is no excuse for domestic violence so I won't get into the more sordid details.

Here's where he places on the list of sports reporters behaving badly...

10. Bob Ryan and His Mouth

I love Bob Ryan and grew up reading him in Boston.

If you have ever seen him on Around the Horn or PTI, he has a hard time putting words together sometimes. It's probably because as a writer, he can put something down on paper or on a screen, then edit it. When you are doing live TV, there is no rewind button.

Years ago, during a playoff series between the Nets and the Celtics, Ryan made a comment about Jason Kidd's wife being an exhibitionist and how she needed someone to "smack her".

An obvious poor choice of words since Jason Kidd had been charged with domestic violence and later took a plea and counseling while he was married to Joumana.

For his poor choice of words, Ryan was suspended for one month without pay from the Boston Globe and all ESPN shows.

9. Jimmy Snyder and Slaves

One of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries is on Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder. It's a great piece that shows all the sides of a very colorful man.

Unfortunately most younger sports fans know him as the guy who said that black athletes were better than whites because slave owners bred the big women with the big male slaves to have big, black children.

Even with no internet or 24 hour news cycle, the comment got everywhere and pretty much ended his career as an on air sports personality.

8. Sean Salisbury and His Junk

Sean Salisbury had a great thing going with John Clayton a few years ago on ESPN. They were as cantankerous a duo as Kornheiser and Wilbon on PTI.

And Salisbury had his catchphrases that were pretty funny.

And then he suddenly disappeared from the network.

It turns out that he was into pranks and made a "sophomoric mistake" that cost him his cushy analyst job.

Apparently Salisbury took a picture of his privates with his cellphone and showed it to all the co-workers that were at the bar that he was partying at.

Not good.

7. Frank Gifford and His Tabloid Fling

In 1997, a tabloid called the Globe ran pics of Frank Gifford with a flight attendant having an extramarital fling.

It later came out that the Globe paid the woman $75,000 to entice the pro football Hall of Famer into her hotel room where she had a hidden video camera.

Gifford, who was one of the voices of Monday Night Football until the incident,  and discreetly retired soon after.

6. Steve Phillips and His Production Assistant

Maybe it's a sign of the times and evidence of how cynical sports fans have become.

When word came out that ESPN would suspend and then eventually fire Steve Phillips for his affair with a 22 year old production assistant, I remember reading just as many comments about how the young lady lookedas I did the actual sordid affair.

And also as a sign of the times, Phillips ran immediately to sex addiction recovery classes when the story came out. It's not that he made a really bad decision, it was an illness.

5. Jim Gray Threatens Cory Pavin

Apparently if you give Jim Gray a scoop, you better stick by it, or else.

The story is pretty recent but I'll recap it. Ryder cup Captain Corey Pavin said Jim Gray misquoted him when Gray reported that Tiger Woods was definitely getting a "Captain's pick" for a Ryder Cup spot.

This didn't sit well with Gray.

Gray waited for Pavin after a press conference, pointed in his face while calling him a liar and saying "you're going down".

Seriously.  Who knew Jim Gray was a thug?

4. Chris Berman Rant Is Leaked

Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 14: ESPN talent Chris Berman speaks backstage during the 2010 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 14, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images for ESPY)

Before this rant, Chris Berman was known as the guy who gave cool nicknames to football players and made funny noises while giving NFL and MLB highlights.

Then this gave you a great behind the scenes look at what life is like at ESPN.

I couldn't upload it here because he has a potty mouth. But click the link at your own risk.

There are a few others as well.

(Again, I caution, the link is NSFW for sound).

3. Pat O'Brien Leaves a Message

In 2005, due to his admitted abuse of drugs and alcohol Pat O'Brien left a series of voice mail messages to an unnamed woman filled with sexually graphic language.

He soon entered rehab once the voice messages hit the internet for everyone to hear.

(Again, I would link them here, but then I would get banned).

O'Brien, a long time sports and entertainment reporter, is said to be making a comeback after taking some time off after the incident.

2. Jay Mariotti Has a Domestic Incident

The details still remain sketchy on Jay Mariotti's felony arrest for domestic violence over the weekend, so we can't put him at number one.

But how ironic is it that he is constantly judging and making snide remarks about athletes and their behavior when he is screaming at the top of his lungs on Around the Horn and now he'll be judged by the internet and media.

I don't wish ill of anyone, but it will be interesting to see what he says when given a chance to speak about this in the near future.

1. Marv Albert Likes to Have Fun

Charges that Marv Albert had forced his long time lover into  sex were bad enough. But the details have become legendary...

There was cross-dressing, back biting, garters, hairpieces. And all that was on Marv.

And none of this was rumor. This was all testimony in court. He was allegedly wearing women's underwear and a garter belt as he tried to bite a woman on the back.

What's even more shocking is that we have moved past all of that and Marv is back to being the "voice of the Knicks".

As Don King would say, only in America.