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Talk sports, pop culture and more with SI.com's Jimmy Traina.10/18/2006 09:50:00 AM Best Meltdowns
What in the name of Mariah Carey is going on around here? Has this been the week of meltdowns or what?
It started last Friday, when Albert Pujols decided that seven innings of shutout ball from Tom Glavine against St. Louis wasn't impressive. Pujols, whom most in the media seem to love because they assume he hits a lot of home runs without the benefit of steroids, tarnished his image by saying of the veteran left-hander, "He wasn't good. He wasn't good at all." John Harper of the New York Daily News also revealed that Pujols' star is beginning to tarnish among some of the folks who cover the Cardinals.
Then on Saturday, news broke that Fox had fired baseball analyst Steve Lyons for making a "racially insensitive comment." Lyons apparently mocked fellow broadcaster Lou Piniella, who was speaking Spanish during Game 3 of the A's-Tiger series.
(Total aside here, but it needs to be said: I thought Joe Buck sounded like a complete idiot when he went crazy over Randy Moss' fake moon to the Green Bay crowd a couple of years ago. And this Lyons incident strikes me the same way. Fox and people who work for Fox have no credibility when it comes to political correctness, good taste or telling people what's right and wrong. This is a network that aired a show called The Littlest Groom. It aired The Swan. It aired Who's Your Daddy? And the newspaper owned by Fox suffered something much more serious than a meltdown by publishing this cartoon after Cory Lidle's death.)
Back to the crazy week that was. A few hours after Fox canned Lyons, all hell broke loose during the Miami-Florida International game. This lead to Hurricanes analyst Lamar Thomas acting like a kid on Christmas morning because there was a massive brawl taking place.
Then on Monday, after a stunning collapse by his Arizona Cardinals, Dennis Green went bonkers in his postgame news conference (warning: that link is the unbleeped version), treating his poor podium like a punching bag.
While some of these meltdowns are more serious than others, the bottom line is that sports fans love them. People can't embarrass themselves enough. The more a sports figure flips out, the better. It may not be the right thing to say, but we love to analyze and discuss meltdowns almost as much as we love to analyze and discuss games.
So what are some of the better meltdowns in recent years? Here are 10 of my favorites. Send me yours when you're done reading my list.
1. Lee Elia's infamous tirade against Cubs fans has to top the list. (Warning: link contains cursing -- lots of cursing.)
2. Bobby Knight has a bunch, but I'm partial to him flinging a chair across the court.
3. I also loved Temple coach John Chaney telling UMass' John Calipari that he'd kill him.
4. Jim Mora had a classic meltdown with his "Playoffs. You're talking about the playoffs?" rant.
5. Anyone remember when Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld told referee Don Koharski to have another donut?
6. Few managers can go crazy when arguing calls like Piniella. And we're sure Lou will have many more classic meltdowns now that he has agreed to manage a team that hasn't won a World Series in 98 years. Still, it'll be hard for even Sweet Lou to top this performance.
7. This minor league manager, though, tried to give Lou a run for his money last season.
8. Unfortunately there's no YouTube clip of it, but another classic meltdown that caused quite a stir was Roger Clemens' flinging a bat in Mike Piazza's direction. Obviously this was a dangerous act, but it was so bizarre and surreal that it stands out in most baseball fans' memories.
9. Two words: Woody Hayes.
10. A more recent meltdown came courtesy of a Michigan State radio host who went bonkers after the Spartans collapsed against Notre Dame last month. Search this blog for the audio clip.
There are thousands more meltdowns that have taken place in sports. What are you favorites?Comments:
One of my personal favorites has to be when Lloyd McLendon, then manager of the Pirates, walked off with the base during a game. That was priceless.Personally, I've always been partial to Jim Mora's "we couldn't do diddly-poo" rant and Bobby Knight's "game face" press conference. Although with Knight, you probably have about 100 to choose from.How about Hal McRae throwing a telephone against the wall in full view of TV cameras?Ryan Leaf and his embarassing postgame locker room tantrum against a reporter. Yet another shining moment in his legacy.No mention of McEnroe. You CAN"T BE SERIOUS!!!!How is possible you didn't include a Tommy Lasorda meltdown. The Kingman tirade, the Doug Rau confrontation, during the world series meltdown no less, and the Curt Bevaqua invitation all could be in the top ten. Tommy was one of a kind.We ain't talkin' 'bout the game, man. We talkin' 'bout practice. Not the game, man. Practice. We talkin' 'bout practice.
(Repeat 4x)
-AIWhere's Hal McRae busting up his office after a Q&A session?Geroge Brett charging out of the dug-out over his bat incident.Jim Mora after fans cheered an injury to Wade Wilson in Saints vs. Giants.
Something along the lines of "there are some sick sick sick people out there, sick in the head. I thought it was disgusting, I thought it was shameful..."Joaquin Andujar attacking a toilet in the clubhouse during the 1985 World Series?What about George Burns for the Vikings AFTER A WIN no less. You want a profanity laden tirade this has to be near the top.How about a Bob Knight top ten, ok, maybe to do Knight justice you need to give him 20. But what, no George Brett, from calm to a total screaming sprint before the umps arm dropped.Hal McRae hands down number one. (but I loved the McEnroe post earlier!)Bob Knights "Who's your daddy" rant after losing at Northwestern was a classic.Jim Everett on Jim Rome's show.any Phillies fan will remember the time Tommy Lasorda beat up the Phillie Phanatic.
there was a manequin dressed in a lasorda jersey, and the phanatic would drive over him with his scooter. this had happened quite a few times, then Tommy got angry with it and beat up the Phanatic.How about the Americans in any of the last few Ryder Cups?I once read about - I believe it was Whitey Herzog, but not sure - who was taking questions from callers or readers and completely lost control. He ranted about how stupid the questions were. After a question from a female fan, he said the only thing she should be asking is where she's going to get her next "man organ". I've searched for the audio clip or a transcript and haven't been able to find it anywhere.What about the time Buddy Ryan slapped his offensive coordinator (can't remember his name) in the face on the sidelines during a Houston Oilers game.Two words: Ron Artest!!Jim Fassel's playoff guarantee. A meltdown that sprung the Giants to the Super Bowl. They never lost again until the big game!How 'bout Craig MacTavish ripping the tongue out of the Calgary Flames mascot? Good stuff!for me, it gets no better than the msu guy a couple weeks ago. that was just priceless. jim mora and the whole "diddly poo" thing was good too.I don't know if this fits your definition of a meltdown but the Mike Tyson ear biting incident deserves at least an honorable mention.tommy lasorda in the lockerroom after a reporter asked him about Dave Kingman's 4 HR performance against the DodgersOk, I just posted the Whitey Herzog post - it turns out it was Earl Weaver on a call-in bit. It only last 1:48 but it's a complete meltdown on par with Lee Elia, if not worse. It's unbelievable. I can't believe I found it. I'll post a link to the audio clip in a subsequent post (not sure it will pass the blog admin).Here's the Earl Weaver link: http://www.paulkatcher.com/020630.shtmlwhat about lou and dibble in the reds locker room?How about Jim Everett's meltdown when Jim Rome kept calling him Chrissy?
Man, I love YouTube...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wO4J-F9WcF0How about Tyson biting Holyfield's ear off? Or Robert Alomar spitting on umpire John Hirschbeck or Milton Bradley spitting gum at an umpire?Julian Tavarez breaking his pitching hand on the bullpen phone in 2004Kenny Rogers assaulting a Dallas cameraman while on tape was pretty memorable. Of course now he uses his emotions for Detroit and its working out pretty good ... so far.Sprewell choking Carlisimo.Another one for Bobby Knight: halftime of the ballgame against Purdue. How'd they ever get audio of Bobby Knight at halftime? We should probably thank some fearless college aged kid for putting his life on the line.Allen Iverson - Practice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzIEarl Weaver's best meltdown was caught on tape by someone but rarely shown to the public. He was protesting an out call at first base and he was doing his usual arguing until he made the comment to the ump that the people don't pay to see him work, they pay to see the players. The ump started giving Earl a little grief when Earl claimed he would be in the Hall of Fame one day and the ump wouldn't. The response from the ump was, verbatim: "What are they going to put you in the Hall for Earl? F'ing up World Series?" Earl nearly burst a blood vessel when he went after that ump. He had to be restrained by several coaches.The coach Buddy Ryan Slapped was Jeff Fisher (current Titans Coach) One other point, for those who nominate Mike Tyson for his ear chomping incident, Tyson has to be categorized seperately as his meltdown began after Buster Douglas' KO against Iron Mike in Japan and has continued thru the present (fighting a woman, telling a guy he will eat his kids, ect.) Mike Tyson is in a class by himself, and cannot be included in this discussion.A classic press conference has to be the Rick Pitino as Celtics coach one where he said "Larry Bird ain't walking through that door. Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish ain't walking through that door. All the negativity in this town sucks!"Jim Boeheim and the Big East Tournamnet unloading on local Syracuse papers and Big East Assistant Coaches for calling Gerry McNamara "overrated"There was a classic manager/ump confrontation this past season involving Jim Leyland. He came out to argue with an umpire during the middle of the seventh inning and was giving the guy his absolute best until "God Bless America" started playing. Both Leyland and the ump respectfully removed their hats and covered their hearts until the song finished and Leyland then resumed his tirade.
Also, to the 1:32 comment...it was Kevin Kilbride that Buddy Ryan went after, not Jeff Fisher.Actually, the coach Ryan slapped was Kevin Gilbride. And my favorite meltdown has to be the Mike Tyson - Lennox Lewis fiasco during a simple press conference. I'm also a big fan of Iron Mike's taunting of journalists whil grabbing his crotch. What a guy.What about Sam Wyche grabbing the mic and telling the trash weilding fans: "You dont' live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!"
ClassicThe Izzy Alcantra Dropkick-the-catcher-charge-the-mound sequence is pricelessRemember the George Brett 'pine tar' incident? Spittin', swearing, stompin'...HE WAS BANANNACAKES!One guy mentioned the Hal McRae rant. That was sweet. I'd love to find that video because it was a bunch of reports in his office having a press conference. He got irate because they were asking him the same question using different words, he ended up throwing them all out of his office. Also, I can't believe noone has mentioned Mika Ditka's meltdown in New Orleans that ended up being a promo on ESPN for a long time.Good one anonymous. "CHALK FLEW UP, YOU GUYS ARE THE PITS OF THE EARTH". England's favorite son, Johnny Mac has to be on this list, if not in sole possession of 1st place.While coaching Oklahoma Barry Switzer one threw a fit at a post game press conference by anouncing that "we had the game one and the G@%&!damn oficial took it away !" ClassyI guess you have to be from Canada to know about this one - but what about when Tie Domi laced a fan for heckling him in the penalty boxKieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer (teammates for FC Newcastle United) fighting each other DURING a game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYSqwqMw3MTwo Tie Domi related:
The fat-drunken Flyers fan while taunting Domi, falls in and gets pounced on.
The second, during the '03 playoffs, Scott Stevens goes ballistic in the penalty box after watching Domi cheapshot Neidermayer (the poor NHL official in the box makes it priceless, I think he wets himself!)The one menitoned earlier about Jim Leyland arguing first before "God Bless America", then removing his cap, with the umpire doing the same, then continuing right after the song finished wasn't the biggest meltdown, but it was definitely a classic.I don't know if this counts as a melt down but it sure made me laugh. Remember when Texas beat USC for the national championship and Matt Lienart was practically crying the words "the best team didn't win." Hilarious!Bill Callahan's rant at the end of his tenure as Raiders' coach. "We've go to be the dumbest team in America."
Sadder, it still applies to the franchise.what about when mike tyson sang "monster mash" with bobby brown on the jimmy kimmel show? that tops anything tyson has ever done. his finest momentGlenn Anderson on a radio show, and his answer to every question being, "Sex on the beach."Mike Milbury going into the stands at Madison Square Gardern and beating a heckling fan with his shoe.
Here it is from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZD94xhcONgDoes the name Zidane ring a bell?Roseanne... national anthem.a classic during the nhl playoffs was ron hextall going after chris chelios as the game & series were winding down and the announcer saying "and hextall is going bananas"I don't recall the boxers name, but he basically fell apart and sobbed for about 2 rounds and refused to defend himself. The referee became a psychologist and eventually called the fight. It was the ultimate in total meltdown!Kellen Winslow Jr.'s "I'm a F-in' Soldier!" rant was priceless.This is a good Hall of Fame collection just to watch and have fun with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyzTzwTFgcs
but what about the person who can't throw a tirade very well? Anyone remember Dirk this spring/summer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848MEfUEZUsYou can't say meltdown without mentioning Billy Martin. Even as a Sox fan, he had some of the best ones.Mike Milbury coaching for the boston bruins after a loss the the penguins in the playoffs. He chases the refs to their lockerroom and chews them out. "Just another day at the &^%$ office, Dennis!" He drops so many f bombs in while a priest (in full outfit with priest collar) is on camera and has to stand their and listen to it.What about Pinella's first base throwing tirade as manager of the Reds. A couple of weeks later, there was a base throwing contest for the fans to earn prizes for the farthest thrown.Roger Clemens being carried off the field during a 1990 playoff game in Oakland after being ejected by umpire Terry Cooney.How about John McKay while coaching the Bucs, when asked what he thought about the execution of his offensive line?
"I'm in favor ot it"For me, the epitome of 'meltdown' was Larry Holmes' "Rocky Marciano couldn't have carried my jockstrap" press conference. What a way to close out what had been up to then, a sterling career.how about larry robinson and his rant about the friggin sissies in the natinoal hockey league " I can't get my 60 gaols, where's my 60 goals, welcome to the natinaol hockey league" I paraphrased that a little as he also mentioned "When ever my guys get to touched, I'm going to tell them to take a dive".
they also recently ran that ditka meltdown on sportscneter from classic meltdowns, and it was sorta like the drew rosenhause press confernceA couple:
Carl Everett chest bump/helmet slam
C-Webb taking it to the camera
Larry Bowa's bobblehead impression (multiple occurences)
and my favorite (MTV audiences)...I AIN'T WRITING ONE LETTER OF RECCOMENDATION! COME SUNDAY...COME SUNDAY...COME SUNDAY...IT GON BE HELL!How about the game versus the Indians where Earl Weaver was upset with an umpire's call, and, after arguing to no avail, proceeded to the dugout, returned with the rule book, and, after saying something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing here) "since you guys aren't following the rule book, we might as well get rid of it!" He then proceeded to rip it to shreds and throw it all over the infield! It looked like winter had come early.... a classic Weaver!How about Herm Edwards??
"WE play to win the game.........not to lose the game"
pricelessTo all of you who keep referencing Buddy Ryan but can't remember who he slapped...Buddy slapped Kevin Gilbride..for his 'chuck and duck' offense.
Someone even wrote that that it was Jeff Fisher,,Fisher would have kicked his tail.This one goes back a long ways - mid 60's I think - Giants pitcher Juan Marachal using his bat to crack Dodgers catcher John Roseboro on the head!When michael therrien ripped his penguins team after a loss to the oilers for being soft and suggesting his team's goal was "to be the worst defensive teamin the league... and they're doing such a good job." The accent alone was reminisicent of (I think the chracter was denis lemieux) in slapshot... it was really priceless.I gotta put up Ron Gardenhire's "You just want showtime - [that ump} should get knocked on his a--" rant last year. Best part is, after getting caught on radio with this long rant, he proclaims, "I'm going to call Bob Watson about this!"
No, Ron - Bob Watson's gonna be calling YOU.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRVc6Qbiiw -the Roger Clemens vs Mike Piazza beauty
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