ODB of olddirtyblog.org posted this on the AOL NBA Fanhouse, directed to blogger Marcel Mutoni:
Me:
“PV –
Barkley and Smith took the fight lightly because
1. That’s what they do.
2. They played the sport and understand it. You don’t.
TNT’s is the best pre/post-game show in sport because you have
entertaining experts giving true insights. Charles and Kenny’s brawl
coverage reminded me that NBA players are intense competitors and that
fights happen. It’s not a disgrace to the game, it’s part of the game.
My experience in sport has involved fights and yet I’ve never come as
close to playing with as much on the line as these guys. And I won’t
even get into how ridiculous the rest of the media’s reaction to
fights in the NBA is in comparison to their reaction of the same or
worse in other sports.My favorite sports commentators are insightful entertainers, not
righteous moralizers – you are definitely not one of my favorites.”Vecsey:
“Judging by your response it only confirms what level of IQ Barkley and Smith appeal to; I have no doubt you learn plenty from them. Just as I have no doubt you’re part of Stephen A-Hole’s studio audience”
This isn’t about the issue of Vescey’s overreaction to the Knicks/Nuggets fight (he’s a New York sportswriter; the overreaction is expected). This isn’t even about the fact that Vescey continues his pathetic bitterness at those who work for TNT (the network dumped him in favor of the infinitely more entertaining and insightful Charles Barkley). This is about being enough of an arrogant, classless ass to not only insult an e-mailer’s intelligence, but to drop the ever classy term “A-Hole” in there as well.
Evidently, Vescey doesn’t know how to take the high road. Maybe working for News Corp. long enough has made the high road a distant dot to him; or maybe its the fact that after years of television exposure on NBC and Turner, he now finds himself relegated to NBATV. Maybe its because his sources were always wrong. Who knows? But Vescey showed exactly what level of intelligence and class he has at his disposal, which is very little.
No professional writer responds to criticism that way. If someone calls you out, you either respond with a comment that denigrates that person without having to call them an “A-Hole”, or you ignore the comment entirely. Professional writers and professionals in general don’t get down in the dirt and muck and start slinging it as hard as they can.
Obviously, Vescey is not a professional. But then again, neither are his peers. Vescey is no worse than Skip Bayless — that is, unless one is to count television exposure. Vescey is just one of many unprofessional, uncouth sportswriters who continue to spill their bile and vitriol all over the nation’s newspapers. After all, this is an industry that saw Bob Ryan once voice his desire to smack Jason Kidd’s wife.
