Yesterday, the press conference of New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya (pictured) took a surreal turn. After announcing the firing of his vice president of player personnel Tony Bernazard, Minaya suggested that a New York Daily News reporter who wrote many stories critical of the fired executive's behavior was actually angling for his job. Since this is the 2009 Mets we're talking about, this seems par for the course, but if we place this incident in the larger context of bizarre and awkward sports press conferences, would it even break the top five?
You be the judge.
#5 Dennis Green: Arizona Cardinals
Before the Cardinals lost to the Bears, we thought we knew what a press conference meltdown looked like. Then Cardinals' Green forced us to reevaluate what we thought they were. Pretty much what they are. Wait, What?
#4 Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State football
It's rare that a coach ranting at the press gets a standing ovation from the very collection of reporters he is screaming at. What can we say? He's a man. He's a father. He's 40.
#3 Allen Iverson: Philadelphia 76ers
Sarcasm doesn't come naturally to most people. So how does one player get to a point where he can sarcastically say the word "practice" completely effortlessly? I'll tell you how: practice.
#2 Hal McRae: Kansas City Royals
Generally, baseball managers save their best rants for on-field explosions, so they can be thrown out in dramatic fashion and then take a shower and head home. Not McRae, who offered this prime post-game tobacco for these reporters' collective pipes:
#1 Kevin Borseth Michigan women's basketball
With the exception of shock jock's slurs, and the occasional dunk,
it's pretty tough for women's basketball to get much attention in the
crowded television sports market. Borseth manages to get
some, and then is even enough of a gentleman to apologize for it.
Speaking of apologies, we owe one to former Chicago Cubs Manager Lee Elia, whose incredibly NSFW 1983 rant against both the Wrigley Field faithful and the press, didn't make this family blog. We wanted to, but the bleeped version just doesn't do it justice. If you're somewhere where you can call Old School Earmuffs for the kids, this is really worth a listen.
